Changes with the February Update: Developer Updates

Discussion in 'News and Announcements' started by Prathun, Feb 5, 2014.

  1. KnitGnosis New Member

    If NPC pathing was causing server load issues, is there a way to more efficiently calculate their pathing rather than changing gameplay dynamics? Or what about increasing server resources on those that host zones where swarming is popular?

    As an SK returning to the game, I found it very difficult to tank 4-6 attackers simply because the time limits on these effects would expire faster than I could kill. Now if max hit counts are applied they will expire even faster making it impossible to survive difficult situations with multiple attackers.
    rune00 likes this.
  2. Rascal Half ELF New Member

    With the changes to headshot, pulling with a bow isn't going to any worse than used to be. Walls of slaughter come to mind, any time let a arrow fly you where at the mercy of it critting to see if you getting summoned to mob.

    The AA grant will make it possable for people not wanting to play hard core to still beable to play with those who do. My son want to play, but no way am I going to let set in front of the comp the time it would require for his rogue to have enouph aa to be useful, just to hang out with his dad. I like it for my alts, My lvl 89 warrior with less 200 aa is only able to be sad dps. But I like the option being able to not accept the aa grant.

    Merc didn't kill the group getting for warriors or clerics, at worst it lowered it down to lvl the rest of us. Any one that prefers a merc over your real tank or cleric, is really being nice and not saying you play horible. Basicly any warrior or cleric, with any skill, is greater to have than a merc. I box ranger/enchanter/shaman, mercs make that possable. I can remember the days before I starting box being lfg for hours. Or having almost a full group looking for a healer or tank or both. Or running to far and/or dangerious to get to zone only to have the group quit because the tank or healer had to leave.

    But half the time I keep yelling at my screens because mercs are stupid. one tank bugs out and won't assist me, or assist half way back to group and dies from being out of range for heals and slows. It gets worse when cleric merc runs to tank merc and both die from no slowing. The cleric merc some will heal me while pulling, bad stuff. Only way to get a merc to wait to rez you till your safe is to put them on "passive". My shaman does 90% of my rez, since it takes merc forever to do it. Once you get to a "named" mob, I expect to be tanking, because merc tanks are soft and unable to know to follow the script.
  3. roth Augur


    Have your Ranger tank, and use a pair of dps mercs.
  4. Siwin Nonesuch Elder

    You could tune it down to a 10 hit proc rate and the 9 MIN buff will still ware off before the Proc's get used up.
    I've tested this out myself and I avarage it out to about 1 out of a100 for it to fire. Thats 100 Hits not 100 Swings at a PC. I'm not sure how you calculate your Data or you are fully aware of this. Or maybe you are and feel thats where it should be at. But Druid's never Mem and use this spell.

    With its low heal amount around 5000 HP's (Non Crit, Non Focus) compared to how hard mobs are hitting now a days makes it useless and the added Proc Husk of the Reptile Curse III lasting only 3 tick's and its AC and Attack Debuff being so low to begin with, it makes it useless too. It won't matter how high a proc cap you put on it without increasing the proc rate substantially.
    As it stands now because of its extremely low proc rate, NO druid mem's this and buffs's a tank or someone with it especially since spell gem slots are at a premium for Druid's

    While I'm on Proc Rate's, could you look into the proc rate of Wrath of the Wild please. No druid casts this for the Damage Shield, they cast it in hope's of getting it to proc Diminshing Blows rate mod 400.
    Seems to be only about a 10% Proc rate/Land on a MOB on it at best from my experience. Get this up to about 90% and druids would diffinetly be casting it. It would allmost be manditory.

    If you happen to read my Responce, I thank you for your time.
  5. Cisco Elder

    You will still be able to beam, its just going to take you a little longer... Unless they add in negative feedback effects to your spells like wizard effects. However wizard beams are instant casts, where as mage spells are not.
  6. Garshok Augur

    Soulrheever - do you still have the log for that? That would be useful for the devs.

    I am starting to keep logs, but am starting from scratch. But yes, the situation you describe is exactly the issue. We need to make sure that the devs get the hit numbers right if they are going to nerf more than mortal coil.
  7. Dabrixmgp Augur

    my preferred way was using EM 20 earth pet to pull 10 mobs and hold agro with AoE weapons while I beam them down. 1-85 and 1500 AAs in 1 day /played and none of my methods are being nerfed. 85 is fine with me will just group up after that with real people.
  8. Kandykiss Journeyman

    “wow i totally agree with this
    Casia said:


    IF YOU REALLY WANT TO PROMOTE GROUPING, then incentivize grouping. Don't try and force grouping, reward grouping. What if every player you added gave +25% exp to the group?(no splitting. I'm talking 125% per kill as compared to solo) Is that fast? Sure, but its better than giving it away.
    Instead of calculating does this class add any buffs or abilities I need... is the 50% penalty to my exp going to be made up by their dps... is my spawn rate sufficient... do they want the aug I'm after... is it worth the trouble over my merc...
    All of that goes away if each person you add automagically increases your exp per kill (current group exp bonus isn't cutting it AND did you notice how popular original RaF was?).
    What if having 4+ real players in a group doubles the drops from instanced names or makes two chests spawn instead of one?
    What if having more players in group made buffs last longer or stronger or auras increased or added something to leadership style AAs?
    What if it increased plat when sharing(loot multiplier in the formula)? What if more real players gave higher mission currency rewards?
    All of a sudden it becomes attractive to group. Players stop caring if that lower level, undergeared monk is going to hurt them. They'll grab ANYONE who simply advertises they're available.
    Maybe friendships form. Maybe players experience new zones when they go to meet their new group.
    MAYBE, new players are discouraged not because they see a 6k mountain of AA to climb, but because they know all 6k AA are going to be done ALONE, slowly, friendlessly, grinding it out in the one or two zones they know are "good" experience.
    One of us is thinking backwards.
    I'm much happier paying to play my way than being forced to pay to play your way.”

