Assassins Creed Odyssey January Update. New mercenary tiers, level scaling options and more

CaptNink · Jan 8, 2019

My game of 2018 (and probably 2019). So funny...I completely disregarded this game when it launched.

And UbiSoft continues to be one of my favourite developers. Awesome stuff!

Crossing Eden · Jan 8, 2019

Trigonometrize said:
The problem with the "it's optional" argument is the logical conclusion to this is any shitty way to play the game a developer can think of to is exempt from criticism apparently because the player can just choose not to do that. If AC Odyssey's next patch includes 15 different ways to make the camera wobble, as long as they include the option for it to not do that, you might as well not say anything. Because no one will respond to your points. But now we've got 15 different ways for the camera to wobble in a game, and none of them are good.

I mean that's a strange hypothetical compared to literally patching in an option that existed in the last game.

Deleted member 30681 · Jan 8, 2019

just finished the game last night and had a blast with it. Put about 96 hours in with quite a bit of content left to do. I'll probably come back eventually and perhaps even buy the DLC.

Fantastic game.

Billfisto · Jan 8, 2019

Trigonometrize said:
The problem with the "it's optional" argument is the logical conclusion to this is any shitty way to play the game a developer can think of to is exempt from criticism apparently because the player can just choose not to do that. If AC Odyssey's next patch includes 15 different ways to make the camera wobble, as long as they include the option for it to not do that, you might as well not say anything. Because no one will respond to your points. But now we've got 15 different ways for the camera to wobble in a game, and none of them are good.

Yeah, I'm not sure you understand logical conclusions.

Trigonometrize said:
Obviously my complaining on a forum will not do much to move the needle, you can still choose what you want, but I'm not going to not argue for what I think the best game looks like.

"What I think the best game looks like" being the key phrase there. Heaven forbid if other people have a different outlook, and developers accommodate this without impacting your experience in the slightest.

rhandino · Jan 8, 2019

Pankratous said:
Glad I've got a backlog so games like this are finished by the time I get to them. Can't imagine how bad it is finishing a game then getting quests added to it when you're already done.

Well, they have weekly and daily quests/events so in my case I play the game every week to complete them and get some special currency.

And the additional quests are put every other week and the DLC chapters every month so it always feel like you have something cool to do.

DarkChronic · Jan 8, 2019

Love that level scaling thing. Haven't picked this up yet, as I'm still chipping away at Origins (I need to get back to that...) but I'm all for dropping down to the "very light" scaling so I can plow through the game and enjoy the story. Good stuff. Love that more and more games are adding "story mode" difficulties. Return of the "cheat code", in a different form.

DrScruffleton · Jan 8, 2019

This is the first time where I'm finding a Gaas done right. It's the only game I go back to weekly to do new quests and stuff.

Really interested in that level scaling

sibarraz · Jan 8, 2019

What's the issue that people has with the scaling in this game? I personally never had the option of finding way too strong enemies besides the rare situations where I got lost in the map and ended up in a región with way stronger enemies, or when mercenaries at higher tiers where hunting me, most of the time the enemies feel fair, and maybe the only criticism that I would have is that I never feel like I'm way too strong in face to face combat, but then I guess that I would complain that the game is easier

No Depth said:
All I'm really learning is to wait until the updates end before I jump in.

But yes it does sound like even at launch opinions were pleasing and these updates are welcome infusions.

I honestly recommend playing before this happens, the base game already has a lot of content without considering any of the non season pass free updates, at this point this game became my "weekend" game where I play at a slow pace doing the new quests, otherwise I would be overwhelmed with all the content that has

scare_crow · Jan 8, 2019

Aren't those scaling options kind of just like difficulty settings? Do the light and very light options mean that all enemies, regardless of location, are below you in level?

GrrImAFridge · Jan 8, 2019

Persephone said:
I got the season pass for Christmas but I've been holding off playing it until I can get confirmation on whether the rumour about

being forced into a het relationship and having children

is true. Really hope it isn't ://

If there's truth to it, I assume it'll be based on your choices vis-a-vis romance encounters, and, if you've played an exclusively or predominately gay character, you'll adopt instead. This would actually tie in nicely to Phoibe being your de facto daughter.

