Best Of
Re: Cleric and bard - please do not turn support classes into heal/buff bots.
When the official feedback thread for bard came around, I made sure to mention my interest in all the various class-fantasies they could fulfill once the Bard gets its augments, in regards to them having potential as damage dealers. We'll just have to see how the class combos work out when they're ready to test.
I only hope that the augment system isn't just a new coat of paint on the same archetype. Sub-classes in most MMOs feel fun to play around with because they're true focuses on different schools of the same overall class concept. If an augment just slightly alters a couple of your abilities and gives you some different VFX aesthetics or something, that would be disappointing. If this is their only method of specializing, then it should be fully fleshed out and every augment combo should feel noticeably different in combat approach / "rotation" in combat / VFX aesthetic, etc. The sheer quantity of classes they're committed to with the currently proposed system does worry me when considering this.
I only hope that the augment system isn't just a new coat of paint on the same archetype. Sub-classes in most MMOs feel fun to play around with because they're true focuses on different schools of the same overall class concept. If an augment just slightly alters a couple of your abilities and gives you some different VFX aesthetics or something, that would be disappointing. If this is their only method of specializing, then it should be fully fleshed out and every augment combo should feel noticeably different in combat approach / "rotation" in combat / VFX aesthetic, etc. The sheer quantity of classes they're committed to with the currently proposed system does worry me when considering this.
Re: [Feedback Request] Alpha Two Citadel of the Steel Bloom & Firebrand Preview | August Livestream
It just needs more work. There's nothing I saw that sets this apart from MMOs made 10-15 years ago other than graphics. The boss mechanics seem to be there, but they aren't impactful enough. It's a giant dragon raidboss.. it's attacks should be powerful. The tail whip should do a good amount of damage in an AOE and knock everyone back that's in melee range. The claw swipes should AOE cleave for a good chunk of health to anyone standing in melee range in front of the dragon and push back slightly, forcing non-tanks to attack from the sides and rear. When the dragon breathes fire it should kill everyone within its path within a few seconds and cause burning. Tanks should have an ability with their shield similar to Braum's from League of Legends which forces them to stand still, they cannot be moved (CC Immunity), and it blocks all forward facing damage for a short time. With proper timing Tanks would be able to block the fire breath for themselves and allies standing behind them. The fire breath while the dragon was flying was too slow and telegraphed making it easy to avoid, and again make it lethal. It should also leave a flame path burning on the ground for some time. During the dive bombing slam into the ground the dragon should fly higher up and it should do lethal damage and knockdown anyone within the AOE radius. The outward pulsing fire waves is a cool ability. Make the flames bigger and if it's not already, make it lethal.
Considering this game will have mostly non-instanced dungeons and boss fights, you guys should seriously think about having boss lockout mechanics either at the beginning of the fight or in the middle. What I mean by that is a temporary barrier that appears around the boss area/room which prevents players from entering or leaving for some time. This would force opposing parties that are contesting a boss to commit and/or lockout groups that arrived late giving the first group time to fight/defeat the boss. It would also limit a zergs ability to swoop in and overrun smaller groups, giving them a chance to actually complete it. The barrier could be a giant door shutting, a golden or blue magical see through barrier in a large radius, or in this instance a ring of fire that is created by the dragon after it flys in a circle and breathes down fire at a certain stage.
The area where the dragon was fought didn't have a good theme. Most good boss fights are in a place that compliments the boss itself. I imagine it being more flat and rocky without puddles surrounded by burn scarred ground and trees. The quest stage prior to the dragon also felt anti-climactic.. like it wasn't sufficient, there weren't enough stages. There was that giant keep which was barely explored and you killed some enemies, but then you came right back outside and the dragon appeared.
There was too much visual clutter when you combine everything, the UI, spell animations, and health bars. A lot of it seems to be coming from the Health Bars and ability VFX such as Cleric's descending light beams and the light bomb, Fighter also with their yellow glowing attacks and cataclysm. The blue bubble with the banner didn't look right. Remove the banner and make the bubble more circular with a defined radius. It wasn't clear at all what effect it had and in what area.
I know we talked about loot drops in previous discussions. I hope there is plenty of materials that can be gathered from the Dragon itself for crafting gear like the dragons heart, dragon scales, bones, claws and teeth. There should be a significant amount considering it's a massive creature and that would help make up for the lack of drops as a reward.
