A question about character choices later in the game.

[SeveralOtters]

Hello Embers Adrift people!

I am an MMO player that has been looking for a game for quite a while now, and was super pumped to hear about your game and try it out.

I jumped on for the free trail with my brother, and we had a grand time figuring out the general feel of the world. Needing to navigate by landmarks and team up to explore some of the more difficult areas had us very interested. We were scouring what resources we could find online to figure out what the game had to offer past the first 10-20 hours, and spent a while getting our crafting skills off the ground. There is a lot to like in this game.

What I am trying to get a better handle on is how much meaningful choice comes later in the game in terms of character progression.

In terms of abilities, at looks like there are 10ish per class, and you get to have most of of them on your action bar. From the outside, it looks like this choice is the main way your character compares to any other character of your class, and they can be changed in and out at anytime.

Is there much variation in what stats to prioritize on the equipment your character uses? Does that choice make a difference in how you engage with the game world? Is it a matter of getting a "best in slot" item for any given class? Do you accumulate different sets of gear to swap into for a given activity?

I understand that most games can be played any way the player chooses, but I'm trying to find out to what extent we can make our characters our own. My playgroup really likes to tinker with build options in any game we play, and we an not sure what that would look like in the later levels of this game. Is any one character of a class the same as the next? In what ways do you get to choose how your class does its thing?

Thanks for any insight! I'm excited to get a better understanding of what this game has in store.

 

[MarcusFromOz]

Welcome along

Firstly I'd have a good read through this class guide, because it gives a very good explanation of what stats do.

The Ultimate Juggernaut Class Guide

Introduction The Juggernaut is Embers Adrift's iconic damage dealing tank that pushes through fights when anyone else in your place would have already collapsed. Juggernauts may not be capable as wearing as much armor as Knights or Marshals, but they can still hold their own when it matters...

forums.embersadrift.com

Secondly I'll say that you are going to meet a lot of people in your travels.
Some will say you must do x and y, some will say just do your own thing and make up your own mind, and you'll get many varied opinions in between.

Who is right, hell I don't know.

Understand the stats and skills, grab what named loot you can from mobs, and play around and theorycraft yourself.
Most importantly have fun grouping with others.

I will say though, I use different skills and gear when in a full group or when soloing/duoing.
And there are more than 10 skills, there are some that require learning from books later on.

cheers

 

[Lemmeron]

Currently there is not alot of meaningful itemisation or gear choices to vary game play, the biggest ones are 2H maul and damage related stats for tanks when soloing /dpsing vs full tank gear (parry/ riposte spear for martials)
And for DPS pretty much 1h vs 2h vs ranged, although i havent yet found any stage where 1handed is as good as the other 2 personally from lv 1-35.
I was primary dps with bow as much as I could, but it simply doesnt compare to 2 handed dmg out put unless kiting as warden, and even then i will often go 2h and not bother.

There are items to chase as BIS as such, but mostly until 25+ quest items are as good or better than most others.

Action bars, is a bit of choice, depending on your role at the time, but usally there is pretty clear choices you pick for most things, and swap out a few others.

Most people dont use multiple gear sets at all, because bag space is very limited and doesnt increase at any stage in the game. The cloests i guess is a set in personal bank for solo. I personally do carry a few high sta/hp regen items to swap in when sitting. And 2 bow damage rings to swap with 2H dmg rings when soloing

Mostly each class plays the same as its peers, with a few small options, but there isnt enough gear options to really alter or play different build concepts all that much.

The best advice I can give you, is play the class you seem to enjoy, this game is 100% about the journey and NOT endgame.

If you plan to play with a static group my top picks would be martial/brigand for CC; warden for run speed and lull and possibly warlord if u want less down time.

But again the most important is play to the class you like, all classes are able to contribute and do all content.

 

[Keiban]

In terms of abilities, at looks like there are 10ish per class, and you get to have most of of them on your action bar. From the outside, it looks like this choice is the main way your character compares to any other character of your class, and they can be changed in and out at anytime.

Yes, pretty much.

Is there much variation in what stats to prioritize on the equipment your character uses? Does that choice make a difference in how you engage with the game world?

I wouldn't say much variation, but some, depending on what weapon you are using and what gameplay (solo/group) you mostly do.
For example, if you play Berserker with a bow and normally in a full group, you'd probably prioritize the positional stat less (because you have no control how the mobs will be positioned and you can't so easily reposition) then a melee Berserker that constantly repositions to make the best use out of +positional and it's weapon positional.

Is it a matter of getting a "best in slot" item for any given class? Do you accumulate different sets of gear to swap into for a given activity?

Depends on wether you want/need to adjust to solo/group play. As a Tank or Healer, you probably want to swap some pieces around when you are soloing vs in a group. As Striker, it's usually just the weapon.

I understand that most games can be played any way the player chooses, but I'm trying to find out to what extent we can make our characters our own. My playgroup really likes to tinker with build options in any game we play, and we an not sure what that would look like in the later levels of this game. Is any one character of a class the same as the next? In what ways do you get to choose how your class does its thing?

Yes, they are pretty much the same, there's not really "Builds" like in most other games. The variation mostly comes from the weapon you are using, e.g. melee vs bow striker or 1h+shield vs 2h tank. Even then, the skills you want to use for a given situation are pretty much the same.

 

[texastime]

Hi and welcome! You’ll get better answers if you can decide on which class you want to choose. The best all-around advice I can give you no matter what class you pick: always have a frontal position weapon in your bag. In full groups you may not use it but you’ll spend some time soloing or in small groups and may not have a tank.