New World Gear Sets WTF!?

 Tons of patch notes this morning from New World, but it's this update posted to the forums that has the community up in arms.

 3 free gear sets?  A limit to how many extra you can purchase?  What game are the developers looking at?  Three is criminally low.  Let's count through how many gear sets an average player will have:

1. Main role Lost ward/bane
2. Main role Corrupted ward/bane
3. Main role Ancient ward/bane
4. Main role Angry Earth ward/bane
5. PvP set (let's just assume players just have one...)
6. Main crafting skill set
7. Secondary crafting skill set (most players have cooking sets)
   
8.  Refining set - Stonecutting
   
9.  Refining set - Woodworking
10. Refining set - Leatherworking
11. Refining set - Weaving
12. Refining set - Smelting
13. Gathering set - Lumberjack 
14. Gathering set - Mining
    
15. Gathering set - Harvesting
16. Gathering set - Skinning

 Let's just stop there... as you can see we are already at 16 and this is just if you do one role in the game such as just DPS.  If you, like me, dabble in tanking and like variety in PvP add eight more sets to this list.  And they are adding another ward/bane (human) as well this season!

 I am less worried about paying for extra slots and more worried that since there are only 3 free sets that the total limit will be much lower than what is actually needed.  The only way this small number would make sense is if they were getting rid of refining, gathering, crafting sets (doubt it) or if ward/bane were being changed so you didn't need different gear for different types (doubt it).

 Over the last two days I've defended the New World developers a bit, but this is another "shoot yourself in the foot" moment for them.  Just baffled here.  Hopefully AGS takes action on the community uproar and increases the free slots and places no limit on max. Seriously; I was just reading through a more hardcore player's list and they have 37 -- THIRTY SEVEN -- sets!

New World Devs CAN Win

 Yesterday the New World developers couldn't win.  To which the developers said "hold my beer" and dropped an updated 2023 roadmap, a brand new developer update, and the long awaited PTR update.  Apparently the New World development team can win so shut up and sit down community.

 Watching the developer update here are some thoughts.

 Seasons aka battle passes were announced.  This will be bundled content with a theme.  We've known since the game launched that this was coming and it is finally here.  The seasons will have goals which will help returning players know what to do when they come back.  I like the approach and agree with the structure.

 There will be a free track on the season passes and a premium ($20) track.  Premium was noted as having "more stuff" than the free track but nothing will be unique the premium.  This is fine with me and prefer this approach.  Tracks will be advanced by "just playing the game" with some challenge activity cards that you can flex around to complete what you want.

 A new expedition is coming featuring the Varangian knights.  My only concern here is that the Varangians are a new enemy type and so I assume means current +ward / +bane gear will be ineffective.  Does this mean new ward and bane types?  If so that is irritating.  I don't necessarily mind having to balance multiple sets of gear for different content but I also wasn't wanting to go start up yet another one for one piece of content; especially without gear set management... which leads to!

 Gear set storage in March.  IN MARCH. YES!  This is honestly the biggest piece for me and I have high hopes for this as it was one of my main negativity drivers when playing.  I have too many gear sets and got tired of managing via a spreadsheet (and anyone that knows me knows I love my spreadsheets -- seriously I do -- so this is saying a lot!)

 The main story quest (MSQ) is being updated for Brightwood and Weaver's Fen.  Fine, but irrelevant to the majority of the playerbase. 

 Events were mentioned. The spring event is coming and looks to be on par with the winter/summer/fall events and fills in the fourth "seasonal" events (not to be confused with seasons aka battle passes).  Also sounds like we are getting more smaller events like the current Legacy of Crassus.  I love events and I don't care if you don't.  Combine events with the seasons and it should give players a set of changing content to always be working on while still have the regular non-seasonal content available.

 Balance changes were discussed and they want to "shake up PvP" and what was discussed is all coming in Season 1.  This was an absolutely stacked section; rapid firing through the changes so apologies on scattered thoughts here.

