While the EQ2 team continues to test allowing players to use their regular characters in Dungeon Maker dungeons, additional changes are planned to make Avatars (nee Adventurers) more interesting and dynamic.
Recently, a new mechanic for Avatars went to Test, namely a “power” bar which can be built up to unlock more powerful abilities. At first, we compared it to the Beastlord Savagery bar, but Testers universally knocked this analogy, with less favorable comparisons.
In light of this reaction, Lyndro has indicated that existing Avatars won’t be changed to the new system — instead, a new line of Avatars will be added with said mechanic:
Hi folks!
Thanks for your feedback, this is exactly why we put stuff like this on test before putting it out live. Based on your feedback, instead of changing the gameplay of existing adventurers, we’re going to introduce a few new avatars based around this style of mana management. This way if you want to experiment with something different the option is there, but you can continue playing with DM in the manner that you’re used to.
Thanks again for the feedback!
Our Take
Given our druthers, we would have gone with 6-8 fully fleshed out “Characters” with a full hotbar of spells and buffs that players might learn to love, rather than gnolls and mermaids with 4 spells apiece. People can warm to playing prebuilt characters, if they’re interesting and dynamic. Squaresoft made billions on Final Fantasy before they offered installments allowing you to create your own character. People will get absorbed in a character, if it’s interesting.