Changes with the February Update: Developer Updates

We get ranks faster than rangers, but we max the same as they do.They have more ranks to take a higher levels while ours come slightly earlier.

First off, I am one of the top three geared warriors on my server and doing current content has increased in difficulty from the Need to Bleed change recently.

I now have to keep my cleric's Shining buff up constantly to do missions such as West Karana #1 with the multitude of incoming mobs each wave.

Will Shining have to be refreshed sooner than every 10 minutes now to be as effective in this scenario as before? Having to recast a buff to stay alive while trying to weave in heals is not something I would consider fun.

Some other points / questions from reading this thread and the 96 pages on the previous one:

• Can the level AA's be granted via the rewards window with the option of storing the reward as a glyph. A glyph that stacks with other level ones (for storage necessity) but applies the AA's in the desired level order when consumed.
• I have all AA's purchased now except the innate charisma line. I would hate for CHA, INT, WIS to be auto-granted to returning warriors and count against the 4k AA curve for more valuable AAs they could get.
• Can the AA curve be adjusted where it does not start curving until 2k AA and then flatten out at 6k AA to accommodate for these auto granted AA's?
• I have had my subscription on one account since Mar 1999 with no lapse. While I liked the initial idea of the loyalty rewards program, there seems to have been a neglecting of new ideas thrown at it recently and the faster rate of acquiring them being gold, does not offset the fact that after a certain amount of time, there is not much worth buying besides plat bags and rez coins. I only buy those since I keep reaching the cap. Can something new or different be given to gold members for their loyalty of staying gold for x amount of time? Something like this might hinder someone going gold for a month and then going back to silver. I am thinking along the lines of non game breaking, yet fun items that can be claimed once an account has stayed gold for different periods of time.

Did we all cap at 86 or 88? Did Decapitate cap higher?

We both cap at rank 22. The top rank is the same. I can assassinate level 88 mobs.

This this this.

Are any of the other melee based epics still viable at all?

Since you are re-balancing wizard and mage AE spells... could you please either remove feedback from the wiz line or add it to the mage line? What reason is there for feedback on the Wizard line?

As much as I would love for this issue to have been solved in the past 100 pages of comments, clearly it hasn't.

Take a minute to ponder this, if you would.

The original post was to inform the masses of server instability caused by swarming and the AA grant.

AA grant was more or less solved with opt in/opt out.

Server instability was solved by nerf to SK epic only lasting a certain amount of hits, mortal coil only lasting a certain amount of hits, and mage beams being ncan't ed to all hell.

The original 2 concerns of the original post have been addressed, and by the sound of it, solved. Why then, are rogues still getting a shaft (a class that isn't even recognized as a plvl class), why are bersekers getting a shaft, when the only thing that allows them to swarm is sk epic (which was already nerfed)? Two decapitates per minute, big freakin woop. Why rangers? They have nothing to do with server instability.

Piestro, you are pushing an agenda from the developers onto is thst is the agenda of the developers, not necessarily that of the masses.. In a perfect world (which clearly Norrath isn't), there would be enough grouping going on to not have to rely on these other means of leveling. This hasn't been a perfect world since well before the days of mercenaries.

I would hate to have the job of the GM who has to read and respond to all the hate petitions towards plvlers who accidentally trained them, but here's anoother situation to consider.

How many people do you imagine petitioned when said powerleveler advertised rotting loot in a chat channel and it was looted by random people from the zone? I'll take a stab at the answer: none. How many players do you think petitioned after a 12 hour powerlevels worth of looting out of group, only to walk away from that zone 500k richer. I'll take another stab at it; none. People only complain when they feel wronged; they won't complain when it benefits them.

Please, Piestro, I would like you to ask the developers this: is this.current situation to really improve server stability, or is it to get rid of powerleveling all together? I enjoyed the old ways of eq, so if its the latter, I wouldn't be too horribly upset. If its the former, however, please....enough smoke blown up peoples collective butts.

I am the most prominent berserker powerleveler on my server, and have worked my way up from absolute nothing to where I am now while helping multitudes of people attain gear goals, aa goals, or level goals along the way. 2 procs per mimute tells me the developers are not trying to get rid of swarming. They're trying to get rid of powerleveling all together.