Considering this game will have mostly non-instanced dungeons and boss fights, you guys should seriously think about having boss lockout mechanics either at the beginning of the fight or in the middle. What I mean by that is a temporary barrier that appears around the boss area/room which prevents players from entering or leaving for some time. This would force opposing parties that are contesting a boss to commit and/or lockout groups that arrived late giving the first group time to fight/defeat the boss. It would also limit a zergs ability to swoop in and overrun smaller groups, giving them a chance to actually complete it. The barrier could be a giant door shutting, a golden or blue magical see through barrier in a large radius, or in this instance a ring of fire that is created by the dragon after it flys in a circle and breathes down fire at a certain stage.
The area where the dragon was fought didn't have a good theme. Most good boss fights are in a place that compliments the boss itself. I imagine it being more flat and rocky without puddles surrounded by burn scarred ground and trees. The quest stage prior to the dragon also felt anti-climactic.. like it wasn't sufficient, there weren't enough stages. There was that giant keep which was barely explored and you killed some enemies, but then you came right back outside and the dragon appeared.
There was too much visual clutter when you combine everything, the UI, spell animations, and health bars. A lot of it seems to be coming from the Health Bars and ability VFX such as Cleric's descending light beams and the light bomb, Fighter also with their yellow glowing attacks and cataclysm. The blue bubble with the banner didn't look right. Remove the banner and make the bubble more circular with a defined radius. It wasn't clear at all what effect it had and in what area.
I know we talked about loot drops in previous discussions. I hope there is plenty of materials that can be gathered from the Dragon itself for crafting gear like the dragons heart, dragon scales, bones, claws and teeth. There should be a significant amount considering it's a massive creature and that would help make up for the lack of drops as a reward.
Voeltz
2
Re: [Feedback Request] Alpha Two Citadel of the Steel Bloom & Firebrand Preview | August Livestream
You nailed the visuals on this one, my only concern is that whenever we get the game it will be downgraded from what was shown, if we can play with the same level of visual details, the fog, god rays, vfx that would be amazing
Nothing to say on the mechanics, very well made this is a solid boss fight, people forget this will also be a PvP encounter so suggestions for extremely detailed mechanics dont take that into account
I did think it is too easy, the elites are not a threat at all, and the boss itself wont be an issue for a full raid of lvl 25s, based on what PI said they had lvl 10 gear so this is a very Negative for me
I am worried that devs are underestimating players and we will roll through content easily, please consider making these harder
Nothing to say on the mechanics, very well made this is a solid boss fight, people forget this will also be a PvP encounter so suggestions for extremely detailed mechanics dont take that into account
I did think it is too easy, the elites are not a threat at all, and the boss itself wont be an issue for a full raid of lvl 25s, based on what PI said they had lvl 10 gear so this is a very Negative for me
I am worried that devs are underestimating players and we will roll through content easily, please consider making these harder
Liniker
2
Re: [Feedback Request] Alpha Two Citadel of the Steel Bloom & Firebrand Preview | August Livestream
Random thoughts:
- Unlike another user, I like raid loot, not personal loot
- Firebrand's flame breath vfx looked extremely cool, it reminded me of the dragon breath in Game of Thrones, or of a fairly accurate flamethrower.
- The tank's shield dome ability vfx pretty heavily obscured things
- I like that the dungeon's occupants can change depending on various factors
- I assume the citadel is considered a "pocket dungeon," and acknowledging that we didn't see the whole thing, I felt like there wasn't really a reward for what the party accomplished. Seeing the demon thing simply despawn after the wave event was a little anti-climactic
- Firebrand's mechanics are about what I'd expect from boss mechanics in this day and age, that is, they seemed pretty solid! I liked the part where the raid had to kill a bunch of adds in order to prevent rage stacks, and the fire breath sweep and strafes were super cool.
- Seeing basic glint as a raid-wide roll is a little uninspiring, and is a bit of an extra chore for the master looter to distribute.
- With 40 players on screen, the player health bars above their heads was a bit too obscuring
- The positioning of Firebrand's wings sometimes obscured the camera
- Given all the fire involved, maybe incorporating the big pools of water around the raid area into the mechanics could add an interesting layer. i.e. jump in the water to quench living bomb. Bosses that incorporate the environment in some way are more memorable, such as Heigan the Unclean's Naxxramas Safety Dance mechanic from WoW
- Firebrand's attacks made sounds, but we heard very little sound coming from Firebrand himself. I think dragons should be loud. Fire breath should be accompanied by a roar to really sell the threat. Another idea is that since he's trying to prove himself, maybe he could roar periodically while he's standing around waiting for a raid, audible in a very large area, essentially announcing to the zone that he's ready to fight.
