First impressions

[Oldmobilenewbie]

I was reminded of another very dumb noob issue doing a daily recently: I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out how to open the barrel in Marcus' Village. Later I realized you don't interact with things that way in this game but it's the third level you hit and when you've been playing all of ten minutes and basing your experience on other games, the fact that a dialog is all "ooh is someone in that barrel?" made me think I was supposed to investigate. If and when you redo those levels, I'd consider removing that dialog. It doesn't add much to the game and is pretty misleading when you're brand new.

I totally did this too. Also kept trying to find "secrets" in story mode.

[Ozymandius]

I liked having the prompt to speak with Alarion to start the first couple of quests in the new game set up. Actually, I was sort of disappointed to learn that this was only a tutorial that ceased to function after two quests. However, the first quest should take the player directly to the start of the quest. I took me a few tries to actually find the Ruins of the Dead (partly because I was anxious to try the new Act 4 story mode and thought I would find "ruins of the dead" there instead of in Act 1). A new hero would have to start in Act 1, so maybe it makes more sense for a new hero, but I didn't open a new player to see if hey start at Ruins of the Dead or Shores of Hope?

After a hero finishes several quests in Story Mode (maybe after opening Heroic level in story mode), there should be another tutorial with Alarion where he introduces the player to Trials. Trials for a new or lower level hero with shoddy equipment and poor battle skills can be really frustrating, so it would be better to open up trials only after a player has some battle experience and better equipment. As a new player, I remember thinking that something must be wrong because I was doing well in Story Mode, but getting totally destroyed by mobs and bosses in Trials. I probably would have given up on the game around that time if it were not for all the good advice available on the game forums. There is a system prompt in trials when you get wiped out in a trial about equipment upgrades; maybe that could prompt a player to check out the forums for advice as well.

New players could also benefit from tutorials with Gornathan the arms dealer and Ruby the consumables trader, where new players could learn about equipment levels and attributes, using apples and healing potions, and using boosters for gemstones and XP and the role of XP in advancing a hero. New players should learn the added value of the special gear effects on set pieces and that they can store extra weapons and equipment in their stash.

I agree with the majority of reviewers that there should also be a similar tutorials for Morgan the jeweler to discuss jewelry crafting, so players will get an introduction to collecting and fusing gemstones. I am not sure that a new player would understand the purpose of the stash as a place for stockpiling gemstones and other equipment options, since I am assuming for a new player it would just be an empty box. Maybe even add a "Are you sure you want to sell this?" prompt for a player trying to sell gemstones or setting up the game so that only Morgan can buy gemstones to make sure they get the tutorial.

New players should not really be prompted to weapon crafting or adding new companions, so maybe those characters & their options should only appear at a later date, such as after heroic or legendary level has been opened by that hero.

[Trevor Wilson]

I started yesterday, i played on PC platform if that helps.

I didnt have any major issues working out what to do, i did have a weird bug however (i didn't realise it was a bug at first).

After about an hour of game-play the keyboard shortcut for immolate stopped working, i carried on for an hour or so before rebooting.
It was at that point i discovered that the spells should have been displayed on the left hand side of the screen and that there was a mini-map.

Neither had been displayed before i restarted the game.

There is also no exit from the training grounds that i can see? I ended up using abandon level, so no big deal- but it was confusing.

Jewellery crafting is a little confusing as well.

Hope this helps

[Purple Potato]

After about an hour of game-play the keyboard shortcut for immolate stopped working, i carried on for an hour or so before rebooting.
It was at that point i discovered that the spells should have been displayed on the left hand side of the screen and that there was a mini-map.

Pressing the windows key breaks hotkeys.
There is a button (I think) that changes the UI and it can also be changed in the settings.

[7string]

Late post on this one, but I think the biggest help to me would have been (and would still be) to have a documented description of all of the Attributes. Right now, you have to do a lot of searching to find the info. The Dev's have done several excellent posts for version upgrades where they went into a lot of detail about the various attributes which were added or modified, but there is no single, easy place to go to read about them all together. All of this documentation should be easily available from a Help icon within the app, without needing to spend lots of time browsing old forum messages.

