The way forward -- a wishlist

[BigErkyKid]

AKA what not to do to keep players like me in the game, as a complement to the thread on how to bring players back to the game.

The grind wall
The game is now much grindier:

We went from builds "requiring" a few frontloaded PLs (heroic, 3 or 6 PLs), to a fully backloaded universal system (racial PLs) with 30+ PLs.
Reaper trees are yet another layer of grind; new reaper XP harder to acquire than in old "easier" reaper.
New ePLs are way grindier than old ePls
Players increasingly scattered across difficulty settings and power levels, not based on skill or playstyle, but in hours sank into the game.
Death of alt playstyle for the majority; in many games you can have a stable of characters to vary playstyles.

Proposal:

Limit reaper AP
Limit PL benefits (limited toggles like ePL actives, and no passives)


The shiny new
New stuff gets development attention (itemization, updated DCs), whereas old stuff does not. The way this is done means more and more sections of them game are left behind "unplayable". We were told that balance would be slow and careful, in reality it took so long that old PREs and paradigms are outdated again. Balance just meant massive buffs, and in the process, large chunks of the game has been made obsolete (weak items, difficulty much lower).

100 new spells for alchemist, but outdated spells for other classes (ranger, druid)
Endless examples, just pick your own.
New releases are almost always OP wrt to existing stuff, and this has been admitted tacitely by the dev team (warlock nerfs, druid freezer wolf > bard freezer)
INQ better than any other DPS ranged archetype in the game, by a wide margin.
Sorc vs caster artificer.

Proposal:

Standardize loot by ML, but with different effects -- aka make sure end game does not disappear in 1 year, every single time.
Set some internal limits to the power in PREs and classes; aka bring back the "true" swash standard.


Homogeneization
In the process of "updating" classes, most emphasis was put on giving everyone MP/RP and holy sword.

Bard songs, monk finishers, henshin attacks, barbarian rage, smite evil; those are the defining parts of classes, yet they are the least up to date part they got.

Proposal:

Remove holy sword from all PREs (less dependence on crit), instead buff class de abilities.


P2skip and the store
Proposal:
It may pay to release more things like the hardcore league, and less poor p2skip/ p2win store based development. As far as I can tell, hardcore has been a success. Offer more of that, perhaps free VIP and sell pass tickets for f2p.

Perhaps this is not useful at all, but all of it would make me a very happy player (instead of the current grumpy ol dwarf you got to deal with). Maybe other people would like it too.

Bonus: encounter design and melee vs ranged
Encounters are, almost without exception, stacked against melee in this game. When ranged DPS approaches melee DPS, a lot of players, given the inherent advantage ranged already has, switch to that achetype. That makes playing a melee character unfun.
Proposal:

Balance DPS on risk vs reward.
Add more mechanics that challenge ranged players.
Remove perching spots


What's your wish list, folks?

[LightBear]

My wish list:
A universal (tree) familiar that can be mounted by the smaller races (incl dwarfs).
Be able to play as a trio of kobolds.
Mirror self.
More altered forms, and not just for druid or wizard.
Yet another hamster wheel that adds small boni but without the long grind.
Rebuild the past life heroic so it is an auto granted feat that adds +1 per completion for a max of 3 to all stats.
A trunk
for cosmetics

New gold seal perma hires, that have the same level as you have. Pref a rogue or a FvS.

[slarden]

My wish list is that the devs don't react to forum complaints without checking youtube, twitch and other sources to verify whether the complaint is valid. Are there numerous mid to high skull videos for ranged - yes. Are there numerous mid to high skull videos for casters - yes. Are there numerous mid to high skull videos for melee - yes.

Do all builds function well in a balanced R10 group - yes. Can all builds solo reaper - yes.

Major problems - no. Minor tweaks - maybe a few but not what is the same complaining group that is always wanting to nerf casters and ranged builds regardless of actual in-game results.

Please be judicious with the nerf hammer devs and make people prove it rather than just reacting to the same crowd.

[Quikster]

My wish list is that the devs don't react to forum complaints without checking youtube, twitch and other sources to verify whether the complaint is valid. Are there numerous mid to high skull videos for ranged - yes. Are there numerous mid to high skull videos for casters - yes. Are there numerous mid to high skull videos for melee - yes.

