Live Forum Q&A Stephan Frost - Wildstar

Starfoxfire

I appreciate the fact that there will be a good deal of stuff only available at level cap! I just hope it's enough. Currently the game I am playing (like so many others) has only one true raid zone, and the high level dungeons have really become useless once you are raiding and have better gear (unless you are playing an alt.) I guess I am just hoping there is more to do than log in once a week for raiding one zone once my character is geared well enough.

I am also wondering about in game currency. Will it be difficult to get by or accrue gold (or whatever the currency happens to be) if you aren't into crafting or harvesting? I am not huge on crafting (but I will do it if I have to) and I don't mind harvesting, but I don't want to be forced to do it as the only way to earn money. Will that make it difficult for me to get by in the game?

 

~Willow

h00ktastic

Will you be at GDC this march? 

Airdor

I got a tough question for you Frost!

 

How do you all plan to handle balancing Classes in your Game? Will you buff the weaker classes?, nerf the to powerfull ?, Take a measured approach?, or be aggressive with your changes?

And now for the toughest question yet

What is your favorite color!!?

Cirandra

Hey Stephan looks like after one month all will have the same armor & weapon stats & cookie cutter builds..in my opinion this is the worst in a mmo & i hate it..WHY dont you guys give more freedom to classes with more weapons etc?

illusive817

im interested in the crafting system, i know they havent explained alot on it , but it would be nice to see or hear something about the development of the crafting system , are the crafters going to be viable in the endgame or will it end up like other games , where at the end you just another  1 in  million crafter.

is there anything to make you stand out as a crafter , such as armor dyes or maybe even being able to name an item or atleast says crafted by...

Siphaed

Originally posted by CRB_Frost

Originally posted by Siphaed
Q&A Questions:


1) Are you guys still on path for a Spring 2014 launch timeframe?

Workin' on it! It's a pretty big game.


^{2) How often can teams Fortress Wars and how long until they reset (daily, weekly, etc.)?} Edit: Nevermind, this one can't be answered.


3) Any word on a Collector's Edition of the game and when a pre-order can be placed for it?
No word yet.

4) Since there's no male or female Chua, care to explain the background lore for this and how they reproduce?
That's a great question for Chad "Pappy" Moore. It's too vile for me to describe.

5) I absolutely LOVE jumping puzzles in GW2 and am very excited to see Wildstar have some in it (from previously shown videos).  How extensive is this type of content throughout the game?
It's more pervasive amongst the Explorer Path Missions. There are certainly jump puzzles for everyone, but if you love double jumping up crazy canyons and mountains, you'll love the explorer.

6) How many different ways are there to obtain Player House items and are there any extremely rare ones to show off (like some mounted head that you can brag to all your friends about that they don't have)?
There are a TON of ways. PvP, Dungeons, PvE Content, Challenges, Path Missions, Renown Currency Purchases... it's all over the place.

7) Could you please detail the trading system and what embodies it (i.e. each server their own auction or clustered?  player-to-player trade available?  UI trade or special NPC locations only? those details please)?


8) Is there fishing within the game?

Yeah, but we won't have it at launch. We need some more time with the mechanics to give it a true Wildstar appeal.


9) Any details for the crafting system for armor, weapons, and possibly mounts?
There are loads of stream walkthroughs that are online. Chief Sarcan and Ahnrez do some great ones.

10) How many zones are there in the game (not including tutorial zones)?

More than 14.... Don't know if I can answer that without marketing yelling at me.

Thank you, Mr. Frost, for answering most of my questions.  Hopefully didn't get you in trouble with "marketing" (is that another term for NCSoft and investors?) with a few of them.

 

I'll refresh two of my questions:

1) Could you please detail the trading system and what embodies it (i.e. each server their own auction or clustered?  player-to-player trade available?  UI trade or special NPC locations only? those details please)?

 

2) When you'd said "We're working on it" for a Spring 2014 release, is there any way that you could give more specifics to what date you're aiming at?  I know it's negatively effecting your competition with games like TESO, but customers who are ready to invest in a new game really want a solid "we're aiming for the months of X to Y, and are on course with no foreseen delays".  That would be very much appreciated.  

 

 

Again, thank you for your answers and time.

Camulos4991

Originally posted by CRB_Frost

 

Originally posted by Volerian

What are the chances the first 100 posters get a beta key? AM I RIGHT or AM I RIGHT guys??

 Chances are... none. Sorry! They are closely guarded by armed guards, so stealing's out of the question.

 

 

 

CHALLANGE ACCEPTED

I'm very sorry but i just had to say it (must be the lack of sleep, it's 1:35 here)

CRB_Frost

Originally posted by foozy

Hi Mr. Frost,

I've got some questions about designs;

 Go ahead!

We all saw at trailers, game play videos or photos of your world and character designs. They looks like based on cartoon type. What was your inspiration while you were designing this Wildstar universe.? Is there any cartoon or comic book or some drawing you referred?

