Dear Developers, @Korn @Bercilak
Albion's Final Beta has been a mixed experience for me. Though I have experienced some good moments and have confirmed the great potential for this game, most of the time I felt I would rather be playing its previous version (Beta1). So, it was quite a relief to read Bercilak's recent post (Current State of the Final Beta & Way Forward), which has restored some of my trust in your ability to make good decisions, and brought me back to this Forum to contribute for that.
I still feel quite unhappy, as a player and as a costumer, about some of your decisions, such as:
» The new world map was very poorly conceived, with too many avoidable mistakes: not including yellow and red GvG, the travelling system, the resource distribution...
» The Claymore aberration (yet to be fully addressed, imho), which plagued the game for almost a month during such a decisive period! How could you have released such a game breaking disaster, and take so much time to even begin to fix it?!
» The multiple mess ups with balancing the branches of progression, which include missing the basic common sense target by several Million points of Fame
The good news is that you are now addressing all this (and more). And from my part, I will do my best to build upon that with my Feedback:
1. PvP: Consensual vs Free
In my opinion, PvP in the Royal Lands should mostly be consensual (as per GvG, PvP circles or Hellgates), with free PvP moving to the Outlands.
While some criminal activity can be a good thing to have in the Royals, the reputation system should absolutely discourage any zerg activity, and any attacks from flagged groups to unflagged single players (especially so if they are maxed in positive rep). Empower positive reputation in the Royals as something meaningful, and make criminal activity dangerous (as it should), and unviable unless you are willing to take a risk. Make it hard to recover from negative rep (not time based), and keep murderers out from all Royal cities for at least a few minutes after a kill.
As for the Outlands, its current environment seems to be rapidly burning players and whole guilds. If stress is greater than fun, the black zones will eventually become empty. I believe that offering additional protection for activities such gathering and travelling is the best way forward (you may wish to consider some form of safe zones/spots too), until a balance is reached where the maps are populated, and the abundance of players creates the opportunities for plentifull free PvP, more based on group encounters than on single target extermination. Notice that such group encounters were happening during the first days (I participated in some excellent fights in T3 gear
), when a good amount of players/guilds were present.
Players who dislike the reputation system as a factor in regulating criminal activity have the option to move to the Outlands. Players who wish to progress up to T7 in a safer environment and mostly engage in consensual forms of PvP, should be able to do so, based on their reputation.
As a personal note, I do believe that, unless zerg behaviour and single target slaughtering by groups can be regulated, consensual PvP has an overall better chance in building up collective fun, populating the maps, and making the game great. Being exposed to full loot PvP at all times should exist as an option, to be embraced by those who like it, and by those who come to like it after learning the game.
2. Outland territories and GvG
An average active guild should have a good chance in holding its main Outlands territory, and build upon it with a general feeling of stability.
Each guild should be able to define one territory as its Outland Capital, providing very expressive buffs to GvG defense for that Town and its Farm, and for all guild members inside that map at all times (creating a real sense of territory in the open world). Furthermore, a minor buff could still affect guild members in adjacent maps (when max defense is reached by the Capital). The Capital can be changed to a different place (for a price), but buffs are reset to zero when doing so and they take additional time to recover.
By all means, simplify the GvG fight declaration system. One attack and one counterattack per fight is enough, with one territory changing hands at the most. If the attackers win, the defenders have one chance to recover the plot; if the defenders win expressively, they have one chance to take the plot from where the attack was launched (if not from a warcamp). Keep it simple, and make it affordable for players who need to manage their time investment to have the same opportunities in GvG fights.
And yes, I fully support your decision for the creation of an intermediate zone in the Outlands, where smaller guilds can find a safer spot to hold. I also believe that gear cap is a good option for these zones.
3. Hellgates
Hellgates should be regulated by a simple division system, allowing all players the possibility of even fights.
Hellgates are an excellent opportunity for good PvP, but not when some Teams have an expressive gear advantage over others. This can be solved by capping the hell dungeon in accordance to the entry zone (green or yellow, with no cap for red or black), and only matching teams that enter the gates of equal level. The quality of loot would be equally adjusted.
4. New Weapons and Armor
Quantity of stuff should only grow if that also means better quality to the game.
Hype and longevity are often incompatible. The quantity of stuff being added seems to be way above your proven ability to have it balanced. Many items and abilities are already dead (unviable), and adding a bunch of new ones appears to be the wrong way forward. I do not see anyone asking for more stuff, but I am beginning to see other people worrying about the silly quantity of toys (how they may break the balance, and how you are always too slow in fixing it).
5. Other specific aspects: My opinion
» Gallop mode: Very good
» Gathering tools with special abilities: Good way forward
» Gems for refining: Looks quite bad. Refining feels good as it is now, and I don't see anything good coming from making it more complicated
» New rate/reward for Chests: Good
» Gathering hot spots/make gathering more rewarding: Yes
» Review the Meditation spell: Yes
» Safe zones outside city gates: Yes!
As a reference, here is a link to a previous thread, where I presented my opinion on the importance of yellow and red GvGs more than a month ago:
» Yellow and Red GvGs
I would invite you to re-read that thread and understand the importance/urgency of creating a simple private arena system asap, that guilds can use for 5v5 practice.
