Hey guys! Bet you didn’t expect seeing something like this so early. No, this is not a changelog for v2.2. This is a short preview of one of v2.2’s new features. Everything here is subject to change in the future - this is in very early development. We’re wanting to put this out now to get some early feedback before implementing it everywhere.
Thank you for your time.
This is the Adventuring Merchant. No, this is not a replacement for the Wandering Trader - it simply uses the same skin. There will be one of these in each town, and maybe some scattered around the world. The merchant seems like a small addition, but they have huge changes in store for the general gameplay experience of Primordial.
Let’s take a look at their trades.
As you can see, their trades already seem quite substantial. Please note that all of this is subject to change. The prices will be adjusted as we develop.
Here’s the first item the Adventuring Merchant offers. Again, these prices are subject to change and are not final. Now, let’s see what this map looks like.
You can already imagine the huge gameplay implications this simple feature adds. You can see Drabyel, the Av’Sal ruins, and the Palisades Heath tower all marked on the map. We plan on adding a map of each town and showing the nearby tower, as well as some other points of interest. These maps do not show the player on them - players will have to navigate like they would in real life.
We feel like these maps will help players get a foothold in a new region they’re exploring, provide a greater sense of where they are in relation to other locations, and make it easier to find towers, which as we all know can be a very tedious process. This does not mean that every tower will have a map showing its location, however - only a single tower near a village.
There might be maps like this that can be found in village-less biomes, either discovered in a ruin or maybe a small explorer’s hut.
Let us move on to the next trade.
This is pretty self explanatory. We want to try and shift the exploration experience to one more focused around towns and centering one’s expeditions around them, and this map makes it easier to find the next village. Of course, it will still be difficult to find them, as the map does not show a player marker.
Onto the next trade.
Yes, that is indeed a Shulker Box. No catches here; it operates as you would expect it to.
You may ask: “What’s the point in locking a Shulker Box trade behind something you can only get when it’s possible to get Shulker Boxes another way?” Well, Popped Chorus Fruit - the second item required to buy a ‘Runic Vessel’ - will be found scattered around the world in various structures, big and small. We will be making new structures in each biome to both fill it out more and add in Popped Chorus Fruit. For example, Akhlo’Rohma has 19 of them spread around the whole biome.
While there will be around a hundred scattered around the world, they will still be difficult to find as Drehmal is a huge world with many secrets. Some of these may be found in plain sight, while others could be found within new minidungeons, or even behind cryptic environmental puzzles.
These Vessels are meant to accomplish two things: a lack of inventory space and a lack of rewards other than emeralds and the rare weapon out in the open world. We hope that it will make your time in Drehmal more enjoyable, as well as improving the general gameplay for newcomers.
The final trade is simply a speed potion. Nothing extravagant.
Alright, let’s go over what these additions are trying to accomplish:
Provide moments of more directed exploration while still allowing freeform discovery.
Provide a sense of space and purpose to the world.
Make certain towers and all towns easier to find.
Give towns more importance as a ‘base of operation’ where players can center themselves around the town, exploring the biomes surrounding it, before moving on to the next.
Make emeralds more valuable (There will be some other additions on top of these to make them more worthwhile).
Add more structures and landmarks to every biome, trying to make the world feel less empty.
Make the player want to explore any structure they find, even into the lategame.
Solve the inventory management issue.
Create a more straightforward game experience for players who want it.
Obviously, all of these additions will greatly change how one plays through the map. They are quite volatile and can’t be tested properly by us, so we would like your feedback before we continue with them.
Thank you for your time.