Curse

Ado · Nov 27, 2005, 12:01 AM // 00:01

Hi all,

although im greatly looking forward to chapter 2, I'm also a bit worried about it. Anet said that ppl who don't buy chapter 2 won't have any disadvantage over ppl who will buy it. This could mean a number of things: Level 20 will stay the highest level, there will not be better armor/items, new skills won't be much different than the current skills. Appart from having new (better looking) armor, items and new area's, what will be the new challange? Of course it's nice to have new missions and all, but I would also like to improve my characters. If non-buyers wil not be disadvanted, how am I supposed to do this? Same is with enemies, if level 20 stayes maximum on players, enemies probably won't be stronger than level 31 (Glint, currently the strongest) or they'll be impossible to beat. One way to solve these problems could be this: Characters who have exceeded level 20 can't take part in missions/quests from chapter 1. Drawback however is that you can't help your guildmates on a chapter 1 mission. Another option would be that if u go to a chapter 1 town, you automaticly go back to being level 20, as soon as you move back to a chapter 2 town, you're back at the level you were when you left. This however doesn't solve the armor/item problem. I also wonder how all these things will affect PvP, if there's one place where ppl should't have advantages over other players, it's there. Probably Anet will come with good ways to make chapter 2 both very challenging and honest, however it would be a good thing if they announce how they'll solve (some of) the problems I've mentioned. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's worried about it.

Pevil Lihatuh · Nov 27, 2005, 12:29 AM // 00:29

Well its been kinda... 95% certain since the game came out that the level cap was gonna stay. I'm pretty sure they'll do a better job of high-end challenging pve than they did with Sorrows Furnace... i hope.

actionjack · Nov 27, 2005, 12:58 AM // 00:58

I am more worry about the gold problem... or Rich getting Richer, and those who don't play as much is left at bottom.

jesh · Nov 27, 2005, 01:05 AM // 01:05

If you want to spend your time pointlessly leveling, go play WoW. Raising the level cap would kill the concept of GW - that you don't have to spend your life playing to compete effectively against others in pvp.

Now.. as to the job that ANet has done so far on making this a game for the casual gamer... *shrug*
*coughbullsh!tcough*

actionjack · Nov 27, 2005, 01:17 AM // 01:17

actually.. I do toy with the idea of raising the level cap up to 40 before... but before you get your oils and match ready, read on. Level 40 would be the same as lv 20. The same time and experience to go from 1 level , is not two. So is the rewards and stuff gain. (so instead of gaining 10 attribut points to spend, you get 5 for each level, etc) The argument there is that it give you a more sense of accomplishment, like you are getting stronger faster. so Yah on lv 40!

jesh · Nov 27, 2005, 01:33 AM // 01:33

So.. what would be the point in coding all that again? They could make the cap 1000 and just as easy to get to, and it wouldn't satisfy anybody.

twicky_kid · Nov 27, 2005, 01:58 AM // 01:58

i'm concerned about the rate of inflation of the new goodies.

people have literally millions of gold. i'm sure there are a few billionares out there too.

wow, so prices are at base i think i'll buy a few hundred thousand. ok come get your over priced junk so i can make my money back + profit.

they will either make the price so high the poor and casual players can't afford or the rich players are going to make it that way for them.

and how is the assissan going to come in the picture. this has been a puzzle to me since the annoucement of a new class. do they start at lvl 20 in chapter 2? will i have to completely play through chapter 1 again? how is this going to work?

if they start in chapter 1 then you might as well just play with your normal chacters through chapter 2 then come back and get the assassin. if the assassin starts at lvl 20 to be on par with everyone else then we got a bunch of people that have never played with this class screwing up pugs.

not to mention changes to the AI by the time of release. this game changes dramaticly every single month like clockwork.

Roupe · Nov 27, 2005, 03:27 AM // 03:27

Perhaps chapter 2 couldhave a parallel storyline that after some missions coincide with chapter 1s (4-10 up to lvl 20) quests. This way parts of the story that has been missed can be repaired. making Less plot holes...

sort of like "meanwhile" or "a few years earlier" in storytelling terms this isnt unsual. in WC3 the diffrent campaigns are parallel an intertvined

then the Assasin and the other classes could also have tutorial missions in a pre world as well for their classes.

the old classes can also choose this parallel story line when Restarting.

