Changes with the February Update: Alternate Ability Grants for Gold Members and Ability Changes

Is there any hope of you folks looking into the ramifications of the AA autogrant ? I do not want silent casting not in the least am I interested and that is just one off the top of my head. It will cause major issues with tanks and agro or kiters and agro or pullers and agro. well you get my drift. There needs to be a way to reclaim those AAs and spend them elsewhere or just plain get rid of em so they don't mess with your setup.

I couldnt agree more. I think thats the smartest suggestion yet. Why belittle everybody else's accomplishments that have paid and suffered the grind? Put all the newbies on a server of their own and let them figure it out at their own pace and expense.

so do I get back all those AAs i had to grind out. or i just lose them and the next guy gets them for free. Let them Grind it out and actually learn how to play the game. like the rest of us did. This has got to be the worst idea ever giving away all those AAs.

More ideas popping in my head:

What's preventing SOE from just increasing AA rate substantially (again)? At least that way I feel like I accomplished something. It's actually fun spending AAs.

My suggestion:

Get rid of the AA % exp toggler, at least at lower levels. Make 10%-20% go to AA automatically which would "max out AA" at every level. Get rid of that stupid 30 AA cap and make it 100 or more. I realize AA cap is to prevent AFK/botters from garnishing mass amounts of AAs, but 30 is too small.. I unknowingly hit the 30 cap a dozen times in the last 2 weeks.

My concern:

If we're granted 4k AA, will the remaining AAs be 0% modified? We're accustomed to seeing AAs come quickly, hitting that 4k cap which gives us no bonus to AA exp might feel bad.

Horrible argument.

You act like it's all newcomers... Guess what.. 99% of the people READING THIS THREAD grinded AAs just like you did. 99% affected by this change grinded AAs just like you did. It benefits them and you. It benefits returners. It's part of MMOs.. everything you did years ago means jack-all now. That is the nature is MMOs... It's the journey and the fun in getting there that matters. Who cares if what you did years ago is useless now, thats gaming.

If I quit EQ for the next 3 years while you continue to play non-stop, our characters will be equally powerful in 4-5 years.. That is gaming. There is ALWAYS catch-up. They can't keep people in the dark ages.

Okay, having had time to reflect on these changes and consider all sides, I'm no longer breathing fire at SOE and claiming that they've murdered Norrath. *breathes into a bag a few times for good measure*
I understand that in 1999-2000, progression was level 1-50 with no AAs. A new player joining today sees a progression of 1-100 with 12,000-15,000AAs. It could seem overwhelming. But the game has scaled xp along the way to help with that. Back in 2000, I could play for 8 hours and made 20% of a level in 51. Now I can make a new toon and make it into the mid 50s in 8 hours with nothing other than a merc. My point is, while psychologically it might seem that progression has grown to unattainable levels, it hasn't actually changed much.
I still think that auto-granting AAs is a bad idea, at least in a blanket form. And the argument that people grinding AA are usually solo and killing trivial things that are safe to obtain them and therefore not experiencing their characters is a slap in the face. But it does point out the true problem in Everquest that SOE has let build for too long. Except for high end raiding, Everquest is "no longer a community game". People play it by themselves. There, I said it. Nobody plays Everquest anymore to group and meet new people. People only play it to relive the feelings that they get from the memories of when EQ used to be great. This is the core problem that Everquest suffers from, not the gap between veteran players and new players.
If this game is truly to stand the test of time, it needs to have a community that appeals to new players, because eventually the old-timers who remember the wonderful world we grew up in will disappear. Players might not like these ideas, but let's think back to the good old days and remember how the game was when it was "The Game" to play. Firstly, there were no mercs. People would group with other people. Secondly, and more importantly, you could not run multiple instances of the game at the same time. Hell, you couldn't even tab out to look something up on the internet. Without the ability to two-box, you had to play with others.
You want to make adjustments to the xp system's scale to adjust for progression due to increased content of the game? Fine. I can understand and appreciate that. But please realize that this is not your issue. Your issue is that you have a game that nobody new wants to play.

The sense of entitlement from you old timers is hysterical. The developers are trying to reduce the barrier of entry to the game for new players, do you all want someone to play with? I haven't played this game in years and knowing that there will be some AA's handed up instead of senselessly grinding stupid AA's for months on end is refreshing.

