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Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Comments
I hope they keep the horns mandatory . It's the races defining feature right now. It's an easily distinguishable silhouette in game. Elf with horns Pyrai Elf no horns Pyrean. I think its much better than just having 2 pointy ear elves with the only difference being armor.
Even though I loved the horns. I have a suggestion as I see there are some people who didn't like the horns. Maybe do the same root structure you used for the horns but instead of horns you could have it replace the hair. like this picture @Amma showed.
Also can we get an option for ‘growing’ horns. Like how deer antlers during growth have velvet on them. Similar to how you said the horns will change due to environments. So during seasons the horns can grow the velvet And then shed it and look like more normal.
Have the confidence to do your own thing and stick to it. Stop trying to be like everyone else.
As Bender the Great once said " Stay the course pal."
My sentiment falls along these lines as well. I love the concept, but it's a concept that either needs to be fully embraced or scrapped. Please don't pull a Divinity: Original Sin 2, where you have elves that are supposed to "tree like" but come off as malnourished and disfigured at best.
Now I understand that not everyone is going to like the "tree like" vibes, and I think it's fine to have degrees of options there, but at the end of the day not every race needs to suit everyone. I really think you guys should lean harder into the "tree/plant" elf concept. And please extend it beyond the face, Make it something that's visible down the body as well.
I intend to have my first character be a Py'rai scout, exploring the new world.
With the antlers, and what Steven indicated with the growth and such, I feel they'd be better referred to as branches, though., especially with the architecture and their connection with nature. With this new definition of branches, some character creator options could include different variations of tree types. Being able to have willow, oak, bamboo and others, would certainly give the character a unique touch.
I can honestly see Margaret in the face that was shared. It is amazing.
Edit: added a period for clarity
Yours truly very much liked the antlers as a very game-specific feature of this Elven race - even the ideas about flowers being able to bloom from them, though it feels like flower-blooms should be toggle-able or otherwise an option.
Ears like this definitely help to create a more identify-able profile, marking the race as unique - but it also opens options for additional jewelry, such as unique earrings; It feels like the ears a good thing.
As someone who has sworn NOT to play another human in this game (ALL my previous MMO's have featured a human main-toon), I think I've found my race!
As they did with the Dwarves and Orcs, it feels right now that the other Elven race will probably be what the traditionalists in this thread are looking for: Something more along the lines of a very human-like Elf with slightly modified features.
/Support making the antlers mandatory, but again - any flower blooms should be optional.... Maybe the local barber will know how to prune them!
Either nubs or "broken" antlers would also be very cool. Nubs can definitely add to a toon's RP back-story - like self-hatred, or a distaste for one's own kind. "Broken" antlers would also make for a really great indication of RP battle-experience.
the antlers im not in love with, but i like that that your doing something. perhaps antlers could be one of several options. like maybe some pyrai dont have antlers, but instead have antler like growths that frame their ears to various degrees. i also liked the concept of plant/horn like growths potruding from other areas of the face as well (mentioned on page 1).
i had this idea that wood elves would have moss like body hair too, which could be sweet. like maybe just on their arms and or legs, and maybe some older elvish men have green wizard beards with twigs, or horns that look like twigs, growing out of the beards... or something. idk.
overall, if your gonna depart from the standard "these elves are blonde and like books and these ones are brunettes and like trees" then you might as well see how far you can take it. i love when old , worn out concepts get attacked from a new direction, and tbh, "elves" as a concept are a bit worn out after 90 years of tolkien fans copy pasting them. let the tolkien fans have the dunir, kaelar, renkkai, and empyrean. use the other races to do something unique and interesting, as you have been.
The Py'Rai now look a lot more interesting than your average "Wood Elf" in any other MMORPG.
I love the branches growing out of their heads, great idea.
To those who've worked on this, I think you did a fantastic job, and I would love to see more creative things like this in Ashes of Creation. Keep it up!
I do feel like you're still being too safe with the design though, like the hair could be made out of leaves, and decorated with flowers. Think about a Weeping Willow Tree.
Overall, great, I just have one little issue, okay?
Eyebrows exist for a reason, and that is to keep our eyes clear of liquid, such as sweat or rain.
With how the eyebrows are currently designed, they are likely to partially fail at their job. I don't like that.
How about making the brow out of similar wood-like substance like the horns, and allow them to be covered in various kinds of mosses? I believe that could be incredibly interesting, and they are likely to do a pretty good job at being eyebrows.
If the design could consider that and potentially adjust in that direction, or have this as an option, I would absolutely love it.
I think all races so far are hitting a really nice balance of being original compared to other games while still staying 'realistic' or intuïtive compared to for example the tree and lion races in guild wars 2.
The race characteristics in aoc are strong but subtle at the same time
Some people here are asking for optional horns. I really want to know what characteristics people want from Pyrai that they feel they won't get from Empyrian other than the horns?
I hope there's a slider that can adjust how far the roots go down into the skin, I'm not a fan of how bumpy the cheeks look. but I love everything else about it.
After seeing how widely the Vek can vary I'm convinced we will get a fair degree of control over the little things like that.
I've been very happy to see how they've been differentiating the sub races to not just be the same race with a different theme or architecture.
I don't have much to say that hasn't already been mentioned in the thread.
The ears and eyebrows look too much like WoW to me.
For the eyebrows, I would like to see something a bit more "down-to-earth" or "natural" to fit their racial theme. A female eyebrow can still be thin but natural. Or, at least allow some options in character generation.
For the ears, I wouldn't mind seeing something a bit more traditional "pointing up" ... or a toggle in the character generation menu that allows players for "pointing up" in addition to "pointing out".
Personally, I like seeing the antlers and would definitely keep them on my first Py'Rai character. However, I see other players' point of view -- a toggle to remove them or shorten them to nubs would give them some options.
I think Py'rai should have normal hair but players could have an option in character creation to dress their character's hair with ornaments that are made of flowers, leaves, conifer cones, mosses, lichens, mushrooms, animal bones/skulls, feathers, butterfly wings etc.
I just hope that Py'rai doesn't end up looking too much like GW2's Sylvari because that would be too much and I couldn't consider them as elves anymore.