Discuss Dev Blog: April 2, 2019

[Cirsee]

I think it would be great to have the option of duoing with the War Caches.. they sound like fun. My hubby and I like to duo and occasionally we trio with another friend. Small group stuff would be fun. But I like the solo things too for those time when I just want to kill stuff on my own.

As to the transmutation.. I haven't learned how to do all that stuff yet. Way too much to try and learn yet.

[Skrunky]

Please let us go into the same War Cache dungeons with our party mates, even if we need multiple maps. I didn't think this game was the type to have forced solo play. We all want to see the hard work that you put into making these mini dungeons, but if I can't do it with my leveling buddy then I probably never will. Doing separate dungeons is just not as fun.

[Swanzo]

Lycan was destroyed in the last patch not sure how anyone thinks another nerf is needed. I didn't say anything about the last nerf because it was needed. I registered and put this post up because it seems crazy to think another is needed.

[Golliathe]

I would like to suggest that the "things to do" in game have one final entry: seek out Makara in the desert. It is so important to have players be transmuting early on as it lets them make the gear they need instead of getting 5-10 purple/gold drops and then being able to use the most perfect one.

Dailies don't give level 50 gear solo, they are more group oriented, and give money/tokens.

If you go through these missions and open chests you will get a full set of lvl 50 purple/gold gear in time (every so often you can get 55 gear from the missions).

Part of the difficulty of this game for new players is that you can't alter your gear. Being able to reroll attributes makes all the difference in the world.

Please let us go into the same War Cache dungeons with our party mates, even if we need multiple maps. I didn't think this game was the type to have forced solo play. We all want to see the hard work that you put into making these mini dungeons, but if I can't do it with my leveling buddy then I probably never will. Doing separate dungeons is just not as fun.

I really have to agree with this idea. As it stands I'll be skipping the war cache because essentially it becomes solo play (theres already plenty of that, no?). To prevent people from 'dragging' a much lower level character through the content what if you set up the map system so that people in a party could combine 2 smaller maps and make a 'double map?

Since we're on the topic if transmutation anyway... maybe transmutation lvl 10 would be required to use the maps?

I would also rather see the war cache system be something that level 50-60 players can do because really this is one of the big gaps in the game right now. The sewer is crazy hard for lvl 60 characters (poison, roots, gigantic armor hits, stuns). It's a lovely area for a lvl 70 to solo... but a terrible area for a lvl 60 character wearing sub par gear.

In terms of getting a lvl 50 gear set you already have: DC, WN, YC, WC. The average low player may only be able to do 1 or 2 of those missions. But getting a nice purple/gold piece of gear can really be an inspiration and help you in a difficult time for your character. In short a lot of people level up really fast and get close to 50 with much lower level gear. They get stuck in that gear in part because you need the correct mods 10x more on a low piece of gear than you need level appropriate mods for skills you have no interest in using.

The way to get players out of the lvl 50 slump is to get them disenchanting armor in the 15-20 level block. This makes sense thematically as around 15-20 players can solo pretty well in the crypt and blow up greens/blues and work their way up the chain. The mushroom dungeon too becomes a good place for them to level, and learn to blow up items (and learn about inventory space saving techniques).

[Niph]

If you go through these missions and open chests you will get a full set of lvl 50 purple/gold gear in time (every so often you can get 55 gear from the missions).

You don't need to do the daily mission for that. I was saying, dailies require to kill bosses, and don't reward you with gear. They don't serve the purpose of providing level 50 gear obtainable solo. As you state, people should just go to the zone directly.

[Celler]

With regard to the account golem, it would perhaps be nice if when Vip does become available we can activate it with the golem at a time that suits us rather than it automatically starting on introduction.
As I understand it the vip will give us access to a 5th character, I certainly wouldn't be needing that anytime near the wipe as I'll be too busy on my main I'd imagine.
Of course it will depend on the other benefits but as they are supposed to be only really cosmetic I doubt I'll be missing much short term.

Also those that bought certain packages in the past are supposed to be getting 2 extra teleports if my memory serves, are they still a distant hope?


With regard to trans/aug changes I think maybe the lower lvls should be started elsewhere, unless it's changed from when I did it you need to access 4 npcs that spread around and the npc in ilmari.
These are quite deep into the game and can easily be held back by missing certain areas.

[Syndriax]

very interesting chances i will be looking forward to it. that said it's mentioned in the "Horse Lord Package" one would get a title but what happens if you already got a title will you get 2? if yes then what will happen when you /entitle someone will you be able to choose which one they get or will they get both? or something else?

[Citan]

- You can't get two titles because the system can't support it: you can only have one title attached to each account. If you already bought a title package, don't buy another!

- You can't duo War Caches, and I'm not going to delay an already very long development process to try to shoehorn it in somehow, because duoing content is very underused. If you and a friend start together, duo content makes sense, but that's literally the only time duo content gets used. It just doesn't work psychologically. Nobody wants to join a pick-up-duo because it's way too stressful. A large group spreads out the blame and responsibility, and players find it much more acceptable.
I tried for YEARS in pre-alpha to make two-man groups a thing, and then three-man groups, before eventually accepting defeat and doing six-man groups. So that ship has sailed. I try to make content accessible for duoing when convenient, but it's certainly not something that I could conveniently add to War Caches, sorry.

- I feel like the people who think there's already plenty of solo content for the 55-ish level range are completely wrong... to an insane degree, actually. There are literally no solo dungeons for that level range, and the only soloable outdoor content is quite difficult.

- Werewolves will be fine. The updated version improves sustainability, removes annoyances, improves Trauma builds (and tosses out weird remnants like that one Piercing attack). It opens up new options besides the one dumb overpowered build everybody's using.

