DLC = Pay to Win (sort of)

Conan Exiles General Discussion
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Funcom has adamantly said their DLC content will be cosmetic only. I fully agree with their goal. However, the currently releases of DLC content has not entirely been cosmetic and has slipped into the ‘Pay to Win’ category (albeit, ever so slightly).

What do I mean? I’m referring specifically to the temperature/attribute system on armor. At present, Funcom decides what armor will have what heat/cold resistance and its’ appropriate attribute bonus. But that’s not available to everyone playing the game; if you don’t buy the DLC package, you can’t make certain armors with the attribute and temperature stat combination. And some are exclusively available only to those who have purchased the DLCs.

For example, only those who have purchased the Jewel of the West DLC have access to the only medium vitality attribute - heat resistance armor in the game (Aquilonian Infantry armor).

Or consider another example, only those who have purchased the Seekers of the Dawn DLC have access to the only heavy vitality attribute - heat resistance armor in the game (Yamatai Warlord armor).

Or consider yet another example, for encumbrance-build players, only those who have purchased the Imperial East DLC have access to the only heavy encumbrance attribute - cold resistance armor in the game (Khitan Imperial armor).

These are just a few examples and there are more if you take a close look at how armor stats and temperature bonuses are distributed in the game so far.

Now, I don’t believe Funcom set out to do that on purpose. I like their first try at making armor have influence on your character’s build and interaction with the environment. But that’s what has evolved with the releases of the DLCs with the current armor system. People who buy the DLCs have an advantage, not just in cosmetics, but in functionality, given the way armor works with its fixed attribute and temperature resistance system.

Therefore, as a fan of Conan Exiles, I implore the devs to revamp the armor temperature and attribute bonus system and return the DLCs to their intended function as ‘cosmetic only.’

Possible solution: cause the player to select which armor linings/pads with temperature bonuses (heat or cold resistance) desired during crafting. The lining would determine the temperature bonus.

Next, let players select attribute bonus kits (like armor runes to be attached to each piece for whatever stat the player is crafting) (+1 for most low level armor benches learned at level 10 with the Armorer feat and +2 for improved armor benches learned at level 60 with the Exile Epics feat). Armor “runes” would not need to make any visible changes to the armor and occupy a separate upgrade to armor kits already in the game.

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I agree with you 100%

I sincerely wish that they’d keep the armor-types cosmetic only, and let players craft their own stat upgrades to be “slotted” on to armors as desired.

You and I think very much alike :slight_smile:

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tldr armor temp modifiers plz

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I partly agree with you :slight_smile:

I could see paddings for different temperature be a thing and/or maybe even changing the temperature protection for armors to be a degree of protection against the environment no matter if it is cold or hot, where cold or heat insulated paddings will protect against both but better for what they are built for - So a cold protection will also give some heat protection and vice versa instead of the current system where you either freeze or burn to death in the wrong biome.

But I don’t think it would be a good idea to let us decide which attributes an armor should have, it would kinda remove the need for having to choose the right armor for different occasions.
Too much freedom would in my opinion take away from the game and the need to go search for an armorer with a speciality - All armors would then just be a decorative choice.

P2W is a fine balance, I think Funcom is doing great with making their dlc’s decorative and non P2W, if we go into details there will always be some that will cry P2W if dlc items aren’t 100% reskin and equal to base-game functionality, maybe it is just me, but I can easily accept some small differences as long it isn’t op in any way…

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been pushing for this for ages and hope they listen eventually. I desperately want armor styles to be nothing more than cosmetic and the real function to be in the method of crafting. Heavy, Medium and Light armors and their base armor values should naturally remain a constant, so by glancing at an enemy player, we can see what armor class they are wearing.

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Yep, armor weight-class should be the only thing tied to visual. Attribute bonus and temp resistance should be flexible.

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would be kinda interesting if they changed armorers so you needed a named to make the flawless stat bonus (fx B’naru for str).

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Yes I know that you can craft a dlc armor that has a certain attribute right now if you off course don’t mind the weight class, but personally I would find it a bit boring if nothing except looks and weight class set the different armors apart, in my opinion the game would be less interesting if I could just craft any armor with all the stats I wanted without having to go explore - I just think armors should have something that sets them apart from each others besides looks, and what should happen to all those special armor pieces you can find in rare loot?

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The ‘ever so slightly’ part of this statement is the caveat in my opinion regarding this.

I believe this a case of, ‘small enough of an issue, the work/time/solution isn’t worth the effort’.

I would image the armor system would have to essentially be redesigned from the ground up to resolve this (specifically in the request to customize armor) in that right now, the data for each armor is minimal and all comes base stat database that the game call upon and there it is.

For customizable armor (just like they did with Thrall leveling), each piece of armor would have to be individually tracked and kept saved. Now imagine a player making full use of customizable armor and every armor set, or maybe even multiples of the same set with different stats. That all has to be individually stored and called upon.

Now apply that to every player across the server.

When you compare that to a single armor set stat line, the resources to implement this are not minimal. It would be a more interesting system, I don’t disagree with, but as the servers (indicated by past changes) are already dancing around their load limit, I personally believe resources far better spent in other areas in the game.