We all love cartoons, comics, video games, and movies. The Art Director (Matt Mocarski) is a huge comic nerd. Common inspiration comparisons that we aren't offended by:

Mike Mignola (Hellboy)

Bruce Timm (Batman/Superman the animated series)

Team Fortress 2

Pixar Movies (The Incredibles, for Example)

Saturday Morning Cartoons from the 80's

Don Bluth

Originally posted by ringobrown
Will there be an open beta?

Yep. Soooooonish.

Originally posted by loldisclaimer
I'm not asking for specific details or anything, but as a hardcore raider and overall MMO player, i need to know this! Will Wildstar be going more in the direction of "end game" or "elder game" with the high level/max level content? And for people that don't understand the difference between "end game" and "elder game" can you please explain the differences between them?

We call it Elder Game because your game doesn't end at level cap. There are a BUNCH of game types that are only available at level 50. Raids, Warplots, Housing Items, Veteran Dungeons, Veteran Adventures, etc. It's a major focus for us.

 

guiltysol

Sorry to ask another question.

During End-Game, raids mostly. How will loot be distributed? Will there be just a need and greed situation or will there be a token system to trade in for gear at some point or another?

Thank you! -GuiltySol

TheHolyPimp

Will there be free server transfer at launch?

Neeo_Hixx

Hey Frost, Cheers for taking the time out from your busy schedule to answer a few questions from the community!

I was wondering once you complete a map zone/area do you receive rewards for fully completing the zone? and for once you have explored all zones available in the game?

I love achievement hunting and I can see there are a vast amount of achievements for all aspects of the game. Are there any rewards that you can gain from earning a certain amount of achievements or for even just specific achievements?

Last question, will there be any kind of "legendary" weapons/armor in the game for us to farm out at end game, basically just awesome cosmetic skins?

 

Once again thanks for taking the time to read through these.

 

Cheers

 

 CHUA MASTER RACE!!

Dragnog

From what we have seen of the crafting system so far; How comfortable do you guys feel about it now? Do you still feel that there is work to be done on the basic system or are you just filling in the blanks now? 

toofloated

Would anyone at Carbine be offended if I describe the game as giving me a very Ratchet and Clank feel with the humor?

Dust13

you said the new patch notes are on Reddit?   If so I cant find    Link ?

Ilisidi

How do adventures differ from dungeons? Or more specifically, what is an adventure?

Krijo101

I was curious about how the setup of PVE leveling vs PVP leveling is setup? By that I mean, is leveling to cap purely off of PVP going to be as fast as leveling to cap doing PVE? If so, is there a way to keep yourself geared while doing so?

lokra

Hi Frost,here is my question:

 

Do armor skins look the same for all,or are they faction based,or race based? (at low and high level)

Starfoxfire

Also, I'd like to ask... Will there be gear differences to set the hard core raiders apart from the casual gamer? I know many casual players don't like the idea of being set apart from hard core gamers/raiders, but If I invest the time and work into raiding I don't think my gear should be virtually the same as other players that aren't really interested in raiding. I prefer to feel rewarded for my hard work and dedication to the game/raiding. 

 

 

~Willow

CRB_Frost

Originally posted by Deathgod881
1) How long until launch?

The game will be out this year. We are pretty much just polishing the game to make sure we put out an exceptional product. We think it will be worth the wait.

Originally posted by Muvid
will there be more beta-invites? which month will it be, when you release wildstar?

Yep, we'll send out more keys. Can't say when.

Originally posted by aikatears

Hello Mr. Frost!

i have a few questions, two are from a friend of mine and a few from me about housing and crafting

These are my friend's questions:

"im just wondering if rp rule will be enforced on rp server, and if classes with the same possible job will have equal potential or if one will overshadow others. like medic healing better than spellslinger/esper?"

Not sure on the RP server, actually. I'd have to chat with our live producer. Regarding healing, different classes have different spells and feel to them. Some people prefer the Esper, some the Medic and me, I like the Spellslinger healer. It's a lot more precision based, and I like that gameplay style. It all depends on you.

And these are mine.

Will there be either at launch or post housing storage? or are there bank plugs we can add for that?

Banks can be used to store items, but housing also has a crate, where you can store goodies that are housing specific.

Is there a way post launch or even at it that there could be player vendor plugs for our plots? (please with cherry on top)

Not at launch, sorry. You can spawn in vendors, but not PLAYER vendors.

And will there be more items to crafts with new updates?

Most certainly. We may even be working on that now for post launch patches...

