Leveling

Powers in Champions Online vary widely in the eyes of the playerbase. Some powers, like Mind Lock and Arcane Vitality, remain mostly unknown, while other powers, like Regeneration and Haymaker, take center stage. Sometimes this reputation is due to a present or former imbalance like Collective Will, and sometimes it's due to an unknown combination of factors, like Roomsweeper (probably because Might is the most played powerset in the game).

And sometimes, like in the case of Gigabolt, it might just be something else.

Powers are balanced in CO according to a variety of mathematical factors, such as activation time, range, energy cost, and damage dealt. But the devs also try to have their powers balanced around another factor: Fun. On a 1-10 scale, most powers in Champions hover around a 3-4 on the fun scale, with the standout powers pushing up to a 5-6 and possibly as high as 7 or even 8 for good synergies between several powers. When a power gets too fun, like the Incisive Wit advantage for Kinetic Darts, the devs make sure to issue a patch to fix the imbalance.

Except for Gigabolt.

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Sometimes, people don't want answers to the questions that you expect. Sometimes people come up with solutions for problems you didn't know existed. And sometimes a question still gets asked even when you thought everyone knew the answer. It's a little bit of an unorthodox time here on The Mog Log, and it's going to be a bit of an unorthodox installment of our usual question-and-answer column. So let's dive right into the Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV questions, yes? Including those that are surprisingly meta.

Baalur asked:
"I don't think [customizable underwear is] half as ridiculous as the author. Why should the underwear be any less stupid than, say, a pet following you around?"

Well, the latter is a slavering beast that's yoked to your will, and the former allows you to take great pains to make sure that your mito'qe is wearing her Lumberjack Boxers of +5 Vitality before she goes off to tank something. I think we can agree that one is just a bit more intimidating and cool, while the other is... well, still cool, but in an entirely different fashion.

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Fallen Earth has a steep learning curve. It's not hard to die a horrible death in Fallen Earth because you simply didn't have even the slightest clue what you were doing. But life doesn't have to be short and brutal in the wasteland. In fact, you can eke out a decent living and make quite a name for yourself. There are a few things you can do to minimize the bewilderment you will face once you emerge from the LifeNet pod for the first time into the unforgiving desolation of the apocalypse. After reading this guide, you are likely to be heard saying things like: "Y'know what? The apocalypse isn't all that bad." and "I wish this place were just a little more dangerous."

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Every game has a group of number-crunchers that want to get the most out of a character build. Whether you call them min-maxers, power gamers or munchkins, they are intrinsic to any RPG system ever made. They are the direct antithesis of the roleplayer, and often referred to as roll-players. There is a very clear-cut process to maximize your character's power in Fallen Earth. This process is called "Spinning the Wheel". When I use the term "wheel", I am referring to the faction wheel. While some do choose to spin the wheel, most players usually flip the wheel. I'll explain the difference later.

So what does the wheelspin do for you? It gives you about 30 extra AP and unlocks all the mutation lines. The important thing here is that you will be noticeably better than those who don't bother to do it. Why would you do it, and how do you do it? Read on.

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In most MMOs on the market today, there are several different classes and races. Even if you're in the rare game that arguably has neither, there are still skills to be leveled, achievements to be earned, missions to be played. For some people, all of these things are mostly means to an end. But others look at a list of ten classes, or nine races, or even eleven summon spells as a to-do list. If it can be leveled, they will level it; if it can be acquired, it will be theirs.

The joy of MMOs is in part the fact that many goals are set by players, and the collectors do a marvelous job of setting one for themselves. Some goals, like collecting every little vanity pet in a game that offers them, can be accomplished as a side-goal to the core leveling process. Others, like leveling every class, can even require more character spaces than the game normally gives you. Do you have overarcing collection goals when you play games? What are they? Do they interfere with your normal play, or are they the whole reason you keep playing?

In this edition of the Mog Log, every question you have ever had will be answered completely accurately. (Disclaimer: these questions must pertain to either Final Fantasy XI or Final Fantasy XIV. And they must have been asked via e-mail or comments. And it must be noted that "I don't know" is an accurate answer to a question. Also, this aside is now longer then the introductory sentence.) Aren't you excited as possible? I know I am.