StereoVSN · Jan 8, 2019

Well, that's amazing. I am only a few hours in and this will come in handy. Can't wait for that Museum mode.

Kylo Rey · Jan 8, 2019

rhandino said:
More Alkibiades content YES!

They should scrap all the Atlantis DLC and just add more Alkibiades quests tbqh j/k

Atlantis will be all about Isu civ

Trigonometrize · Jan 8, 2019

SageShinigami said:
...Wait. Is your opinion that I shouldn't even have the option to shut something I dislike off?

My opinion that I will definitely defend is that the best way of playing AC Odyssey is without level scaling (or at least the kind of level scaling I initially described which is not exactly what's in the patch so that's my bad). I've still not thought enough about the finer points of game criticism philosophy and how player options fits in to all of that. Should I be arguing for only the best game I'm imagining or should I be arguing for something I consider sub-optimal but overall better for everyone? From one perspective I'm just plainly arguing against my interests, but from another I might be better in the long run as there will come a game that has a kind of level scaling I dislike that I would've enjoyed more if at the very least there was an option to change it. It's a dense discussion, certainly more dense than the "options are always good" mentality suggests, but I don't know if I have the interest into looking into it more thoroughly.

So my opinion right now is you all should be in my camp that level scaling is bad and should not be in the game because it makes the game worse, but I understand why you enjoy it and why it's there... to a certain extent?

scare_crow · Jan 8, 2019

Billfisto said:
Yeah, I'm not sure you understand logical conclusions.

"What I think the best game looks like" being the key phrase there. Heaven forbid if other people have a different outlook, and developers accommodate this without impacting your experience in the slightest.

... didn't he say "IMO" in his first post? What's the harm in him expressing his dislike for a particular feature, optional or not? Sheesh, folks.

Jawmuncher · Jan 8, 2019

Glad to see the level scaling.

Phellps · Jan 8, 2019

Nice! Hopefully the NG+ update comes soon too. Would like to do another playthrough with Alexios with all these QoL updates once I'm done with Kassandra.

Persephone · Jan 8, 2019

JaseC said:
If there's truth to it, I assume it'll be based on your choices vis-a-vis romance encounters, and, if you've played an exclusively or predominately gay character, you'll adopt instead. This would actually tie in nicely to Phoibe being your de facto daughter.

I mean, the fact that there's an important character who's a man if you play as Kass and a woman if you play as Alexios is a huuuuuuuuuuuuge red flag >:|

Snake Versus · Jan 8, 2019

Give it to me, Ubisoft! I'm at 99 hours in, having completed the main story, episode 1 of the DLC, all of the Lost Tales of Greece released thus far, completing the entirety of the Cult of Kosmos branches, and unfogging the entire map.

And yet, I'm still craving more.

Trigonometrize · Jan 8, 2019

Billfisto said:
"What I think the best game looks like" being the key phrase there. Heaven forbid if other people have a different outlook, and developers accommodate this without impacting your experience in the slightest.

But my experience is impacted. I didn't know I'd prefer the non-level scaling option until I was already a good way through the game, so I probably would've started with the scaling on if I picked up the game now. So then halfway through I would've been playing the game sub-optimally and had been forced to pick out the better option, if I was even aware it existed. Even if I didn't start with scaling on, the game is still requiring me to manage my preferences, which is a worse experience than the one I had (I've already completed the game).

GrrImAFridge · Jan 8, 2019

Persephone said:
I mean, the fact that there's an important character who's a man if you play as Kass and a woman if you play as Alexios is a huuuuuuuuuuuuge red flag >:|

Ah, right. Ubi has made a big deal about player choice with Odyssey, and, as you've implied, railroading such a key story element would fly in the face of that, so, yeah, here's hoping the aforementioned concept will prevail.

