While I agree no death penalty is dumbing down the game, I don't think this change is. I have two characters 20+. I started others but got so tired of doing the same ole cr@p with the same abilities that I stopped playing the others. The archetype system was a great idea, but poorly implemented. Why does a necromancer have to summon a centipede for a pet? A "true" necro that is between 20 and 23 has to use that same tired centiped graphic for its tank pet. Pretty lame if you ask me. Why are paladins and SKs identical through 19th level? Makes no sense. I played some on the test server yesterday, it is much improved. The newbie island for evil characters is crawling with Tunarian scouts. The quests seem to foreshadow the coming PvP and conflict between the cities. Of topic kind of, but you will soon be able to mail items and coin between Freeport and Qeynos.
I've been one of the biggest advocates to Monks and Bruisers looking like Monks and Bruisers all the time, and instead of like Druids, but yeah... After finally getting the Ashen Graphic, a look I've wanted since the first time I went to Eddar Grove, and now, any level 1 noob can look like that, it's a little... unfair. Yeah. That being said, the nixing of the class/subclass was a *wonderful* idea, and it's especially good for Brawlers. Reason being is that when I was a newbie, I didn't want to be a 'fighter'. Running around with a sword and a shield was exactly what I *didn't* want to do. In addition, there's no real difference between a Bruiser and a Brawler as far as animations and such, so it makes each class feel new and different. I'm pretty sure nobody here was psyched about being a Fighter. This is the sort of thing that will attract new people to the game, and is a good idea. -Ilina
I have been away a while but it's good see that nothing has changed. Short end of stick meet my monk :smileytongue: No but really, I would have loved to start off the island actually looking like a monk and I hope this is a sign of a lot of changes to the look and feel of the monk class. Message Edited by kerra on 01-13-200608:55 AM
Hey Gaige, is it true now on the new level 1 guardian they also issue a box of tissue? LOL sorry had to throw one punch. I play a guardian, love to play a guardian, so I am allowed heh.
Now when you say "Isle of the Queen", do you mean they're creating an entirely new pair of zones to start out on? No more Isle of Refuge, but a completely new designed set of starting zones? They better give the current player base some sort of compensation for anything we have to miss out on this now.
You don't have to miss out. Just start an alt. I plan to start one when all these changes go through. With all the old world zone updates and all the other various changes, I'd really like to re-experience the old content. I've been mentoring a lot, and the updated dungeons are a blast. It's a good time to be a noob.
Think I'll start an monk alt as well - this time going straight AGI and see how I turn out at the higher levels. Well... And for the ashen-looking gi that we get at level 1 - even though I spent forever and a day hunting for, choregraphing friends together (that didn't mind the ashen disciple faction hit) and praying the named would pop for the actual ashen gi itself, but hey... Perhaps T7 will be kind to us and a new gi design will be released. :smileywink:
Yeah but I don't want to start an Alt. I'm a quester and would like to return to the newbie isle just for the sake of completing any new quests that may be there, if possible.. (well, of course it's possible, but not likely they'll do it..) I don't care about the rewards. I just want to do it.
Its still the isle, there is no boat ride, and all the npc's and quests are different. You can also be at least lvl 8 on the isle.
hey Gaige, this is the yellow Gi I was talking about the other day. Am I to take it the monk starts with the Ashen Disciple look while a bruiser starts with the Blood Drenched Gi / Gi of Madness look? Are there any choices or is the decision made for you at creation pretty much? Cheers.
If this system would have been in place from the beginning I would have been a monk from the beginning. I didn't realize how much fun a monk was until I realized how much my SK sucked. I agree that the game has had a bit of "dumbing" down since launch, and I can see why SOE is doing this, it is not to insult all of us hardcore players, it is to bring in a greater audience from other games where "ease" has been a staple since their launch.
