NPE - Concerns (and suggested solutions)
I will use this thread to point out things in Arete that I think should be looked at again, after testing. Feel free to add your own experiences or discuss concerns / suggested solutions, but please keep it constructive and clean.
And when you're not on test, your argument towards anything on there is irrelevant.
General
- Give new players more ammunition. I'd say at least 1000 for the start. Ammunition isn't what makes you OP or anything, new players will find out soon enough, that they need it and where to buy it. But a stack of 100 is just a no. You can hardly make it to Alex with that amount.
Also, why is there a vendor in the market that sells ammo for way less than the ammo terms? Since a newbie will need ammo very soon, I'd suggest placing the vendor closer to the start (If you won't increase the given ammo). That way new players will have to run all the way back, if they want new ammo for less than what the term wants. Teaches them very soon, that laziness will hurt their wallet.
- What happened to the original storyline of being crashed and stranded? I couldn't find anything in the first NPC chats, that indicates why the player is even there and what happened. It's just all about getting an ID. Imo this should be added again, to add sense to the whole thing.
- Lolly the Reet. Why does she attack when you attack a Desert Reet? Or why is she even killable? So far I couldn't find a Questline that asks me to kill her, so since she's a needed Quest Mob and can hurt real bad when you're lvl 5 or lower, she should be soothed.
Also, her speed is a little too much. It was kind of hard to keep up with her, to open the chatwindow to give her the cookie.
- I haven't rolled an advi/enf on Arete yet, but I'm pretty sure you will still need the Leet Spine to upgrade the 1he weapons. Thing is just, that leets are firstly very far away, and secondly lvl 10-12. That way a 1he char will have a disadvantage to everyone who can just kill a few fleas/robos for their needed update, since these mobs are lvl 3-4 I think.
The same goes for the Bone Plates that drop off Minibulls. They're also far away and around lvl 10.
- Weapon Dealer Remi. So this quest is for paid players only. Why is that? I think froobs should be able to get ranged / melee compos as well. Especially since prices for compos have gone up a lot in ICC. My suggestion here would be to make 2 new froob-friendly questlines: One for ranged and one for melee compos. Additionally keep the Remi paid questline, but change the reward. Since this is apparently a Lost Eden kind of quest, the reward should be VP. And I'd say 200. Either at once or in a two-step questline, each 100. A new player that is full paid will have it hard enough to get VP, so this would help a lot I think. That way, as soon as in ICC one OFAB armor piece can be purchased. Or to save the VP for the first hud3.
- I've noticed that bosses are already very camped on Test. This could turn into a real issue once this hits live and many people will want to try NPE. I think the reason is simply that the loot is too good. I fished a Pow Bow off the flea boss the other day and I heard about low level SOL-K's etc. This isn't needed in Arete. The old boss loot tables were good enough for new players.
- But since the loot is so good, and in case this will just stay as it is: A backpack vendor is very much needed.
- When you start on Arete you can follow this one questline that brings you to your ID, so you can then leave this place. I generally think this is a great thing for new players, but I think a lot of quests will go unnoticed for someone who's new and is still focused on everything new around and just following instructions. What I'm trying to say is: Some quests are hard to find, because there are no indicators anywhere.
For example the credit card. While Maddy is telling you how sad she is, that she lost her credit card, and the blue name *maybe* brings you to the conclusion you're supposed to help her, there is simply no help at all, where to look for the lost credit card. Maybe a better hint in the dialogue would already help. Or just give players a mission that says "Find the lost credit card" but without a waypoint. Or maybe even both.
The same goes for the Leet King. I only stumbled upon him, because I saw people talking about it on Social, and then figured Arete must be bigger than I thought and went exploring.
Just put a little hint here and there for new players, so they know they're not done yet, when they have their ID.
- Choosing a side. A new player probably doesn't know they can choose a side already on Arete. Not sure if a new player would even understand that there are different sides, since the conflict isn't really mentioned anywhere either. Sure, there are protesters and Omni Tek and all, but as a new player? I'm not so sure if they'd get the hint.
I think this could easily be solved, when Vaughn would just ask the player if they chose a side already, and if not, and if they want to, where to go. Add a waypoint here.
- Once you're clan, you can still do the Omni Tek recruitement quest. (Which is nice for xp.) Is this intended? I would have thought the Omni Leader wouldn't talk to me anymore, once I'm clan. Would be supporting the conflict.
- Why are Neuts completely left behind on Arete? I couldn't find a Neutral Observer as on Noob Island. He should be placed somewhere around the gate again.
- The Alien Ship is way too far away. At first I thought there weren't any aliens anymore in Arete, but after running and fighting my way through the desert, I finally found some greenish mobs. It's good for players who want to level in Arete and spend some time there, but for a vet who has seen it all and just wants the first two ai-level and head off, this is annoying. I think there needs to be found some kind of balance, so people have the opportunity to rush through, as well as others can enjoy staying there and level up. Just bring it closer to the market place, maybe behind the Arena.
I haven't tested every single profession on Arete yet, so I can only share my experiences with MP and Shade so far.
MP
- Pets now lvl with the MP. It's okay I think, needs lots more testing in other level ranges to see how huge the impact is, but on Arete it's fine. Problem is just: How is a new player supposed to know that? They land on Arete, they get a pet nano, they cast it and that's it. To make the pet level you have to recast it each time you increased your skills, but a new player will never be so smart. Put a hint somewhere. Big hint.
- Why bow? I mean, bow is good, but MPs have a lot more weapons to choose from, so I think they should be presented with bow, 1hb, 2hb when they start. Maybe even a Creation-Nano in very low.
- Remove the Cooldown on the Arete Petnano. This is horrible. The pet dies very easily, the MP lvls very fast and this just doesn't fit.
- The MP dies very easily too. Mainly because the pet can't tank, can't damage, has very low inits.
- I experienced the nuke gets countered a lot. A very, very lot. Even by green mobs, with maxed skills.
Shade
- Shade is completely OP in Arete. Can't be a lvl 4-5 toon can just do 2x lvl 12 mobs at once, without getting in trouble at all.
- Why do shades only get one weapon when they start? And why does it only have Sneak Attack as special? A new player could get very confused by that. I can already see newbies thinking this is how it is supposed to be, and they won't give their shade a second weap until someone mentions it to them. It's okay to make them buy the second one, but again, please put a hint somewhere.
- I had real troubles with Concealment on shade. Even at the very start, on lvl 2 and maxed Conceal PLUS the Compo buff, I couldn't sneak. All the malfunctioning robots have detected me.
That's it for now. Will add more, when I have more time testing other profs, unless it will be mentioned then already.