R dott B · Jan 8, 2019

Noice

GarthLordOfTheSith · Jan 8, 2019

minimaxir said:
Wait, there's an option to make level scaling even more intense.

Legit impressed that it's not just an on/off.

I honestly wish there was an option for Off to lock enemies at the level of the region the map shows. Except mercenaries. Let them be bad asses. But I prefer the way Origins handled level.

-Tetsuo- · Jan 8, 2019

Trigonometrize said:
I thought the enemy level scaling was a good design choice. It was really easy to out-level a lot of the islands that were not necessary to the story. I wouldn't be really interested in returning to them if I was 10 levels higher than the enemies there. The lack of level scaling maybe works to make a world more believable in a certain game, but in AC Odyssey where everyone has numbers floating above their heads and stabbing someone can either completely kill them or make them wobble a bit based on that number, I don't think it adds much in terms of that.

Bad inclusion IMO.

This is how many other games work, it is fine. You can outlevel and miss some of the obscene amounts of landmass in the game and still have a ton of shit to do.

bsigg · Jan 8, 2019

GarthLordOfTheSith said:
I honestly wish there was an option for Off to lock enemies at the level of the region the map shows. Except mercenaries. Let them be bad asses. But I prefer the way Origins handled level.

I think there could be a balance based on the types of military locations in an area so that way some areas that may be away from the main quest lines could still be a challenge while other areas are just lowly bandits you decimate with a simple swing of whatever crazy weapon you have.

tomofthepops · Jan 8, 2019

Persephone said:
I got the season pass for Christmas but I've been holding off playing it until I can get confirmation on whether the rumour about

being forced into a het relationship and having children

is true. Really hope it isn't ://

Where did that rumour come from ? I just took it as a throwaway line of dialogue.

flyinj · Jan 8, 2019

What I want in a level scaling option is a retuning of the experience system where every island is involved in the entire swath. Make it so there is zero scaling, but instead of having 5 islands that are for levels 30-32, make the 5 islands for a level each. Then retune the experience awards so they come much slower.

I like to do all the quests in every area.

Optional of course, but that would be my ideal.

Deleted member 43084 · Jan 8, 2019

tomofthepops said:
Where did that rumour come from ? I just took it as a throwaway line of dialogue.

Darius's child is always the opposite sex of the misthios, so it's a logical mechanical solution.

Persephone · Jan 8, 2019

JaseC said:
Ah, right. Ubi has made a big deal about player choice with Odyssey, and, as you've implied, railroading such a key story element would fly in the face of that, so, yeah, here's hoping the aforementioned concept will prevail.

I would genuinely be so upset. "This AAA game in a major franchise lets you play a lesbian except haha fuck you" would put me off ever buying an AC game again.

tomofthepops said:
Where did that rumour come from ? I just took it as a throwaway line of dialogue.

Leaked trophy list for episode 2 of Legacy of the First Blade reveals that one of the achievements is for "starting a family", and the above-mentioned thing about Darius's kid always being the opposite gender of the PC.

Deadly Cyclone · Jan 8, 2019

I've had the special edition since launch but have been finishing other games. Might be time to get into it finally...

Billfisto · Jan 8, 2019

scare_crow said:
... didn't he say "IMO" in his first post? What's the harm in him expressing his dislike for a particular feature, optional or not? Sheesh, folks.

All value judgments are in someone's subjective opinion. "IMO" isn't some magical invocation that means people can't disagree.

Trigonometrize said:
But my experience is impacted. I didn't know I'd prefer the non-level scaling option until I was already a good way through the game, so I probably would've started with the scaling on if I picked up the game now. So then halfway through I would've been playing the game sub-optimally and had been forced to pick out the better option, if I was even aware it existed. Even if I didn't start with scaling on, the game is still requiring me to manage my preferences, which is a worse experience than the one I had (I've already completed the game).

But my experience is impacted.
...
(I've already completed the game)

Weird that this hypothetical alternate universe that included the option and caused you unnecessary stress about picking a menu option has bled into this universe and retroactively ruined your playthrough.

