Podcast Pre-Show Thread: Episode 12

[PhoenixRed]

On the next episode of the "Warhammer Alliance Podcast"...

Our heroes celebrate 10 podcast episodes together with a commemorative gift created with loving care from Kristen. But there's no rest for the weary, as the land is rocked with a shift in the 1.3 power struggle. Taking up arms once again, this time with the Honor Guard, their noble mission to uncover the mysteries of WAR brings them to a forgotten temple of Isha, where the only thing that may save them is knowing about stat contribution. Against all odds, one of our adventurers stands to combat the impending doom - but even in these dark times, one finds reinforcements...

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Wot's this all about, anyway?

In an attempt to build interest and also to solicit more feedback and ideas from the community, we will be trying out the creation of Podcast Pre-Show Threads prior to our recordings (Sunday every 2 weeks is our recording time). Not only will we "tease" you about our upcoming content through bolded key words, we'll also give you, the listeners and readers, a chance to tell us what we should talk about, whether that is in the form of a question for our hosts, or a point or comment you'd like to hear dissected. So please leave comments and questions, and who knows - we might give you a shout-out on our episode!

[Talc]

With all the chatter about the combat changes, I don't think I need to hear much more. The community has shown that the vocal minority are going to be angry no matter what mythic does to this game and I'm getting rather sick of hearing about it.

I was on the PTS in land of the dead and I can see the team put a lot of work into it.

Maybe you could discuss how you feel about the changes to talismans and all the new types of talismans there will be. IMO, being able to basically customize armor stats and procs are going to ad a little more depth to the game. However, I don't know how I feel about all the new awesome armor and weapons overshadowing everything I have worked so hard to obtain by this point in the game.

[Rer]

Few things within 1.3:

• Obviously C&C Removed
• Will LotD's content be enough to keep players interested?
• The Other Positive Changes from 1.3 that everyone probably has forgotten about

Besides that, what do the hosts think about the community as a whole? Are we a bunch of whiners? Are we unfair to the developers? Do we expect too much in too little time? Just other questions like that, and not all of it has to be negative.

[arcoslippy]

Do you think the change in stat contributions in 1.3 lead to more balanced characters or more exacting min/maxing and why?

[Quiksilva]

I am also fed up with listening and reading whines so can you please try to focus on the positive a little more I dont mind intelligent discussion but this constant Mythic sucks is boring and I think its contradictory if this game was so bad how come we are all still playing (sorry quitters you voted with your feet already you have no voice).

So that rant over, I am really looking forward to the whole LOTD experience and am keen to hear about the purge system in particular and whilst I have heard about the main lair of the Vulture Lord, whats the deal with the others?

[Negatempest]

I also agree with the talk about talismans. It will help with a HUGE push into reaching the soft peak for main stats for the classes and adding in a 2nd stat improvement for a more unique feel.

[Siberwulf]

Originally Posted by Negatempest

I also agree with the talk about talismans. It will help with a HUGE push into reaching the soft peak for main stats for the classes and adding in a 2nd stat improvement for a more unique feel.

I think this is a good point, but for a different reason. The 1.3 stat changes helped players get more defensive with their stats. The de-facto build now is crit/main stat/wounds. We're building ourselves as glass cannons not only because it puts up great scenario numbers (which are useless and irrelevant) but because it is *easy* to do so. We wonder why TTK is so low right now, but we don't think to blame ourselves.

I'd like to hear some stuff along those lines...

[stiltskin]

I'd like the team to discuss the possibility of changing scenario and rvr lake level requirements to allow the game to be more fun for all tiers , and the addition of a separate level 40 tier ( or tier 5 ? ).

By this I mean altering t1 to be 1-9 , t2 to be 10-19 , t3 to be 20-29 , t4 to be 30-39 , and finally a t5 of 40 's.

I think this would level the playing field quite a bit , give rank 40 characters their own areas and challenge comparable to their piers.

[Slurms]

Originally Posted by stiltskin

By this I mean altering t1 to be 1-9 , t2 to be 10-19 , t3 to be 20-29 , t4 to be 30-39 , and finally a t5 of 40 's.

I think this would level the playing field quite a bit , give rank 40 characters their own areas and challenge comparable to their piers.

Someone (actually I think it was a few people) suggested something like this quite a while ago. At that time I wholeheartedly disagreed with it. I though it was the worst idea because it would make T4 horrible for everyone under 40 yadda yadda yadda. But as im finally in T4, I am begining to understand why this would be a great thing. I feel as though I can do nothing against level 40's sometimes, and for them to be in a higher elite teir may not be a bad thing.

[Tsunami]

Originally Posted by stiltskin

I'd like the team to discuss the possibility of changing scenario and rvr lake level requirements to allow the game to be more fun for all tiers , and the addition of a separate level 40 tier ( or tier 5 ? ).

By this I mean altering t1 to be 1-9 , t2 to be 10-19 , t3 to be 20-29 , t4 to be 30-39 , and finally a t5 of 40 's.

I think this would level the playing field quite a bit , give rank 40 characters their own areas and challenge comparable to their piers.