For instance, I still forget - what exactly does Parry Rating or Dodge Rating do? They say "nn.n% chance when hit" - chance to Parry or Dodge obviously, but what exactly does Parry or Dodge do from a defensive perspective? I believe that Dodge dodges 100% of the damage when it works, but I'm not sure about Parry other than triggering Blade Furry how much damage does it reduce? They probably could include that in the description in the Attributes window. In fact throughout the Attributes window, there are lots of references to percentages, but it is often not clear what base stat the percentage is applying to. Critical Damage always seemed fuzzy to me. I think I read that it is a percent of the weapon damage - but does it apply to the stat AFTER it is augmented by the Power rating? I know lots of the senior players know all this stuff, but I found it very fuzzy as a begginer, and some of it is still a bit baffling even after 9 months of playing and working my way up over CL2000. A reference document in the app with DETAILED descriptions and examples would be invaluable. And there are probably a number of other help topics which could be made accessible from within the app... The more game documentation the better. There are a lot of us who don't want to spend the time browsing through the forums. And the forum search capability is poor at best, and in my experience rarely finds what I was looking for. Tip: There has been a lot of excellent forum posts by the players...if someone at Making Fun had the time, they could leverage these to build a more consolidated reference library.

Point of reference: My first experience with Making Fun was playing Dominion. The great thing about Dominion was that there was an extremely detailed Wiki which pretty much answered most common questions. I realize the Wiki was built by users both for IRL tabletop play as well as online play, but I still think there has to be an opportunity for Making Fun to leverage the knowledge and writings of all the long time players to create a better knowledge base for new users.

[Darrex]

I always wondered why it seems that 60% of the maps I play in trials are dark. It is incredibly hard to see on mobile as it is with a smaller screen, and when it’s dark it’s even harder to see. Half the time I end up forfeiting the match because I have a hard time seeing.

Another thing That I noticed is there is a few monsters that hit really hard for my mage even at beginning trials for the amount of experience they give (chargers, the witch doctor dude that throws flames, and the bow and arrow mobs). A lot of their ability’s are never seen so it causes a lot of deaths being they produce such huge damage and some of them have a ton of hit points. This makes playing on mobile incredibly tough with having a smaller screen to work with and not a PC.

[Keaven]

Hello guys, I'd like to know if you (veterans and new players alike) faced any difficulties when you first started.
Is there anything you didn't quite understand about how the game is played? (I, for example, kept waiting near any gold/gear drop waiting for it to be picked up instead of waiting at the end of the stage) - other players for example used to sell gear with gemstones attached.

So, is there anything you guys would have liked being warned about? Getting a tutorial on? Something you just didn't understand in the first 30mins-1h of your gameplay?

Private messages or topic replies are both perfect! Thank you

This post answers your question for me

[Vexx]

as a new player I think this game is pretty great but one thing I think would be really nice would be to implement ANB pricing for new accounts for the first week or two and to allow new players to participate in Silver and gold ANBs (or run a bronze every time ANB starts).

I totally understand that Devs need to get paid and I did buy the monthly sub for this reason however seeing the incredibly high prices on gems to unlock pretty standard and mandatory stuff (skill slots and inventory slots) is pretty hard to get over as a new player.. and later to find out about ANB and that I wasted over 1000 gems on a character because ANB wasnt here at the time I started was really frustrating, it makes the new player experience feel like a sneaky cash grab rather than a easy introduction into the game (since if I had known I would have saved my gems for an ANB and because I should wait for ANB I have less incentive play untill such a time as ANB arrives that I can participate in because progress on my main character is less meaningful when I know im replacing it)

also having ANB silver lock me out since I wasnt around when bronze happened would be an extra kick in the gut. I get that these are supposed to be fun events for long time or end game players but when the gem discount is so substantial compared to a normal account it makes it almost a mandatory starting point for a newbie. anything else feels sub optimal and has the potential to drive away potential new players.

so my suggestion really is to allow newbies into ANB legues because why not.. its fun and something to try and do! and also to give new accounts one character which has the same discounts as an ANB so that they can play and enjoy the game from the start without feeling like its all temporary and a waste or sub optimal until the next ANB rolls around. this should help with new player engagement and retention

[SuyashJ]

Hi, I am a Level 160+ Champion. Been playing for a long time. Here are my feedback & suggestions :

1) I have always had trouble with dropped gold and iems flying so slowly to me. Also they only fly if my Hero is close enough to them. I feel this need to change. It creates unnecessar tediousness.

