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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.
A few things we didn't like in Alpha 2 - Phase 1
Daggial
Member, Alpha Two
I've been gathering feedback from people in our guild to give to the devs.
This post is mostly focusing on the negatives, and these are the things many of us didn't like so far:
1) Enchanting gear RNG.
The main reason why these RNG based systems exist in other games is because these games are pay to win, and incentivize players to spend more money on the game to have better stats, while also feed on gambling addictions.
Ashes of Creation is not a P2W game. These mechanics have no reason to exists.
(I will most likely crate a dedicated post in the future about this topic, proposing a couple ideas we have.)
2) Boss respawn timers need to be more RNG / have bigger spread.
For example: Tumok respawn timer is 71-73 hours, makes it very easy for whoever killed it last to spawn camp it the next time. Very zerg friendly mechanic atm.
3) Apprentice (lvl 10) scrolls for enchanting should not be sold at the node laboratory vendor. Same goes for buff scrolls and probably other consumables like food and potions.
Why do we have scribes (and other professions) at all? Need to feed hundreds of rubies and lots of gold to make a scribe level up to apprentice, when instead u can just buy what you need at the vendor for a few silver.
4) RNG output on some professions needs to go.
For example animal husbandry 50/50 mount or beast of burden, or tanning 33/33/33 on bones / skin / animal fat. We would rather spend a bit more on these processing jobs but be able to pick the output.
5) Remove combat stats from profession gear (shirts, pants, etc). or make them customizable.
It will create a meta where everyone with the same class is doing the same artisan professions, because it has the best stats for their combat build.
6) Caravans are just a personal endaevour.
Would love to see some system where a group or a guild can start a caravan together so we can help funding the guild.
Atm its impossible because glint is not tradable and also commodities are not tradable.
7) CC immunity "diminishing returns" on mobs is annoying.
This system was created for PvP scenarios and it's bad being stunlocked for the player being on the receiving end. We could understand bosses or named mobs having it maybe, but why do all normal mobs have it?
This post is mostly focusing on the negatives, and these are the things many of us didn't like so far:
1) Enchanting gear RNG.
The main reason why these RNG based systems exist in other games is because these games are pay to win, and incentivize players to spend more money on the game to have better stats, while also feed on gambling addictions.
Ashes of Creation is not a P2W game. These mechanics have no reason to exists.
(I will most likely crate a dedicated post in the future about this topic, proposing a couple ideas we have.)
2) Boss respawn timers need to be more RNG / have bigger spread.
For example: Tumok respawn timer is 71-73 hours, makes it very easy for whoever killed it last to spawn camp it the next time. Very zerg friendly mechanic atm.
3) Apprentice (lvl 10) scrolls for enchanting should not be sold at the node laboratory vendor. Same goes for buff scrolls and probably other consumables like food and potions.
Why do we have scribes (and other professions) at all? Need to feed hundreds of rubies and lots of gold to make a scribe level up to apprentice, when instead u can just buy what you need at the vendor for a few silver.
4) RNG output on some professions needs to go.
For example animal husbandry 50/50 mount or beast of burden, or tanning 33/33/33 on bones / skin / animal fat. We would rather spend a bit more on these processing jobs but be able to pick the output.
5) Remove combat stats from profession gear (shirts, pants, etc). or make them customizable.
It will create a meta where everyone with the same class is doing the same artisan professions, because it has the best stats for their combat build.
6) Caravans are just a personal endaevour.
Would love to see some system where a group or a guild can start a caravan together so we can help funding the guild.
Atm its impossible because glint is not tradable and also commodities are not tradable.
7) CC immunity "diminishing returns" on mobs is annoying.
This system was created for PvP scenarios and it's bad being stunlocked for the player being on the receiving end. We could understand bosses or named mobs having it maybe, but why do all normal mobs have it?
Monkey Business (EU) is RECRUITING
2
Comments
At the same time it serves as a lazy endgame gameplay loop implementation of vertical progression, adding more and more gear and runes and random pieces to attach a high ceiling RNG to them and tie them into power, which are either obtained by using the cash shop or an insane amount of grind or both.
In stark contrast lets look at a successful MMO game where the vertical progression was for a long time capped by the RNG of the drop instead of RNG of upgrading, the currency for that gear was time spent raiding not cash spent upgrading. A deterministic upgrade path makes for a better experience for everyone involved.