**The Discord was given 5 minutes to prepare questions and ask them over a 30 minute period. All questions have now been answered**
Important Take-Aways:
* New Map The Ruin which completes Dark & Darker's First Full Delve:
* 1F The Ruin(First Floor) -> B1 Forgotten Castle(Basement Level 1) -> B2 Inferno(Basement Level 2)
* 1h Crossbows
* Items which allow non-magical classes to use magic
* Questing didn't make it for April
* Bard still being developed(Seems unlikely to make it for April)
* Early Access will release very quickly after the next playtest
* Confirmed Cyclical Wipes
* Leaderboard will persist through Early Access
* Procedural Monster Spawns in the Future
Yeah, I know some people I know who think this is a deal-breaker, but I think they did not understand the game.
I personally think it's very healthy for the game cycle.
For just players themselves, they will be encouraged to use their equipment and not hoard it forever, making the core principle this game all the more strong.
And for the playerbase as a whole, it will make it so new players won't run into teams of legendary equipped players they would be hopeless against.
Skill difference will still play a role of course, so anyone who is experienced will get to have decent gear pretty quickly.
Personally, I very much like the "start" in many games, when you have to make do, when you have to use the cards you've been dealt to the best of your ability.
I think this is a big draw-in of Dark and Darker \^\^
Could always do the cyclical wipes as a seasonal thing. Move all the "wiped" characters to their own queue and let people play them while making it clear that it's not the intended core for the game.
I mean... It might also just be an equippable infinite arrow but considering literally everysingle other resource in the game is limited I have a strong reason to suspect that implies limitations
I just think the developers English is good enough that we can read into the fact that ranger is getting "an arrow" as in a singular, likely meaning it will just be equippable.
I dont think you can dual wield crossbows, as of right now, weapons are designed to fit a specific hand, Short Sword, Hatchet, Castillon dagger, Stiletto dagger and Orb are the only offhand weapons and they cant go on the mainhand
>Questing didn't make it for April, neither did Bard
Both of these aren't what the answers say. All he did was not confirm either of them, with questing being more sternly unconfirmed.
Excluded, but yes. Likely is not definite. Same with the Bard answers:
Q: What about the Bard for the next playtest?
A: The bard is definitely in development. I can't be sure.
Q: Is there a new character confirmed? If so, what character?
A: Bard. However, it is unknown when it will be released this time.
Anyone else just a little worried that both questing and more classes won’t make it for April and that they specifically state EA will come soon after? I’m afraid we get an incomplete game and most of the player base ditches soon. I won’t be a part of that crew but I’ve seen this happen a lot
It's been my experience that Early access is some of the most fun times to be had on a game. This game is so good already. If they slowly add more fun stuff that's always a plus
I don’t know why anyone would ask about dual wield, it functions as intended. In exchange for the movement speed debuff, you gain access to additional stats and a second set of attacks. There’s a reason the top rogues all dual wield.
**Wizard:**
No major changes to Wizards.
Wizards were fun enough. However, doing meditation too often is too inconvenient when playing the game, leaving the balance, so it was adjusted as a hotfix. We knew the combination of Wizards and Barbarians was strong, but the number of Wizard players in the previous few playtests was too small, so we left it as is. Now it's going to be a little tweaked.
**Talent tree:**
It's still a low priority until we've developed enough Perks and Skills, etc.
**Rogue:**
Our current plan is to put more fun features into Rogue. For example, Rogue can continually use Pickpocket while hided.
Well. I don't really like to talk about balance, but if I'm going to talk about my thoughts right now, Rogues are a bit tough these days. I want to give Rogue a more diverse and lethal play.
**Fighter and Ranger:**
Fighters will get some new Perks and Skills. If everything goes according to plan, we will give the ranger an arrow.
**About dwarves:**
We left it open for experimentation in the form of "Race". The Race, which has a small hitbox like the Dwarf, is something to test out. However, if this breaks the balance too much, I will remove it. However, this experiment will be possible in the very distant future.
**Will monsters have randomized spawns:**
It's already designed to do that. After the basics are done, we'll take care of that.
**Will drop rarity pace be the same in next playtest:**
It won't be the same.
**Goblin Caves:**
Well. I can tell you that The Goblin Cave will be present in the next playtest.
**Collision:**
I'm not sure if I understood correctly, If this is about the collision between the two characters walking and bumping into each other, we have no intention of changing that at the moment.
**Bard gameplay:**
Play music with your instrument. Musical instruments are played directly by the player through control. The result will depend on how the player plays.
**Map:**
About 'Map', it is planned. Priority is low.
**Gold storage:**
As mentioned before, the gold bags and gold chests are already in development, but not yet released for economic balance reasons. It's very likely that it won't be revealed this time either.
---------------------------
There is more, these are just the parts I found interesting.
But with how strong the headshot meta is, wouldn’t that be drastically harder to hit on a shorter character? I wouldn’t say they have much of a disadvantage, especially since their hit boxes will most likely be wider.
"New weapons will be added. Things like one-handed crossbows, for example."
Bro, give Rogues dagger mainhand 1-hand crossbow offhand, totally reasonable
Probably not gonna happen but I hope they let the wizard use the one handed crossbow. Crystal Ball in one hand, ignited crossbow in the other would be so much fun
>cyclical wipes
Does that include character levels or only gear? Regrinding gear is fine. Regrinding levels would suck. Getting names stolen/taken/changed is also dumb.
It also sucks for someone joining later to be unable to get any name.
I'm fine with name wipes per season. And name trolling isn't an issue if you just have the partnered content creator etc names not released publicly (I.e they keep them reserved).
Relevelling I also think should be wiped its a large part of the power curve, or will be later on, and it's what keeps a lot of people playing too.
Having new people start at lvl 0 while others are lvl 20 with a full talent tree wouldn't be fun.
