chenzeme said:.... but I am concerned that everyone will end up looking the same (like so many other games). ...
For me there was always a nice, simple, way to avoid this (even with *very* 'samey' actual epic effects/abilities).
At some point in the Epic Quest, there should be a part that needs a crafted piece built from a template you are given. The recipe would include, for example :
1. Weapon of X quality
2. say, 3 ingots of a precious metal
3. say, 7 gems stones of the same type/size/quality
So you get a crafter to make you the weapon and the 3 ingots. You decide to go for a Long Sword, 3 Gold ingots and 7 emeralds. Your fellow Cavalier got another crafter to make him a long mace, 3 ingots of platinum and 7 rubies. After completing the next section of the Epic, you both finally get to the end... tada!
You have a Golden Longsword with nice stats for a defensive Cavalier. It can gain green mana.
He has a 'silver looking' long handled mace with nice stats for an offensive cavalier. It can gain red mana.
Both may have the same 'style' of workmanship (from same 'template' creator) and may glow with an obvious 'this is an Epic glow' to them. But look different, work differently (vs body types) and likely have slightly different stats and effects.
Setting up the Epic Quest is no different, the requirements are the same. The steps are the same. The gloweyness is the same. The effects as as powerful as each other .... but there is a certain 'uniqueness' built in, dependent on perhaps: materials, crafter ability, gem stones / reagents, faction with deity, which deity, race, 'mastery' options etc.
I think this is a great comporomise Evoras. While you'll still have several people with the same epic you'll reduce the possibility that any two epic'd Crusaders standing next to each other having the same weapon displayed, while not entering into allowing appearance slot systems that make it impossible to tell what people are actually equipping at a glance, which I despise.
One of the great flaws IMO was making epics weapons in the first place. They should be a special slot that only epics can fit in, that way, amazing weapons in raids dont rot or go to alts. Whats the point when you HAVE the best possible weapon you can get?
make it like a charm slot or something, no weapons please.
Evoras said:This is one of those 'simple questions' with far-reaching implications :)
What you are really talking about is:
'What changes will new expansions make?'
Typically, MMO developers are way behind the curve. By the time they are jalf-way to creating new content, the player-base has already reached max level (many times) and explored all 'end-game' content too. This means that they have a tendency to try to distract the player-base with 'new shinies'.
These, inevitably, are
higher level caps
'better' zones (kills old ones),
'better' classes (kills old ones) and
'better' gear (out-dates current 'best' gear).
The last of these directly impacts things such as 'Epic Weapons'.
Since some of the above is almost 'inevitable', your choices seem limited to:
1. 'make them soooo OP for now',
2. 'oops too bad, yeah they suck now' or
3. Option 3.
It seems Brad has hinted at 'option 3' from what I can tell. I.e. 'epic 2' that requires 'epic 1' to be cached in. His comments were more about general pieces of gear and about quest/spell type upgrades, but it seems 'logical' (in the sense of not having any concrete info yet), albeit speculative, to suggest this is the likely path for option-3.
So, it is likely (TM) that your Epic will stay almost as powerful as Kilsin's Backstab for a while!
I like the idea of an "upgradeable" epic weapon...where you need the first one completed in order to get the second "better" epic weapon. :)