GamesMMO"Please give it a chance": After 3,200 mixed Steam reviews for his new MMO, RuneScape creator explains the soft-reset class design confusing some playersWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesMMO"Please give it a chance": After 3,200 mixed Steam reviews for his new MMO, RuneScape creator explains the soft-reset class design confusing some playersWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Fen Research)
The launch reception for Brighter Shores, the new free-to-play MMO from original RuneScape creator Andrew Gower, has been mixed but slightly positive, with 3,288Steam reviewssitting at 67% positive at the time of writing.
One sticking point has been the game’s class or profession system, which basically gives you a fresh profession each time you start a new episode of content. This runs counter to the account progression in most MMOs, including the cumulative levels of RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, so Gower himself wrote upa massive Steam blog postexplaining the ins, outs, and benefits of this system, as well as how early access player feedback has inspired changes. The headliner, I think, is this subhead: “Please give it a chance.”
“First, I would just like to reassure you that your hard work leveling up your professions is definitely NOT wiped, reset or made irrelevant when you go to a new episode!” Gower begins. “When you reach episode 2, Hopeforest, four new professions are introduced: Scout, Woodcutter, Gatherer, and Carpenter. Your existing episode 1 professions remain untouched and are still useful anytime you are in Hopeport. You will find that you still regularly go back to Hopeport and use and further progress those professions. However, whilst you are in Hopeforest you will predominantly be relying on your Hopeforest professions, which can feel a bit strange to start with.”
It’s less of a reset, then, and more of a new beginning, with each episode letting you choose new professions to focus on. Gower says there are a few reasons for this, starting with keeping Brighter Shores fun “for players who want to play the game many hours a day AND for people who might only be able to play a few minutes a day.”
“When we introduce new episodes we want them to be fun for everyone,” he continues. “But if there was a single combat profession across the whole game, and the monsters in episode 5 started at level 100 for example, then all the players who play a lot would already be a way higher level than that. They would find it way too easy, skipping past a huge chunk of the start of the episode, and then find that they don’t have much to do. Conversely, all of the players who only play a little would find it way too hard and wouldn’t be able to take part in episode 5 at all!”
(Image credit: Fen Research)
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“All of our testing has shown that, once you get used to it, unlocking a fresh combat profession once in a while actually becomes quite fun,” the designer continues, asking players to give the system more time to show its strengths. “The earliest levels of the professions are generally the most fun as you level up much more quickly, and it’s all new and fresh. We want people to be able to get that ‘new and fresh’ feeling each time we launch a new episode, rather than only getting it when they first start playing the game and never ever again!”
(Image credit: Fen Research)
Gower isn’t insisting that everything is perfect and nothing needs to change, however. Based on the feedback that necessitated a post like this, the folks at developer Fen Research are working on ways to make professions clearer and, seemingly to mesh with the average MMO player’s brain, more rewarding.
One change has already been made: your total profession level is now displayed next to your character, reducing the feeling that you’ve been hit with a soft reset. Gower reckons that the popular suggestion to add content that “relies on multiple combat levels” is “a great idea, and we will definitely be looking to add content of this nature in the future.” As it happens, the responses to this Steam post are filled with players pushing for global benefits from professions, with levels in specific Episodes also providing benefits to your entire account.
“We obviously need to better communicate our ‘breadth and depth’ system,” Gower adds. “Not only are people left thinking that once they move on to episode 2 their guard skill will be forever useless (it really won’t!), but some people are also trying to complete ALL of the episode 1 side quests before even starting episode 2 and then finding it too grindy! This post is a first step towards solving this, but we also need to find a way to better communicate this in game! We are open to suggestions on this one!”
RuneScape creator answers our biggest questions about his new MMO Brighter Shores: classes, professions, monetization, and a TTRPG open world.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2
Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
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Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2
Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3
Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5
Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
1
Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2
Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3
Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”