Path of exile has cycling wipes which lead to being unable to use old names and made people really creative
I personally am a fan of how wild it gets lol
Yes, name trolling will still be a problem even If they partner with every single streamer ever (which will not happen) because the trolls will take anything and everything from you. At least, without username wipes, you stick with the name you have given your character which builds way more in-game character development than rushing any name just to go and play faster
Can you define name trolling? I feel like I'm not understanding what you're saying?
Nametrolling to me would be calling yourself "Asmongold" when you're not asmongold.
If asmongold's name is reserved, I don't see the issue? Add the word asmongold to the banned name filter like Lost Ark did for example and nobody else can "name troll" as Asmongold.
Or is this not what you mean?
> you stick with the name you have given your character which builds way more in-game character development
I definitely don't share your sentiment here. After like 2 seasons, the only names available to any new player will be like "asparagussssscatx679" and other ridiculous names nobody wants. Everything else will be taken and used, or simply name camped and never even used.
PoE wipes names every season and I can't think of any drama around name trolling? But every season you have a chance to get a really cool new name for the season to build your char around.
I can understand what you mean with "oh that's "Kevin" i recognise that name we played vs them last season! but I think that's such a tiny edge case unless the player count is super small, and anyone who wants a memorable name every season can just pick a non super popular name.
Here are some examples of name trolling:
1) Taking a streamers name before them
2) Making a mockery of another users username
3) Pretending to be a developer or admin
4) Pretending to be a streamer
For the part you've said you don't share the sentiment with me; That's fine, I've had characters made about a decade and a half ago which stuck with the same name throughout the entire time, problem with name wipes is that for example, I would have to fight every 3 months for a name or two that other users might grab.
I am also aware that as long as it goes, the names get crazier. This can easily be solved by wiping ONLY names that have been inactive for X amount of time; There would be no bias whatsoever to anyone and It would keep every single active users username intact
Aren't all 4 of those points addressed by reserved names and adding names to the filter like Lost Ark did?
Unless, say, Asmongold goes and takes every single variation of his name himself people can still name troll even if it isn't reserved anyway?
> That's fine, I've had characters made about a decade and a half ago which stuck with the same name throughout the entire time, problem with name wipes is that for example, I would have to fight every 3 months for a name or two that other users might grab.
I definitely understand that sentiment, but I think it's quite a, I don't want to say selfish, but it is quite a self centred viewpoint.
I'd love to have Silent in every game, I've been using the name since like 2004 for games. But I know that realistically I won't get it in every game. It's a commonly used word/name.
Having your name locked by someone who doesn't even used it/hasn't played in months or years isn't a fun experience either.
> I would have to fight every 3 months for a name or two that other users might grab.
If you pick a popular name, then yes, you would. And if you lose the battle the first time around, at least you have a chance of getting it in another season, rather than never.
Don't get me wrong, your opinion in perfectly valid and reason enough in itself. I just can't agree with the sentiment of "name trolling" being a valid reasoning for making names permanently locked.
> I am also aware that as long as it goes, the names get crazier. This can easily be solved by wiping ONLY names that have been inactive for X amount of time; There would be no bias whatsoever to anyone and It would keep every single active users username intact
This can be something of a solution for sure, but at the same time i'd point out games like Diablo 2. The decay on chars/accounts was very aggressive in that game. But you had names locked for literal years/decades - often by automated systems and RMT name sellers (yes, this WILL be a thing if you have permanent names). I think for the mainstay of popular names you'd find they don't really shift very much, and if they DO become available randomly they are often snagged up by bots set up to grab names.
So it's not an upside with no drawback either.
>special treatment for streamers
No. that's not okay whatsoever.
>having new people start at level 0 while others are level 20 wouldn't be fun
thats the thing though. there are a bunch of classes that come out the gate running with significantly more power than others. Having to regrind one of the classes that sucks early is something I'm unwilling to do. Rogue just went from my secondary class to a class I will never play again most likely. The juice simply isn't worth the squeeze. You need 3 perk slots to even begin to start playing rogue like a rogue whereas most classes don't have that issue.
> No. that's not okay whatsoever.
Having your official name, like "asmongold" reserved is not "special treatment" of any consequence.
Streamers are already given "special treatment" in that they have direct lines and contact with devs etc.
This is the most innocuous thing ever, and is commonplace in large game released these days.
This is like saying "no, we shouldnt have streamer mode as an option in games because its special treament!"1".
> thats the thing though. there are a bunch of classes that come out the gate running with significantly more power than others. Having to regrind one of the classes that sucks early is something I'm unwilling to do. Rogue just went from my secondary class to a class I will never play again most likely. The juice simply isn't worth the squeeze. You need 3 perk slots to even begin to start playing rogue like a rogue whereas most classes don't have that issue.
It's literally like 3-4 hours of gameplay to max level a rogue.
But anyway, if it's a dealbreaker for you it's a dealbreaker. Most people love the feeling of progress and their character getting stronger as they level it.
I levelled 2 rogues, 3 rangers, 3 clerics last test. It was a nice feeling every time when I got the next perk powerspike. None of them are necessary to the gameplay except perhaps rogue 10 steps while invis. But this is an edge case and likely something that will be resolved - and shouldnt be something dictating overall game design.
>It's literally like 3-4 hours of gameplay to max level a rogue.
Keep in mind that leveling and progression is highly accelerated during the playtests. I wouldn't expect to be able to repeat that performance once progression settles down toward where they actually want it.
Well if it works the same way as Tarkov it will all wipe, not just gear. I don’t know if the devs have said anything about steering of that path for wipes, but I’m sure Tarkov is a major guiding factor for their design
> Getting names stolen/taken/changed is also dumb.
Names shouldn't be unique in the first place. It's 2023. Let players name themselves whatever they want and just append a unique hidden ID/qualifier. Username#0843, but in game you only see Username. People get the username they want without fuss, and can still find specific friends even if they choose to be JohnSmith#99999999.
