New World Brimstone Sands Impressions (Part 3: Heartrunes and Runeglass Gems)

 For my other impressions of Brimstone Sands

• Part 1: Quests 
• Part 2: The Ennead Expedition

Part 3: Heartrunes and Runeglass Gems - read on!

 Heartrune? Heartgem? Runegem? Runeglass?  Apologies if you are confused as the names of the new heartrunes and runeglass gems sound similar and changed names during the testing period.  The Brimstone Sands update for New World brought some new toys to the end game.  Here are some thoughts on each.

 First we have the heartrunes (aka heart gems).  These runes grant players an extra ability to use alongside their weapon abilities which means a player has a fourth active ability at any given time.  They can be thought of as an ultimate ability as there is a charge up period before the rune can be used.  They are a neat concept and bring an extra layer of diversity to players without giving a strict power increase.

 Heartrunes can also be upgraded to give them perks for different effects (more damage, slow enemies, etc).  It is not readily apparent in game they can be upgraded but like many end game activities in MMORPGs the information is available on external websites.  The upgrades do require players to first acquire the minor version of the heartrune which are currently all part of expeditions; either dropped from the last boss or crafted via materia.  

 The materia crafting cost, 8,000 per minor rune, is pretty dumb as 99.9% of players will unlock it via completing the expedition long before they ever get to 8,000 materia.  I have no idea where they came up with this number for crafting from materia so I hope it changes otherwise the recipe should not exist.

 Another issue I find with the upgrade process is the materials required for each are all over the board in what they require; with some requiring a new "writ of adventure" which you get from faction vendor (20,000 freaking tokens) or Brimstone Sands quests.   As far as I can tell these writs only go into those five specific rune upgrades.  I am not sure we needed yet another legendary crafting component; especially one that costs that freaking much.

 The legendary upgraded versions of the runes bring a lot of variety and I can see using multiple different ones on my different builds.  There is a stoneform for defensive builds, vining to slow players down, and any number of buff/debuff in between.  There is also the standard "do damage" runes which is a bit unfortunate as I'd of hoped the runes would stick to utility and not just adding a damage ability.

 I do have a concern that the detonate (big bomb damage) is the "go to" for your average player.  I can see where the developers maybe wanted it to help break up clumps in modes like war, but while detonate is a great clump buster it is also just an extra damage spike tool that favors light armor DPS rolling all over the place killing things.  Especially with the brutal upgrade where you get higher damage but take more damage while charging; which means light dodge is basically required so you can dodge into your target right as it explodes.  

 So far in Outpost Rush it very much seems like detonate is the go to.  I have died more to it than any single skill I can remember.  The animation is also terrible in groups; you have no realistic idea if its your teams or the enemy teams detonate and if you are detonating its difficult to see if your opponent also starts a detonate.  Ideally detonate would result in your own death (i.e. you are blowing yourself up), but its just another big damage spike ability.  Sigh.

 Enough about heartrunes.  The other toy added was runeglass gems.  These new gems are used to slot into equipment the same as regular gems but bring small advantages over the regular gems.  For example; punishing runeglass brings extra damage to any gem type.  The advantages are small enough that it's not game breaking even when stacked on all gear.  

 The only downside is the runeglass cases are super expensive to craft and thus won't make much sense on PvE gear that requires constant gem changes for mutations.  They will also make top end PvP gear that much more expensive exasperating the problem of best-in-slot PvP gear being too expensive and limited to the big companies with the big gold piles.

 Some ideal changes for runeglass gems would be letting you take them out of gear so you can use them again or maybe you can slot regular gems over the top of them and swap back to the runeglass later; this way the runeglass is more permanent while regular remains dispensable.  Also maybe dial back the crafting requirements and/or make the unique materials available in more than just Brimstone Sands.  I already dread that I am going to be putting a 30,000 gold gem in my 15,000 gold weapon or 5,000 gold armor.

 Heartrunes and runeglass gems bring something for players to invest time and energy into and while offering some power creep to the "haves" vs the "have nots" it is not enough to break the game.  This is a good move in the direction of horizontal progression instead of strict vertical progression.  With a few tweaks to be friendlier to players they will offer a lot of options.  Without changes they will be longer term goals for many players.  Either way I like both and think they are a good addition to the end game.

