Build of the Week Video #2

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Chris wrote:

Some users speculate that it's because we want to sell pretty armours to people in our microtransaction shop, which sounds like good business sense, but this restriction was not considered when we made the set of armours for the game. I'm sure there will be plenty of pretty stuff for sale, though.

The reason the armours looks like they do is because they are realistic - most games come up with flashy unrealistic armour progressions to make the character seem more and more godlike at higher levels. We're trying to show the gritty reality of Wraeclast.

I'm sure that over time we'll add more flashy stuff - wait until magic mods on items add particle effects, etc :)

Perhaps I am reaching here, but I can even justify the crazy shinies that might pop up in the cash shop the same way I do the stupidly bright orbital-strike-on-legs you sometimes see running around town. The creatures of Wraeclast do not react to the kiwi, and it does not react to them. This is a fact. Therefore, I see the kiwi as a sort of higher-layer thing, a presence only the players can see. The characters can't see it, the npcs definitely can't.

I think the same goes for any aesthetic goodies I might buy in the cash shop. If, say, you guys put in a crown of fire, obviously it wouldn't have a level restriction because it's not really an item. But there it would be, visible on my measly level 1 Witch, who just washed up on shore pretty much naked. How did she get it? She didn't -- she doesn't even know she has it. It doesn't affect her. It's something only the players can see. If the exiles of Wraeclast have gods, it's Us, and my my don't We love to see things a bit differently to the poor mortals in their crude hammered iron breastplates and shabby leather jerkins?

Thus both the realism of Wraeclast is preserved and the garish desires of the player is indulged.

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Chris wrote:

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Mordliss wrote:

Chris,

Don't you find it unrewarding that as a level 50 or so character his witch does not visually change much from a level 1?

I have been really getting back into playing the game and getting a lot of my friends to show some interest in it, but in our conversations over the game, this end game "unimpressive character armor" always seems to come up...

This video is the perfect example... you have a witch and a player who has invested a considerable amount of time into creating such a neat and interesting character, and to be honest, if it stood next to a level 10 witch I would BARLEY be able to tell the difference...

Do you guys have any plans on correcting this? Or is this all "Working as intended" as far as you are concerned?

Thanks,

Mordliss

Some users speculate that it's because we want to sell pretty armours to people in our microtransaction shop, which sounds like good business sense, but this restriction was not considered when we made the set of armours for the game. I'm sure there will be plenty of pretty stuff for sale, though.

The reason the armours looks like they do is because they are realistic - most games come up with flashy unrealistic armour progressions to make the character seem more and more godlike at higher levels. We're trying to show the gritty reality of Wraeclast.

I'm sure that over time we'll add more flashy stuff - wait until magic mods on items add particle effects, etc :)

While I myself LOOOOVE realism I don't think it even slightly applies to the massses, most people anyway. Feeling more powerful the farther you go on is vital in an arpg. This is one of the main reasons why diablo 3 is failing so hard and why diablo 2 was so insanely awesome. Just look at a gooddamn BOTD BA, Grief, infinity edge, spirit, cta, hoto etc makes me want to start over once more for the 100th time. One of the factors is visual, diablo 2 had such insane affixes that it didn't even require glow and effects to show how much of a difference in power the items made, suddenly you could shot 10 times faster with an faith or windforce.

You guys should consider making everything really nice and epic before microtransactions. The microtransactions should be more fun, interesting and special in their own way. For example a cleave that summons butterflies and a rainbow shaped animation would be totaly awesome and maybe a whole set of ``visual skills`` that you buy as a pack that fit together.

However the normal cleave must also be awesome so it dosn't only seem pay2lookawesome :P but rather pay to look special and awesome in another way which makes you stand out. Making things dull or not good enough to begin with just kills so much more.

P.S I am not saying this as a cheap ass, because I am 100% sure that i will invest a bunch of cash into this game.

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psythos wrote:

He almost died quite a bit. Even the original maker of the build commented and said that he doesn't go to merciless with his Melee build and was surprised chris didn't die and he would have, had he not had the flasks which are only good for a mob or two...

I said I hadn't tried merciless with this character yet. Now she is lvl52 and doing perfectly fine, I still haven't died with her in merciless. Chris almost died only because he didn't use enfeeble curse, which is necessary for the build.

But your concerns about melee play are justified. I do think it's harder to play melee, and that's why I wanted to make an eldritch battery melee witch. The fair viability of this build prove that the situation isn't as bad as you think.

Thank you for responding Chris, I have to apologize if i sounded like an ass I just found it frustrating because your guy's game is really good, it's just that one thing that's holding it back in my opinion. i understand the challenge associated with making a melee build but many times i brought this up most of the testers responded with melee as no problem which made me wonder if you guys even knew of the issues associated with it.

I think as far as the few number switches being the ultimate fix, probably not, but I'd still suggest upping the life and armor numericals on the tree if that's possible. for the melee builds anyways, to offer some balance between a mage and a fighter. granted their are still area affect skills to consider that a fighter can use which would give him an advantage over mages but in my opinion the skills like ground slam and lightning strike still require being close to mobs, closer than the ranger or mage. I think distance is the factor for those skills and shortening the range of those two skills forces the player to be closer so that a melee skill type stays a melee skill type.

Anyways that's my opinion, i'm sure you guys will make the game work great whatever you do.

good luck.