Changes with the February Update: Developer Updates

Ok, so are they going to give every single other dps class abilities that allow them an extra 800k damage per minute? Rogues, Rangers and Zerkers are just whining because they are taking away their expliot, and they still want to be better then other classes. Wizards, mages, hell even the semi-dps classes like BL etc will all be less useful because of this, unless you also give them something amazing which is pointless.

It is also about more levels then level 100. Rangers begin to get HS almost immediatley (not sure about others) and they will simply be THE BEST dps for every single level with this, especially because they will be given max ranks each level.

Either make it proc at 10% or lower, or reduce the damage dealt dramatically, or allow it to only proc on grey mobs at a higher rate, or it is just not "fixed" at all.

Regarding not wanting Tradeskill AA's :

1) Tradeskills and their respective AA's should be worked for, not given.

2) Very few people actually use tradeskills any more, there is no reason to devalue the few people left that do use them.

3) A large portion of players won't use tradeskills regardless of the AA's, so it's just wasted Auto Grants that inflate the total given AA's even more, causing more people to be upset in the camp against this kind of change.

Not advocating either way, just giving you some of the reasons why they won't be auto granting them imo.

so after some number crunching I managed to get a decent idea of the dev's end goal with decap/headshot/assassination.
If you think of it like this, a decap does around 450k with a crit and 4k AA's.

2 decaps/min = 900k damage in 1 minute. 900k/60 = 15000 damage a second.

this is effectively adding 15k dps to a berserker (Im assuming headshot/assassinate work the same way) making these three classes very useful to have around in a GROUP setting. It at least makes rogues better than a mercenary. So stop complaining about it like its a nerf and be happy your one of the only 3 classes getting a HUGE damage boost on mobs under level 99.

Also just wanted to bring one of my earlier late night post's to the top again.
Piestro
I wanted to give some feed back on AA auto-grant. Although a lot of people are upset about it, there is a legitimate argument to keeping spell casting sub and trade skill AA's.

Say I'm a lvl 85 wizard with out spell casting sub. I Manage to get a group, what sets me apart from a wizard merc and a real wizard? my dps and ability to NOT pull agro with that dps. If I pull agro off tank, what's to say they wont replace me with a merc on balanced now?

As for the trade skill AA's
As I have been playing for many years, and have 9k AA's I have almost every AA maxed out expect for the trade skill AA's. By not granting these with the AA grant I am inherently getting the short end of the stick compared to a player who decided to buy these first.

in conclusion please reconsider re adding these AA's to the grant.

Just a quick feedback on the changes.

I think the granted AA for old expansions is a good one. My character is at full AA and I do not feel like everyone has to go through all the hoops I went through over the years to be somewhat capable in the game. Where's the fun in farming thousands of AA just so that you can enjoy the game like those who spent countless time getting them over the years? This helps people get a leg up and actually have fun in the game.

I can understand some classes who are getting nerfs are upset about the changes. But it's not the end of the world. I've played a wizard for quite a while and no stranger to nerfs. I did have fun back when Luclin came out doing AE groups pulling everything from a zone. It was actually very risky back then as slight lag would definitely wipe the group but I admit it was exciting. I have not really bothered with AE since. It's really odd how times have changed. Let's get this nerf done and get everyone on the same boat.

Maybe this is one of the many adjustments that will make traditional playing more appealing.

Sony devs, you are failing to address the heart of the problem with mass pulls in regards to abusing decap/headshot/assassinate and beam pulls. While I do see that some of these solutions will work, I fail to see how some of these other so called fixes will help solve this problem. Here are my thoughts on each ability.

Beam Pulling: I actually talked about this with a friend of mine who does beam pulling and he said that beam pulling will still work if you have 3-4 mages working together. It will still take longer but is still doable. Limiting the targets hit to 12 isnt enough, sony should just remove the spell from the game completely, no good can come from it without nerfing it to the point that it would be just as useful as any other AE spell.

Decap/Assassinate: Just remove the chance to proc these abilities with riposte.

Headshot: Take the solution that you are applying to mages beam spell and apply it to Vineleash where only 12 mobs can be rooted. It will be nearly impossible for a ranger to mass pull and headshot while half the mobs are rooted and the other half is chasing the ranger. Mobs would be all over the place and it would be too much to control.

Now Piestro stated in the last thread:
"AA Changes - Assassinate, Decapitation, and Headshot
The changes we currently have planned for AA abilities are significant in a few ways. Rogue's "Anatomy" and Berserker's "Decapitation" AA will be changed to limit their ability to proc against an infinite number of targets with no limitations on frequency. In order to prevent one class from having an unfair advantage, the Ranger ability "Headshot" is going to be similarly limited in use. These abilities were designed to allow players to quickly dispatch trivial enemies. Rather than return them to usability upon grey con NPCs only, the proposed changes to these abilities are as follows":

Read the bold portion and explain to me how having an ability that procs twice a minute is considered 'quick'. I could probably kill a mob via regular dps in just the same amount of time it takes to proc a headshot/decap/assassinate, how is this supposed to be 'quick'? It looks just like normal pace to me. Also explain to me how a lvl 99/dark blue con mob is now being considered a 'Trivial' enemy. Especially when some of these fall in the category of raid mobs, or are raid mobs supposed to be 'trivial' as well? The stated changes completely contradict their original design for these AA's. The proc rate doesn't needed to be decreased nor does the lvl cap need to be raised. Sony just needs to nerf the methods that people are using in combination with these abilities to discourage people that are mass pulling. Methods which I have stated above.

