Just wanted to voice my excitement for playing a game with such a robust system in place. Full disclosure: I never played Vanguard or EQ, but I did play FFXI. In FFXI, AA was called the "Merit Points" system, and I think that has to be one of the most brilliant master strokes of an mmo mechanic. I spent literally hundreds of hours of my life playing as a bard/corsair puller + support in various camps at max level and the challenge was moderate but the cameraderie building was top notch. God am I so excited for that again!
I share your excitement about AA, but to my knowledge they haven't officially said there would be AA/Merit Points, only that there is a Progeny system that'll provide some bonuses for an "offspring character" of some sort by retiring a character (and not much detail beyond that at this time). Currently, to my knowledge, if you're looking to get bonuses beyond gear/levels, it's the Progeny system and it may involve killing off/retiring your character to get bonuses for a different character.
I think the closest they came to discussing AA was during the most recent stream, it was asked about AA being added (Cohh reiterated it came much later after release of EQ as did the devs). The stream devs more or less said it'd be something planned if it does get added, didn't rule it out for release, didn't rule it out for post release, but didn't confirm outright AA is being planned either. Seemed to be more of an acklowdgement of that mechnic that may or may not be added, but if added it would be planned for than a "oh crap" we need a way to extend gameplay beyond max level as what sort of happened to EQ when AA came out.
Everything is subject to change as it's not even in pre-alpha state.
What I liked about AA's for a time was it allowed me to slow down leveling. THis was before A certain TV maker cormporation started jamming down expansions every 5 months, instead of like every year and a half. There was a sweet spot prior to the throat jamming 5 month expansions where on a trivial loot code server you would e nvy those just starting because they could travel to other areas, slow down thier leveling with AA. and actually do the neat quest and get the handy thing that would last through all upper levels while level appropriate. My understanding of "Horizontal leveling" comes form this kind of desire I had, back then. The expansions were coming out too fast, didnt even have time to really take in the air anywhere.
Jimmayus said:Well yeah that's kind of what I'm referring to. That sort of thing is more useful as a way to encourage grouping more at max level, which is obviously not a problem when people aren't really max yet, or even when they've only been maxed for a few months.
Maybe I have the wrong idea about what the Progeny system is, but I thought you retire your character and start all over again? If this is the case, It doesn't really promote grouping at max level. I personally would prefer the more traditional AA where you can earn it on your max level toon by doing extra things such as helping others, grouping (maybe mentoring) without having to restart as a level 1.
Still waiting on more Progeny Info to really settle into a camp on it.
I like AA points or other means of customization. Most good MMOs (and some that are less good) hae something along those lines.
Having them added later makes perfect sense. But I do hope they stick to other means of differentiating characters in the same class before level cap. Subclasses or something filling that niche.
Alright fine Beefcake, even if you're right and Pantheon doesn't launch with them that's totally fine. The point of this post is to celebrate that such a system is even being thought of. The most any of these brainless WoW clone games can think of is to arbitrarily raise the level cap, which means no content is able to mature and form interdependence with other content. Even FFXIV, who owes a lot of its success to cloning WoW and copying heavily from its franchise chose not to take this route. I'm just glad AA/Merits are even on the table is all I meant.
It's discussed in the recent twitch stream. It didn't paint a picture of their inclusion any time soon. It was mentioned that it was only included in the original EQ as a stop-gap measure. If they do it this time, they say they will make it part of their long-term plans.
I love AA systems. And despite knowing that their inclusion at launch is unlikely at this point, I enjoy discussing systems that have merit and might someday make their way into release. I also hold onto the hope that when a particular system shows really strong appeal with the playerbase its possible that the priority that the devs placed on it could be bumped up a notch or five.
I am a BIG fan of multi-directional advancements, even if they are small and only add up over time (preferred). I truly believe that if done right, character customizations appeal to almost all gamers, as long as it touches areas of interest in all aspects of the game. Someone who loves tradeskills can invest there... Someone who loves hanging out in the icy worlds can invest to help there... Someone who is strictly a main healer can invest there... etc...
I look most forward to just getting involved and living in the virtual world... seeing gradual progress along the way, that I can custom to my play stlye, is a huge bonus.
I agree with the majority. Horizontal growth is something I'm really looking forward. However, I really do hope they incorporate it in a meaningful manner rather than just give us a pop-up window with 1000 stats and abilities ready to be allocated and selected with arbitrary points we've collected. I would love horizontal growth be just as important as vertical in that Pantheon should have content (e.g. mobs, dungeons, quests, raids, ect.) which specifically benefits horizontal growth. I would love for us to go to specialization trainers which dish out quests or stumble upon a greatsword wielding wandering master willing to take in a new apprentice.
Make horizontal growth meaningful again 2016! #MHGMA? (close enough :D)
Beefcake said:It's discussed in the recent twitch stream. It didn't paint a picture of their inclusion any time soon. It was mentioned that it was only included in the original EQ as a stop-gap measure. If they do it this time, they say they will make it part of their long-term plans.
yup was included after a few expansions in EQ, think they said in the stream it won't be at launch.