Additional AA pts...

[Grizzly]

There are too many things to say about the lastest changes. I shall keep them compendious.

1. Incompentence or lack of time and money:

Although the revision was not final, the additional points that were supposed to be given to level-eighty characters (and the official representative corroborated that fact) were distributed among all characters with an account with a level-eighty character. This was over the top and not yet reverted. The bosses from the event were not scaled to player in rewards and experience.

"By Thursday the 30th of May we will give every Member with a level 80 character 40 AA points for free. 50 days later we will follow up with 40 extra AA points to everyone who is active and has a level 80 character as well!"

Reading this line from Nusquam's announcement I'm not sure where the idea came from that these 40 bonus AA points were restricted to existing level 80 characters only. Personally I didn't expect to receive them on a sub level 80 toon, so I was pleasantly surprised but I'm not going to take this as a Funcom mistake that it happened.

[LunaticAsylumLA]

Grizzly, I can elucidate that from the point of view of a simple reader. I followed this topic (page 9), and here is what it said last.

Question:

Your post: Every Account gets 40+40 points if it is prem and has a lvl 80 char. (I would assume via vials in claim window)

The german translation: EVERY CHAR gets 40+40 if its prem.

Answer:

Well like I said, I just copied the info from an email from marketing.

The german translation is correct - it is every char at level 80 on the account of any premium subscriber.

One of the posts, from your quotation and this topic, might have been earlier than the other; but one could hardly tell which one. It is my mistake that I did not check somehow the time of the latest statement (I still do not know how it is possible to tell that though: even monthly letters and email letters, if your quotation is from there, can be prepared beforehand) or did not find the message on the forum and did not juxtapose the times.

I would never blame anyone in particular about this, yet several months (up to 159 or 160 AA points at a fresh level-80 character) taken out of progression seems too much to some of us. Do not forget that fights become slightly easier for characters below 80, which is not good at all, and that those who love to mix PVE with PVP progressions (that means, they will never resort to unchained minigames, and that they love doing dungeon runs to gear up for PVP minigames at levels from 27 up to 79) might be facing something written below written in a small font.

Also, there was an official statement that something is being done to reduce "the difference in AA points" between old players and new (which, actually, did and does not affect the fun factor in gameplay for some and affected it positively for others), yet both sides are granted 80-160 AA points, effectively keeping or reducing inconsiderably, on average, the "difference" that did not exist.

There are more problems from the change than solutions. I.e. creating more AA points for further progression, revising all monsters at lower levels to increase their armor, hits, evasion, removing AA points from low-level normal minigames, etc., while working on fixing bugs, latency, and new content.

The PVP side, as someone has mentioned here.
Imagine how PvP at 79 feels for a F2P barbarian and herald of Xotli players against two veterans who created instant level-50 demonologist and conqueror, received 40 and will receive 40 AA points, bought some culture armor or epic gear from the item shop (if there is good one still for level 70s), and put them to good use (let us say that both parties are interested in normal, not unchained minigames).

[yuisoku]

So what? This was good thing, would be even better if f2p get it too.

Veterans with old characters can get maybe 1 or 2 AA lvls with it while new characters get all needed dungeon perks and can start playing right away

They don't need to sit on character selection 2 months while waiting offline AA trainer

[LunaticAsylumLA]

So what? This was good thing, would be even better if f2p get it too.

Veterans with old characters can get maybe 1 or 2 AA lvls with it while new characters get all needed dungeon perks and can start playing right away

They don't need to sit on character selection 2 months while waiting offline AA trainer

If a player wanted to play, he started hard-mode encounters (and PVP) even without a single AA point - and it was not really a problem at all!

There was no real need for "dungeon perks" to start doing dungeons, but it was a great thing to have for a person and his team after feeling that he earned them (being able to do Flame, Palace, then Vortex, then Jade Dugout, etc.) For those who were not sure in themselves, normal-mode encounters existed. In other words, a fresh level-80 tank with no AAs could be an offtank in some hard-mode dungeons (tested, worked) - or even DPS/offtank. Plus, we have raids and non-Khitan dungeons.

