Greetings folks, Myself and Quandary (Twitch: quandary_perplexed) have been working on a new challenge mode for the FV server, and we would like to invite anyone to join who is interested in committing to hardcore gameplay and an insanely fun meta. I've labeled this The "Real" Ironman Challenge (TRIC) because we reject the notion of ironman gameplay involving life and death as core design elements. On the contrary, we believe life is only the beginning and death is the easy way out. The objective of TRIC and the ironman challenge is as it has always been: to test one's endurance against overwhelming odds and overcome obstacles too great for mere mortals. The rules for TRIC are listed below and apply only to characters while leveling 1-110. Please read these rules carefully and understand this challenge is still evolving every day. We welcome all new ideas, constructive criticism, and nuanced gameplay discussions so long as they contribute to improving everyone's experience with TRIC.. If you think you have what it takes to be an Ironman, guild membership is required. Please contact a member of <Ironman> to join (new members must join at level 1); or if you have any questions feel free to contact me directly or tune in to Quandary on his Twitch channel. However, if thoughts like "impossible" or "too slow" come to mind when considering this challenge, then this opportunity may not be for you. With that being said, everyone who has taken part in TRIC so far has found it to be an addictive and refreshing take on the EQ experience (EverQuest meets Dark Souls). We are also planning to add more elements to the challenge at a future date, such as points based on class difficulty and AA XP multipliers. This point system will be utilized to gauge individual performance and may also result in a leaderboard at a later time. Disclaimer: this is a fun, quasi-competitive meta created for people to test themselves (and one another if they so choose) against a well-refined rule set. We will do our best to curb cheating, but it is also completely impractical to keep track of every player's actions at all times. We feel that those who cheat ultimately only cheat themselves because the rules exist solely to make the TRIC experience more fun and rewarding. Thanks everyone! Balegrim TRIC RULES: QUESTING: Allowed MERCS: Banned (except during initial tutorial quest) MULTI-BOXING: Banned POWERLEVELING: Banned (powerleveling includes any action by a third-party to enhance the efficacy of the player beyond their intrinsic capabilities) GROUPING: Banned (grouping to improve language skills is allowed) GUILD: Allowed (Ironman guild only) TWINKING: Banned (twinking includes any assistance by a third-party to receive gear beyond the intrinsic capabilities of the player) SELL/BUY (BAZAAR): Banned PLAYER TRADE: Allowed (player trade allowed only for "equal value" gear; equal value is defined as relative same plat value and equipment level) BARTER: Allowed CLAIM: Allowed (aesthetic items only) PLAYER REZ: Allowed (self-rez only) MOUNTS: Allowed (self-purchased only; self-purchased defined as: purchased by the character who will also equip) POTIONS: Allowed (self-crafted or npc purchased only) AUTO-GRANT: Allowed MAPS: Allowed FAMILIARS: Allowed (self-earned only; self-earned defined as: earned by the character who will also equip) "Death is the easy way out."
Actually, there will be no special permission granted. The solo aspect of this challenge is a fundamental that will always remain intact until a player has reached endgame. Sign language is optional, however.
Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to tune in and check out the The Real Ironman Challenge - and a special thanks to all our new guild members. You guys are crushin' it! Here's to the future, and all it's splendid, tortuous glory!
Ironman challenges are commonly a test of endurance (such as the Ironman triathlon). As I mentioned in the op, we reject the notion of permanent death being a real Ironman challenge because that is not what a real Ironman challenge is. In our opinion, permanent death is not a test of endurance; it’s just a race to see who dies first.
impossible to police and likely to cause dissension in the "guild" I should think.... but hey whatever right? Good luck, HF.
We really have no intention of policing anyone or turning this into some overly dramatic contest. We will penalize people for cheating if we find out, but the purpose of this challenge is to make the game more fun. If you cheat, you’re only cheating yourself. That being said, it’s definitely not for everyone.
I just noticed they forgot to ban the evil temperance...the light and glory of the level one. Oh and SOW too. Oh and dat DS too
None of these abilities have posed a balance issue this far. Each class has exstensiive strengths and weaknesses using this meta - just like any other rule set. However, we do believe TRIC exposes more of them due to the amount of strategy involved (and this is also what makes it so much fun!). Conversely, as mentioned in the op, TRIC is still evolving and we welcome all constructive feedback.
Oh, sorry for missing it the first time. It's weird to have an Ironman challenge that allows player trading, allows players to wear whatever gear, and allows characters to persist through death. As a casual observer it seems like it'd be way more fun to have a guild full of people who are allowed to group with eachother, but have permanent death and can only equip what they loot. This feels more like a "solo level" challenge than an Ironman one, doesn't it?
I don't think Ironman challenges are group events though, are they? I think they're tests for an individual to endure, so in essence, it is a "solo" challenge. I'd think permanent death would more commonly fall under the term "hardcore mode", although that is often also used as a blanket term for increased difficulty. I do find the trading aspect odd though. I think a pure solo challenge would be more fitting.
I don't believe it's weird at all, but everyone has their own opinions and may choose to play the game how they see fit. This is our way. There is a level of nuance to the TRIC design that is hard to express simply with line-item rules and apples-to-oranges comparisons, though. The best way I've been able to describe this challenge is: "EverQuest meets Dark Souls." To call it a "solo level" challenge is, IMHO, a vastly inferior description of what this challenge really involves. I see plenty of people on these forums who claim soloing to cap is "impossible," and we're pushing that bar further. Also, for the record, I find it ironic that the EverQuest community refers to a permanent death mechanic as "ironman" when it's typically referred to as "hardcore" by almost every other game with the feature. Furthermore, "ironman" is most prominently and consistently referred to as an endurance challenge due to the genesis of the terminology based on the popular triathlon. There is nothing "ironman" about dying at level 10 because you pulled too many gnolls in the tutorial (granted, it's not all that hardcore, either ).
Gear trading isn't nearly as effective as you might think (which is why we left it in), but we're also not sure how it will play out in a post-Defiant TRIC. Trading is almost wholly reduced to equal level gear (ex.: Flawed Defiant for Flawed Defiant) and there is a hefty tax for each level above the proposed trade item. In almost 68 levels, I've done a total of one trade. Bottom-line: we typically only nerf rules if there's an apparent (and proven) balance disorder.
EQ meets Dark Souls is a pretty good comparison. Dark Souls is somewhat ingeniously laid out in that when players meet a tough boss they will naturally level up to defeat the boss even if they just make many attempts at defeating them, so it's a grinding, "ironman" style gameplay loop disguised as simply the player getting better (which they are of course). This keeps the game difficult because you're always playing right on the edge of what you can take on. What would you say is the most challenging part of playing within the TRIC ruleset?