Do all builds function well in a balanced R10 group - yes. Can all builds solo reaper - yes.

Major problems - no. Minor tweaks - maybe a few but not what is the same complaining group that is always wanting to nerf casters and ranged builds regardless of actual in-game results.

Please be judicious with the nerf hammer devs and make people prove it rather than just reacting to the same crowd.

Sunday Morning Sensibility. Can't have any of that around here :)

[Fenrisulven7]

My Wish List

As an old timer coming back I'm surprised to see alot of the little things that were never cleaned up.

Like, I still have to talk to Hargo twice? And circle around Delera just to make sure I advance the quest line? Really?
I still remember how, but I'm getting TOO GOOD at explaining to newbies how to avoid the dreaded chain break. I want a raise :)

Stuff like that, I'm sure some older and wiser than me can come up with a good list of little things around the house that needed attention years ago.

[Shadrar]

We went from builds "requiring" a few frontloaded PLs (heroic, 3 or 6 PLs), to a fully backloaded universal system (racial PLs) with 30+ PLs.


Whenever resources grow, there will be builds to take advantage of those new resources. I don't see this as a bad thing, stuff like this makes me want to get racial past lives.



Reaper trees are yet another layer of grind; new reaper XP harder to acquire than in old "easier" reaper.


This isn't true. With the reaper level window adjustment, reaper XP in lower skulls is easier to acquire than it ever has been. It is harder to acquire in higher skulls, but I personally find the new reapers to be a really fun challenge. The added difficulty at higher skulls is also a good and necessary rubber band.




Limit reaper AP
Limit PL benefits (limited toggles like ePL actives, and no passives)



This is a very bad idea. Imagine how aggravated you'd be if you spend money on Epic Improved Otto Boxes just to have those benefits removed? Or on Sovereign XP potions to help gain more RXP, just to have those points removed?

It is prudent to consider how benefits are structured going forward, but removing earned (or paid) rewards retroactively is a very bad idea.



The shiny new
New stuff gets development attention (itemization, updated DCs), whereas old stuff does not. The way this is done means more and more sections of them game are left behind "unplayable". We were told that balance would be slow and careful, in reality it took so long that old PREs and paradigms are outdated again. Balance just meant massive buffs, and in the process, large chunks of the game has been made obsolete (weak items, difficulty much lower).

100 new spells for alchemist, but outdated spells for other classes (ranger, druid)
Endless examples, just pick your own.
New releases are almost always OP wrt to existing stuff, and this has been admitted tacitely by the dev team (warlock nerfs, druid freezer wolf > bard freezer)
INQ better than any other DPS ranged archetype in the game, by a wide margin.
Sorc vs caster artificer.

Proposal:

Standardize loot by ML, but with different effects -- aka make sure end game does not disappear in 1 year, every single time.
Set some internal limits to the power in PREs and classes; aka bring back the "true" swash standard.



If this was still a subscription-only game, these may be valid approaches. But it's not. I'd love to see much of the old gear updated, but there needs to be incentive to do.



Bonus: encounter design and melee vs ranged
Encounters are, almost without exception, stacked against melee in this game. When ranged DPS approaches melee DPS, a lot of players, given the inherent advantage ranged already has, switch to that achetype. That makes playing a melee character unfun.
Proposal:

Balance DPS on risk vs reward.
Add more mechanics that challenge ranged players.
Remove perching spots



I think this is a problem. IMO the solution is make melee more survivable, not necessarily to nerf ranged. This is part and parcel with the Heavy Armor problem -- higher armors' PRR bonus is increasingly irrelevant as the inevitable power creep keeps happening. Epic Defensive Fighting was definitely a step in the right direction, but I wonder if more doesn't need to be done.



What's your wish list, folks?


I'm a simple man, I just want an Iconic Barbarian Halfing that rides a dinosaur.

[droid327]

- de emphasize reaper...make reaper xp match elite. Reaper should be a special extra mode, not the optimum regular option. Make ALL reaper bonuses reaper-only. Elite should be the balance point and expectation for vets. Reaper is only for those that want a harder, more deliberate play style, with its own rewards for that slower style. Grouping will be easier because elite is more accessible for new players and vets won't be spread across skulls.

