Yep, I'm trying something else. Over the past ~3 months, I've tried continuing Fell Omens, tried...
Shard of Virtue Online [MMO Quest]
- Thread starter Flintlock
- Start date
- Original
-
- Tags
- mmorpg (rpg)
- Created
- Status
- Ongoing
- Watchers
- 62
- Recent readers
- 0
- Threadmarks
- 12
-
Statistics (7 threadmarks, 5.6k words)
User Total Flintlock 7 -
Loading…
-
Loading…
[Session 1] Character Creation Pt. 1
Yep, I'm trying something else. Over the past ~3 months, I've tried continuing Fell Omens, tried continuing Learnset, tried writing another Pokemon fic and tried continuing Rogue's Gallery. Unfortunately, I then got sick for about a week, which more or less completely resets whatever I'm writing.
Since I don't know whether I'll be continuing Fell Omens, I'll be allowing the transfer of boons if the people who accrued them want.
I know it looks a bit like an SAO style quest, but this is actually derived from the fifteen hours I've spent with Crosscode. And my experience with FFXIV, natch.
* * * * * * * *
After the release of 'Shard of Virtue: The Last Magus', Thaumatic Entertainment went quiet for a full half a decade. The developer was renowned for being tight lipped and secretive, but this was well and truly over the top. No releases. No word of upcoming games. No communications or announcements. Barely a presence on their own forums. Not a whisper of what was in store for the future. A curious occurrence to say the least, in an industry dominated by bravado, promises, social media and marketing, made all the more so by how successful the developer had been over their four game run. All four Shard of Virtues were well received by critic and public alike, with the third oft cited as a modern classic. As the company's silence went from notable, to forgotten, to a baffling fact occasionally brought to mind with 'What ever happened to those guys who made Shard of Virtue?', the lack of news became newsworthy in its own right. Some speculated the developer had silently imploded due to internal issues, but had remained locked under some legal gag. Others believed they were working on their own magnum opus. Some were optimistic. Others assumed disappointment. Most expected nothing at all, and had forgotten all about the little indie developer.
What Thaumatic pulled, no-one expected.
Shard of Virtue Online. Coming soon to VR-Pod. Apply for the closed beta here.
Upon first announcement (after, of course, confirming that this wasn't some hoax), many dismissed it as pure, unadulterated hubris. Thaumatic was tiny; regardless of how quiet they were about what happened in-house, their employment was, at most, in the high double digits and there'd never been any talk of a publisher. They weren't nearly big enough to run a normal MMO, far less one running on the most complicated, data-hungry platform ever devised.
Speaking of which, even the biggest publishers baulked at trying an MMO on the VR-Pod. As great as it sounded on paper, as impressive as it'd be to the public, it wasn't even close to feasible. Even with the advances in VR as more than a novelty. Even with the massive increase in accessibility after price drops and improvements made to the tech's stability and lifespan. Even considering the spike in the purchases of the VR-Pod that the MMO would spur, it was a disaster in the making. The unfeasibly small player base, the cost of maintaining servers, how infamously difficult it was to program for the VR-Pod, and those were just the tip of the iceberg. No publisher with a lick of sense would give the go ahead for such a reckless endeavour.
And yet, here you are.
You're one of the roughly eighty thousand players accepted as part of the third wave of beta testers. Like many others, you applied for it as soon as the first round of reports reached the public. Though technical wizardry required to simply make the game work was what dominated the public conversation, the second biggest talking point was of SoV Online as a legitimate action MMO in its own right, beyond the novelty of VR. It wasn't unimpeachable, of course. Few things are. Some had hoped for a more traditional MMO, while others decried the simplification of the combat system derived from the original game, or found the 'true' first person action game experience to be disagreeable. Overall, however, the complaints usually skewed either subjective or petty; barely enough to even slow the hype train.
It's taken you hours to finally get ready; setting up the VR-Pod's wi-fi connection was a pain and a half, but with the installation complete and your account created, you're finally ready to delve into the game.
Past the unimaginative loading and title screens (which feature little more than a bar crawling across the screen, and the game's title in the same, old font it's used since the first game), you're abruptly thrown into character creation.
It begins with an implicitly male, wireframe mannequin upon a suitably mystical background of ethereal lights against the dark. The word 'Gender' hangs overhead in no-frills, immersion defying Arial. It's probably keyed to switch genders with either Swap Gender or something similarly clunky, but as a veteran of the VR-Pod, you've built up your own mental shorthand for navigating menus. It's somewhere between the command to Change and the mental equivalent of swiping the joystick. Sure enough, the wireframe shifts to a classically feminine shape. You alternate a couple of times, as a sort of brain warm-up, the shape contorting rapidly.
In the end, what do you settle on?
CHOOSE ONE
[] Male
[] Female
With that taken care of, the screen shifts to listing off the six starting classes, each accompanied by a premade, vaguely archetypical example and a short, mostly useless blurb. A reminder that you can change classes in game by completing quests appears at the corner of your vision. Word on the grapevine is class swapping only becomes available once you complete the first branch of the story quest, so you'll be stuck with it for some time.
Which do you pick?
CHOOSE ONE
[] Soldier
"The Soldier is a tank class with elements of melee dps. As one of the easiest classes to learn and one of the most self-sufficient, Soldier is the class of choice for those wanting to learn how to tank."
[] Thief
"The Thief is a melee DPS with supportive elements. While frail and forced to brave the danger zone up close, the Thief's mix of burst damage and crowd control allows them to finish fights quickly."
[] Hunter
"The Hunter is a pure ranged DPS. Free from long cast times, the Hunter is able to move around the battlefield, raining down arrows while keeping out of the way of incoming attacks."
[] Cleric
"The Cleric is primarily a support class, supplemented with powerful AOE spells. While known for their defensive capabilities, the Cleric's magic is also surprisingly potent on offence."
[] Magician
"The Magician is a hybrid of damage and support. The magician locks their enemies in place with powerful crowd control, before finishing them off with a flurry of magic. "
[] Pyromancer
"The Pyromancer is a pure ranged DPS class. With massive damage with each spell cast, the Pyromancer can blast apart weaker monsters before they even realise what's happened."
Since I don't know whether I'll be continuing Fell Omens, I'll be allowing the transfer of boons if the people who accrued them want.
I know it looks a bit like an SAO style quest, but this is actually derived from the fifteen hours I've spent with Crosscode. And my experience with FFXIV, natch.
* * * * * * * *
After the release of 'Shard of Virtue: The Last Magus', Thaumatic Entertainment went quiet for a full half a decade. The developer was renowned for being tight lipped and secretive, but this was well and truly over the top. No releases. No word of upcoming games. No communications or announcements. Barely a presence on their own forums. Not a whisper of what was in store for the future. A curious occurrence to say the least, in an industry dominated by bravado, promises, social media and marketing, made all the more so by how successful the developer had been over their four game run. All four Shard of Virtues were well received by critic and public alike, with the third oft cited as a modern classic. As the company's silence went from notable, to forgotten, to a baffling fact occasionally brought to mind with 'What ever happened to those guys who made Shard of Virtue?', the lack of news became newsworthy in its own right. Some speculated the developer had silently imploded due to internal issues, but had remained locked under some legal gag. Others believed they were working on their own magnum opus. Some were optimistic. Others assumed disappointment. Most expected nothing at all, and had forgotten all about the little indie developer.
