Well, I started ReBorn today and...some thoughts

[anon88892761]

the short answer is to farm shards. that will keep you busy and increase the difficulty of the encounters.

after that, you might try leveling an alt (especially after they add the grinding mechanic next week).

did you manage to get to max level in 7 hours on your scoundrel? if not you have that to do too…

you’re right that orbus isn’t anywhere NEAR the content of the old school mmorpgs (EQ, WoW, etc.), but you’re exaggerating that you have nothing left to do after a single full day of playing.

No, I didn’t manage to cap after a day of playing, but lvl 11 is pretty substantial tbh. I hope that similar to WoW it’s pretty easy to grind to lvl 20 but then after that it becomes lengthy.

I always exaggerate, but C’mon let’s be honest here - while I wasn’t aware of the lore quests (which seem to be to just click some dialog and kill things and then continue) - it’s the same 6 or 7 NPC’s that give the exact same quests types according to your lvl. Once you turn them in you get rep - which the rewards are nothing special. The most important one (hoverboard) I got within two hours. Playing WoW back in the day you couldn’t even get a mount until lvl 20 and then you had to grind gold to buy one. After a day of playing I had almost 10000 Dram (Bought two dragons and a treat that said it would influence size but when I gave it to him nothing happened)
Let’s say I rep up fishing and get the uber rod - chances are it will operate the exact same way my beginner one does with the tiny red line and wonky reel.

Leveling alts should be the very last thing you should be doing as a new player trying to learn to play the initial class. To be honest if I were to start an alt I would be doing the exact same things, where’s the fun in that? Why aren’t there class specific lines of questing?

Again, not complaining but I logged this morning and entered dungeon Q got to the final boss and group rage quit.

[Burnator]

(Bought two dragons and a treat that said it would influence size but when I gave it to him nothing happened)

Dragons dont change like that
Read the dragon breething manual (in your library i think) that is to keep that dragons size when you breed two dragons together.

Also, you really need to read the lore quest diolog or you are likely to get stuck. The info saved in the compass is not enough usually.

[Atropos]

which are 4 level higher than you (that’s the max difference of the scale)

If I recall correctly, in Dungeons it was changed from +6/-4 to +3/-3. It was as a test and I’m not sure if that stayed or if they’ve reverted it. I haven’t seen anything since, so I assume it’s what they’ve kept

[Micah_S]

If I recall correctly, in Dungeons it was changed from +6/-4 to +3/-3. It was as a test and I’m not sure if that stayed or if they’ve reverted it. I haven’t seen anything since, so I assume it’s what they’ve kept

Two of the dungeons are level 10, two are level 20, even with level scaling - iirc +/-4 - it is still a requirement that at least a part of the group is close to these levels.

Dragons dont change like that
Read the dragon breething manual (in your library i think) that is to keep that dragons size when you breed two dragons together.

Also, you really need to read the lore quest diolog or you are likely to get stuck. The info saved in the compass is not enough usually.

Here is where I think a BIG part of the problem lies. Unless you stay on the community forums, some of this information is not known / found / easy to find in the actual game. It is easy to say, “just ask someone” and I know that the devs are working hard to get information like this added, but I can imagine it being quite off-putting to someone new to the game not knowing what is going on and then having to resort to an out of game community forum in order to find answers.
There are a lot of aspects of this game that are not explained, even outside of the actual game. In my opinion, this should be resolved sooner rather than later. I understand new content, but the old content needs to be fully fleshed out and explained (to find and keep new players) before pushing end game content (meant for older / experienced players). I know the devs are working hard on this and I personally see the progress, but there still seems like a long laundry list of items that need adjusting from class balancing, dungeon labels, que system, battle grounds, etc…

[Atropos]

Here is where I think a BIG part of the problem lies. Unless you stay on the community forums, some of this information is not known / found / easy to find in the actual game. It is easy to say, “just ask someone”

Crash and I have been trying to update the wiki: http://orbusfreepress.org/index.php/Main_Page

Edit: but can we get a confirmation on the dungeon level scale? +3/-3? +4/-4? @Riley_D please!

[Atropos]

Here it is (Riley’s post that I was remembering): Reborn Beta 7 Info + Patch Notes

Not sure if it ever got changed back.

[Seurimas_Songwraith]

There are a lot of aspects of this game that are not explained, even outside of the actual game

Just as part of this, I’m not sure what they’re trying for with the numberless approach to everything any more. The best part of MMOs are clear feedback about progress, so you can see numbers go up and have context for them.

