Its a 3 minute kill. Kill basically one weak npc and burn down a boss that is a little bit stronger. It pops adds but they poof once the main boss one dies so the very nature of the mechanics are conducive to it being over and done very fast. It drops armor, augs, spells and VP key pieces. It also gives currency. Basically a loot pinata. Even at a 6 hour lock out its a nice mission. Being able to redo it immediately by player kicking everyone to avoid the lockout makes it an exploit. Like most every other quest NPC that grants the HA's in recent memory it also grants the raid. Thus the hurt to the behind.
And droga is different how ? Why because it take 10m more to do ? Plenty of group missions have the same effect and take very little effort to beat. Are we really trying to say the dev team doesn't know missions have been like this for years ? I don't believe you can call something an exploit if they knew it worked this way for years and years and years and never changed it. They cannot claim ignorance here.
I sense the salt is very strong in you. Probably incurable. There are other missions that are "repeatable" that are far faster than 3 minutes. Also 3 minutes is not even close to how quickly some groups can beat cactus group mission. There was a thread on the beta forums were a sk who shall not be named killed this mission in 10 seconds. You are just speculating really, and there is a ton of historical precedent in other missions including the other current ROS missions to counter your speculation.
I call shenanigans on the SK beating this in 10 seconds. It takes longer than 10 seconds for the first mob to grow.
This is what we get with the modern "tune down the raid slightly, call it a group mission and call it a day" design mentality in modern EQ.
moreorso. since fell foliage can be completed in a minute or so (zoning take more time than killing) people abused the heck out of it. Droga, while easy, took a bit more time. and yes, every other mission in EoK / RoS can be exploited in the same manner... but since they take a lot more time, it's more efficient to camp the name for an aug (and/or spell)... but a really motivated group could do the same thing with skyfire.
Droga and prior group missions did not drop VP key pieces, or key pieces to allow you to enter the end game zone for the expansion. That is why.
If you don't like it , speak with your dollars. Oh wait! that will never happen because we are all addicted to EQ
What I see lower right in the post Inca referred to is: "Last edited by kizant, Today at 9:29 AM"- I'm pretty sure that counts as an edit from Kizant.
It’s DBG broken code and their responsibility to fix it. How many years does an issue need to be an issue before DBG fixes the stupid thing? Don’t blame the player base for poorly designed content and broken code.
Being creative using abilities in the game is one thing. There is some grey area there whether or not that is breaking the spirit of the game. If people really are taking advantage of sloppy design to bypass lockouts, that is not a grey area at all. The intent of lockouts is a very clear line that there is no intent for people to ever cross. Anyone trying to justify doing so as just playing the game as it exists (bugs and all) is just deflecting.
Sorry, no need to speculate on this. Decent tank, healer and ample dps...this mission is fast. Pretty much a dps check. No need to clear or perform intermediate tasks. Zone in. Wait a few minutes and then kill two things as fast as you can. Chest pops full of goodies and you receive currency for nice Type 5's etc. If it was supposed to be on indefinite and instantaneous repeat, then there would be no lockouts at all. Others have mentioned that the "exploit" has always been there with other missions but it was counterbalanced by taking quite a bit of time to complete, especially for group geared players. This is group content after all and is made (or maybe I am speculating on this) to be defeated by group geared players. They are not just going to faceroll this stuff. Some group players might actually have a challenge even dropping the boss cactus. What I will speculate on is that the prime abusers of this are players in raid guilds, who can crush it fast and won't get bored doing the same content over and over, even if its wrong in terms of RvR. It gets into that "too good to be true" territory. IMHO that is a fair assessment of this situation. And am I salty about it? Yah kinda. This NPC does more than just provide a raid. It is still a nice mission with nice rewards that NO ONE gets to do now. Mostly what is being said here is the situation is impeding the agenda of the elite players and their needs take precedent over all others. Which is funny since they were in the best position to suggest fixes as well as being in the best position to exploit the bajeebus out it with their gear/skill advantage.There is also of course the possible inside knowledge aspect or at the very least more in depth knowledge of the game to consider that exists on the high end. There is ample blame to spread around here. Lets all hope for a quick and fair resolution.
I know this could be done in droga, and I know some people abused it. But make no mistake that was an exploit too, and anyone abusing it knew or should have known they were risking their account.
No they weren't ever in any danger of major account risk. They (DBG) won't go after anyone for this. Those abusing it knew the odds were more in their favor no matter how much they abused it. Look at all the other things that DBG allows to continually let fly under the radar. DBG is more like a Mom and Pop operation now. They don't have the resources to go after players nor do they want to lose customers by kicking them out. They will now have to close a loophole, just like with the tax code, and close it fast. Those who got in and geared up...well, all that can be said is grats.
Perhaps you should look up the word speculate in the dictionary. Here you go: 1. form a theory or conjecture about a subject without firm evidence. Site your source to back up your theory, or otherwise yes, its just speculation. I will speculate that there was a different exploit that involved the Scion, which is the item you "plant" to start the mission which is the true reason this mission was singled out among all the dozens of other missions that you could drop and re-request to get the flags, achievements or loot and not eat the lockout timer.