 What are your thoughts?  Share a comment or two.

New World Brimstone Sands Impressions (Part 2: The Ennead Expedition)

For my other impressions of Brimstone Sands

• Part 1: Quests   

Part 2: The Ennead Expedition - read on!

 With Brimstone Sands comes the new The Ennead Expedition and with it, in my opinion, the most challenging mechanical boss fight in the game.  The rest of the expedition is great as well and it doesn't overstay its welcome (...unless you struggle with the mechanically challenging boss fight).  Here are my thoughts as a 620+ gear score tank taking on the regular version.

 The Ennead is themed as an ancient pyramid and features a number of the new enemy types from the Brimstone Sands zone.  While not as visually stunning as Tempest Heart it is still a good looking expedition.  There is a mix of corruption along with the ancient theme and lasers, lots and lots of lasers!  Slight spoiler, but at the end of the expedition there is a neat little console you can activate for a quest line that calls in the trademark upside down pyramid top that is heavily featured in the Brimstone Sands area.

 As far as fights go there is not a ton of trash to work through.  There is one part that is maze-lite but nothing too challenging to work through.  There are floating guards that go through the expedition laser zapping anyone that stands in their sphere of influence. The guards are invincible so you do not fight them.  They keep players on their toes.

 When it comes to bosses there is some pretty tough mini-bosses throughout the dungeon.  They are mostly tank and spank but all seem to come with a group of adds and ranged minions.  The first major boss is a giant scarab in a room full of lasers and the scarab features its own giant laser beam.  While the scarab has an array of attacks and some positioning by the tank can help avoid group wipes it is a straight forward fight.

 The next boss, General Crassus, is fun filled mayhem.  The fight features a lot of continuously spawning adds and progresses through three phases.  The last phase is where it gets interesting with two hard charging cyclops, of course with laser beams shooting of their eyes, and its a race to either DPS the main boss down or take the cyclops down and then the boss. 

 The last set of bosses in the dungeon are sure to make plenty of players mad.  The last fight is a pure mechanics fight.  Players have to know what they are doing and when to do it in order to succeed.  My first run took us two hours to get it down and I've had multiple more that just can't get past the hump of the final fight.  It is a very challenging fight and I can't imagine how players are doing it on higher mutations; it is rough even as a 620+ gear score tank on regular! It's a fun fight to figure out and a sense of accomplishment once done!

 The only real issue I have The Ennead is that the last fight is hard and that sets it apart from other expeditions.  While there is the reward of earning a unique heartgem, Detonate, from the final bosses the rest of the rewards are your lock and stock expedition rewards: shards, materia, and some named items.  Unfortunately since other expeditions are far simpler and faster to run I do worry we will see a limited number of players wanting to run The Ennead in the future. It feels like some of the other new items with Brimstone Sands could of been added to this more challenging expedition such as glyphs for runeglass gem crafting.

 Over all I really like the new expedition and it was good to be challenged again.  I like the mechanically challenging fights but do think they will keep other players out since "quick run" can turn into a slog or a wall at the last fight.  I won't be running this one nearly as much as I've run the other expeditions, but feel like the challenge is worth the time spent even if rewards are the same as other expeditions.

 Have you got your butt handed to you in the last set of bosses in The Ennead? Share a comment!

 

New World Brimstone Sands Impressions (Part 1: Quests)

  I wanted to start sharing my thoughts on the Brimstone Sands release for New World.  This was a huge release that brought the new Brimstone Sands zone, a new expedition, major updates to the early game leveling progression, and multiple other changes to the game.  I will be breaking up my impressions into multiple parts over the next few days.  I wanted to start off by sharing my impressions on the quests in the new zone.

 Before the release I was nervous I may find myself uninterested in doing the quests in the new zone.  Since my character is max level I have no need for experience.  I have not done many quests in the game because I am holding out hope that at some point they add an aptitude system for experience gained after max level.  So I set off and did the zone unlock quest which I thought was a neat way for players to progress into the zone instead of being able to just charge in.

