NaturallyMaria
Ebil Empress
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On the new player side, I think one of the biggest factors in staleness is the lack of new LOOKING mechas at lower levels.
For NSC players (which includes ALL new players...), once you're done with the Newbatron, you progress to either the House mecha, the Fastflash, or to the prize of whichever Soluna job you chose first. For the next several levels, from about levels 10-19, hardly anything new is introduced, and the new ones are generally so weak that your level 12/13 choice is better. An upgraded version of the same Valkyrie/Werewolf/Mecharoni you already have is hardly exciting, and if you didn't like the last version, chances are you won't be thrilled about something that looks exactly the same. Things get much better around 20, but by then, potential new players are already lost.
Let's break this down level by level-
5-
Newbatron- The obvious choice for everyone landing in Soluna. Nothing else to say, really.
Ghost Hunter- Is this a joke? It would be nice to actually be able to GET this before level 20 or so...
6-
Feral Werewolf- ...
House Mecha- The ONLY good choice for EVERYONE at this level. Great, if you picked a house you like. Since you don't get to see the mechas before choosing your house though, it's kind of a shot in the dark for newbies.
7-
Fastflash- The lack of shoulder slots sucks, but the arms only have 1 CD, so it's not a big deal. On one hand, it's the first interesting-looking mecha that you can get, and pretty cool in that sense. On the other hand, you have to actually know it's on Zargon. A new player has no reason to randomly fly to Zargon, especially at such a low level. Might as well not even exist for now.
8-
Police Mecha- A good solid choice. It feels like a beginner mech, a perfect introduction for anyone who wants to be a true soldier later on.
Deluxe Mecharoni- Another solid choice. It looks a little silly, good for players who prefer a light-hearted game, but its power level is about on par with the Police Mecha. It would be a great choice, if it wasn't for...
Extra Sauce Mecharoni- It's a level 13 mecha, made available at level 8. Totally and completely breaks the game, and is the ONLY mecha worth using until... uh... Well, until you unlock the real level 13 Mecharoni, which should be level 18... >_>
9-
Rabid Werewolf- The final prize for the police missions, interesting because it's the first defensive mecha. I think it looks terrible, personally, but I know others like it. Would be a great choice, if the Mecharoni didn't exist.
10-
Skuld- Considering that nothing takes longer than six turns to kill at this level, DoTs aren't all that helpful yet. Probably the worst of the bottom-tier Soluna job prizes, and probably the least popular looks-wise as well.
Tyrano- If you can't kill in 6 turns, you die. Period. I cannot find a single redeeming quality about Tyrano, aside from just looking awesome.
Now, that's basically it for a while. Your choices: House, Fastflash, Mecharoni, Police, Werewolf, Valkyrie, Tyrano. I hope you like one of those, because that's really all you're getting for a while without REALLY working for it. Pretty much everything for the next few levels is either a re-hash of a low-level design, or is just inferior to those re-hashes. Every level from here on out only has one choice, and if you don't like that one choice, you're pretty much screwed.
11- Shadow E2 (unequippable)
12- Geekatron (very cool, but absurdly expensive), another House, another Werewolf
13- another Mecharoni
14- Deputy (thematically similar to police, much weaker than level 12/13 choices), another Valkyrie, another Fastflash
15- nothing
16- Wrangler (barely stronger than level 12/13 choices), another Police
17- Drakel Power Armor (still weaker than level 12/13 choices, rather hard to find)
18- Geist Hunter (I still don't think anyone manages to finish Ghost Hunting by this level, and for those that did, there's no more ghosts to catch anyway)
19- Khael Serpent (probably the first GOOD new mecha since the level 13 Mecharoni)
After 20, you get another House, the Yokai mechas, the Arthuria/Lagos mechas, the V-Trapper, more war/event rares, etc... Lots of fine choices. But like I said, going from level 10-20 with minimal variety will turn most new players away, especially considering how slow leveling is in this game. You really can't count upgraded versions of other mechas as added variety, simply because they don't FEEL new and exciting anymore.
My first proposal is making some of the SC choices from Tek's available for NSCs, preferably as rewards for completing GEARS classes. The Volt Thorn and Battle Hammer represent two distinct styles of battling, and would be great to represent different student types at GEARS. Add in an upgraded Katana/Newbatron model for the moderates, and you have a trio of mechas that could make the early game much more fun. It also gives the impression that being a full-time GEARS student is just as valid as being a hospital intern or amateur detective, and that GEARS really is a top-notch pilot academy that puts its students on the front lines.
I'd also propose that the house mechas get similar treatment. The basic models are fine as they are, but later models could branch out and expand on different aspects of that house's specialty. Wolfblade, for example, could get an upgraded version of the base model, a second model that focuses on stunning and fast kills, and a third model built for tanking, EP drain, and defense piercing. Runehawk could add a second model that focuses more on EP destruction, and a third that builds a lot more HP/EP DoT. These are just rough examples that I haven't fully thought through yet, but what's important is the sheer quantity of choices. Not only would this add more variety in general, but it would make the houses seem that much more important, and GEARS in general being bigger than it is now. This would in turn make GEARS feel more important, and would help add more personality to a relatively soulless area (not to mention filling huge mecha gaps between 10-20).
Naturally, it only makes sense that the non-GEARS quests are expanded as well. I think the police job has it perfect, with two tiers of prizes, memorable villains, and an exciting conclusion. The hospital is pretty good too, though not quite as refined in my opinion. The pizza, museum, and especially ghost hunting jobs all need a pretty big overhaul though, to make them all equally engaging and worthwhile for new players.
I think it's important to note that Soluna is the first impression for new players, so the key to expanding the player base is perfecting Soluna before adding any more planets or other quest chains. That said, Soluna needs a clear introduction (landing, first day of school, intro classes), main mission (basic job completion, advanced classes), mission ending (advanced job completion, GEARS graduation), and final test (Kingadent and Crystal Asteroid missions). As it is, the game just kind of dumps you in Soluna with limited direction. I think this gives new players the impression that it doesn't really matter what order you complete things in Soluna, which can result in being either drastically overleveled or underleveled for particular things. The game never really pressures you to complete the GEARS missions, so new players also aren't really given the impression that the game gets so much bigger and better once you finally leave Soluna. New players also aren't really given the impression that planets should be tackled in a certain order, to get the most out of the game experience.
To summarize, Soluna needs to be more linear. The game should tell you to start the basic piloting classes, to go pick a city job (and finish ONE job to earn its reward, not just try all the jobs without finishing any of them >_>), then to work your way to the top of your class so that you can be selected for a special mission. The game needs to let you know that Soluna is just the training ground, and there's a big war with offensive fronts on multiple planets, and it's up to you to rush out and help save the worlds. I don't mean that the game should be made entirely linear, but a little more gentle nudging (and more rewards for following the nudges) would be much appreciated.
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