Be Prepared To Sink ‘Hundreds Of Hours’ To Max Out A Skill In BitCraft

If you’re expecting to have a quick wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am affair with BitCraft when it launches early next year, it unfortunately won’t be that type of game. Developer Clockwork Labs says that its committed to ensuring the game’s longevity and permanence by making players put in the leg work before they see any real progress.

According to Clockwork’s latest dev blog, the sandbox MMO’s skill system will require players to invest hundreds of hours to reach the level 100 soft cap for a specific skill. This means that it could potentially take years for a completionist to max out every available skill, if that’s even possible. That’s apparently just the tip of the iceberg as players will be able to level up their skills past the soft cap for bragging rights.

“In contrast to some games, where the max level is the ‘start’ of the end game loop, in BitCraft reaching the level cap is a ceremonious capping off of the unlock progression of a skill, before entering a purely status symbol post-soft-cap progression,” the studio explains.

The team also plans to make new content, including seasonal releases, have a more meaningful impact on character progression while also making sure that existing content remains relevant. Newbies will also be given the chance to play with the big boys during seasonal events.

Clockwork is also looking at various measures to keep the game economy balanced as players obtain more items and earn more gold. They hope to do this without restricting drop rates and gold gains for higher level players.

“In most MMORPGs, leveling up your character or gaining more powerful equipment is a sponge for your time in the game,” the developers said. “Eventually you can reach maximum level or gain the ‘best in slot’ equipment and this sponge will be completely saturated, with the player losing motivation to play. This is why you’ll often find games design these sponges to saturate with diminishing returns to try to make sure they never fully saturate or wring out the sponges periodically with a soft reset (level cap increase, item power creep, etc).”

“We have a very strong vision for an evergreen game in which players build and improve their civilization indefinitely, but there’s also potential for interesting game design here,” they added. “As we proceed further in development, I am excited for our prospective players to help us steer towards making BitCraft a game that can be enjoyed over years and years.”