I'm sorry, did I miss this developer quote? Pretty sure Bards and Enchanters will still be superior pullers in most content unless they Argin-Hiz us. But, just keep telling everyone how they're just crying for no reason... 10 years of precedent doesn't mean anything. More people may find the change to be Okay in the end but something of this magnitude probably needs a lil more time than a week on Test server to explore all the ramifications. Whatever visionary idea they have on paper will usually never translate to actual gameplay as intended.
So, no more SKs repositioning raid mobs. So what exactly is our raid role now since that was pretty much the only thing we had that any other class couldn't do at least as well ?
Didn't DBG give us the middle finger on something like this not to long ago...OH yah it was TDS with the XP nerf... Play their way or get out your opinion matters not. No wonder I only really log in to raid anymore, they are taking every enjoyable aspect from the game...I see sunset within the next year and a half
So do the developers think we are all Bards with 0 cast and 0 recast with Fading Memories, or are they just referencing that specific fade AA (and Fling)? Due to mob runspeed, root/lull immunity, and summoning, fade is already a crapshoot as a Paladin. If I have any hate-over-time spells running on a mob, fade is not an option anyway. Not to mention, enchanter mobs now have instant-cast mez/charm that is 90% near irresistible. With Fade changes and addition of pre-stored clicky buffs, that only tells me one thing: Developers want and expect us to die more often.
As a monk, I've considered "pulling" as we always knew it to be over the years to be a lost art form, because as EQ has evolved and moved forward, and the players have gotten stronger and stronger with abilities and a wide array of tools, let's face it, unless your name was Fouey, a monkey with a pencil could pull, and the pencil was probably optional that doesnt necessarily mean i feel it should be changed, however, fifteenish years later the game is a different thing then it was at its root, and some facets of the game have gotten so incredibly complex that i'm not sure we need to head in this direction. i think one of the best things about EQ right now is that if you have a grouping goal, and some willing friends or whatnot, it doesnt really matter who you take, with some creativity, most groups with some ingenuity and effort can achieve most goals. and that , i think, is just fine for the overall health of a game that has existed for so long and does not draw significant numbers of new players. That said, while I'm reserving judgement until I get a chance to play with it, I think this change is going to have many extremely unpopular ramifications due to what is probably perceived by some of the staff as a nominal issue, but in fact, affects alot of how we play the game today, that has very little to do with pulling. The pulling aspect people will figure out and learn how to deal with and adjust to, but its the other side of the coin that folks are presumably the most unhappy about from what I have seen so far with in game reactions to the potential outcome of these changes, specifically in regards to raiding: * the ability to fade is an aggro management tool for some classes, who are now running scared that they wont be able to be productive and contribute in the fashion that they are used to because they'll have to be FD all the time or will have to significantly hold back in the dps area, particularly since the aggro meter is unreliable at best and fundamentally broken at worse, when pets get involved. this is further compounded by the fact that in the past certain classes have been denied aggro reduction tools because they could use their fade utilities. * the ability to fade is a way for certain melee classes to drop aggro and bolster their endurance regen because they don't have adequate endurance regen capabilities without doing so * the ability to quickly get rid of rampage (if you also get lucky and it didnt just flat out one round you first) on not only the name but in events where there a crapload of adds that also have rampage. * the ability to deal with random and arbitrary scripted mechanics that regardless of someone's aggro throw them right to the top of the list -- you still have to be blazing fast with your fade ability up to be able to escape death, but at least its possible * abilities like moving mountains and hates attraction, for example are often used to assist with positioning mobs on raids, and capping them to our level makes them far less useful. we've had these abilities for years in some cases, and to change them now seems ludicrous. you gave us these tools for a reason, to modify them simply because people are using them seems poorly thought out. After multiple years of game time, not real time, and not "tharkis game time" spent afk, almost everyone should be able to figure out how to invis themself with some success. This also leads me to yet again voice support for clerics to get a self invis that is similar to camo or perfected versions which should allow them to avoid needing it later as an oh #$@! mechanism in most cases. like i said i am trying to reserve personal judgement until i've had time to play with it more, but i do urge you to take these other factors into consideration, as this may have many widesweeping and unintended side effects than you mean to happen. i do think regardless of what happens, people will adjust and move forward. i do want to say thank you however for implementing the click buff changes, and for honestly surprising me with the expansion announcement. i think a good deal of us were lowballing our expectations due to low staffing and were quite pleasantly surprised!
