Turbine Releases Dev Diary on Helm’s Deep Trait Trees

Earlier today, Turbine released their latest developer diary focused on the upcoming class changes for the Helm’s Deep expansion. This diary was written by HoarseDev and attempts to answer only one question: Why are the classes changing?

HoarseDev gives several reasons for the upcoming changes. Here is a bullet list of the reasons, each followed by my commentary:

  • Variety at the Cost of Potency

In essence, too many skills being acquired over the years has resulted in: a) Inability to grant newer, more powerful skills for fear that all classes would eventually be able to do all things, b) skill bars that were too full of stuff, c) redundant, boring and unused skills.

  • Homogeneity of Roles

If I’m reading between the lines correctly, HoarseDev is explaining why they couldn’t simply keep adding class traits to the current trait system. Once again, continuing to grant more and more traits & slots would eventually result in all classes being able to fulfill every role, no matter which build was chosen. It’s kind of like “a)” above, except with traits instead of skills.

  • Moment to Moment Play (& Additionally…)

These points are addressing the flow of combat, and seem to be openly admitting that the current combat is not fluid enough by today’s standards. Turbine intends to address this issue in a couple of ways: a) By removing less useful skills and making the skills that remain more potent b) By introducing new mechanics such as ground-targeting for crowd control and healing, and c) by incorporating “a bunch of brand-spankin’ new animations and effects”.

  • The Cost of Doing Business

Again, this section deals with the problems that come with having too many skills or traits and the effects that bloat has on the future of the game, and why the devs feel that these changes are needed.

And now we’ve come to the summation. This is what we’ve been waiting to hear Turbine say since the first hints of skill trees were dropped. Here’s the deal: The devs are re-booting the game. This isn’t just another sequel. This is Turbine wiping the slate clean and giving themselves room to work on continuing to develop the game for many years to come. The amount of character ability bloat that has been perpetuated over the last 85 levels was hampering the developers’ ability to develop. This is a long-term play, and it’s going to happen. Long-term strategies sometimes come with immediate-term sacrifices.

The diary was probably more concise than I:

These are big changes. They take some getting used to. We know this. We also know that for the good of the game and its longevity, we sometimes need to make big changes.

 

The new trait system that comes in u12 is really just the start of a conversation about how our classes work and how we can continue to make them better.

The comments above include my interpretation of the points contained within the post. I would highly suggest reading the diary for yourself and forming your own conclusion.

Developer Diary: Trait Trees in Helm’s Deep

Braxwolf Stormchaser

Letters From the West: Rumors of Evil Trees

Dearest Bria –Letters From the West

I find the world an uneasy place as I write to you this evening. It has been many weeks since Borowolf and I have returned from the frigid land of Wildermore. As we plan to cross the Entwash (at great peril to our lives) to once again engage the darkness that threatens all the land, whispers and rumors alight upon our ears. It is extremely difficult to ascertain the source of these hints of doom, as the content is very slight. It’s as if a vapor materialises, and vanishes as quickly as it appeared.

We have heard that at the time we plan to make our  move into West Rohan, the enemy shall use his power of lies and confusion to sap us of our skill in battle. Rumors of difficult choices and inability to recall our specialties plague us and our allies. Captains and masters of lore alike fear that their flexibility in battle will be greatly hindered by this supposed curse. Many have threatened to abandon our company should this come to pass, but Borowolf and I remain steadfast in our desire to free these lands. Could this darkness be the same magic that is said to have poisoned the mind of the King of Rohan? Perhaps we will know soon enough.

I know very little about the wood in the Westemnet, but several who I have encountered seem to fear the trees that await us. I am unsure of the validity of this phobia, however. As I understand it, West Rohan is composed mostly of grassy plains.

Contributing to the general uneasiness within our community is the distinct lack of true information or strategy. I know this has left Borowolf in particular feeling extremely frustrated. A captain without a battle-plan can be very testy. The other day one of our regular message carriers rode into Snowbourn with a scroll that contained nothing but stale information. What’s more, he stopped reading it aloud after a meagre twenty-six seconds and looked up at us as if he expected us to be pleased. It was all I could do to stop Boro from killing the messenger.

One thing is certain, Bria. We stand on the edge of something very large and important. Whether the battles ahead will be truly epic, or the rumored trees will sap us of our skill, will only be revealed with the passage of time. Please be wary. Stories of epic proportion that were once freely told between the good folk of Middle-Earth can now only be had for coin or toils. Should these developments affect the morale of our allies, I fear for the future of our lands.

Do not cry for us, Bria. We have weathered many trials prior to now, and we intend to return from this one as well.

Sincerely,

Braxwolf

Braxwolf Stormchaser