I hadn't really compared it until now, but I compared the AC of the paladin breastplate with different group gear to different raid gear: RoS T2 Group vs EoK raid: 0.911 TBL TS Group vs RoS Raid: 0.96 TBL T2 Group vs RoS Raid: 0.90 TBL TS Group vs TBL T1 Raid: 0.83 TBL TS Group vs TBL TS Raid: 0.77 RoS T2 Group vs RoS Raid: 0.77 So, the T2 RoS Group gear is 91% of the EoK Raid gear, and the TS TBL Group gear is 96% of the RoS raid gear (close to 95% like you said). Assuming all the other stats are in line with the Paladin's BP AC, you're right that stat wise this is the best group gear in EQ history, assuming of course that your experience of 50% of missions dropping a TS item is normal. As an aside, I wonder what guilds are planning on doing with the TS raid gear, assuming it's relatively rare.
One of the main issues that I would love to see talked about more/addressed is traditional camps in TBL. Does anyone have a good reason to grind a camp in TBL? The missions seem much better ways to farm gear. My experience with TBL is the mobs hit harder than ROS. The trash mobs do stupid things like AE that doesnt exist in ROS. The mobs in ROS die quicker and give more xp than TBL. EQ has always been about getting 6 people together and farming some xp/named. The risk/reward just seems to be greatly lacking. Has anyone had an experience outside of the one I've outlined above?
I agree but i think some people need to step back and look at what they could do better rather than just complain. There’s quite a few people that know there classes like the back of their hands that are willing to give tips/advice. Hell I’ve done whole breakdowns for zerkers.
Well sometimes what's on the other side of a /tell is a whiny moaning person that displays 3rd grade playground behavior always yelling at fellow players about how bad they are, etc, etc,...or wait, I was watching a certain guild stream a ROS raid I guess it was. My memory is failing me you know. In all seriousness though, I box because down deep I desire to be polite to my fellow players. It's not cool to setup a real group and then have to leave because RL intrudes. Which it does for me alot. So you see being boxer friendly just isnt a good idea to keep EQ around for all of us, it's just good interpersonal relations.
Casuals and Beta Testing. Hmm. Something doesn't smell right here. Beta Testing sounds like something hardcore players do. Casuals don't. Casuals are usually casual players because they are time-limited. Why in the WORLD would casual players log in to beta to spend the little time they have dying over and over again?
The attitude that it's so easy to put a group together is also a complete misnomer. Particularly for those of us with limited play time, sometimes the only way to get things done is to box. Example: it's Saturday morning and I want to finish a certain task. (Please note, perhaps I'm in the minority? but when I play, I play with intention--a certain task, a certain drop, a certain number of levels for a bot, a certain number of AAs, a certain percentage of xp buffer.) I ask in guild, everyone's either asleep or already busy with other things. I ask in general and get no replies, or a 103 hoping to soak up some xp (which is fine, I've certainly let lower-leveled players in to enjoy some xp before, but it's not generally going to help me accomplish my goal). I look in LFG and there isn't anyone. I check my Friend's List and either no one is on or they are AFK. So what do I do? I box. After rinse-repeating this exact scenario multiple times, a smart person notices a pattern. So what does that smart person do? They adjust to their usual available choices, which, for a sizable portion of the population clearly is boxing. The idea that boxers are antisocial or elitist or, heck, I really don't even know the objection to boxers, is just ludicrous. Boxing, and mercs for that matter, have evolved over time out of necessity. Sure, I'd love to just group with real players and be able to make an instagroup during whatever window of availability that I have. That would be awesome! But EQ (and life) doesn't work that way. When the devs deem it appropriate to purposely tune content to make boxing nearly impossible, and to make mercs die repeatedly to nonsense mechanics, clearly, by reading through hundreds of posts, the majority of the EQ populace find it unseemly. With good reason. Again, mercs and boxing and a multitude of other mechanics evolved over time out of necessity (I cannot imagine the game even existing in today's world without the introduction of mercs). And again, the devs certainly appear to be ignoring the greatest majority of their populace. It just doesn't make sense. Add all of this to the fact that the game has become a huge money sink, particularly if you play at the high end, what with faction potions and tradeskill potions and kronos and the horrific inflation that plat has seen in-game over the past few years, and there's a lot of us left scratching our heads, confused, disappointed, and, let's be honest, downright sad at the state of the new xpac. The reason we see so many impassioned posts is that people love this game and want to see it continue. Most people play this game to have fun, and the feedback I'm reading and the first-hand encounters I'm experiencing make it anything but. I genuinely hope they reconsider and re-tune this expansion, the sooner the better.
Wish i could tune down my gear with one click to do those trials and see how low can we go before having to think outside the box. Might be a thing to try next beta
Good question. I think depending on the muhbis drop rate it'll be ideal to transition to farming them once I finish hunter. I hope there are areas with enough named camps in close proximity that I can farm them in the static world instead of running the same three instances every night. Having a rare TS item make all the best gear in the game is an interesting choice that I'm not sure I like. I kind of liked the variety that comes with camping specific named, but I can't fault Ngreth for trying something new.
Wouldn't be hard to get a set of TBM vendor gear, which I think is the lowest you could go if you have a plate tank. I think if you used a pet tank and stacked casters you could go much lower in gear on most of the trials (the ones without AE). A bst/cle/brd/enc + 2x caster DPS could probably do the twister trial naked.
As soon as a game does make it so you can instant group with real players in order to progress through group missions and at least cinematic versions of raids (WOW for example), then the same community that is anti boxer says those features are making the game too “easy” and “ruining the community”, by making groups for you. Realistically there is a portion of players (of all games) that their enjoyment comes from successfully beating challenges that others cannot beat. So anything that helps others achieve the same status as them, ruins the game for them.
Regarding the Trial of the Ashes of Rusted Cliff's Glory...I did this trial with most of the group being end-game ROS raid geared, including the tank and cleric. As a Wizard with roughly 140K HP at the time, the cleric could not keep me alive. I think I took like six deaths during two attempts at the mission. The AEs were simply too much for my HP pool. I didn't get hit by the aura-type spell at all, these were just the ones the mob cast. Now, this was in full Conflagrant visibles, and most of my non-visible slots filled with comparable-level gear. Not the best gear but realistically the best I could hope for having only come back to the game a few months ago. I actually have the dropped items for 3-4 pieces of T2 ROS group visibles, but with the mechanic of needing the prior tier armor I cannot make them. I don't personally care about the deaths, but it's lousy walking away from what was ultimately a winning attempt feeling like I couldn't contribute. And the cleric was frustrated as well, actually apologizing for not being able to keep me alive. That's not a healthy situation. Meanwhile prior to re-gearing at 106, I did a lot of grouping in HS and other ROS zones with like 80K HP and no issues at all. The group gear jump needed from ROS to TBL is really way too much. And it's unfortunate because deaths aside, I've enjoyed the missions I've done.
Those puny casual players. How dare they come on here and complain about the expansion they paid for. HA! They didn't even Beta test. The fools. Absolute morons think they can bring their half-baked skills into a new expansion and WIN? The sheer lack of sagacity they display is appalling. Ignorant maggots. One might think by reading their whining drivel they expected to have fun...in group gear. LOL.
Ive been to every beta for the last 5 or 6 years. Maybe others, like myself, have just given up after seeing most of the feedback ignored? Bugs and issues reported in beta mske it to test.... to be reported again... then get pushed to live... where we have to wait a minimum of 1 month for a fix.
