[Megathread] ArcheAge - "Sand-Box" MMORPG

[D3athsting]

I think i found a fitting term to describe all those mmos that take several years for development with constantly increasing hype from fanboys and then fail miserably few months after release: TITANIC.

[Airlick]

I still like AA, if any are thinking of playing AA or ESO for the first time ? Combat wise AA wins hands down, ESO is very slooooow and clunky....but if your not into action and responsive combat then ESO is the game for you.

AA combat is terribad. It's like WoW combat, except worse in every way imaginable. It's anything but action combat, it's the same old gear based "mash buttons when they come off CD". ESO at least has blocking mechanics.

[Deleted]

I have no idea where the focus of the game is. It definitely feels massive and sandboxy but is that necessarily a good thing for an MMO?

It used to be. Clearly the mass audiences tastes have shifted away from making one's own fun into "prescribed" fun.
It's a shame really, Archeage is a very good sandboxy MMO and as such it depends heavily on other players being there, however, as it stands, most serves are now empty.
It could have a decent future if they consolidated their player base onto one or two servers, but there's no easy way to do that, and Trion, like so many issues before, doesn't seem that interested in managing the situation.

[Slipmat]

The Secrets of Ayanad for ArcheAge is now up and running

ArcheAge Version 1.2 Build 5.0: Patch Notes

SECRETS OF AYANAD

The new zone of Diamond Shores is now available! Far across the Arcadian Sea, and to the west of the existing Auroria zones, this highly contested region benefits from unique access to the Ayanad Library, a variety of conveniences, and multiple climates.
For North America and Europe, Diamond Shores is a contested zone that cycles through the war and peace stages. Honor can be earned in Diamond Shores during war. Areas around the Library and the hubs outside are protected similarly to Nui statues.
For more details on Diamond Shores, see the Secrets of Ayanad Spotlight: Diamond Shores article.

http://www.trionworlds.com/archeage/...iamond-shores/

The ruins of the Ayanad Library have been discovered and opened to adventurers. The Ayanad Library is a massive construction unlike any other seen in Erenor, consisting of three floors with dozens of rooms as well as boss and ring-event fights. Each level comes in three open instances that anyone can enter and leave at will, regardless of faction or group status.
The interior of the Library is a no-PvP area.
For more details on the Ayanad Library, see the Secrets of Ayanad Spotlight: Ayanad Library article.

http://www.trionworlds.com/archeage/...yanad-library/

The maximum character and skill tree levels have been increased to 55!
One additional skill point is earned for each level above 50, resulting in a total of 28 skill points at max level.
The amount of experience required for each level from 50-55 has been adjusted in our region, and is lower than the original Korean region requirements.
For more details on the new level cap, see the Secrets of Ayanad Spotlight: Level 55 article.

http://www.trionworlds.com/archeage/...ight-level-55/

New active skills are available in each skill tree at level 55:

Archery:
Snipe A long range, high damage shot that deals damage to everything in its path.

Auramancy:
Mirror Warp Readies an option for 5 seconds to strafe-teleport left or right on command.

Battlerage:
Behind Enemy Lines A targeted AoE that launches the character forward while snaring and damaging enemies in the targeted area.

Defense:
Fortress Shoves enemies away while pulling allies closer. Provides a short-term damage reduction to pulled-in allies.

Occultism:
Death's Vengeance Deals area damage within 15 meters when you die.

Sorcery:
God's Whip Damages all enemies in range with a blast of energy. Can be used multiple times in quick succession.

Shadowplay:
Throw Dagger A short-range AoE that damages the target as well as nearby enemies. Also debuffs anyone hit with decreased movement, attack, and casting speeds.

Songcraft:
[Perform] Grief's Cadence Reduces the duration of negative effects on your allies, and increases the duration of negative effects on an enemy.

Vitalism:
Whirlwind's Blessing Boosts attack and movement speeds of your allies while debuffing your enemies in a large area.

Witchcraft:
Fiend's Knell Summons a Weeping Dead ally to attack nearby aggressive targets.

All initial six tiers of Obsidian Weapons can now be crafted, and the materials for these weapons can be obtained throughout the world.
For more details on Obsidian Weapons, see the Secrets of Ayanad Spotlight: Obsidian Weapons article.

http://www.trionworlds.com/archeage/...idian-weapons/

Ayanad Costumes can be crafted with materials obtained in the Ayanad Library. These three costumes can all be crafted at a special crafting bench just outside the Ayanad Library using the following materials:
100 Ayanad Costume Design Scraps
70 Enchanted Skeins
50 Disciple's Tears
400 Gilda Dust
10 Blood Archeum Crystals

Experia Sunflower, Duck, Pumpkin, and Pine patches can now be crafted at a Farmer's Workstation. These are large crops that grant experience instead of items when they are harvested.

GENERAL

Borderless windowed mode is now available under Options > Screen > Screen Mode.
Inverted mouse axis is now available under Options > Functionality > Scroll down to the bottom of this pane.
Trade chat is now faction-wide instead of zone specific.

When placing new property, if you have two placed properties with unfinished construction, you will be blocked from placing any more. If you have more than two unfinished properties, you will need to reduce that number (through completion or demolition) to bring that number below two before you can claim additional land. Fellowship Plazas do not count towards this limit.

Monsters in Sungold Fields and Exeloch that were previously capped at level 50 are now uncapped and drop Obsidian Weapon components.
The proficiency requirements to craft Illustrious through Delphinad tier gear have been reduced or removed.
Calamitous Vyrava can now be properly summoned with Timespace Scrolls.

