First off, I would like to say that i do genuinely enjoy the game on the whole, I have put in over 80 hours, and have really enjoyed almost every minute of it, outside of the stability issues and some other gripes I will outline and detail below. I admittedly didn’t try it in any of the betas despite knowing about it for two years, mostly do to being too busy around the time frames. All that being said, I want to have a real discussion about what can be done and what might be best to change, so below I outline what I think could use some work.
I admit, i do love the game overall. I enjoy the art style, i love the grinding hack and slash feel. I appreciate the permanence of some choices. I truly feel IMC has a winner on their hands so long as they work to make some QoL changes as well as continue with content development.
I genuinely am excited to see where the game can go from here and what lies ahead of us for classes and zones!
Note: Some of the points I will make have been discussed endlessly on the forums already but never hurts to make sure the horse is thoroughly dead and cannot be zombified.
1. Server Stability/Netcode: I don’t imagine(hope) this will continue to persist and hopefully despite the poor netcode IMC can do some changes over the next few weeks to alleviate the problems before the influx of F2P players.
2. F2P vs. P2W i.e. the Token debate & how IMC monetizes the game: I do not think i can even begin to touch upon what is good and bad about this current system, let alone most of which has been done by the community as a whole. I think IMC needs to realize the markets for west and east can be very different in tastes but it shouldn’t be too hard to find a system that both regions will like. Lets be brutally honest here, no one likes bots, and no one likes a game being developed in a way that negatively impacts their enjoyment of the game just to combat bots/gold spammers when it ultimately does nothing to stop it. Sadly, trading being locked behind a overcosted psuedo-subscription is in poor taste and really does nothing to alleviate the botting issue. On top of all that the market places 30% tax vs 10% tax is silly. Additionally, i think the monetization of the game is caught in between a real pay 2 play and free 2 play system, causing some really bizarre decisions to be made.
I think the shout system should be based around a given region or collection of zones, that may fit into a logical level range or progression. This way you don’t have an ENTIRE server with the possibility of shouting and then you can also make it free for everyone. Or even unlock it at a given level making the investment on the farmers side of things harder, which in turn should make it easier for players and GMs alike to handle bots as they crop up.
Personally, i would change the token system to match something like Elder Scrolls Onlines subscription system. Make it so you can buy the token(subscription). Benefits could include, if anyone else has some suggestions please feel free.
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20% xp gain from hunting monsters
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Monthly TP stipend of say 50 or so.
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Premium Emotes & Gestures
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More Character spots & a unique subscriber lodge
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If expansion/dlc system is done down the road, subscription would give you the benefits of it without having to buy it. However, if you drop your subscription at any point you lose access to the expansions/dlc.
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A ton more Apperance items need to be done so we mostly have TP for convenience like stat reset, skill reset, exp tome. Also, a bunch more cosmetics from hair, skin, eyes, costumes, hats, companions and/or companion costumes. The ability to let me pay to be right handed. (see change thaumaturge skill names to dominate hand and non-dominate hand.)
A very well articulated post about this was also done by Athem here:
3. Control Schemes: I LOVE the fact you can play the game with moderate support for three styles. However, I feel that the Mouse scheme is probably the most difficult to get right. That being said, some of the control schemes have issues with UI which i will address as point 4.
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Better and more complete rebinding in-game(for all 3, not just mouse).
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Interactive objects need better silhouette when hovered over and slightly bigger click radius for the mouse.
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Menus for controllers should be able to be moved through with the Left and Right triggers.
4. User Interface: Honestly, for the most part I like the UI, it is simple and fits well with the art style of the game. However, a few complaints tie mostly to the chat log, pet ui, and some interactivity with control schemes.
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Chat log should have the option to fade out to adjustable transparencies when nothing has happened for an amount of time. In addition to or instead of the esc closing it until you press enter to type.
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Custom chat tabs.
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Optional Combat logs.
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Better/optional maturity filter.
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Scaleble and movable ui elements. Especially with the combat bars.
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Optional small pet bar up near the player bar.
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Remove the chat dialogue on companions for mouse control, i do not know if it shows up under the other 2 schemes but it seems to impact mouse ranged combat the most. It really doesn’t do anything and only serves to move your character into the melee shuffle.
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Better UI/HUD when you switch controls. This mostly could be down to bugs but when you switch between the control schemes the UI doesn’t always display the proper button commands for given things.
5. Companion AI & Pathing: Quite frankly, companions pathing and ai is horrendous and leaves much to be desired. It is so bad in some cases that I almost feel like the Hunter class might get overpowered if companions functioned better.
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Faster movement and response to enemies.
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Stances that dictate generic behavior of the companion. Maybe locked behind the hunter/falconer class so to make the distinction between those classes and non-companion classes greater. Bokor/Sorcerer/Necromancer could also get the stances for their unique summons.
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Should be able to get a fraction of the EXP cards benefits. I know this is tricky to balance since companions can move freely between characters but getting a new companion and leveling it requires effort, which is fine. However, what is problematic is the level difference makes their ability to function with Auto-attacks and survability nearly impossible until they finally close that gap. Optionally, you could make companions that are over leveled from a character scale down to that level.
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Companion customization like other colors, patterns, costumes.
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Breeder utility class that can breed ultra-rare companions with unique skin colors or visual effects. Might also be able to function as a daycare system, and/or cheaper way to level up companion attributes.
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More types. Maybe humanoid ones that will fight along side you and can even wear player costumes.
6. Spawn Rates: Not much to say here other then I definitely agree with the consensus for faster/higher spawns.