2) Currently I am observing that it is getting hard to click on dropped items or quest markers on any level because I have to click on the exact pixel location somewhere near the base of the highlighted item. Otherwise it doesn't work at all.

3) Some levels have large mountains or other tall structures that obstruct my view completely and I can't figure out if there are any items or enemies until I manage to get my heroes close enough for auto interaction. Could you add silhouette highlights for characters and items when they are behind large structures.

4) The ring and necklace crafting never gives me any good item that is completely better than my current one. The crafted ring and necklace always has one stat better but another one usually so bad that this game mechanic has no value for me.

5) Another bug I have noticed is that if I now get to the level end and defeat the final enemies needed to open the exit portal before completing the side quest then it completely breaks progress of main quest. Eg if I have to collect 5 crystals and I collect 4 before stumbling to the last bosses in the level and if I beat them and open the portal home, this breaks the main quest and I have to redo the level from scratch.

That is all for now. I will add more later.

[Christian Lamine]

"1) I have always had trouble with dropped gold and iems flying so slowly to me. Also they only fly if my Hero is close enough to them. I feel this need to change. It creates unnecessar tediousness."

There's no need to collect all the drops manually, just leave them. Every story level or trial ends with a boss you have to defeat in order to win. Once defeated, there is a golden "circle" on the ground. Step inside the circle (and don't step into the portal back to the home town yet!) and wait for a few seconds - all gold and drops will come flying towards your hero and therefore "collect themselves". After a few seconds you are safe to enter the portal and end the level/trial.

[Nhat]

4) The ring and necklace crafting never gives me any good item that is completely better than my current one. The crafted ring and necklace always has one stat better but another one usually so bad that this game mechanic has no value for me.

In order to get better Jewelries, you need to craft and fuse them to get higher "tier" and more bonus, see the Jewelry guide in my signature for more info - there are links to simpler ones if you prefer, or see the video guide

[fdfdfdf]

I'm level 600something and I just got there are two attacks. Yes maybe I'm dumb. Play by phone is too clumsy for press two fingers to attack. Personally I though it was automatically using first and second..

[Skoropunk]

I see few have issues with gold and items flying too slow to them. I only wish this would be removed altogether and any drops could be stored immediately without animation. Too many times I want to move to a place but find I have to mop up the mess on the ground before I can do so. Seems this mobile game is not for mobiles since anything is more efficient if played on PC with keyboard
And then there's the jewelry crafting.....

[Dr. Jaska]

Currently 4 weeks in looking at the inbox messages.

There was no indication or helping text pop-ups that all dropped loot at the end of the level would fly towards me but I quickly noticed it after leaving health pick ups behind. Otherwise first impressions were nice but deciding to watch a few ads in a row made me feel like I'm lying in bed waiting rather than playing an actual game, having a few guiding words to say to generally ignore ads unless farming for gems would've been nice at the start to not feel overwhelmed by the ads and later on I was wishing that I could viewbot more ads without (much) gameplay to get gems.