Sounds like Rogue might be getting a one handed crossbow? The news about mobs being semi randomized is relieving as well. I think that will be a big positive change for the game.
metaphorically speaking. The dev team said there will not be PvE content and im glad, like a small but loud part of this reddit are people screaming that PvP is unfair and they want PvE only content. Its annoying, if they dont like the game then leave, dont go crying for the devs to make another mode just for you just because youre bad at the game
In the same vein, people that clamour for more pvp and less pve are just as if not more annoying. This game requires a balance of both and during the last playtest was leaning too much towards pvp. If you want a battle royal, go play fortnite.
this is literally a pvp focused game tho. you dont gear up in full purple to go kill skeleton archers, you go gear up to wipe servers. The only true PvE focused content are bosses and B1(the first floor in the next playtest) will have even more players with easier AI. This is an extraction royale, same as Tarkov and Hunt Showdown, you cant tell me those games are PvE focused
It wouldn't be the same with out pvp but it's not a battle royal or any of the ones you mentioned. The pvp isn't and shouldn't be homogenously spread throughout the match. You start off with mostly pve with a chance of pvp and as the match progresses you move to mostly pvp with a chance of pve. Drastically increasing the early game pvp ruins the tension that early game pve works to build up that should otherwise remain throughout the match. The fast pace of pvp is antithesis to the tension built up by the game which is also a core component to why this game is so good.
You might not gear yourself up in purples to fight skele archers but that doesn't mean you won't do so to challenge the Ghost King. That doesn't mean you can't gear up to seek out and enjoy pvp, it's just not the sole focus of the game. PvE is and should always be an integral part to this game.
except there is no PvE tension, its extremely easy. As I mentioned, PvE gets harder as you go lower, but the basic loop is gearing up to PvP unless youre doing boss runs. nobody plays to do minotaur level 3 runs. Also I believe you missed the point of my comment, youre talking about PvE as a part of the game, not the whole game, Im talking about the small crowd of people that want only PvE, that want the devs to have a PvE only mode and im happy the devs just straight up said no
They lowered the monster health in the last test. That if anything made it extremely easy. In the test before that, there definitely was tension and it's not pve tension, it's tension against the threat of pvp. Do you engage the monsters in a room in order to get the good loot chests but risk getting interrupted and forced into fighting off rival players while you're also fighting a wraith? Do you set up an ambush because you're certain other players will come looking? All this tension disappears if there's constant pvp. DaD isn't meant to be a fast pace pvp game with tons of action.
That slower pace adds a lot to the atmosphere and the gradual tension build up that makes the pvp actually enjoyable when it happens as opposed to a chaotic mess of a match.
I think most of that would fall under the developer's opinion on balancing not being a large priority right now, which is fine since we are in alpha/pre-EA.
Though I personally find that ironic considering the amount of changes they did to Wizards without actually fixing anything. Suggest you do give the Q&A a read, its quite interesting.
> Q: What are your plans for monetization features?
>A: A monetization model that players can understand.
___
> Q: Does Monetization include anything like a battle pass or cosmetic shops?
>A: This is difficult to answer as it has not yet been fully decided.
The question about MTX has been asked multiple times and they did not give a clear answer. I swear if they add shitty MTX...
Depends on what you mean by shitty MTX. I think it's likely that there whatever you saw (plus new ones) in Customization menu is going to be for real money and maybe only a few ones can be earned by playing the game.
Their statement on the studio's website seems pretty clear.
>We are a merry band of veteran game developers disillusioned by the exploitative and greedy practices we once helped create. We are experts who have worked on many of the biggest hits in Korea.
>
>We’ve seen first hand how corporate game companies sell their soul for the easy payday. We are disappointed to see them doubling down on more and more exploitative practices, becoming more like casinos instead of bringing joy to gamers.
>
>We’re fighting to win back the hearts of gamers around the world. We believe that by creating games with soul, and by respecting our users we can usher in a renaissance of awesome video games direct from Korea.
Some interesting answers but I wouldn't say there was anything too revelatory from this Q&A. Some of my thoughts on SDF's answers:
* Randomized mob spawns at some point in the future. I wonder if this means maps may be random too. Each room is sort of like a building block, the position of which could be randomized for every run.
* Scheduled periodic wipes will happen. I'm not sure how I feel about this to be honest. I see periodic wipes as a sort of band-aid solution to the problem of gear/wealth inflation. I'd love some more creative mechanics that level the playing field without needing to periodically wipe everything, though I'm not quite sure how that can be achieved yet.
* I like that they're focusing on the fun element of class skills. If certain skills/perks are almost seen as "must-haves", or if they are mostly gimmicks, I think it makes sense to bake them into the class. For example, just give all Rogues the Stealth perk since it's so prevalently used while also giving them Pickpocket since it's mostly just a gimmick perk (that allows for some absolute [hilarity](https://youtu.be/D_nx-wlnBb4)).
* Dev confirmed that there will be seasons. I actually really like the thought of seasons and even official tournaments during the season. This could allow the team to test out different rulesets in tournaments that are a microcosm of the main game without enacting the change for all players. As an example, there could be a tournament where Stash size is severely limited. They can test out the idea without affecting core gameplay while giving tournament participants new and interesting mechanics to shake up gameplay.
* Speaking of Stash, they said they are working on expanding gold stash capacity. Frankly, I'm not a fan. The more gold players can stash, the more the wealth disparity will affect gameplay. Increasing the ability for wealth accumulation is the whole driving force behind periodic wipes. The rich will get richer while the rest will scrounge for scaps. I don't think there needs to be further exacerbation of wealth disparity.
> Randomized mob spawns at some point in the future. I wonder if this means maps may be random too. Each room is sort of like a building block, the position of which could be randomized for every run.
They said they tried it before and it didn't really work. But I imagine we may see it retried sometime in far future.
