ill be real – I stopped having level worries after just doing all the quests on each island when they were available at the time.
Surprising how nobody uses the 2k+ xp banana merchant quest in palo to get to level 40 after frostmill. its available super early and when you unlock it, it gives you 2x the amount of xp needed to level up each time
I use that + my addiction to treasure charts + just doing all the quests in general tbh, Very fun for challenge runs!
Im doing another no stat, and am currently doing a no-melee run too. Cant say the story or grind has bored me
However, I do have an issue with the massive level disparity between stepstones [level <60] and fort talos [75+]
The gap, with how xp progression works, is very tedious. Mosts quests available to the player are in sailors lodge, and then all the islands up north, which are a painfullyy long way away!
Players do now have an easier time getting galleons, meaning getting another ship is not an issue. But in my opinion, the storyline at sailors lodge should have had more to it – that, or it should have offered more quests at the lodge.
I do understand these caps are also to promote exploring the game – but in that sense, maybe some quests concerning the other islands a player is yet to go to would be neat! And maybe more than a fetch quest too? I really enjoyed the Ravenna one where the old lady sends you on a journey to find a lost family heirloom that was locked away in a pirates lost treasure
After Talos, there isnt much issue in my opinion other than calvus just not being elluded to or mentioned by anyone ever – not even in passing by an npc or brought up by others. I feel like the game could use more story driven NPC to player interaction
That being more discussions with the main cast, since there is of course a huge gap there. And whilst it is certainly implied that the MC talks to the rest of the main cast, we dont actually get to experience that – leading to a lot of confusion, and at times, some silly moments.
Neviro following Iris was an odd choice, until you find his notebook and actually read it – which then lets the player know “oh yea you guys are friends.”. More dialogue options with Neviro in Cirrus and later on possibly would be a great idea
Revon could have used a much more action in the Ravenna storyline – and in general Ravennas storyline is hectic, though keeping in mind it takes 1 day from general argos to Julian, and then 1 month between the Eternal Mines and murderissing Calvus
I do feel like Revon should not have had any trust or fondness of the player. His dialogue almost seems as though he was betrayed, and I do rather much prefer the dialogue where he directly says that Calvus being murdered “isnt fair”.
I am actually really excited for the Nimbus Sea though, as I am assuming its being planned out, and hopefully that means we get higher quality development with the characters!
hopefully in the future when we get more personal with the gang we’ll get like, individual quests for them or something, that would allows us to get closer and understand them better similar to Edward ( and Enizor ig )
Iris could explore more about her past and how she managed to learn lost magic at such a young age
Morden could be both about his and our past/time during the Order, tho maybe not since Morden said he rather we look forward to the future now. Maybe about his struggle with the Death Curse and the death of Tucker?
Neviro could be about his family and kingdom, as well as him being the black sheep of the family due to him not being a mage
a couple of these are valid criticisms especially in regards to how little time is spent giving actual characterization to the main cast. I hope Vetex takes some of this criticism and applies to the Nimbus Sea and everything else moving forward.
A few of my personal gripes with the story are.
Calvus introduction: The way that Calvus is introduced kind of falls flat because its presented as some big reveal when in reality there’s little to no buildup for his character. This would have been solved by having him show up in a few cutscenes earlier in the story. It wouldn’t even have to be him fully, just a silhouette of a supposed powerful figure. Right after Argos’s defeat would have been a perfect place to introduce someone who’s behind the scenes.
The main cast arent engaging enough.
Iris, Morden, and Neviro are pretty one-dimensional. Warren is as well, but it works for him since he’s supposed to be mysterious and he’s also technically not a part of the main cast. Giving the main cast actual distinct personalities and fleshing out their characters will help them stand out more and make them more enjoyable to be with especially since they’re supposedly going to be with us for most of the journey.
The story takes itself way to seriously
This might be a more personal thing but I genuinely think the narrative would benefit from having a more light-hearted tone. Make characters joke around and do dumb things. Give heroes and villains alike personal gags and quirks that make them memorable. This way, when the story has its serious moments it actually hits harder because of the tone change.
Overall AO is apparently supposed to be a mix between One Piece and Game of Thrones but doesn’t really mesh correctly. I’ll cut some slack because this is the only the first sea but One Piece after the East Blue arc established the tone and theme of the series very well early on and season 1 of Game of Thrones had me invested in a man who only lasted one season. Vetex is new to writing but I suggest he take some time doing R&D on writing a good narrative and compelling characters
WELL, I wasn’t really talking about how the story is but more of how it is implemented in quests but I do agree the characters kind of feel like emontionless people than actual people with personalities etc…
the story structure within the game could definitely use some work too but I just took this advantage to talk about the actual story and characters lol
Ill be honest, idk how this could be done. MC, due to how they have amnesia and how Ravenna is literally at the south of the map, probs wouldnt have encountered Ravenna. Though there was a 17 day gap between Chapter 1 and 2, they probably couldve added something that happens in that time span where MC does visit Ravenna to see whats going on and which would lead them to actually follow Iris. Whether finding out thay other people were taken too, about how Iris became a wanted person, etc. That probs wouldve been good set-up…
Next sea, we actually know the kingdoms we’re gonna deal with, so who knows. A bug may have revealed that Sameria is the third kingdom we visit tho.
We kinda just met them, so we arent going to see a lot just yet. We do actually see signs of their personalities and their dynamics if you actually pay close attention to them. Neviro isnt just a very cold person from what he appears, he’s actually more of an emotional person inside looking at his journal and reminder that he actually found Iris’ temper amusing.
Iris has a hot temper but if you pay attention to how she interacts with the rest of the cast, youll notice shes the one who genuinely cares the most for the team. During the running away cutscene, shes literally the one thats asking the rest of the group if theyre alright. She apologizes to Neviro when he seemed upset about getting beaten by Calvus (remember, Neviro has insecurities abt beaing “weak”), her defending Morden when Neviro asks if he’s dead (lmao, she asks “Why would you say that?”), and her entire interaction with the MC on the campfire.
And considering Morden’s past and MC not rembrring him, it makes sense that he doesnt really open up, but the journal reveals more to his exterior.
Neviro’s journal makes it clear that whike the group is together, theyre not quite… well, ready to open themselves to each other just yet. Iris and MC seems open but not the others. Again, we just met them, so it makes sense. Its only been one month.
…They did try at the campfire scene, but I do agree they need more of those moments. In one dialogue option when you first interact with Morden, he assumes youre joking, giving me the impression that the MC was someone who used to have humor. Please show me that-
There’s also Iris’ and Morden’s dynamic, which not a lot of people talk abt and only the carry scene, which does have potential for possible funny scenarios? Morden gets conscious about how he’s getting bridal carried, Iris goes “Can you walk? Dont think so”, she laughs at how he’s loudly snoring, she teases him saying that he’s basically starving after sleeping for 4 days, and he foes “Ugh, pls dont point that out”, I wanna see more of this ngl next sea, just these two going back at each other and MC becoming horrified.
Pls show some funny dynamics between the cast, Id actually love that ngl