It's Time to Replace Missions

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by Newb Tank, Oct 22, 2021.

  1. Newb Tank Not so Newb

    This will not get the popular vote.

    22+ year paying/playing player here if that matters any. I literally have not missed a single expansion's play.

    I play on multiple servers and all times throughout day, every day (due to ability to telework during pandemic). ALL I have seen for the past two years are the same program using boxers selling mission TAs, and countless people LFG for them. PU missions aren't happening. The guilded face same issue, which really goes without saying at current state of the game. It is too easy for people to buy TAs from the same guys always selling them; was that the intent? No. But it has morphed into that and it's time for change.

    It's time to replace missions with something else, Heroics maybe, or at a minimum, make them ALL non 3rd party program using boxer friendly.

    I'm not going to argue back and forth with you guys (forum users). There's nothing you can share that I haven't already experienced or considered. I understand the state of game, and thankful it is still here, but manageable change with respect to mission intent needs to take place.
    Allworth, Aenvar and Schadenfreude like this.
  2. CatsPaws No response to your post cause your on ignore

    Not sure which "multiple" servers you are playing on but this is a slightly skewered view.

    Sure we have TA's on Tunare, but they are given freely. And we have folks making PU groups, less often but they work better if you are the leader and are asking others to join you.

    Recently a player must have read a similar post as yours where they were talking about selling TA's so they tried to sell them in general chat. He was laughed at and told he would never get any takers.

    After one day we have not heard from him since.

    I guess your just releasing pent up frustration. There is no way they are taking missions out of the game.
    Winnowyl, Shindius and Skuz like this.
  3. Schadenfreude Augur

    I fear it's too late, the paradigm is set and missions that are mini versions of raids are here to stay. I'm fully resigned to buying TAs from people openly running third-party tools. Admittedly, this is partly down to playing on a US server and all the people I used to tear through group content with quitting but even on the busiest server I see almost no-one doing missions beyond the RMT scripters who for whatever reason go completely unchecked here.

    Fortunately, due to the trade rules that attract the scripters I can make oceans of plat and items doing older or tier 1 content which more than offsets the cost of any TAs. I imagine on a normal server it has to be incredibly frustrating.
  4. Szilent Augur

    I think you've not read the OP. He's advocating for *more* challenging events, envisioning that to interfere with scripted completion.
    Svann2 and Skuz like this.
  5. Jumbur Improved Familiar

    Hot take:

    Or they could just enforce the rules regarding 3rd party software that offers scripting...:p
    Tarvas, Stymie, Viciado and 4 others like this.
  6. Alnitak Augur

    Can you use an example of such a quest ? What would it be? Perhaps devs would even listen if enough people like that.

    On the other hand - group make ups are so different from case to case. Some type of quests may be very difficult for some and quite easy for other. We do need a variety of quest mechanics for sure. Not an easy task to make all happy at the same time.
    Skuz likes this.
  7. Jenuthun New Member

    Probably lose half the games population lol there is soo many now
    Coagagin likes this.
  8. Jumbur Improved Familiar


    Nah, just give them a week notice before starting the actual enforcing, That should give the cheaters time to adjust.

    If they continue to cheat and get banned, they can choose to reroll and start over or not. Either way the integrity of the game is preserved.

    If EQ does indeed loose half of the subscribers(I really doubt it), then the game was already doomed anyway.
  9. FranktheBank Augur

    Two issues here; first one is to make an event that is "impossible" for boxers to complete would mean that probably 70-80% of the population cannot do because its too hard/complex. Like Mearatas level, but as a group mission lol. The second is you automatically assuming you know and understand the state of the game and the design. You clearly do not.
    Corwyhn Lionheart and Skuz like this.
  10. Skuz I am become Wrath, the Destroyer of Worlds.

    The problem here is you already think you know everything you need to know and that you have nothing more to learn.

    You're wrong on both counts.

    We can all learn something here, namely boxing yourself into a corner has more than 1 connotation.
    Winnowyl and Corwyhn Lionheart like this.
  11. Accipiter Old Timer


    I think you missed the point. These programs are "allowed" on live servers (and Rizlona) because if DPG closes it down, there will be a mass exodus. You can't get rid of them now.
    Fenthen likes this.
  12. Jumbur Improved Familiar

    I assume we are talking about botting? They were never allowed!
  13. Joules_Bianchi A certain gnome

    Neither is speeding, yet, oddly, people still do it. To the point where typically, law enforcement ignores 10 MPH above the limit or they have to stop the whole highway.


    All the botting a symptom, which could as easily just be people boxing, but 60k AA and 115 levels in under a year vs pressure to level up in Discord and a consistent lack of fast forward through 20+ years of where no players are create a dire need in game.

    Removing the botters would cause the collapse of more than half the raid guilds I know of, unless <shock> they just made getting to the leading edge faster and easier.

    Botters are entirely a problem created BY the developers of EQ by persisting in this notion that everyone has to walk uphill in the snow through 20+ years of BS noone cares about to play with other players.
    Fenthen likes this.
  14. kookoo Augur

    some can box these missions easy using 3rd party software , wonder if they could do these mission without the help of 3rd party software. it give player who box a huge advantage vs those who don't use any.
  15. Waring_McMarrin Augur


    People drive 10 over because they know they can get away with it. If they started more strict enforcement or used methods such as speed cameras it would impact how many drive 10 over. At least where I live how far over they will let you go before pulling you over depends on the area you are driving.
    Corwyhn Lionheart, Raccoo and Jumbur like this.
  16. Jumbur Improved Familiar

    Where I live, if you are breaking the speedlimit "too much", you loose the car! and might even face jail-time! It has a preventive effect on the most blatant violations.
  17. Accipiter Old Timer


    You need to update your understanding of how things work.
    Fenthen likes this.
  18. Tucoh Augur

    I pretty much play EQ for missions and I more or less agree.

    My solution: Put more effort into making "Challenger" achievements less goofy and more hard in a classic sense, and reward players for repeating them. Basically turn them into typical "hard modes" in games. In turn, make the missions easier so more people can do them and experience the content while it's live.

    For example, the current ball-buster achievement is Maximum Echo: https://achievements.eqresource.com/achievements.php?id=2805112

    Which requires players to fail the mission mechanics as thoroughly as possible. I haven't done this achievement yet, but I believe the current strat is to non-DPS tank the boss for ages while other players just go get blown up by the aura effect. It's hard, sure, and it's going to be quite an achievement for me to get, but it's so outside the realm of the normal gameplay that I won't feel like I've gotten better at EQ by getting it, just that I've gotten good at this particular kabuki dance. A better "hard mode" would be additional spawns, more damage, more orbs, whatever, that still allowed players to use conventional approaches to overcome.
    Fenthen likes this.
  19. Cicelee Augur

    Missions are not going away. My only issue with them is that they are the only source of group currency to buy type 5 augments, resulting in mind numbing grinding. I wish there was a way to obtain currency through mercenary tasks or partisans or named drop or something that just four missions you have to do 50 times each.

    But I wonder, what mission mechanics would prevent a boxer using third party tools to not be successful but would allow competent live players to be successful?
    Skuz, Winnowyl, Jennre and 2 others like this.
  20. Tucoh Augur

    They should just make the type 5s lore. Replacing the entire set of augs every expansion a terrible life choice that players shouldn't be allowed to make.
    Merika, Tarvas, Szilent and 1 other person like this.