What Thaumatic pulled, no-one expected.
Shard of Virtue Online. Coming soon to VR-Pod. Apply for the closed beta here.
Upon first announcement (after, of course, confirming that this wasn't some hoax), many dismissed it as pure, unadulterated hubris. Thaumatic was tiny; regardless of how quiet they were about what happened in-house, their employment was, at most, in the high double digits and there'd never been any talk of a publisher. They weren't nearly big enough to run a normal MMO, far less one running on the most complicated, data-hungry platform ever devised.
Speaking of which, even the biggest publishers baulked at trying an MMO on the VR-Pod. As great as it sounded on paper, as impressive as it'd be to the public, it wasn't even close to feasible. Even with the advances in VR as more than a novelty. Even with the massive increase in accessibility after price drops and improvements made to the tech's stability and lifespan. Even considering the spike in the purchases of the VR-Pod that the MMO would spur, it was a disaster in the making. The unfeasibly small player base, the cost of maintaining servers, how infamously difficult it was to program for the VR-Pod, and those were just the tip of the iceberg. No publisher with a lick of sense would give the go ahead for such a reckless endeavour.
And yet, here you are.
You're one of the roughly eighty thousand players accepted as part of the third wave of beta testers. Like many others, you applied for it as soon as the first round of reports reached the public. Though technical wizardry required to simply make the game work was what dominated the public conversation, the second biggest talking point was of SoV Online as a legitimate action MMO in its own right, beyond the novelty of VR. It wasn't unimpeachable, of course. Few things are. Some had hoped for a more traditional MMO, while others decried the simplification of the combat system derived from the original game, or found the 'true' first person action game experience to be disagreeable. Overall, however, the complaints usually skewed either subjective or petty; barely enough to even slow the hype train.
It's taken you hours to finally get ready; setting up the VR-Pod's wi-fi connection was a pain and a half, but with the installation complete and your account created, you're finally ready to delve into the game.
Past the unimaginative loading and title screens (which feature little more than a bar crawling across the screen, and the game's title in the same, old font it's used since the first game), you're abruptly thrown into character creation.
It begins with an implicitly male, wireframe mannequin upon a suitably mystical background of ethereal lights against the dark. The word 'Gender' hangs overhead in no-frills, immersion defying Arial. It's probably keyed to switch genders with either Swap Gender or something similarly clunky, but as a veteran of the VR-Pod, you've built up your own mental shorthand for navigating menus. It's somewhere between the command to Change and the mental equivalent of swiping the joystick. Sure enough, the wireframe shifts to a classically feminine shape. You alternate a couple of times, as a sort of brain warm-up, the shape contorting rapidly.
In the end, what do you settle on?
CHOOSE ONE
[] Male
[] Female
With that taken care of, the screen shifts to listing off the six starting classes, each accompanied by a premade, vaguely archetypical example and a short, mostly useless blurb. A reminder that you can change classes in game by completing quests appears at the corner of your vision. Word on the grapevine is class swapping only becomes available once you complete the first branch of the story quest, so you'll be stuck with it for some time.
Which do you pick?
CHOOSE ONE
[] Soldier
"The Soldier is a tank class with elements of melee dps. As one of the easiest classes to learn and one of the most self-sufficient, Soldier is the class of choice for those wanting to learn how to tank."
[] Thief
"The Thief is a melee DPS with supportive elements. While frail and forced to brave the danger zone up close, the Thief's mix of burst damage and crowd control allows them to finish fights quickly."
[] Hunter
"The Hunter is a pure ranged DPS. Free from long cast times, the Hunter is able to move around the battlefield, raining down arrows while keeping out of the way of incoming attacks."
[] Cleric
"The Cleric is primarily a support class, supplemented with powerful AOE spells. While known for their defensive capabilities, the Cleric's magic is also surprisingly potent on offence."
[] Magician
"The Magician is a hybrid of damage and support. The magician locks their enemies in place with powerful crowd control, before finishing them off with a flurry of magic. "
[] Pyromancer
"The Pyromancer is a pure ranged DPS class. With massive damage with each spell cast, the Pyromancer can blast apart weaker monsters before they even realise what's happened."
Last edited:
Character Sheet
Character Sheet
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Username: ???
Character Name: ???
Avatar Gender: Female
Favourite Class: Cleric [Level 1]
General Skills
Mechanics: Gimped (100/250 EXP)
Mastery: Passable (250/500 EXP)
Awareness: Passable (250/500 EXP)
Lore: Balanced (500/1250 EXP)
Specific Skills
Aim: Untested (Unknown)
Attend: Untested (Unknown)
Craft: Untested (Unknown)
Dodge: Untested (Unknown)
Execute: Untested (Unknown)
Focus: Untested (Unknown)
Gather: Untested (Unknown)
Mitigate: Untested (Unknown)
Predict: Untested (Unknown)
Taunt: Untested (Unknown)
Class Experience
Soldier: [LOCKED]
Thief: [LOCKED]
Hunter: [LOCKED]
Cleric: Level 1 | lol [0/10 XP]
Attend [+0] / Predict [+0]
Magician: [LOCKED]
Pyromancer: [LOCKED]
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Username: ???
Character Name: ???
Avatar Gender: Female
Favourite Class: Cleric [Level 1]
General Skills
Mechanics: Gimped (100/250 EXP)
Mastery: Passable (250/500 EXP)
Awareness: Passable (250/500 EXP)
Lore: Balanced (500/1250 EXP)
Specific Skills
Aim: Untested (Unknown)
Attend: Untested (Unknown)
Craft: Untested (Unknown)
Dodge: Untested (Unknown)
Execute: Untested (Unknown)
Focus: Untested (Unknown)
Gather: Untested (Unknown)
Mitigate: Untested (Unknown)
Predict: Untested (Unknown)
Taunt: Untested (Unknown)
Class Experience
Soldier: [LOCKED]
Thief: [LOCKED]
Hunter: [LOCKED]
Cleric: Level 1 | lol [0/10 XP]
Attend [+0] / Predict [+0]
Magician: [LOCKED]
Pyromancer: [LOCKED]
Last edited:
Mechanics Compilation
List of Dual Classes (Base)
The fifteen dual classes are more or less public knowledge, though information on obtaining them is more difficult to come by. May as well list them here.
Mercenary - Soldier/Thief
Ranger - Soldier/Hunter
Paladin - Soldier/Cleric
Rune Knight - Soldier/Magician
Battlemage - Soldier/Pyromancer
Assassin - Thief/Hunter
Vigilante - Thief/Cleric
Ninja - Thief/Magician
Saboteur - Thief/Pyromancer
Inquisitor - Hunter/Cleric
Trickster - Hunter/Magician
Gunslinger - Hunter/Pyromancer
Magister - Cleric/Magician
Shaman - Cleric/Pyromancer
Alchemist - Magician/Pyromancer
It's also decently public knowledge that there's three other pseudo base classes that aren't initially available; Berserker, Druid and Warlock. Combinations for those are less well known.
Anywho, I'll probably call the first vote some time tomorrow.
Last edited:
[Session 1] Character Creation Pt.2
As you lock your starting class in, your vision abruptly fades to black. Curious, considering there were still a full four tabs along the side of the character creation menu that hadn't been filled in yet. Sound and sight slowly return, muffled and blurry at first. Your vision has an oppressively grimy, yellow filter laid over it, giving you a pretty good idea of what you're going into, despite your inability to actually see what's happening.
