(Developer Note)
What a year it's been, for all of us I'd say. Between the disease that shall not be named, the political strife (for us from the States, anyway), the tension. Through it all Leafling has kept me and the team focused and optimistic, we've been through countless iterations and nearly 10 beta tests now. We've had bugs and crashes, wipes and shutdowns. But you all stuck with us and helped form our passion into a reality. Now I'm so proud to present this Development Log and the patch notes for update 1.3, the real beginning of Leafling as a game and as a journey for all of us. Now, with the year winding down and things seeming to turn up, I wish you all a healthy and happy holidays and without further ado, let's get into the meat of it.
Overview
This update has been a massive undertaking and we've essentially overhauled nearly the entire experience from level 1-30. To make it easier on me to organize as well as easier on the readers, I've broken the development log into sections that will cover different aspects of the game and the changes that have been made. Please keep in mind that there is still nearly a month until release and we're still working hard at pumping out new content to add to the release so what you see here is not indicative of the final release, but will cover the bulk of the important changes.
Combat
After taking into account the the data and feedback from the testers we think we've found a real sweet spot with combat, both in PvP and PvE. Players should feel a smoother, more responsive, and more fast paced experience from combat, and there have been a few key features added to aid in this.
New Combat Features:
*Improved Auto Targeting - We've improved the consistency of hit register on projectiles and melee attacks that were taking advantage of auto target, which is a simple system that automatically faces you in the direction of your target when firing a spell or swinging your weapon.
*Increased Base Movement Speed - All classes and players should feel a noticeable bump to their base movement speed, allowing for more player freedom and maneuverability in pvp
*Dodge Stat - There is a new Dodge mechanic which gives every player and mob a chance to dodge an incoming attack based on their Speed stat, with a 70% Dodge cap. This makes combat feel more intense in those close moments and raises Speed up to be on par with the other stats in terms of effectiveness in combat.
*Ability Overhaul - All classes and NPC's have had an ability overhaul, with the NPC overhaul having it's own section below. For players you'll find that your abilities will now have more interesting or useful functions and benefit from buffs across the board. Some abilities have also received new animations to replace the older, more unsightly ones. Ability descriptions now go into much more detail about the calculation of their damage.
*Buff/Debuff Tracker - Players now have a menu next to their hotbar that keeps track of their buffs and debuffs. You can also now view the buffs and debuffs of your target with much more clarity.
Leveling
The leveling experience has been massively improved. It was never my goal to have a grindy or long road to max level in Leafling, as leveling from 1-30 is meant to act more as a tutorial to the game than the core of the content like most MMORPGs. Instead, I want players to be able to achieve level 30 in around 10-20 hours of gameplay. To do this, there have been a plethora of new quests added with massively increased experience rewards, currently the system is designed so that if you do every side quest you can be level 30 without ever grinding a single mob for XP. This way players can get into the real content of Leafling, the end game.
Seasons
This is a hefty one, because in our previous tests Ranked Seasons were never active, so this release will herald the beginning of the first Ranked Season of Leafling. Since even some of our veterans don't fully understand the Ranked system ill be going over it in detail here. Ranked Seasons are broken up into three parts, Explorer Rank, Nation Rank, and Parley
Explorer Rank
Ranked Seasons in Leafling are a 3 month long stretch of time where players compete to raise their rank as high as they can get it. For your Explorer Rank you are eligible to begin ranking as soon as your character hits level 30. In order to gain rank, all you have to do is play the way you want to, and try your best not to die! Clearing level 30 dungeons, slaying players in PvP, crafting high end gear, or completing level 30 quests all award Rank Points. As you rank points reach 100, you are promoted to the next rank. The ranks can be viewed here ordered from lowest to highest.
At the end of a Ranked Season player's ranks are reset to Novice with 0 Rank Points and are awarded a special currency based on how high they were able to climb during the season that they can use to purchase limited edition cosmetics and items that can never be acquired again!
Nation Rank
While Nation Ranks follow the same timeframe as the Ranked Season, they operate quite differently. During a Ranked Season, whatever Forts players have access to will become active. Capturing these forts with your Nation will award your Nation 1 Capture Point. The Nation at the end of the Ranked Season with the most Capture Points wins the season, granting the members of the nation exclusive rewards based on their Nation's aesthetic as well as all of Orion Pact visually changing to celebrate the winners. The member of the winning Nation with the highest Honor will also earn a permanent statue of their character in the Mausoleum of Champions beneath the Orion Pact as an eternal flex. (Honor can be earned by slaying enemy players in PvP, or by aiding in the capture of Forts as a member of a Nation)
Parley
In between each Ranked Season there is a 2 week period known as "Parley". During Parley all rank gain becomes disabled and all Forts become deactivated. During Parley your Rank is maintained and this acts as a breathing window for players to fall back from the ranked grind and enjoy other aspects of the game, as well as offer players on breaks the time to join back in and collect their rewards before the season ends. Each Parley also introduces a new election for each Nation, which we will go into more detail in the next section.
Nations and Elections
While Nations were active during our most recent tests, most players weren't a high enough level to participate, as well as the testerbase dwindling as we neared a deadzone in development at that time. So for the benefit of all I'll be including them into this Dev Log.
