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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.
Static enemy problem
Ashgan
Member, Alpha Two
The AI so far is far too simple (this is going by the live streams, and I do understand that it's probably a work in progress but this is just something that looks very bland not gona lie and sugercoat it), they do no readjusting to hit better with their AOE attacks or anything, hell I would take them just moving around just to spice things up.
Even for melee foes they can circle strafe their target, meanwhile ranged attackers should try to be evasive.
Even for melee foes they can circle strafe their target, meanwhile ranged attackers should try to be evasive.
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Comments
To be fair to them, 6 years ago, it is not necessarily guaranteed that they knew what that meant.
Or simply that they learned over time that it doesn't work as well as one would initially believe when you first encounter it (my general experience).
If we want to see better, we should do our best to tell them what 'better' is, as OP has done. Go even further. Side-strafe and readjusting for AoE is stuff you can get in MineCraft, this is a passion project ambitious MMORPG, so we'll certainly see at least that.
They knew they want to create hype.
They want that now too.
I have doubts that early hype is a good thing.
Even if that is true.
Even if I take my friend's perspective that Steven is a Salesman first, trying to find out what product we want and hyping capability before intention.
I still believe that Steven Sharif truly wants us to have a good product, and has been learning and trying for years to achieve that. Mistakes will be made, and sometimes you can't hold people to their old ideals, that is the downside of their transparent development.
We're almost certainly sure to see a thread soon enough about the 'fact that you don't need every Archetype in a party' or something. I'm tempted to just make it first.
It does not take that much to hype MMORPG players, particularly not in the gaming landscape we are in now. No matter what Steven said back then, no matter what ideas he shared, it would have been 'hype'. And I for one don't believe that silence was the answer. Not even as someone who has lost most of their will to play this game.
Not even as someone who was brought in by the 'hype' and is now out thousands because it isn't going anywhere close to what I thought.
Because there's only so much Steven can do when faced with the compromises he must make between his vision of finally making a game where the players can see and give input, and protecting the interest in the finished product.
Everyone learns as they try to build these things. Hype man or not, Steven cannot be faulted for having to learn.
EDIT: Removed unnecessary Steven ping. "Healer" instincts kicked in too hard. Take care of him though, guys, if those instincts were RIGHT...
From the perspective of somebody who is afraid to fail, asking opinions in advance might be a good thing.
I still say that if you want to play and enjoy a good game, it is better if you are not the one giving the feedback.
Else, if you give the feedback, be prepared to feel as part of the development team (even if you are not) and be happy that other players will enjoy the game you helped creating.
Maybe you are different.
But I cannot enjoy a game at release which I know already.
Also if you get hyped and involved too much early, and you end up feeling as part of the development team, you will feel bad when they do not listen or they listen to other more vocal voices. Maybe to popular streamers.
I want Steven to make his game.
I am used to being 'part of development teams' for projects where the chances of anyone listening to me is small. Sometimes that changes. I don't expect that here.
I can be happy in this case. I have done it before, and so, I suppose I have, in fact, learned to be different.
I don't really need Ashes to be fun for me. If I want a fun game for myself I'll usually just make it. I want Ashes to be fun for all the people who want, and will love, what Steven wants and loves.
But for all the gaps, where Steven doesn't know precisely what he wants, every voice counts, even if just as 'random chattering advisors to the Sandal Lord'.
So I will only feel bad if they go through all this, make mistakes that I warn them about, and because of those exact mistakes (which will probably be unprovable anyway) the game fails. That will be sad.
tl;dr don't worry about me. Worry about Steven.
To me this is not what next-gen MMORPG should look like. I hate to say it but New World is doing combat well. You actually have to move around and cycle skills depending on the enemy. If I get knocked back by a big guy and I'm about to die, then I switch to my ranged offhand and kite. You know it's just basic things like this.
I see so much love and hard work going into this game, I would just hate to dig in and eventually get bored because of the combat.
Maybe for bosses, but for basic mobs in low tier areas? That's just tedious.
I can see this when levelling up solo and running through the quests, but for mutations, you really want to pick one or the other (melee vs. ranged), and the tank should be holding aggro in all cases (if it's not the tank, it's the healer, and that's not a good situation). I know a guy who won't let dps into the lobby if they offhand a bow.
As a healer, I don't know what group content would require you to start kiting away from my aoe heals, unless the run is a shitshow already.
Tanks don't seem to have a 100% taunt (could be a future ability though), and the higher threat abilities are on cooldowns and only one is AE.
Clerics are HPS limited by cooldowns, but limits to tank threat are also essentially limits to healing too. Or spec your cleric to offtank. I don't know if casting interrupts are a big thing in the game, that would limit cleric offtanking.
But you know what's funny, that forcefield ability could work perfectly with that setup if the mob's attacks (even tab ones) could be stopped by it. The tank would have to move to their partymates in time and protect them. It would be a new way to play the tank and imo that would be amazing and way more fun that just sitting on your ass holding up a shield.
Well, if Taunts are coming later, maybe Cover is too?
p.s. did you read my response in the "Guild bombing" thread? Or just didn't have anything to say on my idea?
Ah, sorry, right. I'm going through my 'Ashes Detox' phase right now.
Basically I don't care enough. I'll probably get to it though.
I figured JustVine would check it but I think she's doing the same. So expect any thoughts later.
That ability IS in L2 somewhere, right? I think of the 'Take hits for target behind you' as a common MMORPG thing, but it just occurred to me that just because all the games I played have it, doesn't mean L2 does.
Ah, that ... explains some of the responses I've received on certain things recently, a bit more. Thank you.
You can use certain abilities in a similar way, but ...
Nope, sadly there was no damage redirection skills in AA, a skill like Lineage 2's Shield of Faith would've been amazing for the AA's tank skillset.
Aren't we all sinners?
Im not sure i would consider it primitive, i kind of like how it protects party members while giving them freedom of movement beyond being forced to stand directly behind the tank, The skill is very powerful for sure, but was balanced by it's extremely long 15 min cooldown.
Aren't we all sinners?
I'd consider it less primitive if it worked the same way the lvl80 domes worked. Channel power into one character from several other people which lets that character to use the ability. Long cd was definitely a balancing tool, but the basic mechanic of the buff was just too simplistic imo.
True, definitely simple in this regard, as a non-conditional buff is the simplest form of power after passive skills, the Domi's Flames of Invincibility certainly had more complexity going for it with the allies channeling requirement, the funny thing is that ~2 versions after its implementation such requirement was removed.
Aren't we all sinners?