Or did the world stood still and the gods where only fokused on a select heroes and a select series of events ?

And yes a bunch of new missions and quests for the ascended chapter1 heroes...

rocklimit · Nov 27, 2005, 12:05 PM // 12:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roupe

Perhaps chapter 2 couldhave a parallel storyline that after some missions coincide with chapter 1s (4-10 up to lvl 20) quests. This way parts of the story that has been missed can be repaired. making Less plot holes...

sort of like "meanwhile" or "a few years earlier" in storytelling terms this isnt unsual. in WC3 the diffrent campaigns are parallel an intertvined

then the Assasin and the other classes could also have tutorial missions in a pre world as well for their classes.

the old classes can also choose this parallel story line when Restarting.

Or did the world stood still and the gods where only fokused on a select heroes and a select series of events ?

And yes a bunch of new missions and quests for the ascended chapter1 heroes...

Not gonna happen.

Roza · Nov 27, 2005, 01:31 PM // 13:31

Seems fairly simple to me. This is my guess. With chapter 2 you'll get:

- lvl 20 stays max (this is pretty much a certainty)
- new story (possibly better) with new missions
- new quests (possibly more challenging)
- new classes (with new skills)
- new elites for existing classes (so these have ways of improving themselves too)
- Maybe some new non-elite skills for old classes
- New pvp options (maybe a new arena and improvements to existing arena's)
- New weapons and armours for the new classes
- New weapons and armours for existing classes, but probably with the same sort of stats
- New towns and places
- Some other improvements (maybe an auction house, that sort of thing)

This will allow everyone to improve their characters (by opening up more combo's/possibilities etc.) while still making good on the claim that people do not need to buy the next chapter to be able to play competatively. The old builds will still be effective and the new builds should not be overpowered. However, pvp players wanting to have a full range of options for pvp will have to get the new chapter. Also, new fotm builds and new good combo's may require them to get the new chapter eventually. This is much like the way expansions were handled by the card game MTG. PvE players will want to capture new elites, get to the new places, get new stuff, etc. But they will not get the power/level/grind that some of them long for. For those players, WoW might be a better game.

I would be happy with this. Having new classes and new skills will open up many new combinations and strategies. And that is what I like best about this game.

Snowman · Nov 27, 2005, 03:59 PM // 15:59

Its all still speculation though.

I've never been disappointed with anything Arenanet have done to the game, I was blasted away by Haloween, I was expecting it to be good but not as good as that!

So I think your just going to have to put a little Faith in them... I know it would be nice to know NOW what it will be like.

I'm rather looking forward to the suprise and discovering it all for myself, without reading about it all on the forums first.

Once it is released and you try out all these things for yourself, only then can you determine if they solved the problems well or not. If they merely describe how they plan to get around the problems using text you can never really be sure until you have actually tried it for real, so it would all still be speculation.

Also, if they did manage to RED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GO it all up then they are still very good at listening and fixing things, so I'm not worried about it at all.

Xenrath · Nov 27, 2005, 04:06 PM // 16:06

Either it will be a new zone splitting things up like pre searing/post searing (and never the two shall meet) or it will be new areas etc in the current post searing world. If it's the latter I fail to see how those who don't buy it will not be at a disadvantage. The people with new skills, new weapons etc will be able to go into the existing areas with those things too. It will depend on how well the new things balance with the existing things.

Lexar · Nov 27, 2005, 04:07 PM // 16:07

Things like an auction house and spectator mode will also be available to people that didn't buy the expansion, so I think those will come to us in the form of an update.

If I recall correctly, in one of the interviews they said that there would also be lower level areas in the expansion world, for pve characters from the regular game that weren't at level 20 yet, so I think this is where the new classes will also level up.

They would be smart to have both the old and new classes start at the same areas, because it will make people who only bought the regular game want to buy the expansion more.

