Combat Balancing

Beta Feedback
#1

Hey everyone,

I’ve just pushed out a new patch and restarted the server. As part of this, the difficulty level of the mobs has been re-adjusted, such that mobs lower than Level 10 should now be much easier to defeat solo. We heard from a lot of folks that the patch was just a tad too difficult for that low level content and so hopefully that should help.

In addition to that, I’ve increased the base value of XP from killing mobs by an additional 50%.

Along with making these changes, I think it’s important to also discuss the reasoning behind what we’re shooting for as our end goal here.

  • We do want the game to be challenging, however, not at the expense of the new player experience. You shouldn’t be dying repeatedly at Level 2, for instance.
  • However, this is a group-based MMO, and we want to design the combat around that. So what you’re going to find is that content at Level 20+, such as dungeons and the Wilds zones, is designed with groups in mind. As you get to higher levels (15+), you’ll find that monsters will become more difficult to solo. And then monsters in Wilds zones will travel in packs and groups rather than alone, so grouping will be key.
  • We also want to make it fairly easy to kill a “regular” monster, but tough to kill elites, dungeon groups, etc. So that’s something else this new patch should do well.

Finally, regarding the XP, I think where it was tuned was probably fine for release, but we don’t want people playing in the Beta to have to sink dozens of hours into grinding mobs just to have all their progress wiped at launch. So we’ve upped the XP gain considerably so that you can test things more quickly.

I’m eager to hear feedback on the combat balancing, so please let me know how you find it now, especially if you’re Level 10 or below.

Thanks!

4 Likes
#2

Thanks - looking forward to getting back in after lunch! I was leveling with some good guys yesterday (thanks for the help) and I we had 2 lvl 5’s and a lvl 12 trying to kill the skull wolves as they were the last 3 I needed to move on. I was literally killed after each skull wolf attempt… after numerous internet collection errors and the constant kills it was frustrating to say the least lol and gave it a break for the night lol!

#3

This sounds good. I’m going to level with my fiance today and try it.

#4

fighting seems better, i can now kill wolfs without getting below 50%. XP i haven’t noticed a difference really. (Level 6 now 7 Runemage)

#5

good to hear ill give it another try today.

#6

“You shouldn’t be dying repeatedly at Level 2”

Unless you’re a new mage, then you will die… Lots

#7

Just following up on this thread and looking for feedback from folks now that the new balance patch has been live for a day or so.

In particular, I’d love to know:

  • If you are new to the game and low-level (lower than Level 5), how are you finding the difficulty overall?
  • About how long is it taking you to gain a level?
  • For those of you who are higher level and in groups, how is the difficulty on the bosses and elites now (aside from the Desert Dungeon last boss which is bugged)?

Thanks!

#8

To answer your questions,

  • I just reached level 6 and it was my first time playing in any of the beta’s, now I don’t mind the difficulty of the game as much, around a higher level. Getting from 1-5 solo is a nightmare I feel that monsters hit like tanks and take near to no damage, making you die a lot.

  • Now this is a dodgy one since I don’t really time myself on how long it takes me to level, I’d say it’s oke. Also keeping in mind that the level cap in the final game will be 20, So making it go too fast and you will be there in no time, making it go too slow feels like a grind. My take is to find the perfect middle ground and it feels like you nailed it. I do have a question in this, will we see more Side quests along the way?

I hope this helped you in any way, keep up the amazing work!

#9

yes yes yes, i haven’t put in any time today cause im simply not finding it fun cause i dont wanna go grind and for a few hours and die several times in the process just for a single level. the game ramps up enemy levels along areas to do quest in a non linear course of the player getting levels. i was running into level 7 enemies in a mission i had to grind to get to level 5 to even get a chance at.

#10

From my girlfriends experience the low level game is a nightmare. The only way she could complete the tutorial is when I taught her to overheal herself as a musketeer and let her turret kill the mob in the arena.

She has been leveling a ranger and I am a level 8 mage. Even with her being level 4 and me level 8(with basic mage gear) we can not kill a golem healer below the airship dock.

#11

Just to be sure, she was playing after the re balance after the Beta started right? Thanks for the info!

#12

Yes. She bought the game and started leveling last night. My mage is from previous test though.

#13

whats your IGN? might help us to check out your charchter.

#14

It’s MrCrowz

Maybe you see something that is wrong that I totally missed! Cheers once more!

#15

I just posted a topic but I guess it should be here. As a seasoned mmo player, I should be doing way better. I played for several hours today and only made it to level 2 musketeer. I simply can’t kill anything at all. Using turret, orbs, doesn’t matter. Tool around 8 attempta to evek kill the deer for the into quest. I am rapidly loosing interest since I can’t complete any quests or even grind to level.

#16

So just to be sure you were using the Musketeer the whole time?

I’ll do some testing tomorrow maybe that particular class is too weak right now at low levels. If you get a chance you might try killing the King Stag with a different class just because I’d be curious to get your take on the others. It’s not intended to be super difficult so likely some adjustment needs to be made.

#17

She also said the rabbits in highstep had messed up hit boxes as the ranger. She would be able to hit one but then arrows would go right through without hitting. She said she had to resort to aoe rain of fire arrow.

#18

Yeah. I played with the ranger for a few min but switched back. I was finally able to kill the king stag as a warrior. I’m curious as to why player level and class / weapon skill aren’t separate? I definitely do not want to go back and level each class from scratch if the release game is anywhere near this difficult. It would be great to be able to change class, and keep same level, but maybe just have to level the weapon up. Much like vanilla WOW.

#19

You do at least keep your class level between weapons. So all guns will have my musketeer class level.

#20

The adjustment made the game much more enjoyable.
Then a beginners musket dropped for me today - for the past 2 days i still had the original musket from last beta with 10 base dmg - that’s the real reason i could not fight anything…
Was lvl 4 for most of the beta _ have just lvled to 5