We didn’t have a Devlog on this website in a while. All of our resources went into concepting, discussions, development, and testing.
If you’ve been a part of our last 2 Alpha Tests, you won’t recognize the game anymore.
So I want to use this post to go more in depth about what has changed, what content will be there during the Beta, and what we plan for the future with Project Astral!
Let’s get to the biggest chunks: Astraltree and Token gain.
First, the Astraltree
– The Astraltree got bigger. We increased our Tree from approx. 1000 Nodes to over 1300 Nodes.
– We removed all flat stats. Every single stat node now gives %-based stat increases. With that, we are giving gear, gems, and enchants a much bigger role in forming your character and living your theorycrafting experience.
– We increased the price of every single node in the Tree. Previously, a fully unlocked Tree would cost u 18k Tokens. With the start of the Beta, u will see an overall cost of 42k Tokens. (Don’t worry, the Token gain also increased massively!)
– Implementation of a placeholder Paragon System.
– All Nodes have been balanced.
– All placeholder icons, names, and tooltips u saw have been reworked/replaced.
– Re-positioned every single node to a more appealing position.
– A ton of improvement on the backend of the Tree system. Improved performance and stability on the client and server side.
Let’s get to the Token Gain
With the new Token prices in the Tree and everywhere else, we also had to increase the Token gain. Multiple new systems got implemented to give different options to gain Tokens. Existing Token gain methods have been buffed and improved.
For example:
– Killing a Dungeon Boss if u queued via RDF tool gives u 15 Tokens instead of 5.
– Prestiging previously awarded 100 Tokens and now got buffed to 500. (This increases with the content progression. TBC 1000 Tokens, WotLK 1500 Tokens)
– Killing a normal Raid Boss previously awarded 15 Tokens, now 75.
– Killing a normal Raid Endboss previously awarded 50 Tokens, now 200.
– Killing a Rare in the open world previously awarded 15 Tokens, now 50.
and a ton of other stuff.
But let’s get a bit deeper into the new systems.
Callboard:
No matter what playstyle you prefer, it’s worth visiting our Callboards in Orgrimmar, Stormwind, Shattrath, and Dalaran!
- Quests to make locations safe
- Quests to hunt down high-value targets guarded by elite mobs
- Crafting, gathering, and fishing quests
- Special dungeon quests
- Meta quests for RDF and quests overall
- Hunting quests for rares
Each of those quests will be specifically made for your level, offering Tokens based on your level.
Challenges:
Do you enjoy suffering?
Take a look at our Challenges. Some of them award up to 15000 Tokens, but don’t expect them to be a cakewalk!
Up to 8 different Challenges with up to 8 sub-challenges within. But here, you not only gain Tokens, but also Orbs.
Now let’s get to the core element of Project Astral.
ASTRALGEMS!
As some of you remember, in our first Alpha we had 25 class-based gems.
During our second Alpha, we had 47 class-based gems.
We saw every one of u creating strong and crazy builds we hadn’t even thought about when we designed this system.
A big portion of our time between the Alpha and Beta was used for concepting, creating, and testing spells, and turning those spells into Gems.
With the start of the Beta, we will jump in with 68 class-based Gems.
But that’s not it. We also made 67 fully custom Gems, featuring fully custom abilities. This will increase the range of theorycrafting u can use by a massive amount.
Here are some examples:
As you can see, we also fully reworked our Tooltips, giving you better information on the stat the gem scales with and what to expect from procs.
But it doesn’t end with 135 Gems. (That amount will rise during the Beta based on suggestions and ideas)
We also fully reworked our proc system and the way u interact with gems and put gems on!
Gem slots do not get unlocked with scrolls like u had to do it in the Alphas.
Gem slots are now unlocked based on the quality of the item u wear in a specific slot!
Now, once u have the right quality equipped, u can simply add or remove the gem. And even if u unequip an item and a gem turns inactive, you don’t lose it!
With that change, we also fully reworked the Gear System.
– Every gear piece that gets dropped drops with a random suffix.
– This brings us even closer to the vision of combining Diablo/PoE + WoW with a ton of theorycrafting.
– Remember I mentioned something about Orbs earlier in the Challenge section? Right, u can use those Orbs to reroll ur suffix on the Cube of Destiny.
Want to play a Haste Spellpower Rogue? Everything is possible now!
This is just a small portion of changes and stuff we made in the last couple of months.
With only limited development time, some features didn’t make it into the Beta.
Mythic Raids and Mythic+ Raids
Tier Set Gear for each spec and phase in Vanilla (including Vanilla and TBC Death Knight Tiers)
Mythic Item Upgrade System
All of those features will be released once they are finished later in development!
There is a reason we call it a Beta Start, so let me be clear on what to expect during the Beta and the future of Project Astral.
We recently moved our client over to the WarcraftXL client. Since that client is still in development, there are some issues to expect.
- Small frame drops during long play sessions
- Lighting and shadow problems
- 2-3 minutes of cache loading during game start for items outside of your inventory
- Some particle effects may be bugged or a bit different from Blizzlike
We also expect some kind of server instability during the first few days of the server. So expect lag, hiccups, or even crashes during those first few days. This will be fixed ASAP, and I will monitor the issues 24/7.
Let’s get a bit closer to my vision for Project Astral and where I want to take it.
I am currently concepting a system called “Hybridization” and “Gem Mastery”. U can let your imagination work for u since I don’t want to get into this system for now. But all I want to say is that theorycrafting and the synergy between each system, new and old, will be improved massively and let u personalize even more how your class/build plays.
I want to clarify it one more time. This isn’t a “solo” experience with playerbots. The main focus will always be on raiding and pugging, dungeon runs, and especially theorycrafting. I want players to craft builds I couldn’t even dream about and make them viable all across the board.
About PvP:
Once the server launches and we progress a bit further, we will try Battlegrounds out. We did some “testing” in terms of PvP during development, and it turned out to be really fun. So we want to gather feedback and let the playerbase decide on the future of PvP on Project Astral!
UI Visuel Rework:
Currently there is going on a massiv Visuel rework.
From Login Screen and char Creation up to new Visuel Talenttrees and much more.
Every UI element gets reworked.
Also Visual Quest Marker in front in your Display + Full Open world Level and Quest Scaling with full grouping integration.
This will be shown once its done and will be launched later on. ITS A Massiv OVERHAUL !
I want to thank everyone participating in the progress of development, every tester, every piece of feedback, every suggestion, and I want to welcome every new player.
Let’s get ready for a great future and make this the best experience!