KingWither
Well-Known Member
- Reaction score
- 168
- Points
- 105
Hello all,
I've been bouncing ideas around for a while about how relics are currently implemented. I'd like to suggest two things here, and both or either could be implemented.
Relic Upgrade Rebalance:
I think 35ish relics to upgrade to max tier wouldn't be too bad if there were more ways to obtain relics than just shady and keys. As someone who doesn't like to gamble/play the RNG slots with the limited money I make, I'd like to see the upgrade prices reduced. For newer players and mid game players, this reduction would make getting "useful" gear more obtainable and less of a grind. In the same way, I would like to see arcanas reduced as well, but I don't think anyone would be willing to talk about that for at least a few months since they are so "new".
The specific relic upgrades costs that I think are worth the price are as follows: 1 star -> 2 star = 5 relics (already a thing) but then 2 star -> 3 star = 10 relics for a total of 15 relics to get a tier 3 relic. I forget Shady's prices, but I'm assuming something around 30k is the cost for relics. So 30,000 x 15 is still 450,000 for a max relic (which in my opinion is still overpriced for what you get out of it at these "balanced" enchantment levels compared to what we had pre reset).
In the same vein, arcanas should have the same conversion ratio in my opinion (10 arcana to upgrade to max). Saving up around 300 relics for a single max arcana is a nearly insurmountable task for the average player/mid game player, especially if they are like me and don't like to gamble/play RNG based mechanics.
On another note, we could also revert the system back to how arcanas/archaics/I forget what they were called were upgraded pre-reset. Duplicates could be used to upgrade to higher tiers, and I think that system could help do away with the huge relic costs entirely. With how "weak" some of these relics are compared to pre reset, I think this change would be more than valid. Less work required overall for less power gained. That's a more radical change, but I am still suggesting it to get my thoughts and feelings across while still providing a solution (one that has existed in the past to boot).
Alternatives To Obtain Relics:
If prices aren't changed (or even if they do), I would still like for there to be more alternatives to obtaining relics than gambling and heavy RNG. The following are my ideas for more frequent relics.
1. Maepacks
Just like Skypacks on Skyblock, let us craft Maepacks using the items we receive from doing jobs based actions (pearls for fishing, amber for cutting wood, etc.). Currently those drops only serve as a way to get a single title and exchange for crystals. I would like to see the same mechanic from Skyblock introduced to Maestrea, with each pack costing 32 of each "gem", much like Skyblock's prices are. However, I would like for there to be 2 tiers. A lower tier involving those jobs items could give one guaranteed relic and some assorted loot. A higher tier with a guaranteed arcana or even more from the harder to obtain gems that only come from geodes/cracked geodes (which I think need to be more common as well, especially in deepslate). Introduce collectables/job items this way too perhaps, just like Skyblock for some more "fun" and usefulness.
(Keep in mind that even this isn't going to put a dent in Arcana obtaining at this point, even if you got 8 relics daily from grinding out 256 "gems" and guaranteed relics, it would still take you over a month to get a max arcana from this method, the grind is just that bad in the first place in my opinion).
2. Adapted Daily Rewards/Daily Chests/Weekly Chests/Vote Rewards
I have always felt the daily rewards from both /reward and the freebie chests to be fairly weak, even more so in this economy with so many relics needed. Every 5-10 days I can get a single relic from /reward? Most of the time not getting even a relic in the daily/weekly chests? I think we need to revisit those rewards for being willing to at least log in every day. I also think voting rewards could use a touchup for these extremely large upgrade requirements as well. Getting a handful or less of more "expensive" keys at the end of the month for voting every single day and promoting the server? I think we could adjust some of these rewards to feel more, well, rewarding. Anything free is great sure, but compared to what is being asked of us for upgrading relics/arcanas, I think we could use a bit more of a hand in any shape or form.
3. Ongoing Events
Events (where you can apparently grind more relics from, but not in my experience with the summer one specifically, where I could maybe get a few relic essences from the mobs I killed over the course of an hour) could branch out into more general and long term events where we can have chances to earn more relics. Things like repeatable quests/quests in general from the spawn NPC's outside of event times that can give out high value rewards like relics would be awesome. I'm sure dungeons will include both quests and repeatable "events" to grind out some items, but that isn't here yet. I'd also like to see something similar out in the towny/resource world, where some custom mobs spawn and we can fight them for bigger rewards if we so chose. Make resource/towny wild areas a bit more interesting and potentially dangerous for those who want to interact with those mobs. Could change the custom mobs out in seasons as well to match specific relics or specific kinds of drops. (One custom mob example could be an allay mob that turns into a Vex when attacked and drops something like light dust x16 or soul gems when defeated, just added to the spawn tables and having a long distance viewable custom name like the mythic mobs maybe even a boss bar for easy locating!).
These sort of "ongoing" events would simultaneously bring more fun to the server and more chances for relics/arcanas to help ease the severity of the current upgrade costs.
Concluding Thoughts:
I hope some of these will be considered, even if the prices do or don't change. My preference for less grind and less gambling but more "fun" is fairly obvious here. Hopefully these ideas can help bring about positive change that can benefit the casual player, new player, and mid game players alike. I think prices are too expensive the way they are, and with more seasons of relics coming every few months now, I think people will have a very intense struggle to obtain all the relics, let alone upgrade them to max.
