Asherons Call: More Ken Troop Answers

Ken Troop's Answers:

I feel that the wield requirements should include buffs, otherwise it reduces the value of my specialized creature magic.

Donknow: I think Creature Magic remains a very viable and useful skill, even without the ability to allow people hit wield_reqs faster than normal.

I really enjoy the Hives on Marae Lassel, but the log off tech in the dungeons now is really pushing me out of my favorite hunting spots.

Someguy: Thanks for the feedback. We'll continue to look at it to see if it the dynamic should continue to change.

Why is Axe now doing less damage than Sword? Also, would it be possible to include higher damage rapiers or yaoji that can't be hilted, to give swordsmen a higher damage piercing attack?

Flechette:

1) Axe is now less base damage than sword because Axe costs 4 less credits to specialize. The old methods of balancing were deemed largely ineffective. We think this makes more sense. At a max difference of 2 points, we think axe more than holds its own.

2) At this time we will not increase the damage of any hiltable weapon. Swords can also do piercing damage.

Comments about staff and the dyed Shadow Hunter Armor.

Ankh: Thanks for the feedback.

Deception should be one of those skills visited for a refund.

Phergus: Good points. However, at this time, we will not be making any changes to Deception. If we ever have the dev time and a good idea for implementation, we may revisit Deception. It is not likely any time soon, however.

Lots of comments about Unarmed Combat and its effectiveness compared to Dagger.

Elder: I think I addressed these points in earlier posts. If not, feel free to ask a followup question to clarify.

Please don't give melee attention just to appease their whining, being a mage isn't so easy either.

Plover: Thanks for the feedback.

We're not making melee better because of the "whining." We're making it better because we honestly feel there are a lot of downsides to being a melee-centric character that none of the other types of characters face. We're attempting to address that inequity.

Ravlen chimes in about staff as well.

Ravlen: See my earlier posts about staff.

Shares their list of characters, almost all of which have an archery skill.

Ghira: Glad you are enjoying it.

Comments that the log off tech in the Olthoi Queen dungeons is unfair to those with a dial up connection, and suggested that the tech be linked more to the Spraying flag.

Butch: You bring up a good point, and it is one we will keep in mind when evaluating this dynamic.

First, the new log off tech can hurt questers because someone who worked to get into the dungeon may get lagged out, or a macroer, who right now may log off to be polite, won't be as likely to do so. Secondly, would it be possible to post the maximum damage for each subclass of weapon, such as hammers, etc?

Constantine:

1) I agree about the first point of this. As for the second...I wasn't aware that there was macro etiquette. Either way, we will continue to evaluate this dynamic on the basis of the first point, but probably not the second.

2) This is a good chance to clear up a misperception I saw in other posts:

The way this new wield requirement tech works is as such:

There is a chance for a weapon, when coming out of the high-level treasure profiles to get a "special" damage mod. If it gets this damage mod, then a wield_req gets thrown on it (same with damage_variance mod). In addition, in our pre-existing treasure system, there is a chance for a weapon to get a damage mod (i.e. the diff between an 8-16 takuba, and 5-10 takuba). So, it is possible for the treasure generator to create a 5-10 takuba, hit the percent chance for a "special" damage modifier, have that damage modifier be a whopping "1", and have a 6-11 takuba that requires a 250 sword skill to wield.

It's not the prettiest system, but if we tried to completely blend the two systems, it would have taken at *least* 2-3 months more time to implement, and we decided to go with this approach.

As for your actual question :) The max damage mods (just add this number to the previous max damage of a weapon) that can be placed on a sword is +16, axe +14, mace +12 (but they can have a tighter damage variance than any weapon), and spear +10. Keep in mind that that number is the max. The actual bonus can be anywhere from 1-max number, with different percentages for each number depending on the weapon type.

Comments about staff, and how their are more likely more staff characters than the other skills getting attention.

Taze: Thanks for the comments.

Feels completely left out of any future updates to melee skills

Waking Giant: I'm sorry you feel left out.

Appraisal skills still do nothing, any thoughts to a refund. Also, when will those without lockpick have access to better loot?

Wicca: I addressed the appraisal question in an earlier post. I also think you have a partial answer to your lockpicking question this month (and more to follow next month).

