Seasons and Environments affecting Elemental DMG

https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/45903/damage-types-mitigation-slash-pierce-hack-bludgeon

Margaret just replied to this post right here, and she told that apparently seasons and environments affect the elemental dmg dealt by players.

I'm curious as to how this applies to mages, with the elemental augment, and shamans, as this could lead to forcing certain classes to play in regions where they are at an advantage instead of being wherever they want to be in the world.

What do you guys think?

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ServNiQ

I think it will end up to be pretty inconsequential in terms of combat, unless you are someone who specializes in a certain magic type, which I guess you could do. Even so, you are given a variety of skills as a mage, so unless you're really sticking to a stereotype, I don't think it will end up mattering too much in that sense. In the event a Frostmage comes along in the desert in the summer (to which I would have to question why you are playing a Frostmage in the desert) I doubt that it would cripple you in any way. Yes it would probably affect your overall dps by, Im just estimating, probably off, 10-25%, at that point if it matters, just make smarter decisions about 1) dealing only one or two types of damage, and 2) where you are going to play with those types of dmg.

Regarding class popularity in certain regions, I think you'll probably see a slight difference in the amount of elven rangers you see at the elf starting point compared to the amount of rangers at the Dwarven starting point, for stereotypical reasons, but otherwise it should be pretty even across the board. The only outlier I could see is if someone (possibly a streamer) somehow got all the bards together in 1 city to play some tunes lol.

Noaani

It is small situational things like this that completely remove the ability for people to say "this is the single best build for this class".

Games need more variation like this. Builds being better or worse based on the season the game is in at the time is fantastic - even if it is only a small amount.

CaptnChuck

@noaani

Yea but are you sure that one season applies to all nodes in the game? I thought that different nodes would have different seasons?

Noaani

CaptnChuck wrote: »

@noaani

Yea but are you sure that a season applies to all nodes in the game? I thought that different nodes would have different seasons.

I am sure they don't apply to all nodes in the game - at least not equally. I am also sure that there will be non-natural seasons - so winter could well last a month while summer lasts a week.

Again, these are good things.

CaptnChuck

noaani wrote: »

CaptnChuck wrote: »

@noaani

Yea but are you sure that a season applies to all nodes in the game? I thought that different nodes would have different seasons.

I am sure they don't apply to all nodes in the game - at least not equally. I am also sure that there will be non-natural seasons - so winter could well last a month while summer lasts a week.

Again, these are good things.

Ok, then won't it create an issue where elemental mages and shamans will be forced to play in certain regions as opposed to others?

Noaani

CaptnChuck wrote: »

noaani wrote: »

CaptnChuck wrote: »

@noaani

Yea but are you sure that a season applies to all nodes in the game? I thought that different nodes would have different seasons.

I am sure they don't apply to all nodes in the game - at least not equally. I am also sure that there will be non-natural seasons - so winter could well last a month while summer lasts a week.

Again, these are good things.

Ok, then won't it create an issue where elemental mages and shamans will be forced to play in certain regions as opposed to others?

No.

They may want to alter their build though. That isn't an issue though, it is a good game design choice.

CaptnChuck

noaani wrote: »

CaptnChuck wrote: »

noaani wrote: »

CaptnChuck wrote: »

@noaani

Yea but are you sure that a season applies to all nodes in the game? I thought that different nodes would have different seasons.

I am sure they don't apply to all nodes in the game - at least not equally. I am also sure that there will be non-natural seasons - so winter could well last a month while summer lasts a week.

Again, these are good things.

Ok, then won't it create an issue where elemental mages and shamans will be forced to play in certain regions as opposed to others?

No.

They may want to alter their build though. That isn't an issue though, it is a good game design choice.

But that forces them to play a certain type of way. Also, this will only affect elemental classes and won't affect the rest. So the rest of the classes can play whatever they want without worrying about seasons, while a select few will have to constantly keep changing their build according to the diff. seasons. Its an interesting design choice, but I'm not sure whether its a good or bad idea. It will depend on how its implemented into the game.

GrandHarfang

I'm not excited by such a feature to be honest. I would feel pressured to play my class a certain way, or be pressured to quest in a region of the world where the elemental damage I want to specialize in is optimal.

Noaani

CaptnChuck wrote: »

Its an interesting design choice, but I'm not sure whether its a good or bad idea.

All it would mean is that players may need to respec based on the in game season.

The game isn't really built around people picking a single build and running with it for a year or more.

CaptnChuck

noaani wrote: »

CaptnChuck wrote: »

Its an interesting design choice, but I'm not sure whether its a good or bad idea.

All it would mean is that players may need to respec based on the in game season.

The game isn't really built around people picking a single build and running with it for a year or more.

Yea but what I'm saying @noaani, is that this ONLY applies to people who play elemental classes. It doesn't apply to other classes. So it would only cause the people that play these classes to keep adapting. I think this design would be great for gear enchants, but it shouldn't really affect player skills in my opinion.

Noaani

CaptnChuck wrote: »

this ONLY applies to people who play elemental classes.

We don't know there won't be a similar situation for other damage types.

Leroher

CaptnChuck wrote: »

noaani wrote: »

CaptnChuck wrote: »

Its an interesting design choice, but I'm not sure whether its a good or bad idea.

All it would mean is that players may need to respec based on the in game season.

The game isn't really built around people picking a single build and running with it for a year or more.

Yea but what I'm saying @noaani, is that this ONLY applies to people who play elemental classes. It doesn't apply to other classes. So it would only cause the people that play these classes to keep adapting. I think this design would be great for gear enchants, but it shouldn't really affect player skills in my opinion.

At least it would affect every class that had wizard as a primary or secondary class. And tbh, I like the idea as long it is balanced.

Fantmx

noaani wrote: »

It is small situational things like this that completely remove the ability for people to say "this is the single best build for this class".

Games need more variation like this. Builds being better or worse based on the season the game is in at the time is fantastic - even if it is only a small amount.

My initial thought was as long as changing your spec was not difficult then I don't see a problem. However this is a good point here. Perhaps it is only a small change which does not require a complete respec but instead adds more situational utility and reducing the min/max drive. My next thought though is is it fair to only apply this type of situational change only to classes that deal damage with elemental abilities?

Yuyukoyay

I like this idea flat out. Though rather than a empowerment it would be better if it just changed how certain spells worked to be slightly better in certain seasons. If they steer away from just stats then it can be a good idea.

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