ATs and why they should be labled for player skill level

gradii · February 2014

Lets take a look at some AT's now shall we?

MIND: actually not bad when played well, but difficult to level early on for new players, a redesign of the AT could help but until then...

IMPULSE: also not TERRIBLE when a smart player is behind the keyboard but just godawful when mishandled.

INVINCIBLE: IMHO one of the best tank ATs but energy issues early on make for a poor impression for someone fairly new to the game.

BLADE: Insane spike damage but very squish and near nothing to nothing in the way of self healing. NOT for the beginning player.

On the other hand...

GLACIER: Easy to level, easy to figure out, no heals but its really tough. I generally point new players towards this AT when they ask which free AT to try first.

MASTER: Before the dodge nerf this AT was nigh unkillable in the hands of a more experienced player, and after the nerf still one of the best AT's overall. even a newbie shouldnt have too much of an issue with this AT.

ANYWAY I suggest we label AT's on AT selection for player skill level recommended, like they do in many other games. it sucks to have someone choose Mind because mental powers are awesome, but then be disappointed because early on Mind AT doesnt feel like being a badass psychic.

iceih03 · February 2014

I think the labeling the difficulty for each AT may be a good idea, a simple label like the old Dungeons and Dragons online.

cornivic · February 2014

They should be label, I think they all are super hard to play, I cant play without regeneration.

Unknown · February 2014

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stellariodragon · February 2014

I love my FF Savage build. So easy and lovely.

jonsills · February 2014

IMO, Savage, Invincible, and Scourge are all easy-mode. Pity they're also paid ATs. Next easiest are the Glacier and Squall; fortunately, the Glacier is free. (It's possible the Squall might also be less able in the hands of an inexperienced player - I've been at it for a while myself.)

twg042370 · February 2014

I think sticking "Incredibly Boring to Play" on the Glacier, Grimorie, and Mind would be fair as well.

For the Blade and Inferno add "Buy heals"

spinnytop · February 2014

A simpler thing would to just have a big sign at the Archetype selection screen that appears for new players that says "HEY PLAY A TANK YOUR FIRST TIME" o_O Really any of the tanks are easiest to start with.

They had a system like this in Tera, where each class recieved a rating from 1 to 5 stars to display how difficult it was, 5 being the most difficult. The problem is that they gave the most OP class in the game a rating of 5 stars, which ended up convincing a lot of people that they were amazing players because they were pwning faces left and right with "the most difficult class".

There were a lot of bruised egos any time those people were challenged to play one of the easier-rated classes (specifically the ones that should have been difficult-rated), and were swiftly stomped.

I'm wondering if they would do the rating system any better here.

drgmstr · February 2014

When I first started playing CO my first AT was a Behemoth. Was fun, felt invincible, but also felt slow at the early levels to level so I rerolled as a Blade to which has been my main ever since. Was taking down mobs fast enough never really worried about my health until I started to get to the higher levels. Not until the introduction of recogs I had no heals, now from farming in Vibora a lot for costume pieces and having almost 1k UNTIL recogs, I buy the HoT devices and never really had to worry about health again (not including liars like TT and Nemcom).

Now over time and having more character slots I tried out other ATs.

Devastator from the Alienware promo code, I can say is a mix of both tank and DPS, a lot of cone AoEs that can one shot one bar health mobs and easily put the pound on master villain level mobs.

Glacier to me was a grind at the lower levels...I always seem to get bored of that AT when leveling just like the Behemoth until later levels when having better gear/stats/ more abilities to work with.

Radiant is a great healer and somewhat average DPS. If there is a healing class that I like, its the Radiant.

Mind I've tried twice, was alright but didn't feel the play style was for me but I did enjoy it somewhat.

Grimiore: Well as said before not so great but once at a higher level man I loved it.

Inventor: Eh-ish.

Unleashed: Alright in my opinion, great for soloing once geared up and leveled.

Marksman, Soldier & Inferno: I love for range DPS, but Soldier and Inferno feels it has less survivalbility than the Marksman but hey that is when kiting becomes a thing to practice with.

Those are the ATs that I have played thus far, I do want to save up to get a Mountain and Invincible AT for a themed character I have in mind. All of the above are just my personal opinions on the ATs. To a long story short, I have enjoyed each AT to a extent. (Except for Inventor due to the lack of pet bug fixes)

flowcyto · February 2014

They had a system like this in Tera, where each class recieved a rating from 1 to 5 stars to display how difficult it was, 5 being the most difficult. The problem is that they gave the most OP class in the game a rating of 5 stars, which ended up convincing a lot of people that they were amazing players because they were pwning faces left and right with "the most difficult class".

Well, I tried a Warrior tank before a Lancer-style block was implemented in Tera, and yeah it was tough to tank BAMs w/ just some brief invlun frames and some DR from certain moves- esp if you weren't allowed to spin the mob cause it'd gib the group. Out of the other classes, I def could see why that earned a 5 star rank at release. Thing is, that rank was only telling of one aspect, and was very deceiving.

Haven't played Tera in a while, so haven't seen what the Warrior tank is like now, but I imagine its a bit more sane to work w/ in groups (at least compared to the Lancer).

Also, hey-oh OT reply! Opps.

On-topic, I do agree about general difficulty advice being given for the ATs on the select screen. There's some hints here and there in some of their descriptions, but its not consistent nor made w/ a more practical state of mind.

chalupaoffury · February 2014

Hell yeah.

This is a great idea. Many other MMOs have done it, it'd probably help a lot with player retention.

crypticbuxom · February 2014

I don't think you can label what ATs are more difficult to play simply because everyone's experiences are different. Some will find more ATs harder to play than others.

What should be in place is a promotional video for each AT with their strengths, weaknesses and an overall summary of how the AT is designed to play.

drgmstr · February 2014

crypticbuxom wrote: »

I don't think you can label what ATs are more difficult to play simply because everyone's experiences are different. Some will find more ATs harder to play than others.

What should be in place is a promotional video for each AT with their strengths, weaknesses and an overall summary of how the AT is designed to play.

Recently (and by that I mean somewhere in mid 2013) I looked up the ATs on youtube and watched IronMarble's videos on demonstrating the ATs powers to determine which AT I wanted to make for a character concept. I would agree adding a short intro video of the AT would be neat and helpful. First time I have seen this happen before was Vindictus to which can say it was helpful in selecting my first class to get a feel of the game.

agentnx5 · February 2014

After some consideration I think this is actual an idea that I should support. It would help set expectations for newbies with certain archetypes. A simple pro's & con's or strengths & weaknesses is all that's needed.

bravehoptoad · February 2014

jonsills wrote: »

IMO, Savage, Invincible, and Scourge are all easy-mode. Pity they're also paid ATs. Next easiest are the Glacier and Squall; fortunately, the Glacier is free. (It's possible the Squall might also be less able in the hands of an inexperienced player - I've been at it for a while myself.)

And the Void also easy-mode. Also a paid AT, tho.

sterga · February 2014

You forgot the FF AT. Probably should get at least 6 stars on that 1 to 5 scale with how easy it is to make a hot mess your first time.

ATs and why they should be labled for player skill level

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