I mean, I can see where you're coming from, as I also initially want to play the "truest" version of a game. Sometimes I find that the developer's vision of what's enjoyable doesn't always mesh with my own, though. If I can sand down that irritating spot and this lets me enjoy all the other work put into the game, rather than just casting it aside, it's a better experience for everyone.

As long as developers are clear with stating "here's the settings we believe provide the best experience", I'm fine with them also saying "but, that said, you do you."

CopperPuppy · Jan 8, 2019

Trigonometrize said:
The problem with the "it's optional" argument is the logical conclusion to this is any shitty way to play the game a developer can think of to is exempt from criticism apparently because the player can just choose not to do that. If AC Odyssey's next patch includes 15 different ways to make the camera wobble, as long as they include the option for it to not do that, you might as well not say anything. Because no one will respond to your points. But now we've got 15 different ways for the camera to wobble in a game, and none of them are good.

Lmao wtf did I just read

SageShinigami · Jan 8, 2019

Trigonometrize said:
My opinion that I will definitely defend is that the best way of playing AC Odyssey is without level scaling (or at least the kind of level scaling I initially described which is not exactly what's in the patch so that's my bad). I've still not thought enough about the finer points of game criticism philosophy and how player options fits in to all of that. Should I be arguing for only the best game I'm imagining or should I be arguing for something I consider sub-optimal but overall better for everyone? From one perspective I'm just plainly arguing against my interests, but from another I might be better in the long run as there will come a game that has a kind of level scaling I dislike that I would've enjoyed more if at the very least there was an option to change it. It's a dense discussion, certainly more dense than the "options are always good" mentality suggests, but I don't know if I have the interest into looking into it more thoroughly.

So my opinion right now is you all should be in my camp that level scaling is bad and should not be in the game because it makes the game worse, but I understand why you enjoy it and why it's there... to a certain extent?

I'm not sure if you're arguing for or against level scaling here lol. Either way what Ubisoft has done here doesn't really help me. The option to have enemies be four levels lower than me is worthless. They nailed it by having every zone have a range, but once you level out of that range you should just be stronger than they are.

All the stuff they're doing now is just a stop gap tbh. The option to scale and not scale should've been present from the beginning.

WillySJ3 · Jan 8, 2019

Great game, I like it more than Origins, and I loved Origins.

Catsygreen · Jan 8, 2019

Okay, I have a lot of criticism on the game's storyline, but they managed to revive my desire.

tomofthepops · Jan 8, 2019

minimaxir said:
Darius's child is always the opposite sex of the misthios, so it's a logical mechanical solution.

Persephone said:
I would genuinely be so upset. "This AAA game in a major franchise lets you play a lesbian except haha fuck you" would put me off ever buying an AC game again.

Leaked trophy list for episode 2 of Legacy of the First Blade reveals that one of the achievements is for "starting a family", and the above-mentioned thing about Darius's kid always being the opposite gender of the PC.

I didn't realize that l, I just assumed he was male for everyone. That also fucking sucks if they do force that :(

Deleted member 46948 · Jan 8, 2019

But... plenty of people here claimed Ubisoft designed Odyssey to push leveling MTX? Jim even made a video about it! Surely they couldn't have been wrong? /s

TheClaw7667 · Jan 8, 2019

Crossing Eden said:
But, how else are they supposed to encourage us to spend money on MTs if level scaling is now a thing? /s

They're working on one for Odyssey as well.

Why wasn't it a thing at release? Origins had it after release too. There must be a reason why they add it after. What is the reason?

It's no different to what the Mordor game did. After the majority of sales and the majority of users had played the game with the microtransactions enabled they removed it months later.

SPRidley · Jan 8, 2019

matrixman92 said:
This is the first time where I'm finding a Gaas done right. It's the only game I go back to weekly to do new quests and stuff.