You're currently standing ramrod straight, as two figures in front of you talk. You try to grasp control of your ostensible avatar, but your movements seem sluggish and muted, as is usually the case with this sort of cutscene. You suppose you'll just have to ride it out until you're given control back.
Finally, the sounds become distinct enough that you can understand what the voices are saying.
"-felike. Distressingly so."
"Sir, she's awake. She can hear-"
The first figure turns. The angular bulkiness of his silhouette resolves itself into heavy, jet black armour. He looms over both your and his associate; an old man, clothed in hooded, white robes decorated in vaguely mystical patterns. Though his helmet obscures his face, you can feel him pin his associate with his gaze.
"Cardinal, I would not overstep my bounds, if I were in your...position."
The cardinal shifts uncomfortably, before falling silent. Even as the armoured man turns his attention back to you, the cardinal continues to cower. You note they've gone with the same style as the old games; almost aping a sort of hand-drawn anime look.
It's actually a little disconcerting in first person 3d.
"Release the bindings."
An uncertain nod, and the old man raises a glowing hand. You greedily snatch control of your avatar and roll your neck and shoulders. You gauge the movement as more or less a one to one recreation of your movement in reality. So far, it seems they've done an adequate job. With how much everyone was raving about the technical side of the game, you suppose proper avatar-self synchronicity is the least you'd expect.
"Now, Tuldur, I suppose it's time for us to test your claims. You will be expected in the training room, recruit."
CHOOSE ONE
[] "Yes, sir."
[] "Whatever you say, tutorial man."
[] "I'm gonna enjoy fucking you up when you become a raid boss, you know that right?"
[] Write-In.
You try to answer, but your voice only seems to echo through your head. The man strides out of the room, which you're finally able to take stock of. You can't see an actual light source; no windows, no torches, no lights. You wonder if the filter is some actual, in-game effect representing the light, rather than an artistic thing. Making out the details with the filter is hard, but walls seem to be made of a sort of worked metal. Probably iron. There's a austere quality to the untreated steel; it's not particularly worn, but it still feels...Old. And out of place, considering Shard of Virtue is solidly fantasy. Whatever's happening here is probably some plot thing.
The Cardinal clears his throat, his reticence to offend is maintained, as the sound is as timid as anything else he's said.
"I would...Not dally. Lord Suresteel is... Not known for his patience."
A box of text pops up, obscuring your vision.
You wonder if this is skippable somehow. You mash the mental buttons, but there isn't an immediate response. You shrug and head to the next room. It's about the same as the last; but smaller. More claustrophobic. A single table and a training dummy are the only other inhabitants.
"Hmmph. Alright, recruit. The cardinal has assured me the ritual has granted you what would take a normal acolyte years of dedicated faith to be awarded."
He move to the table and hands you an odd looking...Thing. It's wood and white paint; a stick that splits into two prongs, both of which end in a crown-like series of regular triangles. His voice takes a disdainful lilt, that implies he's sneering behind the helmet's visor.
"Show me."
You're fairly certain this is all deliberately confusing and vague.
Again, a text box fills your vision.
A little odd. And a little gimmicky, you think. Not entirely what you expected of the class.
...What did you expect, anyway?
What sort of background do you have as a gamer, that Shard of Virtue Online would appeal to you?
CHOOSE ONE
[] MMO Expert (Focus: Mechanics)
[] Action Game Afficionado (Focus: Mastery)
[] VR Veteran (Focus: Awareness)
[] Shard of Virtue Fan (Focus: Lore)
* * * * * * * *
So, I should probably explain the specifics of the four primary skills.
Mechanics
Mechanics governs the MC's ability to complete rote tasks, or those where consistency is the goal/difficulty. This can be anything from completing a raid without dropping your spell rotation to crafting thirty bandages.
Mastery
Mastery governs the MC's ability to complete tasks where immediate precision and/or speed is the deciding factor. This could be hitting a weak spot on an erratically moving target, or parrying a flurry of incoming attacks.
Awareness
Awareness governs the MC's situational problem solving in regards to 3D space. This applies to both environmental problems such as evading surprise attacks or spotting hidden objects, and to party management.
Lore
Lore governs the MC's knowledge of the game world and system. This applies to recalling the history of Shard of Virtue, to remembering boss attack patterns, to evaluating items/builds.
There'll probably be a bit more time of this vote, since I have work tomorrow.
You're currently standing ramrod straight, as two figures in front of you talk. You try to grasp control of your ostensible avatar, but your movements seem sluggish and muted, as is usually the case with this sort of cutscene. You suppose you'll just have to ride it out until you're given control back.
Finally, the sounds become distinct enough that you can understand what the voices are saying.
"-felike. Distressingly so."
"Sir, she's awake. She can hear-"
The first figure turns. The angular bulkiness of his silhouette resolves itself into heavy, jet black armour. He looms over both your and his associate; an old man, clothed in hooded, white robes decorated in vaguely mystical patterns. Though his helmet obscures his face, you can feel him pin his associate with his gaze.
"Cardinal, I would not overstep my bounds, if I were in your...position."
The cardinal shifts uncomfortably, before falling silent. Even as the armoured man turns his attention back to you, the cardinal continues to cower. You note they've gone with the same style as the old games; almost aping a sort of hand-drawn anime look.
It's actually a little disconcerting in first person 3d.
"Release the bindings."
An uncertain nod, and the old man raises a glowing hand. You greedily snatch control of your avatar and roll your neck and shoulders. You gauge the movement as more or less a one to one recreation of your movement in reality. So far, it seems they've done an adequate job. With how much everyone was raving about the technical side of the game, you suppose proper avatar-self synchronicity is the least you'd expect.
"Now, Tuldur, I suppose it's time for us to test your claims. You will be expected in the training room, recruit."
CHOOSE ONE
[] "Yes, sir."
[] "Whatever you say, tutorial man."
[] "I'm gonna enjoy fucking you up when you become a raid boss, you know that right?"
[] Write-In.
You try to answer, but your voice only seems to echo through your head. The man strides out of the room, which you're finally able to take stock of. You can't see an actual light source; no windows, no torches, no lights. You wonder if the filter is some actual, in-game effect representing the light, rather than an artistic thing. Making out the details with the filter is hard, but walls seem to be made of a sort of worked metal. Probably iron. There's a austere quality to the untreated steel; it's not particularly worn, but it still feels...Old. And out of place, considering Shard of Virtue is solidly fantasy. Whatever's happening here is probably some plot thing.
The Cardinal clears his throat, his reticence to offend is maintained, as the sound is as timid as anything else he's said.
"I would...Not dally. Lord Suresteel is... Not known for his patience."
A box of text pops up, obscuring your vision.
You wonder if this is skippable somehow. You mash the mental buttons, but there isn't an immediate response. You shrug and head to the next room. It's about the same as the last; but smaller. More claustrophobic. A single table and a training dummy are the only other inhabitants.
"Hmmph. Alright, recruit. The cardinal has assured me the ritual has granted you what would take a normal acolyte years of dedicated faith to be awarded."
He move to the table and hands you an odd looking...Thing. It's wood and white paint; a stick that splits into two prongs, both of which end in a crown-like series of regular triangles. His voice takes a disdainful lilt, that implies he's sneering behind the helmet's visor.
