Some simple changes
Wed, 06/08/2016 - 20:08
Wed, 06/08/2016 - 20:35
#2
For number 6, that is most
For number 6, that is most definitely what I meant. And I agree that it isn't the most pressing issue. I was just thinking that would be something that would take very little time to fix, since they already have some way to modify the prize wheel. if you are at full health, you won't get hearts. And if you are at full inventory, you won't get items. But if this is more than a simple change, then I also agree it isn't worth the effort.
I can see your argument for disagreeing with number 3. I don't think it adds much to the challenge, but it most definitely adds to the flavor. That may be a good enough reason to keep it as it is.
Wed, 06/08/2016 - 20:43
#3
Further the Discussion on Six
Again, I understand you just don't want junk for completing a Floor. It would be far more satisfying to receive extra crowns, not dungeon gear.
However, what else should we receive from completing a Level? We have Crowns and Materials. They are simple-enough to be rewarding for just completing a Level. Anything else would be far-too rewarding.
My proposition is simply removing Hearts. Perhaps add Forge/Grim/Primal Spark Tokens, if we're being greedy.
Thanks for the response and attention, Gilbert, and for not ditching your thread to die.
Wed, 06/08/2016 - 20:46
#4
Think.
Alchemy Machines are in the Mission Lobby, and maybe the Clockwork Terminals. They already announce upcoming content via the blog. Try going to a subtown to make Sprite Food. If they were true pets, than they would not be mutated robot followers. And you would be able to sell them. And you could get one that either A.) Does not like you, PERIOD (I don't have an example, but I'm sure this can happen), B.) Doesn't like you YET (see Pikachu for an example (Ash, his trainer, had to rescue him for saving him from a flock of wild Spearows)), or C.) Will not listen anyways unless the event comes when you show your love for them (see Froakie or Primeape (Ash had to save him from a fall that would've been caused by Machop's seismic toss during the Pokemon Number One (P1) Prix, a tournament for Fighting-type Pokemon) for an example). The casino is an EVENT, not a forever thing. That is what makes an event fun, but having it be a use for Valestone would cause a Valestone Great Depression every time it leaves. This is not Pokemon, so we do not have a Fighting Family. Crafting is for things with star levels, and Sparks of Life do not have star levels, there is really no way for them to have one, so that would defeat the possibility of having Moonstone craft a RARITY. Seraphynx would go into a Great Depression of it's own if heart drops were impossible if there was full health. What if someone with lower gear joined in and could get no hearts? You do not get healed by hearts if you have 100% health, it would say "Health already at max". Just change at the start of the level, BEFORE going on the button that activates the boss fight. Who ever heard of someone pulling out a Leviathan Blade during a Snarby fight while currently wielding a Snarble Barb? Soloing like that would be murder on the person who tried it DURING THE FIGHT. I would prefer a Black/Red Flourish-like weapon over a "vorpal sword" anytime I had to face a beast or fiend.
Wed, 06/08/2016 - 20:53
#5
Even more Discussion on Six
I would be OK with removing hearts as well. And they are already willing to offer a box for completing a level (albeit on such an incredibly small rate I have no idea if people actually get them). Adding other valuable items (like the tokens) at a small chance wouldn't hurt, but is far from necessary. Not junk is good is good enough.
If they really wanted to add something valuable but not too valuable, minerals would probably be the way to go. You are pretty limited on how fast you can collect them, but at the same time they aren't that valuable. (or at least pet food isn't that expensive, compared to alchemy orbs and forge sparks). However this would further discourage co-op play, since one of the biggest draws of playing with others (from strictly a money/hour view) is the increase in minerals, so maybe not the greatest of ideas.
Wed, 06/08/2016 - 21:04
#6
Not really on topic
Monsterbrine, I think you misinterpreted a lot of what I was saying. The point of alchemy machines at the start of the floor is so you can be in the middle of something like a tier 3 run with your 3 star equipment, get it to 5, then change it to 4* without having to return to town. This would allow you to explore deeper and get a shot of radiants.
And while yes, you can go to a subtown to make sprite food, that would usually require leaving your current run, which is kinda obnoxious. This is just a QoL change, not some huge important one.
Also, I was just being affectionate with my sprite. I am perfectly aware of the limitations the game currently has with your relation to it, but there is no reason I can't have fun and pretend we are close.
Crafting doesn't have to be a thing for items with stars. Sure that is how it is so far, but I feel like it would be easy to implement the ability to craft something that has no starts. And we can already craft rarities (at least forge sparks).
