Time to remove Ascension spells

IMO they were a bad idea from the start. Also, please don't add more things like PG's that you have to mind numbingly run to get needed items for groups.

I enjoy the variety of classes available in EQ2 and the different play styles of each.

The ascension spells turned us all into spell casters and class distinctions blurred.

I'd love this next expansion cycle to focus on restoring class distinction, need and use. Consolidate the spells/CA's-update and fix all the broken ones, get the stat blight under control and let us play the game the way we like. Not as fun when we are forced to play a certain way.

Thanks.

I started out my EQ2 career as a Shadowknight. I want to end my career as a Shadowknight, not as a wanna-be Mage. Even if I do play my SK as a platemail wearing warlock!

I would love to see them remove ascension. It is a dumb system that feels tacked on. Consolidating spells, various lines of abilities etc would be amazing but won't happen due to the development time required. This isn't Blizzard with 300 employees that can sequester projects simultaneously. Blizzard has done a stat squish, ability pass, new animations, updated graphics, interesting new systems, some ingenious software tech...list goes on. Sadly DBG has a small team working on this game, larger than Pantheon but smaller than World of Warcraft.

they aren't going to remove ascension spells, period.

people paid for spell upgrades, once people pay for something there is no chance a game company would dare remove them, due to fear of backlash and perhaps legal issues.

I agree 100%. Ascension spells are just trouble and make the game less fun. We already have too many spells to keep track of.

This

I actually don't mind Ascensions. They're so slow to cast! What I WOULD like is at least one more hotbar, though.

Despite the rocky implementation and questionable-at-best decisions they made regarding the (failure to put in game) upgrade drops, and the widespread dislike of the system in general, I don't think it will be dropped any time soon.

Not because folks paid real cash for upgrades, they've demonstrated their willingness to cancel or discontinue support for purchased aspects in the past, but because Ascension was touted as THE THING.

The new way to advance your character in place of traditional character levels. No more level increases. Of course they reversed their game model something like 6 months after that, but... as long as they can use it to leverage cash shop progression.

True. But....paying $15 - $50 for a feature in the old days is a far cry from spending $600 - $900 to fully level ascensions.

I suspect ascensions will remain. Their preferred method of handling stuff like this appears to simply making the old system mostly obsolete or less relevant when they can build a new one to replace it.

It's easier to ignore a situation until people forget and move on than to fix it. Especially if new shiny things are dangled in front of people to distract them in the meantime.

But you can research ascension spells, and craft them. You never *have* to spend a penny on 'em.

Ascension classes are one of the primary causes of my disconnect from EQ2. I would love to seem them removed. Sadly, as others have stated, since people have put real world money into them, they'll most likely never go away.

Really? Aaaaall of them? Another grossly misrepresentative statement.

You can craft ascension spells, and you can craft SOME of the upgrades. For upgrades you CAN'T craft, due to omitted drops, you can either wait a year+ to research them, or you can spend cash to skip ahead - aka, cash shop, or wallet, character advancement. And yes, spending your stipend still counts because it's a benefit of payment.

This has more to do with why they wouldn't remove ascension than what people have already spent. It's what they can still expect people to (feel coerced to) spend in the future that matters at this point.

DBG has manufactured the "appearance" that you can fully level ascensions in game. However, leveling and rng mechanics do not actually allow for this to happen within a reasonable and/or relevant time frame.

They use the same cash shop inentivizing formula over and over again: bait with a desirable objective that appears doable on the surface -> make the process unpleasant or probalistically infeasible -> point them to the cash shop to escape the process.

Now to their credit, they haven't planted gates in the content that force failure if you don't hit the cash shop.

Some raiders might argue this is not true when it comes to later stages in raid progression, but I imagine the casual player can enjoy the game just fine with apprentice level ascensions and level 3 familiars.

it doesn't really matter the best increases % wise are from journeyman to expert and ancient.

if you aren't super competitive experts will do fine even for raids..

In a recent video in which Eq1/Eq2 seasonned fanatic were discussing MMO (and in particular one they expect with some fervor) they like me mainly disliked the move from some strategic or at least tactic game to a dps spam feast (this is not about raids).

They also hated to have healers required to dps, and to have all the roles messed up (yes warlock tanking, scout tanking n offensive stance).

I too regret the days when you had to root this, mezz that, kite another, get something offtanked by a scout since the tank could not get it all.

Last when i quitted i had 9 hotbars open, some where using very small fonts since they wer not crucial; but honestly you can have a very dynamic and comple game with 3 hot bars.

Why do you need *all* of them upgraded? What play style requires that? Does the "average EQ2 player" need all them upgraded?

I may be doing this wrongs but here is my understand of ascension classes/system,

1. You only need 1 ascension class at max level.
2. You don't need to upgrade all ascension spells as some of them are not very good.
3. If you are causal raider and mainly heroic player, expert level is more than enough.

Unfortunately, I do agree.
One of the reasons I pretty much left the game is because of the Ascension system. Its a chore and we already have way too many spells to keep track of.
I know Daybreak won't remove the system for whatever reason --- but I think it was a bad call on their part intrpducing them in the first place.

I sort of agree. I don't think we needed more spells. I wish they added some other system to expand on the class spells we already had. I think EQ2 has too many buttons presses and need lots of hot bars and in some cases I am staring at hot bars than looking at others things.