"Show me."
You're fairly certain this is all deliberately confusing and vague.
Again, a text box fills your vision.
A little odd. And a little gimmicky, you think. Not entirely what you expected of the class.
...What did you expect, anyway?
What sort of background do you have as a gamer, that Shard of Virtue Online would appeal to you?
CHOOSE ONE
[] MMO Expert (Focus: Mechanics)
[] Action Game Afficionado (Focus: Mastery)
[] VR Veteran (Focus: Awareness)
[] Shard of Virtue Fan (Focus: Lore)
* * * * * * * *
So, I should probably explain the specifics of the four primary skills.
Mechanics
Mechanics governs the MC's ability to complete rote tasks, or those where consistency is the goal/difficulty. This can be anything from completing a raid without dropping your spell rotation to crafting thirty bandages.
Mastery
Mastery governs the MC's ability to complete tasks where immediate precision and/or speed is the deciding factor. This could be hitting a weak spot on an erratically moving target, or parrying a flurry of incoming attacks.
Awareness
Awareness governs the MC's situational problem solving in regards to 3D space. This applies to both environmental problems such as evading surprise attacks or spotting hidden objects, and to party management.
Lore
Lore governs the MC's knowledge of the game world and system. This applies to recalling the history of Shard of Virtue, to remembering boss attack patterns, to evaluating items/builds.
There'll probably be a bit more time of this vote, since I have work tomorrow.
Last edited:
Heavy Lourde [1] - Topic: soldier OP lol
So, I'm kinda bored at work, but I'm gonna leave the vote a little longer. In the mean time, have a mini-expo dump thinly disguised as a PHO style thing.
Heavy Lourde [1]
Welcome to the Shard of Virtue Message Boards
You are currently logged in, Hailstorm
You are viewing:
• Threads you have replied to
• AND Threads that have new replies
• OR private message conversations with new replies
• Thread OP is displayed
• Ten posts per page
• Last ten messages in private message history
• Threads and private messages are ordered by user custom preference.
In: Boards ► Shard of Virtue Online ► Feedback ► Class Feedback
BlckSword (Original Poster) (Beta Tester)
Posted 8 hours ago:
just solod crag 2ez
(Showing Page 1 of 1)
► Kacjson (Beta Tester)
Replied 8 hours ago:
SPELUNKER OR GTFO
► XVirall (Beta Tester)
Replied 8 hours ago:
fkn moron nobody cares bout crag
► Lumpy (Beta Tester)
Replied 8 hours ago:
SPELUNKER OR GTFO
► BronzeDragon (Beta Tester)
Replied 7 hours ago:
SPELUNKE-Wait nvm, lol
► Josh38 (Beta Tester)
Replied 7 hours ago:
SPELUNKER OR GTFO
► Lodestoner (Beta Tester)
Replied 7 hours ago:
Soldier is shit later, dw.
► Wall2021 (Beta Tester)
Replied 6 hours ago:
yeah, soldier is worst offtank
► DieShard (Beta Tester)
Replied 5 hours ago:
crag lel
► BaritoneBass (Beta Tester)
Replied 5 hours ago:
So, Thaumatic made the six starting classes more jack of all trades-y for solo play and pugs. Once you get further in (AKA Ancient Cavern/"SPELUNKER OR GTFO"), you'll find all of them start to drop off really hard.
Soldier's EHP is reliant on a weak armour steroid and healing, so you're super soft to tank busters. You can build defence and hope your DPS don't flame you for losing aggro constantly, or you can build damage AKA floor-tank soldier.
For three of the four post-30 dungeons, thief can't reach the crit zone for the end boss without Fling or Levitate, which basically invalidates them as a class. I'm told their pretty good for PVP tho.
Hunter's a Crit-DPS class with the per-hit damage of a support; you're gonna hit rage against literally any BP. If you want a ranged Crit-DPS, legit just play any of Hunter's duals. Yes, even Trickster.
Cleric's ok as a healer, but has no utility and no damage buffs. The only thing you have over other healers is Divine Intervention (which is only needed if the tank is shit). If you want to pad your parse, play Shaman instead.
Pyro's amazing as an AA-DPS right up until armour phases start taking more than two rotations, after which they drop off the face of the earth. Good luck getting through Spazwolf.
Magician is the only base class anyone uses past 40. And that's only because Phantom Wall and Homing Barrage are fucking retarded. Which I suppose is fine, since nobody plays Magician anyway.
► DieShard (Beta Tester)
Replied 5 hours ago:
tldr lol
End of Page. 1
Heavy Lourde [1]
Welcome to the Shard of Virtue Message Boards
You are currently logged in, Hailstorm
You are viewing:
• Threads you have replied to
• AND Threads that have new replies
• OR private message conversations with new replies
• Thread OP is displayed
• Ten posts per page
• Last ten messages in private message history
• Threads and private messages are ordered by user custom preference.
■
♦Topic: soldier OP lolIn: Boards ► Shard of Virtue Online ► Feedback ► Class Feedback
BlckSword (Original Poster) (Beta Tester)
Posted 8 hours ago:
just solod crag 2ez
(Showing Page 1 of 1)
► Kacjson (Beta Tester)
Replied 8 hours ago:
SPELUNKER OR GTFO
► XVirall (Beta Tester)
Replied 8 hours ago:
fkn moron nobody cares bout crag
► Lumpy (Beta Tester)
Replied 8 hours ago:
SPELUNKER OR GTFO
► BronzeDragon (Beta Tester)
Replied 7 hours ago:
SPELUNKE-Wait nvm, lol
► Josh38 (Beta Tester)
Replied 7 hours ago:
SPELUNKER OR GTFO
► Lodestoner (Beta Tester)
Replied 7 hours ago:
Soldier is shit later, dw.
► Wall2021 (Beta Tester)
Replied 6 hours ago:
yeah, soldier is worst offtank
► DieShard (Beta Tester)
Replied 5 hours ago:
crag lel
► BaritoneBass (Beta Tester)
Replied 5 hours ago:
So, Thaumatic made the six starting classes more jack of all trades-y for solo play and pugs. Once you get further in (AKA Ancient Cavern/"SPELUNKER OR GTFO"), you'll find all of them start to drop off really hard.
Soldier's EHP is reliant on a weak armour steroid and healing, so you're super soft to tank busters. You can build defence and hope your DPS don't flame you for losing aggro constantly, or you can build damage AKA floor-tank soldier.
For three of the four post-30 dungeons, thief can't reach the crit zone for the end boss without Fling or Levitate, which basically invalidates them as a class. I'm told their pretty good for PVP tho.
Hunter's a Crit-DPS class with the per-hit damage of a support; you're gonna hit rage against literally any BP. If you want a ranged Crit-DPS, legit just play any of Hunter's duals. Yes, even Trickster.
Cleric's ok as a healer, but has no utility and no damage buffs. The only thing you have over other healers is Divine Intervention (which is only needed if the tank is shit). If you want to pad your parse, play Shaman instead.
Pyro's amazing as an AA-DPS right up until armour phases start taking more than two rotations, after which they drop off the face of the earth. Good luck getting through Spazwolf.
Magician is the only base class anyone uses past 40. And that's only because Phantom Wall and Homing Barrage are fucking retarded. Which I suppose is fine, since nobody plays Magician anyway.