Another thing which really, really grinds my gears is the crafting mastery system. Seeing that at mastery lv20 or so crafting a lv71 legendary item gives ~one fifteenth of a level or so after saving up for that craft for a while really feels like a let down and an enormous grind without even knowing what the max level is going to be. last unlocking perk is at 25 but after it's unlocked it seems endless. Even after looking for help and knowing that the crafting mastery level limit is 50 crafting 15 items per level assuming that the experience amount isn't scaling which it definitely feels like it is after blazing through the earliest levels one could only hope to be at the max level after crafting 15x50=750 legendary non-set items which feels absurd. After looking online for help again I find that it's recommended to spend a couple million gold only by crafting lv14 green armor pieces to get to the max crafting mastery to not waste resources crafting very likely much worse gear. After spending 500k gold on crafting lv14 greens I find it very repulsive and outright offensive towards the players that they either have to endure through this or basically never within a long time of playing the game have maxed crafting mastery to have the best chances for crafting good gear let alone actually get lucky and get the good gear. Something is definitely wrong with the system if EVERY PLAYER NEEDS TO SPEND HOURS manually CRAFTING low level TRASH to level up efficiently.

Looking at crafting mastery with ANB events in mind I can fully accept that gems which players have paid for or earned do carry over but crafting mastery which is comparable to gold in the sense that all non-event characters share it and it only needs to be farmed for once if going full hoarder mode and getting more of it that ever is necessary. If you'd remove it from carrying over to ANB events there would surely be an uproar from the veteran community mentioning extensive grinding, handicapping players and cries about crafting mastery outright being a bad system since it's something which veterans have already farmed for once years ago and forgotten about. Or they've had 0 perks when they were veterans and then then everyone is fine with additional perks being able to be earned by crafting good set items which keep being better and better. Looking at a newer player's ANB gear and asking why their gear is so bad as it's full of lv71 and 72 gear despite having "the new character&better odds for crafting / new toon crafting bonus" only be reminded about crafting mastery is a feeling which is only describable by a facepalm is not a good feeling and recommending them to use their main characters to farm ~2-3 million gold only to spend 3-5 hours of crafting lv14 green armor pieces to have better odds in an event which is supposedly a fresh start for EVERYONE is not a good feeling and should never happen.

[Ubba Lothbrokson]

Dr. Jaska,

There's a lot to unwind in your post, so I won't even try to address everything, just a couple of things that jumped out at me.

First, the current crafting system was only introduced something like a year ago, not lost in the hoary mists of antiquity as you imply. And please believe me when I say that it is a huge improvement over the previous system. Most of us embraced the system, while noting its' idiosyncracies, and did what was needed to take advantage of it. If you don't want to do so that's your issue, not ours. Veteran players SHOULD have an advantage over newbies who don't want to do the work.

Secondly, no-one with any sense is "Looking at a newer player's ANB gear and asking why their gear is so bad as it's full of lv71 and 72 gear." We know why a new player has difficulty getting better gear. Pointing out how to get better gear is not a criticism, it's intended as help and should be taken as such.

Thirdly, if you want to master this game, there are quite a number of things you are going to need to spend "endless hours" doing:

• Increasing your crafting mastery (actually this is not endless, although I'll grant it can feel like it at the time).
• Gathering the materials and gold needed not only for the above, but to actually craft good gear once you have achieved level 50.
• Farming experience to get your champion levels up to where you can make a credible run at the leaderboards.
• Acquiring all the crafting recipes so that you can craft what you want, when you want it.
• Farming gems so that you have them to use for buying stuff you need, both in ANB's and in the regular game.
• Crafting perfect jewelry (or as close to it as you can).
• Crafting the best possible gear.
• Actually learning to play the various hero types, gear sets and effective tactics. This game is not just point and shoot. There's a lot more to it than that.

Those of us who've been around for a while have already completed some of these things, but the rest are on-going and probably always will be.

Frankly, the impression you give is that of someone who wants everything handed to him on a silver platter. To really get anywhere in Eternium, you have to be willing and able to put in the effort. In my opinion, that is as it should be.

As I've said to a couple of new players (who were asking for help, not railing against the perceived inadequacies of the game's design) - Eternium is a marathon, not a sprint.

If a sprint is what you want, you should probably look elsewhere. If this sounds harsh, perhaps it is. I'm simply trying to speak truth. Sometimes that does sound harsh.

[steampunk]

- A little information about how to enchant weapon or armor will be helpful for newbies. It took me awhile to found how to do this, which is pretty simple.
- Quick information about auto-attack setting. I found this after 2 or 3 weeks playing. It helps alot for mobile player.