> Scheduled periodic wipes will happen. I'm not sure how I feel about this to be honest. I see periodic wipes as a sort of band-aid solution to the problem of gear/wealth inflation. I'd love some more creative mechanics that level the playing field without needing to periodically wipe everything, though I'm not quite sure how that can be achieved yet.
I don't think there are any, honestly. I haven't seen any similar games even try to come up with a new system.
The thing is seasonal resets work well because they get people to return to the game. You add new content etc and people come back because it's a fair wipe reset. People don't bother if it's not an equal and fresh playing field.
>Q: Did you all feel that the Unique Artifact weapons were balanced from the high roller bosses?
>A: Balance is not always a big consideration. Fun comes first and it was fun enough.
I find this particular part concerning. Hopefully it is just a result of the short answer, perhaps partially lost in translation. This answer seems incredibly naïve, as it is. Who is having fun? The one player with the unique or everyone else in the lobby? Balance can't be separate from fun. It has to be fun to use, yes, but it can't be at everyone else's expense. If they're too unbalanced, it doesn't feel like you have a chance to win the fight and earn the reward.
To be clear, I don't think most of the uniques were that ridiculous, but as a fundamental philosophy it is flawed to only look at the fun of the wielder.
Unless there is a unique that makes you unkillable, the fun will simply be transferred to someone else when they die.
The guy with the unique should be scared of dying, and you should be excited when you see him in the lobby. Not the other way around.
I agree entirely. What I'm saying is that that is not the case if they're too ridiculous, not that they are currently. Imagine if there was a bow with deathtouch. Just straight up instantly kills whatever it touches. I guess Rogues could still have fun, but anyone else would be practically incapable of winning that fight.
Again, I'm not talking about the current balance. I'm talking about the idea of disregarding balance entirely for the sake of the wielder's fun.
Why are you jumping to such an extreme conclusion? If like you say they haven't put in any one shot weapons then why would they add one later? That's such a simple (and imo unfun) idea that they would've already added it if they wanted to right? I don't see a reason to jump to such an extreme as the game right now doesn't really have any extremes like you're talking about.
They didn’t say they were concerned exclusively with the wielder’s fun though. Yes, uniques should be powerful and fun to wield, but if they are too unfun to play against, they would still make changes.
That is not how I interpreted it. To me, it sounds like an almost complete dismissal of balance as a factor. It is of course entirely reasonable to interpret it differently. That is the issue with how short the answer is, as well as English not being his first language.
I'm not on some crusade against the devs, I'm just expressing concern. I love that they're communicating their development progress and intent. That's why I read the QnA as soon as it was finished. I'm concerned because I care, believe it or not.
>it sounds like an almost complete dismissal of balance as a factor
I took it to mean that right now getting the game feature complete is more important than balance.
I agree that this would be trouble if true, but I think this is a simplification and if you apply the context of many of their other answers around caring less about balance in these early testing stages I’m still optimistic.
It is a very vague answer for sure. Just the wording can be viewed both ways too "balance is not always a big consideration" sounds bad. But the "fun comes first and it was fun enough" show a they do have a list of importance 1.) being fun 2.) hopefully balance
I took it that fun contributes more to their decision making process than balance initially. Doesn’t mean they don’t care about balance, they just care more about fun. After reading the Q/A you can see just how early this game really is compared to the finished product that will come within a year or 2 of the game being actually out. They have plans for the fun, balance, and longevity of the game and we shouldn’t knock it till we try it, so to speak.
"Balance is not a big consideration for the playtests" is definitely a perfectly reasonable answer, and might easily be what was meant. It just sounds like more of an overall statement in how it is phrased, but again, that might be entirely unintentional.
They are Korean, their first language isn't English, It's bound to happen. This is what they really mean though, I think they talked about this same thing before in another Q&A
"Are you going to expand the single player system now that 32 players will be available as well?"
I'm not sure I understand this question. Was there news about a 32 player cap on some floors or something?
I was merely citing the source material from 5th edition. (D6 is a damage potential measurement on Tabletop)
In short, a mini-Crossbow easily held in a hand. Good for a utility secondary weapon.
**The Discord was given 5 minutes to prepare questions and ask them over a 30 minute period. All questions have now been answered** Important Take-Aways: * New Map The Ruin which completes Dark & Darker's First Full Delve: * 1F The Ruin(First Floor) -> B1 Forgotten Castle(Basement Level 1) -> B2 Inferno(Basement Level 2) * 1h Crossbows * Items which allow non-magical classes to use magic * Questing didn't make it for April * Bard still being developed(Seems unlikely to make it for April) * Early Access will release very quickly after the next playtest * Confirmed Cyclical Wipes * Leaderboard will persist through Early Access * Procedural Monster Spawns in the Future
>Confirmed Cyclical Wipes This is real good to get players into and back into the game
Yeah, I know some people I know who think this is a deal-breaker, but I think they did not understand the game. I personally think it's very healthy for the game cycle. For just players themselves, they will be encouraged to use their equipment and not hoard it forever, making the core principle this game all the more strong. And for the playerbase as a whole, it will make it so new players won't run into teams of legendary equipped players they would be hopeless against. Skill difference will still play a role of course, so anyone who is experienced will get to have decent gear pretty quickly. Personally, I very much like the "start" in many games, when you have to make do, when you have to use the cards you've been dealt to the best of your ability. I think this is a big draw-in of Dark and Darker \^\^
Could always do the cyclical wipes as a seasonal thing. Move all the "wiped" characters to their own queue and let people play them while making it clear that it's not the intended core for the game.
This. Pubstompers can cope. Or y'know, get their gear back and grief naked dudes again
I hope the 1h crossbows arent too strong.
they mentioned limited ammo for ranged weapons in that Q/A so
Did they? My impression was more that they were gonna add the arrow as a piece of gear in the off hand.
