So there was the dev stream some days back and we got some more info on how patch 3.0 will shake up everything. Here are my 2 long cents:
BATTLE PASS & BAZAAR
From what I have seen it looks pretty fair. Some tasks seemed a little too situational (killing a rhino with poison, for instance) but the others look like stuff you would normally do anyway, or that would be actually useful further down the line if you happen to do them in the early game (mining silver comes to mind). The fact that it works on every single type of server, single-player as well, is a huge relief. I’m actually interested in how they have planned for when ppl will inevitably use the admin panel to farm quicker on SP, maybe a timed debuff to prevent you from completing objectives if you open the admin panel?
Something that makes me have faith (at least in the devs) is that Dennis 1. looked kind of concerned in the trailer and 2. stated that they wanted to avoid FOMO passes but the monetization expert they hired was against it. This is not info that I would have divulged lightly if I had been in Dennis’ shoes since it clearly shows that there has been a line of confrontation/conflict between the devs and marketing.
My only concern for the future is that the BP is released in a fair and balanced state but might be skewed more towards the grindy further down the line (at least, that’s a possibility that will always linger in my mind).
The Bazaar is fine IMHO, stuff cycles without ever going away, it would have been nicer to have everything available for purchase with some, discounted items cycling as shown, but I think it’s going to be fine anyway. Purchasing with Crom Coins instead of real money feels inconvenient, but since it’s all digital stuff that you don’t really own IRL (just like all games on Steam) the currency I use to purchase stuff doesn’t really matter to me.
SORCERY
Looks great in theory, will have to see how it behaves in practice. Overall I liked it, you get some cool powers but you actually have to do the magic before the spell is cast. No cooldowns is also great. I would personally have put the words of power in a circular pattern rather than in a line, but that’s just personal preference I think.
STAT REVAMP
Best thing in the stream, hands down. A stat overhaul was a long time coming, and the fact that you can corrupt stats means that you can become a squishy necromancer that relies on mooks and hits like a freight train when attacking, but any damage you suffer will hit harder since a good chunk of your HP and stamina are locked. It seems pretty balanced overall, my fear of sorcery completely overpowering everything has been mitigated somewhat.
NEW BUILDING SYSTEM
It sounds cool, I haven’t been able to picture it clearly in my mind, but it sounds A LOT better than the current one. A separate Creation Mode is also a nice touch.
UPDATE: after reading the blog post about it, I’m convinced this is going to be an absolute blast to use and it sounds A LOT better than the current system.
CONCLUSIONS
Ultimately I think it’s a good update that could help this game unlock its true potential in the future. I will always look at the Battle Pass with some suspicion, but it is somewhat overshadowed by the HUGE amount of stuff they have added and the future stuff as well (such as the combat update and thrall rebalance). If the Battle Pass reveals itself as a success, we might get a ton of content/updates in the future.
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. Your post is feedback after all, so there you go