PL Today – In-Depth Analysis and Long Term Outlook

[Everyone'sFavMage]

I've quit until things are fixed,

[Unxtoxic]

I was apart of that era (feels good to say that)

[Otukura]

I've quit until things are fixed,

You PM me "I quit." every other day...

[lilweezy]

in before relock

[Rot]

I'm just too lazy to read. (>@.@)>
Anyways, great effort. I can imagine how long it took for you to type down all your opinions.

[Tayvar]

This was perhaps the most well written post(s) that I have yet to come across on these forumns. Thank you for all the time, effort, and research put into your article. Your post has me wondering if the balance between freemium marketing and player skill will be tilted in the same manner in the upcoming Arcane Legends. I truly hope not.

[Sryyoulose]

As some people may know I quit PL at the beginning of the Humania cap. I logged on today and started to twink again... And clearly I found out about these new op weapons. Figuring that prices can only go up I bought a bow and began to kill. Killing is way easier then ever before! I feel like a tier: Dev with these op weapons. I've always considered myself below T1 but above the average T2 players.

Now what happened to skill? I had no idea! I want to ask the devs to release another pl. A pl up to sewer cap.
Anyways, Good post <3 you all!

[Thelastblink]

As some people may know I quit PL at the beginning of the Humania cap. I logged on today and started to twink again... And clearly I found out about these new op weapons. Figuring that prices can only go up I bought a bow and began to kill. Killing is way easier then ever before! I feel like a tier: Dev with these op weapons. I've always considered myself below T1 but above the average T2 players.

Now what happened to skill? I had no idea! I want to ask the devs to release another pl. A pl up to sewer cap.
Anyways, Good post <3 you all!

Lol i had the same reaction! At first you think your legendary but after it gets very boring after skill is not involved and when you see the diversity wiped out! Btw nice thread again Whoisthis!

[Techno Email]

Thank you for the extensive and thoughtful post. I'm looking into the dodge stat's on Humania legendary gear. I will also take this into consideration with the new items I'm creating. I'm still reading your posts, but wanted to let you know that we really appreciate all this constructive feedback.

Just a side-note: We value PVP very much because it's a great way to have fun in PL. It's also an important part of our end-game. It is extremely difficult to know exactly how gear balance will play out when millions of characters are using it. We rely on your feedback to a certain extent. We are most likely to address feedback that is constructive, actionable, concise and reaches consensus. How we address your feedback (especially regarding balance issues) may not be what you expect.

[Dynastu]

Thank you for the extensive and thoughtful post. I'm looking into the dodge stat's on Humania legendary gear. I will also take this into consideration with the new items I'm creating. I'm still reading your posts, but wanted to let you know that we really appreciate all this constructive feedback.

Just a side-note: We value PVP very much because it's a great way to have fun in PL. It's also an important part of our end-game. It is extremely difficult to know exactly how gear balance will play out when millions of characters are using it. We rely on your feedback to a certain extent. We are most likely to address feedback that is constructive, actionable, concise and reaches consensus. How we address your feedback (especially regarding balance issues) may not be what you expect.

Yes, finally, a response about PvP balance! Thank you, Techno. I was incredibly frustrated with the deterioration of PvP and I didn't think it would ever get addressed.

[WhoIsThis]

Just a side-note: We value PVP very much because it's a great way to have fun in PL. It's also an important part of our end-game. It is extremely difficult to know exactly how gear balance will play out when millions of characters are using it. We rely on your feedback to a certain extent. We are most likely to address feedback that is constructive, actionable, concise and reaches consensus. How we address your feedback (especially regarding balance issues) may not be what you expect.

I should note that this is the first real response I can find on the forums that has indicated that PvP holds some value to the development team of PL.

I will withhold further judgement until I see changes (if any).

[Sim Jing]

+1!

[Elyseon]

Dodge needs reduced over all at end game, also armor(increased) or dmg reduction as well, a one shot kill should never be happening in a buffed fight of players of the same level

[Silverpegasus]

No, dodge should not be reduced. Those darned yetis roaming Huamania kill non elixir use mages like ant. Even when level cap is raised, at this point to 71, i cant believe my HP is still 400 like when i was level 1, when that yetis have like... 2000 hp!?
The problem all lies in our meagre HP. The health cap should be raised. We gorged insanely amount of health pot each run, PL has turned into a quick-finger potting game.