That's pretty much what I took away from the clicky buff changes. Given the advent of /useitem and being able to click 5 things within 3 seconds by the push of one button... yeah... it was a minor inconvenience at best, especially when many buffs like Void, Gunthak, and familiars last HOURS. They should have just extended the duration of the clicks instead of going through all this trouble. Idea: even more time on content and less on sweeping and/or unnecessary changes revamping 10+ year old mechanics. I seriously don't remember anyone complaining recently that they were having no fun b/c of how pulling was... This will probably just increase the gap between groupers and raiders again since gear will make more of a difference. Really not the road they should be going down IMO. How about actually implementing all of those melee fixes? You know... not just band aids like lowering mob AC. That seems like a better use of time before going and revamping *old* issues.
I need to learn pulling after 17 years playing a bard? Holy cow, a bunch of people here were not even born irl when I pulled my first mobs. And even I am an old lady now I am still capable to pull with and without fading and believe me if you would check several bards pulling, you woud see a huuuuge difference in skills. Most of the changes to it do not influence me, I always got agro back when i was too close etc. I could also say changing the level of the mobs is also not influencing me, I just run far, far away until agro is lost or just zone. Most of the time fade is used to get rid of your agro and do not train and kill someone. Well so I just start to train again like many, many years ago if I cannot fade a mob higher than 5 level above me? I will survive, but others in my way won't. But I love my EQ mates... soooooo.....do not do that.
This reminds me of when they pass a bill in legislation and they sneak in all the bad stuff right underneath the big headline of something good, but small, that they made a mountain out of to shadow the mess underneath it.
Ah yes, btw MONKS NEVER WERE THE FIRST PULLERS IN GAME. FEIGN DEATH was NEVER designed as a PULL TOOL, it was designed in the first place to get rid of AGRO because of the HIGH DPS Monks dealt. And NO this is not a joke. /cough, the bards had the first pull tools, like harmony and lull and so on. Those were pull tools and not feign death.
The sudden nerf to fade and fling is BAD. Effective next week, without any discussion with the players, you are changing the current endgame raiding just like that? 1. You can no longer fade off aggro from a raid boss, or even a group named? But there are scripted mechanics in the 2 final events in Arx Mentis that are designed around it and even send the targeted player a warning emote that they are about to get the boss'es attention. So now you are changing them to the old school random DT? Lanys shouts, 'Heads up, Aristo! I'm about to flatten you, and you can't do anything about it thanks to the changes you've just made! Muahahahaha!' Lucia shouts, 'Your time has ended, Aristo! And now I actually mean it!' 2. Rootable mobs in Arx 4. The bug with their rootability was even specially fixed by Absor. Since AE root and fling in the same ability that was used heavily for cc in this raid (and several others in recent expansions), does it mean those mobs are now much harder to cc? Not that new challenges in the current raid content are not welcome, but not this kind, and not all of a sudden. Have you even discussed the implications of these changes with Absor?
Pretty sure this is already implemented, but if not: needs a fail message so an audio trigger can be made. I don't want to find out if fade fails by looking through my buff list. Huge disadvantage to tanks. Mobs summon, run faster... doesn't need an explanation. Yet, these changes to fade seem to be aimed at non-tank classes? So even if I did get enough distance, it can still fail. Erm, what if I need to fade so I can use Rest? You might as well tell casters they cannot use a mod-rod while in combat. So if a mob is a red con, my fade ability won't work. This basically means I can't fade during raids... which means my ability to use Rest for endurance is now completely nerfed. Never played a class that does it so... /shrug, can't comment.
From your avatar I'm guessing you're a Unicorn Rider Paladin. Never used Divine Call? I'm assuming it'll be included in these changes.
No Rest for the wicked! Another major change in the current endgame raiding. Endurance woes are back. Seriously, hold these nerfs back until you've had enough time to think about all indirect consequences that are going to happen.
I wonder if some of the changes are being made to add further design room for future AAs. Just a random thought.
Your target resisted the Divine Call spell. Nine times out of ten on a good day. Never use it. It also positions the mob directly behind you. Hurts like hell.
Confused, where did I imply anything about fade/rest line? Was talking about the Paladin lurch single pull ability thing, which they'd be pretty unlikely to use in raids.
There are a few clickies that can help, especially on raids. The fear clicky that stuns you is a fade. (Not nerfed?) Also there are FD potions. DA clickies if you get in trouble can give you enough time to train to zone hehe. I know these items have long recasts but they may help in an oops scenario. Also the Dain Ring has a turn in for an insta cast DA, Blessing of the Dain I believe. Its one time use though but its not hard to gate back to Thurgadin and hand the ring in again along with a normal DA clicky. There is also the Shiny Brass Idol in Highpass off the orcs right? Not saying this is a solution but it can assist in a bad case.