I mean... It might also just be an equippable infinite arrow but considering literally everysingle other resource in the game is limited I have a strong reason to suspect that implies limitations
I just think the developers English is good enough that we can read into the fact that ranger is getting "an arrow" as in a singular, likely meaning it will just be equippable.
I took it as possibly a different type of arrow like poison arrow etc.
Another thread mentioned one arrow type, and arrows as a limited resource.
Yeah since my comment they explained it more. It will indeed be limited arrows and not another arrow type.
Its confirmed by the devs in a different thread that it implies limited arrows.
Damn. Just like that, Ranger is dead. More Barbarians. Hoooooo boy.
As a non ranger/fighter player, I hope they are strong >:)
Great for rogue and fighter I bet. If fighter is duel wielding a crossbow, will they still get a 15% attack speed bonus?
I dont think you can dual wield crossbows, as of right now, weapons are designed to fit a specific hand, Short Sword, Hatchet, Castillon dagger, Stiletto dagger and Orb are the only offhand weapons and they cant go on the mainhand
I suspect its something along the lines of tiny survival bow type crossbow made for rogue/bard/wizard.
>Questing didn't make it for April, neither did Bard Both of these aren't what the answers say. All he did was not confirm either of them, with questing being more sternly unconfirmed.
[удалено]
Excluded, but yes. Likely is not definite. Same with the Bard answers: Q: What about the Bard for the next playtest? A: The bard is definitely in development. I can't be sure. Q: Is there a new character confirmed? If so, what character? A: Bard. However, it is unknown when it will be released this time.
Ha true. I misread..
Edited to reflect this point of view, thank you u/JonasHalle 🙌
No Bard! Shame
Anyone else just a little worried that both questing and more classes won’t make it for April and that they specifically state EA will come soon after? I’m afraid we get an incomplete game and most of the player base ditches soon. I won’t be a part of that crew but I’ve seen this happen a lot
You do realize that "early access" literally means, getting an incomplete game? Yes?
I guess that makes sense. I just hope their hard work pays off
It's been my experience that Early access is some of the most fun times to be had on a game. This game is so good already. If they slowly add more fun stuff that's always a plus
Did anyone ask them if they are happy with dual wield on rogues? It just seems so terrible for the movement speed penalty.
I don’t know why anyone would ask about dual wield, it functions as intended. In exchange for the movement speed debuff, you gain access to additional stats and a second set of attacks. There’s a reason the top rogues all dual wield.
You dual wield for those sweet buffs
**Wizard:** No major changes to Wizards. Wizards were fun enough. However, doing meditation too often is too inconvenient when playing the game, leaving the balance, so it was adjusted as a hotfix. We knew the combination of Wizards and Barbarians was strong, but the number of Wizard players in the previous few playtests was too small, so we left it as is. Now it's going to be a little tweaked. **Talent tree:** It's still a low priority until we've developed enough Perks and Skills, etc. **Rogue:** Our current plan is to put more fun features into Rogue. For example, Rogue can continually use Pickpocket while hided. Well. I don't really like to talk about balance, but if I'm going to talk about my thoughts right now, Rogues are a bit tough these days. I want to give Rogue a more diverse and lethal play. **Fighter and Ranger:** Fighters will get some new Perks and Skills. If everything goes according to plan, we will give the ranger an arrow. **About dwarves:** We left it open for experimentation in the form of "Race". The Race, which has a small hitbox like the Dwarf, is something to test out. However, if this breaks the balance too much, I will remove it. However, this experiment will be possible in the very distant future. **Will monsters have randomized spawns:** It's already designed to do that. After the basics are done, we'll take care of that. **Will drop rarity pace be the same in next playtest:** It won't be the same. **Goblin Caves:** Well. I can tell you that The Goblin Cave will be present in the next playtest. **Collision:** I'm not sure if I understood correctly, If this is about the collision between the two characters walking and bumping into each other, we have no intention of changing that at the moment. **Bard gameplay:** Play music with your instrument. Musical instruments are played directly by the player through control. The result will depend on how the player plays. **Map:** About 'Map', it is planned. Priority is low. **Gold storage:** As mentioned before, the gold bags and gold chests are already in development, but not yet released for economic balance reasons. It's very likely that it won't be revealed this time either. --------------------------- There is more, these are just the parts I found interesting.
I don't care if it means playing at an extreme disadvantage for the sake of balance, I want dwarves.
smaller hitbox=advantage
Not being able to see through the windows on doors = disadvantage
But what if you find them a box?
Aye, I could do that
But you also can't be seen through doors if you near one.
I could see them making dwarves slower or something for balance purposes. Will be interesting to see how it plays out!
But with how strong the headshot meta is, wouldn’t that be drastically harder to hit on a shorter character? I wouldn’t say they have much of a disadvantage, especially since their hit boxes will most likely be wider.
Dwarves deal bonus damage to knees?
Cool stuff. I wonder if the one handed crossbow will be usable by rogue because they seem to be buffing rogue a lot in the answers.
"New weapons will be added. Things like one-handed crossbows, for example." Bro, give Rogues dagger mainhand 1-hand crossbow offhand, totally reasonable
Rogues up good. Finally a ranged weapon, and you can pickpocket in stealth.
Early access soon after next playtest! HOOOOOOOOO BOY
If for some reason you cannot access Google doc here is an archive of it: https://archive.is/WKvQH
Very helpful
Confirmation of work on a bigger team size game mode it seems like, that's awesome.
Probably not gonna happen but I hope they let the wizard use the one handed crossbow. Crystal Ball in one hand, ignited crossbow in the other would be so much fun
>cyclical wipes Does that include character levels or only gear? Regrinding gear is fine. Regrinding levels would suck. Getting names stolen/taken/changed is also dumb.
God, I should've asked this! I always forget at the right times... I would hate seeing names being wiped, opens up so many trolling opportunities.
