MMORPG: While the new mastery-based acquisition system will make things easier, why cut off a major means of acquisition by making the precursors for the new legendary weapons untradeable/account bound?
Linsey Murdock: We’ve revised the system by which you get the new legendaries. We want them to be about a player’s dedication to the game and their accomplishments. As part of that, we felt that it was important for these legendary weapons to not be tradable.
MMORPG: Do you foresee the precursor collection requirements being more time/skill based (like defeating enemies, dancing for Queen Jennah) or will there be a significant layout of resources (crafting mats, gold, laurels, etc.) required as well, beyond what would normally be required for the typical crafting of an exotic weapon? Or a mix of both?
LM: These are not your typical exotic weapons because they lead to legendary weapons, so they will require both an investment of a player’s time and resources to craft. Overall, this new crafting system is about a broader journey that takes players to all corners of Tyria as they pursue the game’s ultimate rewards.
MMORPG: The journey to crafting the precursor sounds epic, but will it feel like a more personal experience? For example, will it work much like the personal story with instances, or will the journey all take place in the open world? A mix of both?
LM: The personal story is set up to be a linear and directed experience, whereas the legendary journey is really about exploring a theme through the open world. The collections all tie in to particular themes. Looking back to the example in the blog post, players trying to obtain The Moot experience all the themes of a norn celebration, which is what the legendary mace represents.
MMORPG: In the blog post you go over the three mastery tiers, and how they help you craft the precursors that already exist in the game. Will the mastery system have a different set of tiers for the new precursors? If not, will they be added at a later time?
LM: The simple answer is yes. Within the precursor crafting Mastery track, the first three tiers are dedicated to our existing precursors. The later tiers will be associated with new legendaries.