Really interested in that level scaling

I love Jim Sterling, but the tirade he has got against ubi and this game citing its a gaas is shit is completely bonkers (and as its been pointed by everyone that has actually played the game, his weird fascination with this games msx that are not even needed in the sligthlest, and much less now with level scaling, but oh its the devil and the game is crap and ubi is shit, its.... i dont know what to say anymore). The ironic thing is that its exactly the same type of Gaas he praised for games like Splatoon 1 in its day, its just that this is singleplayer intead of multi.

TheClaw7667 said:
Why wasn't it a thing at release? Origins had it after release too. There must be a reason why they add it after. What is the reason?

It's no different to what the Mordor game did. After the majority of sales and the majority of users had played the game with the microtransactions enabled they removed it months later.

You didnt play the game right? MSX were never needed becuase you easily were at the same level as enemies, and no matter what there was always enemies at the same level or more, so why would you pay for them, they were useless from the start.

Geode · Jan 8, 2019

Looks like a nice patch. Too bad I've already moved on from the game. I got my platinum and haven't touched it since. Maybe I'll buy all the DLC when it's all out?

Eoin · Jan 8, 2019

I think a lot of people are assuming that the level scaling option allows them to turn level scaling off entirely and go crush level 5 enemies from near the start of the game with level 50 characters.

It doesn't, it's an option for how far below the scaling will allow enemies to get. The lowest they'll normally be, with the lightest scaling option, is four levels below you, so if you're level 50 you'll be against level 46 enemies.

And for almost everyone that's going to be fine, because being four levels above enemies in Odyssey is a huge difference, especially later in the game when you've got all the abilities and equipment that you want and have started dumping ability points into mastery levels. The only reason to completely remove scaling would be to effortlessly crush low-level enemies whose strongest attacks won't even cause your health bar to move.

minimaxir said:
Wait, there's an option to make level scaling even more intense.

Yep, although enemies at the same level as your character isn't all that unusual anyway.

drewfonse said:
I guess turning on level scaling would allow you to pretty much zip through the story without com8ng up on level walled areas. I might dive back in and finally.finish it.

I expect the level requirements for quests to stay the same. So if you turn level scaling to the minimum, you'd still need to be level 30 to start a quest that required you to be level 30, you'd just be facing weaker enemies up to that point and probably getting less XP.

SPRidley said:
Wait, theres no, no sacaling option?
Meh. the very light version doesnt even sound that fun.

Four levels is quite a gap, especially early on. If there was the option to completely turn off level scaling, players who used it thinking it would be better that way could spend a lot of time smashing low-level enemies instantly, receiving junk loot and XP and maybe struggling to progress through the game.

For the people who enjoy playing as an overlevelled character, they'll get a lot of the same enjoyment from just that four level gap (plus the built-in player advantages of gear and abilities). For anyone looking for further challengeless encounters, there's always the arena where bigger gaps are possible (and inevitably result in enemies getting hopelessly stomped).

sibarraz · Jan 8, 2019

I personally think that making characters "hard" to kill in hand to hand combat is a great design for this kind of game, since it actually makes one shooting them through assasination more rewarding

Claven said:
But... plenty of people here claimed Ubisoft designed Odyssey to push leveling MTX? Jim even made a video about it! Surely they couldn't have been wrong? /s

I know that you are joking, but I always found odd how so much people criticized this game for that, when almost anyone who actually played the game never complained about the level cap gating content for you

Specially since you can beat the main quest at level 35 and I'm already level 55 with 10 more hours of main story left, and without spending money

Crossing Eden · Jan 8, 2019

TheClaw7667 said:
Why wasn't it a thing at release? Origins had it after release too. There must be a reason why they add it after. What is the reason?

Level scaling wasn't even a planned part of Origin's post release patch/dlc schedule but was heavily requested enough that they decided to add an option, same thing here.

It's no different to what the Mordor game did. After the majority of sales and the majority of users had played the game with the microtransactions enabled they removed it months later.

They didn't remove level scaling altogether they just created an option for it. And they're planning on supporting this game quite far into 2019 and that includes purchases so obviously the game is still financially viable.