But everything from potions to missions to experience is inconsistent with numbers. Some missions tell you exactly how many things you need to kill, some don’t. Potions don’t tell you how big a boost they give, nevermind what that boost means at even a high level, but you can at least see the result if you look at the right place. Experience gain is pretty obvious, but progress is chronically opaque. Even veterans can’t say how much experience is needed for a level. I usually hear in terms of “about 3-4 missions worth” or the like.

[John_T1]

Orbus has a frustrating learning curve…the game has thrived since the beginning as being a community that isn’t about walk thoughs and spoilers. The community actively discourages people from posting things about the game that the community feels need to be kept a secret so that folks can discover them themselves as part of game play. i’m not just talking about quests, but actual game mechanics which are frustratingly difficult to figure out on your own. cool — you either struggle and eventually figure it out on your own or you ask some folks who tell you.

This is all fine, but Orbus is also a very low population game — and a significant portion of that population has been playing for a while in top end guilds. the result is that the game can feel almost vacuous at the lower levels (or higher levels too if you are unguilded).

if you want new people to get hooked into orbus I think you need much more hand holding in the first few levels. I don’t understand why OG orbus had a fairly lengthy robust lore quest, but reborn doesn’t for example. I don’t understand why players manage to get into the dungeon queue and are paired for content inappropriate to their level with advanced players that are equally frustrated by the RNG giving them a group that isn’t going to be able to do the content.

yes, its fun (for people like me) that in orbus you are supposed to ask other people in game what questions you have instead of just googling the answer. some of the most fun I have in orbus is in hanging out and teaching new players how to do something…but for each person that asks for help there are probably two that just never get out of the newbie yard and quit the game.

[Burnator]

Yah, the 1K hours playtime came from the last game for me. It’s way downscaled now and a lot simpler in many ways, mostly for the quest users.
The old quests where much more fun and had movies and spoken dialog, and understandable easy to follow lore, and actual missions, more like a proper rpg. If I diddent have my guild mates and friends I would probably have quit reborn.

[Micah_S]

Which is same like in every MMO sorry I played WOW also and countless other games, for years, and had to dig out info, some about it only occured to me after weeks … 3rd party info is so much a part of this genre I would not get to the idea there’s no reading on external sources needed except you are very, very casual. I agree there’s always improvements but I don’t expect to have it delivered ingame and without getting in contact with the community, best a guild;

I agree that there are similarities like other MMO’s, however Reborn is not like every other MMO in that I have to pull myself out of the VR environment to look up information. I also need to physically interact with the world. This is a world that has been built partly around immersion. The game should not, in my opinion, require a character to break “immersion” just to look up info out of game. I agree to not hand over the keys to the kingdom and you should have to work for some things but having at least the basic information available in game should be paramount. (edit: much is there but still much is missing)

One example is potions: It shows how to make them but I do not believe there is anywhere in game that states what each potions does to a characters stats, the differences between potency of regular, aged, and enhanced, etc. Is there anywhere that explains the stats themselves (int, str, wid)?
I know the game will get there but saying I should run and find a guild to answer these questions or I should look outside of the actual game for answers just because it is a standard in other MMO’s is not in my opinion a good choice for a VR game.

BTW thank you @Atropos and @Crash for trying to update the Wiki: http://orbusfreepress.org/index.php/Main_Page

[Seurimas_Songwraith]

3rd party info is so much a part of this genre I would not get to the idea there’s no reading on external sources needed except you are very, very casual

Even Minecraft has tutorials now. Lack of on-boarding isn’t a feature, it’s a bug.

All things said and done, I can understand the frustrations of many people here. Reborn was hailed as not just a new chapter or iteration, but a “release”. It’s no longer even marked as early access on Steam. With that comes a lot of expectations, which I can’t say are really met.

I’m basically under the assumption that this was their only move if they wanted to be a launch title on the Quest. I haven’t checked, but I bet few to none of the games on the Quest are early access.

[DocAibolit]

There are quite a few games with mechanics that are not spelled out for you. Yes, some of them are MMOs. These databases are usually created by players, not by devs - and the players come by the information in various ways. Those other games also have a much, much larger player base. For potion effects, you have a character sheet that tells you exactly what the magnitude of the stat increase you’re getting is. Fishing lures were meant to be discovered by the community. The devs added tutorials to this game which I feel spells a lot of stuff out, but if you’re frustrated that it is lacking, I invite you to create and publish the third party information you feel would be helpful to a new player.