 My concern about not wanting to do the quests was put to rest when I got a look at the quest rewards.  Yes, they still grant experience that goes to waste, but all of the quests in Brimstone Sands are LOADED with other rewards.  There are numerous legendary weapon rewards, and not just mediocre weapons, but actual weapons I have and will use.  On top of that quests also grant gypsum orbs, umbral shards, and numerous end game crafting materials.  Bottom line: I felt rewarded for doing the quests and a little bummed I've finished the majority of them!

Legendary weapon as a quest reward!?

 

 The quests also lead players to the new heartgem runes which are like ultimate abilities you can use.  I'll have more thoughts on heartgem runes in a future post, but using quests to introduce new features is the right way to go.  Quests also introduce players to the glyph system unique to the Brimstone Sands zone.  While I have not gotten all of the glyphs it was fun being sent around the zone to unlock glyphs which in turn let you unlock more aspects of the zone (for example you can open new doors once you have learned the glyphs for them).

 Also the glyph quests were used to help me learn about different mechanics in the zone. For example a quest had me try and unlock a glyph in a pool of acid so that I would learn how to use acid tinctures to avoid death while standing in the acid pool (note: I may not have paid attention to this detail so paid for it in repair costs to my gear after multiple failed attempts...).

 The quests themselves are also greatly improved compared to the "kill 10 rats" or "loot 10 crates" quests of the original zones.  One of the most memorable quests features a jumping puzzle and some uniquely placed goats that I am sure I will fondly remember years from now (not really, fuck the goats).  There was also a lengthy puzzle quest involving portals that I had to just cheat and look up online.  And my favorite was the quest line that lead to an instanced solo boss encounter with a fight that was actually challenging as a solo player.  I really hope they add more of these instanced solo boss fights.

 My comments are also just touching on the quests in the new end game Brimstone Sands update.  There is also plenty of freshness to the quests in the revamped new player leveling experience from 1-25.  I have not done much of it but the quests I have done have the same level of polish and uniqueness as the ones in Brimstone Sands.

 The new approach to quests and how the Brimstone Sands zone was set up with things like glyphs really gives me hope for the future. If the developers keep looking at ways for us to progress horizontally and not just vertically this is a winner for me.  I really enjoy this approach to MMOs and it was immediately familiar to me as a long time Guild Wars 2 player.  I had so much to do on day one and still have so much more to now progress and while I am taking it bit by bit I don't feel in any regard I am behind other players as far as power level. 

 Part 1: Quests = 10/10!

 What are your thoughts?  Leave a comment.

YouTube handle stolen!

  I finally got to pick a Youtube handle and to my disappointment "heartlessgamer" was already claimed.  This is sort of dumb considering I've had this domain and the heartlessgamer@gmail.com email for going on 20+ years... you know Gmail from Google and Blogger from Google... you know the same Google that owns Youtube!?  Heck I even had the Google+!!! Why on earth someone else gets to claim the handle is beyond me.

 I'm not really mad; I mostly just watch the tube and don't create any content/videos.  You can find me at https://youtube.com/@heartless_gamer (yep; nabbed that underscore!).  If you want the other guy (assume its a guy) they are at https://www.youtube.com/@heartlessgamer

 And to show the universe loves to taunt us heartlessgamers; the other guys twitch features TWO underscores!  Check it out https://www.twitch.tv/heartless__gamer - and for anyone wanting my twitch it is https://www.twitch.tv/heartlessgamer_twitch

 I may have to touch base with this dude.  This is fun to follow around the web.

New World Fresh Start to the MOON

 We're going to the moon baby!  New World fresh start worlds have launched and the game is closing in on 100,000 concurrent users on Steam (probably over by the time you are reading this).  The game is also 50% off for anyone interested in jumping in.

 This is a well deserved hockey stick for the New World development team.  It will be interesting to see how long this peak lasts and where it tops out.  There is also the Return to Aeternum event that will be running through Nov 18th.

Call of the Wild: The Angler - Challenger Update is LIVE

 The Challenger update is now out for Call of the Wild: The Angler and it brings with it updated fish behaviors, daily/weekly challenges, and numerous other improvements.  I fished a bit yesterday and wanted to give my thoughts on the changes.

