beta

[Achala]

when will beta testing end? I heard (ok read) it has been... 5 years??

[Tobias]

Whenever all the content is added in. ;P There's no point announcing it "finished" when I'm still working on adding all the dungeons and quests in.

It's been five years mostly because I put a playable version out very early - the first version didn't even have Saliko village, and started at Jack's farm. Frigus didn't come until one year in. The benefit from that is that we've been able to test and balance things from the get-go. When you start the Hollow Tree (or any other dungeon), they might seem a bit hard at first, but they've all been tested a lot, so we know they're doable and you don't get stuck.

Currently we are up to level 39 - though the content extends past simply grinding to 39 (there are several dungeons to clear at 39, along with quest lines). New levels are released whenever it is possible to get enough experience to level up by only doing quests, so once there are enough quests for 41, I'll release level 40 and 41 in quick succession.

[Achala]

woah <I>_<I>

[Wolftail]

I can't wait for the new levels!  You are doing a great job with this game Tobias, keep up the great work!

[Tobias]

A lot of the challenge does come from the dungeons.

Grinding levels is pretty mundane, and not really difficult. It would be easy to just add a hundred levels, throw in a few monsters (or generate them automatically based on your level), and basically make an "endless mode", but that's not really the goal of the game.

Personally, I measure completion based on which dungeons, and which modes you cleared (this is also how you get most of the armour in the game).

This is another reason why levels are released more slowly - in addition to quests, levels are also tied to how many dungeons exist. For example, when I make a dungeon with a recommended level range of 39-X, I will wait with new levels until I added all the fights you should be able to complete at 39, so we can actually test them at that level. All the dungeons in the game have been cleared at the lower recommended level range they display.

Simply grinding for levels forgoes a large part of the game, which would be a pity. ;P A lot of new players have cleared the East Caves, the Hollow Tree, some Frigus and Casper, but I don't think I saw many with BFA (and beyond), despite having the level for it.