When it comes down to it, the only real benefits you get with DLC is the Hot/Cold options, and the flexibility of name thrall crafting. I can agree that there’d be an argument for the named thrall crafting. But thats a easy fix. Adjust the DLC crafting to be restricted to some thralls rather then open to all and then the DLC recipes have the same mechanics as the non-DLC.

For the hot/cold, I would argue this hardly even matters. You can virtually wear any set with the right food/buff/or legendary, but if it is going to be so game breaking that it is a thorn in peoples side, then a shuffling of temp protections should happen so DLC armor is a double of something non-DLC and with that ‘no more problem’. (Funcom may need to release a few new non-DLC sets to have the appropriate amount of armor to cover the range, I didn’t actually check).

The to above solutions, paired with vanity slots would solve the problem and would be far easier on the server loads and wouldn’t handi-cap the game elsewhere for this minor issue.

And personally, I’d leave off with this is such a minor and ultimately non-important slight of P2W that I don’t even give it much credit as such and there are far bigger fish to fry.

I’d put just about any grievance I could think of as a higher priority.

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Yes! And some rare drop from things we normally avoid fighting because they’re worthless.

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Shhh… this is one of those topics that just isn’t discussed in polite conversation, like religion or politics… :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Off the top of my head, I can think of 8 spawns that are solid, three more that are dubious because of mob placement, that spawn named Armorers for every base game armor. They are all super low damage and die in 2 hits so you can have flawless versions of Armor long before you ever hit 60 and level a thrall along side you as you do it.

DLC does save you some grind but anyone who has put any time in this game knows, it isn’t a game changer. Yes, I could go get Star Metal at level 10. 25% having DLC gear, knowing to use Spiced food and 75% knowing the map and how to get there. That means pretty much nothing. I’m level 10 with star metal that’s completely useless to me.

Attributes, it’s there? I get it but I have all DLCs and have yet to use anything pre 60 except exile armors, ideally flawless and they are made by all thralls. That encumbrance when leveling is the way to go. If you know to hit Lemurians at the Derketo shrine, you can easy get a full set of cold medium epic as early as 30 and do North side scouts. Again, you don’t need DLC’s.

Pit a 50 with all DLCs against a 60 with no DLCs and the 60 with legendary weapons and Epic gear is going to win. Again, it isn’t a game changer. DLC armors just like the buildings make us ‘pretty’. Anyone thinks they can chuck money at the two seasons and face roll? They are in for a rude awakening. Want them because or you just want to support the game? Go for it. I did but it isn’t giving me any massive buff.

It’s a lot like EVE Online. You don’t buy plex to pay to win. You buy plex to pay to lose. If you suck, you will still suck. Same for Conan. If you suck, you still will.

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Short answer: yes it kinda is.

BUT: Only people who play a longer time will ever need this special armors or even know about their existence.

And If you play that game so long, do Funcom a favor and buy their DLCs… 60€ aint that much. Or 10-20€ If you only want 1-2 specific.

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The armor temperature system has been a pet peeve of mine and should be a flexible crafting option. The most ridiculous example is reptile armor. Cold resistance?!? Really?!? It’s an immersion killer for me because some of the set temp resistances don’t make sense.

How hard is it to set all the armor temp resistances to zero and put in light, medium, and heavy hot and cold kits similar to the reduction kits, the reinforcement kits…etc.? And maybe put the temp kits on the tannery. Leave it up to the player.

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Wait, are you saying that it doesn’t make sense that the heavy fur-covered Pictish Warlord keeps you cool while the skimpy I-forgot-to-wear-pants Guardian keeps you warm? I just don’t see it.

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we should ideally have two armour mods to add, thick fur padding, and light airy silk, these should determine the temp resists on armour.

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People have been asking and begging for the ability to add temperature based padding for armor since the dawn of the game.

Not only for the fact that you could mix and match pieces but more importantly to also look good.

Usually you have to wear one set of armor to not look like a trash panda.

There are some pieces that look great together. But the temps don’t match up. Not at all. But they look good together.

With the dodge roll being as it is, this no longer truly matters. You could now add temperature padding and it would not make the slightest difference.

Also there should be different recipes for buildings. A hot and a cold for tier 2 and 3

Insulated wood to add cold protection and regular shaped wood for warm climates. Just change the type of wood used. Insulated wood is used mostly in a single tier 2 building piece and it is more annoying to make.

This would allow people to build structures without having to make false hollow walls and then loading them with witchfire or torches to generate cooling or heat. This also reduces placeables which cause lag.

Just saying

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In addition to what you have said, I would add that with DLCs you can craft epic versions of armor (and weapons, btw) without having to have a specific thrall in the workstation. But, hey, the DLCs don’t cost much more than a 6-pack of beer, so I really don’t see this as P2W.

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Raid them, kill them and take their armors + thralls armors :slight_smile:

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It’s true that DLCs have a certain degree of pay-to-win to them. Being able to craft exceptional armor with any T3 armorer and flawless with any T4 armorer is a great boon to people like me, who really, really hate the RNG grind of finding the specific cultural armorer. And there’s no freaking skill to it, either, just endless grind.

So on the one hand, I can’t argue against the claim. On the other hand, I just hope that if Funcom decides to fix it, they don’t “fix” it by making me hunt down some new DLC-specific armorers :frowning:

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