► DieShard (Beta Tester)
Replied 5 hours ago:
tldr lol
Last edited:
[Session 1] Character Creation Pt.3
You recall the basics of holy magic from SoV 2. It's meant to be mostly based around purity of heart and certainty of faith. Raising a wooden stick in the air seems more in the wheelhouse of a Magician (albeit, super simplified). Still, you do as the tutorial box tells you to, and you watch as the icon begins to glow, then shine. A moment, and you have to turn your eyes down, away from the blinding glare.
As you take your attention from the icon, you notice a bright yellow bar has been added to the bottom of your vision; it takes maybe 5-10 seconds to fill up completely, after which your magic stick stops glowing. You aren't sure how to feel about a HUD in a VR game, but you suppose it's a necessary evil for anything as complex as an MMO.
A sound that might've been a snarl snaps your attention back to your immediate surroundings. You carefully don't turn your head to look at the general, as he mutters something under his breath.
"If times were less desperate, the cardinal would've long since been put to the guillotine. That we must rely on such-."
The room lurches violently, sending you stumbling to regain your footing. You turn to watch Truesteel, who turns his gaze towards another corridor.
"Varrat, you cretin, what are you fu-Ahem. Continue, recruit. Strike down the effigy."
You test the movement of the icon briefly. At first, you wave it slowly, studying the prongs that you assume will generate the attack. More sudden, forceful movements generate a white glow around the tips, which extinguishes as soon as you stop. It's more or less old hat motion control style gimmickry. You have no doubt that it'll get more complicated and contrived as you go. It's a concept literally decades old. You suppose it's never been done in an MMO before, but that's not necessarily a good thing.
Finally, you decide to push forward with the tutorial, throwing a lazy swipe with the icon. A glowing blade slices through the dummy, dealing 31 damage (which pops up above your target's head, accompanied by a red health bar with a tiny chip taken out of it). More interestingly, a charred line follows the entry point of your attack, as though someone had taken a soldering iron to the wood.
You take a moment to examine the dummy's back.
...
Yep; it goes all the way through. A detail that seems maybe a little over the top, all things considered. Then again, considering how one of the game's big gimmicks, carried through from its single player predecessors, is finding the weak points of your foes, you suppose some kind of feedback is appropriate.
Though, if they had this kind of ambition, you would've liked to have seen it in the prequels.
"Now, repair it."
That seems more appropriate. A nice, logical, obvious thing. Point the holy stick at a thing for healing. Gotcha. The dummy's healthbar switches from red to green, denoting the sudden switch of allegiance. There's something kinda funny about that.
*Shudder*
You hesitate at the movement, but manage to keep your bearings. This time, you don't bother messing around. Point the stick and a beam of white light connects from it to the dummy. The green bar first fills up, then vanishes once full, taking the scorch marks with it. You guess it's going to be a buff spell n-
*BANG*
You're blasted off your feet by an explosion that shatters the far wall. All sound is blotted out by a piercing, ringing sound and your eyes blur. You numbly observe a hole opened in the metal to reveal...Clear, blue sky and rushing wind. Your control slips from your avatar, who drops to the ground, as a blurry black shape storms off.
Darkness encroaches round the edge of your vision, creeping across until it is once again completely blotted out.
You find yourself returned to the character selection screen, slightly miffed and slightly baffled. You just sit there for a moment, distantly No, Thanksing to the 'Would you like to change classes?' box that comes up. That was...An odd way to do a tutorial. Not wholly unexpected, considering what the opening of PoV 2 was like, but you're still pretty sure you weren't actually that much of a fan of it this time.
And that's to say nothing of someone who might've reacted...less favourably to such a turn of events.
Well...No use in waiting here. Onwards and upwards.
Moving on, the next tab is build.
…
Oh.
...
welp
Well, that's…Limited.
You alternate between the five options as you mull them over, somewhat unamused. None of them are… entirely ideal. Especially considering this is all in first person, and thus you'll need to deal with the... idiosyncrasies of the available body types. It's perhaps a little odd; it's not like Thaumatic subscribed to this specific kind of thing in the past. For the most part, they went for more or less generic, realistic body types. These ones, on the other hand are...
Well...
What you'd expect for an MMO character editor, actually.
CHOOSE ONE
[] Fantasy Classic.
The standard look for any fantasy human female character. Above average height. Not quite out and out eye candy, but it's a near thing.
[] Anime Classic
You suppose this is the Japanese equivalent of the above. Noticeably shorter and assumably younger. This makes certain other assets even more unrealistic.
[] Amazon
The barbarian princess look. Tall enough to be imposing, muscular, yet…well. There's a certain trend going so far which hasn't been broken, until...
[] Lithe.
You're tempted to call this one the 'not elf'. The stereotypical LotR female elf features, sans pointy ears; tall, thin and graceful.
[] Petite
You assumed this was the loli option when you first glanced past it, but it's closer to a young teenager. You pigeonhole it as the 'highschool anime extra' build.
This contrasts the embarrassingly large number of hair cuts and colours available, the latter of which is literally 'any'. They've just dumped a colour wheel thing in and let you pick from the lot. This, accompanied with the literal pages of haircuts is...
Blurasdgl;kjasdf?
SUGGEST ONE
[] Write-In (Suggest a girl's hairstyle and colour)
As you take your attention from the icon, you notice a bright yellow bar has been added to the bottom of your vision; it takes maybe 5-10 seconds to fill up completely, after which your magic stick stops glowing. You aren't sure how to feel about a HUD in a VR game, but you suppose it's a necessary evil for anything as complex as an MMO.
A sound that might've been a snarl snaps your attention back to your immediate surroundings. You carefully don't turn your head to look at the general, as he mutters something under his breath.
"If times were less desperate, the cardinal would've long since been put to the guillotine. That we must rely on such-."
The room lurches violently, sending you stumbling to regain your footing. You turn to watch Truesteel, who turns his gaze towards another corridor.
"Varrat, you cretin, what are you fu-Ahem. Continue, recruit. Strike down the effigy."
You test the movement of the icon briefly. At first, you wave it slowly, studying the prongs that you assume will generate the attack. More sudden, forceful movements generate a white glow around the tips, which extinguishes as soon as you stop. It's more or less old hat motion control style gimmickry. You have no doubt that it'll get more complicated and contrived as you go. It's a concept literally decades old. You suppose it's never been done in an MMO before, but that's not necessarily a good thing.
Finally, you decide to push forward with the tutorial, throwing a lazy swipe with the icon. A glowing blade slices through the dummy, dealing 31 damage (which pops up above your target's head, accompanied by a red health bar with a tiny chip taken out of it). More interestingly, a charred line follows the entry point of your attack, as though someone had taken a soldering iron to the wood.
You take a moment to examine the dummy's back.
...
Yep; it goes all the way through. A detail that seems maybe a little over the top, all things considered. Then again, considering how one of the game's big gimmicks, carried through from its single player predecessors, is finding the weak points of your foes, you suppose some kind of feedback is appropriate.
Though, if they had this kind of ambition, you would've liked to have seen it in the prequels.
"Now, repair it."
That seems more appropriate. A nice, logical, obvious thing. Point the holy stick at a thing for healing. Gotcha. The dummy's healthbar switches from red to green, denoting the sudden switch of allegiance. There's something kinda funny about that.
