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cfears
Member Posts: 17 Arc User
I have been thinking alot about this. I am sure many of you will disagree but this is my opinion. I played D&D back in the early 80s when it first came out. It was introduced to me in the 5th grade by a friend down the street. I found myself running back to his house to get in another few hours throughout the week. One of the things that brought me back over and over was his ability to create wonderful dungeons that were full of risk and reward. They had great narration by him and they were full of traps that were unique and always secret rooms and treasure were around every corner. They required true exploration.
First Issue: Dungeons. I have been in this game since 2015. It has a lot to offer as MMORGs go but it certainly can feel a far cry from the original pen and paper game. The closest dungeons to the feel of the original design are Cloak Tower, Tomb of the Nine Gods, and Frozen Heart. I know many are okay with this, but there are many that want that original feel but in a digital medium.
I get what they are doing with the combat rework (though I am hoping the scaling and many other bugs gets fixed), but regardless it seems like it is a race to the treasure chest for sub-par rewards instead of a search through secrets, traps, etc. to truly explore a narrated dungeon and gain worthwhile rewards. The dungeons are bland and generic. They get the narration right when every once in a while when they do events like Portobello's Campaign.
Recommendation 1: Please look at a new design for future dungeons and create dungeons that make you want to stay in them and explore. Make us want to stop and find the hidden wall for real rewards. You want everyone to have a role? Great! Good reason to have a rogue or a wizard. Specific powers to find hidden walls, traps. Randomize specific walls it if you need to for replayability.
Second Issue. Rewards and Economy. As we see now, there are more Astral Diamonds than Zen available. Treasure in dungeons is worthless until you are equipped to take on the hardest epic dungeons and trials. Even then it is far from unique. Gold is worthless, although they did raise the hitpoints on the healing potions. I understand that there is an economic model to this game to ensure the company can continue development but I would like to see a change that brings more reward to the players. Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum. It was great finding this in a pen and paper dungeon. I would happily run back to town to see what I could purchase. Sure didn't do it with Seals of nonsense. Does anyone even visit those original equipment vendors that deal in gold?
From D&D 4.0: "Monetary Treasure doesn’t have a level, but it has a similar economy. Gold coins are the standard coins of treasure hoards from 1st level through the paragon tier. At the lowest levels, characters might find silver coins as well, but that mundane coinage disappears from dungeon treasures after about 5th level. In the mid-paragon tier, platinum coins start appearing in treasures. One platinum piece (pp) is worth 100 gp and weighs the same as 1 gold piece, so it’s a much easier way to transport the quantities of wealth that high-level characters possess. By the time characters reach epic level, they rarely see gold any more. Platinum is the new standard. In the mid-epic tier, a new currency comes into play: astral diamonds. These precious gems are used as currency in the Elemental Chaos and in any divine dominions that have commercial economies. One astral diamond (ad) is worth 100 pp or 10,000 gp, and 10 ad weigh as much as one gold or platinum coin—so 500 ad weigh one pound. Astral diamonds never completely replace platinum, but they’re a useful measure of wealth in the high epic tier. Astral diamonds are most commonly found in strings of five or ten, linked together in settings of mithral or silver."
MOST IMPORTANTLY: Magic Items All the magic items in the Player’s Handbook have a level. When characters risk life and limb in adventures, they find magic items of higher level than their own level. Players enjoy finding powerful items, and they have a strong incentive to use those items rather than sell or disenchant them for a fraction of their value. When they use their own resources to acquire magic items, they buy or create items of their own level or lower. These items are useful and can be important, but they don’t have the wonder and excitement of the items players find on their adventures—and that’s intentional.
Recommendation 2A. Allow players to trade pp, gold, silver, copper in for astral diamonds. Allow any form of that to be used on the auction house or astral diamond exchange. Along with this. MORE TREASURE chests in each dungeon THROUGHOUT the dungeon.
Recommendation 2B. Allow these chests to follow the SPIRIT of the information above. Let them roll from the loot tables and find a variety of magic items of higher level than their own. Equipment that is unique, and is useful for many levels.
