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Elder Scrolls Online Ask Us Anything details character progression
The latest installment of ZeniMax's "Ask Us Anything" question-and-answer feature is all about progression in The Elder Scrolls Online. Players from ESO's French and German fansites, Game-guide.fr and TESOnline.de, have submitted a great deal of questions which are added to the usual variety of inquiries culled from the many corners of the internet, so this entry is particularly lengthy and packed full of information. Throughout the slew of questions and answers, the ESO devs reveal that players will be able to re-spec their characters' attribute and skill points for an unspecified sum of gold and that in addition to the standard skill lines, there will also be two skill lines "designed to be particularly useful" in PvP. On top of that, the devs delve into detail on ability morphing, the potential addition of future skill lines, the role of attributes in character progression, racial traits and skills, and much more. If you're looking to find out more, just head over to the Elder Scrolls Online official site.
The Repopulation's new crafting attribute system detailed
Above & Beyond Technologies has updated its website for The Repopulation with a new article focused on crafting. The dev team recently augmented the sci-fi sandbox's tradeskill mechanics with a new attribute system, so now is as good a time as any to get familiar with how the whole thing works. There are no levels in The Repopulation, and as such there are no artificial restrictions handcuffing your capabilities as a crafter. There are over 70 independent skills, though, and some of them are devoted to crafting items, fittings, vehicles, stems, and more. The new attribute system basically allows for more flexibility in the game's fitting system. There's a lot more to it, of course, and we suggest you check out the full article for all the details.
Flameseeker Chronicles: How do trinities work?
People have had varying reactions to Jon Peters' post on ArenaNet's blog last week, which explained the newest system of traits and attributes for Guild Wars 2. There've been all sorts of thoughts about it: that it's awesome, that it's unnecessary, that it's a whole lot of words to keep track of (I'm saying that, in fact, and I'm firmly in the camp of folks who think it's all pretty great). Specifically, the inclusion of the compassion attribute, which improves a character's healing output, has raised a glaring red flag for some players who are afraid this is the first step toward holy trinities and dedicated healers. I respectfully disagree.
Custom-tailor your character with Guild Wars 2's traits and attributes
To many people, character customization is an incredibly important part of MMORPGs. We're not just talking about cosmetic customization, though; many of those players also want the freedom to customize how their characters play. The Guild Wars 2 team is well aware of this, and in fact the devs have released a new dev diary detailing just how players will be able to tweak their characters through the use of traits and attributes. Players who have been following GW2 up until this point may already be familiar with the game's four primary attributes: power, vitality, precision, and toughness. But the team decided that four wasn't quite good enough, so five more attributes were thrown into the mix. While these five new attributes (three for offense, two for support) offer new and exciting ways to customize your playstyle, the catch is that players can only gain points in these attributes through trait lines or gear. Each profession also gets a profession-specific attribute. For instance, Rangers get the empathy attribute, which increases the attributes of the hunter's pet. Traits, on the other hand, operate more like traditional MMO talent trees. Each class is given access to five different trait progression lines; each of these trait lines matches up to a pair of attributes that will be improved each time the player puts points in the corresponding tree. The trait lines also unlock major trait slots that can be filled with -- you guessed it -- a major trait to further customize the character's playstyle. But there's a lot more to the system than we can fit here, so click on through the link to the ArenaNet dev blog below and give the full blog a read.
Some Assembly Required: An early look at Dawntide
Hey folks, and welcome back to Some Assembly Required. The column's been around for a little bit now, and we've done everything from developer interviews to opinionated rants to sandbox and player-generated content feature spotlights. One thing we haven't done is an impressions piece on new sandbox titles, and I aim to fill that void today with an early look at Dawntide. The title is an open-world fantasy sandbox under development by Working as Intended, an indie outfit that calls Copenhagen, Denmark home. Dawntide has been under construction for quite a while now (we first spoke with the devs way back in the summer of 2009), and after a series of funding and development challenges, the end of the long beta journey is in sight.
