Reasoning
Impact on New Players
With gear no longer having level requirements, this means that any piece of gear that a new player picks up can be used by them for the remainder of their time spent playing. For new players this makes quest rewards have more impact, as that gear piece they receive will no longer have stat deterioration as soon as they level up. This means that players who start harvesting early can make full use of the upgrade materials that they receive from harvesting, if they choose to do so. This also means that new players can more easily sell these named items to other players who may have a desire to collect quest reward items. And rather than worrying about which piece of gear has the least stat deterioration, they can instead focus on improving their gear setup from an earlier start, allowing the potential for faster transition to harder content, as they'll likely have full sets once they reach higher levels, instead of partial sets since they scrapped the level 20 set piece item once they found a better armor rating for their level 40 character.
It allows players to have the "Jackpot" situation at all levels of character progression. While exploring the world and opening chests, they may be lucky enough to find a desirable item/trait piece. Normally that piece would be under leveled (not CP160) so for the most part, that RNG blessing just becomes useless if the player isn't currently considering its use and will get scrapped once they outlevel it. Without level restrictions that RNG blessing will actually have meaning, as the player could decide to sell it on market, or use it in an end-game build.
It would also ease the gear grind for players who may not have as much time on their hands, as questing and opening chests will net them a piece of armor that they can use throughout their leveling experience.
Impact on Players Post First Character
Once a player has leveled a character up to CP160, if they found some gear that could be interesting if used on another class, in order to test it they'll need to create another character and fully level it to 50 in order to see if they like it. For some players who have the time to do so and the patients to grind, this can be done in a day. However, for players who prefer to level by questing, or don't have enough time, or both, leveling a new character to tr out a set could take weeks or more. Meaning more often than not, that set will get deconned, sold on the market, or stuffed into the bank. If this were not the case, and the player could equip that set from level 1 these players may have more reason to bring out a new character other than having them as storage mules. As they could level why trying out the set.
This would allow for more experimentation for players at all levels, while still keeping optimal builds locked behind character attributes and skill line leveling.
Impact on Old Players
For players who already have all of their gear, this wouldn't do much. As they're already CP160 and thus have access to all gearing options. However, ZoS could re purpose the now negatively impacted crafting system to create more Horizontal Content for these players, I'll cover the rough suggestions below
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Handling Crafting
Since Gear Levels Will are removed with this idea, that means a lot of materials are going to be useless, and getting a crafting level to 50 is pointless (since that 10 points for writs is pointless if you can craft rubedite already). This will need to be addressed.
Here are my thoughts:
Armor and Weapons
With the materials not being tied to levels, the different materials will only be used to adjust the base look of armor, and would allow players to craft different colored weapons end-game.
Since there is no level based gear, this means that using more materials is pointless, but I don't think it should, as it constitutes a drain for player mined resources, so this is the idea:
The player can use more materials in order to improve the total durability of an item. the less they use the more quickly it breaks, and vice versa. The player must improve their (Metalworking, Tailoring, Woodworking) passive in order to craft more durable items.
Repair costs for Armor and Weapons is now slightly parabolic when you repair items at a trader depending on the total durability.
The player can now repair their own weapons/armor using spare materials at a crafting station, but the number of materials used is somewhat parabolic if the player's crafting passive is not as high as the one used to craft the item. It is linear if it is.
Writes would ask for the highest durability piece the player can make.
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Enchanting
With the removal of character levels, this will leave several potency runes useless, and I don't think it should be so. So this is the thought:
There are 16 levels of potency runes, I recommend reducing that to 15 (so there is a mid-point)
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1-10 : 0/14
5-15 : 1/14
10-20 : 2/14
15-25 : 3/14
20-30 : 4/14
25-35 : 5/14
30-40 : 6/14
35-45 : 7/14
40-50 : 8/14
CP10-CP30 : 9/14
CP30-CP50 : 10/14
CP50-CP70 : 11/14
CP70-CP90 : 12/14
CP100-CP140 : 13/14
CP150 : 14/14
CP160[s/]
Weapon Enchantment:
the Potency runes current "level" will be used to influence the damage of the enchantment, and the Internal Cooldown of the enchantment. based on the fraction above.
