Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Alpha Two Phase II testing is currently taking place 5+ days each week. More information about testing schedule can be found here
If you have Alpha Two, you can download the game launcher here, and we encourage you to join us on our Official Discord Server for the most up to date testing news.
Alpha Two Phase II testing is currently taking place 5+ days each week. More information about testing schedule can be found here
If you have Alpha Two, you can download the game launcher here, and we encourage you to join us on our Official Discord Server for the most up to date testing news.
Testing Feedback
Pallywagz
Member, Alpha Two
I would like to start this off by saying that I have been closely following the game since the Lazy Peon video. Every stream, post, youtube video etc etc. You've probably seen me in twitch chat or youtube comments a ton. The friend group I game with and hang out with every day, I found because some of them were streaming Alpha 1. So this game has made a massive impact on my life and has been a huge part of my life for the last however many years.
This is not meant to be deconstructive or a rant by any means. Just some feedback on the game, on the way we are testing systems and some insight into why the general vibe has changed for parts of the community.
Showcases:
It was really disappointing realizing the showcases weren't the current state of progress in game. When something is a work in progress and you do a showcase, I assumed that was where you were at with that specific system or biomes in the game. When I voiced those opinions, I was treated (by the community) like I didn't know what an alpha was, or I hadn't been following the game long enough to know what they had shown us. I know exactly what I was shown and at the time it was implied that it was the current state of the work, which I thought meant "in the game". It's my own fault for expecting too much after years of continued development after Alpha 1, so that's on me. I can see why people would feel like they were mislead, and it was very counter productive towards bringing in new testers. Currently, if you bring up this project in other MMO communities it is dismissed as a scam. Which is very sad to see because I know and you all know that is not the case. In my opinion, there could be a little more insight into the current state of things shown in showcases, or a heads up about what people are actually looking at. For example, the desert showcase could've been started with "this is what it could look like with the assets we are creating", or even just straight up saying "it will not look like this in phase 1". Instead people were surprised when they found out that was not the in game desert, which is not a good look from an outside perspective. Players will have flashbacks to all the times they were promised something in a game and it turns out that it was just a rendering and will never actually be in the game. What is in the desert looks good, but it is not what was in the showcase. I hope you can see where people get frustrated or confused with that stuff.
Time investment:
When I bought access I was fully prepared to be a tester and not a gamer. When alpha 2 started, I quickly found out that you HAVE to be a gamer until you hit a decent level "20+". I think the leveling process is hindering the progress of testing and the progress of the game in general. Not only is it driving away players like crazy, but it's also slowing down the feedback you receive. So when you are listening to feedback on certain systems, you are only hearing it from the people who have no life'd the game and had enough numbers to do so. That is not healthy for the product or the development of game systems. For example: I no life'd phase 1, and yet I was never able to test certain aspects of phase 1 due to the requirements needed to do the content. I'm not saying my feedback would've been right or wrong, but as a long time MMO player and raider, it might have been useful if thrown into the "feedback bin" per say. I make this point just because I know I'm not the only one who experienced that, my entire guild did. I'm still following the game, I'm still watching streams, and I'll continue to support the content creators. I'm just not going to do the leveling grind again until I feel like there is enough new stuff to test that it would be worth the amount of time I have to invest. I would also like more info on server wipes or new servers before I decide to dump a ton of time into it. Not because I want to keep my character or anything, but literally just because I don't want to keep grinding mobs for weeks at a time. I am aware that is not the end goal for leveling or in-game content, but that is currently what you have to do just to be able to test certain aspects of the alpha. This is a very crucial time in the development of this game, and I think the time investment required is holding a lot of players back from being able to give feedback. At launch having a large time requirement is awesome, but this is supposedly not a game and only a test phase. Why require such a large time commitment?
Testing vs Gaming:
People keep saying "testers" not "gamers", but the majority of people you talk to have never submitted a ticket, never made a forum post, a youtube comment, NOTHING. I think this is actually my first feedback post on the forums and I've been following the game for years. I think the way feedback is given works but could be so much better. In my opinion, focused tests with the Alpha 2 players would greatly benefit the game. Instead of just wandering aimlessly all the time (playing a game mindset), have the players focus on something for a few hours once a week. Not only does that benefit that particular system being tested, but could also bring back players who had lost a sense of purpose in a testing environment. I know that having players just do their thing is a good way to see how players would act in a real game environment, but eventually you ask yourself "what am I supposed to be testing?". Some focused testing with quick surveys afterwards would provide some really good feedback from players who probably wouldn't have made the effort to post in forums etc.
Exploiters:
I said this before Alpha 2 and I still hold the same opinions on it. The development of the game needs people who will find all of the exploits, broken classes, OP weapons etc etc. Find it all now so the game doesn't launch with them. If people were really treating this as a test and not a game, nobody would care about exploiters.... but people act as if it is a live and launched server. If Intrepid asks players not to do something and it is done anyways, then action should be taken. I'm not asking for bans, because if you ban everyone who has exploited, then who is going to find that stuff later on? It's not going to be the lvl 13 who only plays a few hours a week, so you need the people who push the boundaries. Stop complaining about it. No, I didn't exploit or get my character deleted in Phase 1 btw. Just because someone made it to 25 before you did, doesn't mean they exploited either.. lmao.
