Happy Friday! It's that time, it's this place, so let's talk some feedback!
This week, we'd like to talk about Empyrea (since we didn't last week). For KI Live, @MarissaIceBreath asked us - "You tried a lot of new things in Empyrea! Without story spoilers, what's your favorite "experiment" with Empyrea?". So, we'd like to ask everyone that's had a chance to check it out on Test Realm... what's your favorite part of Empyrea?
Have a spooky weekend everyone!
Standard disclaimer applies: We do not guarantee to use each and every idea submitted, and questions we pose may or may not be pertaining to things we are currently working on, or will ever undertake. Sometimes, there are just technical limitations that make changing things difficult to impossible, and though we possess all manner of magic wands here, there are technological beasts out there that are beyond our grasp. Sometimes, we may not feel it is within the spirit and vision of the spiral to add or change something. Also, we realize that some of these topics may have been addressed before in other threads - sometimes it's good to pick up a discussion again. Chances are I have read your threads and would like to hear more!
“If the Mind is like a candle, the Heart is like the sun.”
Professor Falmea
My favourite part of Empyrea probably has to be the storyline. Out of all the things I was hyped about while waiting for the new update, the storyline was on that list. It was very cool, especially what happened in the cinematic close to the end.
Happy Friday! It's that time, it's this place, so let's talk some feedback!
This week, we'd like to talk about Empyrea (since we didn't last week). For KI Live, @MarissaIceBreath asked us - "You tried a lot of new things in Empyrea! Without story spoilers, what's your favorite "experiment" with Empyrea?". So, we'd like to ask everyone that's had a chance to check it out on Test Realm... what's your favorite part of Empyrea?
Have a spooky weekend everyone!
Standard disclaimer applies: We do not guarantee to use each and every idea submitted, and questions we pose may or may not be pertaining to things we are currently working on, or will ever undertake. Sometimes, there are just technical limitations that make changing things difficult to impossible, and though we possess all manner of magic wands here, there are technological beasts out there that are beyond our grasp. Sometimes, we may not feel it is within the spirit and vision of the spiral to add or change something. Also, we realize that some of these topics may have been addressed before in other threads - sometimes it's good to pick up a discussion again. Chances are I have read your threads and would like to hear more!
This is a huge spoiler so I’m not going to completely explain why I love this one part but I loved the surprise with the bat if you know what I mean
The cinematics. I know you were saying they're hard to do, but I'm hoping that you might at some point make a proper in-game cinematic for Sepidoious and the pod.
The only thing "new" I saw, and I completed the entire story line plus sides, were the 2 mini-games and honestly they could have used some explanation before hand, I managed to fail both before I even realized what was going on with them! They were a nice addition, I think most of miss the puzzle days for the first arc!
1. Khan dancng game I loved that scene where you have to make Khan dance because it's really fun and reminds me of the classic pet training games
2. Batman references There have been multiple Star Trek and Batman references but batman seems to be the most apparent like the bosses (poison oak=poison ivy, crazy qhat lady= catwomen, Dynt= Two face, Baaane-Bane, Penguin=The Penguin) the batcave reference and the bat himself are all good references.
3. The music The music is really good, the best music and the Zanadu main theme is just epic on it's own.
4. The collect quests since Khrysalis we haven't had a quest to collect random things lying around in areas so it's good to have those quests instead of DEFEAT and collect quests.
5. Beastman fight club This is a very challenging a fun yet annoying dungeon. I enjoyed farming gear multiple times...... but the fight club dungeon was unique and hopefully it will be updated in live realm.
The designers actually tried quite a few new things in Empyrea and I'll create a list of things I think work well and should continue going forward. Buckle up- this will be a long read.
Things that should be continued
1. Giving players a basic set of gear to start with- This is a relatively new concept that we have seen before with the Ravenwood graduation set. The difference is that this Empyrean set gives stats. While the stats offered aren't that great for anyone who crafts/farms they do offer something of note to the "casual" player that relies on mainline dropped or bazaar gear to quest. Going forward this gear set should be made with better balanced/more powerful stats so that it is useful to a larger segment of the player population.
2. Having mobs drop jewels and seeds at a high rate- This concept started in Mirage but Empyrea kicks it up a notch. Running through Empyrea you will gain pages upon pages of a variety of seeds-many of them useful. Simply running the main quest I gained an entire page of couch potatoes with some EMPs tossed in. This is a great way to encourage players to start gardening so they can reap the benefits of that activity. Empyrea also drops a TON of jewels, Where Mirage focused on square, circle and tear shaped jewel- Empyrea focuses on star shaped jewels. As such-pet jewels such as snipers, dealers and even spell-proof drop at an amazing rate- allowing more people access to pet jewels that previously were hidden behind jewel plants or rng jewel crafting. This pushed more people to level their pets to ultra so they can equip some of the jewels they receive.
3. Having 8 sets of "low tier" gear-If you have quested through Empyrea you will notice that you gain a variety of low tier gear that actually falls into neat little categories. The Interstellar "blank" gear drops throughout the world and belongs to one of 8 sets. Each school has their own set with a universal set. Each set is designated by a name(Storm is Interstellar "Navigator's" Set, Universal is Interstellar Officer's set etc). Not only does this allow for better organization while simultaneously reducing bloated loot tables, it also segways into another unique concept that I will explore below.
4. Using the dropped gear as a crafting requirement- Look at any of the new clothing recipes for Empyrea and you will notice that many pieces require a piece of low tier clothing outfit. Not only does this increase the value of low tier gear pieces, it also gives hardcore players a reason to return to fight mobs- Increasing the chances for player interaction and communication.
5. Having the top tier gear more easily accessible- If you have quested through Mirage you will have acquired at least one piece of the current top tier cabalist gear that is typically acquired via the beastman fight club. This accessibility is a great addition, ensuring that casual players can get the gear they need to compete without having to engage in content they don't enjoy. This also helps PvP as players can get the gear they need sooner. This is one of my favorite experiments KI is trying and I implore them to continue.
Lvl. 120
All the david Boeie and Star Trek Easter Eggs
but the fight club dungeon was unique and hopefully it will be updated in live realm.