WOTLK Beta introduces Bind on Account items

[Montague]

From http://www.mmo-champion.com/ :

A new type of items has been added to the game.
These items are Bind To Account items, you can transfer them between characters !
These items scale with level, a level 1 character can perfectly use it and stats will scale accordingly !
In the current beta build, you can buy them with tokens from raid dungeons
They are not unique.

Weapons

Bloodied Arcanite Reaper (2H Axe)
Balanced Heartseeker (1H Dagger)
Venerable Dal'Rend's Sacred Charge (MH Sword)     
Charmed Ancient Bone Bow (Bow)
Dignified Headmaster Charge (Staff)
Devout Aurastone Hammer (MH Mace)

 Armor

Champion Herod's Shoulder (Mail)
Mystical Pauldrons of Elements (Mail)

Now make badges bind on account plz thx 

[MrHat]

Whoa.

[Mrbloodworth]

I'm going to get flamed for this, but, LOTRO much? Its like a lite version of the legendary items system coming in the Mines of Moria expansion.

This is another in a long list of things that seem to be being ...uh, borrowed from LOTRO.

Cant say its not cool though, it will add a lot of replay ability to the game. and now we shall see enormous shoulder pads from level one, on.

[Hutch]

Will LotRO's legendary items be shareable on a single account? I haven't really read up on them yet.

Having an item that scales as you level up would be great for certain classes. The pickings on the AH tend to dry up between level 40 and 57, and that's a long way to go without upgrading your weapons.

Actually, this sort of tech would be a required component of a sidekick/mentoring system, so maybe that's on the horizon for WoW? One can hope so :)

[Zetor]

Items that level with the user aren't really a new concept... they were in AO (lulz), DAOC, and probably a lot of other games including MUDs.

The "bind-on-account" thing is interesting though... if there's a piece for every gear slot, some lower-level twink brackets might be in for a rude awakening.


edit: LOTRO had a lot of good ideas, but the only thing I remember was how it was completely unplayable for me because the massive number of UDP packets sent with each zone change would make my router say nasty things and blacklist the game server for a while (yeah, I tried tech support too, they were unhelpful). I never had this problem with any other game, even the ones that use UDP instead of TCP. There was a running joke in my guild about quest difficulty defined not with number/level of mobs that needed to be killed, but the number of zone changes required to get to the quest area, then back to the questgiver. 


-- Z.

[K9]

I'm going to get flamed for this, but, LOTRO much? Its like a lite version of the legendary items system coming in the Mines of Moria expansion.

This is another in a long list of things that seem to be being ...uh, borrowed from LOTRO.

Cant say its not cool though, it will add a lot of replay ability to the game. and now we shall see enormous shoulder pads from level one, on.

Eh, AO had levelling items and +xp items (like these new Account-Bound shoulders) years ago. It's not really a novel idea.

I think this idea is cute, but fairly limited. The tokens are raid drops, and the items themselves don't seem overwhelmingly great, comparable to a blue at best. The low ilvl means that they can't accept high-end enchants either.

Useful for levelling alts sure, but not gamebreaking or gamechanging in anyway that I can tell.

[tazelbain]

I like it. Allows max levels to grind tokens to twink out their low-level alts but doesn't destroy the the low-level markets.

[Montague]

I'm going to get flamed for this, but, LOTRO much? Its like a lite version of the legendary items system coming in the Mines of Moria expansion.

This is another in a long list of things that seem to be being ...uh, borrowed from LOTRO.

Cant say its not cool though, it will add a lot of replay ability to the game. and now we shall see enormous shoulder pads from level one, on.

Blizzard isn't exactly known for their originality. You can be assured Warhammer's public quest system will be in the next expansion, if not sooner.

Edited out image

[Dren]

For an altaholic like myself, this is the bee's knees.  There might be some drawbacks to it in some complicated way, but I'll bet it is minor.  I like my little mini game of trading items around to my many alts.  This is just pure love for me.

As for WoW copying other games?  I'd be pissed if they didn't.  I hope they copy the good stuff out every game out there!

If LotRO spent more time polishing up their game, they'd probably have a real chance at being a WoW killer like they are pretending to be.  I had a friend ask me if he should try it out again.  I said he won't like it because the graphics and animation are just subpar.  It all just feels clunky, laggy, messy.  He tried anyway and agreed.  Quit the same day he started.

LotRO doesn't have any problems with good game design.  Their execution leaves a lot to be desired and that's what sells accounts.

[Lantyssa]

I like the concept, and hope others borrow it again and tweak it further.

Equipment which always levels with you, so you can pick the outfit you like and not have to upgrade unless you want.  While I prefer always tradable items, it's a good compromise that at least lets me share with my own characters.  Now if it wasn't just end-game stuff it'd be awesome.

[Lakov_Sanite]

Well looks like it's only weapons+shoulders which is good since it won't be completely negating gear as you go along.  Also I doubt these tokens are only from raids, it'll be just like badges of justice which you can get from heroic dungeons or naxx10man(karazhan 2.0) So your average player isn't going to be barred access to them.

