The **NEW** New Player Experience - 0.36 Edition

[Sibelios]

@Sibelios

But what is it like to be Level 1 again? How has the game changed for the new player. Is it better? Is it worse? I think we generally know some of the not-so-favorable changes ( cough spells cough ) but I was curious to know what the experience is like in full; so that’s what I did. Time to start again!

I started a brand new account, drew a class randomly from a hat (Berserker!) and set off to Etheria with my Cloth Shirt and Leather Belt to do battle.

Levels 31-40 Update

I reached Level 40 and finished Chapter 9. Things are progressing at about the same clip in terms of difficulty of matches. The Assassin is getting some playtime as well (Level 16). Here’s the highlights:

• Status Quo| Hitting a Wall

  Not much has changed in terms of spells and gear. Here’s my current loadout.
  

  

  I continue to be aggressive about utilizing Gem-denominated purchases in Daily Shop Offers (e.g. Shards, Relics, etc.) to level my gear and spells. The additional armor and spell dmg have made a difference even if it feels a bit trivial. However, the lack of Greater Shards is becoming a real issue. There is just no source to reliably find them and the possibility of doing Epic evolves for a nice boost is very remote (if I wasn’t actively levelling gear I could be flexible based on what Relics I find but then I wouldn’t be able to progress, a catch-22). I have now spent Gems on Gold 3x (250 Gems buys 10,000 Gold) to buy every Greater Relic that shows up (used for evolving Rares to Epics) but I currently have a total of 3, none alike. Given that my chests are 10 levels below my current level I’m dependent on the Shop more than ever for resources unless I want to run level 20 Skirmishes over and over until I run out of keys (thankfully I have amassed a few there; 79 Wooden Keys, 45 Iron Keys, and 20 Golden Keys). I am also starting to get Major/Superior Shards as drops which are entirely unusable. Downgradebility please!

• My Story is Your Story is @Norinth’s Story

  A very active new kingdom-mate has written a wonderful feedback post as a new player since 0.36. You can find it here:
  Conclusions of a new lv 50, full 0.36 player without gifts

  As I was reading through his feedback, it really captured so much of the similarity of my experience so far that predicting Levels 40-50 seems pretty clear. PvP is useful for the rewards but especially tedious in the restricted format (just kill me already!). Events are useful but take so long and the shards you get are pitiful. Given the time investment and the necessity of gear levelling, these events should be much more generous. I’m investing in my followers but already reaching the point that I will have to play the other classes sooner than later. All in all, the sense of “discovery” is starting to wane as gameplay is now approaching the dreaded “drip” of whatever random useless items the day gives me to salvage.

• At Least I Won’t Be Wasting XP!

  As mentioned previously, the prospect of hitting 50 with 3-4 chapters remaining was a frustrating thought. Thankfully it was recently announced that the Story completion requirement for unlocking the Citadel is being removed. Hallelujah! Does this lessen the reward of completing the Story? Maybe, but then why not add new rewards! Easy fix! Once again, I have all the good feedback ideas.

  

Not much else to add at this point. I’m crafting as much as I can with Xione and Soulchaser for additional spells and weapons (and weapon shards). My next goal will be to push to 50 and see where I end up in the Story. Most likely it will be well short of Chapter 15. See you then!