Ancient Alternate Advancement?

[Vignar]

Are ancients going to beadvancing in a single direction to create Ancient Healers, Ancient Warriors, Ancient Casters to create some diversity or will they be able to advance as bipeds do and gain in all areas?

[Vlisson]

yes this would be very interesting

and when shall this go ingame?

now im a great lvl 100/100 ancient and i gain no exp since 14 month and i hope that i will feel this (lvl up feeling) sometimes again

[Leviathan]

I would like to see Dragon specific themes like:

Firedrake- (kind of like a dragon flame disciple cross between Helian flameand Lunus melee) Have it give bonuses to breath weapon, and maybe some additional breath attacks. make this class concentrate exclusively on breath and fire attacks.

Sairisdrake - Mythical Dragons of the Air (This class would improve flight either in speed buffs, special abilities, and to some extent manipulate the weather) this class would focus on flight and perhaps evasion.

Graeldrake - Mythical Dragons of the Earth (This class would improve armor, perhaps spiked scales or hardened scales benefits, and maybe a crushing tail attack) this class would improve elements of the hide and strength.

????drake - (This class would concentrate on Bite attacks) maybe giving improved damage, DoT's, or poison/infection type attacks.

Hydradrake - (This class would concentrate on health and regeneration) Perhaps a new regen that is like rejuvenating breeze, but has small % per each tick to remove debuffs and DoT's.

Maybe create a new "breath crystal" crafting class to make special crystals that modify or improve a dragons breath attacks.

I would prefer that it not be a copyof biped classes, even if we don't have as many abilities, Just make them something unique to dragons.

[DLMyth]

I hope it's not like Beta where we had the same skills as a biped. I don't mind having a unique dragon but I don't want the skills to be like beta. I don't want it to feel like a biped with very large wings..heh.[:@]

[Ulkesh]

agreed, no part of dragon advancement should involve any biped spells/skills/classes

it will probably be kept simple though, healer types, warrior types and direct damage/ae caster types.

[oluviel]

i think they should be broken into three possible "grouped" paths

1.the caster containing magelike classes-healer ect

2. melle type quest classes

3. classes that focus on breath weapon attacks (including ae rain heal type breaths and such)

Any crossover between these grouped paths would just cause more rating penalties than if you were to stay within the same one(since as explained in the latest chat devs are using this multiclass as a way to drive up our rating penalty as well as advance the dragons as a class/race.

[imported_Frith-Rae]

well considering I have a feeling this is barely on the planning table right now...

Continue discussion but don't expect any clear answers/plans/abilities/what it really is talking about - comments from any devs.

My bitter half would actually rather think that other than "we're going to have ancient advancement somehow consisting of classes" the devs haven't really gotten farther than that..

my half that wants to try and NOT be bitter prefers to not think its that unplanned...

But in no way do I expect any dev commenting that anything is even remotely decided on how this will work :).

Remember - Ancients out last December and Lairs out Jan? *grins*

but in the hopes they might be listening...keep the ideas comin ;).

And no, I dont want anything remotely resembling us becoming Ancient Bipeds with different skins - Classes.

[Goriax]

I like Leviathan's approach: give them names a bit more imaginative then simply dragon healer, dragon warrior, dragon mage (although even if they did that hopefully they would have dragon unique abilities and not be biped copies).

My suggestion is this: Other then things like some more imaginative names and groupings, don't spend a lot of time on window dressing. Try to get an initial cut out as fast as possible by just doing what has to be done to make it work and to provide a foundation on which more can be added later. Figure out what the schools will be, get the abilities implemented, and then plunk down the trainers in existing areas. If the melee trainer has to sit out in the rain that's fine by me. He can get his own cave later. Only bother with quests which are needed to make everything work (such as if there will be a quest as a prerequisite for entering a school the first time).Use existing assets as much as possible.

In fact not even all the schools need to go in immediately. Perhaps they could start with just three adventuring schools and add more once those initial ones are in.

While areas like the Rift are beautiful, I think most dragons would rather just get the functionality in as soon as possible. Later, when the first cut is in and there's time,go back and snazz it up.

[Theolaerynn]

If the melee trainer has to sit out in the rain that's fine by me. He can get his own cave later.

He is a Warrior, after all, and should be quite at home in the rain anyway [:P]

While areas like the Rift are beautiful, I think most dragons would rather just get the functionality in as soon as possible. Later, when the first cut is in and there's time,go back and snazz it up.

Unfortunately, if it works at AE like it works in the dev shop I am in then these kinds of things get pushed so low on the priorities that by the time they surface again the concept is old and needs to be redone anyway.

Besides, it is time for other races and classes to get some long over due attention, we have monopolized the resources for some time now.

[Mordoth]

Ancient advancement has been mentioned many times now, but looking at the new "Developement" page, it's not listed anywhere. So I'd say it will be another year before we ever see that kind of content. I'm a very patient person, but that would probably push me to the limit.

However, I may be happy to spend the next year working on my lair, as those seem to be coming very soon. <shrugs> So who knows?

[Hasai]

....He is a Warrior, after all, and should be quite at home in the rain anyway....

Warriors hate getting rained on just as much as anyone else. [st] That, among other reasons, is why warriors long ago founded the ancient and much-hallowed School of Military Grumbling. [:)]

[Hyacinthe]

[img]/Web/Themes/default/images/icon-quote.gif[/img]Theolaerynn wrote: ....He is a Warrior, after all, and should be quite at home in the rain anyway....
Warriors hate getting rained on just as much as anyone else.[img]/Web//emoticons/emotion-37.gif[/img]That, among other reasons, is why warriors long ago founded the ancient and much-hallowed School of Military Grumbling.[img]/Web//emoticons/emotion-1.gif[/img]

Yeah.... Nothing like siting in a DFP when its raining....

Soaked clean through..its cold.. and the water is up past your knees...

NO THANKS

lol
~Hy

[Theolaerynn]

Hey, I didn't say they liked it, just that they are used to it [:P]

[oluviel]

well yippi skippi ancient alternate advancement was in the old design preview, but it isn't in the new one. Prepare to hibernante once again.

[Goriax]

Looks like the whining bipeds got their way.

[Theolaerynn]

Looks like the whining bipeds got their way.

Do you really think that is fair? I mean, we have monoplized Dev resources for a long, long time. We got some nice stuff out of it, it is time for other races and classes to get some attention.

We all know the alternate schools are a year out, minimum. Would be nice if that wasn't the way of it, but it is I am pretty sure. Lets enjoy what we have and not burn ourselves out waiting for something that is obviously so far off.

Besides, it will probably take me a year to finish my Lair [:D] Except I am so broke I will probably get a Tier I Ghetto Lair *laugh!*

Devs need to keep the Bi-Peds happy for now, so Horizons will survive long enough for us to see our Alternate Advancement.

[oluviel]

Saying we have monopolized dev resources is a fantastic stretch of the imagination. It would assume that since the development of the arop and lairswere kicked into overdrive that nothing but arop content was added.Now that we are equal on this front of land ownership would you thinkit's best that weshould be ignored?I think not, and i know the devs know better as well. With these things that were promised long ago now being finished it is time for the overall game to be improved, and alternate advancement for ancients, and class reformswould fall into that.

The alternate advancement for ancients will not need the resources that the arop and lairs required to produce.

You could say that we have tested the developer'sstress limits beyond that of the average person because they continue to add content for both bipeds and dragons, and they STillproduce these very large chunks of content for the flying quadropeds, but there is no monopolization here.