PvP:
It is way too confusing. The more rules we add to it, the more confusing it gets. Being able to drop your flag out in the world after starting drama is absolutely terrible. PvP players live in constant fear of corruption even in consensual PvP or events. Some people just avoid it all together for that reason. Players who don't typically PvP are definitely avoiding it in this game due to the corruption system. I hate that, because I thought this would be the game that slowly encouraged people to PvP. Instead it has reinforced their PvE gameplay (so far, I know "its alpha"). The choice of turning on your flag isn't a big deal at all because you can just turn it off right after. This promotes corruption baiting and other gameplay techniques that are just frustrating for everyone. Lastly, being able to war dec anywhere is not fun. People are dropping dec's just to contest bosses or grind spots, which I don't believe was the intended design for the guild war system. The more ways you give players to be degens, the more they will abuse those systems. "Every rule creates 2 loopholes".
Classes:
For only being lvl 25 and only in Alpha 2, the classes feel really good. Abilities feel impactful, the buttons feel good to press, combos are always fun and just the overall combat is a blast. Amazing job. I know some are skeptical of the choices that currently in the talent trees, but we are only lvl 25 and do not have secondary archetypes yet. I don't think we have any reason to doubt. The only thing I will say, is I hope the secondary archetypes really bring out different playstyles for classes such as tank and healer since there is only 1 option for those combat roles. I main a healer in every MMORPG I play, and I usually play multiple different styles of healer depending on the content. It is a fun gameplay loop for me and most healers I know do the same.
Caravans:
I really didn't think I would enjoy this system at all the entire time I followed the game before A2. I was wrong. It is a ton of fun and promotes PvP, even in it's current alpha state. Traversing the Riverlands at .03 mph has somehow turned into one of my favorite gameplay mechanics. It's nice to have something that is slow and relaxing in a game where you're usually pushing yourself or competing. Just sit back and chat with the boys while you wait for attackers.
Environment:
This opinion ruffles feathers apparently, so sorry in advance. I am a huge fantasy world enjoyer. Magic, spell effects, glowing trees, bioluminescent plants, etc etc. I think the Riverlands could really benefit from more of that stuff just to separate itself from a normal Riverlands vibe. I know people like to hate on New World but I think they did a great job with this in Edengrove and with the Azoth Tree. Hints of that kind of stuff spread throughout the world really brings out the fantasy vibes. Something that seperates Verra's Riverlands from others. It's hard to explain and im probably gonna get flamed for this. Oh well.
Overall I like the direction the game is headed and I believe it has the potential to be a great MMORPG. Although there have been some "rough patches" I have really enjoyed following the game and look forward to future development updates. I know this was way too long but I am passionate about MMOs and I really want this one to be good.
Yes I know, "it's an alpha".
GGs.
This is not meant to be deconstructive or a rant by any means. Just some feedback on the game, on the way we are testing systems and some insight into why the general vibe has changed for parts of the community.
Showcases:
It was really disappointing realizing the showcases weren't the current state of progress in game. When something is a work in progress and you do a showcase, I assumed that was where you were at with that specific system or biomes in the game. When I voiced those opinions, I was treated (by the community) like I didn't know what an alpha was, or I hadn't been following the game long enough to know what they had shown us. I know exactly what I was shown and at the time it was implied that it was the current state of the work, which I thought meant "in the game". It's my own fault for expecting too much after years of continued development after Alpha 1, so that's on me. I can see why people would feel like they were mislead, and it was very counter productive towards bringing in new testers. Currently, if you bring up this project in other MMO communities it is dismissed as a scam. Which is very sad to see because I know and you all know that is not the case. In my opinion, there could be a little more insight into the current state of things shown in showcases, or a heads up about what people are actually looking at. For example, the desert showcase could've been started with "this is what it could look like with the assets we are creating", or even just straight up saying "it will not look like this in phase 1". Instead people were surprised when they found out that was not the in game desert, which is not a good look from an outside perspective. Players will have flashbacks to all the times they were promised something in a game and it turns out that it was just a rendering and will never actually be in the game. What is in the desert looks good, but it is not what was in the showcase. I hope you can see where people get frustrated or confused with that stuff.
