Feedback of a devoted Cleric

shykio

Hello to everyone brave enough to read my post!

First of all, I’ve been an avid MMORPG player since the days of Vanilla WoW. I’ve tried almost every free-to-play MMORPG on the market and have spent a lot of time on popular games like WoW, FF14, and New World. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to play classics like EverQuest or Dark Age of Camelot, but I’ve heard a lot about them. I’m not a hardcore gamer in the strictest sense: I play a lot, but casually and at my own pace. So here you’ll be getting the perspective of a casual MMORPG player with about twenty years of gaming experience.

For those of you less inclined to read through it all: I think the game is incredible. In so many ways, it brings a real breath of fresh air to the world of MMORPGs. Of course, it’s not perfect, and it's still in alpha, but the potential is clear, and you can tell how much love the developers have poured into the game to deliver this little gem.

I also want to emphasize that the game is in the Alpha phase. Therefore, I won’t judge the typical issues that naturally arise during an alpha. I know that lately, studios have tended to release “complete” alphas, using the label just to justify bugs, but that’s not the case here. We have a true alpha, meant to test a variety of things, and I must say, this alpha is impressively stable and clean. Huge kudos to the entire studio team — to me, this is a successful alpha.

Going into detail:

Combat: I find the spell animations and sound effects very cool. The effects aren’t overdone, and the sound really hits the mark, giving a sense of impact to the hits, which isn’t always present in other games. The character animations are fluid, though I think there’s still room for improvement.

Gathering/Professions: I find the profession system really interesting. It’s quite similar to classic survival games but better suited to MMORPGs. I’ve seen a lot of feedback saying that leveling up professions is slow, and I think that’s a good thing! If professions were too fast to level, everyone would quickly become self-sufficient, and we’d end up with yet another game where people mostly play alone. With this system, it encourages people who love crafting and professions to invest deeply and become merchants, suppliers, or transporters, adding another layer of activity beyond killing mobs or completing quests. I beg you, please keep this challenging aspect — it makes the game so interesting in this regard.

Quests: Not much to say here, given that it’s an alpha, but I quite like the idea of not giving exact locations for bosses or quest objectives. It forces players to read and engage with the quests. Let’s not forget that in MMORPG, there’s RPG. I’m looking forward to seeing what the studio offers in terms of lore and quests. I also really like the quest and profession boards; it allows everyone to find tasks that suit their interests.

Open World: The map is HUGE, and the landscapes are appealing. There’s quite a bit of variety, and I sense great potential here. I’d add a word of caution: a map this large is pointless if it’s not properly utilized. Again, it’s hard to judge as it’s still in alpha, but I hope they add more points of interest, hidden quests, and zones that tell a story without needing text—a world that’s rewarding to explore and that piques curiosity. This can be achieved in many ways: rare monsters for breeding or mounts, hidden bits of lore, hidden bosses that drop rare resources or cosmetics, etc.

I’ve also heard that there will be more dynamic events on the map, and I’m really looking forward to that. If possible, events that, if not completed by players, could change the zone (mobs, resources, etc.) would be a great addition, giving even more incentive to participate beyond just earning experience.

PvP System: I think the PvP system is good. The ability to attack anyone adds spice to the experience. Knowing that a flagged PvP player who kills an unflagged player receives a penalty also prevents abuse. I’ve seen a lot of feedback on this system, especially complaints about looting corpses of dead players. A proposed solution was to automatically flag any player who attempts to loot someone’s corpse for PvP. I think this solution is suitable, as it would prevent people from swarming a corpse like vultures when a player dies. With, of course, a 10-minute cooldown on disabling PvP. I’m not a big PvP player myself, so I won’t comment on the rest, but I think this semi-constant PvP system is well thought out.

Nodes: I find this system amazing. I can only imagine the time invested to make this possible. Being affiliated with a node as a citizen gives you a real sense of belonging and makes you want to invest in it. You’ll want to help your city, support its citizens if you meet them — a bit like a massive guild. You can also choose to gain their trust or betray them for personal gain, like selling information; the geopolitical possibilities are endless. And we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg. I eagerly await what’s next.

Caravans: Similarly, I love this system. Many people find this system too “tedious” for resource transport, but I think it’s essential for the game’s vitality. The caravan system opens up many possibilities: hiring players to protect the caravan, with the risk of betrayal or theft, planning caravan attacks to hinder node or guild development, forming a bandit guild with spies and scouts to plan attacks, or organizing parties with specific class combinations for this purpose (I’m thinking of certain archetypes with rogue as secondary). The list is long, but keeping this system is fantastic.

Mounts/Fast Travel: Many players complain about the lack of fast travel. To those players, I’d say: you haven’t understood the game. If you want a game with an open-world PvP system and caravans, like Ashes, there must be no fast travel and no flying mounts. I know that for mounts, it’s not entirely true, as certain people can access them, but it’s extremely limited. This restriction provides an extra reason to aim to become a mayor or king. Implementing fast travel would destroy the game. Players could just teleport to safety during attacks. Plus, without fast travel, players would tend to stay within their nodes and surrounding areas, which would naturally limit influence across nodes. This could also allow groups to “reclaim” abandoned nodes by moving in to redevelop and assume control. With fast travel, this would be impossible. You’d just teleport there. Instead, it would encourage groups to plan resource convoys, exposing them to danger and breathing life into open-world PvP.

As a potential compromise, I thought of a carriage or taxi system: a smaller, faster version of a caravan. These could be NPC-driven or, even better, run by players. Players could prepare a carriage for a fee, with limited seats, and transport other players. Like caravans, these carriages could be attacked by players without turning the attackers into bandits. For balance, carriages could be faster on roads and slower off-road, with traps set along the way to force detours, creating a need for protection or scouts to ensure a clear path.

In Conclusion:

I think the game is excellent. I’m thoroughly enjoying testing all the features and helping new players. As an RP fan, I’ve even had the chance to roleplay with the caravan system, which is very enjoyable. In the future, with housing, it will be even better, I think. Huge thanks to the team at Intrepid Studio for giving us such a high-quality game, especially in alpha. I’ll be following the game’s development eagerly, as it gives me hope for a true MMORPG — one where players communicate, help each other, fight, and interact. Keep up the great work, and see you soon on Verra! (For Joeva!)

Thank you for reading, and sorry if there are any mistakes—English is not my native language.

Veeshan

nm