RhaegarRRL
patreon
Patch notes 1.0.2 - Free DLC to Chapter 203
🕑 Added 2019-05-10 17:32:32 +0000 UTCUpdate May 11th: Thanks for the feedback :). I'll give it some more thought, maybe reduce the numbers or make them a little more ambiguous without completely removing them. Then my problem with it will be solved but we still have numbers for the people who like it. Let me know about further ideas. I'm also aware of the problems the removal would cause to earlier chapters (whenever she mentions the numbers or they're explicitly stated).
Hey, this should've been in the chapter but I realized upon posting that the strike through format isn't available on Patreon. So here are the changes including explanations and stuff. Removed attributes are marked in bold and underlined. I'll change it back if everybody hates it :D. Posting for 5$ patrons to avoid spoilers.
Patch notes 1.0.2
Removal of specific percentages / numbers from skill descriptions. Reason being their arbitrary meaning and lack of continuity. At the beginning it made sense but considering all her passive skills, Ilea should be able to tank the power stone while another mage without defensive skills should be torn to shreds instead. As many scenes in the story have not shown that result, I will remove said specific numbers as they are imbalanced and not representative of actual power. Resilience increases by several hundred percent dont make sense in the grand scheme of things.
Im aware that a reasonable and thought through implementation of such skills can work but Im not a balancing math god. Of course skills retain their meaning as someone like Ilea will be able to tank more than a pure mage stacked on offensive potential. Just as much as she wont be able to output the same kind of damage, at least where the story is right now.
Below are the specific changes.
Let me know what you think about these changes, if youre annoyed, dont care or agree with my reasoning.
Skill change Destruction:
I realized that Destruction is described to be a mana pulse and thus should be affected by the Intelligence Stat instead of the Strength stat as previously described. This was changed now.
Skill List with changes (Skills without changes are not included - Bold and underlined means this part was removed from the skill):
Azarinth First Hunter:
Active: Destruction 2nd lvl 20:
Send a destructive pulse of mana into your enemy with every punch or kick. The stronger the physical force, the higher the damage caused. Your Intelligence stat enhances the damage potential.
2nd stage: The amount of mana used per strike can be regulated with a maximum of 20 mana per strike.
Category: Healing
Active: State of Azarinth 3rd lvl 1:
Your body glows with the power of Azarinth, increasing your resilience, speed and strength by 55% [Effect after bonuses 220%].
2nd stage: Your sight, hearing and sense of smell is also affected by State of Azarinth
3rd stage: You are one with State of Azarinth. The skills upkeep has been removed. Instead you may overcharge it with your lifes energy. The amount depends on both skill level and health used.
Category: Aura Body Enhancement
Passive: Body of the First Hunter 2nd lvl 20:
Your body was changed by magic. All pain is reduced by 25% [after bonuses 50%] greatly. You heal even fatal injuries without help of healing magic. Your natural regeneration is improved. by 68% [after bonuses 136%]
2nd stage: The magic of Azarinth settles inside your body. Your resistance to magical damage is increased by a static 25% [after bonuses 50%] significantly and your bones are three times as heavier and more dense.
Category: Healing
Passive: Azarinth Fighting 2nd lvl 20:
You are familiar with the fighting style of Azarinth. Damage inflicted with your own body and related skills is 94.5% significantly higher (base 75%) [Effect after bonuses 378%]
2nd stage: Getting used to fighting in close quarters, your reaction time is increased to accommodate your increasing speed and control. by a static 10% [after bonuses 40%]
Category: Body Enhancement
Inheritor of Eternal Ash:
Active: Veil of Ash 3rd lvl 1
A thin mist of ash forms around you to both protect you and attack nearby enemies. You are in full control. The veil greatly increases your resilience. by 74.5% [Effect after bonuses 372.5%].
2nd stage: Your resistances also benefit from the Veil of Ashs bonus. The strength of your Resistance skills also benefit from the Veil of Ash.
3rd stage: The density of your Veil of Ash increases, now affected by your Ash and Ember Manipulation. Increases the defensive capabilities of all ash and ember you control.
Category: Body Enhancement Ashen magic
Active: Form of Ash and Ember 2nd lvl 20:
Ember glows within you raising your resilience, speed, strength and dexterity. by 51.5% [Effect after bonuses 257.5%].
2nd stage: The longer you fight while in the Form of Ash and Ember, the deeper it roots. Each minute of fighting adds more power to the skill. 15% to the bonuses with a maximum of 150%.
Category: Aura Body Enhancement
Passive: Eyes of Ash lvl 2nd lvl 20:
Increases your perception by 45.5% when fighting without a weapon. [Effect after bonuses 182%].