Sorry for the long post, almost done. Its a well known fact Mages have to pull until the zone lags, otherwise they can't effectively beam. Ever wonder how a melee with limited healing from sk epic would do against a ball of warping (50+) mobs? I rest my case.

The vsst majority is being penalized for something the vast minority is doing. Either that, or we aren't getting the true agenda relayed to us.

If those are requirements then we could either:

a) remove the requirement for subtlety

or

b) grant the other aa lines after the requirement is met

Ability changes are global, so the same time.

either or would work just fine for me. I'm just wondering if i should get the silent casting lines currently or if i should wait, knowing that they'll be auto granted later.

Actually, yes. Zerkers and bards at least still use theirs for sure.

personally I like the Bard's epic, increases accuracy and crit chances if I am not mistaken.

There is a potential for reward. That reward will not be a refund of a bunch of AA though.

spreadsheet link

The problem, I think, is that the current 40 proc limit was determined considering only the base spell duration (4.5 minutes / 45 ticks).

Shining Bastion has the following effect:

Add Defensive Proc: Crippling Glare with 400% Rate Mod

400% Rate Mod = 4 * (2 procs per minute) = 8 PPM

8 PPM * 4.5 minutes = 36 procs total (theoretically)

So 40 would be a slight overestimate (for a tank vs one NPC), if we consider only the base duration.

The spell actually lasts longer -

4.5 minutes * (50% Spell Casting Reinforcement Mastery) * (35% Ext Beneficial Focus) = 9.11 minutes (9:06 or 546 seconds)

Considering the extended duration -

400% Rate Mod = 8 PPM * 9.11 minutes = 73 procs total (theoretically)

My two parses show 59 and 57 total procs (this includes potential interference from other procs). I can do more parses of this later when I have time. If others would like to parse # of SB procs and share results, that would be helpful.

I think that 40 is a bit low. If we are considering the ability of this spell to be limited to the tank vs. one mob, the proc limit should be higher. Especially so if we want to consider the realistic chances of tanks tanking more than one mob (will also parse this when I get a chance).

I know it's been asked already, but when when are the proposed changes set to be live Piestro?

Get rid of Krono and this probably all could go away to a degree. It would remove the motive to make what amounts to a real currency pay check by swarming if people are so motivated.

I don't see them getting rid of what amounts to a $17.99 a month subscription, do you?

The charm changes seriously stir up emotions in me all these years later. Dire charm is useful these days solely as a pre-requisite.

Wars get a small spell resist chance, and 800 hps, that does not stack with a campfire or banner. Depends on what you consider viable.

My thoughts.

AA grant
I have mixed feelings on the AA grant. I absolutely see the massive undertaking new or returning players have when faced with AA leveling. Honestly, it's even prevented me from starting or even working on another character more times than I can think of. Getting up to par with levels and gear for is enough trouble without stopping to max out my defensive AA for each new expansion bracket.

Yet at the same time there is already a system in place to curve the amount of AA experience gained for those with a lower count. Has the development team considered expanding upon this? Perhaps update it per class so there is a curve with an equal projection to the Four Expansions Prior to the magnitude of the experience bonus.

Example:
During House of Thule, Class X had a maximum cap of 8,000 AA points.
During Underfoot, Class X had a maximum cap of 7,500 AA points.
During Seeds of Destruction, Class X had a maximum cap of 7,000 AA points.

So if Player Y has between 7,501 and 8,000 AA points, they receive an AA experience bonus of 50%.
Or if Player Y has between 7,001 and 7,500 AA points, they receive an AA experience bonus of 100%.
And so on. I'm just pulling numbers out of the air for any nitpickers.

Also, another thing that hasn't been brought up are skill ups. At the rate players level it is yet another chore to practice their skills. Some are easy to gain, especially with high stats and buffs such as haste, but others are nothing more than a time skin. Certain casting classes come to mind here (Clerics and conjuration, for instance).
If anything should be auto granted, this is the best avenue to go.