The developers have been very, very chatty the last few days on the Landmark forums, giving an overview of everything that is planned for the game. The opportunity to really know where we are going and what they are planning after the big discount to zero expected this end of April.
Craft / Harvest
Landmark, by its very nature, is there to support the creation of EQN and the craftsmanship has suffered. They are going to set things right to come up with something more suited to Landmark. Some systems are going to be removed (recovery, upgrade and random quality) while other systems are going to be upgraded. You can find details of all the planned changes on the forum, but here are the key points:
- Components previously obtained through recycling are now only used to craft weapons, armor, and accessories (Ether Shards and Aspects).
- Items can no longer be upgraded and no longer have random stats. But object modifications are more useful and can be more easily recreated.
- Basic building materials can be placed for free, but all others are placed via refined components. However, these components are used for both construction and crafts.
- all recipes can be created in the Forge or the Workshop. Only the Sifter and a new refiner, the Replicator, can refine resources.
- all trees can be cut down with an ax and plants with a scythe. But the tools of the upper thirds give more resources on large trees or plants.
- an improved version of the Founders Pickaxe can be created. The Mastercraft Bracer now gives more components through refining.
Exploit/Progression
The few exploits already in play were there mainly to test the interface, as much for the Journal as for the Watch List, as well as to offer a first tutorial. Thanks to the many feedbacks, they have improved the general experience of these systems:
- the general interface is improved to be easier to use and more intuitive.
- the exploits linked to the tutorial are now more structured and invite you to build before visiting the world.
- recipes can now be tracked in the Journal, replacing the old Recipe Tracker system.
- the sections for achievements (Goals, Feats, Collections) have been removed and all achievements that are not related to recipes are grouped under one heading.
- a progression for the combat is added, with various exploits which give permanent rewards to the statistics of our character
- various feats unrelated to progression are added, with different rewards such as titles, outfits ...
continents
New continents are added with atypical shapes allowing the oceans to enter the land.
In addition, new biomes join the flora already provided in the game: submarine, hardwood (surface and cave) and volcanic (surface and cave).
Surface caves are returning and can be claimed. Prepare to create a cozy troglodyte nest ... unless you want to create a foul-smelling troll cave! These caverns now spawn more often, adding relief to the terrain.
The underground caves are bigger, darker, deeper ... in a word: better! The cave system brings many elements to discover, like cemeteries, portals, ruins, which makes exploring more fun than ever. They estimate that there are around 300 caves and 250 ruins per layer (currently 25 and 15, respectively).
Finally, they will modify the distribution of NPCs to improve the combat experience and progression, in parallel with the new exploits mentioned above. The deeper you go underground, the nastier the monsters are! They no longer spawn on the surface (including in surface caverns) except for the Fiery Fungi.
