Hello!
First off let me say I really like the new area (Silverwastes – from now on SW) the events are engaging and it actually does feel like a war/invasion is starting. I like it, and I also liked Dry Top (from now on DT).
In both areas, you get map specific rewards for doing events (geodudes and bandi crests) which you can use to buy items with and both of these rewards increase as your map is doing better. I think that is great, and a really well tought out idea – more coordination, more rewards. However I feel like SW has far less replayability or excitement in the long run and I would like to adress that. To pointing these out, I think comparing DT and SW side by side would be the best method (I think DT has very nicely designed rewards).
Note: these issues may be adressed in later patches I am wrinting this on 2014. 11. 17.
Issues:
Issue #1: Lack of items to buy with bandit crests
What is there to buy? You can buy the insignia recipes if you care for the stat (and it’s not really a good stat combo), you buy the collection thing once, you buy the extractors for the achievment, and that’s it. After that it’s just keys, sandy bags or crafting mats. While that doesn’t sound like an issue, it’s rather boring. There is no incentive to come bask to the zone, I can get all these things at different places in Tyria (and faster). What the merchant needs is some map specific items that you can ONLY get from bandit crests, and a lot of them, something to work towards to.
In Dry Top there is a large variety of rewards, has it’s own craftable items, has it’s own weapon set, tons of recipes. All that for a large amount of geodudes (but still attainable) so you keep coming back for more.
Issue #2: Keys give you keys
Less noticable since chest farm nerf (thank you for that) but still an issue. Why put in bandit crests into lost bandit chests? It makes no sense. You should not get the item you buys keys with from the chest you opened with the very same key. Award people with keys from events (aka bandit crests) and have different items instead of the crests (like a green or chance for better). The whole fun from opening a locked chest is just sucked out from this because you always get another key inside. It should be limited or harder to accesss. It’s like a matroshka: http://www.russiansouvenir.hu/images/uploads/DSCF2393.jpg
Note: that this is an issue that comes from the first one, that there is nothing unique to buy from the merchants, so you just gonna get keys with the crests you get from chests.
In Dry Top you also get geodudes back from chests, but: 1. the chests are of limited availability, 2. you get far less from them than the cost of the keys, 3. you can spend geodudes on other stuff
Issue #3: Mordrem organ extractor – what’s the point?
So you get the extractor, get the collection achievment and then…? The issue is the same thing as described in issue #2 with chests and keys – basicly for bandit crests you get more bandit crests – to what end? Why would you need that? After I was done with the Collection achievment I didn’t bother to get any more extractors. Why? Cause for me personally a few extra (and mostly useless) bandit crests is not worth the hassle of speaking to the merchant, remembering to use the item (and it taking up 1 inventory slot) and after that running to the organ exchange guy.
Issue #4: Nothing special in the chests
From every chest you get the same old boring rewards. 1 champion bag, some dragonite/empyrial (like most of us haven’t deleted enough already), some bandit crests (detailed above), ambrite and sand. Recipes and twister if you are ‘lucky’. Nothing unique, nothing you, stuff you can get from anywhere (except ambrite, that’s only DT). Opening a chest is not fon, there is no excitement, it’s just “meh, pick up the loot”. RNG is often dissed on the forums, but in some cases, it’s a good thing. In DT the
Sand mask thingy (the 2 piece headgear for light, medium and heavy) was a great thing to find in chests, also I found the fossilized insects also cool (altough there could have been an option to buy those for say 1000 geodudes).
Continued in next post…