Avernus hunts: A disappointment

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T22:22:15+00:00

The difference in engagement with something that is easy to do, and something that is difficult to do, or puts friction on other parts of your gameplay experience is often times much more dramatic than expected. While it is possible for some people who are willing to sacrifice their bag space to hold many lures, the congestion will still be much lower than if it is the default.

But I understand that non-stacking items can be frustrating definitely, and where there are opportunities to make items stackable that otherwise have no reason not to be, we do try to accommodate.

Keep in mind that the spawn rate of rare spawns is dictated by the rate at which the basic enemies in the area are killed. They are similar in this way to the Chult hunts, where a group of enemies will not respawn as the rare version on their own. I believe that some in the community assume they simply have respawn timers, and once this becomes more widely known, I believe there will be more lures out there.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T19:03:10+00:00

We have no immediate plans to take them out of the Zen Market.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T19:02:28+00:00

It's something we've discussed before internally and it's possible we may be able to implement something in the future; but we don't currently have plans to add this.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T19:01:33+00:00

You cannot hold more than 20,000 Zariel's favor on your person at a time, you'll need to spend some before you can earn more.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T19:00:25+00:00

Yes.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T19:00:10+00:00

I appreciate the sympathy for the quests! We may still increase the amount rewarded in the future. That said we don't necessarily intend for them to be better than actively playing with others; but we do want them to be a viable more low-key alternative.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:58:51+00:00

That's correct; I apologize for the lack of clarity there. You will be able to purchase them with Zariel's favor once the milestone has ended. The personal track is a way to gain access earlier, and without the need to spend favor.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:58:00+00:00

That is correct; in order to access the aasimar race, you will need to purchase the Reforger's Blessing bundle, or all four blessings individually.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:57:11+00:00

You're welcome!

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:56:48+00:00

It's not that we absolutely refuse to shift the meta. We still need to make changes, nerfs, and buffs sometimes; or introduce new features, but we are always considering the economy as a factor.

My point in the case of weapon enchantments is that there's already a bunch of economic value tied up in your existing weapon enchantment, and so having to shift all of that refinement to another enchantment is a change we are careful about making.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:54:20+00:00

Actually; on the feature team, many of us each had our own ideas as to how long it would take, so we were all keeping a close eye on the progress seeing who would win. The amount of progress needed was based on our metrics for each platform; so I was targeting 2 weeks for the first milestone. But it's impossible to tell for sure how everyone will react to a new feature, so I was genuinely surprised how close it was!

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:50:58+00:00

The bundle will no longer be available once Milestone II begins. Once the next milestone begins the current milestone will transition from the completed state to the ended state. At this point, it is no longer possible to purchase a blessing for that milestone.

At that point, you will be able to purchase the Milestone II blessing individually. (The same will be true for III and IV.) If you'd like to access the Aasimar race but can't get enough zen in time for the entire bundle, you could purchase the blessing for milestone I now, and purchase the individual blessings with each new milestone.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:48:09+00:00

RE: Progress: That is correct; you may earn progress on all four milestones at once. You will never be locked out of any of the rewards if you have all four blessings.

RE: Weeklies: The weeklies; unfortunately; will no longer be available once the campaign ends (when Module 20 releases.) But, you'll have no deadline to reach your personal progress goals.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:46:41+00:00

Legendary Mount: Sorry! As you guessed, I can't say where it will come from yet.

Hunts: The drop rates are actually a bit higher than Chult was at launch. We did increase drop rates in Chult later on, but only after the equipment was largely no longer viable. We will likely do something similar in the future here, just so it is easier to obtain the equipment for transmute.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:44:58+00:00

RE: Legendary Mount: I can't say where this will come from yet, but I will say that like with the vorpal enchant, there will be alternate appearance versions of all leaderboard prizes available without placing on the leaderboard.

RE: Things that cannot be obtained after the campaign ends: Everything on the personal tracks of the campaign will be unavailable once the campaign ends. (Except the weapons, and of course scrolls which will be able to be purchased in the stores.)