- Unlike another user, I like raid loot, not personal loot
- Firebrand's flame breath vfx looked extremely cool, it reminded me of the dragon breath in Game of Thrones, or of a fairly accurate flamethrower.
- The tank's shield dome ability vfx pretty heavily obscured things
- I like that the dungeon's occupants can change depending on various factors
- I assume the citadel is considered a "pocket dungeon," and acknowledging that we didn't see the whole thing, I felt like there wasn't really a reward for what the party accomplished. Seeing the demon thing simply despawn after the wave event was a little anti-climactic
- Firebrand's mechanics are about what I'd expect from boss mechanics in this day and age, that is, they seemed pretty solid! I liked the part where the raid had to kill a bunch of adds in order to prevent rage stacks, and the fire breath sweep and strafes were super cool.
- Seeing basic glint as a raid-wide roll is a little uninspiring, and is a bit of an extra chore for the master looter to distribute.
- With 40 players on screen, the player health bars above their heads was a bit too obscuring
- The positioning of Firebrand's wings sometimes obscured the camera
- Given all the fire involved, maybe incorporating the big pools of water around the raid area into the mechanics could add an interesting layer. i.e. jump in the water to quench living bomb. Bosses that incorporate the environment in some way are more memorable, such as Heigan the Unclean's Naxxramas Safety Dance mechanic from WoW
- Firebrand's attacks made sounds, but we heard very little sound coming from Firebrand himself. I think dragons should be loud. Fire breath should be accompanied by a roar to really sell the threat. Another idea is that since he's trying to prove himself, maybe he could roar periodically while he's standing around waiting for a raid, audible in a very large area, essentially announcing to the zone that he's ready to fight.
arkileo
2
Re: What surprised you in the FireBrand fight?
Just as an aside to the age categories for dragons as an old Dungeons & Dragons player I love this idea. Quite a number of years ago Steven showed us some concept art for a dragon and for a sense of scale there was a human standing next to it, the human came up to its claw on its foot.
So buckle up when you finally come across a level 50 dragon raid boss 40 people just might not cut it.
I actually quite liked the way it jumped back before it did its breath attack to try and hit as many targets as possible.
So buckle up when you finally come across a level 50 dragon raid boss 40 people just might not cut it.
I actually quite liked the way it jumped back before it did its breath attack to try and hit as many targets as possible.
Varkun
1
Vassal resentment
after today's podcast. I am 100% one of the petty & vindictive people that won't accept being a vassal no matter what the reward structure looks like. the thought of someone else being in an inherently better position than me (if not mechanically then prestige wise) is something I tend to act in resentment of. I would rather do everything to tear down the owning node than join it in any capacity.
there are absolutely going to be people like that in the game.
now that being said. we have not actually tried the vassal system at all. but what are the community's initial view on it?
it seems to me that a lot of people are having a gut reaction to immediately want to rebel but are there some who see this in a more optimistic light?
there are absolutely going to be people like that in the game.
now that being said. we have not actually tried the vassal system at all. but what are the community's initial view on it?
it seems to me that a lot of people are having a gut reaction to immediately want to rebel but are there some who see this in a more optimistic light?
Kyskei
3
Re: Vassal resentment
I'm also one of people who want MY node to be the parent, so if it got vassaled instead - I'm gonna do all I can to change that. And Steven saying "well, just go change your node" goes directly against his desire for people to have allegiances to nodes that are somehow stronger than guild allegiances.
I definitely hope we get to test a "siege your parent function" at some point in A2.
I definitely hope we get to test a "siege your parent function" at some point in A2.
Re: Mega Dungeons
Overall having these mega dungeons be something you go back to again and again, reaching deeper and deeper as you level up is something pretty epic IMO. So starting with level 5 it can pretty much go up to level 50, if the dungeon itself is big enough to have that many areas.
I like that
Blip
1
Re: [NA] Suspect | Mercenary | PvX | Competitive & Social | 18+ | Alpha/Beta/Launch
Can't wait to loot that bad boy!
Re: QoL for Grouping. (Suggestion)
With the group size Ashes has, this kind of thing would probably be more useful than in other games with smaller groups.
So yeah, I think this is a good suggestion.
So yeah, I think this is a good suggestion.
Noaani
1