I was sooo very close to cancelling my 5 accounts when I first read the news yesterday. I allowed myself time to calm down and I wanted to read the threads to see if I wasn't alone , AND it looks like I am not. Please do not auto grant AAs, it cheapens what I have worked on for all this time and is the FUN of working on lower toons for me. I have been with EQ since early 2000 and have not left , so to me returning players or new players whining about it and acting like they should be granted everything since they just came back is insulting to the loyal player base. Or rather the fact that it was considered as an option is more insulting to the actual loyal player base. Reward those that came back instead of those who never left ???? I do like the suggestion of the alternate server (much like that dismal 51 / 50 server) for those who feel they are owed everything and they should just log in and be a BAMF. If I wanted to play a console based game where I just log in and I am the character I see on the box I would play it, BUT I don't. I faithfully log into to EQ every day and work on my various toons with goals and ambitions in mind. And giving away AAs isn't going to make the player who has no idea how to play his class any better and may actually make groups harder to come by due to people not trusting whether or not this is a good player who knows his class or a PL baby with free AAs ><. If people aren't grouping it isn't because they thought someones AA count wasn't up to par ( I have never denied a group member due to AA count), it is because people don't want to share loot or just feel more comfortable with the Mercs that was such a great addition to EQ groupage (* note sarcasm *). As far as the nerfing of classes , just consider some of the well thought out replies and do not destroy classes that had nothing to do with the actual issue. Its bad enough classes have been blended so badly no one has prominent roles like they used to , don't kill what's left. I just hope that you don't go through with this plan and destroy this game I love so much. Thank You for your time

I would be very interested to know how many new forum accounts were created in the last 48 hours, and from how many unique IP addresses.

I am not a fan of auto granting aa's. I have no issue with adjustments to the aa gain curve in speed of aa's gained and increase on number off aa's before such gains are diminished. The joy of aa's is allocating incremental increases to your character. If this is increased to allow players the ability to catch up faster, I have no issue.

On to the nerfs, I'm not a fan of disrupting zones, actions that cause zone lag to unplayable conditions should be addressed. Decapitate, assassinate and headshot shouldn't be looped into the causing zone wide issues witch hunt. The ability to do a large damage spike to lower con'd mobs once or twice per every 1 to 2 minutes would render such skills almost useless. Especially for rangers since currently they primary source of dps is melee not bowing, there really isn't a point of bow shooting for HS if the proc is reduced dramatically.

Ruven

the player base to the point where we all play the same class and then overpower the mercs and allow them to raid.

Sounds fair to me.

Giving away The aa's is wrong, so is selling them, what's next, 500 SC and you get all your epics too? Unacceptable. When I group with my guildies, I proudly display my title of High Priestess, they know that and all my aa's mean I've been through a war to get where I'm at, and they listen to me, and I dare say respect me. I played WOW, and the thing that made me quit was the handing out of high level characters and mounts, it became a joke. Everquest has already become mercquest, I hate mercs, I refuse to play with one, and now at 89 I am finding near impossible to level any further without "swarming" 10-15 lt blues, which really isn't swarming. I find myself thinking of where to leave my Cleric forever, on the banks of Lake Rathetear? The docks on the Plane Of Tranquility? Or maybe in her home which I have paid the rent for the rest of her life. It may be only in my mind, but aren't all role playing games? Fix it Sony, Roxxy deserves better than this.

Just started one myself strictly based on this subject being too much for me not to comment on haha

Proposal: Improve Lesson, Leave AA Alone

I started EQ in June after it was first released. Played through a couple expansions and my biggest annoyance was that my friends would leave me in the dust and I could no longer group with them. I understand this annoyance very well. I took almost a decade off for WoW, and raising kids. Last fall I started new characters and boxed them up to about 70, got powerleveled to 92, and they also have 400-500 AA each. I stand to gain more than I lose by being given thousands of free AA points.

However, AA is not the answer. I feel that my friends who have been playing all of this time *should* have more AA than me. They should be better than me. It is not prohibitive to me grouping with them. Leveling is.

I would like you to consider a more creative solution with Lesson. For starters, make Lesson NOT work on AA XP. Then, increase its duration and/or refresh rate. Make it work on quest XP, not just kills. Perhaps scale it by level, either duration or bonus modifier. Encourage people to play through the levels and see the sights, but stop the grinding. Players will level up more quickly AND their max level friends will gain AA at a lower rate without it.

