Gday guys,

I am looking to discuss Lycan progression mechanics as they currently stand and permanent upgrades through the Altar of Norala during the full moon. I would like to state from the onset that I love lycan and it's mechanics and chose early on to be perma wolf. I play Lycan/Psych and am looking to dabble in Lycan/Ment soon. I am currently 51/50.

I am not an expert in Lycan, far from it. I am looking for some feedback on a couple of things. Maybe one of the devs can chime in if they find the time.

This is not a whinge or a call for change. I am just curious.
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I started Lycan a couple of days after the previous full moon. We are currently in a full moon as you all know. I hit 50 in Lycan in roughly 2 weeks of very very casual play. I am a grinder by nature in all mmos, be it level xp or gear. I also love farming for mats, and surveying is my thing, hands down. But I digress...

I was very excited to be part of my first full moon. I did all my altar quests, accumulating 12 tokens.

After buying the first upgrade (Increases the Lycanthropy level cap from 50 to 60, 3 tokens), I was aware that a number of other skills could be upgraded for a total of 8 more tokens, with one spare token, which I was going to use for Hunting Speed +1. One full moon cycle, 12 altar tasks, 12 tokens, once a month....check!

I was told a couple of days prior to the full moon that I could pre-buy the level 60-70 unlock for (90k odd) councils at the altar when it opened up. To my, and other seasoned perma wolf players' surprise (when we got to the altar and spent 11 tokens) it had been gated behind 3 more tokens at the altar after purchasing the last lvl 60 skill.

So after some minor addition it would take 14 tokens to purchase the aforementioned skills and unlock level 60-70. 14 tokens requires 2 full moon cycles, therefore a period of two months. Thanks for sticking with me so far. I do tend to waffle on.

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My query is this...

Unlocking 50-60 and 60-70 (or is that 50-70??) for any other skill is currently gated behind a council pay wall through a specific NPC. You can go from 0-70 as fast as you wish and have the councils for. Lets assume you can do this in a week, at worst a couple of weeks of casual play for any particular skill.

Has the 60-70 unlock for Lycan always been behind a 3 token gate? I have been advised otherwise, hence the 90k council cost. Keeping this in mind, if that was the case, you could level Lycan from 0-50 prior to the first full moon and then 50-70 as fast as you wanted after that, even before the next full moon.

The way it stands now, if in fact there was a change at the altar, you can get from 0-50 before the first full moon, then 50-60 as fast as you wanted after that, but have to wait for the next full moon to unlock 60-70. So effectively you are forced behind a time gate as the full moon is on a predetermined cycle.

If I hit 60 in the next couple of days, I have to stay level 60 for roughly 3 weeks before being able to progress any further. Is this intended to curb the speed at which people level Lycan?

Is the token gate and therefore a time gate until the next full moon there because it does not cost councils to progress to level 70? Is it a compromise of sorts?

Is this as a result of Lycan lore, that I simply do not understand?

Would the addition of 2 more altar tasks for a total of 14 points and therefore token unlocks all the way to 60-70 be detrimental to the overall vision the devs had for Lycan? Further to this, would the movement of the 60-70 unlock up the skill list, to be included in the first available 12 tokens, have this same effect?

If there was a change from councils to tokens for the 60-70 unlock, what is the theory behind it?

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To get all the permanent upgrades (including 48 storage slots) you need 3 full moons, hence three months, and this is fine. There should be a time gate for unlocking everything in a skill line. I just do not understand why implement that same time gate for progressing in levels. It seems to hinder Lycans, when other skills are not subject to such constraints. Councils are far easier to find in comparison to having to wait for a four week cycle to come around.

As it stands, those Lycans that are leveling and stuck in the level 60 phase, generally do not run as a Lycan with the higher players and use other higher level skills, if they have them. For those players like me that only really have the wolf and a secondary skill, I guess we just plod along doing other things to fill the time.

Thanks Grr Howl time...