Perpetuum removing character attributes, tweaking character creation
The end of the month is drawing nigh, and that means it's time to check in with the devs at Avatar Creations for the skinny on Perpetuum. The sci-fi sandbox is trucking right along, according to the latest dev blog, which outlines a few changes forthcoming in the near future. First and foremost is the removal of character attributes. If you're not familiar with the game, the change isn't as dire as it initially sounds, as attributes basically determine the cost of extension points, which in turn leads to skill specialization. Avatar says that the only problem with the current system is that it forces players to make critical choices early in their Perpetuum careers (when most don't have a clue how they want to build their character or how the game works). The attribute changes will also necessitate a character creation revamp, and you can read all about the tweaks on the official website.
The Mog Log: Point by point
Physical levels are leaving Final Fantasy XIV. We've all known that for a while, to the point that I even wrote a column speculating, in part, about what will happen to the whole bonus point system once that change goes live. As it turns out, what will happen for the time being is that it will be abandoned altogether, with character development going automated until at least 1.20. No more allocation of points to attributes any longer, and no word on what this will mean for the many traits designed to muck about with attribute distribution. This is going to result in a bit of a downgrade for some players (if you're physical 40 and leveling something at rank 10, for instance), but by and large it's also going to help correct a longstanding issue that the game has had. We've got a lot more options for playing around with attributes and abilities when it comes to FFXIV than we did in Final Fantasy XI, but the downside of the breadth has been the simple problem that no one knows what the attrbute values actually mean. You know the number, but the number itself is pretty much meaningless.
Guild Wars 2 developer talks combat attributes and iteration
Game development isn't just about flashy class reveals and unveiling new screenshots -- the fine-tuning behind the scenes is just as important, if not more so. Developer Isaiah "Izzy" Cartwright addressed this process in Guild Wars 2 development today in the newest ArenaNet blog post about attributes and iteration. Balancing these two aspects of combat, even with Guild Wars 1 combat to build upon, is a long process of trial and error as well as planning. For example, a popular weapon choice for a Warrior character was a bow and sword combination -- a weapon set that the player could switch back and forth between as necessitated by combat. Unfortunately, the attribute system as originally created made this a hindrance, forcing the player to divide his attributes between strength and agility, creating a mediocre setup at best. This is one of several examples Izzy gave in the blog post. ArenaNet will reveal more information at PAX later this week, but this serves as a detailed preview for those eager to know more. You can read the full story at the ArenaNet blog.
The Mog Log: Class actions
The biggest news about Final Fantasy XIV this week, other than the somewhat mollifying UI update preview, was the addition of another 30 days of free playtime for everyone. This is the sort of thing that I don't think you can really see as anything other than a classy move on the part of Square-Enix. It's also very unexpected, but in the best possible way -- I can't help but be surprised that the company which has long been seen as completely dispassionate by Final Fantasy XI players has essentially responded to the "I don't want to pay for beta" complaints with "that's fair, we'll let you play for free." So as long as we're talking about class, let's talk about Final Fantasy XIV's classes. I'm a big fan of games that give you a broad toolbox and let you decide what you want to do with everything, and building a field class is one of my biggest joys in the game. It's not that you can't mix-and-match abilities from Disciples of the Land or Disciples of the Hand, but there's less variance than the combat-oriented classes. Let's start dipping our toes into character building, yes?
WoW Rookie: Primary stats for beginners
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the basics of a good start in the World of Warcraft. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic, and be sure to visit WoW.com's WoW Rookie Guide for links to all our tips, tricks and how-to's. Theorycrafters and experienced players, go away – no really, /shoo! Today's WoW Rookie is for brand new players or players who are embarking on a new alt with absolutely no idea which end is up. The topic: what stats should you look for on gear as you level up? With XP and levels moving so quickly these days, it's not a topic that bears deep reflection or rooting through gear lists online in search of exceptional pieces. Any time you devote to researching and going after specific gear will be rendered moot by equal time spent questing – ding, better gear at your disposal! Still, concentrating on the right set of primary stats gives you a solid foundation for steady, predictable game play and supports experimentation with different spells, specs and tactics. The early levels (and by that, we mean "vanilla" WoW up through level 60) are all about basic stats (also known as "attributes"): agility, intelligence, spirit, stamina and strength. As you level, you may run across the occasional piece of gear that boasts a fancy attribute like spellpower or attack power. Consider it extra flavoring; you'll meet veteran players who swear by the stuff, but it's not mandatory. Equip the piece if the basic stats are also solid, and carry on. Most early pieces that boast more interesting stats were added later in the game's evolution. The basics remain the fuel for your pre-60 leveling fire.