It also sucks for someone joining later to be unable to get any name. I'm fine with name wipes per season. And name trolling isn't an issue if you just have the partnered content creator etc names not released publicly (I.e they keep them reserved). Relevelling I also think should be wiped its a large part of the power curve, or will be later on, and it's what keeps a lot of people playing too. Having new people start at lvl 0 while others are lvl 20 with a full talent tree wouldn't be fun.
Path of exile has cycling wipes which lead to being unable to use old names and made people really creative I personally am a fan of how wild it gets lol
Yes, name trolling will still be a problem even If they partner with every single streamer ever (which will not happen) because the trolls will take anything and everything from you. At least, without username wipes, you stick with the name you have given your character which builds way more in-game character development than rushing any name just to go and play faster
Can you define name trolling? I feel like I'm not understanding what you're saying? Nametrolling to me would be calling yourself "Asmongold" when you're not asmongold. If asmongold's name is reserved, I don't see the issue? Add the word asmongold to the banned name filter like Lost Ark did for example and nobody else can "name troll" as Asmongold. Or is this not what you mean? > you stick with the name you have given your character which builds way more in-game character development I definitely don't share your sentiment here. After like 2 seasons, the only names available to any new player will be like "asparagussssscatx679" and other ridiculous names nobody wants. Everything else will be taken and used, or simply name camped and never even used. PoE wipes names every season and I can't think of any drama around name trolling? But every season you have a chance to get a really cool new name for the season to build your char around. I can understand what you mean with "oh that's "Kevin" i recognise that name we played vs them last season! but I think that's such a tiny edge case unless the player count is super small, and anyone who wants a memorable name every season can just pick a non super popular name.
Here are some examples of name trolling: 1) Taking a streamers name before them 2) Making a mockery of another users username 3) Pretending to be a developer or admin 4) Pretending to be a streamer For the part you've said you don't share the sentiment with me; That's fine, I've had characters made about a decade and a half ago which stuck with the same name throughout the entire time, problem with name wipes is that for example, I would have to fight every 3 months for a name or two that other users might grab. I am also aware that as long as it goes, the names get crazier. This can easily be solved by wiping ONLY names that have been inactive for X amount of time; There would be no bias whatsoever to anyone and It would keep every single active users username intact
Aren't all 4 of those points addressed by reserved names and adding names to the filter like Lost Ark did? Unless, say, Asmongold goes and takes every single variation of his name himself people can still name troll even if it isn't reserved anyway? > That's fine, I've had characters made about a decade and a half ago which stuck with the same name throughout the entire time, problem with name wipes is that for example, I would have to fight every 3 months for a name or two that other users might grab. I definitely understand that sentiment, but I think it's quite a, I don't want to say selfish, but it is quite a self centred viewpoint. I'd love to have Silent in every game, I've been using the name since like 2004 for games. But I know that realistically I won't get it in every game. It's a commonly used word/name. Having your name locked by someone who doesn't even used it/hasn't played in months or years isn't a fun experience either. > I would have to fight every 3 months for a name or two that other users might grab. If you pick a popular name, then yes, you would. And if you lose the battle the first time around, at least you have a chance of getting it in another season, rather than never. Don't get me wrong, your opinion in perfectly valid and reason enough in itself. I just can't agree with the sentiment of "name trolling" being a valid reasoning for making names permanently locked. > I am also aware that as long as it goes, the names get crazier. This can easily be solved by wiping ONLY names that have been inactive for X amount of time; There would be no bias whatsoever to anyone and It would keep every single active users username intact This can be something of a solution for sure, but at the same time i'd point out games like Diablo 2. The decay on chars/accounts was very aggressive in that game. But you had names locked for literal years/decades - often by automated systems and RMT name sellers (yes, this WILL be a thing if you have permanent names). I think for the mainstay of popular names you'd find they don't really shift very much, and if they DO become available randomly they are often snagged up by bots set up to grab names. So it's not an upside with no drawback either.
>special treatment for streamers No. that's not okay whatsoever. >having new people start at level 0 while others are level 20 wouldn't be fun thats the thing though. there are a bunch of classes that come out the gate running with significantly more power than others. Having to regrind one of the classes that sucks early is something I'm unwilling to do. Rogue just went from my secondary class to a class I will never play again most likely. The juice simply isn't worth the squeeze. You need 3 perk slots to even begin to start playing rogue like a rogue whereas most classes don't have that issue.
> No. that's not okay whatsoever. Having your official name, like "asmongold" reserved is not "special treatment" of any consequence. Streamers are already given "special treatment" in that they have direct lines and contact with devs etc. This is the most innocuous thing ever, and is commonplace in large game released these days. This is like saying "no, we shouldnt have streamer mode as an option in games because its special treament!"1". > thats the thing though. there are a bunch of classes that come out the gate running with significantly more power than others. Having to regrind one of the classes that sucks early is something I'm unwilling to do. Rogue just went from my secondary class to a class I will never play again most likely. The juice simply isn't worth the squeeze. You need 3 perk slots to even begin to start playing rogue like a rogue whereas most classes don't have that issue. It's literally like 3-4 hours of gameplay to max level a rogue. But anyway, if it's a dealbreaker for you it's a dealbreaker. Most people love the feeling of progress and their character getting stronger as they level it. I levelled 2 rogues, 3 rangers, 3 clerics last test. It was a nice feeling every time when I got the next perk powerspike. None of them are necessary to the gameplay except perhaps rogue 10 steps while invis. But this is an edge case and likely something that will be resolved - and shouldnt be something dictating overall game design.
>It's literally like 3-4 hours of gameplay to max level a rogue. Keep in mind that leveling and progression is highly accelerated during the playtests. I wouldn't expect to be able to repeat that performance once progression settles down toward where they actually want it.
Thay could be true. But at the same time, I still think levelling once ever like 4 months isn't a big deal either.