If your opinion is that the skill isn't overpowered anymore, we'll have to disagree. It's still overpowered in the most extreme setups. (If you aren't using the most extreme setups, then the change won't be as dramatic, but it'll still be a nerf.) Also, comparing one overpowered skill to another overpowered skill really doesn't help your case. Other skills with gigantic burst-damage numbers will also be getting nerfed over time.

Looking at the changes, this actually feels like a buff to the skill, but I'm not going to call it a buff because that would seem disingenuous: werewolf players WILL log in weaker than they were before (assuming they're using the OP build-du-jour), and to get better builds, they will have to remake all their gear, which is tedious and annoying. But after players rebuild, they will be fine in terms of damage and survivability. In the long term, werewolves will not be underpowered.

And if they are, we'll fix them. And if they're still overpowered, we'll nerf them again.

If the idea of rebuilding your entire werewolf setup is too stressful for you, I completely understand. I recommend taking a break from the game and coming back in a while! I'm not trying to be a dick with that recommendation, I'm just telling you what's worked for other players in the past. There's no monthly fee or anything, and your characters will be fine in suspended animation while you're gone, so take a month or two off. By the time you return, other people will have figured out the most-crazy wolf builds anyway and you can copy them if you like.

As for undoing the lycanthropy curse, nope. Never ever happening because permanent choices are permanent. But I am frankly offended by the idea that I'm "forcing" you to use the skill. The beast form is forced on you, but the skill is NEVER forced on you. Have you tried a nice Unarmed/Mentalism build? Werewolves are pretty good at it. There are a dozen other skill combinations available if you really hate the werewolf skill. And as a last resort option, you still have plenty of time to remake your character before the game officially launches. But we will under no circumstances be offering a werewolf "cure". (Or a druid "cure" either!)

[Syndriax]

- You can't get two titles because the system can't support it: you can only have one title attached to each account. If you already bought a title package, don't buy another!

- You can't duo War Caches, and I'm not going to delay an already very long development process to try to shoehorn it in somehow, because duoing content is very underused. If you and a friend start together, duo content makes sense, but that's literally the only time duo content gets used. It just doesn't work psychologically. Nobody wants to join a pick-up-duo because it's way too stressful. A large group spreads out the blame and responsibility, and players find it much more acceptable.
I tried for YEARS in pre-alpha to make two-man groups a thing, and then three-man groups, before eventually accepting defeat and doing six-man groups. So that ship has sailed. I try to make content accessible for duoing when convenient, but it's certainly not something that I could conveniently add to War Caches, sorry.

- I feel like the people who think there's already plenty of solo content for the 55-ish level range are completely wrong... to an insane degree, actually. There are literally no solo dungeons for that level range, and the only soloable outdoor content is quite difficult.

- Werewolves will be fine. The updated version improves sustainability, removes annoyances, improves Trauma builds (and tosses out weird remnants like that one Piercing attack). It opens up new options besides the one dumb overpowered build everybody's using.

If your opinion is that the skill isn't overpowered anymore, we'll have to disagree. It's still overpowered in the most extreme setups. (If you aren't using the most extreme setups, then the change won't be as dramatic, but it'll still be a nerf.) Also, comparing one overpowered skill to another overpowered skill really doesn't help your case. Other skills with gigantic burst-damage numbers will also be getting nerfed over time.

Looking at the changes, this actually feels like a buff to the skill, but I'm not going to call it a buff because that would seem disingenuous: werewolf players WILL log in weaker than they were before (assuming they're using the OP build-du-jour), and to get better builds, they will have to remake all their gear, which is tedious and annoying. But after players rebuild, they will be fine in terms of damage and survivability. In the long term, werewolves will not be underpowered.

And if they are, we'll fix them. And if they're still overpowered, we'll nerf them again.

If the idea of rebuilding your entire werewolf setup is too stressful for you, I completely understand. I recommend taking a break from the game and coming back in a while! I'm not trying to be a dick with that recommendation, I'm just telling you what's worked for other players in the past. There's no monthly fee or anything, and your characters will be fine in suspended animation while you're gone, so take a month or two off. By the time you return, other people will have figured out the most-crazy wolf builds anyway and you can copy them if you like.

As for undoing the lycanthropy curse, nope. Never ever happening because permanent choices are permanent. But I am frankly offended by the idea that I'm "forcing" you to use the skill. The beast form is forced on you, but the skill is NEVER forced on you. Have you tried a nice Unarmed/Mentalism build? Werewolves are pretty good at it. There are a dozen other skill combinations available if you really hate the werewolf skill. And as a last resort option, you still have plenty of time to remake your character before the game officially launches. But we will under no circumstances be offering a werewolf "cure". (Or a druid "cure" either!)

thank you for the answer. i'm really intrigued by Shadow Feint being a fully-controlled short-range teleport and i'm excited to try it out. wish you all the best :3

[cr00cy]

Wait, Trauma builds will get improved? Yes, please. But I'm not sure how I fele about removing piercing attack from wolf kit (Sanguine Fang) it was pretty iconic for trauma builds, and piercign dmage was usefull for certains ituations (liek thsoe portals in WN. Wolf/unarmed build has no other way of killing them, iirc). But if removla of Snaguine Fnags will allow me to commit mass genocide by waitchign my enemies bleed out, then I'll take it.

Also, about Shadow Feint - if I understand it correctly, we will be bale to reactivate it at will, by pressing teh same key again? Well, this is improvment... I think. I'll probably still will not be using it, because cast time, and things like See Red and BotP exist, but hey, who knows.