• Musket changes:  it will take longer to set up and zero your shot.  It will be less accurate vs the pinpoint accuracy it is today.  This was compared to the skill needed to draw and release a bow to shoot an arrow.  I am not sure this enough; if it is still able to hit at max visual range it is still a problem.  There has to be drop off on the shot if a comparison to bow makes any sense.  This does very little for PvE to make musket viable.
• Light armor changes: light armor will get less bonus from shirking fort and other defensive perks.  I am wait and see on this.  Light dodge roll + damage increase is the main reason light is so strong so not sure this does much.  It is also a change just to light with, as far as I can tell, no changes for Medium or Heavy.  Just changing light was NOT what I expected.  I expected actual changes to at least heavy to make it make more sense to use.
  
• Hatchet: defy death gonna need defy death to survive this whacking.
  
• Greatsword: they are reducing the "stickiness" of Greatsword so it doesn't hit as easily.  Meh.  I felt like Greatsword is how all melee weapons should work.  I had hoped maybe they'd say "hey we want to bring all weapons up to Greatsword" but I am not surprised the change is just to nerf greatsword.
  
• Ranged PvE: more powerful +bane weapons.  Removing elemental affixes so mutations don't, for example, have Fire damage reduction.  Fine but I don't want ranged DPS to be the meta of expeditions.
  
• Fire Staff: they feel it is under powered.  Tweaking to make it stronger.  I still struggle with this because I regularly face top tier Fire Staff players who dominate as it is... I dread thinking about them getting a buff. 
  
• Crafting balance changes: 
• 2x changed to 3x XP for first time crafts; love it.
• Arcana - motes give more XP; love it.
  
• Cooking - XP leveling structure reworked so you get rewarded for crafting a variety instead of a single meal type.  Not sure what the point of this was.  It will feel better, but players will just find the new most efficient
• Low level gear crafting - will no longer overshoot the level
  
• Quality of life improvements to crafting.  The biggest takeaway was that certain materials will say WHERE to get them so you don't need to use a website to find out where something drops or is purchased.  Love that change.
• Changes to how materials are used and what they mean to a crafting attempt.  Better materials = more XP for leveling.  This is a good change but not sure if these changes mean anything to end game crafting.
  

 Also tucked into the balance section was a mention that world drops of ammunition types will scale up so you should no longer get just iron ammo; you can now get all the way up to orichalcum ammo in end game zones.  This was loooooong overdue and so glad to see the change being made.  I may even consider playing a ranged ammo weapon again!

 Cross-server OPR is still coming but also more OPR changes were announced.  Scoring changes to focus on objectives, ranged damage reduction on the forts, restrict sniping baroness, and updated siege.  All great changes.  Keep in mind that full details were light in the video. 

 A new arena map was announced.  Fine, but don't really care.

 The the territory influence game is getting updated under the title of "Influence System v2".  "Less grindy and more fun" was the quote that caught me.  I hope they can deliver on this and the plan mentioned with scheduling windows for the influence push should help concentrate action.  Open world PvP is the best PvP this game has to offer and this change should bring some of it to the forefront.  I still believe they have to change the quests that go along with it for it to be any good so we'll see what the "capture a tower" aspect looks like that they mentioned.

 The "super deep" (their words, not mine) roadmap was updated at the end of the video (embedded in the beginning of the post).

 Summer will be season 2.  Transmog is the king of this season and I can't wait.  I miss "Fashion Wars 2".  Season 2 will also include a PvE raid called a "seasonal trial" that is waves and then a boss.  This is separate from the "hardest PvE content" promised with the giant sandworm raid that is also coming in Season 2.  Cross-server OPR is in season 2.

 Fall will be season 3 and will have a full expansion!  Mounts!  New weapon!  "Influence System v 2".  Big deal. Big fucking deal.  Cannot wait!

