So, I have been playing the original map - a lot. Recently I started playing the isle of siptah.
After reading the post on feedback the team received I felt inclined to make a comment myself.
First of all I enjoy Isle of Siptha much more than the old map. The map with its resources feels much better planned to me. The tower and the maelstorm is so much more interessting (something is actually happening!) and the vaults are, so far, fun to explore.
I do not mind bigger workstations and I think crafting is much better now in 2.1. In the old map it was in my opinion too easy to get a hold of high end gear. Making iron and steel a quick transition phase (almost making them obsolete at once). With all the journey steps it is not too long before reaching lvl 60 but for me it took longer to upgrade from iron to steel making it a achievment and same with hardend steel. I like that. A hardend steel axe should be a priced posession. Not a commodity.
Going to lvl 60 is as quick as in the old map but I dont mind that in Isle of Siptha. Since, for me, it is more about the tower than reaching lvl 60 and this is a good thing. The tower and the maelstorm should be the main focus and getting to lvl 60 is only a way to help clearing the main focus of the map. So surviving on the isle should not be about eating, drinking or getting a roof over your head, it should be about surviving the maelstorm and the evil of the tower. Eating, drinking or getting a roof is just one of those things that help against the main focus - the tower.
In my opinion the maelstorm shall be punishing. I saw that one of the negative feedbacks was that the malestorm was too punishing. The problem, in my opionion, is that it is linked to thralls. So you kind of need to enter the maelstorm which makes it unnecessarily punishing imo. But by adding npc camps that goes away. Keep the nasty storm. Maybe making it nastier? It is conan after all. Not disney.
I do love the idea of crazy monsters spawning in the maelstorm that want to devour you. Plz keep that. Preferable that they can form a purge. But the storm should be more scarce then. Not occuring every 2 h or what ever is set on the sever. Have a counter for when the maelstorm purge occurs that counts up form the last maelstorm purge. Perhaps add a mechanic so that the players may slow the counter (but never reset it). Like going into vaults to find a specific ingredient for a specific spell that slows the maelstorm purge. Global event so everyone may pitch in.
Or that the spell makes the player base immune from the maelstorm purge (ie ignore the player base). The maelstorm purge should be totally random. Perhaps even targeting a npc camp.
I love the random feel of wild surges and the (almost) feel of urgency. Go now or lose the opportunity. So if you are adding npc camps why not replace wild surges with shipwrecked npc that, if not addressed, will be added to existing npc camp (ie they grow in strenght up to a max). Players will be picking the npc bases clean for thralls but if kept intact they will increase in strenght and pose a bigger threat when they go on a purge. One thing that I like with wild surges is that it is harder to cherry pick thralls since all are hostile at once. In the old map it was super easy to lure thralls one by one (super stupid npc) without any risk. Better here. So I hope that npc camps will contain the same element as the wild surges ie one cannot just waltz in and pick whatever thrall one pleases. Make the npc camp a community, not just a bunch of gaselles disquised as humans.
One thing that is good with Isle of Siptha in my opion is that it adds more randomness to the map (maelstorm and wild surge) and random danger (spawn in maelstorm). So, if you are adding purge to the map, which is a good thing, make it more random. In the old map it became same-same after a while. I would love a mechanic that adds different levels of purge and based on npc power that the player have a chance to affect. Or that a high level purge is more likely to affect a player base if the players for example have collected all thralls from that faction (attacking their enemy no 1). So, as a player you have two choices to collect thralls (three if wild surge or similar is kept) and each one has a drawback. Pick your posion. Choices are fun as long each choice has pros and cons.
To me Isle of Siptha is a step in the right direction. Plz do not make it as static as the old map.