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.
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New player experience experiment.
MetalDad
Member, Alpha Two
Summary
I leveled a Mage from 1–10 solo, intentionally avoiding the most efficient path to simulate a common new-player experience: someone doing online research, exploring the world, learning their class, and trying to gear up through quests rather than raw mob grinding or zerg groups. I focused on token quests, early recipes, and storyline progression to see how it all flowed. Also, did this when the player population wasn’t crazy, which really effects the what and how leveling occurs.
What I discovered is that the current tuning creates a mismatch between effort, reward, and timing. By the time I finished the quests and earned the gear, I had already out-leveled the content it was meant for. The gear felt like a reward for a phase I had already outgrown. This wasn’t a one-off or edge case—it’s a likely path for players who want to understand the game organically.
More concerning, questing was dramatically slower than just grinding mobs. The time-to-reward ratio is way out of balance. That’s not just a numbers problem—it’s a design tension between exploration and progression. If quests are meant to provide a satisfying alternative to grinding, they need to deliver value earlier and more meaningfully.
This isn’t about chasing efficiency—it’s about making sure the game rewards players who engage deeply with its systems. Right now, intentional and immersive play feels inadvertently punished. The pacing undermines the sense of progression, and by the time you’ve earned the gear, you’ve already outgrown it. That disconnect turns what should be a satisfying early-game experience into a missed opportunity—and it’s something worth fixing.
.
Experience Overview
I started in Lion’s Hold and followed a logical questing path:
• Completed “Sweat of Your Brow” to get the horse.
• Grabbed package delivery quests, the treasure map quest (for a bag), commissions, and attempted to start purifier recipe quests (locked behind level 5).
• Headed to Samia’s Hope to pickup token quest line.
• Did initial quests near Biz Bug, then east toward Miraleth for zombie kills and token progress. This was tough solo with low DPS and drop rates; I needed help to finish it.
• Returned to Lion’s Hold to start the warhelm and bandit captain quests (now level 6). The captain was too difficult solo, so I pivoted to the warhelm recipe chain instead, getting to level 7 to solo captain
• After turning in token quests and package quests, I got my first batch of gear and hit level 9.
• Continued with RoS scout and goblin manifest quests, and eventually the starving wizard quest.
⸻
Quest-Specific Feedback
Zombie killing quest outside miraleth
Without a zerg around, this quest was super hard. Solo level 5 mage would have taken a very long time because of the drop rates. Had to pull in a high level helper on this one.
Scout RoS Quest:
Well-paced, slightly dangerous, rewarding. Solid quest.
Goblin Manifest Quest:
Needs serious rebalancing. The manifest drop rate is extremely low, and the volume of junk items makes the quest feel tedious. Getting 15 manifests, then being told to get another 15—with no lootable crates—is exhausting and unrewarding.
Starving Wizard (Wolf Meat) Quest:
Drop rate was ~1 in 8–10 wolves. Too low. PvP drama happened here too, which added spice, but doesn’t change the drop rate issue.
Tower Quest (Level 9):
I was able to get the first two chests. The third was too hard solo. By this point, I had more tokens than I needed anyway.
⸻
Main Takeaways
• Questing is not time-efficient for leveling.
Grinding mobs would’ve gotten me to level 10 in about 1/5th the time. I understand the goal isn’t to min-max, but the disparity is so large it devalues the quest path.
• Gear reward pacing is mismatched.
If the goal is to finish token quests around level 10, that works numerically—but not experientially. As a player, I’d expect to earn and use level-appropriate gear midway through a tier, not as I’m about to leave it behind.
• Quests felt satisfying, but not rewarding.
I finished with all my sub-10 gear… at level 9.75. Recipes I earned felt irrelevant for myself and only useful for market twinks. The economy isn’t fully live yet, but this highlights a mismatch between effort and practical value.
⸻
Suggestions
1. Adjust pacing so token gear is earned by level 5, not 9–10.
This keeps it relevant longer and provides a gear “ramp” instead of a gear “exit.”
2. Rebalance drop rates for all the starter quests, but manifest and meat quests especially.
3. Purifier Set Feedback:
• Positive: Recipe quests are meaningful, and the gear is superior to other starter sets.
• Issue: Players move through 0–10 too fast for it to matter. Making it felt like a waste unless you’re crafting for alts or market sales (which can’t happen in Lion’s Hold).
• Suggestion: Either:
• Make it T2 gear (relevant at level 10–15),
• Make it significantly stronger so it lasts through level 20,
• Or greatly reduce effort to craft and relocate a marketplace vendor near token turn-in.
4. Add light, medium, and weapon versions of the purifier gear to improve utility across classes.
⸻
Final Thought:
This feedback comes from the perspective of someone intentionally walking the path a new player is likely to take—engaging with the world, experimenting with class mechanics, and seeking gear through quests rather than shortcuts. The questlines themselves show real promise in terms of structure and tone, but the overall progression loop feels misaligned. When the rewards arrive too late to be useful, and the leveling path feels more punishing than exploratory, the game risks discouraging the kind of thoughtful, immersive play it should encourage.
It’s important to remember that the journey to level 10 is just an introduction. This phase doesn’t need to be punishing or deliver long-term gear—it just needs to set players off on the right foot. It should teach the core systems, offer a taste of the world’s depth, and deliver timely, meaningful rewards that feel connected to the effort. Done right, this part of the experience can build player confidence and momentum—not burn it.
I leveled a Mage from 1–10 solo, intentionally avoiding the most efficient path to simulate a common new-player experience: someone doing online research, exploring the world, learning their class, and trying to gear up through quests rather than raw mob grinding or zerg groups. I focused on token quests, early recipes, and storyline progression to see how it all flowed. Also, did this when the player population wasn’t crazy, which really effects the what and how leveling occurs.