 Winter is season 4 will feature mutators of the seasonal trial from season 2 and a new expedition.  A little far out for me to get too deep into the list here.

 Over all and in summary:

 

New World Devs Can't Win

 The New World team brought a new event to life yesterday.  Players can hunt down a pair of invading Roman-themed cyclops in Legacy of Crassus.  Of course community feedback seems mostly to be negative.  Feedback centers around rewards not being great and the content being too easy.  The developers can't win.

 If we take a step back earlier this year the New World team provided their road map for the first half of the year.  The community feedback was: "this isn't enough!".  Legacy of Crassus was NOT on that road map so one would have thought the community would have praised getting more content delivered.  Of course that is not the case as we are seeing with the event being live now; there is a high bar expectation.

 What is that high bar expectation?  The content needs to be challenging and have good rewards.  Those are two areas that seem to come up a lot with New World content; especially when it is open world content like this event where there is no control around how many players may show up or what they will show up with.

 Let's talk "challenging" first.  As mentioned this is an open world event.  It features a set of bosses and their friends spawning in a single spot. This inevitably leads to the same behavior as the seasonal events: a zerg of players shows up and beats it down.  With enough players there is little challenge; just stay out of the big hitters and you won't die and you'll get your reward.  However, if not enough players are there the content gets much more challenging.  

 I can agree with the community here: the event is too easy.  We had some promising events with Halloween and Winter in 2022 where the world bosses, while not super challenging, did come with some unique mechanics and required you to be awake at the keyboard.  Legacy of Crassus does not match those events.

 With that said if the content was too hard players won't do it.  Open world content that is concentrated in this manner is hard to get right.  The New World developers need top change these events to be less centralized and more spread out and they have to figure out a way that the content scales in difficulty with the player count involved (which may mean instancing some of it or blocking more and more players from piling on).

 Moving onto "good rewards".  This is tough.  If this event gave out "best in slot" rewards there would be an uproar.  If the event gives up rewards of junk (anything that isn't a legendary and even legendary if the perks suck) then the perception is it's not rewarding.  If the event gives up "good rewards" (anything legendary with good perks), while being too easy of an event, then players that got "good rewards" from harder processes such as crafting or mutations feel slighted.  

 My personal view is I think they got the rewards right with the event for it's difficulty level.  Players can get guaranteed legendary rewards each day and if they do it each day they will get each of the unique rewards.  It also rewards gypsum and umbral shards; always useful for any level 60 player.  Also the chance at the new craft mod (not sure what it is; didn't get it yet and haven't looked it up).  After that daily reward players get a crate which like most crates in New World rewards garbage players will just salvage (for example; I got a green Great Axe today). 

 The guaranteed daily rewards are great (see screenshot below of my first day's rewards).  Are they best in slot legendary?  No, because the community would complain if they were.  They look pretty good though and worst case you salvage them for the salvage materials.  Salvaging legendary items is nothing new in this game.

 So the New World developers can't win with adding new content outside of the roadmap because it has to be "challenging" with "good rewards"; two things that are hard to get right in this game.  Of coures I am finishing this post right as the developers dropped their next update and an updated road map.  Maybe they can win?  Watch below and you decide.

Ranting at the end of the world: The Last Of Us Episode 6 (Show + Podcast)

• 
  Original rant: LINK
  
• Episode 5 rant: LINK
  

 And onto Episode 6. The show is over folks.  We found Tommy.  Everyone can go home now.

 Oh but wait; the entire driving force for Joel wasn't apparently enough so onwards we go.  Suspense intensifies.  Hopefully the two well fed survivalists in the cabin stay well fed and safe (they were pretty funny as a couple).  Apparently in this post apocalyptic world food isn't an issue for anyone except when we needed Henry and Sam to have a reason to come out of hiding.

