Just going to recap some of the things that were discussed in the Discord chat session with EJ today for those who weren't able to make it. For those that were there, please let me know if I need to update anything here (going by recollection so details might be a little off).
Game Breaking/UX
1. His current development priority for the client is going to be object collision. He might push an update immediately after he's got significant improvements to that. That might be the first client-side update we see (requiring download). He also doesn't like how you can gas over trees and get stuck on top of archways.
2. It was recommended to remove broken quests/features from the game until they are implemented or fixed. He acknowledged that he'd like to do it.
3. Pets - he was made aware of an issue with dispelling fireballs and also made aware of issues with Druid charm abilities on x2.
4. Portals - the inability to make a portal *using scroll or creare porta spell* in non-markable zones (such as dungeons) is unintended. He noted this as a bug.
Leveling Progression
1. He acknowledged the need for more leveling areas -- and specifically higher level areas.
2. Talked about a new idea I had for "instancing" hunting areas people consider prime hunting locations (based on xp/hr). Not necessarily locking players in by themselves (no risk/danger) but allowing others to enter if they wanted. This would repurpose content and allow multiple people to hunt the same "area" if they wanted. This is directly related to a concern for scaling the game (thinking Steam release with huge influx of players). This was simply a discussion so no expected changes on this in the near future. More likely to expand the size of current areas before making them "instanced".
3. The seemingly "low" xp rate for higher levels wasn't necessarily intentional. EJ noted that adding more quests for higher levels will likely increase it.
4. EJ really likes the concept of endless (or # high requirement) quests. Future quests should, for the most part, take this into consideration. Also, we brainstormed about ideas to allow having multiple quests at a time where hunting an area might count towards two different quests if one is a "collect x amount of items" and the other might be "kill # of monsters of this type".
Gear Progression
1. LSAs are not intended to be as rare or difficult to get as they currently are. He will look into having them drop from a wider range of mobs.
2. Tangent on VM/Sci rings - these are only acquirable (tradeable) in DD on x1 and so that's the most likely place to find them on x2. I don't know if we can expect to find them other places on x2.
3. Void Magna gear was discussed. The issue with Nex Crystals not being "findable" was noted and he will look into it. This led to a broader discussion about whether these items are too "overpowered" for the current state of the game. EJ talked about maybe removing the ability to craft them right now and perhaps tying this into a server wealth check. When the server wealth reaches a certain point, the NPC might allow people to start crafting it.
4. There's no artificial means of limiting gear (there was some speculation). The system is configured in such a way that it determines drops automatically. All items that we know about should continue to be acquirable. Given the mob levels, DD is still the most likely place to farm for the highest level (RARE!) gear.
5. He has noted several items in the game that need graphic updates. Scaling down the size of some items (Bone Mace, Shadow Mace, Dentibus Mace, Ominex Hammer) and fixing drop/equip graphic issues with Havoc War Sword and Demonic Bow. (Not mentioned in chat: Ominex War Sword looks like a Diabolic Plate on the ground)
General Progression
1. Some things were confirmed in the game and not. The level 70 chest mechanic is implemented in the game (and, according to EJ, it's "simpler than we think"). He thinks we're overthinking it but will revisit it to make sure he can still access it and will make sure the mechanic "makes sense". He also confirmed that the mechanic is soloable and doesn't require a group of people (so not tied to high-level boss kills or anything).
2. Star shrine, Jeloc shrine, and chest pulls for 80/90/100 are not implemented yet. Him removing these from the task log until implementing should alleviate confusion as to whether we should be actively looking for ways to access them. He said he does not mind answering questions via email like "Is <thing> in the game and should I be looking for it?" He doesn't want us wasting our time searching for things that don't exist.
3. Touched a little on end game content. Boss heal on hit seems high, but we likely won't see any changes with regard to it anytime soon. We just need more active people to try and out damage the heals. He made a reference to "bosses will drop the gear they drop" so that should clear up any confusion over whether bosses can drop the higher-tier gear.
4. He didn't intentionally remove the map builder, so that should be accessible for folks to continue to play around with. It was noted that the website link to download it needs to be updated.
Class Balance
1. Wizard multi and juxta were discussed as needing to be looked at. I think EJ jotted down some notes to go back and look at those two skills, specifically. It was mentioned that NPC magic damage is still severely disproportional to melee dmg. He said he has been logging NPC melee/magic damage and said he wanted to take a look at the logs for that. It's a fluid situation and likely won't be "fixed" in a single update.
2. Mentioned a need for visual indicators for melee skills (ferocious hit, lethal attack, etc). He said he was tracking that so I think he plans to address it in the future.
3. The server side updates he applied to x1 that affects strength and calculations for wisdom/intelligence on Jan 3rd have not been applied here yet. It's coming.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=108094. It was mentioned that attack speed doesn't function as intended on x2. I can't recall the specific details re. this that came from this conversation -- maybe something he'll look into?
5. There was mention of an issue with the Paladin's "regen all" skill not working correctly.
6. There was mention of the strength and ability to stack poisons (npcs and warlocks). I can't recall the specific details re. this that came from this conversation.
7. I think there was talk about flamma ventus being a little underpowered right now? He might also be looking into that spell as well.
HUD
1. It was mentioned that shift+click option to attack doesn't work, nor does middle mouse button to attack.
2. It was mentioned that middle HP/MP bars option doesn't work.
3. It was mentioned that the -junk and -sparkle commands are taking into consideration item levels that reflect x1 (rather than x2). Setting a sparkle setting level for items at 33 would still make a ilvl28 ring sparkle (as the ilvl for the ring on x1 is 33).
4. It was mentioned that there are several issues with the -list tab, likely related to bugs in permissions.
5. There was conversation about adding a toggle option for blood spatter. EJ acknowledged that he had an idea to change how blood spatter works currently but also mentioned it might be a good idea to allow people to turn it off if they preferred.
Other
1. House buffs - it was noted that house buffs don't last as long as they should and that NPCs will continually try to dispell you over and over if you have a (hidden) house buff (bug).
Major takeaway
He mentioned he'd like to make Discord chats a regular thing for both x1 and x2. It helps him annotate and prioritize things. Keep an eye out for posts from him on x1/x2 forums with a date/time for upcoming chats.