Patch 3.3 PTR: A little extra XP bonus
The sneaky database over at MMO-Champion has uncovered a little spell/aura/attribute hidden in the patch 3.3 PTR files that hints at some extra XP from future versions of heirloom gear. Currently, with two pieces of heirloom gear, you can get up to a 20% bonus (the chest and shoulders each give a stackable 10%, while heirloom weapons give nothing). But this Heirloom Experience Bonus +5% "spell" grants an extra 5% experience, so it could be that in the future, we'll see pieces of heirloom gear that have an extra bit of bonus on them -- maybe gloves, cloak, or a belt -- that will bring the total bonus XP up to 25%. There's no base level or other identifying information on this attribute (we call it a "spell," but really, given its information in the game, it seems like a gear-specific ability), so we can assume that it'll be a full 1-80 bonus, just like the current heirloom gear in the game. Unfortunately, we haven't actually uncovered any new heirloom items yet, so we have no idea if this stuff will show up in patch 3.3 or the expansion. And of course, just because the bonus applies from 1-80 doesn't mean the gear can be worn that whole time -- it sure seems like Blizzard wouldn't necessarily want Worgen and Goblin alts speeding past Cataclysm lowbie content. But we'll see -- in the meantime, look for a little extra heirloom power, coming soon. Thanks, Gene! Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to the Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
Massively's EVE Online Apocrypha expansion hands-on
var digg_url = 'http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/06/massivelys-eve-online-apocrypha-expansion-hands-on/'; Massively got word that EVE Online lead game designer Noah Ward, aka CCP Hammerhead, would be in New York City last week. We jumped at the chance to find out more about the Apocrypha expansion, and Ward was kind enough to give us our own hands-on demo while answering our questions about where EVE Online is heading. We were pleasantly surprised to find that EVE's lead writer Tony Gonzales was on hand as well. Fans of the game's backstory will know him for writing The Empyrean Age novel, which chronicled the events leading up to New Eden's factional warfare. Apocrypha will be the most significant expansion in EVE's history to date, introducing new -- and some controversial -- features while revamping existing aspects of the game. Ultimately the aim of CCP Games with Apocrypha is to make EVE accessible to more gamers while adding depth for the existing playerbase. The Apocrypha expansion launch will coincide with EVE Online's retail release on March 10th. Leading up to that date, a number of the CCP developers have dropped info about what's on the way through dev blogs and the occasional interview, but the expansion seen as a whole is mind-blowing. What we have for you here is the most complete look at the Apocrypha expansion offered to date, in one place, and much of it from the developers themselves. We've tackled Apocrypha in four parts: the New Player Experience, Epic Mission Arcs & Tech III, True Exploration, and the Sleepers.Strap yourself in and get ready for Massively's exclusive hands-on with the Apocrypha expansion for EVE Online.%Gallery-47038%
Checking in with Age of Conan's Game Director
The changes coming to Funcom's Age of Conan have really been picking up steam. While this update is more of a teaser for things to come, the breakdown of the new RPG system does give players a first look at how new stat breakdowns will change things down the road. From what they're saying, you'll want to be sure you stay on top of getting the best armor and gear! Also, they've added a new character sheet to better display all the new armor attributes and how they will impact each character as they progress through the wild lands of Hyborea. While it's only a bite-sized look at some of the changes coming to Age of Conan, it's definitely welcome. Among the other things players have to look forward to is further changes to feat trees, skills and spells, as well as a new gem system that will be implemented as time goes on. For the full breakdown of how all of these new attributes will affect your characters, be sure to head over to the AoC forums and check this month's Game Director's letter out!