Please do not forget that the game starts at level 1, not 80!

This change is also a bit unfair for those who will never buy the expansion (Free-to-play and Premium players who do not want that for one reason or another).

[jenyu]

LunaticAsylumLA is back! hehehe wb m8. Though 82 for a fresh char are not that much if you think of it it will give them a start with getting gold and archetype perks that are needed to start grouping and old veterans received 40 aa the other 40 in 1,5 months.
concerning the gap you say that all get 80 aas the difference is that old players would use the 80 aa to crap left overs and newly 80 lvl will get the must have thus reducing the gap.

[LunaticAsylumLA]

LunaticAsylumLA is back! hehehe wb m8

Thanks, Jenyu! I love the forum for the avatars. Look at mine - I am burning some clumsy wobbling man standing behind me (he was probably going to ask for my coin)!!! Or at yours: you were flexing so hard that your muscles generated electricity and ripped apart to form a tattoo of a scorpion upon your back!
I missed you all!

Though 82 for a fresh char are not that much if you think of it it will give them a start with getting gold and archetype perks that are needed to start grouping

There is no need for AAs to get groups in a lot of places, including Khitan HM dungeons.
Also, see the above post: the main part of the game is not 80, but 1-80. I think of 1-79 more than of 80 in the current problem too.

concerning the gap you say that all get 80 aas the difference is that old players would use the 80 aa to crap left overs and newly 80 lvl will get the must have thus reducing the gap.

There are some characters, including one of mine, with full AA trees (therefore, new players will get closer to it), and that is why I said: "... reducing inconsiderably, on average, the "difference" that did not exist". Still, a lot of veteran characters were just those that acquired their best perks with those 40 AA points, and consequently "the difference" was not reduced.

[Unutterable]

Hate to say it Lunatic, but this game don't start at level 1, it starts at 80+aas+gear. Whether we like it or not, there is a huge gap for new characters and new players to overcome. A gap that turns a lot of people off and only serves to stroke the epeen of the established player.

[Kurt2013]

Game starts at lvl1. But the problem designwise is, that now there is a big difference in gameplay and appeal to certain playertypes in the 1-(early)80 and (progressive) 80.

Also, there is no denying of a big "power" (not just AA, as many mentioned already) gap at 80.

Once they decided to start closing that gap by AA, giving not only new chars the AAs was simply the best thing to do at the time. This way every player at least had the chance to get on par with the new "style". Also with the given amount new chars are more likely to have the AAs necessary for hardmodes (or not to forget, the AAs can make normal modes easier too!).

But that was a short term solution for those players who want to join the grind at 80 as fast as possible (and are subbed, btw). For a long term solution you have to count in players like Lunatic and work on the progression curve (btw, as long as the points are just rewarded and no instances or mobs or mechanics changed, no one is forcing you to actually spent the AA or use them). Reducing the difficulty is just one way, it does not have to be the best one. Personally i would prefer a reduction in GRIND (this can be done by tweaking the rewards, cooldowns, conversion, more ways to get rares, tokens, etc.), but keeping most instances and difficulties as they are (for some the difficulty, prerequisite, fun and reward factor is just right (especially old world), but others are completely weird in this regard (mines of chosain for example, comparison of pillars hm to fire boss hm).

[viroku]

You guys are all forgetting that there are people that does only pvp and AA gain from doing just that is so slow. This is nice move from funcom, its gonna help a bit to new chars and wont make to big difference on 80 with already decent AA.
But this problem will still remain, if you do pve than AA income is fast, if you strictly do minis is slow as hell.

[Warlock1863]

Simpelest solution to keep the levelling to 80 on a normal level (both PvE and PvP) would have been for Funcom to make a pool where the AA points are gathered to only release them at the moment your toon turns 80. At 80 is where the AA's start to make a difference without imballancing things like old world group dungeons and low level mini's.

Levelling in AOC isn't THAT hard at normal pace, and imo more enjoyable without too many perks and buffs. There's not much challenge to fight mobs of 3-4 levels higher with Decisive strikes and Pressing strikes at level 3 or higher