 I thought the first item I'd be looking at would be the daily/weekly challenges but to my surprise they were no where to be found when logging in.  No user interface notifications.  No signs posted in the main area (which is how you get most of your quests started).  It wasn't until I dug through the backpack menu (Press Q for the quick menu and then F for your backpack) that I found the Challenges tab with the details.  

 They could have done a better job telling players where this was at since its one of the key changes to help drive players back into the game.  Also annoying is you have to activate the challenges and can only have three active.  This is dumb design.  I shouldn't have to activate challenges and I shouldn't be limited in what I can complete.  Also there is no UI while fishing that tells me what I have active (but it does give you updates as you catch fish -- see screenshot).

 The challenges are laid out between daily and weekly objectives and experience rewards attached.  I can't really say if the rewards are worthwhile as I already have the end game rods/reels and lures I want to use.  There is still a distinct lack of progression in the game even with these changes.  There were changes to the store as far as cost of equipment but that doesn't mean anything other than "grind" since it doesn't have much of a change in how you experience the game.

 Fish behavior and animation was updated in the patch.  Fish seem to scare now and I have had multiple times where a fish ran away (fast!) from me reeling in my lure.  I have had to use a bit of finesse to catch some fish.  Also did I mention fish are fast?  I actually jumped at one Northern Pike that shot out from under the dock I was fishing at to strike my lure.  Animations are much better now as well and its great to see fish zipping about here and there compared to the old lethargic activity of the past.  Catching fish is a bit more exciting now!

 While animations and fish speed are better now and there are some visual improvements to water the actual catching and fighting of fish seems the same.  The speed of fish does mean they move around a bit more when hooked but there is still no more skill involved than right clicking when STRIKE appears and holding left click to reel a fish in.  If players were looking for any sort of "challenge" to the game with this update they will be disappointed.

 Over all I like the changes and its a baby step forward.  I enjoy the challenges but other than the satisfaction of completing them I don't feel there is any progression occurring.  I will still "chill and fish" in the game from time to time but there still isn't much to do with the game.  With that said they did tease us with a new Reserve possibly coming.

Have any thoughts?  Leave a comment.

 

Ashes of Creation "New World is the gold standard of harvesting/gathering"

 I caught up with the recent Ashes of Creation live stream (I actually watched it via Asmongold's reaction video -- don't ask why; I just like watching Asmongold's reaction videos for Ashes updates).  

 In this update the Ashes team shows off the gathering system they are lifting directly from New World.  Every tree is now able to be chopped down (previously in earlier alpha tests it was sparse nodes across the world) and that will expand from there to other node types such as rocks, plants, and more.  Asmongold's quote to kick off the video was "New World is the gold standard of harvesting/gathering" which I'll agree with, but also as my comments will show there is room for enhancement.

 For anyone that has played New World this is very familiar.  New World brought this type of mechanic out of the realm of survival games and into an MMORPG.  Chopping down a tree is one of the most satisfying feelings in all of New World.  I can't imagine playing a future MMORPG that doesn't let me cut down every tree, break up every rock, and gather almost anything I can see.  I am all for games like Ashes lifting ideas from other games and this was the right idea to grab from New World.

 What can, or what will, Ashes do to improve on the system?

 First, they can add more variables to the system.  If there is a knock against New World's system it is that the node spawns are static and do not vary at all which means farmers and bots can camp them.  A great change for New World and where Ashes could improve this type of system is to randomize the spawn locations of the nodes.  Certain areas could still limit what type of node spawns so players know where to go to gather but the actual placement in that area could be changed up.  This would reward the often overlooked explorer play type.

 The good news is it sounds like Ashes is solving for this with their surveying skill which will allow players to find and learn about node spawns and if I understood it correctly it will allow players with higher surveying skill to find randomly placed nodes.  This brought back memories of surveying in Star Wars Galaxies (SWG) which allowed for players to locate and find unique resources and cash in on them before others showed up.  The key to the SWG system was randomization and time limited nature of where you could get the resources.

 Next the Ashes developers talked a good bit about how the materials you can gather will vary based on seasons, "node" (referring to their land parcel system), and other player actions.  It definitely sounds like to be a successful gatherer you will need to know the systems and the world as well as have leveled up skills.  The question is whether they can make the system where it rewards the average player and doesn't just become a system where the elite players lock everyone else out.