This solution would let me play with my friends again, even if I'm not as powerful. If my friends are raiding and I need thousands of AA just to hang with them, oh well. Make it work for the casual gamers, the raiders will still find a way.

You do. Those are called "Veteran Rewards". Despite considerable whining from the non-veterans, they are still mostly in the hands of those who have paid for all those years.

I work in a job where server performance is very important and always monitored.
So I understand and acknowledge your need for proposing solutions to help maintain smooth game performance and a fun environment for all players.

However, I think you are pointing out a greater flaw in your game mechanics. The issue you claim with "swarming" is not only with specific classes like Mages using Beam, or just individual spells/abilities.
ANY class can swarm with the proper level, equipment and skill.

I always thought this was INTENDED as part of the game. When you reach lvl 100 and decide to go farm PP or AA in a 70 - 80 level zone then chances are high you are strong enough to tank a large group of mobs and kill them quickly. Even without the excessive use of uncapped targets abilities or proc rates.

Slap a lvl 1 damage shield on a warrior using NO discs, NO AAs or abilities and he will STILL kill mobs faster in a large group rather than 1 by 1. Nevermind the DS, even riposte alone will speed up kills in a swarm.

Since the inception of EQ you have taught us indirectly, subconsciously or otherwise that in order to succeed against great challenges, we must learn to play our characters more efficiently, more strategically and always "think outside the box"

So naturally, after 14 years of grinding exp we learn and strive for ways to do it even faster....and even faster.
Now you are saying that "swarming" (doing it faster) was not intended part of gameplay? I find this very hard to believe. As you basically built it into the game long ago. ( Rampage, Whirlwind, Destructive Force etc.)

Part of the joy of EQ has always been FREEDOM to choose where we go, what we do, who we fight. Personally, I look forward to achieving higher levels and then returning to previous zones and seeing how much stronger I have become. And I do this in the form of killing everything in sight.

Regardless of the spell changes, if you are saying you don't intend for us to "swarm" anymore then I think this game just became much more dull.

I am not saying I have a better solution, but from what I have read it sounds like the real problem is the game mechanics has a flaw with pathing and large number of mobs which should be reviewed, adjusted or redesigned.
Rather than redesign a significant number of character abilities that we have been learning, using and mastering ( and probably enjoying) for years now.

I think the main issue is that a lot of us returning players enjoy the process of progressing a character via AAs. I think we'll like this change in the end.. but it does greatly change the aspect of leveling so its a bit of a shocker.

Some entitled people saying "we had to put in the effort, so should you" are clueless. We almost all did the grind, whether it was a decade ago or last year. I bet these same people didn't complain about their 400% exp AA boost.

Good job. Well most of it.

I honestly don't know much about SK swarm stuff but if they use it as a tanking ability perhaps remove the Lifetap damage ability and revert it to a simple heal proc. Or channel the proc damage to the current target only. Basically give a lifetap but the damage only goes towards the current targeted NPC.

Assassinate and head-shot stuff. good but you guys need to make it more powerful to ALL mobs. make it a proc similar to wizards big ars nuke that goes off every so often. Those abilities need to be viable in current content more so than used in old content for mass killing.

Mage beam stuff. good fix. i think you gave a good target limit for reasonable play. and thanks for giving wizards the ability to beam more targets again 12 targets is plenty.

Free AA. Great move. I personally love the idea. Im shocked it comes with only being a gold member and not a SC purchased item. I think it will be great for people to catch up quickly and be more viable throughout the game. Nothing is more frustrating than playing with lvl 100s with less than 1K AA.

Overall, Good job and thank you very much for taking action on these issues.

Really bad idea to nerf sk's so much and not provide any details whatsoever of how you are going to rebalance them.

This is PULLING, not killing....
This is PATHING, not PC's aa's....

Agroing / Pulling Mass mobs is the problem....
Where is the correction on the ability to PULL these mobs being addressed????
Why is this question still being out right IGNORED????
HOW is this a real fix?
What is preventing POST Change this from happening again by Pulling these mobs, even if they are not killed?

How about asking those that can Mega-Swarm and find out (if they are honest enough) what would be needed to counter that ?exploit? ?unexpected side effect?

Looking at the changes, I can see already how to continue as normal in mass pulling, just need to change up the combinations a bit. As long as you continue to chase the puller you will not catch them, when you have the situation become unobtainable, the problem resolves itself....