[anon88892761]

There are quite a few games with mechanics that are not spelled out for you. Yes, some of them are MMOs. These databases are usually created by players, not by devs - and the players come by the information in various ways. Those other games also have a much, much larger player base. For potion effects, you have a character sheet that tells you exactly what the magnitude of the stat increase you’re getting is. Fishing lures were meant to be discovered by the community. The devs added tutorials to this game which I feel spells a lot of stuff out, but if you’re frustrated that it is lacking, I invite you to create and publish the third party information you feel would be helpful to a new player.

Wow, just wow. I honestly don’t know what to say, but I’m not helping a dev team explain the most basic functions.
Potions don’t need to be spelled out per se but how about perhaps a note on what the important stat is for obscure classes? Oh no, wait agility doesn’t exist…Though strength and int do… Umm how do I know I scored a critical and where are my agility points??? RIGHT you can’t see any if it unless you are in the wardrobe!

Yeah I’m getting a bit miffed here. Seems that everyone assumes everyone knows.
For example if lures are “discovered by the community” then why not just say it in the journal?

Haha I’m sorry but there are literally no tutorials just animated . gifs and only for some things. It’s sad you can’t see that and are condensing on me for saying so.

[DocAibolit]

I’m just providing an alternative viewpoint. Those gifs also had words, last I checked, and usually serve to draw a picture of the necessary action, which works pretty well in a vr game since you have to move to do things instead of just pressing buttons. I don’t think any game will explicitly tell you that it won’t tell you something and you have to figure it out for yourself. Crits are the big damage numbers that float up instead of down. You don’t have agility points, what makes you think agility points need to be a thing? Not every game has to have an agility stat. Strength, int, and crit are important to all classes, with int increasing ability damage and strength increasing attack damage. This can quite easily be tested using a training dummy and damage numbers. You should be able to see your character stats any time you open your inventory, I believe the wardrobe is for transmogs.

A lot of people will disagree with you because they don’t feel that everything should be handed out on a silver platter. You’re welcome to be miffed about it, but that’s just how the game is. Like I said, if you want to make tools that help new players, the door is wide open.

[anon88892761]

I’m just providing an alternative viewpoint. Those gifs also had words, last I checked, and usually serve to draw a picture of the necessary action, which works pretty well in a vr game since you have to move to do things instead of just pressing buttons. I don’t think any game will explicitly tell you that it won’t tell you something and you have to figure it out for yourself. Crits are the big damage numbers that float up instead of down. You don’t have agility points, what makes you think agility points need to be a thing? Not every game has to have an agility stat. Strength, int, and crit are important to all classes, with int increasing ability damage and strength increasing attack damage. This can quite easily be tested using a training dummy and damage numbers. You should be able to see your character stats any time you open your inventory, I believe the wardrobe is for transmogs.

A lot of people will disagree with you because they don’t feel that everything should be handed out on a silver platter. You’re welcome to be miffed about it, but that’s just how the game is. Like I said, if you want to make tools that help new players, the door is wide open.

I understand your viewpoint and respect it, but in my opinion its a bit flawed. The .gifs contain no words just arrows and only for alchemy lab along with color/temp table as you look up. Also, which (I assume) is the basic storage chest as you enter, and the dragon storage as well as the lure area. Down in the basement there is a potion chest I think with another table that I have no idea what it is for. The wardrobe can be opened and the explanation is to select an item on the left and then choose the appearance on the right - but no explanation on what it does or what it’s used for, and also in wardrobe your CHAR sheet is there (Nowhere else that I can find that shows actual stats like AC HP)

Crits should be bigger sized numbers than regular hits or have a different color. I did manage to figure it out on my own in the training room, but only after an hour of experimentation.

Umm I think agility points are a thing because we have specific duties for each class (Tank/DPS/Support/Heal) one can only assume that each type would have a specific stat that increases your role duty. Why would a DPS need high INT or STR if my DPS duty is critical hit/chance? Sorry, but your comment makes literally no sense to me. I don’t have to be smart to shoot a gun, nor should I need to be strong to wield a wand. I’m honestly confused that you said that.

[Atropos]

also in wardrobe your CHAR sheet is there (Nowhere else that I can find that shows actual stats like AC HP)

Your stats are available in your inventory tab. Just open the menu and select the backpack.

Umm I think agility points are a thing because we have specific duties for each class (Tank/DPS/Support/Heal) one can only assume that each type would have a specific stat that increases your role duty

Not quite. The strength and Intelligence do various things per class. At base, they (as it has been explained above) increase your damage for normal attacks and abilities, respectively. Additionally, for Mage class, the Strength increases the speed of travel of spells (thus increasing the distance).

A DPS will need high strength or int (depending on the class, generally just better to use both) and empowered strikes (crit potion).

[Seurimas_Songwraith]

The strength and Intelligence do various things per class.

