2 years ago when I resubbed to AC I began what I knew would be a lengthy and brutal grind. I welcomed it, enjoyed it, and eventually, I conquered it. A week ago I had accomplished everything I wanted to do in AC. All my mules were leveled, I had a main character in every class, fully lum'd and in epic set suits, and I was a part of an active and awesome allegiance. In my mind I had finally "finished" AC. But I still was spending a considerable amount of time ingame. I quested with my vassals, ran around doing odd tasks and quests, chatted with friends, and just enjoyed the world of Dereth for what it was; the past month or so has been my most enjoyable time in Dereth because I was finally free to do whatever I wanted.
Then came this patch. And although AC will no longer be part of my future, I have to say from the look of things I think the Devs got it right. In one patch they addressed 95% of the ingame issues players have had in the recent months.
By making a new loot tier everybody starts on the same page in their grind to the top. By increasing the quality of loot across the board, including lesser tiers, the best equipped players have no advantage going forward. But what's more, and perhaps most important, is the quality and ease of acquiring loot in the new tier. Is it too easy? Compared to what we're used to, of course it is. But that's also where the brilliance lies. How many players will continue to macro top tier hunting grounds? MMD macro? Rare macro? For a month or two some will, but in a month most players will be in set legendary suits, and so will their alts, their vassals, and most casual players. Rare armor will still be desirable but its appeal has been diminished. The point being, macros won't just be unnecessary, they'll be obsolete. Set legendary pieces will never have the same mmd values set epics had just a week ago; they're too easy to find. By making the loot more obtainable Turbine has eliminated not only the need for macros, but also limited their effectiveness and their impact on server economies. Will RL transactions still occur in AC? Of course, but there will be little to no reason for even a casual player to purchase ingame items because the grind for top tier loot will be weeks, not years.
It'll take players some time to get accustomed to group hunting again, since the best lum and loot will be found in small areas not easily solo'd. But solo hunting won't have the same appeal it once did since good loot will be common.
Questing will still be king, as it should be.
Good luck AC. This will be the age of the casual players, and I wish you all the best.
Then came this patch. And although AC will no longer be part of my future, I have to say from the look of things I think the Devs got it right. In one patch they addressed 95% of the ingame issues players have had in the recent months.
By making a new loot tier everybody starts on the same page in their grind to the top. By increasing the quality of loot across the board, including lesser tiers, the best equipped players have no advantage going forward. But what's more, and perhaps most important, is the quality and ease of acquiring loot in the new tier. Is it too easy? Compared to what we're used to, of course it is. But that's also where the brilliance lies. How many players will continue to macro top tier hunting grounds? MMD macro? Rare macro? For a month or two some will, but in a month most players will be in set legendary suits, and so will their alts, their vassals, and most casual players. Rare armor will still be desirable but its appeal has been diminished. The point being, macros won't just be unnecessary, they'll be obsolete. Set legendary pieces will never have the same mmd values set epics had just a week ago; they're too easy to find. By making the loot more obtainable Turbine has eliminated not only the need for macros, but also limited their effectiveness and their impact on server economies. Will RL transactions still occur in AC? Of course, but there will be little to no reason for even a casual player to purchase ingame items because the grind for top tier loot will be weeks, not years.
It'll take players some time to get accustomed to group hunting again, since the best lum and loot will be found in small areas not easily solo'd. But solo hunting won't have the same appeal it once did since good loot will be common.
Questing will still be king, as it should be.
Good luck AC. This will be the age of the casual players, and I wish you all the best.