You can't change it before starting the boss fight. You can only change before starting the whole boss lair. And changing equipment isn't really that important. The important part is getting a chance to level up your weapons in the middle of a boss run, rather than having to wait until it's complete or leave early.
Thu, 06/09/2016 - 14:03
#7
Even More Discussion on Six
I am glad to see we have agreed on what to do with the Prizewheel, Gilbert.
If it bothers you over Minerals, I don't see how just adding an extra one of a Mineral would do any harm. Given that Clockworks Access is completely free and unhindered from Energy, I think there is no real penalty or necessity from choosing either Co-Op play or Single-Player delving.
Thu, 06/09/2016 - 14:16
#8
Slightly tangential discussion on Six
The penalty from Co-Op is that it can take longer to complete each level, assuming you are ignoring monsters. It's not a major one, but it is slight and some people care.
And I agree that an extra mineral here and there wouldn't do much harm. But since there are so few reasons to play with people already (outside of needing help or Vanaduke runs), I'm not certain it would be a very good idea to detract from them even further. But this is just a nit picking thing. A change here or lack of change here wouldn't have much of an affect on the game either way.
Thu, 06/09/2016 - 16:13
#9
eep
Okay time to throw some stuff around.
Machines in Clockworks
Alchemy machines of all types... They can be at clockwork terminals, but not much elsewhere. Crafting up items anywhere might be nice but has a bit of a game balance issue. However, clockwork terminals are pitstops, so I can agree they can have machines in them.
Arsenal stations in boss levels
No to this. We are supposed to run through the level with the same gear. Leaving and rejoining cheats the system if we want to swap out gear, however makes us lose vitapod, consumables, etc. That's the price you pay for leaving a boss in the middle.
However, players often want these included purely for heating. I would recommend a heating station (anvil?) to be included in arcade versions of boss stratas. This makes arcade bosses seemless for heating up gear, but makes players who just grind the mission versions have to question whether or not they should leave and rejoin a boss mission to heat if they need health capsules.
Mineral uses
Honestly, I believe that green and blue minerals should be "wildcard minerals". This means they can be used for any sprite food, however need 5 of the actual type of mineral used for the food to craft. Makes all minerals have a use again. After something like this is done, we can find more uses for minerals that utilize every single mineral at once instead of just a handful of them.
Announcements
I would love for more transparency and stuff, however history of the game has been that they like to surprise us (at least since 2013). Whatever happens with this will be nice, we'll just have to wait and see.
Prize wheel
Having hearts on the prize wheel encourages having full health at the end of levels. Consumables prove useful sometimes, however players don't utilize the consumables we get as often as we should. I think it's fine for the most part.
More specialized drops
Before battle sprites monsters had special drop tables for each monster. Now it's per monster family, making seeking out specific monsters less helpful. Having specialized monster family things would be cool though. Fiends could, for example, drop glyphs year round, but rarely and in small numbers. Kats could drop ancient pages (at a mewkat spawn rate), etc. Would be fun to seek out certain monster families for prizes unique to that family.
Thu, 06/09/2016 - 16:27
#10
Glad to see a new voice chime in
Machines in Clockworks
I could be Ok with them being at the terminals. I don't see how it would be a game balance issue (feel free to enlighten me). The terminals would be really nice though, so when you finally manage to find that recipe from Basil, you can craft it immediately rather than going back to town.
Arsenal stations in boss levels
The sole reason I want them is for the sake of heating up your equipment. So far that can only be done at arsenal stations, which is why I suggested them. If they were to add in a forge only item (like an anvil), that would be just as good.
Prize Wheel
Hearts encourage you to die right before the end of the level so you're free revive will put you at full health and you can get something more valuable than a heart from the wheel. Consumables on there encourage you to never use your items so you can get something more valuable. But mostly I just want them gone for when they are guaranteed to be 100% useless (going back to Haven).
Mineral Uses, Announcements, and Specialized Drops
Nothing to add
Fri, 06/10/2016 - 11:34
#11
Game doesn't know what you'll do
Except for elevators that only go back to Haven, the game will never know if you plan to continue in the clockworks or go back to haven. Outside of missions, gates do not give an item on the prize wheel for returning to haven. In that particular scenario it might be kinda cool, but it's not like, too big of a deal.
Hearts don't encourage you to lose your ER necessarily. If you have silver pips at all then it's not going to be useful. If you lose your ER then hearts will actually be really nice. However, I would replace all heart drops with "full health" instead to make landing on it always be beneficial rather than meh. Prize wheel is a bonus prize for completing the level, not some huge reward system.