2nd stage: Effects apply with weapons as well. Opportunity calls, you notice possible critical weak points on enemies with more ease.
Category: Body Enhancement Ashen magic
Passive: Body of Ash 2nd lvl 17:
Increases your reflexes and speed by 45.5% when fighting without a weapon. [Effect after bonuses 184%].
2nd stage: Effects apply with weapons as well. Your instincts sharpen and your ability to avoid damage to your vitals when dodging increases.
Category: Body Enhancement Ashen magic
Passive: Ashen Warrior 2nd lvl 18:
You are familiar with the fighting style of Ash. Damage inflicted with your own body and while shrouded in Ash is greatly increased. 61.5% higher [after bonuses 246%]
2nd stage: Shroud your weapons in ash to produce various effects. Shrouded weapons deal additional damage. Affected by Ash and Ember Manipulation.
Category: Body Enhancement
General skills:
Meditation 2nd lvl 17
While in the state of meditation you cannot move. Your mana and stamina regeneration is increased by a factor of 399%. This factor The factor is improved upon leveling up the skill.
2nd stage: Your familiarity with Meditation lets you move slowly while the skill is active
Do let me know if I missed anything or if you have other inconsistencies or plain stupid bits and pieces you noticed along the way.
Comments
Han Pol
I think it is mostly so because many complain about how terribly arbitrary some numbers are. Or that they don't make much sense in the story. That is true in my option as well. When you have a powerful analyse skill that shows exactly how stong the other people and monsters are it's very easy for math affine readers to spot those mistakes and then it becomes very jarring. Here the numbers were basically just a clear measure of personal progress and not a contest with other chars, except for the level number.
Chymor
I think the numbers does a wonderful job of showing progression. They are an easy way to show how far Ilea has come and how her classes synergize. In a way, they're the ultimate tell part of the "show don't tell" discussion. But they also do so in away that's vague enough to be interesting and quick enough not to be boring. Especially since you keep updates rare enough that they mostly just show up when interesting changes has happened. So I think you can remove them or make them vaguer, but make sure to let us feel Ilea's progression in some other ways. (Or like recently, her "lack" of progression when Ilea thinks she's stagnating.)
David Brims
The numbers would only be an issue for really picky people. But I wouldn't care either way if you did get rid of them. That said, as you noted you'll have a bit of work going back and disposing of all instances. Numbers do seem to be going out of style in LITRPG a bit, so you may be on the right track.
Ato
as others have said, it was said in the story that destruction did get boosted by int, so I always assumed it was a bit special in that it scaled on str and int. Which isn't a bad thing, I'd personally clarify the text that it works based on both rather than change it like this. On the numbers in general, they were fine simply because we had no idea what skills other people have, so I don't see that being an issue tbh.
Han Pol
I kinda liked numbers and since we didn't know what skills other chars have it's is vague anyway. After all it only becomes clear how strong or weak Ilea is if the numbers can be compared with someone else.
Arkeus
I approve of those changes. I will note that Destruction actually was said to be empowered by intelligence a few times in the story. Something I will advise is making it clear in the language how a skill is better than another. Without the percentage, you don't exactly get the idea that a skill is flat otu better than another at the same thing
Gardor
Since you're tweaking skills, can I ask if you have a plan for third level general skills like meditation? Also every one of those skills mentioned has specific percentages I'm confused as to what was changed.
Jonathan
I also enjoyed the numbers and watching them go up, but I doubt that not seeing them is going to affect my overall enjoyment of the story much. One thing you'll have to watch out for to keep from actually increasing the inconsistency is Ilea's own reaction to the numbers. For example, when Veil of Ash reached the second stage, she mused that she'd basically tripled all of her resistances. Without the numbers, she'd have no idea how much they went up until the next time she sparred with her teammates and tried to estimate how much less damage she was taking (something I would immediately investigate if I were her.) So in addition to removing her reaction to the numbers, you may have to write in new sections of her trying to get at least an idea of what the increases mean.
I like the numbers and percentages (even if they don't necessarily add up) the way they were before, but I understand your reasoning. My biggest concern with the new system is, that there is no indication of Ilea's synergies. Her greatest benefits from choosing the Ash Wielder class were the additional strength to her abilities. Now this is not apparent.
Alan McBrayer
The percentages were getting a bit cumbersome, but removing all of the numbers kinda kills the impact of the skill descriptions. You could just go with vague fractions and/or just give the starting amount and say it increases by level. For example ashen warrior could be "increases damage by over half plus class bonuses" for meditation you could say "triples regen increasing with skill level". That way we still get some big numbers, but you can hide the specifics behind the vagueness of the numbers.