 In the Ashes stream Steven (the guy at the head of Ashes design/funding/everything) asked us to think about two areas when giving feedback and talking about this update so I wanted to oblige him.

Feedback Focus 1: Steven asked the community how we feel about the change to have far more resources available for gathering in the game?  A caveat was most of the increase in gatherable materials it would be focused on general construction and trade; not necessarily for making gear.

Answer 1: As I mentioned earlier in the post I can't see myself playing an MMORPG that doesn't have this sort of harvesting/gathering system.  Chopping down trees may just be a "minimum requirement" going forward for me to consider a game.  I think this was the right choice and with the surveying system it looks to improve on the system from New World.  The only concern I have is it may get too complicated.  There is a benefit to the simplicity of New Worlds system: see tree, chop tree, get stuff.  Adding too much more to that loop may make it less fun.

Feedback Focus 2: Thoughts on the visual fidelity of the gathering actions.

Answer 2:  I tend to not get deep into visuals in games these days.  They play a role, but not as they did in the past.  As long as it feels like it fits and doesn't take away from performance then I am fine with what I saw in the video.  Not necessarily visual, but the audio in the demo was not that great.  New World nails the sound of chopping and mining so feel like Ashes has some room on the audio end to improve.

 The Ashes devs also commented on group gathering.  This is a great idea and something that Crowfall had (probably one of the only things that game did well). I love the idea of having to team up to gather.  I love the idea of needing a second player to take the other end of a giant saw to go at a massive tree.

 Steven also asked about what players felt about the system where what is inside a node is only revealed when you take the harvesting action.  The example given was a rock that once broken revealed there was a crystal inside and a second harvesting action was required to gather the crystal.  I am fine with this but over time it may become irritating having to harvest nodes twice instead of just getting the internal materials on the first pass.  Will have to see how it feels when playing.

For those that need it here is the Ashes update embedded below.

Speaking of gathering; let me harvest your thoughts by leaving a comment.  Thanks!

At least it was fun to watch... almost

 3-5 here we are!  Almost enjoyed watching this one in some parts.

New World Paladin Build (updated for Brimstone and not what you expect!)

 Wanted to share this New World Paladin build video I saw on Youtube.  If you have the PvP light armor set you are 75% ready for this build.  I am a couple pieces short and am currently playing heavy armor with warhammer/sword'n'shield, but looking to give this build a try with some other armor pieces slotted in.

Enjoy and leave a comment!

Nerfs NOT in the details?

 Yesterday I posted about the nerfs lurking in the details of the New World PTR (public test realm) notes.  One of the changes was to musket damage which at face value screamed "nerf!" but upon further analysis is not a nerf and when all changes taken together there is a buff to musket damage.  For anyone playing New World you can guess how the community is reacting.

 The net of the analysis so far is that the changes will actually bring a net 15% damage increase.  While there is some drop off on damage at longer range it is negligible.  Quoting PTR testers "The Ballistic Advantage 50% damage 'nerf' sounds big, but in reality it's more like a 0.5% damage decrease."

 The same testers are finding there is a net buff to musket damage and that buff comes in with the changes for Hit Your Mark passive.

Hit your Mark Passive:
Updated passive to apply to all hits and not just headshots and critical hits.

 As can be seen with the screenshot on the left this means longer range damage is now increased for all shots.  Sure there is drop off on damage at distance but as quoted from testers so far the drop off is not anywhere close to what is being gained from this passive change.

 Combine this buff with other changes that take away stagger from sticky bomb and muskets are encouraged to "sit on top of a rock and shoot people far away" and that is 95% of the problem with the weapon.  With that said I don't want another bow situation where strong ranged DPS weapon also gets a bunch of mobility.

 This whole situation just leaves me with questions on what the right approach to musket is.  At the heart of the matter is the fact that musket is a hitscan weapon in a game with no other hitscan weapons.  It also has no maximum range.  There is also the question of why is ammunition still in the game where a musket player has to buy, at a significant gold cost, ammunition to get their maximum damage.  It seems like hitscan, max range, and ammunition would be the logical things for the developers to focus on before getting too deep into balancing damage numbers.

 What are your thoughts on muskets?  Leave a long ranged comment.