I think the games current state is okay-ish, but I do kinda want to envision what we have/need for the future to draw out the endgame and make it more fun to engage with while we wait for the new story/feature/whatever content.
I wanna get into what I think are gonna be the ‘endgame pillars’. What the ‘state of the game’ will be balanced around in the future, near or far.
Pillar 1: Dark Sea
Goes without saying, right now the Dark Sea is THE end game content. Alone or with friends. Yet, there IS a problem. Runs in the Dark Sea tend to veer on the longer side, you can go several minutes between actively ‘doing’ something, and to get a large, worthwhile amount of loot, sometimes you feel like you have to drag the run for hours…
Recent changes to make exotic scrolls guaranteed over rare will definitely help, you won’t need to hoard so many to boost your chances.
Yet rewards are NOT all people care about. The biggest issue with the Dark Sea is the lack of variety, which yeah, I know it ain’t done, but upgrades to the random gen islands would do wonders, as well as ensuring that people are consistently running across islands. Some find the Dark Sea a slog because it can take them forever to get to somewhere where they can have fun.
Pillar 2: Elysium Raids
Not even in the game yet, but I forsee being a BIG part of the endgame of each update is ‘Elysium Raids’. These are a feature mentioned in passing when Elysium was made. Basically just sounds like boss fights with lore characters that are designed for larger groups of players to take on together.
This plays into something AO needs to focus on heavily: Fostering community. A lotta people look for social interaction in a game like this- and contrary to what some PVP meathead might tell you, these interactions have nothing to do with player conflict or hunting. People want to build a community with others they can just hang out with and enjoy the game. That attitude isn’t well protected in the current game design, but I’m confident AO will get there.
Pillar 3: Clans
I think Clans are the pillar everyone ‘sees’. Everyone knows Clans are gonna be one of the ‘be-all, end-all’ pieces of the endgame content. I mean, they’re gonna be able to build towns and castles n’ stuff and deploy guards there, that’s gonna absolutely be appealing to the PVE crowd.
A shame I forsee a lot of hidden tripwires on our way to perfect clans though. PVE content like farming, building, etc, is gonna be locked behind the mire that is the PVP world. Having to basically babysit your farm to make sure some dude doesn’t come and delete your claim because HE wants the island isn’t gonna be very fun for the average PVE player. PVP players and mixed enjoyment players are probably gonna have a ball though.
Pillar 4: Auction House
Probably THE most important Pillar (we love Headless 'round here), Auction House is something that will make EVERYONES life better. Don’t wanna grind Calvus for 3 hours to complete your new set? You can just do some stuff you actually WANT to do, and then PAY for the drop on the auction house! Pve players can start raking in cash in an infinite loop of farm->sell->buy, and PVP players can simply buy stuff they need/want. They don’t have to go out of their way if they want healing potions, or perfect gear on a side build, they can just pay for it.
Super helpful feature, it’s gonna be a backbone of AO’s lategame for sure.
Yap session has commenced, tune in next week.