I also can't help but notice that sony is tackling the reasons that sony thinks people are mass pulling. Sony you are only attacking a symptoms of the problem not the source itself. I can think of a lot more reasons for people to mass pull than what will be addressed in this patch. Also I have a feeling that in retaliation to these nerfs that people are just going to mass pull zones with high NPC population just for the very sake of lagging the server out. There is NOTHING in this update that will prevent people from doing just that. What needs to be done is come up with a code that will allow people to only have so many mobs on them at once. I would suggest 20 be a good limit.

That's not how it works.. The game changes constantly and what was relevant a few days ago could become redundant in a matter of a day. That's the risk you're willing to take everytime you log in..

I think that this is a much needed change. Thanks for doing this SOE.

Good riddance this will get rid of all the SK who made their toons just to swarm and have no idea how to really play an SK.
I cant say I agree with breaking our epic but I will have to try it and see how bad its broken...
Also dont agree with some of the other changes ... poor clerics BUT..

Piestro thank you for listening and passing on our comments and suggestions. I still feel like my mother in-law just drove off a cliff in my brand new car... (that would be mixed emotions) but thank you all the same

"Dire charm is useful these days solely as a pre-requisite."

It's a -1000 resist check on a long duration charm, players with a far more complete knowledge of the game than you will ever have know when that is useful.

Upgrade whatever machinery or softwear needed to handle the lag, don't make the customer suffer because your system is fallible, it's not our fault we found out how to make your creations better, don't blame us for finding a way to have a little more fun in game.

That's not how it works...at SOE. I've been playing online games as a primary freetime-sink since 1996. I've played a whole lot of them. EQ2 about nine months in and now this are the only two times I've walked away from a game over a patch or series of patches.

Again, all good. Came back to play with a friend, but I'm sure I'll see him in another game. Certainly not a SOE title; I'm slow, but I've caught on.

Good luck.

doesn't effect me ive been playing this game for 12 years
Earned everything I got and every AA....
so don't go saying it doesn't
when you want a free ride....

Sp, what you're saying is that it's reasonable for someone to spend the same time for something you did 5 years ago? Yeah, that makes sense.

If you have so much personal achievement about what you did, why do you care what other people are doing?

So, this in no way will make everyone happy. Only auto grant PASSIVE AA instead of all.
1) New/returning players get the leg up devs want them to have
2) Loyal player feel little less cheated by the process
3) New/returning still have to make choices as the level that change their character
a) Making choices is FUN
b) By having to choose people read and reread what the AA does as the level... they learn about the class
c) You reduce the chance of overloading the player with to much info to quickly

Lol, HA works fine

"It's a -1000 resist check on a long duration charm, players with a far more complete knowledge of the game than you will ever have know when that is useful. "

Dire charm only works up to level 46. If i go to a zone with mobs that low I may as well use my summoned pet. How in the hell does a -1000 resist check make any dang difference.

Have fun with your game. The one that was given to you. One day you may earn something, and watch someone else be given that for free. When that happens, let me know how you feel.

They can't please everyone; what makes you think your opinion is more valid than any others? It isn't..

I haven't through to the end of the thread, so not sure if this has been answered.

Is this a 'one time only' choice, or can it be toggled on and off (i.e., the system will remember what you have paid for and what you haven't)?

The main drawback I see to the autogrant of *all* AA (as opposed to specific lines, which I think would be far better but I understand would take a lot of touch time for the developers to create) is that it includes a lot of relative fluff - reduced metabolism, 2HS benefits for rangers, etc. If autogranted AA count against the 4K earned AA curve (are we still keeping that, or some sort of curve?) then someone may well end up with a toon with 4k of autogranted AA (canceling out the AA exp bonus for low AA people) which is markedly less powerful in normal content than a toon that has earned half as many AA under the AA exp bonus system.

My alts (much less main) are all well past the point where this really won't make a difference to them one way or another; I also don't really see levels or AA in EQ as much on an 'achievement,' so I'm not really concerned with the 'but they didn't earn it; whinging of some. I am concerned, though, about someone getting to level 85 with a lot of AA just leveling, and then suddenly getting to where they need to level and also start getting AAs at what may seem a painfully slow rate after being autogranted for so long.

For someone (re)joining the game to play with a friend, the autogrant system is likely sufficient - someone will take the new toon under their wing, etc. and get them caught up in quick order. For any true newbie, however, or someone coming back after a long hiatus without any contacts, I can see that as a possible turnoff after the first month. food for thought

Can the wizard spell level 60 spell ..Disintegrate get upgraded too?
No XP and no corpse .. but it never got upgraded