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Alpha Two Phase II testing is currently taking place 5+ days each week. More information about testing schedule can be found here
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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.
The problem with gear, waterfall stats and enchanting
Imnotkio
Member, Alpha Two
I think everyone knows by now the meta is to enchant gear with base stats (str/con/int) rather than use the more specific stats (phs power rating, max health, armor, etc).
Issue
The way gear works right now together with the enchant system makes any gear without base stats not usable
Reasoning
It's a very obvious issue. When you enchant strength by 1, you get 3 physical power rating, 1 physical accuracy rating, and 1 physical penetration rating. When you enchant a piece of gear, even if it has all these 3 stats, it's still going to be worse. Not to mention you'd need 3 stat slots to do the job of 1. When you have both base stats and waterfall stats, with a system that enchants the gear to upgrade stats, base stats will always be more worth it.
Suggestion
Balancing it so waterfall stats get more value per enchanting would only create a bigger power creep than what we already have. If you enchant you increase str by 1, and let's say phs power rating by 5 to balance and make all gear valid, all you are doing is now creating the possibility to stack ridiculous amounts of phs power and break the system.
You could also make it so that gear has the same amount of waterfall stats. If one piece has str, another piece will need at least 5 waterfall stats (Ex: phs power, armor, max health, phs accuracy, magical evasion) to be equivalent. I also think this is a weird and bad solution because if you have gear with 2 base stats things get out of hand and you need gear with either 1 base stat and 5 waterfall stats or 10 waterfall stats.
I think the simplest solution would be to just remove base stats from gear. Having to build for specific waterfall stats makes much more sense, doesn't create power creep (probably reduces it), and creates much more build diversity (I can focus on critical chance or attack speed for instance, instead of just going for blanket stats like str or dex)
Base stats could be introduced in other parts of gear, parts that are not enchanted and don't create the same issue. Also, I think base stats could be something you put points in while leveling up
Issue
The way gear works right now together with the enchant system makes any gear without base stats not usable
Reasoning
It's a very obvious issue. When you enchant strength by 1, you get 3 physical power rating, 1 physical accuracy rating, and 1 physical penetration rating. When you enchant a piece of gear, even if it has all these 3 stats, it's still going to be worse. Not to mention you'd need 3 stat slots to do the job of 1. When you have both base stats and waterfall stats, with a system that enchants the gear to upgrade stats, base stats will always be more worth it.
Suggestion
Balancing it so waterfall stats get more value per enchanting would only create a bigger power creep than what we already have. If you enchant you increase str by 1, and let's say phs power rating by 5 to balance and make all gear valid, all you are doing is now creating the possibility to stack ridiculous amounts of phs power and break the system.
You could also make it so that gear has the same amount of waterfall stats. If one piece has str, another piece will need at least 5 waterfall stats (Ex: phs power, armor, max health, phs accuracy, magical evasion) to be equivalent. I also think this is a weird and bad solution because if you have gear with 2 base stats things get out of hand and you need gear with either 1 base stat and 5 waterfall stats or 10 waterfall stats.
I think the simplest solution would be to just remove base stats from gear. Having to build for specific waterfall stats makes much more sense, doesn't create power creep (probably reduces it), and creates much more build diversity (I can focus on critical chance or attack speed for instance, instead of just going for blanket stats like str or dex)
Base stats could be introduced in other parts of gear, parts that are not enchanted and don't create the same issue. Also, I think base stats could be something you put points in while leveling up
2
Comments
Massive power gaps will just add to balance issues, from individual level to guild politics, and gatekeep players from game content. I don't see players with less free time paying a sub to be a punching bag for the "stat elite".
Blown past falling sands…
The formula curves just aren't finished yet, probably because balance isn't done yet.
BDO is a simple example of how these are implemented. TL is a more recent, better one.
It's just another unfinished system of many. I don't like to give the 'well duh it's Alpha' response, but this is a thing that most devs know that they need to do, and know roughly how to do, but the specifics of it often need to be tweaked.
Especially when you're 'falling behind' in the very specific way that AoC is (it's not actually falling behind, but you can bet there would be a lot of people who accuse them of 'ripping off' systems from other games even if those systems/methods are basically the only sensible way to do/balance certain things).
Maybe better to 'rip the band-aid off' and do them all at once later when people are more invested and don't have the immediacy of a game that is further along in the same design line, to look at.
Not to mention it removes the ability to do things like put stat requirements on equipment, Which is a way of limiting what people can use based on something realistic, with out attaching it to a class, or some arbitrary made up rule.
Main stats should come from the class you pick, either as base increases when you level, or selected by the player, or both.
Well, we know that things are work in progress but we don't know what they intend for these more specific details.
My approach is as such: Give feedback on everything I see. If it's a placeholder implementation and it's going to change later, that's fine. Hopefully, they take the feedback into account when actually implementing the intended design.
If it's not a placeholder implementation, then it is better that we give feedback now than to wait until late and realize it is not going to change and it's too late to change.