Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Alpha Two testing is currently taking place five days each week. More information about Phase II and Phase III 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 testing is currently taking place five days each week. More information about Phase II and Phase III 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.
Classes Need More Abilities - Not Only Archetype Skill Changes
Verus
Member, Alpha Two
Having a high range of available skill ceilings and playstyles from simple to complex is necessary, of course, to attract and retain a large variety of players.
The current iteration of archetypes have an insufficient maximum range of complexity. In other words, there is no archetype that offers a high skill ceiling and thus a motivation to get better at playing, given that there are no or very few opportunities to play differently and to employ a larger variety of situational skills. As we know, classes will modify the archetype's few abilities instead of providing a new set of abilities.
Unless a significant amount of abilities are added to archetypes as optional choices, combat gameplay will stay at its current simple level of complexity. It is well understood that archetypes must also offer simple ability sets and rotations, and the developers have recognized this multiple times — the need to allow players to choose a few empowered abilities vs. a selection of situational and varying skills for those who are interested in nuanced combat.
Even new players are enormously supported by such a design concept. If a new player is aware of a higher skill cap and more nuanced gameplay available to them if only they improve and learn, this sense of there being room to grow encourages a prolonged interest.
I implore the readers of this little post to vocalize this recognition, for the sake of the promise that is Ashes.
The current iteration of archetypes have an insufficient maximum range of complexity. In other words, there is no archetype that offers a high skill ceiling and thus a motivation to get better at playing, given that there are no or very few opportunities to play differently and to employ a larger variety of situational skills. As we know, classes will modify the archetype's few abilities instead of providing a new set of abilities.
Unless a significant amount of abilities are added to archetypes as optional choices, combat gameplay will stay at its current simple level of complexity. It is well understood that archetypes must also offer simple ability sets and rotations, and the developers have recognized this multiple times — the need to allow players to choose a few empowered abilities vs. a selection of situational and varying skills for those who are interested in nuanced combat.
Even new players are enormously supported by such a design concept. If a new player is aware of a higher skill cap and more nuanced gameplay available to them if only they improve and learn, this sense of there being room to grow encourages a prolonged interest.
I implore the readers of this little post to vocalize this recognition, for the sake of the promise that is Ashes.
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Comments
As for overall amount of abilities and build variances - that is the plan. We won't have enough skillpoints to get all the abilities, so we'll have to make choices.
Now I agree even in these two classes there needs to be some more options before level 25 for players to feel like they have a more unique style, but give credit where it's due. I'd like to see a little more of the 4 different subtype augments that each archetype is supposed to have in the main trees. Intrepid is working on it though so I'm fine waiting for it and providing feedback like this.