- de emphasize crit on weapons. That's the singular reason behind a preponderance of class imbalance and lack of diversity in play styles and gearing options. +1 or +1/+1 in deep class cores or T5s is ok, maybe the odd targeted feat like KT or S2P for underserved weapons, but then you get to epic and crit profile starts getting thrown out like candy at Halloween. No one should be running with standing x7 mult on 19-20...repurpose a lot of crit profile boosts as melee power, tune some expanded crit weapons to carry melee power instead. This will also help keep elite from being as trivial, since its a total nerf to dps.

- those changes will make it slower to level - nerf to xp, nerf to dps. Balance classes moving forward to match inqui in terms of speed of play. You'll have to do more quests but you'll finish them faster, in a variety of builds and play styles.

- scaling pass. Non scaling values is the top reason things are deprecated. Making things scale with some factor will breathe new life into currently ignored systems - eg ammo crafting...make elemental ammo scale with the crafters Disable Device skill, like +1d6 per 5 points.

[Saekee]

Focus massively on new player retention. MASSIVELY. I repeat again: MASSIVELY. Add a special saga to navigate harbor and newbie rewards; buff some korthos gear a bit; fix LFMs; etc.
Fix stealth
Add some kind of reward system for hosting PUGS to the leader and LFM creator, such as +% xp bonus, and Loot bonus
Permanent buddy bonus, even just 1% IDK
Create PL options that benefit others not just personal powercreep, e.g. instead of you getting +10% HAMP from a PL you select an option that buffs everyone's HAMP in the party by 5%, for example
make alts playable
Create a special quest pack ML 7/20 that has quests in which killing is not required. OMG!
create a power creep 'ceiling' and do not even do the slightest budge past it
more events that people will really like to do and with leaderboards
timed weekly events in which some random underused quest gets a buff in xp and named loot drop rates for one week as well as buddy pass discount
Make all cormyrian Estar crafting into ML 20 weapons and armor but with ML 24 specs. Create a craftable system within it but with crazy ingredient costs like those old cloaks there
Create a special mode on character creation called permadeath. If the character dies, it is deleted. IF it makes it to 20, they get two past lives on reincarnation and then can choose again if they want to go permadeath or not.
Add more rare stacking Shrooms to ToEE crafting, like extra slot, doublestrike/doubleshot, guard poison shroom effect, etc.
Add a small chance of a wondrous random named item appearing in any rare chests, not just stormhorns and wheloon
...I could make this list much bigger...

[Anuulified]

Focus massively on new player retention. MASSIVELY. I repeat again: MASSIVELY. Add a special saga to navigate harbor and newbie rewards; buff some korthos gear a bit; fix LFMs; etc. - this would be cool
Fix stealth - not broken
Add some kind of reward system for hosting PUGS to the leader and LFM creator, such as +% xp bonus, and Loot bonus - maybe
Permanent buddy bonus, even just 1% IDK - we all wish
Create PL options that benefit others not just personal powercreep, e.g. instead of you getting +10% HAMP from a PL you select an option that buffs everyone's HAMP in the party by 5%, for example - good idea
make alts playable - already are, stop thinking they all need 100 lives
Create a special quest pack ML 7/20 that has quests in which killing is not required. OMG! - already implemented, learn to be sneakier
create a power creep 'ceiling' and do not even do the slightest budge past it - never
more events that people will really like to do and with leaderboards - awesome idea
timed weekly events in which some random underused quest gets a buff in xp and named loot drop rates for one week as well as buddy pass discount - been suggested before, still a great idea
Make all cormyrian Estar crafting into ML 20 weapons and armor but with ML 24 specs. Create a craftable system within it but with crazy ingredient costs like those old cloaks there - meh
Create a special mode on character creation called permadeath. If the character dies, it is deleted. IF it makes it to 20, they get two past lives on reincarnation and then can choose again if they want to go permadeath or not. - too much like gambling
Add more rare stacking Shrooms to ToEE crafting, like extra slot, doublestrike/doubleshot, guard poison shroom effect, etc. - neat idea
Add a small chance of a wondrous random named item appearing in any rare chests, not just stormhorns and wheloon - already implemented through random awesome loot
...I could make this list much bigger... - please dont

Seems like a mostly reasonable request list.