Right, but I don’t think any of this is even kind of explained in game. That seems to be his point. 90% of people will not use the forums or community resources. That means 90% of people are left floundering by poor tutorials. And then the 10% wonder why Dungeon queues are so bad at the game.

[Micah_S]

@anon88892761 I agree with you on most if not all of your points. I don’t think anyone is trying to devalue your argument, it is just them giving their view point. I do think the devs are working on making more information available as an example the “.gif” or animations were not there in the beginning of Reborn but were added because of posts like yours. I know they appreciate, or at least I get the impression that they appreciate the feedback. Not to give excuses, but there are constant updates and I know that over time improvement will be implemented that will make most happy. I have trust in this Dev team and I KNOW that it will improve given some time.

I play more casually and have stuck around since its launch on the Steam store more to see the changes and participate with the people I meet than with the actual game / story line. I hope you do stick around and give the shard dungeons / lvl 30 content a try as I think part of the overhaul was to try and make it so that the climb to the top does not take long and for more people to participate.

I get it is frustrating with a lower level not knowing, but the content at 30 is engaging. Again part of the reason for the over haul which not everyone is a fan, is to get you to the arguably “more fun stuff” quicker or at least though different means. But the devs are making adjustments and I am sure they will strike a good balance soon.

As I would like to see more in game explained, some of it is not there (Yet) and I personally would not mind (if you would like) partying up when your on and explaining some things that I have had to pickup along the way.

[anon88892761]

Right, but I don’t think any of this is even kind of explained in game. That seems to be his point. 90% of people will not use the forums or community resources. That means 90% of people are left floundering by poor tutorials. And then the 10% wonder why Dungeon queues are so bad at the game.

This - this right here. You got it. Having to figure out the most basic fundamental concepts is destroying dungeon q’s and people giving up before even getting started. If kept in this format - doomed to fail as something much better or streamlined will be coming along and everyone playing this will be stuck just like when EQ decided to expand to PS2 and it failed miserably and those players were left with nothing but a vast empty wasteland and servers just shut down altogether.

To be honest no one should be able to Q for a dungeon until at least lvl 10 and should have at least one quest as a reason for going. Players should not even be allowed to group until level 5 so they can get basic play down and learn their class a bit and then given a quest where a group is necessary as it’s impossible to solo.

I’m being limited on my posts due to me being a new user on this forum, but I’m keeping up and will comment when I am allowed. I know this is a relatively new game (is it though, wtf was orbusvr then?) but how could beta players not mention any of this when they were playing? I honestly don’t understand.

I guess making myself big and strong will make my bullets hit harder - how lame and a mockery of a DPS class. Shameful.
The whole issue here is that I’m not trying to argue with anyone - I’m just stating obvious flaws that will keep new players from joining, therefore devs not making any more money, then slowly not creating content, then players who’ve invested hours and hours are left with nothing but wasted time. (OH OrbusVR!)
Without voicing these concerns - in a couple of years we’ll all be playing OrbusRebornAgain or something.
So far I’ve enjoyed playing socially again - as it’s been a while, but I’d also like to see the game grow - and that won’t happen if basic concepts to make it actually playable for a new entry into the genre are not being met.

Ok I now officially hate this game for the lack of any sort of introduction whatsoever. Just read in another post that in character creation there are blue balls all around the character in which you can pull and manipulate - and that you can also REPORT players for various things. NONE of this is explained and I DARE anyone to say I should have to figure it out myself.

People paid $40.00 for a $5.00 game. Dev team you should seriously be ashamed. I’ve bought VR shovelware with more content/introduction/features. RECROOM even goes through the menu system and ITS FREE.

If I could explode I would surely do so at this point.

[Seurimas_Songwraith]

People paid $40.00 for a $5.00 game. Dev team you should seriously be ashamed. I’ve bought VR shovelware with more content/introduction/features. RECROOM even goes through the menu system and ITS FREE.

To be fair, VR should demand a premium price, since it severely limits the audience and increases the development costs. And comparisons to Rec Room are unfair, since it’s ostensibly a loss leader for some greater VR monetization effort, kept afloat by investors hoping it’s the next Facebook or something.

I’m not going to argue what the exact right price is, because I think the only thing the devs did outright wrong with selling the game is not keeping the “Early Access” marker. Basically, Orbus VR is the one game that made me break my “no early access” rule. I hate early access for lots of reasons. Unfortunately, were I to tally all my pet peeves with early access and check them against Oldbus and Reborn, Reborn would beat Oldbus 2-to-1. Had I stuck to my guns and waited to buy the game on “release”, I’m pretty sure I would have dropped it immediately.