The Anvil

Five years after the last new class (Bard) was introduced to Achaea, we wanted to create some exciting new content for our players. We felt that combat balance was at a state where we could take a step back from our in-depth classlead evaluation and focus on a new class. The idea for Blademaster had been tossed around in the Garden of the Gods for a few years, but serious planning and development really began in August 2009.

We knew swords were going to be the basis of our new class before we began design. The main skill, Two Arts, is heavily referenced in Achaea’s history and was an obvious choice for a foundation. Our biggest question was how to make Blademaster live up to its legendary reputation without being overpowered. The design went through several iterations, with early designs resembling a reskinning of current classes. In the end we tried to make Blademaster as unique as possible without overcomplicating things – we didn’t want to be forced to create a new combat system just for this class. We are proud to say that, out of 54 total abilities across the new skills of Two Arts and Striking, only 5 are shared with other classes. The third skill, Shindo, is referenced in the games history (though not by name) as being very similar to the existing skill of Kaido. We decided to preserve this trait, splicing old favourites with 15 new abilities.

Some of the project’s successes:
1. We have a very creative team and everyone was able to contribute to the development process: brainstorming the class name, writing the learning messages and gory deathsights, playtesting the new skills, even manning a fleet of invading ships. While I know we were all relieved to finally release the class, it was also a very satisfying end to a group project.
2. The new class was relatively balanced from day one. Obviously there will always be some tweaking, but it was a viable class for both pk and bashing at the start and has not needed major revision.
3. The introductory event really seemed to be a hit with players. We combined sailing, spontaneous roleplaying, ship combat, even a classic dungeon crawl into this event. At one point we had over a third of our online players involved, and not just as spectators. This can be difficult when planning an event where the endgame (revealing the new class) is already certain and specific characters are required to survive to advance the plot.
4. We were able to really integrate this content into the game – it isn’t just another generic class or event that can be dropped into any fantasy setting. From its historical origins to the quest Blademasters take to obtain a personalized sword, it has a very solid foundation in the world of Achaea. The denizens that are part of this quest, as well as the actual skill training, are the same ones from the introductory event, so the story has the potential to continue.
5. Unique sword names. This has been entertaining us since we first added the code for creating individual sword names, and players have been tracking the best and funniest as well: Whispering Shadows, Phantom Star, Unwavering Flame, Silver Kraken, Ascendant Cobra are just some of the various blades in existence.

Some of the challenges we faced:
1. Rewriting of background code architecture. We had to rework a lot of the basic coding for weaponry and bleeding to accommodate the new skills, which increased development time but will be a good thing for the game in the long run.
2. Losing a designer in the middle of development. This is never something we like to experience, but in the middle of a project it means delays and redistribution of the workload.
3. New Years release. The deadline, though somewhat self-imposed, led to some long hours. It also meant that the accompanying event had some scheduling requirements. We don’t schedule roleplay events, since we feel it ruins player immersion, but we also needed to end the event when someone was around to handle any bugs or issues that inevitably arise when adding new content to the game. On top of that, everyone had their own personal schedules for the holidays that we had to plan around. So several days would pass without the event progressing, and we had to find ways to fill it in.
4. Limited playtesting availability due to secrecy. We have relied on a group of combat-savvy players for several years now, balancing and tweaking existing aspects of combat. We needed these experienced players for testing, but we also wanted to preserve the secrecy of the project so it would be an enjoyable surprise for players. We had to narrow our playtesters to an even smaller group, which means more individual responsibility and higher expectations, especially when we are trying to get things done for a deadline.
5. Leaks. We experienced a few incidents of “the big secret” getting out, or almost getting out. There was some speculation about what was coming as the release approached, and some was spot-on. But most people seemed to roll with it and, even if they didn’t completely keep it to themselves, at least acted surprised at release.

This was the first class introduction for most of us in the Garden and I think we were just as excited about its release as we hoped the players would be. Well over 600 players have tried out the new class at this point – to us, that is a great reception. How do you, the players, find the new class and its intro event? What did you like, what did you hate?

Tecton & Valnurana