TLDR Solutions: 1. Adjust progression achievements to require 12 flag pieces vs 21 (item IDs linked below) 2. Adjust base flags from 1x to 2x dropped (allowing the doubling TLP receive to give 4 vs 2) (links to events on ZAM for reference linked below) 3. Increase TBL from 8 weeks to 12 weeks The Burning Lands progression is possibly the longest expansion's progression on a TLP server, unlike previous expansions with gated progression flags this expansion is unable to split raid to gain an advantage. Currently how it is setup is you to be flagged for Tier Two you must collect 21 cursor rewards from the 3x Tier One raids. To be flagged for the final tier (Tier Three) you must collect 21 cursor rewards from the 3x Tier Two raids. This is tracked by the following 2 achievements: Achievement: Battle Writ of the Jann Achievement: Greater Battle Writ of the Jann There is also a 3rd bonus achievement for completing Tier Three events and collecting 14 cursor rewards. Achievement: Writ of the Jann General As of the May 19, 2019 patch (https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq...update-notes-may-15-2019.257785/#post-3791142) This means each event will by default give 2 cursor rewards on a TLP where The Burning Lands is "in era", so to acquire 21 rewards each tier will need to be fully cleared 3.66 times (3 full clears for 18 rewards and 2/3 on the 4th week to hit >21) Consider Coirnav in the following example with the assumptions that: -Guild raids Wednesdays and Fridays -Guild does not fail a single event ever (very unrealistic in this era) Jan 12 TBL Opens Fri Jan 13 3x T1 cleares, achievment at 6/21 Wed Jan 18 Locked out Fri Jan 20 3x T1 12/21 Wed Jan 25 Locked Fri Jan 27 3x T11 8/21 Wed Feb 1 Locked Fri Feb 3 3x T1 24/21 Achievement : Battle Writ of the Jann Completed Wed Feb 8 3x T2 6/21 Fri Feb 10 Locked Wed Feb 15 3x T2 12/21 Fri Feb 17 Locked Wed Feb 22 3x T2 18/21 Fri Feb 24 Locked Wed Mar 1 3x T2 24/21 Achievement: Greater Battle Writ of the Jann Completed Fri Mar 3 2x T3 4/14 Wed Mar 8 Locked Mar 9ToV Opens Based on succeeding every single event on the first try a guild will be able to complete the final raid zone 1 single time in era. Having zero fails in this era is not a realistic situation so in all likely a guild would either need to change their raid schedule to raid on lock out instead of on set days or accept that they likely won't even enter the final zone of the expansion while it is current. Solutions: 1. Adjust the 2 progression achievements to require 12 items instead of 21 and the 3rd achievement to require 8 instead of 14. This will require 2 full clears of each tier to unlock the subsequent tier. 2. Change the default cursor rewards from 1x to 2x, this way on a TLP the default double will actually give 4x. This will still require 2 full clears of each tier but will cut the amount of minimum time to reach the end of the expansion in half. 3. Increase the amount of time TBL is open from 8 weeks to 12 weeks on a standard unlock schedule TLP. The cursor items in questions are: Battle Writ of the Jann (item ID 116897) Greater Battle Writ of the Jann (item ID 116898) Writ of the Jann General (item ID 116899) They are dropped from the following events: Battle Writ of the Jann: Fight Fire https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=9470 Rise of Smoke https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=9471 General Reparm https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=9474 Greater Battle Writ of the Jann: Prince Ralaifin https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=9610 The Conflagration Generals https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=9611 Moon Serf of Harmonious Heavens https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=9609 Writ of the Jann General: Palace Gates https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=9616 Unfettered Emerald Excellence https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=9721 I realize the devs are busy putting the final polish on Night of Shadows before the holiday season so I wanted to compile as much information as possible to reduce the effort required to research the issue and come up with potential solutions. Hopefully something can be implemented by January 12th.
I agree 100%, as per discord too where we've raised this concern a fair few times. There needs to be changes for late expansion flagging, TBL being the most notorious one given the difficulty and 2 months time frame it has.
I'm like a broken record beating a dead horse.. but all of these flagging requirements and locked zones on TLP's are dumb. Just let people do the content. The content will decide if they should be there or not. Spending weeks upon weeks to flag to get to the end zone content (which is all that matters on such a short schedule) is horrible. The forum nannies will give all sorts of excuses about "when they did xyz" or just do this other ridiculous thing that shouldn't even have to be done...(E.G. split raids) IDC.. Some expansions really need you to, simply because it would be a huge re-write (looking a DoDH) but -most- expansions really don't need squat and the progression is only repeated to get the flags to move on.
Not a single expansion should require progression that takes more than 25-33% of the lifetime of that expansion under "normal conditions" IE a singular raid force. The precedence is already there with devs making that the artificial unlock of T3 in the last 3 expansions. They unlock T3 on the 3rd month of the launch (out of 12).
It was a huge mistake locking all zones except Stratos behind keying. Even when it was currant on live, most of it was a ghost town. You want the players to play the new content, not stay in the older expansion. Keying worked in original POP, but not anymore. It's not a good way to sell the product.
And I think the current devs realize that, TBL is the last expansion with cumbersome flagging (so far..?)
I spent TBL not doing TBL stuff beside Fire Fight even after getting three toons all the way through the Smoke Trials. GMM was a godsend.