*Shudder*
You hesitate at the movement, but manage to keep your bearings. This time, you don't bother messing around. Point the stick and a beam of white light connects from it to the dummy. The green bar first fills up, then vanishes once full, taking the scorch marks with it. You guess it's going to be a buff spell n-
*BANG*
You're blasted off your feet by an explosion that shatters the far wall. All sound is blotted out by a piercing, ringing sound and your eyes blur. You numbly observe a hole opened in the metal to reveal...Clear, blue sky and rushing wind. Your control slips from your avatar, who drops to the ground, as a blurry black shape storms off.
Darkness encroaches round the edge of your vision, creeping across until it is once again completely blotted out.
You find yourself returned to the character selection screen, slightly miffed and slightly baffled. You just sit there for a moment, distantly No, Thanksing to the 'Would you like to change classes?' box that comes up. That was...An odd way to do a tutorial. Not wholly unexpected, considering what the opening of PoV 2 was like, but you're still pretty sure you weren't actually that much of a fan of it this time.
And that's to say nothing of someone who might've reacted...less favourably to such a turn of events.
Well...No use in waiting here. Onwards and upwards.
Moving on, the next tab is build.
…
Oh.
...
welp
Well, that's…Limited.
You alternate between the five options as you mull them over, somewhat unamused. None of them are… entirely ideal. Especially considering this is all in first person, and thus you'll need to deal with the... idiosyncrasies of the available body types. It's perhaps a little odd; it's not like Thaumatic subscribed to this specific kind of thing in the past. For the most part, they went for more or less generic, realistic body types. These ones, on the other hand are...
Well...
What you'd expect for an MMO character editor, actually.
CHOOSE ONE
[] Fantasy Classic.
The standard look for any fantasy human female character. Above average height. Not quite out and out eye candy, but it's a near thing.
[] Anime Classic
You suppose this is the Japanese equivalent of the above. Noticeably shorter and assumably younger. This makes certain other assets even more unrealistic.
[] Amazon
The barbarian princess look. Tall enough to be imposing, muscular, yet…well. There's a certain trend going so far which hasn't been broken, until...
[] Lithe.
You're tempted to call this one the 'not elf'. The stereotypical LotR female elf features, sans pointy ears; tall, thin and graceful.
[] Petite
You assumed this was the loli option when you first glanced past it, but it's closer to a young teenager. You pigeonhole it as the 'highschool anime extra' build.
This contrasts the embarrassingly large number of hair cuts and colours available, the latter of which is literally 'any'. They've just dumped a colour wheel thing in and let you pick from the lot. This, accompanied with the literal pages of haircuts is...
Blurasdgl;kjasdf?
SUGGEST ONE
[] Write-In (Suggest a girl's hairstyle and colour)
Last edited:
Heavy Lourde [2] - Dungeon Class Meta (Patch 0.4.09.1)
Will probably close the vote tomorrow morning. In the mean time, have another 'was bored at work' quick info dump.
Heavy Lourde [2]
Welcome to the Shard of Virtue Message Boards
You are currently logged in, Hailstorm
You are viewing:
• Threads you have replied to
• AND Threads that have new replies
• OR private message conversations with new replies
• Thread OP is displayed
• Ten posts per page
• Last ten messages in private message history
• Threads and private messages are ordered by user custom preference.
In: Boards ► Shard of Virtue Online ► Strategy
BaritoneBass (Original Poster) (Beta Tester)
Posted 8 minutes ago:
So, with the massive influx people from the last round of invites, I decided to take it upon myself to do a quick run down what the dominant classes are and why. This is probably pointless, what with the impending patch next week, but y'know, wtvr.
Rune Knight (MT)
One half of the dynamic duo that's been more or less mandatory for all high level content since release. Shield Inscription (Aegis) and Enfeebling Brand are enough mitigation that you can get away with an off-healer like the Inquisitor, and Ensorcel lets you cheat at aggro management (as long as you're decent at blocking). Just make sure the OT remembers they aren't a secondary AA and actually pulls mobs, or you're in for a rough time.
Mercenary (OT)
The Abbot to the Rune Knight's Costello. Bravado is what makes Temple R3 doable with the level soft cap, plus you have pretty decent AA damage with Flourish and Unseat. Remember that Merc is pretty squishy for a class that can queue for main tank, so don't rush ahead like a LOLdier.
Inquisitor (SUP)
As everyone knows, damage is king late game and the Inquisitor is king of damage. Purifying Bolt is more or less the best damage amp in the game. It's also probably the hardest class to play effectively, since you're more or less taking the hardest parts of the two hardest roles (Crit & Sup) and smooshing them together.
Magister (SUP)
AKA ez modo. While the Inquisitor is a 'high skill = big rewards', the Magister is basically an aura/healbot with a little utility. With Age of Enlightenment, you contribute more to certain boss fights AFK than other classes do when played perfectly. Rumour Mill's saying Magister's getting reworked next patch, and I wouldn't be surprised.
Gunslinger (CRIT)
Best Crit against Barrier Pattern bosses. Highest burst damage of any class by miles, and Heavy Calibre is mandatory for certain phase skips. That said, you'll need some time kitting yourself out if you want to run one; hold-out is far and away the best build atm, so I hope you like grinding Temple.
Vigilante (CRIT)
Important for a couple of specific dungeons. Lethal Dose is the best ability for ending a Guard phase and it's attached to the highest mobility class available. Not much more to say about the class; it's kinda linear atm.
Battlemage (AA)
Immolation chews through armour and needs minimal input. As long as heat's kept up, you've got pretty good damage, plus the durability of a Paladin (which means you don't need to worry about your tank failing to soak stuff like Spazz Out). Battlemage isn't strictly the best AA in terms of raw damage (that goes to either Shaman or Saboteur), but maxing out damage on your AA isn't super important in the dungeons released so far.
Magician (PHANTOM WALL DISPENSER)
Phantom Wall is broken and should probably be fixed soon. It'd be ridiculous even if it worked like Get Up! or Last Stand, but it also blocks stuff that really shouldn't be blockable. Angel Rising goes from a super complicated juggling act that requires pre-made levels of co-ordination, to a literal DPS check. That's the worst example, but there's plenty of others that get cheesed hard by this.
(Showing Page 1 of 1)
* * * * * * * *
Anywho, these are the tentative numbers for secondary skills and the trait derived from the background; I'm willing to swap things around (within reason) if people have objections and can justify the exchanges.
Focus – Passable [250/500 XP]
Shard of Virtue was, for the most part, an action-adventure/puzzle game. The four games are cerebral than your average hack n' slash, which has prepared you well for future puzzles and boss mechanics.
Predict – Passable [250/500 XP]
Speaking of bosses, Shard of Virtue relied heavily on the 'dodge the super-telegraphed attack, then riposte'. It's not much help in a fast-paced melee, but you should be decent at not having your spells interrupted.
Aim – Gimped [100/250 XP]
You aren't exactly some amazing, flick-shot master, but you more or less know how to lead a projectile. You're more used to your character doing most of the hard work, though.
Gather – Gimped [100/250 XP]
It wasn't a super big part of Shard of Virtue, but you've played enough games like it which had collection elements.
Attend – Trash [10/100 XP]
Considering you picked Cleric for your starting class, you have some idea of how party management works, but only on a theoretical level; you've never had to actually play healer before.
Execute – Trash [10/100 XP]
Having owned a VR-Pod for some time now, you have some experience with gimmicky handwaving BS, but it's not really your forte.
