Subject: Feedback on Recent Stat and TTK Changes
Subject: Feedback on Recent Stat and TTK Changes
As an active player who has been deeply engaged with the game’s systems and combat, I wanted to offer some feedback on the recent stat changes and the increase in time-to-kill (TTK), which I believe have had a significantly negative impact on gameplay.
1. Stat Fatigue & Diminished Clarity
The recent change to item stats—moving from small, easily understandable values (e.g., +1–2 Strength or Intelligence) to values in the hundreds or thousands—has introduced a sense of "stat fatigue." These inflated numbers make it more difficult for players to parse the value of upgrades, creating confusion and diminishing the sense of progression. This mirrors a problem seen in other MMORPGs, such as World of Warcraft, which led them to implement multiple stat squishes over the years to restore clarity and meaning to gear upgrades.
2. Enchanting System Downgrade
Previously, enchanting gear felt meaningful and rewarding. Each enchant provided noticeable stat increases across the board, and the waterfall nature of stats meant that crafted and enchanted gear could be tailored in a way that felt impactful and unique. Now, enchantments contribute less than 1% to an item’s total stats, making them feel negligible. This removes a core layer of the gearing loop and turns enchanting from an exciting gold sink into something that’s barely worth engaging with.
Instead of altering the core enchantment system, a more balanced solution to TTK could have involved scaling down the offensive impact of Strength and Intelligence (e.g., reducing power gain per point), while simultaneously increasing the value of Constitution and Mentality to enhance survivability and defensive play.
3. PvP Feels Sluggish and Less Engaging
Ashes of Creation's PvP combat was one of its standout features—fast-paced, tactical, and rewarding. The recent changes have made it feel sluggish and unresponsive. With lower damage, reduced healing effectiveness, and haste being nerfed, combat lacks the tension and immediacy it once had.
From extensive PvP testing and scrims, we’ve found that engagements now often devolve into prolonged focus-targeting with raid-wide callouts, excessive in-combat resurrecting, and battles often only ending when support players run out of mana. This doesn’t encourage dynamic team play—it promotes monotony. If the intention was to raise TTK, a better approach would have been to distribute more defensive cooldowns and interrupts across classes to introduce tactical depth, rather than simply stretching fights by reducing all throughput.
4. PvE Combat Feels Chore-Like
Combat satisfaction in PvE has also been significantly reduced. Previously, players enjoyed the impact and power their characters exhibited when taking down mobs, bosses, and caravans. Now, everything feels slower and more punishing—not because it’s more challenging, but because combat lacks the visceral feedback and pacing that made it enjoyable. This undermines the PvE experience, turning engaging encounters into drawn-out slogs.
5. Loss of a Unique Gearing Experience
One of the most innovative parts of Ashes was its gearing system. Crafting high-rarity gear at lower levels and progressing through enchanting created a sense of agency and investment. Unfortunately, with the shift in stat scaling and the devaluation of early-level gear, players now skip directly to farming mobs for basic level 20 gear. This erases a large portion of the game's progression loop and removes incentive to interact with crafting, enchanting, or the broader economy during the early to mid-game.
The previous issue with static nodes could have been addressed through greater PvP contestability or randomization, rather than reworking the entire gearing model. The unique path of character progression through gear rarity and enchantment was one of Ashes’ strongest differentiators—and it should be preserved.
Closing Thoughts
While the intent to increase TTK is understandable, the way it was implemented has hurt multiple aspects of what made Ashes fun and engaging. A more targeted approach—such as tuning primary stat scaling and adjusting enchantment costs across tiers—could have maintained the unique gearing and combat identity of the game while achieving balance.
We appreciate your commitment to developing a living, evolving MMO, and we hope this feedback will be taken into consideration to restore the game's momentum and preserve what made its systems truly enjoyable.
*TM*