Yeah, we need to seperate the 40s in SCs, that would also give them a better shot at higher rvr crests.

I also am getting sick of all the whining as well, most mmorpgs aren't as pvp oriented so players don't care about balance as much. Compared to every other mmo i've played the balance is great in this game. Sure some classes have stronger mechanics but there is no "i win" class in this game that can own full groups on their own unlike other games out there.

A lot of mmo developers don't even try to balance their games and players have switched from whining to right out offensive posts putting down the whole game and it developers in general.

[stiltskin]

I would have liked it to be split into 5 levels , but with long waiting times for sc as it is that would be too much to ask .
Even below 40 , not so much in t1 , but from t2 onwards as soon as you have wp/dok with aoe healing at 20 it starts to unravel , and even more so at 30 . Compare a bw/sorc/wh damage or eng at 29 and then 30 , and the leap is astounding , almost god-mode to any below . You go from fun and balanced fights mid-20's , then a 30/31 bw is in next one and they rack up 3/4/5 x the damage of anyone else and almost every killing blow in a sc .
The difference between 32 and a 40 must be through the roof compared to t3.

[Xaen]

Originally Posted by stiltskin

I would have liked it to be split into 5 levels , but with long waiting times for sc as it is that would be too much to ask .
Even below 40 , not so much in t1 , but from t2 onwards as soon as you have wp/dok with aoe healing at 20 it starts to unravel , and even more so at 30 . Compare a bw/sorc/wh damage or eng at 29 and then 30 , and the leap is astounding , almost god-mode to any below . You go from fun and balanced fights mid-20's , then a 30/31 bw is in next one and they rack up 3/4/5 x the damage of anyone else and almost every killing blow in a sc .
The difference between 32 and a 40 must be through the roof compared to t3.

TBH this hits it right on the nose the difference is incomparison extremely noticably, but i also agree with seperating out the rank 40's but maybe a 36-40 teir since that is when the renown rank changes begin toto increase past the characters actual level, athough not to completely seperate out the Rank 40's as this would obliterate the chance for lower characters to get decent items.

[Voidcaller]

I enjoy your podcasts a lot.

The main thing for me is the performance issues. I used to play DAOC in the US, and now I play War on EU servers. It is my understanding that GOA have subpar hardware compared to Mythic, and also that there is a lot of ISP issues in Europe. Could you comment a bit on your knowledge here ?

I dont normally have issues, but now and again I get the lagfest. Usually the server dies a bit later. I have suggested to split T4 up in smaller areas, or get rid of the PVE side so that wont create lag. Would you have other similar suggestions ?

From DAOC I know that mythic is the best company out there, whenever it comes to balancing classes and abilities. And I know the game is still young. I understand the choices Mythic have made, and I think the only real thing that is bothering me about war - is the economy.
We lack fixed merchants, so that we can put up things for sale for a longer period of time. Believe it or not, some of the playerbase loves to farm stuff and sell it off for the better of their realm. I see some of this in the "alliance auction" being implemented, but I doubt capitalism would have been very industrious if the only trade mechanism they had was e-bay.

This also translates into the itemization. I know you guys have mentioned it before, but to me it seems like everyone is running around in the same gear. At least 1.3 will be away with the wards, so we can wear whatever. What kind of itemization would you guys like ? For me DAOC crafting was arderous, but rewarding in the long run. I dont think mythic should fear powergamers as much as they seem to. What do you think ? Does WAR aim at the bland masses that cant play well enough to compete with proper gear ? On the elitist like the remains of the DAOC community ? Or somewhere in between ?

Id love to see the possibility of joining scenarios even though all zones are locked. Sometimes you just want to kill people, without having to deal with the people who scream bloody murder because a lvl 32 showed up in their scenario, or because people in a city instance focus on killing order. I mean, thats why Im there.

Yours respectfully - Void

[Negatempest]

Well, it would be good to add some more to talk about instead of just 1 or 2 topics to extend, so here is a short list:

1. server stability talk. Maybe give a bi-weekly news (can be short) about how the server at the moment, improving or falling apart.

2. Career changes. Maybe give a class or two some information on how they can be improved. Example: Marauder/WL. Give Mara some interesting mutations like a tail that can swipe backwards to keep the back attackers on their toes. WL can have their trees effect the lions alot more than they are now. A certain tree will have a list of stats/abilities that will effect the lion in a passive and ability form. (If I am off, it is possible to point it out, a little oblivious to some classes)

3. Destruction vs Order. Give a report at the moment of how much Dest/Order is getting dominated. This can include sc as well....maybe even give some hints/tips on what can be done on some pve bosses or even keep fights.

4. Weekly douchebag/cheater. This can be a fun topic. Maybe there is a certain toon on a specific side that may have strong evidence that they are cheating/exploiting. Maybe a toon that has been gunning for your for the a whole week or a douchebag on your own side. No names have to be given, but such rants are fun to hear at times.

[Gerd]

I'd think it'd be nice to highlight an idea from the future features section of the official forums each week.

Plenty of good and/or controversial ones on there.