I think for the crafting stations it just is awkward to have them in every level. We used to not even have arsenal stations, we don't really need a crafting ability in every level. Similarly, boss levels are supposed to be a challenge, and while we can cheese the system by leaving to haven, that's just the price we pay for heating in boss levels. However arcade boss levels shouldn't punish players as such, so heating stations being added to those would be a nice addition.
Fri, 06/10/2016 - 12:27
#12
That's OK
The original post was only talking about the elevators that only go back to haven. And how you feel about it is exactly how I feel about it, kinda cool, but not too big of a deal. But since they can already modify prize drops (in the cases of full health and full inventory), I think it would be relatively simple to implement. For the most part, the suggestions were meant to be ones that could quickly be added in and nice to have, but not essential.
As for using your ER, I was speaking as someone who does (sometimes) intentionally die then go on the elevator so I won't land on a heart. I agree the Prize Wheel is just a nice little bonus, but landing on a literally useless reward feels bad.
I could see crafting stations cluttering each floor too much, and that would be a good reason not to include them. Need is a very strong word, and we don't need a lot of things. But it would be nice to have more freedom to explore as you want to without having to go back to haven after a handful of floors because it's time to upgrade your weapons.
Heating your equipment up one level isn't a big deal in terms of difficulty. I mean, it's nice, but it won't give you a significantly easier time unless you are reaching 5 or 10. But boss levels tend to be the best places to farm (I've lost track of my number of Jelly King runs), and so it would be nice to be able to run it and actually heat up your gear instead of making a choice there. Some decisions are good ones, but there it just makes you feel bad no matter which you choose.
Fri, 06/10/2016 - 16:08
#13
Eh
See, the reason we didn't have arsenal stations before was because we're supposed to commit to a loadout. You could do the same thing before if you messed up.
However as it stands I want to say the arcade version of boss strata are totally okay with having heating stations. It's simply boss missions that you shouldn't do that for. As it stands players run boss missions to grind and don't even consider other parts of the game. Instead of encouraging players to grind boss levels all day every day, encourage them to play the arcade. They get a breath of fresh air in between boss runs, and can heat gear per floor. Boss missions should remain as is, because they are "story" themed and should not be actively encouraged by the game to be farmed (outside of rewards). Heck, I would suggest that arcade version of boss levels get +1 boss token per run as well for similar reasons.
Bottom line I like idea of heating in boss levels, but I don't like the idea of farming boss levels. Making the less farmable version nicer on players seems like a better choice IMO.
Sun, 06/12/2016 - 17:42
#14
@Fangel
I was just thinking a bit about Arsenal Stations.
Graveyards should not have Arsenal Stations because they make Graveyards pointless as a random floor in the Arcade. Graveyards should be a potential issue for any Arcade run, but it's just another floor when you have Arsenal Stations to switch to an appropriate loadout.
I would also argue that Missions shouldn't have Arsenal Stations in the middle, but it's probably that I am familiar with all the missions so I feel that they are too easy with being able to switch equipment nearly every floor.
As for the Minerals....
Green could be the generic E-Class Battle Sprite before they changed into Drakon/Seraphynx/Maskeraith.
1st ability: similar to a Blaster charge attack.
Upgrades: cooldown, damage, knockback. Ults: increase stagger, pierce enemies
2nd ability: grant a defense boost.
Upgrades: cooldown, status resist, defense. Ults: apply remedy, apply damage bonus
3rd ability: AOE pushback similar to that of the Battlepods' AOE pushback (but less range and knockback).
Upgrades: cooldown, range, knockback. Ults: apply stun, deal damage.
...
Just had a bout of nostalgia for Tcrew that released in 2008. It was mechanically similar to Spiral Knights, but the "crew" (Battle Sprites) were a necessary and more developed part of the game. It's a shame that the game folded. The game was decent, but the game was a bit unpolished and there was no endgame. IIRC the only thing to keep doing in the end game were PvP, rare crew, and cosmetics.
As for the Alchemy/Forge stations...
I think it would be better if there were some way to craft/buy a portable Alchemy/Forge/PetFood station kit. These kits would have a set amount of uses, and probably some sort of increasing cost for higher star kits. A generic animation would activate when you start using any kit.
Forging would now require a kit or going to new Forge stations (interactable anvils). I think it's pretty stupid how you can upgrade your weapon by casually sprinkling crystals over it. If Forging can be done anywhere with Arsenal capability then why not Alchemy?
Thanks for taking the time to voice your thoughts, @Gilbert-Nightray!