We'll start off with a question from Dormer:
"Why aren't we getting more information from the beta?"

We're not sure, but we can certainly speculate. The most logical reason is that the testing is closer to an alpha than anything and they're not letting people in that they can't trust implicitly. Square-Enix has a pretty good track record at keeping things quiet when they want to, and they're likely making sure that nothing leaks out from this phase. How much of an NDA further phases of Final Fantasy XIV's testing will have is a mystery. But there's another reason for the possible dearth of information. (Which we've intentionally put behind the cut to inspire you to keep reading.)

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There are two ways to look at the level cap in any game -- and there is a cap, whether it's a clearly-stated number or a skill system you can never truly overcome. The first option is to see it as a target, the point where you get out of the training areas and the real game can start. The other option is that it's just a number past which you can't progress. Hitting it is no different than, say, finding every last fish for a drawn-out questline -- a completion and an achievement, but not hugely noteworthy.

In games with an older design aesthetic, such as EverQuest and Final Fantasy XI, the game's community progressed much more slowly to max level if they ever reached it at all. More modern games such as World of Warcraft or Champions Online, on the other hand, essentially have the leveling game as a road designed to lead you up to the level cap, with most of the game's options becoming available then. What about you? Do you prefer to stay in the lower levels of a game, or do you head right for the endgame with abandon?

Lineage II is getting a bit long in the tooth these days, but the game still has a dedicated playerbase and still looks excellent. It's also feature-heavy in the way that only long-running games can be, complete with the fan-loved feature of sub-classes. Having an "extra" class on top of a character's main class is almost universally liked in every game that features it. Of course, it can feel a bit odd when you realize that the secondary class is more fun than the main class, leaving players with the question of what to do. Thanks to the newly-introduced Subclass Separation Service, the answer is now "play that class."

Not only does the new service free the subclass from you old character, allowing you to potentially choose a different one, it creates a new character of that class at the same level the subclass had reached. That means that it's ready to go as a main class right away, and without the burden of low-level questing. While not for everyone, there are no doubt several Lineage II players who can find quite good use for this new feature. (Or this feature helpfully adapted from Tabula Rasa, whichever you prefer.)

World of Tanks is in a class by itself -- if you want to play a vehicle-based MMO focused around motorized armor units, there simply isn't another option available. And while there were more than a few jokes at the time of its announcement, successful games with a strong vehicle focus exist already. But the core of a game like this is going to be the vehicles themselves, both their diversity and their interesting traits to set each one apart from its peers. The developers have released the access trees for all three main nations in the game -- Germany, the USA, and the USSR -- giving hopeful players an idea of what they can use to thunder about the countryside.

Spanning the period between World War II and the Korean War, the list is fairly exhaustive, showcasing the diversity of tanks on the battlefield. The German progression path even includes the Maus, an experimental tank of absurd size that should please fans of bizarre WWII machinery. And if rolling around in a two-story tank doesn't get you excited, well, you're probably not the target audience. All three progress charts can be found on the official site for World of Tanks.

Ever since the implementation of a hard skill cap in the game, Star Trek Online's lack of respecs has been keenly felt by players. With the highly skill-oriented progression arc through the game, it's all too easy to have a few missed points early on translate into big problems further on down the line. Cryptic has hardly been deaf to the player cries for respecs, and it seems that they've (quite wisely) moved them on the priority list ahead of issues such as the game's lack of a death penalty.

The official forums for the game have just launched a new section, dubbed "Engineering Reports," summarizing the development team's focus areas. To no great surprise, the first such report features "respec options" right at the top of the list as a tested feature. According to the mission statement of the reports, features that high on the list are likely just a couple weeks from hitting the live servers... which means that Star Trek Online players likely won't have to wait much longer to fine-tune their character builds. It's a welcome piece of news for the game, and proof that the developers are working hard at shoring up their weaknesses.

'Allo again, lovelies. Last week has been a week of danger and intrigue as I battled through Nektulos Forest and worked on getting my unique Shadowknight armor. During all of this, though, I thought to myself -- how can I apply any of these experiences to my notebook entry for this coming week?

Then of course, it hit me. Why not just explain what I've been doing to get through the areas in a short amount of time? A few tips and tricks for playing the level game? Sure, I've been up and down with grouping and preparations for Sentinel's Fate, but many players are always intimidated when entering a game and "being behind."