I've been bouncing ideas around for a while about how relics are currently implemented. I'd like to suggest two things here, and both or either could be implemented.
Relic Upgrade Rebalance:
I think 35ish relics to upgrade to max tier wouldn't be too bad if there were more ways to obtain relics than just shady and keys. As someone who doesn't like to gamble/play the RNG slots with the limited money I make, I'd like to see the upgrade prices reduced. For newer players and mid game players, this reduction would make getting "useful" gear more obtainable and less of a grind. In the same way, I would like to see arcanas reduced as well, but I don't think anyone would be willing to talk about that for at least a few months since they are so "new".
The specific relic upgrades costs that I think are worth the price are as follows: 1 star -> 2 star = 5 relics (already a thing) but then 2 star -> 3 star = 10 relics for a total of 15 relics to get a tier 3 relic. I forget Shady's prices, but I'm assuming something around 30k is the cost for relics. So 30,000 x 15 is still 450,000 for a max relic (which in my opinion is still overpriced for what you get out of it at these "balanced" enchantment levels compared to what we had pre reset).
In the same vein, arcanas should have the same conversion ratio in my opinion (10 arcana to upgrade to max). Saving up around 300 relics for a single max arcana is a nearly insurmountable task for the average player/mid game player, especially if they are like me and don't like to gamble/play RNG based mechanics.
On another note, we could also revert the system back to how arcanas/archaics/I forget what they were called were upgraded pre-reset. Duplicates could be used to upgrade to higher tiers, and I think that system could help do away with the huge relic costs entirely. With how "weak" some of these relics are compared to pre reset, I think this change would be more than valid. Less work required overall for less power gained. That's a more radical change, but I am still suggesting it to get my thoughts and feelings across while still providing a solution (one that has existed in the past to boot).
Alternatives To Obtain Relics:
If prices aren't changed (or even if they do), I would still like for there to be more alternatives to obtaining relics than gambling and heavy RNG. The following are my ideas for more frequent relics.
1. Maepacks
Just like Skypacks on Skyblock, let us craft Maepacks using the items we receive from doing jobs based actions (pearls for fishing, amber for cutting wood, etc.). Currently those drops only serve as a way to get a single title and exchange for crystals. I would like to see the same mechanic from Skyblock introduced to Maestrea, with each pack costing 32 of each "gem", much like Skyblock's prices are. However, I would like for there to be 2 tiers. A lower tier involving those jobs items could give one guaranteed relic and some assorted loot. A higher tier with a guaranteed arcana or even more from the harder to obtain gems that only come from geodes/cracked geodes (which I think need to be more common as well, especially in deepslate). Introduce collectables/job items this way too perhaps, just like Skyblock for some more "fun" and usefulness.
(Keep in mind that even this isn't going to put a dent in Arcana obtaining at this point, even if you got 8 relics daily from grinding out 256 "gems" and guaranteed relics, it would still take you over a month to get a max arcana from this method, the grind is just that bad in the first place in my opinion).
2. Adapted Daily Rewards/Daily Chests/Weekly Chests/Vote Rewards
I have always felt the daily rewards from both /reward and the freebie chests to be fairly weak, even more so in this economy with so many relics needed. Every 5-10 days I can get a single relic from /reward? Most of the time not getting even a relic in the daily/weekly chests? I think we need to revisit those rewards for being willing to at least log in every day. I also think voting rewards could use a touchup for these extremely large upgrade requirements as well. Getting a handful or less of more "expensive" keys at the end of the month for voting every single day and promoting the server? I think we could adjust some of these rewards to feel more, well, rewarding. Anything free is great sure, but compared to what is being asked of us for upgrading relics/arcanas, I think we could use a bit more of a hand in any shape or form.
3. Ongoing Events
Events (where you can apparently grind more relics from, but not in my experience with the summer one specifically, where I could maybe get a few relic essences from the mobs I killed over the course of an hour) could branch out into more general and long term events where we can have chances to earn more relics. Things like repeatable quests/quests in general from the spawn NPC's outside of event times that can give out high value rewards like relics would be awesome. I'm sure dungeons will include both quests and repeatable "events" to grind out some items, but that isn't here yet. I'd also like to see something similar out in the towny/resource world, where some custom mobs spawn and we can fight them for bigger rewards if we so chose. Make resource/towny wild areas a bit more interesting and potentially dangerous for those who want to interact with those mobs. Could change the custom mobs out in seasons as well to match specific relics or specific kinds of drops. (One custom mob example could be an allay mob that turns into a Vex when attacked and drops something like light dust x16 or soul gems when defeated, just added to the spawn tables and having a long distance viewable custom name like the mythic mobs maybe even a boss bar for easy locating!).
These sort of "ongoing" events would simultaneously bring more fun to the server and more chances for relics/arcanas to help ease the severity of the current upgrade costs.
Concluding Thoughts:
I hope some of these will be considered, even if the prices do or don't change. My preference for less grind and less gambling but more "fun" is fairly obvious here. Hopefully these ideas can help bring about positive change that can benefit the casual player, new player, and mid game players alike. I think prices are too expensive the way they are, and with more seasons of relics coming every few months now, I think people will have a very intense struggle to obtain all the relics, let alone upgrade them to max.