Orb · Jan 8, 2019

I posted about it in the OT, but I'm surprised how much I am enjoying this game, and good to see that it's getting free content + QoL updates in addition to the paid DLC. I did not expect to get so deep into this, but it's a great world to just get lost in. There's so much to do that I feel like I'll be playing it for a long time.

Also, people saying "they only did this after people already paid for all the MTX," that doesn't really seem like the thing. The fact that scaling exists is precisely the reason that you don't need to pay for any of the microtransaction stuff, to be honest. Loot drops like candy and you're pretty much always getting something dropping at your level or a few levels higher to bank for when you level up. Sure, you could use Helix credits to buy gear sets if you really want to, but that's not at all an efficient way to get better gear.

scare_crow · Jan 8, 2019

Billfisto said:
All value judgments are in someone's subjective opinion. "IMO" isn't some magical invocation that means people can't disagree.

But my experience is impacted.
...
(I've already completed the game)

Weird that this hypothetical alternate universe that included the option and caused you unnecessary stress about picking a menu option has bled into this universe and retroactively ruined your playthrough.

I mean, I can see where you're coming from, as I also initially want to play the "truest" version of a game. Sometimes I find that the developer's vision of what's enjoyable doesn't always mesh with my own, though. If I can sand down that irritating spot and this lets me enjoy all the other work put into the game, rather than just casting it aside, it's a better experience for everyone.

As long as developers are clear with stating "here's the settings we believe provide the best experience", I'm fine with them also saying "but, that said, you do you."

...exactly. But you were criticizing him for saying that he disagreed with the level scaling.

GrrImAFridge · Jan 8, 2019

The lack of level scaling, at least on Nightmare, can be a huge pain to begin with, but I found it more or less stopped being a problem once you begin unlocking Tier 2 abilities. E.g. Today, my character is a level 70 assassin, and more often than not I can one-hit mercs with a critical assassination attack.

TheClaw7667 · Jan 8, 2019

SPRidley said:
I love Jim Sterling, but the tirade he has got against ubi and this game citing its a gaas is shit is completely bonkers (and as its been pointed by everyone that has actually played the game, his weird fascination with this games msx that are not even needed in the sligthlest, and much less now with level scaling, but oh its the devil and the game is crap and ubi is shit, its.... i dont know what to say anymore). The ironic thing is that its exactly the same type of Gaas he praised for games like Splatoon 1 in its day, its just that this is singleplayer intead of multi.

You didnt play the game right? MSX were never needed becuase you easily were at the same level as enemies, and no matter what there was always enemies at the same level or more, so why would you pay for them, they were useless from the start.

I played the game but that's not important to what I wrote. Why add it in after if the level scaling has zero impact on microtransactions? It was an option added into Origins that a lot of people enjoyed so why wasn't it there at release?

I never said they were needed to complete the game.

benzopil · Jan 8, 2019

Got a platinum trophy today, perfect timing

Deepwater · Jan 8, 2019

For the record this is the exact opposite of How level scaling was added to Origins. At release Origins did not have level scaling so you very quickly outpaced enemies in previous zones. The option, added later, in Origins was a simple toggle IIRC.

This time they made level scaling the only option only to add the option for flat levels later.

I guess they will probably include both options from now on

Deleted member 46948 · Jan 8, 2019

sibarraz said:
I personally think that making characters "hard" to kill in hand to hand combat is a great design for this kind of game, since it actually makes one shooting them through assasination more rewarding

I know that you are joking, but I always found odd how so much people criticized this game for that, when almost anyone who actually played the game never complained about the level cap gating content for you

Specially since you can beat the main quest at level 35 and I'm already level 55 with 10 more hours of main story left, and without spending money

Yeah, I know. Almost everyone who actually played the game had a similar experience, but there's no explaining to the pitchfork mob.

Phantom · Jan 8, 2019

Twstr709 said:
I hope there is a Discovery mode like in Origins. That might have been my favorite part of that game.

Never forget

Assassins Creed Odyssey January Update. New mercenary tiers, level scaling options and more

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