Login times did seem better. I didn't notice much change actually playing: the screen still periodically hiccuped/stuttered while running around.

Also, the client crashed/hung while trying to exit, and I had to kill the process.

I hate item decay, that is, durability loss over time (not use). That turns the game into a repetitive chore.

Item durability going down on use is a different matter, but even then, it's annoying.

What -really helps the economy is something like Albion's item-trashing system, where on PvP death a significant portion of gear is simply removed from the game. I really like that, for two reasons:

• The dying player has lost everything anyhow, and won't really care if some gear was trashed (would probably prefer it!);
• The looting player gets some gear (plus the kill), and so still gets a reward (sometimes a very good reward).

That method "hides" an item sink in plain sight, and is not a frustrating, repetitive burden.

@Znirf said in Min/Max'ing and crafting/fighting:

Six branches, in each of these there are only two knots that give you the attribute bonuses!

How many branches can you complete on one toon?

@Znirf

Thanks! Couple more things:

• By attribute cap, I meant total (natural + talents + armor + consumable). I remember 25 being mentioned, but that wasn't in Alpha.
• How many talent branches can you complete?

The VIP/developers forum might be a great place for us to collaborate with the developers on designing relics and the other things in the Creator+ packs. That seems appropriately exclusive.

Right now, these are my big min-max questions based on Alpha:

• Will there be attribute caps? (25?)
• If so, can I reliably expect to boost an attribute from 20 to the cap with gear? (in Alpha you could get 5+ INT from gear)
• How do the permanent +2 attribute increases work from knowledge (can I get them for each attribute, or do I choose one attribute to boost, and that's it?)

The practical consideration is that there are nice bonuses for getting an attribute to natural 20, so depending on the answers to the above questions, it may be worthwhile to not push any attribute past natural 20, in favor of getting multiple attributes to 20.

For me at least, exploring the interaction of game mechanics is still exploring. Also, I like it when games provide ways to learn within the game what's actually happening (as opposed to looking it up on a third-party website, which to me hurts immersion).

Plots are pre-designated on the map. You can claim one, and then build it up.

Was hoping I could use the palace on one planet, the villa on another, and so on...

Awesome!