Dear Tibians!
You probably have a lot of thoughts and questions after reading the announcement. That is perfectly fine, and as the leading product manager for the fifth vocation update, I want to take this opportunity to provide you with a more detailed insight into how the Monk was developed. Hopefully, this will address some of your questions and spark your interest.
When the idea first came up, it felt like an impossible task. Adding a new vocation to Tibia after all this time would probably be too complex and too risky. The more we talked about it, however, the more it felt actually possible as well as a natural step for the game. Why else would most bosses allow five characters to enter if not for five different vocations?
Developing a new vocation is still a challenging task and more than just creating new spells or some gear; it is about ensuring that the new vocation feels as a natural extension of Tibia's world and gameplay. It would need to stand as a fully fledged option alongside the other vocations. This includes both its power level and the introduction of it into the world of Tibia. It should appeal to all players, new or veteran, equally. It should provide a contribution to any group without being mandatory and without pushing out other vocations.
That last line would often be repeated and become somewhat of a mantra for me when thinking about the vocation. With these ground rules in place, we started talking about the next steps.
Once we committed to creating a new vocation, we needed to decide the role it should fill. The first choice, melee or ranged, was straightforward. With three ranged vocations and only one melee vocation currently in the game, we knew we wanted to introduce another melee option. After that, it gets a bit trickier. When looking at the role each vocation fills, there are some core observations to be made:
After having decided on its role, we turned to classic fantasy archetypes. Iconic classes like the Rogue, Bard, and Monk stood out as thematic gaps. When taking a closer look at these three, the Monk quickly became our frontrunner. Bards can be melee, but do not feel distinctly melee and come with a lot of additional challenges by traditionally being music-based. Rogues fit both the melee description and lend themselves well to not being a tank, but they do not match the secondary healer role.
The Monk, however, fits our target role pretty well. Traditionally a melee combatant with a spiritual side to them, they can both dish out punishment in close combat as well as buff allies as a paragon. This spiritual side lends itself well to a secondary role as a healer. On top of that, the Monk even allows us to use an existing skill as its primary skill - fist fighting.
With the major design choices behind us, a lot of smaller decisions regarding its actual gameplay had to be made. While many ideas did not make it into the final design, here is a look at the key mechanics that will define the Monk:
The harmony system is the primary system that makes the Monk stand out against the other vocations.
From a gameplay perspective, the Monk will always be able to make a small decision on how to use their harmony. It can be used for a powerful AoE heal, to punish a single target or to damage a large group of enemies.
Starting with its promotion, the Monk will have access to three virtues, of which one will be active at all times. Each virtue provides a unique passive effect:
Additionally, regardless of the chosen virtue, all virtues grant Monks the passive ability to heal themselves or an ally whenever they create or consume harmony without spending additional mana.
Monks are at their most powerful when they are in the serene state, which is achieved by meeting one of two conditions:
While serene, a Monk's power is boosted considerably. From virtues having their effects doubled to autoattacks dealing considerably more damage, a Monk will only be able to compete with other vocations when being serene.
We wanted to be sure that Monks are never the best option for tanking large groups of monsters while in a group, as this is a role the knight fills. Serene is our answer to that by having Monks heavily weakened when tanking boxes in groups.
All in all, we see the addition of a new vocation as an opportunity to rekindle the sense of discovery that was always part of Tibia. A chance to learn the intricacies of a new vocation, experiment with new strategies, and adapt to new team compositions.
With all that being said, we still have a lot more to share in the coming weeks and we cannot wait to hear your thoughts and reactions on this topic.
Best,
Niadus
| New Vocation Insight Featured Article 1/5 |
Dear Tibians!
With today's server save, we have made some further balancing adjustments to certain areas and creatures in Tibia:
Astral Shaper Ruins
We have added some more creature spawn points to increase the monster density.
Replica Dungeon
Black Sphinx Estate
We have added some more creature spawn points to increase the monster density.
Plains of Havoc
In the Cyclopedia, cyclops doomhauler and cyclops ravager are now shown as being found in the Desecrated Glade instead of in the Plains of Havoc as before.
We have added some more creature spawn points to increase the monster density.
Roshamuul Cistern and Roshamuul Mines
Ingol and Deeper Ingol
Grounds of Fire
We have removed some creature spawn points to decrease the monster density.
Grounds of Despair
We have removed some creature spawn points to decrease the monster density.
Trail to Rascacoon
We have also made some further adjustments to certain areas in Tibia to ensure that creatures only appear as fiendish when they are reachable.
The following areas have been revised:
Additionally, we resolved an issue where the "Quantity" sort option in the stash did not update the view correctly and displayed inaccurate numbers after retrieving.
Happy hunting,
Your Community Managers
Sharpen
your swords and ready your spells, for hordes of monsters are incoming! Another Rapid Respawn Weekend will soon be upon us!
Do not forget to donate enough gold for your favourite hunting ground to take full advantage of the event!
Between the server saves of February 07 and February 10, all monsters will respawn five times faster. Areas with an active improved respawn area bonus yield an even faster respawn time. Save the date!
Happy fighting!
Your Community Managers