 Maybe this sort of plot works in the game where players dismiss the fact they have to keep on chugging along, but damn does it fall short in a TV show.  I could maybe buy Joel giving up the safety and comfort of Bill's place because of the driving force to find Tommy.  Yet Tommy doesn't seem to have meant much to Joel once he was found; some possible promise of the impossible with Ellie is a bigger attraction and reason to leave another safe and stable community?  If Joel ever does get his sheep farm I don't know how I'll react.

 See y'all next week.

Assistant with an OV-P Recon Drone

When you just need to get that weekly challenge done in Battlefield 2042!

Flying the OV-P Recon Drone around is so much fun sometimes.  I can't do it every match but when the weekly challenge encourages me I love breaking it out; especially on maps like Discarcded.

And took home an outstanding performance for most assists!

Boom 1:1

 And there it is; 1:1 KD achieved in Battlefield 2042.  Previous post and progress.

Saturday Blogging Thoughts

 Ever since I returned to daily blogging; especially when I changed the blog template and removed DISQUS for comments the traffic to this site has tanked.  On top of that Google Search Console is barfing all over the site's pages and no longer indexing them.  I don't run this site for the page views, the SEO, or to monetize (at most I do Amazon referral links so I can get more crap on Amazon I don't really need).

 That had me looking at what Blogger offers these days... and... that is nothing.  Seems like Google is just letting Blogger coast.  So off to Reddit's blogging subreddit to ask if I am crazy and to see what else is out there.

 That resulted in some suggestions I'll be evaluating

• Substack
• Publii (static site)
• Wordpress
• Ghost.org
• and some more in the thread
  

If you have a thought toss it in the comments. 

Reddit thread embedded below:

ChatGPT writes a post about MMORPGs

 ChatGPT is neat.  There is a lot of interest in artificial intelligence (AI) and with ChatGPT giving an approachable interface to some remarkable AI ChatGPT has the world buzzing with the possibilities.  For most of us ChatGPT is either the next big thing or a neat toy.  I tend to fall more into "toy" category myself; reminded of the quote along the lines of "We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run."  That is to say I think ChatGPT is over-hyped currently but under-hyped in what it will mean in the history books of the future.

 With that said I wanted to see what ChatGPT would write on my behalf for the blog.  Here's the outcome:

Title: Exploring the World of MMORPGs: A Guide for Newcomers

Are you looking for a new online gaming experience? Perhaps you've heard about MMORPGs and want to know what all the fuss is about. MMORPGs, or massively multiplayer online role-playing games, are games that allow players to interact with each other in a virtual world. In this post, we'll explore the world of MMORPGs and provide a guide for newcomers.

Choose Your Game Wisely

There are many MMORPGs available, so it's important to choose a game that fits your interests and playstyle. Some popular MMORPGs include World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV, and Guild Wars 2. Each game has its own lore, world-building, and mechanics, so do your research before choosing.

Learn the Basics

MMORPGs can be overwhelming for newcomers, so take the time to learn the basics of the game. This may include learning how to create a character, navigate the world, complete quests, and interact with other players. Most MMORPGs have tutorials or starting zones that teach you the basics, so don't be afraid to take your time.

Join a Guild or Group

Playing an MMORPG is more fun when you're playing with others. Joining a guild or group can help you find other players to quest with, get advice on the game, and participate in group activities like raids. Many MMORPGs have tools for finding and joining guilds, so take advantage of these resources.

Understand the Time Commitment

MMORPGs are designed to be played over a long period of time, so be prepared to invest a lot of time in the game. This may mean logging in regularly to complete quests, participating in group activities, and keeping up with game updates. If you have limited time to play, consider choosing a game with more casual play options.

Watch Your Spending

Some MMORPGs are free-to-play, while others require a subscription or in-game purchases. Before you start playing, understand the game's payment model and set a budget for yourself. In-game purchases can be tempting, but it's important to balance your spending with your other financial priorities.

In Conclusion

MMORPGs can be a fun and immersive way to connect with other players and explore a virtual world. As a newcomer, it's important to choose a game that fits your interests, learn the basics, join a guild or group, understand the time commitment, and watch your spending. With these tips, you'll be well on your way to becoming a seasoned MMORPG player.