I really like this and whether it's a copy or not I agree, good ideas should be copied.

[Mrbloodworth]

For an altaholic like myself, this is the bee's knees.  There might be some drawbacks to it in some complicated way, but I'll bet it is minor.  I like my little mini game of trading items around to my many alts.  This is just pure love for me.

As for WoW copying other games?  I'd be pissed if they didn't.  I hope they copy the good stuff out every game out there!

If LotRO spent more time polishing up their game, they'd probably have a real chance at being a WoW killer like they are pretending to be.  I had a friend ask me if he should try it out again.  I said he won't like it because the graphics and animation are just subpar.  It all just feels clunky, laggy, messy.  He tried anyway and agreed.  Quit the same day he started.

LotRO doesn't have any problems with good game design.  Their execution leaves a lot to be desired and that's what sells accounts.

Not to open a can of worms, but LOTRO is one of the most polished stable games out there, also one of the most under appreciated in terms of content, updates,Scripted encounters, story, world design, and evolutions and innovations. Execution is steller compared to other titles.  I also do not believe that they ever were trying to be a "Wow killer" (unlike WAR) as the game is completely diffrent with different values than WoW, and they have been cutting their own path from day 1. The games are very diffrent. The graphics and animations comment, i cant agree with at all, as they are incredibly well done across the board. People always get personal opinion confused with technical execution.

The timing of the releace, and the other things coming in WOTLK that are echos of things in, or coming in the expansion of LOTRO is why i made the comment, not necessarily saying "Who thought of it first". Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

/derail

[Zetor]

So you can only get two pieces.. hmm. Well, it's better than nothing. And yeah, it goes along with blizzard's "shoulders define the character" idea. :p

What quality is it "locked" at? 100dps from a 1hander doesn't seem particularly high for a level 80 item...

And to continue the derail...

Not to open a can of worms, but LOTRO is one of the most polished stable games out there

It's the only game that requires me to disable my router and plug the ADSL line directly into my PC to actually play. I'd link you the tech support thread about the issue [no, I'm not the only person affected], but it's been pruned. Ah well. :P

LOTRO is built on AC's network code, which uses UDP instead of TCP like *most* other MMOGs... because it sends updates in bursts, it also tends to not play nice with routers that have built-in DOS protection.

Edit to Mrbloodworth: yes, I read through all of those articles, the problem is not that simple. Here's the thread where I reported it (thought it'd be pruned, but it wasn't): http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?t=118747
You can also find similar reports of being "unable to connect" all over the place [the us and eu forums were full of them when I originally encountered the problem]. These connection problems are not a "top CS issue" because they are confined to certain router types.


-- Z.

[Mrbloodworth]

Maybe this would help you (another). Other than that, i do not know about your experiences and cant comment, i don't encounter them.

[AcidCat]

Interesting, but my first thought is - how boring is that to have the same weapon from level 1 - 80

[Mrbloodworth]

Interesting, but my first thought is - how boring is that to have the same weapon from level 1 - 80

That would be a major part of the contrast between the two systems, in LOTRO, you get to mold its progression (Stats and look ETC...).

Essentially, this system seems to be for cosmetics only at lover level gameplay.

[Zetor]

I think the weapon'd be more useful to fill in leveling gaps than something you use all-the-time. I know that when I was leveling my rogue way-back-when, I was using a lv31 green until lv48 when I lucked out with a Mug o' Hurt and a Viking Hammer [to be replaced by the Thrash Blade soon after], then used the Thrash blade/Mug combo all the way until I got some instance weapons at 60. Would've been a heck of a lot smoother with a 'scaling' weapon.


-- Z.
(btw to Mrbloodworth, I edited my response into my prev post. I don't want to derail the thread any more if possible, it'd be best to continue it via PMs or something. :p)

[K9]

That would be a major part of the contrast between the two systems, in LOTRO, you get to mold its progression (Stats and look ETC...).

Essentially, this system seems to be for cosmetics only at lover level gameplay.

These weapons aren't supposed to anything uber, they're just a convenience.

Whats probably the most interesting is that they've added a couple of trinkets which is nice. Useful trinkets are nonexistent before level 50 really. I think my Shaman is using Luffa and an AD comission in her mid-50s.

[Nebu]

If items are bind to account, does this mean that people will be more apt to roll on items for alts?  That would truely kill the PuG situation.  If they are class specific, then that only helps if you have an alt of the same class on the other side.  Which seems equally problemmatic. 

I guess I need to read the details. 

[K9]

They're badge-purchased

[Ironwood]

I think this is fucking great.

[Tarami]

I think one point of the system is to make sure that alts don't fall behind gearwise as the XP rate for the 1-70 range is continuously increasing. Since the increasing XP means you're doing fewer quest and killing fewer mobs, you're receiving fewer rewards/rare drops and as such need to twink more with your main to keep it the gear up to level. A few green to blue items that's always on par with the character level will keep it afloat.