The "Ghost of the Royal Tomb" quest no longer displays a system string when interacting with the Royal Stone Coffin.
The "Harvest the Cotton" quest can now be completed properly.
The "Trouble at the Weeping Mine" quest can now be completed properly.
The Mirage Donkey's incorrectly high strafe and backup speeds have been fixed.

NOTES

This update will be available for download via Glyph during announced EU and NA game update server downtime windows. Please visit our Server Status forum for details.
Looking to try out the new content early? The Public Test Server has been updated with this latest patch and is available now

Source: http://forums.archeagegame.com/showt....0-Patch-Notes

[Vogyn]

The character creation music is my favorite intro music out of any mmo ever. It's phenomenal and made me stick with this game longer than I would have otherwise. Outside of that, way too generic. I can't really thing of anything else that stands out from my 1-month affair with this game. I'll go back and check out Secrets of Ayanad though. That song is bringing me back.

[Airlick]

So they haven't shut down yet...

[Edge-]

So they haven't shut down yet...

Why would they? It's likely still profitable, and I'm willing to be there's a timeframe for which Trion is contractually obligated to support the game in the West regardless of its financial performance.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

You'd be surprised just how few whales can support a game like AA. Though, ofcourse, I don't have any numbers. But as Edge said; they probably have a contract to keep it up for at least a couple years.

[Airlick]

Why would they? It's likely still profitable, and I'm willing to be there's a timeframe for which Trion is contractually obligated to support the game in the West regardless of its financial performance.

Well, yeah, they have just fallen completely off the radar shortly after release. There's been so little talk about AA that it could as well have shut down without anyone noticing. And then any talk there was was pretty much 100% negative (bots, hacks, P2W).

[Deleted]

Well, yeah, they have just fallen completely off the radar shortly after release. There's been so little talk about AA that it could as well have shut down without anyone noticing. And then any talk there was was pretty much 100% negative (bots, hacks, P2W).

What you are writing is very true. The silence or complaints about this game is a bit sad. And now they launch an expansion and people couldn't care less :/
I was a little hyped for this game in the past, it looked really good on paper.. I mean a sandbox pvp game that isn't 20 years old nor in a spaceship. With all the themepark mmos this was a bit of fresh air. Also I played Rift when Trion was the top company in handle their game and their customers so I felt warm inside when I found out Trion would handle edition of the game in west. But first time I heard about LP system I thought it wasn't a good idea at all, and with the good f2p-model in Rift I thought Trion would put some effort in making f2p-model in Archeage in similar style. However, they didn't and even Rift f2p-model is getting worse by the days, and also Trion overall doesn't support the games and community at all same style as we knew them from vanilla Rift. And Archeage, I think it's hopeless to see things improve in game, that gamebreaking changes will be made to make it a game where players want to be. The game will remain in silence, probably for as long as it lasts. Since the game seems to have problems in Korea and Russia as well it's probably just a matter of time to see how long the game lasts.

[Fencers]

Trion just have a small marketing budget for AA. It's not that people are uninterested or silent, per se.

Marketing is chiefly responsible for one's perceptions of a product.

[Deleted]

Trion just have a small marketing budget for AA. It's not that people are uninterested or silent, per se.

Marketing is chiefly responsible for one's perceptions of a product.

Well it doesnt help that when you go to their forums all you see are threads about bots/hacks/p2w, and with good reason too, those are still around. That and the stuff high rank people in the company say, like when they said that all the bans were 100% accurate and all of the people banned were hackers which was not true at all.

[Phurox]

I just tried it yesterday, I got scared away from all the p2w talk. The game actually feels kinda funny, only bad thing is the engine which the game is made with. My god it sucks performance wise.

[Deleted]

Marketing is chiefly responsible for one's perceptions of a product.

They should really work on that prior to the upcoming Steam release.

[Edge-]

They should really work on that prior to the upcoming Steam release.

Is that finally coming? >.>

[ro9ue]

I'm sort of talking out of my ass here because I'm just speculating, but I think the smaller studios need to just do 1 MMO. MMOs seem to be the most resource intensive of all the genres and even Activision-Blizzard only has WoW, two if you want to count Destiny.

SOE has a ton of them and look at their current situation.

If I was Trion, I would focus on just building Rift because it's still an awesome game and maybe try to dabble in cheaper genres. Not saying having more than one MMO is stupid, but trying to run a ton of them just seems like financial suicide.

[Deleted]

Is that finally coming? >.>

Allegedly.
If they're smart they'll wait until they implement the announced labor and archeum changes, so late April probably.

[Deleted]

Allegedly.
If they're smart they'll wait until they implement the announced labor and archeum changes, so late April probably.

What labor changes? Are they making LP system more generous? even for f2p-players?=) Because then they might be doing one thing right at least

[Deleted]

What labor changes? Are they making LP system more generous? even for f2p-players?=)

They're increasing offline labor regeneration up to 10, so it's the same as online for patrons.
I think f2p will stay the same, not sure though.

[loki504]

I just tried it yesterday, I got scared away from all the p2w talk. The game actually feels kinda funny, only bad thing is the engine which the game is made with. My god it sucks performance wise.

they talk alot about p2w. but its more like pay to skip. you can do everyting in archeage without paying a dime. you just need to spend alot more time into the game. or sacrifice some stuff. like no farm and sell stuff without the AH. and sure labor points sucks. but you can just keep hitting a dummy so your staying online. and earn abit of extra LP. and sure getting a top grade weapon is going to cost you alot of cash. but in the end you can still get one. and have FUN.