Hoping for the best!
Albion's Final Beta has been a mixed experience for me. Though I have experienced some good moments and have confirmed the great potential for this game, most of the time I felt I would rather be playing its previous version (Beta1). So, it was quite a relief to read Bercilak's recent post (Current State of the Final Beta & Way Forward), which has restored some of my trust in your ability to make good decisions, and brought me back to this Forum to contribute for that.
I still feel quite unhappy, as a player and as a costumer, about some of your decisions, such as:
» The new world map was very poorly conceived, with too many avoidable mistakes: not including yellow and red GvG, the travelling system, the resource distribution...
» The Claymore aberration (yet to be fully addressed, imho), which plagued the game for almost a month during such a decisive period! How could you have released such a game breaking disaster, and take so much time to even begin to fix it?!
» The multiple mess ups with balancing the branches of progression, which include missing the basic common sense target by several Million points of Fame
The good news is that you are now addressing all this (and more). And from my part, I will do my best to build upon that with my Feedback:
1. PvP: Consensual vs Free
In my opinion, PvP in the Royal Lands should mostly be consensual (as per GvG, PvP circles or Hellgates), with free PvP moving to the Outlands.
While some criminal activity can be a good thing to have in the Royals, the reputation system should absolutely discourage any zerg activity, and any attacks from flagged groups to unflagged single players (especially so if they are maxed in positive rep). Empower positive reputation in the Royals as something meaningful, and make criminal activity dangerous (as it should), and unviable unless you are willing to take a risk. Make it hard to recover from negative rep (not time based), and keep murderers out from all Royal cities for at least a few minutes after a kill.
As for the Outlands, its current environment seems to be rapidly burning players and whole guilds. If stress is greater than fun, the black zones will eventually become empty. I believe that offering additional protection for activities such gathering and travelling is the best way forward (you may wish to consider some form of safe zones/spots too), until a balance is reached where the maps are populated, and the abundance of players creates the opportunities for plentifull free PvP, more based on group encounters than on single target extermination. Notice that such group encounters were happening during the first days (I participated in some excellent fights in T3 gear
), when a good amount of players/guilds were present.Players who dislike the reputation system as a factor in regulating criminal activity have the option to move to the Outlands. Players who wish to progress up to T7 in a safer environment and mostly engage in consensual forms of PvP, should be able to do so, based on their reputation.
As a personal note, I do believe that, unless zerg behaviour and single target slaughtering by groups can be regulated, consensual PvP has an overall better chance in building up collective fun, populating the maps, and making the game great. Being exposed to full loot PvP at all times should exist as an option, to be embraced by those who like it, and by those who come to like it after learning the game.
2. Outland territories and GvG
An average active guild should have a good chance in holding its main Outlands territory, and build upon it with a general feeling of stability.
Each guild should be able to define one territory as its Outland Capital, providing very expressive buffs to GvG defense for that Town and its Farm, and for all guild members inside that map at all times (creating a real sense of territory in the open world). Furthermore, a minor buff could still affect guild members in adjacent maps (when max defense is reached by the Capital). The Capital can be changed to a different place (for a price), but buffs are reset to zero when doing so and they take additional time to recover.
By all means, simplify the GvG fight declaration system. One attack and one counterattack per fight is enough, with one territory changing hands at the most. If the attackers win, the defenders have one chance to recover the plot; if the defenders win expressively, they have one chance to take the plot from where the attack was launched (if not from a warcamp). Keep it simple, and make it affordable for players who need to manage their time investment to have the same opportunities in GvG fights.
And yes, I fully support your decision for the creation of an intermediate zone in the Outlands, where smaller guilds can find a safer spot to hold. I also believe that gear cap is a good option for these zones.
3. Hellgates
Hellgates should be regulated by a simple division system, allowing all players the possibility of even fights.
Hellgates are an excellent opportunity for good PvP, but not when some Teams have an expressive gear advantage over others. This can be solved by capping the hell dungeon in accordance to the entry zone (green or yellow, with no cap for red or black), and only matching teams that enter the gates of equal level. The quality of loot would be equally adjusted.
4. New Weapons and Armor
Quantity of stuff should only grow if that also means better quality to the game.
Hype and longevity are often incompatible. The quantity of stuff being added seems to be way above your proven ability to have it balanced. Many items and abilities are already dead (unviable), and adding a bunch of new ones appears to be the wrong way forward. I do not see anyone asking for more stuff, but I am beginning to see other people worrying about the silly quantity of toys (how they may break the balance, and how you are always too slow in fixing it).
5. Other specific aspects: My opinion
» Gallop mode: Very good
» Gathering tools with special abilities: Good way forward
» Gems for refining: Looks quite bad. Refining feels good as it is now, and I don't see anything good coming from making it more complicated
» New rate/reward for Chests: Good
» Gathering hot spots/make gathering more rewarding: Yes
» Review the Meditation spell: Yes
» Safe zones outside city gates: Yes!
As a reference, here is a link to a previous thread, where I presented my opinion on the importance of yellow and red GvGs more than a month ago:
» Yellow and Red GvGs
I would invite you to re-read that thread and understand the importance/urgency of creating a simple private arena system asap, that guilds can use for 5v5 practice.
Hoping for the best!
