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Choose My Adventure: A pirate's life for me!
Ahoy, mateys! Welcome to the start of my swashbuckling adventures on the high seas. The votes are in, the polls have closed, and the winner for Choose My Adventure is Pirates of the Burning Sea. It was the runner-up last time, so it's nice to see that it's finally the belle of the ball. For my introductory column this week, I'll take a closer look at the poll results (which were extremely close!) and then set off on the dangerous seas. Read on for a look at my first moments in game, and then pick my path for next week!
Brawling changes hit Pirates of the Burning Sea
Pirates of the Burning Sea is a title that's been undergoing some major overhauls in terms of game mechanics. Flying Lab Software has been revamping the game's combat systems, both those of ship-based combat and avatar combat. We've mentioned a few of those changes in the past, such as the introduction of new NPC archetypes but the latest issue they've been tackling is how brawling works in PotBS.A developer log this week, from Isildur, explains the situation with skill lines (as well as optional skill lines) and what was involved with balancing them. The challenge was in creating a system where a given skill line wouldn't be mandatory, giving players choices in how they approach combat, yet keeping each skill line powerful enough that it can remain effective against other combat styles.
Pirates of the Burning Sea launches their avatar combat redesign
Avatar combat was always the stepchild system in Pirates of the Burning Sea. Where ship combat was polished, intense, and very different from your standard MMO combat fare, avatar combat just seemed plain weak and added in at the last moment. In fact, it was one of the last things added to the game, as lead designer Kevin "Isildur" Maginn tells us in his developer blog.But as of today, with the new "Clash of Steel" patch, avatar combat has gotten a complete redesign. Thar' be a major update, mateys! Kevin has been working on the avatar combat system for months now under the radar, telling us at Massively about it with Flying Lab CEO Russel Williams at his side back during DragonCon."I liked the avatar combat system, we had a good base system, but things just seemed off," said Kevin Maginn about the new revisions. "I was playing Dynasty Warriors 6 a lot, and I think the new system reflects that. I wanted a system that allowed players to move through combat quickly and have fun with missions instead of killing one man, waiting, killing another, and waiting."With today's patch we finally get to see the fruits of the development team's long labor. Even if you're not a subscriber to Pirates of the Burning Sea, you can still jump on a free trial and check out the new system along side plundering the sparkling seas of precious booty!
Pirates of the Burning Sea's new NPC archetypes revealed
The latest Pirates of the Burning Sea developer blog focuses on the title's avatar combat revamp, which we've discussed a bit at Massively in the past. "AvCom Revamp: NPC Archetypes" is written by PotBS Content Designer Bryan Yarrow, aka 'HighLevelMob?'. In it, he introduces the NPC archetypes and the moves and abilities they can employ. "Now, NPCs will debuff you, combo you, set up big finishers, support their allies, and do a lot of other cool stuff as well," Yarrow writes. While the developers didn't want to mire the game in too much complexity, they settled on placing all but two kinds of NPCs into one of six archetypes, with several sub-archetypes within. The differing sub-archetypes represent the specific abilities each NPC uses to fulfill his or her role in that archetype. Yarrow broke the NPC archetype list down as: Defenders: largely focused on the parry stat, but with less ability to dodge. Damagers: high offensive stats allow them to deal out damage, at the cost of less defense. Duelists: high parry and increased offense, but they lack the specialization of either a Defender or a Damager. Duelists possess special abilities, such as a riposte attack combined with a parry. Supporters: alternately strengthen allies or weaken enemies. Brutes: soak up damage, but are easier targets coupled with a reduced parry. Gunners: ranged attackers, with low defense against melee attacks. See Yarrow's "AvCom Revamp: NPC Archetypes" for the full details on how they're changing NPCs in Pirates of the Burning Sea, and more info on roles the various sub-archetypes of NPCs can fulfill.
Pirates of the Burning Sea is movin' on up
In the newest dev diary for Pirates of the Burning Sea, we get quite an update regarding the state of the game as well as what the future may hold. There's word of the PotBS team's recent studio upgrade in Seattle, which will directly influence productivity in the game's development. There's also the addition of new employees and of course the revamp to the avatar combat system that we mentioned last week.This revamp is the Flying Labs team's largest concern right now, as they say they've been planning to go back and re-examine the sword fighting from day one. Since ship combat got it's own rebuild, the avatar system will go through a similar re-balance to account for the new system. After this revamp is complete, they will focus on new features such as the in-progress skirmish and player-governed ports. This has inspired them to take on a whole new enthusiasm for an aggressive advertising campaign, so you can expect to see much more from PotBS in the near future.
Pirates of the Burning Sea to get revamped avatar combat
Swordfighting in Pirates of the Burning Sea is going through a major overhaul, not unlike how ship combat has evolved since the game launched. Flying Labs' Isildur has written a dev blog titled, "Avatar Combat Revision" which explains why changes were necessary, and how they envision the new system working. Ultimately, the changes are intended to bring Pirates of the Burning Sea's combat closer to Isildur's ideal system: "I wanted a system that would let me slice through armies of minions like a hot knife through butter, but that would be tactical and complex in a one-on-one duel between evenly matched opponents." Read on below the cut for a listing of the fundamental changes coming to the game's avatar combat.
