Wayfinder has finally made it to launch after more than a year of Early Access, determination, adaptability, and an incredible focus on community feedback. Last week I had the opportunity to sit down with Game Director and Co-Founder of Airship Syndicate Steve Madureira and Executive Producer AJ LaSaracina and talk about how they transformed the game significantly from what players originally expected during early access.
The journey has not only been about polishing existing features but also making sweeping changes that fundamentally changed the experience from an open-world MMO to a single-player with online co-op RPG. Buckle up as we talk about what it took to reach version 1.0, the new Crucible content, the Critical Role collaboration, and what the future holds for Wayfinder
Bye Bye MMO, Hello Online Optional
The conversation began with the team detailing their goal for development, and how that had shifted alongside the community feedback. "At the core it sounds so basic but we really wanted to build with a community," said Executive Producer AJ LaSaracina. “Obviously, when we shifted to a single player game, that doesn't change a lot. Right. Because the game's still playable, people are still playing it, we're still in early access, we still want to refine the systems.”
Steve Madureira chimed in with his take on the changes. “When we did the shift to echoes to make it an action RPG, you know, single player or online co-op with two other friends, we were changing stuff completely.” He explained.
“So, It was partially for survival, and also, we're changing this anyway, we can make this way better.” He continued as he explained that the shift away from an always online open world spurred numerous beneficial changes taking into account as much feedback as they could. “The game as it is now is way better. It's way more fun. I like it way more than it was as an mmo.” Steven concluded.
The team also lifted the skirt of the dissolution of Digital Extremes publishing arm and how that affected their decision to revamp the game in Early Access. “When Digital Extremes dissolved and we took over publishing… the game was still playable, people were still in it, and we knew we were making this conversion,” said AJ. “So, it was also beneficial to us to really tap into early access and actually use it for what it's meant to be, not just like some branding or marketing thing.”
Reviews Take a Turn for the Better
The response to the changes has been overwhelmingly positive and especially evident in the game's recent review scores on platforms like Steam. "It's very reassuring,” Steve Said. “To know that all that work that we did … it's validating because you can spend a ton of time on a project and then, you know, it comes out, or it doesn't review well and you don't know until people play it and they tell you how they feel,” he told me.
It was difficult for Airship Syndicate to make such a stark shift, and it was understandable that many players who purchases the game looking for more of an MMO style of gameplay would be disappointed, which the team doesn’t take too harshly because they understand the sentiment. “We really can’t do anything about that.” AJ said.
In their estimation many new players are going to be introduced to the game on launch October 21st, and they won’t know the history of the game transitioning from being online only, or the fact they lost their publisher. Their experience will be fresh and the team thinks the changes they made will resonate well with those players. "It's that validation of, we had to do it, we did it. But in the end, the game stands alone, and that's what's important to us.” AJ stated.
Introducing the Crucible and the Hookshot
On launch players will be introduced to some new content including the Crucible, which takes players to a difficult open world endgame area, where they’ll utilize a new traversal tool: the Hookshot. Similar to previous areas like Frostmarch, The Crucible is designed to be even more challenging and expansive. "It's definitely geared towards higher-end play," said AJ. The team mentioned that players can expect the Crucible to introduce new hunts, a new patrol, a new vendor and content aimed at level 30 and above, with mythic hunts reaching level 40, the highest difficulty yet.
The new hookshot traversal tool offers more than just a way to navigate; it plays a role in boss encounters and dungeon mechanics. "Any player that goes into the Crucible will definitely have to learn how to use it," noted AJ. Though it is currently limited to the Crucible, the team is considering expanding its use to other areas in future updates.
Critical Role, Collabs and Maybe More Collabs
Launch will also bring on the collaboration with Critical Role, where players can purchase a unique support pack that will grant players 4 personas, new housing items, new character charms and more for $19.99. This collaboration was born out of a long-standing relationship between the studios. "Joe has worked with Liam and others from Critical Role for a long time... It just kind of came out of the conversation of 'Hey, why don't we do something together?'" AJ shared.
"It's not like additional DLC, it's not a requirement, and there's no ads for it inside the game," emphasized AJ. This approach respects the core game experience while providing fans of both Wayfinder and Critical Role a way to support the game and get something cool in return. As a buy to play game where online play is completely optional, ongoing monetization outside of expansions was a thread I pulled on a bit to see if we could expect more collaborations.
“So, it is an avenue for people to support us and also get something cool in return,” Steve said. They noted, they’re open to future collaborations, but it’s important that players understand that the collaborative personas are not complete character overhauls. They don’t provide any stat bonuses and are completely cosmetic as if Wayfinders are “cosplaying as” these characters.
Mods No Matter What
Looking beyond the launch, Wayfinder's team is dedicated to keeping the game alive with new content and quality-of-life improvements. One major post-launch feature in development is official mod support, set to arrive for the PC version before the end of the year.
“No matter what, we will do PC mods. I think it's great for the game itself. I mean, the game is a fun time with another buddy or two other buddies. And if you have mod support for something like that, the sky will be the limit for people to make what they want.” AJ stated.
They’re also working on other short-term updates that will enhance gameplay, although specifics are still scarce, what we do know is that the team hasn’t get gotten the Echo System exactly where they want it. Streamlining and other Quality of Life (QoL) features are on the horizon, and they intend to have them in the game sometime this year.
Beyond 1.0
The launch of Wayfinder version 1.0 represents not just the culmination of years of hard work, but also the start of a new chapter for both the developers and the players. The team has worked hard and hedged their bets on revitalizing the game by overhauling the scope and turning it into a more manageable online-optional experience. “"Our main goal was just that it is there forever... And we did that at least," AJ said.
But the team also left us with a little teaser. At the time, the latest character Lora had yet to be announced, but Steve couldn’t help but tell us about his thoughts on the newest character tha players will get their hands on at launch. “The funny thing for me is every time I’m playing with a new character, (it’s) like, oh, yeah, this is my favorite character.” Steve began. But when it came to the release of the new character Lora, all he could express was that “She’s so good,” pointing to how much fun she is to play.
If you’re curious about more details on Wayfinder's 1.0 launch which includes the Crucible expansion, or you’re just jazzed about the Critical Role collaboration, be sure to check out Wayfinder which launches today on Steam and PlayStation 5.
