I would like to preface this by stating that I have not reached past level 6 in the game ever, and level 4 currently. I do not know if my current complaints apply in the late game or not, though I am assuming not.
And so for a bit of backstory, I used to play this game a lot when I was 14-15, around 2009-2010. I was a severe altoholic, making a ton of characters across as many servers as I could, because I had 0 attention span and wanted to try all the things all the time. As such most of my playtime was on Korthos Island. Even in that tutorial section there was a lot to enjoy. Fights were genuinely challenging, you didn't have much HP, and the right loot could make a significant difference in your effectiveness. I remember getting a set of +1 Scalemail, no other enchantments, just the enhancement, out of the chest in the secret passage the Sahuagin pops out of on the quest to get the scroll out of the storehouse. And that was a godsend. 1. It looked way cooler than the Battleworn Breastplate, and 2. I was taking a lot fewer hits with it on. I also remember what a game-changer the quest reward weapons for killing Jacoby Drexelhand were. An entire extra damage die against monstrous humanoids(like Sahuagin)? That was insane!
Compare that now with how the current early game works.
I have a ridiculous amount of HP to start with, a bonus to hit that doesn't seem to actually line up with my modifiers(how is a level 1 getting +11 to hit on some rolls fresh out of the caves???), and enemies struggle to hit me more than I should expect with my AC. Indeed, the underlying tabletop mechanics may as well not exist for as much success as I am guaranteed. I am effectively invincible, steamrolling everything just by spamming left click. Loot is thrown at my feet constantly, and it all has enhancement and 2 random enchantments. I don't truly earn anything and I don't feel anything other than slightly less boredom than when I clicked play a few minutes prior.
Everything that used to make the game engaging for a new player is gone. There's no challenge, you don't feel like you earned loot and it's both stupid powerful and simultaneously lacking impact to the player. The only reason to turn the game on at all is because I have no strong desire to do anything and it'll at least kill an hour. What used to leave a strong impression due to its unique mechanics and gameplay style is now just a massive nothing burger in the mind.
Please, just... make the early game a challenge again.
And so for a bit of backstory, I used to play this game a lot when I was 14-15, around 2009-2010. I was a severe altoholic, making a ton of characters across as many servers as I could, because I had 0 attention span and wanted to try all the things all the time. As such most of my playtime was on Korthos Island. Even in that tutorial section there was a lot to enjoy. Fights were genuinely challenging, you didn't have much HP, and the right loot could make a significant difference in your effectiveness. I remember getting a set of +1 Scalemail, no other enchantments, just the enhancement, out of the chest in the secret passage the Sahuagin pops out of on the quest to get the scroll out of the storehouse. And that was a godsend. 1. It looked way cooler than the Battleworn Breastplate, and 2. I was taking a lot fewer hits with it on. I also remember what a game-changer the quest reward weapons for killing Jacoby Drexelhand were. An entire extra damage die against monstrous humanoids(like Sahuagin)? That was insane!
Compare that now with how the current early game works.
I have a ridiculous amount of HP to start with, a bonus to hit that doesn't seem to actually line up with my modifiers(how is a level 1 getting +11 to hit on some rolls fresh out of the caves???), and enemies struggle to hit me more than I should expect with my AC. Indeed, the underlying tabletop mechanics may as well not exist for as much success as I am guaranteed. I am effectively invincible, steamrolling everything just by spamming left click. Loot is thrown at my feet constantly, and it all has enhancement and 2 random enchantments. I don't truly earn anything and I don't feel anything other than slightly less boredom than when I clicked play a few minutes prior.
Everything that used to make the game engaging for a new player is gone. There's no challenge, you don't feel like you earned loot and it's both stupid powerful and simultaneously lacking impact to the player. The only reason to turn the game on at all is because I have no strong desire to do anything and it'll at least kill an hour. What used to leave a strong impression due to its unique mechanics and gameplay style is now just a massive nothing burger in the mind.
Please, just... make the early game a challenge again.
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