@Ametrys The problem is that in similar games (example Albion), the gameplay changes dramatically over the years. Items that used to be meta in some scenarios are now useless and some that used to be weak got new amazing skills. My guess is that this will also happen in Fractured and it will really suck to have a character build around something that will become absolutely useless in two years.
You are right that life leech is a an old and well incorporated concept in RPGs, but I feel it won't be so relevant here, unless it heals a considerable (broken) amount of HP per hit. Vamp/life leech made more sense in oldschool mmos because they were less aoe-heavy (which imo was more fun in pvp, but more boring in pve).
PS: Since you mention CC-chains, I also want to know the dev's opinion on this matter. Same with damage reflect in aoe situations.
If you are still looking for unclaimed land, check far NW:
@Jetah A bunch of the skills already implemented in the game are the "kill this mob a bunch of times" type. You have to go there and kill that mob until you get the skill. Or maybe you need to travel to a hot area with high ganking activity. Regardless of how you name the process of acquiring a full build, it's time consuming and the more it takes, the less chance someone will have it unlocked unless they really want it.
The point I want to stress is that it would suck if there would be a very strong chasing/escaping skill unlocked by some worldboss and doing that boss on your healer would unlock it on every character you create (especially your ganker).
@Nyquil44 After a short while there'll be a DB with every mob out there anyway, so it doesn't really matter and it adds some exploration element to the first wave of players.
@asspirin said in Life leech on spells / enchants / buff abilities:
@Razvan If i remember correctly, devs stated you can chain stuns... which is IMO broken as the first guy to land aoe stun in team vs team situation wins the fight for team (even if SAVES are taken into consideration).
In an aoe heavy game it's absolutely broken indeed.
On the other hand, maybe they plan to go oldschool and focus on single-target spells rather than aoe, since CC-chains are not as bad there.
Anyway, just like Jetah said, the devs should talk more about what they plan to do with the combat system. I'm mostly interested in: how fights will go? Big aoe CC and big aoe damage or single target CC on key people and focus fire? Do all CC always land or has a hit chance? Small healing over time or big burst heals? Single target or aoe heals? Do we have resurrects? What about buffers: in older MMOs most people had a buffer slave - will this be the case in Fractured as well?
After the last test, I might consider deer -> abomination as well because it's the optimal nuker build.
If the effects are strong enough, people will use them. In fact, I don't know what MMOs you guys played, but the ones I did required a good deal of coordination between players and guilds tried to take advantage of this as much as possible.
Anyway, now that you mention those games, Aspirin, I reckon that Magicka also had coop combos - for example, multiple people shooting a beam results in a stronger one fired on an altered angle. On the other hand, if they make mages so badass, nobody will play archers or melee.
@Manaia
This is not completely fair either as it favors characters with fast attack speed.
Next test please add the option to suicide (and respawn to our homes). Letting mobs kill you has the same effect, but it takes a while.
@asspirin For large scale PvP it's enough to have an aoe magic tree specialised in anti magic if you want to make room for melee characters. For example, a big not-so-fast moving shockwave that silences and cleanses magic effects results in frontline being mandatory for each side.
However, I really I hope Fractured won't be as heavy on aoe spells as Albion.
@asspirin
Because dota2 is a completely different genre, with a different appeal.
In most of the mmos I played, they kept adding end-game content...
Anyway, to address your points
So, if the release will be how people on the forums claim, it will be a really niche game in a genre that isn't at it's peak popularity right now. I still don't understand what is the target demographic for furries planet in these circumstances.
PS: Albion has a very fair 5v5 arena that nobody plays other than doing the dailies for the swiftclaw skin (I haven't played in the last 6 months, but I doubt anything changed in this regard).
PPS: I pay attention to the story of whatever game I'm playing because that's why I play RPGs, but I understand that I'm probably in the minority. Another minority is achievement hunters. 
Awesome to see such a high number of winners (which translates in high forum activity during the last week). Congratz everyone!
Most likely mdps demon main, and roleplay hermit (house outside city) human alt. Classes are not set in stone tho, as I cannot test them yet.
Anyway, I'm not so much concerned about invasions - if there are too many demons, they will probably fight eachother as well instead of all allying and fighting human. The thing I'm most concerned about is the economy - on the demon planet things will be expensive since it's full loot pvp (and they will probably add a trash-system to help crafters), while on the furries planet things will eventually become dirt cheap. Even if items will somehow be lost in the furries planet (items getting destroyed once they lose durability or whatever system), the mats will still be very cheap because it's safe to gather them.
@Manaia
Well, I got carried away with it for some reason as well. What exactly do you have in mind when you think of pvp in this game? I think of
Then the first 1-2 months it would be quite awkward because usually there's a lot of hype when a new game launches, but lots of these new players quit after a few weeks, which will leave ghost towns until their houses turn to ruins.
@asspirin
regarding Arboreus invasions: For fun. I wouldn't mind risking inexpensive gear (think 5.1oc) for a chance to get good loot.
regarding character development: Yes, but I said "new character" (as in alt), not "new player".
Still, this game is targeted at mmorpg players, right? One of the big things that draws players to this kind of game is the sense of progress. It feel like it's a huge gamble if you make a mmorpg with very little character development. Then there's the fact that a bunch of ideas I see here look good on paper, but will turn out to be something else once they will be implemented in the game and people will abuse them. These 2 things drop my confidence in this project a bit.
I don't really agree with the statement that attack speed is the more important stat because usually the auto attack characters have both high attack speed and damage. If the game allows burst damage dealers, then characters who can 1combo someone are viable. If you scale up the combat (lets say from 5v5 to 20v20), then attack speed becomes a lot less relevant. Either way, I feel that this discussion is more of a subjective thing that reveals our class preferences and doesn't lead anywhere so maybe dropping it is for the best.
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@asspirin said in Life leech on spells / enchants / buff abilities:
Thank gods Fractured has saves and disables don´t stack.
That's 3 different CC being used there by the tank: pull, stun and root. In this sense, I hope they stack because it would be weird not to be able to stun someone while they were slowed.
Then, in Albion there's the knight helmet, which gives a short aoe immunity buff to push and pull.
@asspirin said in Life leech on spells / enchants / buff abilities:
However in such zergs aoe damage attack with lifeleech component might be potent (if caster is at least little tanky).
Casters with tanky armors are not very good at doing burst damage, which is important when healers can do aoe burst healing. 
I don't think life leech would make a major difference in this kind of fights because as a backline, if you are being CC'ed and the big aoe damage is coming your way, you won't make it alive regardless. Other than that, you have healers to top you off.
In small skirmishes however it will be hard to balance, reason why I think passive life leech on spells shouldn't be a thing (life drain is an active spell).
Another thing worth mentioning is the reflect on aoe spells. Imagine throwing a high damage spell in a bunch of tanks with reflect buff and getting insta-suicided.
PS: I really hope Fractured won't be as aoe-heavy as Albion tho.
Thanks for the points & glad to see so many winners this week!