Dodge – lol [0/10 XP]
You have minimal experience with evasion in a VR environment.
Craft – lol [0/10 XP]
You have minimal experience with crafting that's more involved than 'go through a menu'.
Taunt – lol [0/10 XP]
You have minimal experience with aggro management.
Trait: Virtuous
Shard of Virtue is a classically dense fantasy universe with a staggering amount of lore. More so than is really necessary for a game that's more Legend of Zelda than Baldur's Gate. Still, as an avid fan of the series, you made a point of learning every little detail you could about it. Whenever you gain experience, increase each individual roll by 1d4 for each d20 Experience roll you make for Lore and 1d10 for each d50.
Heavy Lourde [2]
Welcome to the Shard of Virtue Message Boards
You are currently logged in, Hailstorm
You are viewing:
• Threads you have replied to
• AND Threads that have new replies
• OR private message conversations with new replies
• Thread OP is displayed
• Ten posts per page
• Last ten messages in private message history
• Threads and private messages are ordered by user custom preference.
■
♦Topic: Dungeon Class Meta (Patch 0.4.09.1)In: Boards ► Shard of Virtue Online ► Strategy
BaritoneBass (Original Poster) (Beta Tester)
Posted 8 minutes ago:
So, with the massive influx people from the last round of invites, I decided to take it upon myself to do a quick run down what the dominant classes are and why. This is probably pointless, what with the impending patch next week, but y'know, wtvr.
Rune Knight (MT)
One half of the dynamic duo that's been more or less mandatory for all high level content since release. Shield Inscription (Aegis) and Enfeebling Brand are enough mitigation that you can get away with an off-healer like the Inquisitor, and Ensorcel lets you cheat at aggro management (as long as you're decent at blocking). Just make sure the OT remembers they aren't a secondary AA and actually pulls mobs, or you're in for a rough time.
Mercenary (OT)
The Abbot to the Rune Knight's Costello. Bravado is what makes Temple R3 doable with the level soft cap, plus you have pretty decent AA damage with Flourish and Unseat. Remember that Merc is pretty squishy for a class that can queue for main tank, so don't rush ahead like a LOLdier.
Inquisitor (SUP)
As everyone knows, damage is king late game and the Inquisitor is king of damage. Purifying Bolt is more or less the best damage amp in the game. It's also probably the hardest class to play effectively, since you're more or less taking the hardest parts of the two hardest roles (Crit & Sup) and smooshing them together.
Magister (SUP)
AKA ez modo. While the Inquisitor is a 'high skill = big rewards', the Magister is basically an aura/healbot with a little utility. With Age of Enlightenment, you contribute more to certain boss fights AFK than other classes do when played perfectly. Rumour Mill's saying Magister's getting reworked next patch, and I wouldn't be surprised.
Gunslinger (CRIT)
Best Crit against Barrier Pattern bosses. Highest burst damage of any class by miles, and Heavy Calibre is mandatory for certain phase skips. That said, you'll need some time kitting yourself out if you want to run one; hold-out is far and away the best build atm, so I hope you like grinding Temple.
Vigilante (CRIT)
Important for a couple of specific dungeons. Lethal Dose is the best ability for ending a Guard phase and it's attached to the highest mobility class available. Not much more to say about the class; it's kinda linear atm.
Battlemage (AA)
Immolation chews through armour and needs minimal input. As long as heat's kept up, you've got pretty good damage, plus the durability of a Paladin (which means you don't need to worry about your tank failing to soak stuff like Spazz Out). Battlemage isn't strictly the best AA in terms of raw damage (that goes to either Shaman or Saboteur), but maxing out damage on your AA isn't super important in the dungeons released so far.
Magician (PHANTOM WALL DISPENSER)
Phantom Wall is broken and should probably be fixed soon. It'd be ridiculous even if it worked like Get Up! or Last Stand, but it also blocks stuff that really shouldn't be blockable. Angel Rising goes from a super complicated juggling act that requires pre-made levels of co-ordination, to a literal DPS check. That's the worst example, but there's plenty of others that get cheesed hard by this.
(Showing Page 1 of 1)
End of Page. 1* * * * * * * *
Anywho, these are the tentative numbers for secondary skills and the trait derived from the background; I'm willing to swap things around (within reason) if people have objections and can justify the exchanges.
Focus – Passable [250/500 XP]
Shard of Virtue was, for the most part, an action-adventure/puzzle game. The four games are cerebral than your average hack n' slash, which has prepared you well for future puzzles and boss mechanics.
Predict – Passable [250/500 XP]
Speaking of bosses, Shard of Virtue relied heavily on the 'dodge the super-telegraphed attack, then riposte'. It's not much help in a fast-paced melee, but you should be decent at not having your spells interrupted.
Aim – Gimped [100/250 XP]
You aren't exactly some amazing, flick-shot master, but you more or less know how to lead a projectile. You're more used to your character doing most of the hard work, though.
Gather – Gimped [100/250 XP]
It wasn't a super big part of Shard of Virtue, but you've played enough games like it which had collection elements.
Attend – Trash [10/100 XP]
Considering you picked Cleric for your starting class, you have some idea of how party management works, but only on a theoretical level; you've never had to actually play healer before.
Execute – Trash [10/100 XP]
Having owned a VR-Pod for some time now, you have some experience with gimmicky handwaving BS, but it's not really your forte.
Dodge – lol [0/10 XP]
You have minimal experience with evasion in a VR environment.
Craft – lol [0/10 XP]
You have minimal experience with crafting that's more involved than 'go through a menu'.
Taunt – lol [0/10 XP]
You have minimal experience with aggro management.
Trait: Virtuous
Shard of Virtue is a classically dense fantasy universe with a staggering amount of lore. More so than is really necessary for a game that's more Legend of Zelda than Baldur's Gate. Still, as an avid fan of the series, you made a point of learning every little detail you could about it. Whenever you gain experience, increase each individual roll by 1d4 for each d20 Experience roll you make for Lore and 1d10 for each d50.
Last edited:
[Session 1] Awakening
Oh shit, hey Cez
.* * * * * * * *
The abstract swirling colours of the character creation's background fade as you finish up. You have the privilege of staring at a black screen for maybe ten seconds while you assume the game loads.
A voice pierces the darkness.
"Hey."
It's a girl's voice; bright and cheerful. Not quite childish; probably in her early to mid teens. Your avatar shifts sluggishly without input; there's an impression of cloth sheets under something heavier upon your skin, suggesting a bed.
"I can see you moving. Come on, up you get, sleepyhead."
Ah. The ol' "We'll give your character a mysterious backstory that's hinted at in the opening, then ignore it until you're out of the starting zone".
It works, you suppose.
The game returns direct control of your avatar to you. You push through the familiar stickiness that accrues in the eyes after a long sleep. Out of habit, you drag yourself into a sitting position, as you blink the rheum out of your eyes.
The scene that meets your eyes once they focus properly it...Jarring, actually.
There's an unnatural pop to world around you. It's not quite 'uncanny valley'-esque. You've seen that with some of the earlier VR-Pod titles that didn't quite get 'realistic' right. No, it's actually the opposite. You're used to being immersed in a world that at least tries to look realistic. There's no such pretence here.
Oh, and the girl's looming over you.
You stop yourself from jumping suddenly.