Comments about quest weapons and how they are useless compared to new loot.

A.sewer: I answered this in an earlier post.

Comments that the Kalindan of Palenqual (Rubble Crossbow) is an insult, due to its -4% melee bonus.

Dark Rev: Thanks for the feedback.

The new weapons, with higher damage, are far to rare.

Thalandas: They really aren't that rare. Try giving it more than a day.

Updating quest weapons is a good idea, otherwise I'm forced to wait for my hilt timers to expire.

Jvaljean: See my earlier reply to Xenocide.

Please add some a new type of armor into the game, such as you did previously with Celdon, Koujia, and Amuli.

Dol Cirdan: I'm glad you're enjoying the patch. As for the armor idea...time will tell :)

Another comment that quest weapons need to be addressed in light of the loot changes. Also, when will the Furniture Crafters, in the capital cities, be open for business? Finally, when will we see some new dye colors?

HeidiTD: see my earlier reply about quest weapons (btw, I know that I hadn't posted these replies back when most of the questions were originally posted, so this is earlier in respect to this post, not in respect to the original posts. Just wanted to clear that up)

As for the furniture crafter: No idea.

We're working on a new set of dye plants. No idea specifically when it will happen.

While melee balancing is great, as a PK the additional damage I might get with a 3-10 Katar is nothing compared to drain and harm magics.

Zoe: Thanks for the feedback. Look at next month for some partial answers to some of the issues you brought up.

The entire system of experience reduction for killing creatures below your level should be addressed, with perhaps the entire system removed all together.

Vitae: Good point, but ultimately we hope to use that particular game system to make the game more fun to level in, not less...

Why were the various hives included in the log off tech revisions? I can't see any sort of griefing that might happen there.

Jigoro: The reasons for it being done in the rubble dungeons was slightly different than the others...we may decide to reevaluate this after this month.

Will those who specialized get even more powerful weapons, due to the skill points they spent?

D/E: Yes they will be able to hit the skill cost for whatever wield req faster.

Why does Crossbow continue to outdamage Bow?

Drexel: Our playtests and formulas show that bow still outdamages crossbow.

Comments that with axe now having a lower maximum damage than sword, they are not as effective.

Dudelove: Thank you for the feedback.

I saw a weapon, that wasn't very powerful, yet it still required 250 skill to weild.

Non-sequitor: See my reply to Constantine.

I think a substantial bump should be given to Hollow weapons, perhaps something like a 200% increase in damage.

Last man: The hollow changes will not be nearly that high. As for hollow staff, the lack of a change was deliberate.

Comments about staff, and its need for attention.

Eshuun: Thanks for the feedback.

Obviously you will do not care about my concerns, as a staff character, and have chalked up any arguments for changes to staff to a customer with unrealistic expectations.

Lisan: Of course I'm upset when players are upset. On both a theoretical (I don't like it when people are unhappy with the work my team does) and a practical (my job depends on making people enjoy AC) level, I take these types of concerns very seriously.

Right now, our long-term plan to make the maximum number of players, both new and old, happy, partially involves making sure that skills are worth their cost.

Staff is no less effective against creatures yesterday than they are today. Yes, I understand in a mmorpg, and especially in competitive situations (whether that is pvp, or populations competing over monster spawn), that a buff to one dynamic can be considered a "nerf" to other competing dynamics.

There will be bonuses that come to staff when the second stage of all these changes is implemented. We may even decide that staff should have some changes before then. Either way, it is certainly not whimisical on our part.

The specific implementation of triple-strike dagger was a mistake. It could have been done better. Our goal is to make sure that a) we give people a rational and structural format with which to make character-building decisions (e.g. "Ahh, so if I specialize sword, I get this set of advantages and disadvantages; if I specialize staff and train life, I get this set of advantages and disadvantages. And those sets are roughly, in some sort of weird way, semi-in-the-same-ballpark equivalent") and b) that we introduce no more triple-strike daggers in such a one-sided and narrow fashion.

Obviously there will always be inequities in a game the size of AC. Our goal will never be to make everything perfect. It's not even on our list. However, over time, serious inequities had developed, and we aim to fix these, and fix them as soon as possible.

I truly am sorry that you feel like I don't care about these issues. I do. I don't know what else to say.