Reset to 0 and temporary xp cap in Ep2

In Ep2, I wish players will start from zero again. Of course, when you go back to ep1 lands, you get back your previous stats.

This will allow new players (or old players coming back) not feel intimidated by Mac and Co.
Cap xp gains to say lvl 20 when ep2 lands first appear. and slowly raise the cap each time the land/content is expanded. Only remove the cap when the game is considered complete.

 

I am terrible at SotA and billions of xp behind Mac. I don't feel intimidated. And I have no reason to believe that, after a reset, I won't very shortly find myself back in the same position.

 

I suppose you would also prefer Ep2 Lands to be all T5+ lands? Yes it will be great for me as well. But the new players? Force them to go through EP1, and you know how bad the retention rate is......

Lets start with a clean slate. It'll be better for the game. That's my wish. Ep1 has been a nightmare for many players.

 

The one and only reason I would personally not be pissed at a decision like that was if there was a huge combat overhaul that justified starting over somehow. Other than that, I mean "expansions" have generally been level gated in some way, a bit less nowadays but still.

 

Point taken. Would like some response from the other 20k players from kickstarter ...... @Cordelayne perhaps? No memes please.

 

No memes!? What the heck!

Although, I wasn't actually a Kickstarter backer. I came a little late to the party and only got involved back in 2014. Having said that, I'm happy to offer my opinion on this if you would still like to hear it.

 

If I can't carry my progress into episode 2 then I'm done.

 

Yep. I'd love your opinion. I understand the others. They are valid. Would just like to hear from the other group of players. The ones are that are no longer playing especially.

 

Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtue is the first of a 5 game series of full-length, stand-alone games (each using the same game system), referred to as Episodes 1 through 5. Estimated availability of Episode 1, Forsaken Virtues, is October 2014, with Episodes 2 through 5 estimated for subsequent yearly releases.

Well, the episodes were supposed to be stand-alone games, not exactly expansions. Its sad looking at this though, we are suppose to be at ep 5 now.

Perhaps you are right, chris should take this chance to try to make a huge combat overhaul in Ep 2. With a XP cap, any changes will not be accompanied by pitchforks and torches.

 

Your fighting an incurable problem. Folks that can spend untold amounts of time playing will always outpace anyone else. IMO

 

True, but wouldn't a new player like to start at the same starting line in a new standalone game? Maybe there are other Macs out there. But they find themselves starting 3 years behind in a new game?

 

@Nick Actually I have been playing a lot more in the past month. I set a goal for myself to slowly progress to AL 90, which I am achieving, but at my own pace.

To answer your question though, I am all about the lore, story and quests of New Britannia. This is what is most important to me. I despise grinding, which is exactly why I am only AL 87 currently. However, it's impossible to really level your character through questing since the ROI for xp in that regard stinks. So in order to even begin to complete the story in episode one the player HAS to grind to be even remotely viable in the latter stages of the game. This is a major flaw in Shroud and one that I believe causes a lot of new players to leave. Xp gains (through questing) in episode one should be dramatically increased to allow for a seamless flow of character progression. Meaning, I shouldn't be locked out of the story and need to grind xp for hours to be able to continue. That was fine when I was eight playing Dragon Quest 1, but not now.

So what does that mean to me and episode 2? Well if quest related xp gains were fixed and scaled upward throughout episode one, players should be about AL 80+ heading into episode 2. In that regard, I believe the zones in episode 2 should be reflective of that number (Tier 4/5+). While each new episode might be stand alone content, it is still episodic. Meaning from a quest/story perspective it technically is continuing on from where things left off from episode 1. In my very humble opinion that content should be harder. I also don't think it fair to penalize players who are AL 100+. However, I also don't want episode 2 content to be mainly geared towards them. Which sadly seems to be the trend around here nowadays.

In the end, like all things, I think a happy medium can be found. Redo the quest/story in episode 1, like they said they would do. Make xp gains through questing enough for the player to continue the story without mindless grinding. Allow for episode two content to be challenging through a natural progression of the story. Again, this is just my perspective as someone who loves to quest and become immersed in the lore and story of our world. There are many players who could care less about that and I respect their opinion. This is simply mine.

 

My take on this idea is that the Ep2 storyline requires high level avatars to send their low level apprentice (ie. secondary character) to undergo a quest. Completion of the quest will then allow your main character entry to the lands of Ep2.

This will allow everyone to experience Ep2 through the eyes of a new player while letting your main character still have acccess to the new content.

And oh yes, for episode 2 everyone gets a free second character if you don't already have one.

 

I think you're possibly assuming that the release of EP2 is going to result in a big influx of new players upfront. Ummmm yeah. I'm not so confident it that. Sales of EP2 will in large part be driven by the reputation of EP1 and that aint great (sorry) What's to say it's just not going to be the same thing all over again after 6-12 months. The people who can commit loads of time upfront to XP growth will still outpace newer players. 12 months after release of EP2 there will be high adventure level players and newer players still finding there way into the game (same as now) and looking at the older players as gods. The issue from my point of view isn't resetting XP. The focus should be on ensuring that there is enjoyable content for all skill levels.

 

I absolutely do not want and would not tolerate any kind of reset. Yes I am worlds behind Mac and co; that does not bother me. I am also crap at PVP and get beaten up by almost everyone _ can deal with that too, my day will come sometime. As a semi casual player (I can often manage an hour or more a day, so 1 - 2 mill XP max) it takes me a looong time to achieve high targets. I have my sights set on the next one - should hit about June or July. I can keep plugging away, and will eventually be fairly fearsome - just don't cut me off at the knees please!!

 

Me thinks @Ascepius doesn't want to play as a dwarf

 

Been playing since R1, think I missed one weekend because the laptop I was using fried right then. In any case, to keep things in perspective I just received AL90. It's a sandbox game folks do and care about other things. So yes I see a definite need for better XP along the questline. And the need to acknowledge those that play that way such as @Cordelayne and others.

Come on we all know there are folks that haven't even touched the questline. They play the spreadsheet game and enjoy themselves, ever fighting the elusive soft cap and .1 more, God Bless them!! Others would like to advance through the questline and crafting and deserve a definite XP overhaul, so they can chase they're Shroud.
All IMHO, of course.

 

Pass. As stated by someone else it wouldn't fix the issue and we'd be right back where we were.

I would be on board with Chris smoothing out the power curve a bit more between L130+ and L90 players. Some higher level players could probably go afk mid-fight and still not die fighting a lower level player... should be a flatter power curve.

 

Would it be a compromise if EP2 starts with level 80 xp then? We can build a training arena (player dungeon?) for players to use up the xp and build up their preferred skill tree. Have the main quest line catered to levels 80 to 90, so you don't need to grind. Moving through the quest line should allow you to get to 90.

This is my greatest fear, which is most likely to happen. Hence my wish, at least the devs will take a look and listen to our discussion before making the final decision.

I believed they said they won't be doing this after all. I could be wrong. Glad you are playing more.

I believe many of them touched, and decided never to log in again. The quests are badly done in my opinion.

No, I think the game needs a big influx of new players to survive. Chris gotta make sure they come and more importantly, stay.

 

True for most MMOs and absolute true for SotA with his endless grind skill system, but it can be done. Have a look at Guild Wars 2. I occasionally play since beta and I can jump in every content I like to do without grinding forever. No one is outpacing me there.