Loviatar · Nov 27, 2005, 04:20 PM // 16:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roza

Seems fairly simple to me. This is my guess. With chapter 2 you'll get:

- lvl 20 stays max (this is pretty much a certainty)
- new story (possibly better) with new missions
- new quests (possibly more challenging)
- new classes (with new skills)
- new elites for existing classes (so these have ways of improving themselves too)
- Maybe some new non-elite skills for old classes
- New pvp options (maybe a new arena and improvements to existing arena's)
- New weapons and armours for the new classes
- New weapons and armours for existing classes, but probably with the same sort of stats
- New towns and places
- Some other improvements (maybe an auction house, that sort of thing)
.

from what they have confirmed so far you are close.

they said a whole new story arch within the GW *book* so to speak.

that is why they are calling them CHAPTERS rather than expansions.

and you improve your character WITHOUT LEVEL NUMBER INFLATION.

if the ONLY way you see improvement as i get level 40 i get my level 10 fireball which kills the higher level monster in exactly the same way (EXCEPT FOR THE BIGGER NUMBERS) than your character wont improve and this game is not for you.

if you need a numerical pat on the head to prove you are better than the noobs forget it.

i play it because i have fun exploring or whatever i feel like not a bigger number

Ado · Nov 27, 2005, 05:01 PM // 17:01

Yesterday I was helping a friend in Iron Mines (infusement mission). In a way, getting infused is also a way of leveling up. Same thing could be done in chapter 2 in order to fight the new enemies. Haven't thought about it when I started this post. I think Loviatar is right that numbers don't mean everything. The same thing with armor can be done with weapons of course, that they need some kind of magical upgrade in order to do damage in the new area's. What I meant to say is that there should be things in the expension that change/improve your character, so you have some extra to play for, appart from completing missions and quests. How the economy will react to the new items? I think it will be the same as with the green items. At first they will be very populair and thus expensive. Later on ppl will look at the use of the items and prices will drop again eventually, only the most effective ones which look "cool" will stay expensive. This however, is already the situation as it is today (fellblades, crystal swords, sickles, eternal bows/shields etc) which remain expensive. I don't think the new items will cause a big problem for the economy.

Overnite · Nov 27, 2005, 05:09 PM // 17:09

Quote:

that is why they are calling them CHAPTERS rather than expansions.

That made me laugh pretty hard for some reason...

Kaospryx · Nov 27, 2005, 05:18 PM // 17:18

One of the pinnacles of an rpg is character progression. One of the easiest ways to do this is through "numerical inflation" as some of you say. Is the story important? Yes. Is exploration important? Yes. While I'm not outright saying they will or won't raise the level cap, I feel they will do something in order to give a sense of character progression. If levels were so unimportant, then there wouldn't be 20 levels in this game in the first place. Why are there varying weapon damages in the game? Why are there attribute points? Why are there different armor values as you progress? If only story and exploration were important, you could make an action game and not call it an rpg. I believe they will do something in order to give a sense of character progression.

Orbberius · Nov 27, 2005, 05:22 PM // 17:22

I just hope to god they don't forget actual PvP content (not just new classes/skills) like they seem to be doing with all these recent updates.

Roza · Nov 27, 2005, 08:56 PM // 20:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orbberius

I just hope to god they don't forget actual PvP content (not just new classes/skills) like they seem to be doing with all these recent updates.

New classes/skills are more important to me than new arena's, maps etc. Skills are at the heart of pvp, imo.

Loviatar · Nov 27, 2005, 09:15 PM // 21:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaospryx

While I'm not outright saying they will or won't raise the level cap, I feel they will do something in order to give a sense of character progression. .

here is a simple definitive statement on level raising from Alex Weekes of NCsoft (owners of Arenanet)

Alex Weekes
NCSoft

Quote:
Originally Posted by One and Two
They said they are considering raising the max level, as 20 means little improvement.

Quote:

Alex Weekes

Exact opposite, actually. We have no intention of changing the level cap at the current time. The level cap has been set at 20 for a long time, and much of the game is designed around that level cap.