Walsingham announced yesterday that the second PTS PvP normalization test will take place today, August 21st at 4PM PST. There have been quite a few changes from the first test, so with any luck, the overall experience will be more beneficial to Trion’s data collecting team. Among the changes, item procs have been disabled for the test, as well as the effects of synergy crystals. Here are the main changes:
- PVE Synergy Crystals do not function in Warfronts or Conquest during the test
- Additional improvements to damage and healing
- Item procs are disabled for this test
For a complete list of changes that have been made, check out this forum post, and keep reading for the full announcement.
Originally posted by Walsingham (Source)
Hail Ascended!We’re getting prepared to undertake a grand experiment – to explore the potential of normalizing player stats in Warfronts & Conquest.
Changes this for this test:
- PVE Synergy Crystals do not function in Warfronts or Conquest during the test
- Additional improvements to damage and healing
- Item procs are disabled for this test
Join us tomorrow, Tuesday 8/21 @ 4PM PDT (11PM GMT) on the Public Test Shard as we explore this test and help us to uncover any bugs or issues.
Should these changes pass inspection our intent is to deploy them on live shards for roughly a week allowing us to collect vast amounts of metrics and feedback far beyond the capacity of PTS. After the experiment is over we’ll be assessing all of the information we collect before making a final decision to officially make the transition.
What does this mean?
It means that all players will compete with the same baseline stats with no benefit received from upgrading your armor or weapons. This potentially means more even matches where skill & coordination is the biggest factor in determining the victor. Consumables, class buffs, Planar Attunement and other buffs/temporary effects will continue to provide a benefit, only the stats granted by the gear you have equipped will be normalized.
Now obviously, this is a big test, and we’re well aware that we’ve got our work cut out for us. We’re already hard at work finding and resolving any edge cases we can think of. Ultimately the success of this test comes down to you – helping us to explore whether this is a viable option and if so, assisting us prepare it for its debut.
What about PvP Progression?
Meaningful PvP progression is definitely not something we want to lose because of this – we’re exploring a myriad of options and will keep you informed as development continues.
Ultimately we are seeking a better balance between “fair” and “fun” and seek to answer the question – “is more fair fun?” Your feedback is an important part of finding the answer, just make sure it stays constructive and that you actually try the changes for yourself before forming an opinion.
Read below for instructions on how to access PTS and come see what these changes mean with your own eyes!
Character Copy to PTS
You can now copy your character to the Public Test Shard! Simply click the Transfer button when you’re at Character select on the Live client and select “Copy to PTS” – it’s as easy as that! (though there may be a few bugs/limitations we’re working out). We will no longer be offering Gear/Leveling vendors with the introduction of this feature (except when testing requires it.)
You will need to download the PTS client if you have not done so already, this is approximately the same size as installing the full game and may take some time. For more information about PTS and how to access it please see:
Welcome to the Public Test Shard! – Getting Started
Have fun!
LET'S GET SOCIAL