What I discovered is that the current tuning creates a mismatch between effort, reward, and timing. By the time I finished the quests and earned the gear, I had already out-leveled the content it was meant for. The gear felt like a reward for a phase I had already outgrown. This wasn’t a one-off or edge case—it’s a likely path for players who want to understand the game organically.
More concerning, questing was dramatically slower than just grinding mobs. The time-to-reward ratio is way out of balance. That’s not just a numbers problem—it’s a design tension between exploration and progression. If quests are meant to provide a satisfying alternative to grinding, they need to deliver value earlier and more meaningfully.
This isn’t about chasing efficiency—it’s about making sure the game rewards players who engage deeply with its systems. Right now, intentional and immersive play feels inadvertently punished. The pacing undermines the sense of progression, and by the time you’ve earned the gear, you’ve already outgrown it. That disconnect turns what should be a satisfying early-game experience into a missed opportunity—and it’s something worth fixing.
.
Experience Overview
I started in Lion’s Hold and followed a logical questing path:
• Completed “Sweat of Your Brow” to get the horse.
• Grabbed package delivery quests, the treasure map quest (for a bag), commissions, and attempted to start purifier recipe quests (locked behind level 5).
• Headed to Samia’s Hope to pickup token quest line.
• Did initial quests near Biz Bug, then east toward Miraleth for zombie kills and token progress. This was tough solo with low DPS and drop rates; I needed help to finish it.
• Returned to Lion’s Hold to start the warhelm and bandit captain quests (now level 6). The captain was too difficult solo, so I pivoted to the warhelm recipe chain instead, getting to level 7 to solo captain
• After turning in token quests and package quests, I got my first batch of gear and hit level 9.
• Continued with RoS scout and goblin manifest quests, and eventually the starving wizard quest.
⸻
Quest-Specific Feedback
Zombie killing quest outside miraleth
Without a zerg around, this quest was super hard. Solo level 5 mage would have taken a very long time because of the drop rates. Had to pull in a high level helper on this one.
Scout RoS Quest:
Well-paced, slightly dangerous, rewarding. Solid quest.
Goblin Manifest Quest:
Needs serious rebalancing. The manifest drop rate is extremely low, and the volume of junk items makes the quest feel tedious. Getting 15 manifests, then being told to get another 15—with no lootable crates—is exhausting and unrewarding.
Starving Wizard (Wolf Meat) Quest:
Drop rate was ~1 in 8–10 wolves. Too low. PvP drama happened here too, which added spice, but doesn’t change the drop rate issue.
Tower Quest (Level 9):
I was able to get the first two chests. The third was too hard solo. By this point, I had more tokens than I needed anyway.
⸻
Main Takeaways
• Questing is not time-efficient for leveling.
Grinding mobs would’ve gotten me to level 10 in about 1/5th the time. I understand the goal isn’t to min-max, but the disparity is so large it devalues the quest path.
• Gear reward pacing is mismatched.
If the goal is to finish token quests around level 10, that works numerically—but not experientially. As a player, I’d expect to earn and use level-appropriate gear midway through a tier, not as I’m about to leave it behind.
• Quests felt satisfying, but not rewarding.
I finished with all my sub-10 gear… at level 9.75. Recipes I earned felt irrelevant for myself and only useful for market twinks. The economy isn’t fully live yet, but this highlights a mismatch between effort and practical value.
⸻
Suggestions
1. Adjust pacing so token gear is earned by level 5, not 9–10.
This keeps it relevant longer and provides a gear “ramp” instead of a gear “exit.”
2. Rebalance drop rates for all the starter quests, but manifest and meat quests especially.
3. Purifier Set Feedback:
• Positive: Recipe quests are meaningful, and the gear is superior to other starter sets.
• Issue: Players move through 0–10 too fast for it to matter. Making it felt like a waste unless you’re crafting for alts or market sales (which can’t happen in Lion’s Hold).
• Suggestion: Either:
• Make it T2 gear (relevant at level 10–15),
• Make it significantly stronger so it lasts through level 20,
• Or greatly reduce effort to craft and relocate a marketplace vendor near token turn-in.
4. Add light, medium, and weapon versions of the purifier gear to improve utility across classes.
⸻
Final Thought:
This feedback comes from the perspective of someone intentionally walking the path a new player is likely to take—engaging with the world, experimenting with class mechanics, and seeking gear through quests rather than shortcuts. The questlines themselves show real promise in terms of structure and tone, but the overall progression loop feels misaligned. When the rewards arrive too late to be useful, and the leveling path feels more punishing than exploratory, the game risks discouraging the kind of thoughtful, immersive play it should encourage.
It’s important to remember that the journey to level 10 is just an introduction. This phase doesn’t need to be punishing or deliver long-term gear—it just needs to set players off on the right foot. It should teach the core systems, offer a taste of the world’s depth, and deliver timely, meaningful rewards that feel connected to the effort. Done right, this part of the experience can build player confidence and momentum—not burn it.
7
Comments
Well done, you sum up the problem well.
I would much rather quest than mindlessly grind mobs, even if its less efficient... but 1/5? Ouch. If you intend to play with friends, I guess roll separate toons so you can keep up as they grind, and then enjoy the quests slowlo.
It’s useful to see how the early experience plays out when someone leans into exploration and questing over raw efficiency. The points about pacing and how rewards land relative to level progression raise some interesting questions.
Curious how others are feeling about the early-game flow! Does this align with your experience, or have you found different paths that felt smoother?
Btw - There was a Dev Discussion on the topic of New Tester Experience recently. You may find some interesting feedback and thought-starters in there! You can find that here: https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/67290/dev-discussion-76-the-new-tester-experience