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Should Ashes be "too hard" or "too easy" at release?
Marzzo
Member, Leader of Men, Kickstarter, Alpha One
Excuse the clickbait title. What I more precisely mean is explained below:
Harder: Longer time to level. More difficult Dungeons, raids, bosses and mobs. More challenging quests. More dedication required to level professions and farm meterials.
Easier: Opposite of above
Assume a perfect balance is impossible and IS needs to bend a bit one way or the other and work from there. In this case, would you rather have IS make the game harder, or easier? Explain why!
Harder: Longer time to level. More difficult Dungeons, raids, bosses and mobs. More challenging quests. More dedication required to level professions and farm meterials.
Easier: Opposite of above
Assume a perfect balance is impossible and IS needs to bend a bit one way or the other and work from there. In this case, would you rather have IS make the game harder, or easier? Explain why!
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Between the two evils, being too hard is the lesser one.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Yhr9WpjaDzw
Games are supposed to be mental challenges and dexterity challenges.
If they're not hard, they fail at their purpose.
An mmo-rpg being hard is a core necessity because hardship is what binds people together in real life and what binds them together in video games.
''hey bro you on the quest too?''
''sup, found an elite, want to give it a try?''
etc
The game should be challenging and leave room for people to get better so they got a goal in the game also.
I agree with this because the point of gradually accessing your abilities is so that you progressively get used to all your skills. If I have to spend an hour using my level 1 ability before I can learn my next ability I'll be dying of boredom.
Hard late levels is for fine tuning your build.
When you feel like the world is dangerous and big (suddenly distances begin to matter when each step is a risk).
When you're feeling like its Christmas every time you get a 1% better item and whenever you get a new talent because the world is dangerous and God knows you need every bit of help you can get.
When you need to ask people you come by for help and end up forming true mmo friendships because you just can't do all leveling quests alone/you would like to get that elite down for a 15% better item.
When you keep adding people to your friend list because you know you will need them for other dungeons/elites.
When you always feel strapped for cash because the game has an actual economy and every gold coil you get has meaning.
And when raid leaders are screaming xD
Examples: Tight decision making? Reacting to various attacks with the 'correct' response? Needing to keep a consistent gameplan under increasing difficulty? Repetition of a hard boss fight due to low drop percentage for the gear? Figuring out the best economic decisions?
In other words what do you think makes something hard and where in the games design do you want to see that coming from?
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Yhr9WpjaDzw
too easy means no pay off, you get bored in a week
As for leveling and profession leveling it must be a nice upwards curve in terms of difficulty, but should be overall harder when compared to recent MMORPGs....
Aren't we all sinners?
Harder keeps the game healthy even if it may be frustrating at first for many players. The easy route makes the game uninteresting and allows players to get an early edge over others before the game can be properly balanced (if needed), and in the scenario that it isnt needed, an easy game is just boring anyway and everyone will be uninterested in a month once content is cleared.
Enemies and especially enemy groups are geniunely dangerous and if you don't put enough thinking in a pull it will go very bad. You actually need to keep an eye on what the mob is doing otherwise things can go very wrong. Grouping will be needed for many quests/objectives to be completed.
The need to pay attention to what the questgiver is saying (otherwise risk the quest going very very badly) and to think what dialogue decissions you make.
Scarcity is a real thing and every item/resource (plant, ore, leather, etc) you get has actual value and you need to think well about what you're going to do with it because it will affect the state of your finances to notable degree.
World PvP is a real thing and you must always keep an eye out and be ready to duck and cover.
Transport scarcity is a real thing. No speed-of-light mounts, no portal to every corner of the world. The journey basically to any point is an adventure because it will be long (since you're not moving very fast) and since the npcs aren't pushovers and PvP is a thing.
Traps and world hazards like diseases, avalanches, storms, etc
Instances are often open world so PvE and PvP.
Bosses both in open world and closed instances have mechanic variations and complex mechanics that need proper teamplay especially in the context of no ''mummy hold my hand'' addons telling you what to do at every step and turning you into a bot (like what happened in WoW).
to give a few examples off the top of my mind, probably not even the best examples but still
Balanced in the mid game
Hard in the late game
Learning a new game shouldn't be hard. Beginning quests should give players class identity. If the early game is hard it means AOC missed the mark.
At the same time late game pvp and high level raids should be difficult...either with strategy...players responsibility...coordination or all the above.