Why is an endgame character having 400 HP!!! In all other games, your HP always goes up when you levelled.
Even with point based allocation attributes, i still think you should have a basic HP raise for all classes.

Like, A meagre 2hp per level for mage, 2.5 for archer, 3 for warrior will even do,
Better yet make a ascending hp increase curve yield. (not descending curve)
Steepest slope for warrior class.

[Ixillicus]

I definitely think the running backwards range issue needs to be fixed. If it's a bug or intentional, I can't stand it!

[Sim Jing]

This requires a much needed BUMP

[Sim Jing]

This is indeed constructive criticism. =D

[GoodSyntax]

@Who,

Very well written posts! I share many (if not all) of your concerns and have voiced many of them in other threads.

A major source of the problem keeps coming back to Elixir usage and the decline of player skill. To combat skill decline, STS has Elixirs and OP'd gear. Because of the gear and Elixirs, they have to make the mobs much tougher - more damage, more HP, higher armor. Because of the OP'd mobs, more players commit to Elixirs which just continue the vicious cycle.

Frankly, I can't see STS doing away with Elixirs (as much as I would LOVE to see that) because it has become a major revenue source.

Cooperative gameplay has to become the focus for future caps because that has been the component of the game that has declined with each new release. Perhaps introductions of AOE Mega Combos and Single Target Mega's would help.

My opinion is that a single potted staff mage should not be able to lead the group and initiate first contact with a mob. Another problem is that a non-potted groups Mega Combo should be doing more damage than a potted staff mage's Drain + Firestorm.


I would honestly like to see better group combos that offer critical debuffs on mobs and bosses and critical buffs on party members. I would also like to see more chained combos that multiply damage. Furthermore, I would like to see chained buff/debuff combos.

So, here are some suggestions

BUFF COMBOS
Invincible Group
Makes all players within 12 meters sustain 0 damage from enemy attacks for 10 seconds.

Bear: Iron Blood
Mage: Blessing of Might
Bird: Evasion
Mage: Blessing of Vitality


Mega Rage
Doubles damage output and crit chance of all players within 12 meters for 10 seconds

Bear: Rage
Mage: Nightmare
Bird: Focus
Bear: Hell Scream

Massive Heal
Sets the HP of all players within 12 meters to 100% full.

Mage: Heal
Bear: Restore
Bird: Restore
Mage: Heal

Group Magic Shield
Extends a Magic Shield around all players within 12 meters for 12 seconds.

Bear: Restore
Bird: Meditation
Mage: Magic Shield


DEBUFF COMBOS
Mega Nightmare
Reduces armor to 0 for all enemies within 8 meters for 5 seconds

Bear: Hell Scream
Mage: Weakness
Bird: Avian Scream
Mage: Nightmare


CHAINED COMBOS
My thought on chained combos is that for every consecutive hit on an enemy (regardless of type) prior to a successfully landed counter-attack, that the damage increases either logarithmically or by an increasingly scaled percentage. This way, after a bunch of successful auto-attacks, landing a Combo or Mega-Combo would amplify damage significantly.

OTHER THOUGHTS
The order of Mega Rage and Mega Nightmare are complimentary, and can be chained together successfully to attain Double Damage + Mob/Boss with 0 armor. The point is that these chains are not easy to execute, but the benefits are significant, so group tactics play a much more visible role in the game, and negates the need (for some) to use Elixirs.

The counter of this argument is that bosses and high level mobs should be able to execute similar buff/debuff combos.

[Dynastu]

@GoodSyntax,

It'd be even better if some of these combos weren't possible when 2 or more group members were in possession of an elixir, but yeah right lol. This game is sadly becoming revenue > gameplay (or has been for a while, I mean).

[GoodSyntax]

Unfortunately, team tactics has taken a back seat to elixir usage and the overall cooperative gameplay has been in steady decline.

Hopefully, STS introduces more features that are focused promoting cooperation.

I was just trying offer up some ideas that would help promote better team mechanics. The point being that potted users can still rampage across the map like they usually do, but an unpotted team can be just as effective (maybe even more so) if they work well together.

Group buff/debuff would be especially effective for boss fights - kind of like the old days in AO or the Sewers when a great team could dominate the map without all the new-fangled elixirs.