Disappointment about the Skill Mastery System

[Lastmind]

I am very disappointed about the recent announcement. I know a lot of people who hoped for a real rework and the addition of new skills.
The current plans do not solve any problem on the long term.
1.The new decisions that we have now are not significant at all gameplaywise nor do they add noticeable depth to the skillsystem. The skills are still too simple and offer no real variety in gameplay.
2. The problem that more skillpoints add new lower the choices due to the stagnant amount of options is not fundamentally changed. We just got more points to spend for small amounts of bonuses. On the long term the old problem will come back.

What we need are new skills on every level cap and something like a skilltree with a lot of different options and relevant choices.
Another option would also be an advanced class system to maintain the simple nature of the low levels and add an increasing depth to skills on the end game.

Have a good day.

[kydrian]

1+ to this most of us asked this 2 years ago and instead we got this.

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[harie]

Seriously sts, this kind of skill mastery you're giving us.....
We want new skilll!!!!!! Get it? N.E.W SKILL
Pls sts we want new skill, so bored keep using the same old skill on and on.....

[greekAL]

hmmmmmm i think we should just wait and check how this skill system works and then start see positives and negatives!!!

[Niixed]

It is really unfortunate STS chose to call it "skill mastery." They often have difficulty managing player expectations and this is a prime example.

If you say "you are going to get skill mastery" to us players we expect to get... drum roll... skill mastery!

If, instead of skill mastery, you give us micro-specializations of existing skills, what will happen? We will be greatly disappointed.

It feels like "skill mastery" is really just a band-aid because, if you're going to expand 10 levels, you've got to give players somewhere to put their 10 points. If I were developing this expansion, this is probably what I would have done. However, I would never have hyped it as "skill mastery" because its a very risky move to promise more than you are going to deliver.

[Mouly]

It is really unfortunate STS chose to call it "skill mastery." They often have difficulty managing player expectations and this is a prime example.

If you say "you are going to get skill mastery" to us players we expect to get... drum roll... skill mastery!

If, instead of skill mastery, you give us micro-specializations of existing skills, what will happen? We will be greatly disappointed.

It feels like "skill mastery" is really just a band-aid because, if you're going to expand 10 levels, you've got to give players somewhere to put their 10 points. If I were developing this expansion, this is probably what I would have done. However, I would never have hyped it as "skill mastery" because its a very risky move to promise more than you are going to deliver.

Not once in your post do you suggest what skill mastery "actually" is. Not even google seems to have a clear definition of it. It seems like skill mastery is subjective which makes me wonder how you can feel so let down.

[bonjovi3223]

Not once in your post do you suggest what skill mastery "actually" is. Not even google seems to have a clear definition of it. It seems like skill mastery is subjective which makes me wonder how you can feel so let down.

He & me & many others are feeling let down because what sts has really done here is give us an exit system of how to allocate those extra 10 skill points by most likely nerfing old skills (assumption) & nerfing passive dmg & crit as they have already stated.
This is not what ppl expected.

[kydrian]

Not once in your post do you suggest what skill mastery "actually" is. Not even google seems to have a clear definition of it. It seems like skill mastery is subjective which makes me wonder how you can feel so let down.

People were expecting new skills since that's what we've been asking for the last 2 years to avoid problems with the next expansions. Everyone thought StS was doing that since they announced the skill mastery and we've been only asking for new skills. Seems like StS only reads half of every suggestion we make.

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[iAmBurberry]

Thank God I'm not the only one kind of disappointed. I was hoping ,really, for more trees to spec into more Int., Dex., or Str. or even new power skills....

[Jazzi]

You are not the only one. We have been discussing this in the guildchat and in our line group. Everyone seems to feel the same lol. Well, it is subject to change. I hope sts does something with that.

[Ebezaanec]

I'll be the devil's advocate and say that "skill mastery" means "mastering a skill." If you max out a skill 10/10, then you have perfected or "mastered the skill."

Many of us wanted "skill expansion" which is not the same thing. That's not to say I didn't want that either, I really did. But you have to read between the lines and speculate with low expectations. Kinda like today's movies, I guess.

[Niixed]

Not once in your post do you suggest what skill mastery "actually" is. Not even google seems to have a clear definition of it. It seems like skill mastery is subjective which makes me wonder how you can feel so let down.

A fair question...

I have posted elsewhere about what skill mastery is...

I took the liberty of doing a little research on what a skill mastery system is. In other MMOs it means different things. "Blacksmithing" is the most common example used in describing a skill mastery system, but it seems more likely that STS' version of Skill Mastery will be combat-oriented, just like the current system. For example, the Sorcerer skill 'Lightning Strike' may have 10 levels, each with it's own requirements.

A skill mastery system usually involves characters having to meet conditions in order to advance in a skill. For example, 'use the skill 1,000 times', 'kill a specific boss with a particular weapon' or 'successfully craft a skill-related item.' MMO developers often implement "skill trees" that have multiple branches of progress characters can pursue. Typically, each level of advancement is progressively more difficult and only the most dedicated and tenacious players reach the final power level.

I'm sure STS would know what skill mastery is like in other games, otherwise how would they have come up with the term in the first place? Developers borrow ideas from each other all the time. From my somewhat limited experience, skill mastery systems in other games are radically different than what STS is calling skill mastery here. Even in Dark Legends, a skill tree exists.

So, yes, the definition of skill mastery is somewhat subjective, but it has a conventional definition within the game developer industry. Evoking the term conveys approximately the same idea among most players and developers.

[Niixed]

I'll be the devil's advocate and say that "skill mastery" means "mastering a skill." If you max out a skill 10/10, then you have perfected or "mastered the skill."

Many of us wanted "skill expansion" which is not the same thing. That's not to say I didn't want that either, I really did. But you have to read between the lines and speculate with low expectations. Kinda like today's movies, I guess.

I'll play angel's advocate.

If that's the definition of "skill mastery" then the skill system we have now is already a skill mastery system since you can max out or "master" at 5/5 for each active skill and passive skill. By claiming 'skill mastery' STS put forth the expectation that the current system would be altered significantly.

What we have is not a significant alteration, but a micro-expansion of the current system that kills hopes of future improvements to the skill system because STS will now be less motivated to make further improvements. The fact that it is so expensive to master a skill (10 points) means STS probably doesn't even have plans for additional micro-expansions. We won't run out of skill points room again for another 80 levels, that's level 126!

[Foumagus]

+1

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[Zylx]

I posted on the announcement thread a suggestion to add effects to maxed out skills. Because atm, these are pretty miniscule upgrades. 4% chance on a 10/10 ice to freeze an enemy? That's kinda disappointing to waste 9 points just to upgrade in increments of 0.4% and have it only proc statistically once per 2+ runs.

I was kind of hoping for more of a class-mastery system or something like that. Like for a mage, you can specialize as a Fire, Ice, or Lightning mage. Rogues can be Assassin, Ranger, or Magic Archer. Warriors can be Barbarians, Knights, or Paladins. And then each subclass has its own skills that can be upgraded to more potent stages. A fire mage can shoot a lv1 fireball and it has a small explosion, and then when the fireball range progressively grows with each level, and starts adding other effects like firecrackers every 3 levels.

AL's skill system has always been a plain bagel. It's right there, nothing to discover, nothing to really expand on, and this skill-mastery system is the cream cheese. It gives the skill system more flavor, but it doesnt change the generic system itself.

[Justg]

Hey folks, please keep feedback here so we can consolidate it.

Also realize that theorizing on numerical changes is different from seeing how it operates in the wild. Appreciate the feedback!

- g