    Would a Dev take a chance and address this post please? Nicely written and well thought out.

    I would also like to know where this mythical new player base is? Just waiting out there to play Everquest, but wont or can't because of the very things that make this game more compelling than other MMORPGS. The new player base is in fact the current player base,....it's called ALTS.

    i could live with this instead of free aa grant
    heck i would drop mercs just to add real players in my group :)
    Ixni, Zurd, Elendieal and 3 others like this.
  9. Kandykiss Journeyman

    Lots of fabulous ideas I am seeing upon checking this thread today. Lots of things to increase interest in game and make people not want to quit. Lots of ideas to promote grouping and calls to address the true issues. :) Well done, players. Well done.
  10. Karport New Member

    Ok have a question though. What about all the AA's that you have gotten and some how they were spent and you have no clue as to where they went. Are we going to get compensated for them. Say my level 71 Pally has 1666 AA's and some how it says I spent 1667 in AA's where did the 10 AA's go and I would really like to have those 10 AA's that they took from me.
  11. Baldwin New Member

    @Karport, some aa's have been autogranted.
  12. Brutus Journeyman

    Kandykiss,
    agreed ! imo, as I read the last few pages of messages, I feel a shift in thinking. A lot of material well thought out and to the point. That management can and should do something better. If I was management, the last few pages would get my attention. Thanks in advance for the quality of the well thought out posts (and my post is not intented to diminish the post from prior pages, since a lot of that was relevant too).
    Muedaven likes this.
  13. boukk_sebilis Augur

    The AA granting is just too much I can understand giving basic aas, but all of it up to 4th newest expansion? come on..... use some common sense.

    As for the nerfs, too late imo you re just going to upset people and drive them away, especially in the light of how you re literally handing out up to 7000aa to people that logs in maybe once a month, that s contradictory.

    Another 2 nails in EQ coffin, soon it ll be ready for funeral, and I won't be there to witness it, enough is enough.
    dreadlord likes this.
  14. Numzan Augur

    Dear SOE:

    I cant read all the pages on this thread again :(, I want you to consider this for a second.

    Level 50 Mobs soloing with 100 mage, Beam spells I was able to AOE my 30+ mobs that do not hurt me one bit. The reason I was doing 50 mobs approx. was to repeat finish my Tasks for the Old school DON progression.

    If you nerf this type of ability down to 12 mobs and the rest are not affected this makes these tasks take much longer then they should.

    I am not asking for a 300+ scale allowance I am asking for considerations to the scale I am talking about. I don't believe 50 Mobs put a strain on the server since they all followed and attacked me.

    I think you should look at the scale of mob collection by level, and by mass amounts.

    In my case is 30-50 too many? since they die in one burst of AOE, and do not hurt me below 100hps.

    Thanks

    P.s also concider many of DON raids, Tasks 1 person solo please. Its past due.
  15. Mitsune Lorekeeper

    I am afraid my answer is 'refund'.

    The changes that you describe here result in something different than you expect. This gives rangers the option to solo kill a lvl99 mob faster than before (root and shoot; now with ~2 headshots a minute). For a rogue this seems to be not more than some dmg ~twice a minute in a group setting. Is this the indended outcome of the change? As a solo rogue I cannot tank a mob lvl-1 (not even molo with a T5 healer). The mob will not show me its back for backstabs to trigger assassinations and as far as I get it assassination will not proc any more off my riposts. Or am I wrong about riposts? It is a bit tricky to follow the discussion.

    Mitsune, Vazaelle
    Fenthen likes this.
  16. roth Augur

    Mitsune, don't Rogues have an AA that allows them to Backstab from any position around the mob? One that makes the damage minimal if not at the back (where you get the full damage) but which would still allow for Assassinate? The Knave's Return Strike AA works hand in hand with that AA to allow you to Assassinate on Ripostes right now, does it not? The main (and, rather severe) change is that rather than being able to get the SoF Riposte AA to get you "free" frontal Backstabs, you are going to be limited to the Backstab button refreshing, just as you would from the rear.
  17. Hatsee Augur


    It's not enough, these toons are going to be 5 years old roughly. If I gave you a 5 year old toon and said have fun you'd be outraged at how useless it is. Most of you are just being silly.
  18. Ssixa Augur

    Do you really think rangers are going to specifically target level 98-99 humanoid, non-summoning, rootable mobs to solo for experience? Just because the speed of killing lots of light blues is changing, doesn't mean killing way more light blues (especially in a hot zone) with melee is going to be any less attractive than killing a single dark blue with archery. Yes it gives us the option...but its not practical, at all.
    Ronthorn Oakenarm likes this.
  19. sinderkad Augur

    Are the points about character power not completely valid though? Every time someone reply to my comments they just breeze by that simple fact in favor of hating it. I would prefer a mixture of given a few AAs while also updating the curve, but you have to admit if you came to EQ now as a completely new play, having those AAs vs not having them is completely daunting.
  20. SoroxDrinal Elder

    All I am saying is that if you could reset your shaman AAs to 0 and start over, you would have a higher AA total using the low bonus selectively then use the grant.