Arcane Brilliance: Statistically speaking
Arcane Brilliance is a Mage column on a weekly spawn timer. It shows up all of a sudden on your computer screen or your iphone and starts wandering about, waiting for somebody to come shake it down for loot. What does this rare and wondrous column drop, you may ask? It drops a magical potion that, when imbibed, grants the magical ability to waste about 15 minutes of your employer's time reading a column about Mages. Hurry up and tag it, before the guy in the next cubicle does!I'm listening to a playlist full of old NES chiptunes as I write this, Zanac, Ninja Gaiden, Mega Man, Crystalis, Shatterhand, Tecmo Super Bowl, Legacy of the Wizard--just some awesome old stuff, some of which comes from composers who went on to become even more awesome. I love the game music from that era; I find it absolutely amazing what those guys could make that tiny sound chip do. And yes, I am a massive and unrepentant dork. Why do I bring this up? I have the playlist on shuffle, and the overworld theme from Dragon Warrior just played, and it got me thinking about this week's subject: stats.Dragon Warrior was my first role-playing game. It was my first exposure to such concepts as experience points, and leveling up, and hit points. Stats in games of that era were pretty simple. You had strength, which affected how hard you hit things, and agility, which...made you more agile? Who knew? That was about it. Hit points measured how many whacks you could take before you died, and magic points ran out as you used spells. There wasn't a whole lot to it.When I first started playing WoW, knowing which statistics were important to my Mage and which weren't was comparatively simple too. As you leveled, you looked for intellect and spirit. At max level, you learned the value of a few other stats, like spell crit, spell damage, and spell hit rating. Generally, if it said "spell" in front of it, your Mage wanted it. Now, though, we have so many different stats--one covering every aspect of every spell we cast, and so many different ways to customize the amounts of each that your Mage's gear has--that it can be quite daunting trying to decide which ones to prioritize. Follow me through the break where we'll discuss the various caster stats and the relative value of each to our class.
The lowdown on EVE Online's New Player Experience
Among all the massively multiplayer online games out there, with their respective learning curves, EVE Online perhaps has the deserved reputation for being the hardest MMO to get a grasp of. Much of that confusion is because the game itself is such a departure from your standard fantasy MMO, in almost every respect: open world/single server, PvP can happen everywhere, a harsh setting, and a UI that's a far cry from anything a player has seen in World of Warcraft.The EVE in-game tutorial has been revamped a few times in order to make it easier for new players to get a handle on things. What is currently offered is a noticeable improvement over the tutorial of a few years ago, but CCP Games is in the process of completely reworking a player's first steps into the game's setting of New Eden. EVE Online developer CCP Fear's latest blog is, in his words, required reading for anyone interested in the game, new player or not. He says, "I want to get one misconception out of the way. This blog *will* concern you and everyone else. If you have played for a year, 6 years, 3 months or a week, you will want to read further than this. Chances are there will be changes that will affect you!"
Checking your caps: Defense, Block, Hit, Expertise
Honor's Code has a great post up about the secondary gear stats that often get overlooked in favor of the main attributes. Everyone knows that Hunters need Agility and Warriors need Strength, but after that, things tend to get a little fuzzy -- just what does Expertise or Hit do for you? HC breaks it down from a Pally perspective, but what they say about these stats is helpful for any class that has to deal with attacking the bad guys.Defense comes first -- defense rating, for tanks, allows you to make sure that bosses can't crit you. Each class has its own defense cap, and the cap has changed from 70 to 80, so you'll have to keep an eye out for your own cap when you get that far. Block is next -- a high Block rating means you're pushing other attack options off the table when you're hit, so that when something does hit you, you block the damage on it. Both of those stats are mainly for tanks -- other classes, who aren't getting hit, won't have to worry about them at all.But Hit and Expertise you will have to worry about if you're DPS -- Hit will make sure that you don't miss your target (the fewer misses you have, the higher your DPS), and Expertise makes sure that those hits don't become dodges or parries. This is tough stuff, and it shows up much earlier in Wrath, it seems, than it did in Burning Crusade, But the good news is that there's a lot of help around -- Honor's Code offers a great overview for what everything means, and from there, you can search our site or others for what you need to know about each stat and how it works with your class.
