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.
Leveling Feedback
Gac
Member, Alpha Two
Greetings.
I would like to offer some feedback on the leveling experience at this stage. Because these details may be worth considering, I figure it’s worth mentioning what I enjoy in the hopes that it overlaps with the vision you’re trying to reach in alpha 2:
1. I value a long grind, and I want the world to feel threatening as I level. I feel good when games make leveling feel like an achievement.
2. I want to group with friends. I feel good when games let me play with my friends and don’t force me to group with strangers.
3. I enjoy fighting over the “best” spots with strangers. I feel good when games incentivize PvP in ways that feel rewarding.
These three preferences, in theory, should not conflict with one another. For example: there is nothing about wanting to group with players that means you do not similarly desire a lengthy level grind.
As I started leveling upon the start of alpha 2, it felt like my desires were in close (though not quite lockstep) alignment with your own design philosophy. I was able to group with most people in my guild within a certain level range, and we were never punished that heavily for who we chose to play with. In fact, we quickly realized we were able to group together in parties larger than 8, and we chose to roll as larger raid groups in many of the most valuable spots.
This felt good.
But then the weekend’s changes hit. We were no longer able to raid in groups, and we had to be within three levels of each other or else our XP was nerfed significantly.
This did not feel good. Let me explain why this did not feel good in overly detailed and laborious ways:
1. I understand the desire to force people to group in only parties of 8 while leveling, and I understand if leveling as a raid is not intended gameplay. I understand that the existing game world is also not designed to be challenging enough to where a raid of 20+ players feels threatened by the world around them.
I do understand. But you’re wrong to do this right now. The game world is just simply not large enough to accommodate the number of 8-man groups you’re pushing us into upon the other side of this change. There are an incredibly limited number of “good” grind areas, and I think you should revert this change until you can actually accommodate this amount of 8-player groups without creating significant friction as you expand the number of available continents. But more to that point…
2. There are a limited number of “good” grind spots that create friction. This is a good thing, in theory. There are, however, problems like corruption and blight that make flagging up and protecting your spots while you’re just trying to level feel deeply penalizing. This–yes, you predicted correctly, dear reader–is a bad thing.
Lawless zones where guilds contest for the best grind spots that drop the best gear are good places for friction to occur. Remnants or Ursine, comparatively, are bad places for friction to occur.
3. Historically, power leveling has settled within a moral gray area in MMOs. Some devs don’t like it because it devalues the grind (which I also dislike), but the players don’t like it because it forces them to group with strangers instead of friends (which I also dislike). I have no real sassy comment to add here but that leveling in its current fashion – forcing us to only be within three levels of each other – is incredibly annoying and creates unnecessary friction between guild members being able to group together. This is an MMO, right? I should want to and be able to play with my friends, no?
I guess that’s me being sassy after all.
This game is great. I love it. Best MMO in years. But please fix the leveling experience. It is simply not good enough.
I would like to offer some feedback on the leveling experience at this stage. Because these details may be worth considering, I figure it’s worth mentioning what I enjoy in the hopes that it overlaps with the vision you’re trying to reach in alpha 2:
1. I value a long grind, and I want the world to feel threatening as I level. I feel good when games make leveling feel like an achievement.
2. I want to group with friends. I feel good when games let me play with my friends and don’t force me to group with strangers.
3. I enjoy fighting over the “best” spots with strangers. I feel good when games incentivize PvP in ways that feel rewarding.
These three preferences, in theory, should not conflict with one another. For example: there is nothing about wanting to group with players that means you do not similarly desire a lengthy level grind.
As I started leveling upon the start of alpha 2, it felt like my desires were in close (though not quite lockstep) alignment with your own design philosophy. I was able to group with most people in my guild within a certain level range, and we were never punished that heavily for who we chose to play with. In fact, we quickly realized we were able to group together in parties larger than 8, and we chose to roll as larger raid groups in many of the most valuable spots.
This felt good.
But then the weekend’s changes hit. We were no longer able to raid in groups, and we had to be within three levels of each other or else our XP was nerfed significantly.
This did not feel good. Let me explain why this did not feel good in overly detailed and laborious ways:
1. I understand the desire to force people to group in only parties of 8 while leveling, and I understand if leveling as a raid is not intended gameplay. I understand that the existing game world is also not designed to be challenging enough to where a raid of 20+ players feels threatened by the world around them.
I do understand. But you’re wrong to do this right now. The game world is just simply not large enough to accommodate the number of 8-man groups you’re pushing us into upon the other side of this change. There are an incredibly limited number of “good” grind areas, and I think you should revert this change until you can actually accommodate this amount of 8-player groups without creating significant friction as you expand the number of available continents. But more to that point…
2. There are a limited number of “good” grind spots that create friction. This is a good thing, in theory. There are, however, problems like corruption and blight that make flagging up and protecting your spots while you’re just trying to level feel deeply penalizing. This–yes, you predicted correctly, dear reader–is a bad thing.
Lawless zones where guilds contest for the best grind spots that drop the best gear are good places for friction to occur. Remnants or Ursine, comparatively, are bad places for friction to occur.
3. Historically, power leveling has settled within a moral gray area in MMOs. Some devs don’t like it because it devalues the grind (which I also dislike), but the players don’t like it because it forces them to group with strangers instead of friends (which I also dislike). I have no real sassy comment to add here but that leveling in its current fashion – forcing us to only be within three levels of each other – is incredibly annoying and creates unnecessary friction between guild members being able to group together. This is an MMO, right? I should want to and be able to play with my friends, no?
I guess that’s me being sassy after all.
This game is great. I love it. Best MMO in years. But please fix the leveling experience. It is simply not good enough.
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