I do believe they've stated the new relics will have a different look in one of the live letters.
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This is the only art I've seen, the newest WHM concept:
http://gamerescape.com/wp-content/up...animastaff.jpg
WOW, that looks amazing. I'm still trying to decide if I want to do my WHM or AST relic. I only need 4 more Shells and already have the made the crafted items and have the Aether oils in my retainer.
I don't really see how getting unlucky and not getting past the third floor multiple times when there is already only a small chance to get in at all (and that will happen at some point, with how RNG tends to be in this game I can practically guarantee it) is a fun time. Why is applying RNG twice... sorry, 8 times to the event necessary to make the items rare? If it's supposed to be for fun, why not make getting to the last floor more based on skill and then, you know - just make the drops less than guaranteed? What is the point of gathering 3 other people to go in just to have the experience go out with a fart after two floors? Seems like a waste of time / effort to me.
Because it's not supposed to be a routine thing that you and your group do whenever the portal pops up with every other dragonskin map. It's an extra, fun thing that happens 50% of the time, when finishing a dragonskin map. It's an incentive to run those dragonskin maps again, since they haven't been all that useful recently. (aside from the relic items)
If you want something that's more based on skill to go from floor to floor, go play Palace of the Dead in 3.35.
This is there own fault then, it their choice to do the "quickest" way. It like stuffing a spoonful of hot food in their mouth and then complaining that it too hot and burned themselves.
I'm feeling a bit pessimistic about aquapolis now, but still waiting to see how it goes. I was initially quite excited as I regularly duo dragonskin maps with a friend. We'll see how duoable the new dungeon is.. Don't wanna have to deal with regularly finding another person or two and splitting mats with them. People are trouble. :(