Gaige: Where did you see this? I have scoured every board I can think of, and can find no reference to this changing. I made a monk today after the patch, and still got the white gi that I got originally. I am crossing my fingers that this is the gi that makes it into the live game, as the AQ gi is not nearly as nice. The Ashen Order gi ought to be the baseline for what a gi should look like, and I could certainly see why they are trying to use this gi on the newbie isle. For the new player who wants to start a monk, seeing the monk for the first time in this gi really does give a feeling of, "Wow! I am a monk! This is so cool!" And boom, they are hooked. (I know that I was when I tried the newbie isle, and I already play a monk.) Part of the problem, as I perceive it, is that there are not enough gis in the game to start with, and another part of the problem that I perceive is that they are trying to institute a new color structure for monk gis. I forget what the structure was, but white was for newbies. Ideally, both the AQ graphic and the Ashen Order graphic should be made available for newbies, and before the level of 10. I still say that the Ashen Order graphic should be instituted as the baseline and the AQ graphic should be obtainable elsewhere in the game. At level 10, the next color in the series should be implemented (I forget what it was... maybe orange?) and again, a couple more gis ought to appear in the appropriate color for that tier, one AQ graphic, and one Ashen Order graphic. Perhaps one could be a "quested" gi while one could be a "rare drop from tough boss mob" gi, but the idea is to ensure that any monk who wants a gi can have one with a reasonable amount of effort (ie., one treasured, and one legendary.) At 20, we have the armor quests and a new gi color - yellow. Since this AQ gi is (obviously) quested, it would be nice if there was an additional yellow gi of the "rare drop from tough boss mob" variety, and if this new gi used the (recolored!) Ashen Order graphic. The 30, 40, and 50 level range ought to follow this same sort of progression: each new tier should have a couple of new gis available, and each of the new gis should be in the appropriate color for their designated tier. In the high 50's, however, I think that additional gis should appear (at least one.) Currently I am only aware of 3 basic gi graphics in the game - Ashen Order, AQ gi, and Blood Drenched Gi. (I know there are other gis, but the pictures I have seen have given me the impression that they are using the same graphic, just recolored.) In the 50's, your character has seen the world, accomplished quite a few things, etc, and ought to have more choices available insofar as appearance goes. Of course the color progression would still be whatever color was appropriate for that tier. In the 60's, there ought to be several gi's available, including new ones added to the game specifically for this tier, and they should all be very nice ones. No one should mistake a level-6-gi for a level-60-gi: at level 60, you are the best at what you do, and your gi should show it. There ought to be a variety! Moving on to raiding monks, there ought to be amazing graphics available for them. These are people who work their tails off, take the biggest risks, and deserve the biggest rewards. A raid gi ought to have a jaw-dropping, eye-popping, oh-my-stars-what-is-he-wearing graphic. It ought to say WOW!!!!! The Ashen Order gi graphic, in my opinion, is not good enough for a raiding monk. They ought to have the best! (I say this as a non-raider, so please feel free to take it with a grain of salt.) This system (which is what I sincerely hope is the type of thing that SOE is working for) would accomplish something that I think is very important: all monks ought to look like monks! (BTW, this applies equally well to other classes - all swashbucklers should look like swashbucklers, all shadowknights ought to look like shadowknights, etc.) No one should ever mistake a monk for a druid, or, for that matter, for anything else other than a monk. I also have heard the argument about no player-crafted gis, or that not all monks should have gis. I could agree with that argument if there was other, non-gi-but-still-monkish gear available. If tailors cannot make gi's, how about generic-martial-arts-styles pants and tops? I don't necessarily have my heart set that my martial arts gear must be a gi, but I do have it set that it must not be the same as a druid's! As far as the actual Gi of the Ashen Order, something should be given to the monks that have gone to the extensive trouble to acquire this gi for their own. My preference would be to see the gi recolored to the proper color for its teir, and handle the recoloring in the same way that they handled the AQ recolored gis - have an NPC from whom you can buy the new gi, as long as you have the old one. That way these monks would have two gis and could wear whichever one they liked better. The new, recolored gi should only be available to those monks that have obtained their Ashen Order gi. Anyway... I am rambling. Character appearance is an area I feel strongly about. I sincerely hope they keep the Ashen Order graphic for the newbie isle, but will settle for the AQ one (with some disappointment) if that is what they change to. But I love starting out a monk that looks like a monk and would say the same thing even if they gave newbie monks the graphic for my current yellow AQ gi (which was an extensive pain to get and took me more than a week of very solid play, though I cannot compare it to the Ashen Order camp as I have not yet gotten high enough to try it for myself.) Thanks Jen Message Edited by Nerwen on 01-18-200603:55 AM Message Edited by Nerwen on 01-18-200603:59 AM Message Edited by Nerwen on 01-18-200604:00 AM Message Edited by Quasimm on 01-18-200612:51 PM
Why can't they add Player made Gi's to the game? Has that been brought up on any of the forums? Might be worth a shot to get more options for Gi's.
Apparantly I'm psychic. Realistically I wish wishing and/or guessing. At any rate logged in to test a second ago to see 19b stuff and... So you start with this gi in white (the lowest ranking) when you finish your 20ish quests you get this same gi in a higher ranking color... In other words it makes sense lore wise, and it preserves the Gi of the Ashen disciple as a more high end, and thus earned, graphic. Message Edited by Gaige on 01-18-200611:30 PM