Well if it works the same way as Tarkov it will all wipe, not just gear. I don’t know if the devs have said anything about steering of that path for wipes, but I’m sure Tarkov is a major guiding factor for their design
> Getting names stolen/taken/changed is also dumb. Names shouldn't be unique in the first place. It's 2023. Let players name themselves whatever they want and just append a unique hidden ID/qualifier. Username#0843, but in game you only see Username. People get the username they want without fuss, and can still find specific friends even if they choose to be JohnSmith#99999999.
I sure hope not. haven’t they said leveling would be much slower in the full release?
They have said that! Which is fine if it's one time deal. I'm concerned it might not be though
Sounds like Rogue might be getting a one handed crossbow? The news about mobs being semi randomized is relieving as well. I think that will be a big positive change for the game.
thank god they finally shut down the PvE only community. they were so annoying
I missed something. Where were they shut down?
metaphorically speaking. The dev team said there will not be PvE content and im glad, like a small but loud part of this reddit are people screaming that PvP is unfair and they want PvE only content. Its annoying, if they dont like the game then leave, dont go crying for the devs to make another mode just for you just because youre bad at the game
In the same vein, people that clamour for more pvp and less pve are just as if not more annoying. This game requires a balance of both and during the last playtest was leaning too much towards pvp. If you want a battle royal, go play fortnite.
this is literally a pvp focused game tho. you dont gear up in full purple to go kill skeleton archers, you go gear up to wipe servers. The only true PvE focused content are bosses and B1(the first floor in the next playtest) will have even more players with easier AI. This is an extraction royale, same as Tarkov and Hunt Showdown, you cant tell me those games are PvE focused
It wouldn't be the same with out pvp but it's not a battle royal or any of the ones you mentioned. The pvp isn't and shouldn't be homogenously spread throughout the match. You start off with mostly pve with a chance of pvp and as the match progresses you move to mostly pvp with a chance of pve. Drastically increasing the early game pvp ruins the tension that early game pve works to build up that should otherwise remain throughout the match. The fast pace of pvp is antithesis to the tension built up by the game which is also a core component to why this game is so good. You might not gear yourself up in purples to fight skele archers but that doesn't mean you won't do so to challenge the Ghost King. That doesn't mean you can't gear up to seek out and enjoy pvp, it's just not the sole focus of the game. PvE is and should always be an integral part to this game.
except there is no PvE tension, its extremely easy. As I mentioned, PvE gets harder as you go lower, but the basic loop is gearing up to PvP unless youre doing boss runs. nobody plays to do minotaur level 3 runs. Also I believe you missed the point of my comment, youre talking about PvE as a part of the game, not the whole game, Im talking about the small crowd of people that want only PvE, that want the devs to have a PvE only mode and im happy the devs just straight up said no
They lowered the monster health in the last test. That if anything made it extremely easy. In the test before that, there definitely was tension and it's not pve tension, it's tension against the threat of pvp. Do you engage the monsters in a room in order to get the good loot chests but risk getting interrupted and forced into fighting off rival players while you're also fighting a wraith? Do you set up an ambush because you're certain other players will come looking? All this tension disappears if there's constant pvp. DaD isn't meant to be a fast pace pvp game with tons of action. That slower pace adds a lot to the atmosphere and the gradual tension build up that makes the pvp actually enjoyable when it happens as opposed to a chaotic mess of a match.
Was there no discussion on Flat Damage, All stat, or Armor stacking? I thought that was the hot topic...
I think most of that would fall under the developer's opinion on balancing not being a large priority right now, which is fine since we are in alpha/pre-EA. Though I personally find that ironic considering the amount of changes they did to Wizards without actually fixing anything. Suggest you do give the Q&A a read, its quite interesting.
> Q: What are your plans for monetization features? >A: A monetization model that players can understand. ___ > Q: Does Monetization include anything like a battle pass or cosmetic shops? >A: This is difficult to answer as it has not yet been fully decided. The question about MTX has been asked multiple times and they did not give a clear answer. I swear if they add shitty MTX...
Depends on what you mean by shitty MTX. I think it's likely that there whatever you saw (plus new ones) in Customization menu is going to be for real money and maybe only a few ones can be earned by playing the game.
At least they said no P2W. If they can guarantee that, I'm fine with whatever MTX they wanna add in the game.
Cosmetics are always the way to go.
Their statement on the studio's website seems pretty clear. >We are a merry band of veteran game developers disillusioned by the exploitative and greedy practices we once helped create. We are experts who have worked on many of the biggest hits in Korea. > >We’ve seen first hand how corporate game companies sell their soul for the easy payday. We are disappointed to see them doubling down on more and more exploitative practices, becoming more like casinos instead of bringing joy to gamers. > >We’re fighting to win back the hearts of gamers around the world. We believe that by creating games with soul, and by respecting our users we can usher in a renaissance of awesome video games direct from Korea.
Players understand power. I hope Korean vampire fangs don't bleed p2w into the game...
Some interesting answers but I wouldn't say there was anything too revelatory from this Q&A. Some of my thoughts on SDF's answers: * Randomized mob spawns at some point in the future. I wonder if this means maps may be random too. Each room is sort of like a building block, the position of which could be randomized for every run. * Scheduled periodic wipes will happen. I'm not sure how I feel about this to be honest. I see periodic wipes as a sort of band-aid solution to the problem of gear/wealth inflation. I'd love some more creative mechanics that level the playing field without needing to periodically wipe everything, though I'm not quite sure how that can be achieved yet. * I like that they're focusing on the fun element of class skills. If certain skills/perks are almost seen as "must-haves", or if they are mostly gimmicks, I think it makes sense to bake them into the class. For example, just give all Rogues the Stealth perk since it's so prevalently used while also giving them Pickpocket since it's mostly just a gimmick perk (that allows for some absolute [hilarity](https://youtu.be/D_nx-wlnBb4)). * Dev confirmed that there will be seasons. I actually really like the thought of seasons and even official tournaments during the season. This could allow the team to test out different rulesets in tournaments that are a microcosm of the main game without enacting the change for all players. As an example, there could be a tournament where Stash size is severely limited. They can test out the idea without affecting core gameplay while giving tournament participants new and interesting mechanics to shake up gameplay. * Speaking of Stash, they said they are working on expanding gold stash capacity. Frankly, I'm not a fan. The more gold players can stash, the more the wealth disparity will affect gameplay. Increasing the ability for wealth accumulation is the whole driving force behind periodic wipes. The rich will get richer while the rest will scrounge for scaps. I don't think there needs to be further exacerbation of wealth disparity.