Dark and Darker Demo Thoughts

 I got a chance to give the Dark and Darker demo a go.  Here are some thoughts.

 Good: Premise of a PvPvE dungeon crawler where players join in a dungeon to kill monsters, get loot, and then either fight to the death or hide long enough to escape.

 Bad: Literally everything about this game.

 The combat is terrible.  I laugh thinking about how many players complain about New World combat currently (not balanced, desync, yadda, yadda).  They need to spend a minute in the combat of Dark and Darker and maybe they'll be thankful for New World's combat.  After an hour of playing Dark and Darker I cannot bring myself to play any more.  It is slow and lacks any meaningful feedback to the player.

 As it's just a demo I didn't expect any sort of "introduction to the game" mode, but this is definitely something the game needs to have if it is going to launch.  Nothing is explained and new players will find themselves dead quickly with no understanding of  what they are supposed to be doing.  Even "New Player Guides" on YouTube have a hard time explaining what you are supposed to do in this game.

 I think the only redeeming quality of the game is the promise of some PvP action but the combat is so horrible that I can't imagine anyone but the most hardcore of players sticking it out.  Though I may be wrong as I was flabbergasted when I checked out the demo player numbers on Steam Charts and saw the peak at 100,000+ concurrent players and averages hovering around 70,000 daily peak.  I feel like I'm missing something; how are that many people OK with this clunky combat?

More popular than I'd of expected!

 

 Give me New World grade action combat and this PvPvE concept and I'm all over it, but as it is Dark and Darker is going in the history bin for me.  I cannot get past the terrible combat to comment on any other part of the game.  There is no way I am dealing with a game that handles like a 1990s adventure game.  Can anyone explain to me how on earth they enjoy this combat?  Is the PvPvE aspect that much of an attraction?  Are we as a community this starved for this type of game?  TELL ME WHAT I AM MISSING HERE!!!

What bringing the class system back to Battlefield 2042 has done

 Battlefield 2042's latest update brought back the class system of Battlefield history.  Players now select a class that limits gadgets, throwables, and specialists that can be chosen.  This is Battlefield and I am happy to see it back.

 Prior to this latest update players could select any combination of specialist, gadget, weapon, and throwable (grenades).  This meant I could play as Irish (a support specialist), carrying anti-vehicle rockets, and at the same time carry the proximity sensor (grenade).  On top of that I could use any gun (assault, SMG, LMG, or sniper).

 To be honest it was pretty sweet as I noted in my post here and here.  I was a mega super team support player with my Irish setup.  I could do everything except shocking non-squad members back to life.  But that is where the problem lied.  Everyone could do everything and thus the Battlefield developers had to make many things "balanced"; for example since everyone could carry anti-vehicle it was weaker than it would be if it was less limited. It was fun but then also not fun.

 With the class system back in place the developers have been able to make things like anti-vehicle stronger per shot (since there is less of them now).  Vehicles should in theory feel less threat over all because not everyone is rocking anti-vehicle tech.  There is far less proximity sensor spam as it is restricted by class (even if that does break my nonexistent heart).

 The development team also figured out an approach to continue to allow all classes to use any of the main guns.  If I want to use an SMG as an assault class I can continue to do so (in prior Battlefields the SMG was limited to Support).  There were proficiency added (as covered in this post) to certain classes to favor certain weapons, but they are not so dramatic as to penalize someone for opting out to another class of gun.

 After having played several rounds under the new system the game does feel better over all.  I actually got in a vehicle without immediately getting blown up!  There seems to be more medics and thus more revives.  I have a much better understanding of what my teammates are capable of because I can see what class they are.  The only thing I really miss is my proximity sensor as I am not a fan of the other grenades, but I understand sometimes less is more.

 Have you given the update a try?  If so, what are your thoughts?