Well, don't worry about being behind. You're not entering the game late at all when it comes to EverQuest II, especially thanks to the recent additions to the game in Sentinel's Fate. Interested in catching up and experiencing some great content? Then click on through after the break!

Also, I'm still looking for questions anyone has on EverQuest II, so I can answer them in an upcoming Tattered Notebook. Ask me anything, from EverQuest II questions, guild leadership and raiding questions, and even questions on my Dark Elven heritage. Send them over to seraphina@massively.com, and she'll be sure to forward them on through the Norrathian Express mail to me.

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They might be called security levels, they might be split between ranks and levels, they might disguise themslves as skill grinds. But in pretty much any MMO you care to name, there will be levels of some kind. (The only exception that springs to mind is Second Life, and even that can be argued.) Generally, it's accepted that the most meat to the game will come after you've made it to the apex of the leveling curve, whether it's a low cap or a high one. But that's not when you started liking the game -- no, even though most players see it as an impediment to getting to the good part, the leveling game is what first hooks you on the game as a whole.

So today, we ask a simple question -- what game have you played where you most enjoyed the leveling process? Forget all of the endgame nonsense, whether you had a broad endgame or a fairly narrow one. When did you just enjoy the path toward the endgame, perhaps even enough to be a bit saddened when it was over? Or have you always wanted to just get to the end without bothering with the whole "journey" element?

It's time to kick off one of the features that we're hoping will become a regular standby on The Mog Log -- community questions and answers. It's a chance for you to all ask the questions about the game that you'd like answered, and a chance for me to shuffle awkwardly and stare at my feet. Kidding aside, if you have a Final Fantasy XI or Final Fantasy XIV question that you'd like answered, send them to me, and I'll happily answer them to the best of my ability. It's all the edification of research without the actual research part.

We'll start with a question from Simon:
"Are we sure about when the beta for FFXIV is going to start?"

Nothing is certain, least of all what Square-Enix decides to do. Right now, they're content with not filling us in on the start date of beta, but they might very well share that tomorrow at VanaFest. On the flip side, they might hold on to that tidbit until after the stateside launch of Final Fantasy XIII, just to keep excitement up for the title. Keep your eyes peeled tomorrow, we should know then.

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While the Night of Murder event has been pretty well received by the Warhammer Online crowd, there have been certain persistent issues with the event's mechanics. The staff extended the event slightly in order to try and ameliorate the problem, but it kept sticking around for some reason; one of those relentless bugs that avoids squishing no matter how resolutely you aim for it.

The major sticking point? Butcher's Blessing, a substantial buff to both experience and renown accumulated. While not a game-breaking issue if unresolved, it was certainly obnoxious for anyone looking forward to the improved growth rates. As a result, the staff has apparently been all but swimming in tickets about the buff not applying or functioning correctly. So the development staff decided to go with the straightforward solution.

For today and tomorrow, there will be a 30% buff to experience and renown gained for all characters, regardless of the blessing functioning or not functioning. That's a pretty substantial leap in gains, and it's high incentive for Warhammer Online players to hit the ground running. So go ahead, log in, and start enjoying the blessing of butchery on all of your characters.

Not every update is going to be a cavalcade of new and awesome systems, even though it feels really satisfying when they are. Craig Morrison, Age of Conan's director, has come out and said in so many words that unlike the game's recent 1.06 update, the upcoming 1.07 will largely feature changes under the hood that might not be as obvious to players. But his most recent letter to the game's fans is hardly all doom and gloom -- even with the lack of major new systems, there are still new things players will notice.

Travel concerns are one of the two major issues that the next update aims to address, allowing quicker travel to quest hubs and faster returns from the field. The transport is limited to quest hubs, allowing players easier access to where they need to return but not cutting out a sense of exploration. That's hardly the only bombshell the letter has to drop -- subscribers will now slowly accumulate extra levels that they can allocate to their characters, even while offline.

The system is intended to help with alt leveling rather than speeding through content, with Morrison stating that it would take nine months for a character to reach max level from this method. It's an interesting approach to helping alts keep up, and Age of Conan's players will soon get a chance to see how well it plays out.