Current Enchantment Values are obtained when using the 7/14 Potency Rune
At 14/14 a Weapon Enchantment will have twice the power (any duration is the same), but have twice the cooldown
At 0/14 a Weapon Enchantment will have Half the power (any duration is the same), but have half the cooldown.
Short recharge enchantments would be useful for proc builds and status builds, while high damage enchantments will be better suited to burst damage, and the middle can be used to keep it the same.
At first the player will only be able to craft the short ICD low damage enchantments, but the higher Potency skill passive they have, the more they have control over the effects of the enchantment.
Armor Enchantments:
[y] is equal to the opposing or complementary effect ratio.
Armor enchantments:
- Are now able to add resource regen, this is obtained by using the (x>0)/14 potency runes. It has ((14-x)/14)*Max Resource and ((x<=14)/14))*[y] Resource Regen
- Ratio = (Max Regen Bonus of Jewelry Glyph)/(Max Resource Bonus of Armor Enchantment)
Jewelry Enchantments: (WIP)
[y] is equal to the opposing or complementary effect ratio
Resource Regen:
-Regen Essence Runes are now able to add Cost Reduction , this is obtained by using the (x>0)/14 potency runes. It has ((14-x)/14)*Resource Regen and up to ((x<=14)/14)*[y] Cost Reduction.
-Ratio: (Max Cost Reduction Bonus of Jewelry Enchantment)/(Max Regen Bonus of Jewelry Glyph)
Damage: Can now add Resistances
- Damage Essence Runes are now able to add Physical or Spell Resistance by using the (x>0)/14 potency runes. Has ((14-x)/14)*Damage and has up to ((x<=14)/14) Cost Reduction
-Ratio = (Max Resistance bonus of Jewelry Glyph)/(Max Damage Bonus of Jewelry Glyph)
(opposite holds true for Resistance Glyphs)
Resistances: Can now add Damage
- Resistance Essence Runes are now able to add Physical or Spell Resistance by using the (x>0)/14 potency runes. Has ((14-x)/14) Resistance (Physical/Spell) and up to ((x<=14)/14)*[y] Damage
- Ratio = (Max Damage Bonus of Jewelry Weapon Glyph)/(Max Physical Resistance bonus of Jewelry Armor Glyph)
Specific Resistances: Can now Add Broadened Resistance
-Fire/Frost/Disease/Poison/Shock/ Essence Essence runes can add Spell or Physical Resistance using a (x>0)/14 potency rune. It has ((14-x)/14)*Resistance (Fire/Frost/Disease/Poison/Shock) and up to ((x<=14)/14)*[y] Resistance (Spell/Physical).
-Ratio: (Max Resistance (Spell/Physical) Bonus of Jewelry Enchantment)/(Max Resistance (Fire/Frost/Disease/Poison/Shock) Bonus of Jewelry Enchantment)
You can see the pattern.
Shielding/Bashing
Potion Speed/Potion Boost
Writs Would just ask for a regular enchantment
Foods
-add unique effects to foods to differentiate them, lower other stats on effected foods. (I.E. Fishy Stick Grants Increased Swim Speed)
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Alchemy
-Solvents Have an innate effect added to them (these can easily be changed if they don't fit). There are no longer XIII poisons/potions and such.
Potion Solvents:
Natural Water : No Bonus
Clear Water : Detection
Pristine Water : Restore Health
Clensed Water : Unstoppable
Filtered Water : Increase Physical Resistance
Purified Water : Increase Spell Resistance
Cloud Mist : Gradual Restore Health
Star Dew : Speed
Lorkhan's Tears : Vitality
Poison Solvents:
Grease : No Bonus
Ichor : Maim
Slime : Breach
Gall : Vulnerability
Terebinthine : Ravage Health
Pitch-Bile : Fracture
Tarblack : Hindrance
NIght-Oil : Invisibility
Alkahest : Gradual Ravage Health
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Writs would ask for a particular potion
Your Thoughts?
The culmination of these threads: