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Server First's and Secrets
Goldone
Member, Alpha One, Adventurer
I recently began rewatching Sword Art Online and it inspired an idea. While watching the show a character unlocked a secret ability that was only available to the first person who unlocks it. I recall Steven once speaking about server first titles and abilities, which led me to the following.
Would implementing hidden artifacts and easter eggs that unlocked abilities that were only accessible to the person who finds them something that people would be keen on having? Would it being character bound or bound to whoever has the item that unlocks it be better? What types of secret finds and items would be interesting for players to find?
My example:
A player is out exploring and finds a rune on a wall marked with a specific sigil. They realize it has the symbol that looks similar to the torch item. They wait for night time to settle in and return with a torch and a hidden passage reveals itself. The descend down the stairs to find a wall with a series of markings that appear to be a ritual. They then use emotes to recreate the ritual dance depicted. A pedestal lifts and has a fire rune artifact on it. The player takes the item and while it is in their inventory they have access to a fire ritual ability that increases fire damage by allies in a certain range for a duration upon use.
I'd love to hear other ideas and critiques.
Would implementing hidden artifacts and easter eggs that unlocked abilities that were only accessible to the person who finds them something that people would be keen on having? Would it being character bound or bound to whoever has the item that unlocks it be better? What types of secret finds and items would be interesting for players to find?
My example:
A player is out exploring and finds a rune on a wall marked with a specific sigil. They realize it has the symbol that looks similar to the torch item. They wait for night time to settle in and return with a torch and a hidden passage reveals itself. The descend down the stairs to find a wall with a series of markings that appear to be a ritual. They then use emotes to recreate the ritual dance depicted. A pedestal lifts and has a fire rune artifact on it. The player takes the item and while it is in their inventory they have access to a fire ritual ability that increases fire damage by allies in a certain range for a duration upon use.
I'd love to hear other ideas and critiques.
3
Comments
In terms of Ashes. I don't think having random secrets give people some sort of exclusive reward is a good idea. It seems like a bad fit for the game. Having the rewards be artifacts or unlocked abilities is even worst. You are giving people advantages for just happening upon random secrets. Unless the relics and abilities are so cryptic that it would take people years to figure out. I would never want to see anything like this. Even then I think the DEVs could do better things with their time that makes the game better for the entire player base.
If I had more time, I would write a shorter post.
Quoting the Wiki section on Achievements:
Achievements will be across multiple servers, not just for guilds or groups.
It kind of redefines what the players will experience in an MMORPG to come into a wilderness that is devoid of really any structure outside of what the community creates themselves; and then what can be created can be changed, if they want to experience a storyline that's been seen on another server, but you know you're fighting a dragon because you're near a mountain and the other server's fighting a Kraken because they're near the coast and you want to fight that Kraken because of its drop table. If you want to meta it or because you just want that under your belt: to be the server first to take out that Kraken and you have yet to develop the node there, you know it's incumbent upon you to manifest that in the game.– Steven Sharif
Dear God please don't let Ranger Track be a useless pve skill and sub par to pathfinding.
sry I was praying out loud
I have a teeth brush its for more than one tooth, now you know my secret.
Having to hunt for skills is an interesting idea, it's been well done before, in the original Guild Wars (if I remember right) and there was something of the sort in Shadowbane too, I think (didn't play it myself). But limiting the access to a first time discovery sounds like a big no no. Although the race to get these skills when a new server opens would be crazy to take part in.
To make it more interesting, these events would have requirements. You know how WoW does "pre-patch" before a new expansion? It could be new NPCs or new things appearing like 2 months before anything happened, giving certain hints of holding certain items, killing X mob, etc. so then only a select number of people get into the events. Otherwise it would lose the unique factor as well if anyone could participate all the time.
Kirito did accomplish something for the Dual Weilding though, it was given to the player with the fastest reaction time. Thats accumulated from all of his actions ever, compared to all other players' total actions giving an average. The anime did a HORRIBLE job explaining some things.
With that said though, I don't think Ashes needs secret/special/unique skills bestowed upon one or few individuals, lest the requirements for those skills allow for someone else to take the position, leading to the prior holder losing said skill.
But i do love me some Titles and server first accolades.
Lol laughed so hard at this.
I think the compromise is respawnable events that happen on infrequent timers. RIFT had micro events that randomly popped up (merchant of death, dragon dueling), WoW has rare mount spawns and micro events, etc. This allows people to have something special and retain that unique-ness for a long time to come and even if the beans are spilled by online guides or through streams, the infrequency of the event timers plus random spawn points will prevent too much camping and frequency of completion.
I think making it so it may be dropped upon death if said player is killed while corrupted, could create some interesting social interactions too.
People plotting to somehow get said person to be corrupted, and then hunting them down for a chance at his mount to be "stolen".