This would take real time and effort. If the devs cared about this game they would make dungeons the selling point. Want replayability? Make it worth it. Scaled down characters can find items, equipment based on their current level if they get a good roll on a hidden treasure chest. Make it exciting again with narration that could be turned on or off based on what the group wants.
Too much, but one can dream.....
First Issue: Dungeons. I have been in this game since 2015. It has a lot to offer as MMORGs go but it certainly can feel a far cry from the original pen and paper game. The closest dungeons to the feel of the original design are Cloak Tower, Tomb of the Nine Gods, and Frozen Heart. I know many are okay with this, but there are many that want that original feel but in a digital medium.
I get what they are doing with the combat rework (though I am hoping the scaling and many other bugs gets fixed), but regardless it seems like it is a race to the treasure chest for sub-par rewards instead of a search through secrets, traps, etc. to truly explore a narrated dungeon and gain worthwhile rewards. The dungeons are bland and generic. They get the narration right when every once in a while when they do events like Portobello's Campaign.
Recommendation 1: Please look at a new design for future dungeons and create dungeons that make you want to stay in them and explore. Make us want to stop and find the hidden wall for real rewards. You want everyone to have a role? Great! Good reason to have a rogue or a wizard. Specific powers to find hidden walls, traps. Randomize specific walls it if you need to for replayability.
Second Issue. Rewards and Economy. As we see now, there are more Astral Diamonds than Zen available. Treasure in dungeons is worthless until you are equipped to take on the hardest epic dungeons and trials. Even then it is far from unique. Gold is worthless, although they did raise the hitpoints on the healing potions. I understand that there is an economic model to this game to ensure the company can continue development but I would like to see a change that brings more reward to the players. Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum. It was great finding this in a pen and paper dungeon. I would happily run back to town to see what I could purchase. Sure didn't do it with Seals of nonsense. Does anyone even visit those original equipment vendors that deal in gold?
From D&D 4.0: "Monetary Treasure doesn’t have a level, but it has a similar economy. Gold coins are the standard coins of treasure hoards from 1st level through the paragon tier. At the lowest levels, characters might find silver coins as well, but that mundane coinage disappears from dungeon treasures after about 5th level. In the mid-paragon tier, platinum coins start appearing in treasures. One platinum piece (pp) is worth 100 gp and weighs the same as 1 gold piece, so it’s a much easier way to transport the quantities of wealth that high-level characters possess. By the time characters reach epic level, they rarely see gold any more. Platinum is the new standard. In the mid-epic tier, a new currency comes into play: astral diamonds. These precious gems are used as currency in the Elemental Chaos and in any divine dominions that have commercial economies. One astral diamond (ad) is worth 100 pp or 10,000 gp, and 10 ad weigh as much as one gold or platinum coin—so 500 ad weigh one pound. Astral diamonds never completely replace platinum, but they’re a useful measure of wealth in the high epic tier. Astral diamonds are most commonly found in strings of five or ten, linked together in settings of mithral or silver."
MOST IMPORTANTLY: Magic Items All the magic items in the Player’s Handbook have a level. When characters risk life and limb in adventures, they find magic items of higher level than their own level. Players enjoy finding powerful items, and they have a strong incentive to use those items rather than sell or disenchant them for a fraction of their value. When they use their own resources to acquire magic items, they buy or create items of their own level or lower. These items are useful and can be important, but they don’t have the wonder and excitement of the items players find on their adventures—and that’s intentional.
Recommendation 2A. Allow players to trade pp, gold, silver, copper in for astral diamonds. Allow any form of that to be used on the auction house or astral diamond exchange. Along with this. MORE TREASURE chests in each dungeon THROUGHOUT the dungeon.
Recommendation 2B. Allow these chests to follow the SPIRIT of the information above. Let them roll from the loot tables and find a variety of magic items of higher level than their own. Equipment that is unique, and is useful for many levels.
This would take real time and effort. If the devs cared about this game they would make dungeons the selling point. Want replayability? Make it worth it. Scaled down characters can find items, equipment based on their current level if they get a good roll on a hidden treasure chest. Make it exciting again with narration that could be turned on or off based on what the group wants.
Too much, but one can dream.....
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