This is typical Daybreak (SOE). Breaking stuff that didn't need fixing in the first place. So much SMH....
The sad thing is the revamp took cycles away from fixing some of the bugs in the other instances. If it ain't broke don't fix it, because the fix may break stuff. Clearly with the amount of bugs in the game for the current content this update, to something that has loads of documentation on the web, is a mismanagement of resources. Hopefully the management change will prevent these tweaks to things that are not broken. If they claim this was done for new players, then the posts here in the forums would have been the way to go (clearly anyone could see that). if they want to be more "player friendly" then they should consolidate the vendors down into a few spread around the trade skill of choice. For example, in the smithing house by the small bank. There should be a couple of vendors there with everything the POK offers for smithing. If you already conceded and put the vendors in the PoK why not have them in a central spot, it is less frustrating for the players? Also realize that most people working on trade skills are going after the shawl, which is already a grueling time sink.
If not reverted entirely, perhaps after sorting out the inventories to match what their label says it should be (baking stuff on the vendor with Baking Supplies under his name, etc), the vendors could then be stationed in the 'main' area where their tradeskill combine containers are located, with perhaps a second vendor added to carry half the stock? Waiting for 30 seconds for the inventory to finish loading is horrible. Having no idea where anything is *for sure* is horrible. The only upside to the whole thing is that if I'm not sure, I can randomly click on the 4 nearest vendors, and *probably* come up with whatever item I'm looking for, regardless of where I'm at. Tho, while we're rearranging pok, can you move Franklin Teek from right in front of the guild lobby doors/port in spot? In the event you need to run afk while zoning in either manner, when you come back, any chat that happened in the interim is gone to the spam. An open forum (or just a spreadsheet) for the players to send in suggested locations and consolidated inventory lists might not be a bad idea. Have some unpaid intern schlub sort through them. I'd be willing to bet that a large number of them would be similar, or at least close enough to give you guys the idea of what we'd prefer to see. I know for a fact that given my love of lists, I would totally sit down with a list of items sold in pok, and sort them out, filter them for tradeskills they're used in, and even suggest locs for the vendors. But, I also have no life, and have an obsession with lists and charts.
If I weren't so mad at the change, I might take the time to update the vendors on EQTC. But as it is, I'm not going to do it any time soon. (I'm still secretly holding out hope they undo this change). Maybe Alla's will update their stuff, but doing NPC/vendor maintenance on EQTC is a pain.
They've already started the process of cleaning up the vendors so I'd say it's a safe bet that the changes are a done deal.
I for one would prefer to have back the old npc's and distribute the items and containers to relevant areas of pok put all the baking stuff where the ironstoves are the smithing stuff near the two forge areas ect. ect.
Not sure why they had to rush into this but this is one of those cases where getting input from the tradeskill community might have made sense. I am sure you would have got a detailed plan for consolidation because some of the tradeskillers I know are very intense about it. So far my only theory on the consolidaton is that adding anniverasay npcs in the past was much more difficult because of all the npc in pok and this was some attempt to alleviate that.
Condensing down the spell vendors would have made more sense. Instead we lost whole families! There is nothing to say all the anniversary NPCs have to be in PoK. Was nice to have some in PoT last year.
would be nice if they did changes like this they would post to allakazam the changes and also places like EQTC. this part of the game i hate. you cant find information worth a crap unless you know where to look and when things change like this sites like alla and EQTC are wrong.
I find it kind of... Sad that now we have empty buildings in pok just so they mush all the vendors together. Blacksmith building makes me think of some sort of apocalyptic event and every one died.
Aside from the drop only loot additions and the items obviously on the wrong tradeskill merchant (which appear to be in the process of correction), I'm in favor of the consolidation. It's great not having to run from one side of PoK to get a brick, to a second side to get a mold, and a third side to get a water flask. I strongly suggest they're going to fill the gaps in the real estate with a summertime event or next expansion revamp. I'm holding my breath the abandoned appearance isn't the end goal.
PoK looks like a ghost town now. I think it will negatively affect re-subscriptions, if people log in and the game appears more empty than expected. Noone (well, most people don't) wants to play in an empty world.
If PoK is going to stay like this, it can go into the can labeled for Worst Zone Tweaks Ever Conceived By Man along with Freeport. Nobody at Daybreak has said why this was done, or why it was necessary, and it's irritating beyond belief.
I wouldn't want to have as many smithing npc as we use to have.We had to go to too many places to get 1 item then almost at the other end for another.If they make changes to smithing npc i would put all of smithing in a restricted area maybe 1 or 2 building top.Crescent reach smithing would be my model. It's so well organized.
Just fix what merchants are supposed to have what and it will work. Not sure how I feel on how long some of those lists will be when I do check a merchant though.
Speaking only for EQTC, the updates are 100% manual. I have to go to every ITEM and change the vendor (not the other way around). Until they're finished "fixing" things I won't even attempt at trying clean up the inventories because it's too much to do twice.
I have no problem with the idea of consolidation and getting ingredients closer together and closer to their tradeskill containers. I don't like taking all the vendors out and leaving PoK as a ghost town (explain to me why this is/was necessary and maybe I'll change my mind, but right now, all I've seen is "consolidating vendors" which doesn't make sense as poorly as it was executed). I also don't like filling them all so full up that it's a pure nuisance to engage them and have to wait so long for their complete inventory to populate. There has to be a happy medium somewhere. For example: Bring Saria Bromal back and let Nelin Signus retire. Let Tabben and Saria split his inventory. Bring Kiren Deepfacet back and let Mercia and Noirin Khalen retire. Let Kiren and Audri split their inventories. Bring Gligo Muddypants back and maybe let Bemli Takoth retire. Let Gligo and Elisha share his inventory. Move Dalin over to the Northern Trader Building and add more stuff from Merchant Woad's inventory to him (copy, don't remove Woad too). Let Horil Imsin retire and move Yeril and Radie Imsin to outside of the eastern trader building where Merica, Norin, Dalin and Bemli were (or move them to western trader building and move Paerks to the Northern Trader Building) Let two of the Hammertails retire and let the remaining two split their inventory. Let a few of the O'Danos return to Halas, but leave the others of the clan here to supply our alchemists. Let Mirao return to Halas too. Let one of the O'Danos handle his inventory. Move Ralkor Stoneclaw or Elwin Razorfur to the small bank (ONLY if you remove some of the vendors around there) and consolidate their potions on to the one who doesn't return to Shar Vahl. If you don't want to remove some vendors from the small bank, then let one of them move to the Eastern Trader building (Architect Alric could easily be moved over to the Eastern Trader Building) Let Angler Winifred retire and bring Daeld Atand back... And so many things you could do to find a happy medium between reducing the number of NPCs without making PoK look like a ghost town and without overloading any single NPCs inventory.