Also, it might in turn reduce the price of items for new players as they'll be less contested by people in general (those that don't try to maximise their twinking).

Although, I'm not sure how fun it seems. Scaling is what makes Oblivion the suck.

[Montague]

Everyone who has opted in for beta-testing might want to check their e-mails. The wife and I got beta invites yesterday and several of our friends did as well, so either a big wave of invites went out or we were just extremely lucky  

[Montague]

I think one point of the system is to make sure that alts don't fall behind gearwise as the XP rate for the 1-70 range is continuously increasing. Since the increasing XP means you're doing fewer quest and killing fewer mobs, you're receiving fewer rewards/rare drops and as such need to twink more with your main to keep it the gear up to level. A few green to blue items that's always on par with the character level will keep it afloat.

Also, it might in turn reduce the price of items for new players as they'll be less contested by people in general (those that don't try to maximise their twinking).

Although, I'm not sure how fun it seems. Scaling is what makes Oblivion the suck.

As long as they don't do it with EVERYTHING it'll be fine. I'm curious what happens when a level 80 enchants the scaling weapon with an uber-enchant. Does the enchant fall off when the twink equips it? Is the weapon unable to be equipped? Or can a level 1 character wield a weapon with +50 Strength or whatever?

[Tarami]

I think one point of the system is to make sure that alts don't fall behind gearwise as the XP rate for the 1-70 range is continuously increasing. Since the increasing XP means you're doing fewer quest and killing fewer mobs, you're receiving fewer rewards/rare drops and as such need to twink more with your main to keep it the gear up to level. A few green to blue items that's always on par with the character level will keep it afloat.

Also, it might in turn reduce the price of items for new players as they'll be less contested by people in general (those that don't try to maximise their twinking).

Although, I'm not sure how fun it seems. Scaling is what makes Oblivion the suck.

As long as they don't do it with EVERYTHING it'll be fine. I'm curious what happens when a level 80 enchants the scaling weapon with an uber-enchant. Does the enchant fall off when the twink equips it? Is the weapon unable to be equipped? Or can a level 1 character wield a weapon with +50 Strength or whatever?

Was covered above, but the BoAcc items are item level 1, so not eligible for any significant enchants (which makes sense).

[Montague]

I think one point of the system is to make sure that alts don't fall behind gearwise as the XP rate for the 1-70 range is continuously increasing. Since the increasing XP means you're doing fewer quest and killing fewer mobs, you're receiving fewer rewards/rare drops and as such need to twink more with your main to keep it the gear up to level. A few green to blue items that's always on par with the character level will keep it afloat.

Also, it might in turn reduce the price of items for new players as they'll be less contested by people in general (those that don't try to maximise their twinking).

Although, I'm not sure how fun it seems. Scaling is what makes Oblivion the suck.

As long as they don't do it with EVERYTHING it'll be fine. I'm curious what happens when a level 80 enchants the scaling weapon with an uber-enchant. Does the enchant fall off when the twink equips it? Is the weapon unable to be equipped? Or can a level 1 character wield a weapon with +50 Strength or whatever?

Was covered above, but the BoAcc items are item level 1, so not eligible for any significant enchants (which makes sense).

Bummer, I thought the ilevel scaled with the character as well.

[Kirth]

Everyone who has opted in for beta-testing might want to check their e-mails. The wife and I got beta invites yesterday and several of our friends did as well, so either a big wave of invites went out or we were just extremely lucky  

I got an invite and my account hasn't been active for months.

[Montague]

Blizzard just opened up PVE to PVP transfers. Front page of worldofwarcraft.com

Funny how all these announcements are being made today, you would think they were trying to take the steam out of a game being released soon or something.

[Soln]

who wants to bet they release the next patch day-of or next-day to WAR's release?

[cevik]

who wants to bet they release the next patch day-of or next-day to WAR's release?

3.0 isn't even on the PTR yet.  I can't imagine it going live next week.

[Ingmar]

There's no way 3.0 goes live until they get the class balance in the talent trees cleaned up more. It is not ready for prime time yet.

[Fabricated]

I think a lot more invites just went out. I'll know how many when I see how many of my guild mates got invites.

The account-bound items are great. They're not even overpowered, they're basically equal to greens of the appropriate level. This should encourage more alt leveling (meaning more people for newbies to play with) and help equipment-dependent classes level.

[Righ]

who wants to bet they release the next patch day-of or next-day to WAR's release?

No. Patch and have a long downtime on the day that WAR goes live? That would be an nice boost for WAR.

[Lakov_Sanite]

who wants to bet they release the next patch day-of or next-day to WAR's release?

No. Patch and have a long downtime on the day that WAR goes live? That would be an nice boost for WAR.

They'll release the patch just as most of the warhammer free month subs start running out and announce the expac shortly after.

[cevik]

They'll release the patch just as most of the warhammer free month subs start running out and announce the expac shortly after.

DING!  We have a winner! :)

EDIT:  Ohh with PTR 3.0 going up on either WAR release day or the day after.