Nations
Nations are the 4 main groups of interest that make up Artemia. Players can join these alliances at level 20. The Nations themselves function both as social hubs, as well as armies of players to participate in Fort Sieges, the main event of Nation based content. In Fort Sieges players take up arms with their Nation members assembling everyone able and online to amass at a Fort to contest other Nations for it's control. Capturing a Fort awards your Nation a Capture Point that can be the difference between a win and a loss in that Ranked Season. While in a Nation slaying other players in PvP and aiding in Fort Sieges awards you Honor. Honor is a tracker for how much you've contributed to your Nation and there are Leaderboards in the Nation panel ranking the top 100 members based on their Honor.
Elections
Within Nations there are hierarchies, with some players operating as officers and one acting as leader. This leader is to be elected by the player community from a pool of eligible candidates who apply. That leader can then promote other members to officer positions, these ranks are not just cosmetic and players who uphold higher positions in their Nation should be expected to be involved in their community and help formulate strategies, gear up the weaker members, be a mentor, and above all be a good example for other players. Should a leader disappear for some length of time, or earn the distrust of their fellow Nation mates, a new leader will be appointed to ensure that all Nations are on an equal playing field each season.
The Collosseum
What started as a simple project to make a simple sparring arena has now turned into a massive undertaking and major feature of the game. It's taken months of iteration and work to get this behemoth of a system working but it should soon find it's way into your hands. The Collosseum is an arena of honor, where fighters and spectators can gather around to enjoy the spectacle of fair, one-on-one duels in a structured battlefield where only your skill and game knowledge matter. The Collosseum itself features 6 rooms, each with their own differing arenas, surrounded by seating for spectators. When you enter the Collosseum you can queue up, putting you in line to join the fighting. Once each match is finished, the winner will remain to continue against remaining challengers until defeated. When you lose, you are simply warped out of the arena with no penalty to your Explorer Rank.
Fighting in The Collosseum is rewarded as well! Winning matches will increase your Arena Rating, a permanent stat that fluctuates with wins and losses and a record of your skill in the arena. The Collosseum will also be used to host Tournaments, special events hosted by staff of the game with structured brackets and huge Crystal prize pools. I think a lot of fun will be had with this and it's quickly become my favorite feature in Leafling, I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did making it!
Zone Overhaul
While there were nearly double the available zones during our most recent test, there was problem I noticed almost too late. In the hope of creating a large assortment of unique and interesting maps we skimped on size a little too much. I noticed that players would often fight over mob spawns, or that certain pockets of resources would be ravaged while others remained untouched. So there had to be a change. 7 Zones were cut from the game to be re-released in an improved state, but don't let that dissuade you. Saltwater Field, Miner's Cove, and Seabreeze Ruins (formerly Seabreeze Plains) all now contain more content and sheer map size than all of the lost zones combined. Each zone, while not a massive open world, are all drastically larger and more detailed as well as containing new mob spawns, quests, secrets and more! Take a look at this before and after and see for yourself.
Old Saltwater Field
New Saltwater Field (don't mind the lighting errors and clipping, this image was stitched together from 8 different screenshots.
Story and Lore
While Leafling's end game is more PvP focused, that doesn't mean I don't love the world of Artemia and I've been looking for more non-intrusive ways of implementing more lore about the world and more story based quests into the game for those who enjoy that type of stuff. Before, Leafling had a bad issue with only using NPC's that had some function, whether it was a questgiver or a merchant. Now you'll find dozens of people around the world who just want to talk, indulge them and you can learn a thing or two about Artemia and it's history.
On a larger scale, the MSQ will continue with patch 1.3 and will include the entirety of Book I: Arrival, which currently contains 6 chapters, and 24 Quests. Aid the mysterious Guildmaster and uncover the secrets Artemia has in store for you.
The Treasure Hunter Guild
A new guild has popped up just west of Journeyman's Respite, they call themselves the Treasure Hunter Guild and they're recruiting any and all able bodied Explorers.
The Treasure Hunter Guild is a new zone you can visit in update 1.3. Complete the quest that Guildmaster Nepal has for you and gain access to the Guild! New chests and secrets are scattered all across Artemia, find them all in a zone and unlock new services from the guild! Explore all of Artemia and you'll be showered in loot and cosmetics
Mob Overhaul
For a long time combat against mobs was a mindless buttom smash experience with no real threat or danger. I wanted early and mid game combat to teach valuable lessons in combat that will aid the player later on so we overhauled every single mob in the game. You'll now find that all mobs now have some unique mechanic or ability, or even multiple. Stay too close to that Harpy while she's charging her Tornado and your health bar won't be happy with you! I hope this new dimension of challenge creates for a lot more fun encounters and challenging PvE content.
Dungeon Overhaul
Dungeons have all been completely reworked and you'll find that tackling them solo isn't always an option anymore. Dungeons are now designed around a public system and have been increased in size to support this. No longer are the days of fighting for the last hit with the other party for the boss drops, as anyone who participates in a boss fight will receive rewards. This should encourage cooperative play with all fellow Explorers and urge them to take on these new and improved challenges. You'll also find that dungeons are no longer just a test of your might, but your mind as well with new and improved puzzles that block your path.
In Closing
Well, that wraps up the majority of the updates here, and while I wish I could've gone into specific detail about every ability change or individual buff or nerf, there simply just isn't enough time for me to compile a list of thousands of changes and document them here, but I at least wanted to lay out a rough idea of each new feature and my thought process behind adding it. I want to thank all of you again who have kept this project alive and going and this will be the last time I speak with you before we meet again in Artemia, I'll see you all on December 11th.
We wish you all a loving and hope-filled holidays
-Aesthetic