Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
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.
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.
Xhy's Alpha weekend-1 Feedback
Xhykor
Member, Alpha Two
So lets get started with the weekly reports 
Technical Performance: The first weekend of Alpha 2 wrapped up with the usual technical hiccups like asset and NPC glitches, server disconnects, and other early launch issues. But for an Alpha Test, it was better than expected.
I had to report a few bugs, such as:
-Camera getting stuck in the player mesh.
-Bard Melody Visual Buff Effect (Heal) not disappearing and stacking over time.
Performance: Performance was mixed. My setup includes a 7950X3D CPU, 4080S GPU, and 64GB RAM, using DLSS Balance. Without an external FPS counter, I can only share my impressions. As someone sensitive to FPS drops and prone to motion sickness, the overall performance was okay, though there were noticeable FPS drops and inconsistencies at times.
Gameplay Experience: The gameplay gave me vibes of Guild Wars 2 and Dark Age of Camelot. I haven’t tried an open dungeon yet, but I imagine it to be similar to DAoC’s Darkness Falls. Since this is an alpha, a lot will likely change before the final release. Right now, the early game was for me a little bit confusing, cluttered, and unclear and I started a few times new to check if it was a bug, but it was just my inability to find myself around in Verra.
Quest Guidance:
-Different quests and activities should have distinct map circle colors for better visibility Like Map event Orange, Quests Yellow, commissions Brown or something like that.
-Some quest markers should be simplified to just markers instead of circles in the early game.
I think using some of the casualization features of newer MMOs from level 0-1 to 5 or 10 in a decreasing ratio could be helpful. For example, the first step starting with level 0 or 1 to level 1 or 2 could be instanced, teaching players combat, weapons, crafting basics, etc. in a more structured way, and lore wise it also would make sense :like a training camp in Sanctum to prepare you for your role as a pioneer in Verra, and then you step through the portal at level 2 and the adventure begins.
Bard and Weapon Feedback: I enjoyed playing the Bard class and reached level 7. I also leveled two other Bards to level 5 for testing. The leveling speed feels ok for now, and each level is rewarding and has impact. Some bugs I encountered include:
Effects from skills like Melodies persisting even after unskilling the skill, such as the bleeding passive.
and from a Bard player’s perspective, a Burn or Volatile passive for the Melody of Cathartic makes more sense than bleeding.
just to throw that in
Weapon Feedback:
Maybe adjust the finisher proc rate based on weapon speed, as it currently feels off.
I wanted to use a wand for single-target chill kiting and a the book for AE volatile / bombing, but the weapon slots are locked to melee/range. Testing a system with just two weapon slots internally or during a weekend event could be beneficial.
There are more points that I plan to explore further and provide more detailed feedback on, as I prefer to combine criticism with constructive suggestions.
Xhy
Technical Performance: The first weekend of Alpha 2 wrapped up with the usual technical hiccups like asset and NPC glitches, server disconnects, and other early launch issues. But for an Alpha Test, it was better than expected.
I had to report a few bugs, such as:
-Camera getting stuck in the player mesh.
-Bard Melody Visual Buff Effect (Heal) not disappearing and stacking over time.
Performance: Performance was mixed. My setup includes a 7950X3D CPU, 4080S GPU, and 64GB RAM, using DLSS Balance. Without an external FPS counter, I can only share my impressions. As someone sensitive to FPS drops and prone to motion sickness, the overall performance was okay, though there were noticeable FPS drops and inconsistencies at times.
Gameplay Experience: The gameplay gave me vibes of Guild Wars 2 and Dark Age of Camelot. I haven’t tried an open dungeon yet, but I imagine it to be similar to DAoC’s Darkness Falls. Since this is an alpha, a lot will likely change before the final release. Right now, the early game was for me a little bit confusing, cluttered, and unclear and I started a few times new to check if it was a bug, but it was just my inability to find myself around in Verra.
Quest Guidance:
-Different quests and activities should have distinct map circle colors for better visibility Like Map event Orange, Quests Yellow, commissions Brown or something like that.
-Some quest markers should be simplified to just markers instead of circles in the early game.
I think using some of the casualization features of newer MMOs from level 0-1 to 5 or 10 in a decreasing ratio could be helpful. For example, the first step starting with level 0 or 1 to level 1 or 2 could be instanced, teaching players combat, weapons, crafting basics, etc. in a more structured way, and lore wise it also would make sense :like a training camp in Sanctum to prepare you for your role as a pioneer in Verra, and then you step through the portal at level 2 and the adventure begins.
Bard and Weapon Feedback: I enjoyed playing the Bard class and reached level 7. I also leveled two other Bards to level 5 for testing. The leveling speed feels ok for now, and each level is rewarding and has impact. Some bugs I encountered include:
Effects from skills like Melodies persisting even after unskilling the skill, such as the bleeding passive.
and from a Bard player’s perspective, a Burn or Volatile passive for the Melody of Cathartic makes more sense than bleeding.
just to throw that in
Weapon Feedback:
Maybe adjust the finisher proc rate based on weapon speed, as it currently feels off.
I wanted to use a wand for single-target chill kiting and a the book for AE volatile / bombing, but the weapon slots are locked to melee/range. Testing a system with just two weapon slots internally or during a weekend event could be beneficial.
There are more points that I plan to explore further and provide more detailed feedback on, as I prefer to combine criticism with constructive suggestions.
Xhy
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