THIS will be an issue with Augments

[unkempt tapir]

Context:
Augments exist that are Tier 0 (Free) as well as Tier 1 - 5
All Augments cost the same amount to use in-game, no matter what Tier they are
Stage 1 versions cost 20MP to play, S2 = 30MP & S3 = 40MP

The Issue:
The rarer and more expensive an illuvial is the more powerful it is (balanced by also being a higher MP cost) and this is great!
The rarer and more expensive an Augment is DOESN'T make it more powerful and is the same MP cost regardless of Tier, this is bad as someone could spend a bunch of money to get a higher Tier Augment in the Overworld and its about as good as a lower Tier cheaper Augment, doesn't quite add up and feels arbitrary unlikely the illuvial system of rarity.
This is an Issue because some Augments will be far rarer and more expensive than others for arbitrary reasons not necessary connected to their demand, utility or power density...

Proposed Solution:
Make Augments have NO TIERS, They could ONLY have 3 Stages and therefore all augments should be equally rare, but higher stage augments are rarer than lower stage augments (as they are objectively more powerful and more power dense)

Stage 1 = Free, Anyone can get any S1 Augment within the free to play (the 20MP version of it) this comes with the added bonus of making the game better at onboarding people and giving them a taste of whats possible without actually giving them the ability to compete at a high level for free

Stage 2 = Pay to Play but kinda common, maybe T1-3 type rarity, the devs im sure will know what to make of it

Stage 3 = Pay to Play but much rarer than S2 Augments, maybe T3-5 type rarity, the devs im sure will know what to make of it

Conclusion:
This proposed solution has the duel effect of improving onboarding and making Augment rarity make way more sense from a user perspective and actually makes the rarer Augments meaningfully more desirable than the less rare ones, for reasons tied to utility not just because theyre arbitrarily rarer...

Additionally
With what I'm suggesting here, all augments end up being equally rare with a separation in rarity only between Stages, in addition to this idea Augments can also have bonding curves similar to illuvials so that if x augment has higher demand than other augments and people prioritise it then it becomes slightly rarer, not sure if this does or doesnt work but an additional suggestion

Would love to hear what some devs have to say on this, if my idea is trash and maybe reasoning as to why augments have tiers and what the benefit of them actually is (since they currently feel arbitrary and meaningless and imo will just have some augments being arbitrarily more expensive than others for reasons outside of utility or actual player demand) or maybe this is actually a decent idea, what do you guys think?
@unkempt bridge @digital olive @primal shard @pseudo edge

Curious what some of the top gamers in our space think about this as well since theyre super familiar with the ins and outs of the game from daily play
@torn nest @junior saffron @wind island @valid magnet @warped orchid @manic ginkgo @warm forge @limpid idol
(feel free to share w any I missed out)

[feral estuary]

I just wonderf if you got muted for pinging all these people

[quick lynx]

Oof lol

[limpid idol]

I had a similar feeling with the body armor, where there are only 3x tier 5, one for physical dmg, one for omega dmg and one for tank+energy. if you want to bring the best crit armor u would have to go below tier 5, which makes it feel like lower tiers have higher value in some situations.

in my mind i came to the conclusion that a lot of this is just subject to change in a way and not the final draft.

i agree that the augment tiers don't represent their strength at the moment. the seemingly easy solution of making higher tier augments better does not satisfy, as that would add another layer to balancing. and i do like the current balancing among the augments a lot. except that they feel a bit overpowered in general.

i like your general idea but i feel like there might be a easy solution to this, that i cannot see from my standpoint. would love to see the teams input on it.

[unique rivet]

I’d be annoyed if I got muted and no one pinged a mod for help.

[unkempt tapir]

Thanks Ser

[unkempt tapir]

Thanks for the Feedback ser, also would love to see the teams input, maybe were missing something

[warm forge]

I havent even noticed augements have tiers until i read this. Goes to show they dont matter, and removing them is probably the right call if the balancing team and game mechanics going forward dont require them having tiers

[manic ginkgo]

I don't feel strongly either way here. I would have liked to see the augments mastery system change instead, making your T5S3 augment cost 100, but that sounds better on paper than ingame for sure.

I think your idea of giving everyone the stage 1 augments for free could be super cool tbh, in terms of gameplay complexity it's important to keep the systems consistent if possible, eg merging 3 augments to acquire stage 2. But thats a separate part of the discussion.

[unkempt tapir]

I think the current system for augment MP cost is far superior and removing Tiers is far more desirable

As for merging 3 augments to acquire stage 2 it could be a different method, maybe u need to merge 3 + some item or resource only findable in higher rarity area, a lot of possible solutions there

[manic ginkgo]

Oh for sure there are possible solutions, I just want consistency where possible. Maybe Illuvials also require that extra item too

[valid magnet]

nonsense. Swords have stages and Tiers too, but from what i remember from Overworld you don't fusion 3 to have the stage3. you use more materials to make a higher stage and different materials for higher tiers.