Albion Online Depth and Complexity by Game Players

upalbion Date: May/02/16 14:10:08 Views: 1324

This game is simply too complex and does not provide enough depth. By this what I mean is that the fundamental game mechanics were designed to be so complex that it could take a player hours to figure out how much each skill in an individual weapon tree could potentially do for damage. (I used this as an example because it is probably the most common example in the game)

 

albion-online-zone

 

Also, the game also has an abundance of depth, but it is shadowed by far by the overwhelming task of just trying to figure out the complexity of the abilities to begin with. Depth in the game comes from the mix and matching of skills available to the player, to try to customize his or her character in the way they prefer to play.

 

Proof:

 

I will use two different games as examples here.

 

First one being Blade and Soul. In Blade and Soul the amount of damage your abilities do is calculated like this: (Character Power) * (Skill Power); where both numbers are rounded for the convenience of the player. The depth comes from combos and understanding how your abilities synergize together.

 

Second is Dota 2, where there is actually no equations at all for skill progression; everything is printed the way it works. There is an equation for auto attacks, but you have the option of just playing a role that does not need to worry about that. The depth of the game comes from team work, and understanding what your team needs and what each individual player may need, or wants to do.

 

Now lets look at Albion Online. This is the equation of Slit Throat:

 

Zero Charges dmg = 173.1486868*(1.000880115^(Item power))

One Charge dmg = 277.8822949*(1.00087854^(Item power))

Two Charges dmg = 416.1772299*(1.000879737^(Item power))

Three Charges dmg = 590.2448762*(1.000878949^(Item power))

 

The complexity of this ability is astronomical. A player that just started the game and had the luxury of having this equation handed to them would still feel absolutely overwhelmed by it. It completely over shadows the idea of making a custom character that would fit their play style. Also, this is not like Dota 2's system because each weapon has mastery bonuses and quality bonuses

 

Solution:

 

Rework weapon damage formulas in the game to be made more user friendly, and rework some lines, usually healer and mage lines, to be less item dependent.