Time investment:
When I bought access I was fully prepared to be a tester and not a gamer. When alpha 2 started, I quickly found out that you HAVE to be a gamer until you hit a decent level "20+". I think the leveling process is hindering the progress of testing and the progress of the game in general. Not only is it driving away players like crazy, but it's also slowing down the feedback you receive. So when you are listening to feedback on certain systems, you are only hearing it from the people who have no life'd the game and had enough numbers to do so. That is not healthy for the product or the development of game systems. For example: I no life'd phase 1, and yet I was never able to test certain aspects of phase 1 due to the requirements needed to do the content. I'm not saying my feedback would've been right or wrong, but as a long time MMO player and raider, it might have been useful if thrown into the "feedback bin" per say. I make this point just because I know I'm not the only one who experienced that, my entire guild did. I'm still following the game, I'm still watching streams, and I'll continue to support the content creators. I'm just not going to do the leveling grind again until I feel like there is enough new stuff to test that it would be worth the amount of time I have to invest. I would also like more info on server wipes or new servers before I decide to dump a ton of time into it. Not because I want to keep my character or anything, but literally just because I don't want to keep grinding mobs for weeks at a time. I am aware that is not the end goal for leveling or in-game content, but that is currently what you have to do just to be able to test certain aspects of the alpha. This is a very crucial time in the development of this game, and I think the time investment required is holding a lot of players back from being able to give feedback. At launch having a large time requirement is awesome, but this is supposedly not a game and only a test phase. Why require such a large time commitment?
Testing vs Gaming:
People keep saying "testers" not "gamers", but the majority of people you talk to have never submitted a ticket, never made a forum post, a youtube comment, NOTHING. I think this is actually my first feedback post on the forums and I've been following the game for years. I think the way feedback is given works but could be so much better. In my opinion, focused tests with the Alpha 2 players would greatly benefit the game. Instead of just wandering aimlessly all the time (playing a game mindset), have the players focus on something for a few hours once a week. Not only does that benefit that particular system being tested, but could also bring back players who had lost a sense of purpose in a testing environment. I know that having players just do their thing is a good way to see how players would act in a real game environment, but eventually you ask yourself "what am I supposed to be testing?". Some focused testing with quick surveys afterwards would provide some really good feedback from players who probably wouldn't have made the effort to post in forums etc.
Exploiters:
I said this before Alpha 2 and I still hold the same opinions on it. The development of the game needs people who will find all of the exploits, broken classes, OP weapons etc etc. Find it all now so the game doesn't launch with them. If people were really treating this as a test and not a game, nobody would care about exploiters.... but people act as if it is a live and launched server. If Intrepid asks players not to do something and it is done anyways, then action should be taken. I'm not asking for bans, because if you ban everyone who has exploited, then who is going to find that stuff later on? It's not going to be the lvl 13 who only plays a few hours a week, so you need the people who push the boundaries. Stop complaining about it. No, I didn't exploit or get my character deleted in Phase 1 btw. Just because someone made it to 25 before you did, doesn't mean they exploited either.. lmao.
PvP:
It is way too confusing. The more rules we add to it, the more confusing it gets. Being able to drop your flag out in the world after starting drama is absolutely terrible. PvP players live in constant fear of corruption even in consensual PvP or events. Some people just avoid it all together for that reason. Players who don't typically PvP are definitely avoiding it in this game due to the corruption system. I hate that, because I thought this would be the game that slowly encouraged people to PvP. Instead it has reinforced their PvE gameplay (so far, I know "its alpha"). The choice of turning on your flag isn't a big deal at all because you can just turn it off right after. This promotes corruption baiting and other gameplay techniques that are just frustrating for everyone. Lastly, being able to war dec anywhere is not fun. People are dropping dec's just to contest bosses or grind spots, which I don't believe was the intended design for the guild war system. The more ways you give players to be degens, the more they will abuse those systems. "Every rule creates 2 loopholes".
Classes:
For only being lvl 25 and only in Alpha 2, the classes feel really good. Abilities feel impactful, the buttons feel good to press, combos are always fun and just the overall combat is a blast. Amazing job. I know some are skeptical of the choices that currently in the talent trees, but we are only lvl 25 and do not have secondary archetypes yet. I don't think we have any reason to doubt. The only thing I will say, is I hope the secondary archetypes really bring out different playstyles for classes such as tank and healer since there is only 1 option for those combat roles. I main a healer in every MMORPG I play, and I usually play multiple different styles of healer depending on the content. It is a fun gameplay loop for me and most healers I know do the same.
Caravans:
I really didn't think I would enjoy this system at all the entire time I followed the game before A2. I was wrong. It is a ton of fun and promotes PvP, even in it's current alpha state. Traversing the Riverlands at .03 mph has somehow turned into one of my favorite gameplay mechanics. It's nice to have something that is slow and relaxing in a game where you're usually pushing yourself or competing. Just sit back and chat with the boys while you wait for attackers.
Environment:
This opinion ruffles feathers apparently, so sorry in advance. I am a huge fantasy world enjoyer. Magic, spell effects, glowing trees, bioluminescent plants, etc etc. I think the Riverlands could really benefit from more of that stuff just to separate itself from a normal Riverlands vibe. I know people like to hate on New World but I think they did a great job with this in Edengrove and with the Azoth Tree. Hints of that kind of stuff spread throughout the world really brings out the fantasy vibes. Something that seperates Verra's Riverlands from others. It's hard to explain and im probably gonna get flamed for this. Oh well.
Overall I like the direction the game is headed and I believe it has the potential to be a great MMORPG. Although there have been some "rough patches" I have really enjoyed following the game and look forward to future development updates. I know this was way too long but I am passionate about MMOs and I really want this one to be good.
Yes I know, "it's an alpha".
GGs.
Balding but not old
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