Just a couple of notes and suggestions from the Update video:
Been following you guys from the beginning. (Formerly known as Wraith). It's good to see you are sticking to you guns on some things...and disheartening that you're going against the general consensus from YOUR community on others.
1. 45 minute mark: Flying and flying mounts. It's great to see you're sticking to NO flying mounts. Anything that allows a player to "skip" content or player interaction should be avoided in an MMO.
2. 59:20 minute mark: It's great that you're overhauling the combat system, but please stick to the Tab Target format that all of the greatest MMO's have had. The push from the loud minority that "Action" combat is superior is false and comes from an era where companies were trying to throw other genres into an MMO to "improve" and "grow" the genre. It did neither. By trying to please more people they drove off the player base that mattered.
3. 1:02:00 minute mark: Please no Auto-play or botting. Please don't dumb down the game for a mobile community that's fleeting and finicky at best. Most people realize at this point (even the normies are waking up) that mobile=P2W and isn't worth the time.
4. 1:03:40 minute mark: Dodge Rolling is NOT Tab-Target. See #2. Tab Target = strategic, cooperative gameplay through the use of abilities among a group of players. It's what makes an MMO an MMO.
5. 1:07:00 minute mark: Crafted Items that create sub-classes is a VERY interesting idea. Hope they're EXTREMELY hard to create.
6. 1:11:35 minute mark: Loot w/meaning...one of the most important concepts for a modern MMO. Every item dropped should have value and meaning in the game.
7. 1:32:45 minute mark: No bots...ever.
8. 1:35:40 minute mark: Social Credit System:
This is where I stopped the video and came to the forums. Nothing that came after this is worth watching if the Devs support this kind of ignorance. A social credit system in an MMO is the single most ridiculous idea I've ever heard of. Allowing players to rate other players would destroy your game. Especially in a Free 2 Play model.
We've all seen the damage Mass Report Bans have caused across several of the newest and oldest MMO's by major companies. A Social Credit System would be no different. Examples I've personally seen in current MMO's:
1. Players reporting players for getting to a harvest node before them.
2.Players reporting players for killing them in a PvP game.
3. Players reporting players for saying something in chat when you HAVE PROFANITY FILTERS, MUTE AND BLOCK...and have had them since the dawn of the internet. Companies shouldn't be in charge of what we see, hear and say. We have have built in sysems for self moderation. My children?...I set the filters for. Easy. Me?...I grew up a long time ago and can handle words...what about you? If you can't handle words online...maybe you should consider Single Player RPG's.
4. Gold farmers reporting players for reporting their bots.
5. Bots (MASS) reporting players for disrupting their gold farm rout.
6. Players reporting players for mistakes made in raids and dungeons.
7. Guilds reporting players in other Guilds to win PvP matches.
8. Players reporting other players in Battlegrounds for being too good.
This list could go on and on....
The point is...if you give the player base a way to rate or report other players THEY WILL ABUSE IT.
MMO's are supposed to have player interaction...both GOOD and BAD. It's what makes the great MMO's great.
In the beginning...the Devs stated they wanted to create a game that harkens back to the old days of MMO's. A Social Credit System, Censorship and gimped PvP isn't that.
Why Player friction matters:
PvP and NO censorship were the cornerstones of all the great MMO's. We had Mute and Block buttons if we needed them. We didn't need corporate hacks to tell us what words we didn't want to see.
Chat was filled with player friction stemming from PvP in ways that brought people together and forged lasting friendships with other players. Someone harassing you out in the world...corpse camping you? You got in chat and asked for help. People came...made enemies and friends and the game world was better for it.
Maybe that corpse camper made you angry enough to get you to keep playing far more than 1's and 0's ever could. Maybe it drove you to level more in order to hunt that (insert expletive) person down when you were strong enough. Maybe you got friends together and did it right away and had a night of fun hunting another player. Maybe you made more friends and enemies.
Old MMO's had this dynamic that new MMO players just don't understand. It was wonderful, fun, exciting, and new. Every log in was an adventure. You never knew what was going to happen before it happened...no matter what you had planned.
PvP and Player Friction brings elements to MMO's that NO OTHER genre has or even comes close to having. There are other genre's for players that want PvE only. Go play them.
The longest running, and most popular MMO's in existence all have major PvP in them.
Age of Conan 2008
Guild Wars 2005
WoW 2004
Lineage 2 2003
EVE Online 2003
DAOC 2001
Everquest 1999
Ultima Online 1997
What is considered The Oldest MMO...Tibia Online was started in 1995 by German University students and had PvP. IT'S STILL RUNNING TODAY!
The best and oldest MMO's in existence have a PvP backbone.
PvP and Freedom of Speech in MMO’s matter more to the success and longevity of an MMO more than any other factor, because they drive player friction and that drives player retention.
Anyway...my community and I will check back from time to time to see if this is a game we want to play. If a Social Credit System is put in place...then the answer will be a definitive...NO.