Game Balance Improvements and Tweaks

[DarkShade]

Now, I know a lot of us have been clamoring for new content updates but I believe there are a number of minor game balance changes and other minor tweaks that could vastly improve the game.

Firstly, and most extremely, the rune system is extremely broken. One can see by Lifewarden's guide on the runic system (viewtopic.php?f=37&t=248) that a handful of runes are responsible for almost all of the useful runic tools, while a number are practically useless. This is clearly imbalanced and is something that should be looked into to provide more uses for the less-useful runes. Furthermore the single Mag Intense from Norstria quests is disproportionately powerful relative to the activatable watchful runes. Many people have been begging for the ability to activate lvl 70 runes for some time now, and given fingon's recent discovery in his max effective skills thread that it is theoretically possible to get lucky enough to get 80 in searching making it possible to activate these runes, it seems like an oversight on the developers that this cannot be done for the majority of players. I would request that the exploration mechanic be altered to allow for leveling even with all locations being discovered. This, and the subsequent ability to activate level 70 runes, would allow for a number of new levels to be reached across the board.

Secondly, and this is more of a personal preference, but I feel like an increase in the leadership cap would make it easier for the average player to have numerous diversely skilled comps at the same time, as opposed to having to constantly switch them out. Furthermore, this wouldn't really have any effect on gameplay just making life easier for the players, so there is no reason not to increase the leadership cap.

Thirdly, I have always questioned why commercial agreements, spying favors, and artifact notes are not tradeable while almost every other non-quest related item is, so I would request that these are made tradeable as it is a simple fix, and I can see no reason why they shouldn't be.

Finally, there is the volcanite stonecutting recipe problem that has plagued players for ages. It would be fairly simple to allow this recipe to be discoverable by some quest, or even to increase the xuran cutting recipe by a level or decreasing the volcanite cutting recipe by 1 to allow it to be discoverable naturally.


These are just my two cents, anyone have any other 'tweak' suggestions that would be relatively simple to implement but could have a significant impact on gameplay?

[Hunter105]

Well I agree with everything except trading of agreements, I like how those are nontradeable personally that way high level players needs to make a choice whether they want wingu or something else, also limit amount of people who can do trade in.. Leadership cap I think was meant to make you think about what you can bring and to make the most out of it.. This is also why they included taming I think.

The Volcanite situation is ridiculous and they absolutely should change this, it is obviously a rather easy fix. I would vote for decreasing its difficulty by 1 and allowing it to be discoverable personally but a quest is probably the more likely solution.


This is just my 2cents..

This actually Laerities but I am too lazy to make an account for him.

[Woody]

All valid points.

I disagree with the agreements tradeable. Would mean another round of making 50 alts to gather agreements/favors outside of guilds or your toons who wish to trade in say Eufelberg and hasten everything so the game takes even less time and the goals less worthy. But hey each to their own.

I personally would prefer to see new content that allowed for the things you wish for ( I too wish for these things and more, runic armour, new weapons, the poisons, metashields mentioned, grimaldez etc etc )

I suspect the volca recipe will come soon, but that's jut a hunch.

I would much rather discover new places on a new land to raise my searching to be able to make 70 runes. Or even have elicard harvestable at a ridiculously hard location. But then I'm a veteran so I could do such things.

I would advise against making everything easier by lowering everything. Essentially you're shortening the game life... we need it lengthened.

New lands could offer new hiring opportunities at higher levels much like Norstria raised the leadership cap with the imperial companions.

Imho new content is the only way forward.

[DarkShade]

Good points Woody, but things like the exploration are 'theoretically possible' with luck so players shouldn't have to rely on getting lucky with one-time checks to break a skill barriers. I, as well, would prefer new content to anything, but am trying to provide some minor changes that would be relatively simple to implement, but would make players happy, as things like new area take much more work by developers, while all the changes I'm suggesting could be made by one worker in a single day.

I am also a 'veteran', whose completed norstria/tarasquan who is at this point just maxing skills.

[Woody]

Have you seen those 1 time checks? lol

it's theoretically possible, but next to impossible.

My hero's base searching is 73 right?... so far I've only ever seen one of those checks at 75 skill. That's the skill needed to everntually get me to 80. So essentially I'd need to pass at least 7 of those tests if I was extremely lucky. Now ignoring the fact that I only know of 1 of those tests in existance ( the one on Island of the damned ) I rushed up there many many months ago... and to my amusement witnessed the 10 sec one time only test at 1% level up chance!! Now that's at hero 73.... -2 points away from the skill needed.. I dread to think what chance of leveling you'd get doing that test at 79 hero skill lol

[Valerian]

There are 2 places with 75 concealment I believe the other thread mentioned. I'm not sure you actually gain skill if you don't find a place with high concealment though. If you do its theoretically possible to hit 80 if you fail those 75 places multiple times. If you don't gain skill via failure there then I don't think 80 is actually possible.

In any case I don't think its just an oversight or the like. 70 runes don't seem to be intended to be usable at the moment. Same with the volcanite cutting. They didn't accidentally put Xuran just outside the discovery range of Volcanite. Even if they did allow cutting of volcanite, a good source of lumps would be needed since farming them in the lab would be mind numbingly long and boring (and possibly longer than just leveling and alt to the den and getting 4 blocks).

The leadership increase will come eventually (with new people to hire presumably). The 60 we have now is enough for 6 T3s if you're gathering high end materials which seems more than sufficient. Raising it much higher would allow you to have a third boar as a companion which I imagine is not a good thing for combat balance.

[Woody]

What Val said

and still... x2 75 sites are not enough to jump from the theoretical 75 searching to the theoretical 80 searching. These barriers are put in place for a reason. And although I too desperately want to move the the next level, I don't want to at the expense of the game balance.