|
Dratomos -> Feedback on Book 1 Revisited (6/24/2026 12:37:57)
|
So now that Book 1 Revisited will be on break, I think it's good time to give my thoughts on it.
Generally, I like so much that rares are once again available and old wars are reimagined as quests. It is a bit comical tho how often Falconreach is invaded.
But the biggest problem also comes from streamlining the experience. Don't get me wrong, it's a good idea. But without a good class, it can be a chore. Playing Sir Ano, Willowshire, Lymcrest and new quests like Pondering the Orbs is not really fun with Base Class. Especially on Doomed Mode. The only other option presented for new players is DragonLord, but that doesn't give you offensive skills for a long time.
So I have two suggestions to fix this. First, give DragonBase classes as an option from Lady Celestia in Sunbreeze Grove after Hatching your Dragon. In any case you would be going there after Hatching and DA owners get additional early worth for their purchase. You can even give it a lore-reason! That when our Dragon was Hatched, the bond strengthen our abilities and that's how we can equip DragonBase classes. Are they much more powerful than Base classes? They are. But I don't think the main idea from devs was to softlock or make the early quests too unfun to play. Something like:
Lady Celestia: "Your bond with your newly hatched Dragon seems to have strengthen you."
* Equip DragonBase
* Save DragonBase
* Unequip DragonBase
I think it's not too far-fetched, especially when our Dragon is the Destroyer. It's not like we are given any better reason in DragonsGrasp later. And you can still reset your Base Class from Serenity.
One could think "why give new/returning players this so early?" You can still go to DragonsGrasp after Hatching and equip it yourself. But it's not something the game directs you to and otherwise, I doubt that many new players even think about DragonBase classes. If the intend is to lock DragonGrasp, they would still get it via Armor Closet. And if the intend is to unlock DragonBase classes then, it wouldn't make sense as by then you have unlocked far more powerful and usable classes. So by giving Player the option to use DragonBase classes after Hatching, it would make the game flow much better, give incentive that more and better classes are on the way and actually give players reason to use DragonBase classes. In general, you can get many classes after Hatching, but that also breaks the intended flow of the story. And if Osprey Cove and Shadow of the Wind Village are becoming storylocked, having better class than base class as an option would make the story flow.
Additionally, having the same Customization options for DragonBase classes as Base class would be great!
The next one is DragonLord. It has even bigger issues. I love the class and want it to be usable from the start! But too expensive trinkets and odd training makes it hard to recommend.
Having Dragon's Rage/Patience cost 25000 gold honestly doesn't make sense nowadays. You can unlock both Ninja and Pirate with a fraction from that, Players don't really have that much gold when you unlock DragonLord and it's generally hard to recommend either of the trinkets before getting Pirate, Ninja and growing your Dragon, that together cost still less than one trinket. Either Rage DragonLord or Patience DragonLord or strong or even at the same level as other story classes, so it's hard to recommend them to new players.
So by lowering the price to 2500 gold and changing the training for DragonLord, I think both problems would be solved. If the price is only 2500 gold, it also gives the idea that Pirate and Ninja would be better as unlocking them costs more. And they are better. It's also easy recommendation and gives new and returning players a reason to use the beloved DragonLord. Sure, DC options would become worthless, but they generally are for Dragon's Rage and Patience.
And in addition, DragonLord training could be adjusted to unlock offensive skills earlier. And maybe change the training itself so that in the training quest, we only fight Old Man of the Mountain, who starts to use more and more familiar skills the more we train? Like the Inn Boss Old Man of the Wastes, that was well done! Like Old Man would use different effects for different elements:
* Energy to inflict -All
* Fire to inflict a DoT
* Ice to inflict -Boost
* Light to inflict -Bonus, etc...
It would also feel more that we actually train with the Old Man of the Mountain!
In general, I think these additions would make early game flow much better. Sure, it's a lot. But I also think it's vital. Otherwise, early Book 1 is just... not that fun to play, even if the quests are nice. It's harder to recommend for new players.
Sure some points can be made from structure and writing, but I don't really have thoughts on those that I could write well.
|
|
|
|