Originally posted by Syllendale

Hi Frost! .. My question is this:

Some of us do not enjoy PvP as much as others.  I am wondering, could there be a system later on added that people who pvp can maybe "file a claim" or buy "travelers insurance"?  You know, for instance when someone "kills" you, if your character is insured you get something for it rather than having to respawn with a LOSER tagged to your head? .... ( I may not explain it well enough, but since the game is sci fi and "silly", I would think there could be a business or group of sorts that could sell you such a thing... make it interesting when a guy keeps killing you over and over he discovers, I need to stop being a D***, I'm running out of money!!) ............. sorry, was long

No insurance necessary! You can turn "World PvP" off if you don't want anyone ganking you. Or, if you are adventurous, you can turn it on and kill the opposing faction.

 

Omegaz24

The stalker class is capable of tanking. My question is, for them being able to use their evasion as "metigation", is there anything they receive for dodging like a faster recharge on the dodge roll, or a small spike of dps to help hold aggro or something? I'll most likely ask more during the stream this weekend lol

EdwardFox

Hey Frost,

you said people can choose whether to engage in PVP or not. Does that also include PVP servers, or is it forced there?

CRB_Frost

Originally posted by Impulse47

Are there going to be any mechanics which will allow me, once I reach max level and obtain the uberest of gear, to play with friends who are just starting? For instance, Guild Wars 2's down-leveling (which is far from perfect). This seems to always be the biggest barrier to me getting my friends to try whatever game I'm playing. I hate rolling alts for this purpose. Also, beta key yada yada...

Yeah we have mentoring and rallying in our game. We wanted to make sure that you were able to play with your homies, even if they picked up the game after you did.

Originally posted by Desphiria
Hello Frost! Nice to meet you! Your Devspeak vids always make me laugh. But I was wondering, after closed beta, are there going to be character wipes and if there's an open beta afterwards, will the characters created then, be moved into the normal game?

Glad you like the DevSpeaks! My mom likes them as well! After closed beta, we most certainly will do a character wipe. That would give people an ubber unfair leveling advantage if we let 'em keep their high level toons if we didn't! Same with open beta, but there are some other plans in the works that you will hear of in the coming months.

Originally posted by Suxez

Hi Frost! love the Dev speaks<3 Are you confident enough to say that this amazing and truly lovely game has the end-game content it needs to keep players hanging on to it longer at launch, than for example SWTOR?

ps: please NO flying mounts... ever

Thanks for the DevSpeak love

I'm confident that there is a TON of content in Wildstar. Eldergame, as we call it, is a major focus for us. We are spending LOADS of time and money making sure Warplots, Raids, Adventures, Dungeons, PVE zones, etc. give the player things to do when they reach level cap. We also have content coming out regularly after launch to keep players entertained.

Originally posted by Malvolg

Thank you for taking time to answer our questions! Frost FTW.

In the engineer livestream, it seemed like the engineer's bots were having trouble keeping up with him as he was moving. Is this something that needs to be addressed before live or was the engineer in the stream merely experiencing lag causing the bots to experience a small delay? Are they intended to move at the same speed as the engineer?

If it was addressed in the livestream and I just missed it, my apologies!

We continuously work on improving our classes and their various companions... Our creature AI guy is a pretty busy dude and has been working on some fixes for stuff like that, and we also have commands that help bots keep up with ya. Oh and thanks for watching the streams! See ya on Saturday, where I will wreck Pappy in PvP.

Originally posted by badchiefy

Hi,

What are you doing to make your game stand out significantly to other MMO's that are coming out in the foreseeable future? I love the combat system and think it's a great way to stay involved in the game instead of just memorizing a rotation. 

As far as mounts go, what kind of variety are we going to see when the game releases? I've seen the hoverboard as well as a few other ground mounts, will there be any flying mounts or other ways to travel quickly?

Thanks for doing this!

 

Combat is EXTREMELY important to us. It's basically the thing you do ALL THE TIME, so it better be fun. Aiming, cc's, movement, everything else you've seen in DevSpeaks are big features for us and help us not become the "same ol'" mmo tab targeting combat experience. Combine all that with telegraph variations and we think it helps set us apart. 

We'll be talking about mounts quite a bit in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to check out the mount VARIETY and CUSTOMIZATION.

 

Tustly

1.Is WildStar going to be free to play or subscription based?

 

2.If it is Subscription based what price are you guys aiming for monthly?

 

3.Will there we a trial account period on release?

 

4.Do you plan on having special guild only perks,events, and will you have guild houses/towns?

 

5.Are you guys keeping in mind people who are not hardcore gamers? Will casual players be able to log in and get as much out of the game content wise as a hardcore gamer?

Metaskie

Will DPS be responsible for our own lives. In "that other game" heals/absorbs are so overpowered that healers alone are responsible for DPS lives, other than getting out of the fire. Will self heals, utility cooldowns, etc have a place in Wildstar endgame without DPS simply being to increase all dps at the cost of self survivability?

Dust13

When you beat Pappy in a duel you should get a new title   " The Brominator "     maybe that could be an achievement for like winning against friends in Duels