As you guessed, she's a fairly young teenager. She's pretty short, even compared to your avatar, and dressed in some vaguely medical-y white robes. A tiny white hat perches upon a head of short-ish pink hair.
"Finally. You took your sweet time, Miss Mystery Girl. Magister Weylon says you've got a clear bill of health, so can we have the bed back now?"
You reflexively answer, but again, your voice fails you. You try gesture towards your throat.
"...You okay? You want a glass of water?"
You shake your head, then gesture again.
"Something's wrong with your voice? Huh. You sure?"
You give her the flattest of looks, but the NPC doesn't seem to respond to it. A moment passes and her expression falls.
"Oh...Well, that sucks. Magister Weylon didn't say anything about you being unable to talk. You sure you don't want a glass of- Actually, one sec!"
As the girl rushes off, you're able to centre yourself without needing to interact. Given a little bit of time, you find the weirdest thing is your own movements. They don't have the same snappiness that you associate with something animated, what with them being one to one exact copies of how you'd move in real life. The result probably look even weirder in third person.
You get a better look at yourself; you're now dressed in loose, white robes in proportions that feel quite foreign. You're used to having a VR frame whose eye line is taller than your real life one, but now you're noticeably shorter. It'll take some time to get used to, but at least you don't have to worry about certain other issues that could've gotten in the way of actually playing.
Finally, the nurse returns with a chalk and slate, allowing you to actually interact.
Firstly, she asks your name.
SUGGEST A NAME (SEPARATE FROM USERNAME)
[] Write-In
Beyond that, it seems like her purpose as an NPC is to catch you up on the backstory of what's happened.
CHOOSE ONE
[] Try and figure out where and when you are in the SoV universe [Lore DC 25]
[] Rush through so you can get to the fun part.
* * * * * * * *
I'll be writing more on this in a bit, but to summarise, normal rolls are d100. Stat modifiers are as thus.
lol: -30 [0-9 XP]
Trash: -15 [10-99 XP]
Gimped: -5 [100-249 XP]
Passable: +0 [250-499 XP]
Balanced: +5 [500-1249 XP]
Cheap: +10 [1250-2499 XP]
OP: +20 [2500-4999 XP]
Broken: +35 [5000+ XP]
(Yeah, the system's directly inspired by/stolen from Ten Pounds of Gold. I assume the chain goes plenty further than that, but I don't know any of the specifics).
As I've mentioned, the MC's secondary stats aren't set in stone. If people want to propose alternate ways of interpreting the MC's gaming history, I'm perfectly willing to adjust.
[Session 1] Bearings
My name is Lucia Slate.
You can neither confirm nor deny that you chose the last name automatically based off the thing you were staring at while considering it.
"Hi, Lucia! My name's Marianne!"
Though you could sort of pretend the Nurse was a person initially, the illusion is broken as soon as you get into asking her questions. It's not so much anything about her animation or voice; she's a little homogenous in her responses, but there's people like that in real life. The actual issues begin to arise once you spend any length of time conversing with her. It takes a full fifteen minutes of questions and answer until you're satisfied with where and when you are, and it quickly becomes apparent that there's no continuity whatsoever between her responses. Sometimes, you'll get the same information doubled up. Sometimes, she imitate a slight change of mood, then immediate snap back to cheerful for her next response. If you asked a question twice, you'd probably get the exact same answer regurgitated.
Still, you get more than enough information to understand where and when you are. The NPC interprets it as memory loss.
Where am I?
The zone you're starting in is Castle Valour. You're not especially surprised. MMOs like to bring back areas from other games for nostalgia, and the Castle was the initial hub area from the first game.
Wasn't Castle Valour and its lord destroyed in the Great War? prompts Marianne to explain how, after the coronation of the new High King, a new Lord Valour was named. You don't bother asking; you're pretty sure you know who it is. The castle was rebuilt under his orders to be more or less a replica of the old one, but slightly bigger and more ostentatious. An ill-advised decision, considering that means it's still not particularly well-defended, but you suppose that's the sort of decision he would make.
As you go on, it becomes clear that it's been about a decade since The Last Magus, which has been a decade of peace and relative prosperity. Arcane magic has been returning to the world (which is a creative decision that has vexed you since you heard there'd be a magician class, but that's how it is), though it remains rare and oft stigmatised. Since Maryanne giggles and dismisses demons as a fairy tale, you guess the Tide is going to be a raid or something.
Eventually, you start running into "I don't know the answer to that"s and you end the conversation. As you do, a messenger pokes his head into the room.
"The Magister requests the presence you both in the main hall."
Maryanne's expression turns quizzical, before proceeding out the door. With the room now empty, you decide to follow her.
As you pass a number of rooms with various people doing various things, you notice one specific person with an exclamation point over their head.
CHOOSE ONE
[] Go directly to the Main Hall (Quest - Our Gracious Host)
[] Help the person out (Quest - The Thief)
* * * * * * * *
Short update today. Ended up quite tired for reasons I'm not certain of. Next update should be either Tuesday or Wednesday.
You can neither confirm nor deny that you chose the last name automatically based off the thing you were staring at while considering it.
"Hi, Lucia! My name's Marianne!"
Though you could sort of pretend the Nurse was a person initially, the illusion is broken as soon as you get into asking her questions. It's not so much anything about her animation or voice; she's a little homogenous in her responses, but there's people like that in real life. The actual issues begin to arise once you spend any length of time conversing with her. It takes a full fifteen minutes of questions and answer until you're satisfied with where and when you are, and it quickly becomes apparent that there's no continuity whatsoever between her responses. Sometimes, you'll get the same information doubled up. Sometimes, she imitate a slight change of mood, then immediate snap back to cheerful for her next response. If you asked a question twice, you'd probably get the exact same answer regurgitated.
Still, you get more than enough information to understand where and when you are. The NPC interprets it as memory loss.
Where am I?
The zone you're starting in is Castle Valour. You're not especially surprised. MMOs like to bring back areas from other games for nostalgia, and the Castle was the initial hub area from the first game.
Wasn't Castle Valour and its lord destroyed in the Great War? prompts Marianne to explain how, after the coronation of the new High King, a new Lord Valour was named. You don't bother asking; you're pretty sure you know who it is. The castle was rebuilt under his orders to be more or less a replica of the old one, but slightly bigger and more ostentatious. An ill-advised decision, considering that means it's still not particularly well-defended, but you suppose that's the sort of decision he would make.
As you go on, it becomes clear that it's been about a decade since The Last Magus, which has been a decade of peace and relative prosperity. Arcane magic has been returning to the world (which is a creative decision that has vexed you since you heard there'd be a magician class, but that's how it is), though it remains rare and oft stigmatised. Since Maryanne giggles and dismisses demons as a fairy tale, you guess the Tide is going to be a raid or something.
Eventually, you start running into "I don't know the answer to that"s and you end the conversation. As you do, a messenger pokes his head into the room.
"The Magister requests the presence you both in the main hall."
Maryanne's expression turns quizzical, before proceeding out the door. With the room now empty, you decide to follow her.
As you pass a number of rooms with various people doing various things, you notice one specific person with an exclamation point over their head.
CHOOSE ONE
[] Go directly to the Main Hall (Quest - Our Gracious Host)
[] Help the person out (Quest - The Thief)
* * * * * * * *
Short update today. Ended up quite tired for reasons I'm not certain of. Next update should be either Tuesday or Wednesday.