Trying to do my best to make the early game more accessible, as well as some of the PVE content. I do understand that some of this are sentiments already shared, but I plan to kind of ‘bring them together’ in the same way people brought together PVP changes- I see these changes to be of equal, if not greater importance than balance changes. The first impression is always the most important in games like this.
I’ll segment this, it’s not much but I would appreciate your two cents.
(You may seem some crossed out ideas, this is to give context to some discussion and show what’s been changed)
Boss Health and Behavior
General
Boss arenas no longer have destructible environments. (Seen this suggestion before but want to bring it up again). This would apply to Carina and Shura as well even though their arenas are in the wilderness.
(Alternative) Boss Arenas are no longer segmented in their destruction. I.E. The carpet and floor are no longer seperate in the Calvus fight so you don’t get stuck under the carpet when only the floor is destroyed.
Shura
Teleport endlag increased by 1 second to introduce players to the dodge and hit tactics better more blatantly.
No Changes
Iris
No changes
Elius
Reduce Heal from 150 to 75 to make the fight less of a damage check on newer players.
Argos
Reduce effectiveness of ‘Cheese Room’ in some way.
Carina
Improve Grab Hitbox to be less janky
Calvus
Barrage Damage from 75 per hit to 50 (38 to 20 in phase 2)
Ai Tweak so he only casts his nuke whilst standing on the ground so fighting styles can find more opportunities for damage.
During Story Quest you are no longer stuck inside the castle until you beat Calvus. This in a way could softlock players who did not have the necessary skill/gear and prevents them from leaving if they find themselves ill prepared for Calvus.
Cernyx
Attack effects fade faster for easier readability of the fight.
Early Game & EXP
Achievements System
A basic achievements system that gives players cheap, easy to get goals at the start that give small exp rewards. By balancing a few of these well, you can increase the level range players end Frostmill at from the 20-25 range to a 30-35 range. This also should have achievements that explain Master Angler and Bronze Sea Explorer, and tells the player they will get a title for accomplishing the goals set out. As well, it should be something players occasionally engage with over the length of the game, rewarding them for various activities like cooking, potion brewing, pirate hunting etc.
Cookbook
Like the Fishing Journal, this will be a compilation of the in game recipes one can make, and filling it out gives EXP equal to catching a new fish. Increase the priority for this mechanics introduction and have it award EXP for filling it out- same as the fishing journal.
Story Does not take you directly to Stepstones
~~Instead of going directly to the stepstones now, the player will be encouraged to stop off at Palo Town, gently nudging newer players towards new quests for a better flow and less of a deadstop. ~~
New Story Cont./ Ship Hunting Explanation*
Have a story quest requesting players sink a pirate sailboat. This will naturally introduce new players to naval combat. Perhaps find a way to work in bronze chests, but most new players will likely try to board rather then engage in cannon fire fights.
Have the quest npc explain why sinking pirate ships is better, and give players a STRONG recommendation to upgrade their boats (so when they reach the Ravenna part of the story where they have to escape, they have a boat better prepared for the task)
New Palo Town Quest
Cargo to Sailors Lodge, a small quest to give players some exp on their arrival. Available around level 50~ so when players get off of the sky islands.
Cargo to Shell Island
A Sailors Lodge quest that will take players to the last inhabited area aside from Ravenna. (This is so people under leveled for Fort Talos/Go to Ravenna know where they can go next)
Small Misc EXP buffs
Fighting NPCs gives slightly more exp than it does currently
Full completion of an islands exploration tasks gives double exp
Fishing up a rare fish or above gives experience regardless of whether or not its a new catch
Quality of Life
Stepstones Teleporter/Fall Protection
Two ways this can be done: (Community has decided)
-
During the Cirrius Island story quests, if a player jumps off the cloud islands they will be teleported back to their spawn with a bit of damage. -
At the bottom of the Stepstones there will be an npc who will charge 50 galleons for a teleport to the top, only available after you scale the stepstones for the first time.
Pirates, Assasins and Navy boats no longer target a player under level 60, 50 unless attacked first
Gear Book
An in game source for players to easily find gear that gives good stats, as well as how to get it. Boss items and rare weapons will be kept shrouded here until a player beats the boss or reaches a certain level.
Increase Sailboats base speed
By having the first boat move less slowly it’ll make it less tedious for new players to explore.
+ Wanted Criminals/Heroes/Navy Members do not aggro on players below Level 50
Suggested by @spammy, this is because players of low level can get unlucky by running into NPCS that massively outlevel them, thus barring them from exploring islands near the starting area (Limestone Key/Harvest Island)
In Game collection of Hints and Tutorials
Having Hints and Tutorials only pop up once can punish the inattentive players. A small handbook of neatly organized tips, perhaps with some visual aids could do wonders for lost new players.
More Options for Key Rebinds
This is what I have so far. There were some things I didn’t want to touch, like core combat. For instance I am not gonna say the game needs a lock on or something more intuitive, but hopefully many of you find ways to help improve this list.
When all is said and done I plan to post this to the suggestions category, potentially with some visual aids.
