Quote Originally Posted by Susanne View Post
I'm usually fighting the corner for new players but I really don't think they get a bad deal compared to what it was like when I and many more of us were new depending how you look at it.

If they are genuinely new players and not alts, they have the whole game and maps they have never seen to look forward to.

How many years did it take us to journey through Arlor without ankhs and advancement kits? Remember how difficult killing the bosses were..the events too.
We still managed to craft our planar pendants in our level 40s and the mythic gears in level 30s.
They level up way too fast at the beginning and that's the problem. It should be the other way round.

We all long for the "old" days because there was more to do, crafting and farming. New players have missed all that and that's a shame because those days and maps were the best.

If I had the chance to play Arcane Legends as a new player exactly as it was in the beginning I would do it and I don't mean as a hardcore player.
The guilds could help with advice. Farming is a problem for them but awakening essences are craftable and plentiful and higher levels could donate eggs.

It's all so rushed through now, nobody takes time to enjoy. Even in the new maps, people just rush it as if they need to and when their character dies a few times and there's not enough gold for them, they don't even try.
Many players are scared of being vilified if they "die" or get that word "nab" thrown at them too.

There is no teamwork in any level anymore. People give up too easily and are too impatient.

As for permits, they are easy enough to get, just three days of doing a story quest. The problem with that is not every new player knows how to acquire it. Maybe a better tutorial would be useful as the typical new players rarely use the forum.

My only criticism is the new mythic weapons. I really don't understand why the proc is complicated. Past expansion weapons haven't been made this way so why now?
I don't agree on your take about new players.
The catch to a new player when he jumps into a game is apart from the game features that they choose to enter)
1.) Are there players like me running around actively trying to complete storyline.

2.) The shiny stuff that maxed players are wearing... What do I have to do to obtain them.

3.) Is there Endgame content.

4.) Should I spend some money to gain some advantage and bling.

This is what I look for. And these are the trends which you are aware too...

1.)Most of the low level maps are empty.
Even with the easy leveling up introduced by STS.

2.) Once they realise the inflation and the amount of gold required to get somewhere, that's a hopeless thought which does not need explaining.

3.)Endgame content is ONLY there. No content through leveling till endgame which is a grind to even veterans and imagine a newbie sticking through that... I don't see a possibility.

4.) If the person still likes the feels of the game and plans strongly to invest into the game... The plat he buys will show how insignificant it amounts to... In the overall player base comparison.
As I feel there's a big shift of players all into the multiple hundreds of millions which is too far fetched for even mediocre playing players of the game.

Overall a new player would be lost.. As in any mmo but AL makes it too hard.
Trade permits stops many ilicit practices but Is bad for new players for sure since trading is the reason I still play this game.. A game changing feature not present in most mmorpgs to this extent. Kudos to the team for that.

Apart from the negative aspects, level scrunch is an improvement for new players.
The gold drops are too insignificant at lower levels and there's only a handful of maps that too endgame which gives good gold.
That too requires hefty investments for goldloot gear and a play gear, which at this point is no bang for buck because of the recent trend of loss in value of gears for warriors mainly.

More so the strategy to invest into expensive vanities and showoff for a while and wait for the manipulators to do their job to highrail the item into more digits.
No loss investment...and raises more faster than anyone can farm away endgame and inflate faster.