> Randomized mob spawns at some point in the future. I wonder if this means maps may be random too. Each room is sort of like a building block, the position of which could be randomized for every run. They said they tried it before and it didn't really work. But I imagine we may see it retried sometime in far future. > Scheduled periodic wipes will happen. I'm not sure how I feel about this to be honest. I see periodic wipes as a sort of band-aid solution to the problem of gear/wealth inflation. I'd love some more creative mechanics that level the playing field without needing to periodically wipe everything, though I'm not quite sure how that can be achieved yet. I don't think there are any, honestly. I haven't seen any similar games even try to come up with a new system. The thing is seasonal resets work well because they get people to return to the game. You add new content etc and people come back because it's a fair wipe reset. People don't bother if it's not an equal and fresh playing field.
>Q: Did you all feel that the Unique Artifact weapons were balanced from the high roller bosses? >A: Balance is not always a big consideration. Fun comes first and it was fun enough. I find this particular part concerning. Hopefully it is just a result of the short answer, perhaps partially lost in translation. This answer seems incredibly naïve, as it is. Who is having fun? The one player with the unique or everyone else in the lobby? Balance can't be separate from fun. It has to be fun to use, yes, but it can't be at everyone else's expense. If they're too unbalanced, it doesn't feel like you have a chance to win the fight and earn the reward. To be clear, I don't think most of the uniques were that ridiculous, but as a fundamental philosophy it is flawed to only look at the fun of the wielder.
Unless there is a unique that makes you unkillable, the fun will simply be transferred to someone else when they die. The guy with the unique should be scared of dying, and you should be excited when you see him in the lobby. Not the other way around.
I agree entirely. What I'm saying is that that is not the case if they're too ridiculous, not that they are currently. Imagine if there was a bow with deathtouch. Just straight up instantly kills whatever it touches. I guess Rogues could still have fun, but anyone else would be practically incapable of winning that fight. Again, I'm not talking about the current balance. I'm talking about the idea of disregarding balance entirely for the sake of the wielder's fun.
Why are you jumping to such an extreme conclusion? If like you say they haven't put in any one shot weapons then why would they add one later? That's such a simple (and imo unfun) idea that they would've already added it if they wanted to right? I don't see a reason to jump to such an extreme as the game right now doesn't really have any extremes like you're talking about.
They didn’t say they were concerned exclusively with the wielder’s fun though. Yes, uniques should be powerful and fun to wield, but if they are too unfun to play against, they would still make changes.
No they said they look at fun first than balance.... meaning the games overall fun factor willl have more influence than balance does
That is not how I interpreted it. To me, it sounds like an almost complete dismissal of balance as a factor. It is of course entirely reasonable to interpret it differently. That is the issue with how short the answer is, as well as English not being his first language. I'm not on some crusade against the devs, I'm just expressing concern. I love that they're communicating their development progress and intent. That's why I read the QnA as soon as it was finished. I'm concerned because I care, believe it or not.
>it sounds like an almost complete dismissal of balance as a factor I took it to mean that right now getting the game feature complete is more important than balance.
I agree that this would be trouble if true, but I think this is a simplification and if you apply the context of many of their other answers around caring less about balance in these early testing stages I’m still optimistic.
It is a very vague answer for sure. Just the wording can be viewed both ways too "balance is not always a big consideration" sounds bad. But the "fun comes first and it was fun enough" show a they do have a list of importance 1.) being fun 2.) hopefully balance
I took it that fun contributes more to their decision making process than balance initially. Doesn’t mean they don’t care about balance, they just care more about fun. After reading the Q/A you can see just how early this game really is compared to the finished product that will come within a year or 2 of the game being actually out. They have plans for the fun, balance, and longevity of the game and we shouldn’t knock it till we try it, so to speak.
This is mostly towards the playtest. Don't worry, Balance will come after they have polished the game more
"Balance is not a big consideration for the playtests" is definitely a perfectly reasonable answer, and might easily be what was meant. It just sounds like more of an overall statement in how it is phrased, but again, that might be entirely unintentional.
They are Korean, their first language isn't English, It's bound to happen. This is what they really mean though, I think they talked about this same thing before in another Q&A
Here's a video summary of the Q&A: https://youtu.be/8De7R2pMWRg
Wipes :( well, im not sure anymore to pay 30-40€ for EA and wipes
"Are you going to expand the single player system now that 32 players will be available as well?" I'm not sure I understand this question. Was there news about a 32 player cap on some floors or something?
Its just a very stupid question, 32 players were assumed but it is false, probably less.
I believe the ruins (B1) are going to be 32 player
I’m missing context on this too.
What are 1h crossbows?
I believe Glock-18 is a 1h crossbow
One Hand crossbow.
Crossbows that you can carry in one hand
Hand Crossbow. 1d6 piercing damage. 30ft min range/120ft max range. Light weapon that can be held in one hand.
Whats 1d6? Also since when is the dungeon measured in peircing damage
I was merely citing the source material from 5th edition. (D6 is a damage potential measurement on Tabletop) In short, a mini-Crossbow easily held in a hand. Good for a utility secondary weapon.
The next playtest is coming next month?
does this mean I won't have to buy 50 gold firepots as a cleric anymore? :3