Some statistics to be removed from achievement tracking
Over the weekend Thundgot on the EU forums came out and said that the attributes section of the achievements tab will be removed from the game. You can find the attributes section right now by pressing "y" on your keyboard to open up the achievement window, then going to the "Statistics" tab located at the bottom of the window, then the "Character" heading on the left hand side of the window, and finally clicking on the "Attributes" section. Your attributes will look something like the ones above, but much more uber than my priest alt has.Thundgot makes a point of saying this will improve performance. If you think about it, many of these statistics revolve around "best" or "top" attributes from a character's dataset. Collecting this much information for each character will take a few extra process cycles each time an attribute changes, or each time damage is doled out (since many spells / enchants / procs change these numbers). Multiply this by a few thousand times for a character in a given night (due to potential changes via combat), and then multiply it by around 11 million people playing the game... and you get the picture.
WoW Rookie: Weapon mastery
WoW Rookie is brought to our readers to help our newest players get acclimated to the game. Make sure you send a note to WoW Insider if you have suggestions for what new players need to know. Having the right weapon can make a world of difference in a players leveling experience. Last time on WoW Rookie, we looked at the types of weapons that each class can use and where to train the skill for them. Now just because you can use a weapon, doesn't mean you should. This week we'll examine what to look for in a weapon. It's pretty important to keep your hands full. You have a four weapon slots at the bottom of your character sheet: Main Hand, Off Hand, Ranged, and Ammunition. Two handed weapons take up both the main hand and off hand slots. The off hand may hold a weapon if your class can dual weild, a shield, or an off hand item that either adds to your attributes or looks cool (such as Bouquet of Red Roses or a Dark Iron Tankard.) I recommend something useful when adventuring, though it's fun to see what folks come up with when roaming the city.
Attribute systems have -10 to Intelligence
As a gamer who was holding a controller long before I'd ever even heard of a D20, the attribute systems that seem to be standard in the world of RPGs were always a little foreign and foreboding. The idea of Strength and Dexterity were easy enough to grasp, but what the heck did Constitution mean? And for that matter, what's the difference between Wisdom and Intelligence? Even as an adult, the attribute system in a game like World of Warcraft is a bit strange to me. They give general descriptions on the website and in the game's manual, but when you start throwing in things like crit chances, the five second rule, and attack power, it all becomes a dense, tangled mess.On his blog, Brian Green ponders whether such a system can't be simplified in a way that would encourage a deeper understanding for players who don't take their games so seriously that they've got their gear progression mapped out in Excel. His first suggestion is to sweep away derived stats, or more accurately, JUST have derived stats, and ignore the base stats that influence them. Seems reasonable enough, if a bit more long-winded. His second suggestion is to take away the level curve, making stats behave the same regardless of the player level. It's an interesting idea in the abstract, but one wonders whether developers, and indeed the players they're developing these games for, are ready to put in such a radically different system.
TR attribute changes unveiled, coming in 1.4
The indispensable Paul Sage has released another Feedback Friday update over on the official site, and we're pleased to report that they're ushering in another big change that will change the way people play Tabula Rasa. As most people well know, the big ability changes that came with patch 1.3 were not accompanied by the tweak to attributes as originally planned. Instead, they were bumped to the next patch, 1.4. The only snag was, they never really expounded on what these changes were going to be. That is, of course, until today.The basic rundown is that attributes have been given new utility, to allow people to tweak their builds for their own personal goals. Points in Body will add addition armor for those concerned with survivability, points in Mind will bump up the damage of Logos abilities, and points in Spirit will increase the likelihood of delivering a critical hit. In addition, the health levels for all characters is being bumped up to better emphasize the role of healing in combat. The way it works currently, if your armor is stripped away, you're basically dead in the water -- it only takes a few good hits to deplete all of your health. By making the health bar bigger, healers actually have a chance to apply their skills before their buddies wipe.1.4 isn't on the PTR just yet, but Sage is encouraging people to try it out while it's still being tweaked so they can get some good feedback on it.
