I think AGS is confused in what direction they want the games progression to be like. Right now, they are implementing vertical progression by bumping the GS to 625. They are also bumping the horizontal progression by introducing more and more perks on weapons/armor. I think AGS needs to choose one progression system and stick to it.
Vertical progression is simple and done in many other MMOs. When new content is released, your current gear is not strong enough to do the new content. The user has to progress to upgrade their gear/armor to do higher level content. In New World, this is the Umbral Shard system, and bumping the GS to 625. In this type of progression, people would be incentivized to stick to one BIS set of armor and weapons, then upgrade them over time.
Horizontal Progression is more focused on the perks of the weapon. Instead of classic RPGs, it is similar to Warframe (before prime/umbra mods/frames). In Warframe, different warframes are good for different mission types. The player is incentivized to collect multiple frames, which make it easier for them to complete specific types of content. For example, there is a frame called Loki, that has the ability to go invisible. This is very good for Capture missions, but not good for Assassination/Survival missions. If a player collect multiple frames, they have tools for any situation thrown at them.
Instead of the player holding and upgrading 1 BIS set, the player is a collector, gathering multiple armor sets that are good for specific situations. AGS says that the new armor/weapon perks are required to do dungeon mutations. This is an example of horizontal progression.
AGS needs to choose form of progression and stick to it. People are disillusioned and complaining so much because the progression/work ratio has gotten so low that people don’t want to play anymore. Having either a difficult vertical progression or a difficult horizontal progression is fine because the grind is linear. Having both forms of progression being difficult is multiplicative in terms of difficulty.
If AGS want to lean towards a vertical progression system (which I 100% don’t agree with), they need to:
- Rework some of the useless weapon perks. Void Gauntlet has very high impact perks, all weapons should be the same
- Remove useless perks in the perk table for weapons/armor. Chain perks, hated, beloved should be removed. A dexterity armor with a sacred grounds perk should not be possible. No crafted weapon/armor should be trash.
- Streamline attributes for dropped items. A musket can only have Int, Dex, and Con as the attributes dropped/randomly generated. If you want a focus musket, you can only craft one by forcing the attribute.
- Increase the GS upgrades from 625 → 700.
- Tweak dungeon mutations so they don’t require specific bane/resistance perks to be run. People can run mutations with their BIS gear. As they upgrade it, mutations become easier
If AGS want to lean towards a horizontal progression system, they need to:
- Allow people to easily reroll perks on crafted weapons. It can be an item that rerolls everything, or maybe reroll a specific category on the weapon/armor. Rerolling attributes is also an option
- Add a rare item at the end of T5 mutations, that allow you to bump the GS of an item to GS 600
- Keep the GS of weapons at 600GS for now
- Release more content that requires specific perks to be completed
- Add more weapons to the game (a fine addition to my collection!)
Some people may not agree with the suggestions above, but they are examples to illustrate the shift that AGS need to make towards vertical progression or horizontal progression. Do they want this to be a collector game or a power progression game? New World has an identity crisis and AGS needs to pick a road ASAP.