Best Of

I also had a similar experience today…. i logged out in a different zone. when i got on i was in postion 17 for like an hour i was at 1 then at position one i sat for 1.5 hours. thought it was glitched or something. restarted new queue started back at 27 not that bad right?? nope ive been waiting for about 3.5 hours now on this new queue.. currently position 8…. this is the start of a new mmo on steam so honestly. it sucks but this game is awesome so far i really like it. i feel like im getting my old school need for a mmo scratched finally! been a long time waiting for that so a few hours in queue for growing pains is not that bad. still sucks but im posting this so it gets addressed and fixed. ive been apart of mmo launches for a while so it is what it is. guys did a great job making this game so far looking forward to seeing it grow. woot woot number 7 in queue while writing this. great game so far guys

This does not fill me with excitement for the future, you have something here for sure. Not having enough servers ready for this launch is truly mind boggling. Poe 2 went down earlier today for an emergency fix although it did take longer then usual to get back up it did, also we were given multiple updates and estimates. Then i got stuck in a que of about 3700 less then a minute later i was in. Incomplete zones, broken skills/quests, shader issues etc etc totally understandable to a point. not being able to log in and link an account though…nah dude.

I wonder what the issue is for the que's The streamers get in just fine instantly.

When though? only 3 US servers? I haven't played for even 2 mins since yesterday. ONLY GOT IN TWICE and got DC'd right away.

Can you imagine how frustrating that is to a first time "player"?

This is the first impression you ONLY GET ONE CHANCE to make!!!
WHY WOULD YOU NOT HAVE MORE SERVERS OR SERVER CAPACITY/BANDWIDTH READY???

COME ON!! Get it together!!!

Staying active like this is such a strong motivation — love the dedication and energy

I want to use this post to give feedback on the Summoner and on how the experience of playing the archetype has been so far, currently at level 25.

1) Identity
It has always been very clear that the Summoner would be a versatile archetype, capable of filling multiple roles within a group (DPS, healer, tank), but not excelling at any of them—and that is fair. That is the price paid for versatility.

However, the class seems to lack a clear identity—something that makes it unique and desirable on its own, rather than being seen merely as a weaker substitute for other archetypes.
I know you might think that having a pet would be this differentiating factor, but it isn’t. That alone is not what will make more competitive groups want a Summoner in their composition. With that in mind, here are a few suggestions:

A) Debuff spreading
I really like the mechanic of using Mortal Blast to spread Spirit Shred. Why not apply this same principle to other debuffs such as Hex, Shear, and Spectral Bindings?
In other words, a mechanic where I apply multiple debuffs to a single target and then use Mortal Blast to spread those same debuffs to nearby enemies. This would make the Summoner a real threat in PvP, forcing the enemy team not to clump together to avoid being affected by Mortal Blast.

B) Debuff stacking and interactions
Currently, Spirit Shred already interacts very well with Hex, intensifying its effect and adding new effects. A similar interaction also occurs when the skill Mass Affliction hits targets affected by Spirit Shred.
It would be interesting if similar interactions existed in some way with the other debuffs as well.

2) Pets
I understand how complex it is to balance a class that uses pets. However, my current impression is that they are limited in their potential—not in terms of damage, but in how much advantage they actually bring to the team. With that in mind, I will make suggestions both to improve their role and to enhance quality of life.

A) Guardian
The best design among the spirits.

Role improvement: As a defensive choice, it would be interesting if it had an aura that slightly increased allies’ defenses and, when using the Amplify skill, generated a shield for all nearby allies.

Quality-of-life improvement: This pet has everything needed to be a great mount. It could have the same speed as a horse for balance purposes, but it would be amazing to be able to use it as a mount.

B) Hunter
Role improvement: As an offensive choice, it would be interesting if it had an aura that slightly increased allies’ damage and, when using Amplify, caused allies to apply a DoT when performing auto-attacks.

Quality-of-life improvement: Reduce the cast time of the Evisceration ability in ranged form, or remove the cast time entirely.

C) Mystic
Role improvement: As a support choice, it would be interesting if it had an aura that slightly increased healing received by allies and, when using Amplify, generated a heal-over-time effect for nearby allies.

Quality-of-life improvement: For some reason, this pet insists on healing allies almost as if it were a melee heal, especially when the ally is at range or passes behind something that blocks line of sight. This issue can be worked around, but it takes a lot of time repositioning and issuing the correct commands for the pet to resume long-range healing. Because of this, this interaction needs improvement so that the pet always prioritizes healing from range, unless explicitly commanded to follow in melee mode.

3) Resource management
Even with the Siphon Vessel skill, the Summoner seems to have a disproportionate mana cost for a class that does not have burst damage. Perhaps a slight adjustment to ability costs would already be sufficient.

4) Final considerations
The Summoner is a great archetype and has become my favorite. However, it still needs some adjustments to truly achieve its proper relevance.
Additionally, regarding point 2, I would like to reinforce the excellent suggestions made in this post:

https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/68858/feedback-for-summoner?utm_source=community-search&utm_medium=organic-search&utm_term=summoner

Have a great game everyone!

i think the pets need more skills and not just passives that cost points that enhance their skills. healing the pet kind of sucks right now too. wish there was also a more reliable way to give the pet mana.

also, i wish there was a true play with the pet build.

maybe all of these will be added when we get 2ndary archetypes and level 50

i agreed with that.

espacilly:

"AOC. Please do not make it possible to lose equipped gear for starting a battle with players. Keep the corruption system. Keep greifers getting flagged and appearing on the map for bounty hunters to go after. Keep them temporarily barred from major cities. etc. Please do not take the FUN out of open world pvp. No stat penalties while corrupted that mess your build up.

Make it a true justice system. Gain corruption and if killed by bounty hunters or players you go face trial by your peers and can go to jail or get off scott free. Never know what could happen. Its more immersive. Its fun. And funny. And won't cost you months of grinding epic gear. Still keeps pkers at bay as they would be a large target to all players, npc town guards, and face jail time. Or have no court system and just have pkers go straight to jail when killed. No need to lose loot. Just a big timeout."

I found the system with the Time-Out Prison and the Pirates to be a very good one. The latter is of course not possible in AoC, since there are no factions.

The prison system can certainly be adopted. I don't necessarily need the Court of Justice right now, even though it was fun. I also like the idea of the temporary City-Ban. It could be expanded by perhaps losing one's city citizenship or being demoted one level if one attacks a member of one's own city.

A percentage loss of Copper/Silver/Gold would also be conceivable.

Or in combination with prison - tasks: Mine 200 Basalt or something like that haha.