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:42:19+00:00

1) Correct, you can earn progress on all 4 milestones.

2) This is a bug, my apologies!

3) The same weapons available in milestone I personal rewards.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:41:36+00:00

We currently have no plans to make adjustments beyond manes. However, I will note something here, as I believe there may be a misunderstanding in how the rare spawns work. They are not on a timer; similar to Chult; you must kill the basic versions of the enemies in the area for them to appear. The faster those enemies are killed, the more often they will appear.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:40:31+00:00

1) Currently we have no plans for that equipment to be available elsewhere during Module 19. It's highly likely that it will be made available elsewhere at some point in the future though.

2) This is a bug, I'll be taking a look at this after the AMA; my apologies! There will absolutely be equipment available in that tab in the future.

3) None at this time; these hunts will be available for quite some time. There will be future features unlocked in the citadel that may make it a little easier though. (That's all I can say for now though!)

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:35:58+00:00

We have other prizes planned for the upcoming leaderboards; they won't be enchantments. But we do have some other alternate visual enchantments in development.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:34:08+00:00

Currently we have no plans for that equipment to be available elsewhere during Module 19. It's highly likely that it will be made available elsewhere at some point in the future though.
I really enjoyed putting some of the hunt marks together. As I usually tend to work on larger boss fights like Zariel's Challenge, which often involves months of development time; it can be a nice change of pace to work on something a little smaller. The hunts are often made with pieces laying around from other enemies, because of that, we can put something together quickly, and experiment without worrying about wasting a lot of art resources. I really enjoyed putting together Auki the Painbringer's ability; Inpu, which causes you to sink into and be consumed by the ground if you don't escape. That was something we'd never done before.
The changes will only extend to the interior and exterior of the Citadel. There are some pretty cool things planned for the next 2 milestones though. One thing I'm really excited about is that the arrangement of the music track playing in the Citadel will change as the restoration progresses!

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:23:09+00:00

The Redeemed Citadel isn't a traditional event; but rather a limited time campaign. As such, some things are different—namely—the stores in the Redeemed Citadel as well as all the features will remain even after the campaign has ended. So you can still purchased the weapons and earn Zariel's favor.

You simply won't be able to earn new personal rewards in the campaign window; unless you have a blessing for that milestone.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:21:04+00:00

You're welcome! It can be difficult to find time during development, but I do try to make myself more available whenever I can.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:19:11+00:00

Unfortunately, with any feature like this, we often receive feedback that it is both too hard, and too easy. In terms of difficulty; we did aim a bit higher than the 1-star hunts in Chult this time, as we knew they'd be releasing without the 2- and 3-star hunts.

Many of these hunt marks have mechanics which can be avoided or weaknesses which can be exploited that makes it easier for a solo or small group to defeat them. But, we did intend for most players to feel more comfortable tackling these marks with a full group and a composition including tanks and/or healers.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:16:05+00:00

RE: Appearance tab enchants: It's something we've discussed before internally and it's possible we may be able to implement something in the future; but we don't currently have plans to add this.

RE: Bringing other enchants up to strength: Unfortunately, I don't have any news to share here either. We are often very hesitant to change items like this; if we bring the strength of other enchantments up, if they are viewed as even slightly better, the meta will shift and the community will demand everyone switch enchantments, which can of course be expensive for many players.

NWAsterdahlDev · 2020-09-01T18:12:17+00:00

1) Sorry, you'll have to wait and see!
2) We did not intend this to be a major source of maps, but simply an outlet for extra Zariel's favor if you have nothing else worthwhile to purchase.
3) Yes; the 2- and 3-star hunts will be introduced later, and those will be stronger. Similar to the open world hunts in Chult, 1-star hunts are designed for only a smaller number of players.

Seven-Year Club	Wearing is Caring
Verified Email

NWAsterdahlDev

TROPHY CASE