Tree of Savior Forum

Map/Area design too linear and Unnecessary gear/exp scaling

Some of the mystique and great vibes people are looking for that originated from the original Ragnarok online is the open world/free roaming vibe of your exploration and leveling across maps.

Currently every map as you progress naturally through the game (Which in itself is forcing the player in a Theme park MMO design which is bad) leads you through corridor to small open zone, to corridor guiding you along a very strict and set path leaving you with zero sense of exploration and self gain.

Rewarding a player for smart play and exploration is something this game lacks, because of the forced theme park narrative and design there is only seemingly one particular area where you should be spending your time for any given level to gain exp/quest.

It would be much better if there were multiple options for X level character to visit, level and quest in - Which brings us to the point of the current gear/exp scaling making this not viable.

If you’ve managed to kill a monster that is much higher level than you, the EXP that monster gives is not static, it will be penalized based off your level if its too high or too low. This removes the option of players or parties to devise an efficient strategy/build to tackle these foes and areas.

Rewarding a player for smart play and decisive insight with builds/setup was something very integral to the success of Ragnaork online.

The current build/state of Tree of savior does very little to cater to anything outside of the very casual audience whom have little to no wherewithal to think critically in their choices.
The forced linear progression by level design and scaling enforces this motive.

Edit: Oh and untradable items is a horrid mechanic that only limits economic potential.

I think you didnt got the fact that the game just started the first CBT, no rewards for exploration? I think you didnt saw the achievments window, theres even an npc in the main city that give you boxes with icoins for showing her how is your achievements by level and other stuff too.

But then again, still too earlier to say something about that, im sure IMC will change something in there like, gear or useful items, or mounts or hairstyles (wich currently have 1 or more), so until them, we got lots of stuff to wait and see.

Being rewarded with in game cash shop currency != the player feel and gain from discovering a new map and enemies which may in turn be far more fun and efficient to fight in.

The player experience is what is lacking.

Simply giving the player a tangible reward for making sure they view all of X map is far different than the players experience and rewarding feeling for doing so.

Compare this concept to earning and achievement in a game by playing it - the reward is the experience you gained by earning it NOT the fact that you got a little icon added to your profile.

Like i said, until release, better yet, until OBT im sure they will think of something better than CS currency, like mounts, outfits or titles, i dont know, theres a universe of options, but until them, they will be more concentrated on stuff that is game breaking like bugs and unbalance of classes and the likes.

I’m seeing a lot of posts in regards to changing the linearity of the game, let’s hope they take this advice and not neuter the games potential to cater to a theme parked casual experience.

Well i cant say for sure how they will act in that regard, i do hope they take some of our suggestions and apply to the game if possible.

All of this. The game as it is now is just another mediocre F2P MMO. I think level scaling is put in place because it’s an easy way to balance things? And that might be okay for damage to and from monsters (NOT in PvP though…) but the scaling on EXP is absolute bs.

The restrictions on gear sharing is bad, too. High drop rates for items because if you trade items they lose potential. So people that enjoy hunting items or upgrading items to sell are overlooked. An economic system that caters to crafters, upgraders, and hunters is ideal. It adds a ton to community interaction. But apparently all MMO developers care about in terms of community is racking their brains for ideas on how to encourage/enforce party play. Which is so laughably close-minded. You can prefer solo killing and leveling and still enjoy playing with other people.

Which brings up another good point: party leveling is ridiculously OP. Respawn rates for monsters is extremely high and in most/many places the party doesn’t even have to move. Just burn down anything that spawns in one small area. Because it seems spawns are not as random as originally thought…

All-in-all at this point the game is a 4/10 to me. If they fix the linearity of it, I would consider playing for more than a few days. Otherwise, eh. It’s not worth it for me to play an on rails MMO when there are literally hundreds of console RPGs with better stories I could be playing.

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