What is the standard for this? I guess my main question would be when can i expect to see both VoA and RoF raids open up for flagging restrictions. Would love to farm some of the RoF raid rares from raids but back flagging is and will continue to be a nightmare.
You can go check the HOT expansion but I think they only unlock the locked zones in the Spring time after a new expansion in the fall and no change in raid flagging.
Povar had a good run of open raids this year, downing all of RoF, CotF and PoWar many times, so flagging issues presented from time to time. In reality though it isn't that big of an issue, you just have to do it and then it's done. I guarantee you it'll be quicker to clear T1 RoF a couple times than it will be to sit on your hands waiting for flag restrictions to be removed. Just doooooo it ya lazy slackers
I recall them claiming the flag removals were automatic, but I have no idea how that works. It doesn't help they inexplicably started ignoring backflag mechanics after VoA. It becomes less and less worth redoing swaths of older content to backflag as time goes on, despite trying to get stuff from some events being desirable. With a force of variable turnout backflagging becomes a time sink not worth it much of the time unfortunately. I would love word on this because I do not want to beat my head against a wall trying to funnel people through the likes of the Chapterhouse raid and Xorbb 1 (which is remarkably still deadly somehow, at least without a full force) multiple times chasing flags for people that could not make every backflag run. When the choice is "hit newer targets hard when turnout is decent, getting experience on unbeaten ones as much as numbers allow" backflagging trivial stuff playing flag whack-a-mole becomes much more of a pain. I have learned to cherish a decent raid turnout. Having the time to go back and do older content just for flags is a luxury not all raid forces have. I am perfectly willing to attempt open raids to help people with this, but playing flag whack-a-mole only to have the flags shortly removed would be a colossal waste of time. It is not a trivial effort to coordinate. If I need to I will save stuff like Chapterhouse and Xorbb for official raid times and try to lead open raids off hours, but like I said I would love to know the answer to this before starting such a headache of an effort.
I reiterate: Seriously, unless you have a pick-up raid roster in the hundreds, and they're all so well co-ordinated as to spread their attendance out such that you never have enough flagged on a single night for months, you're probably going to be good after just 2 clears of T1.
Actually on the Rathe, between smaller guilds and player alts, I know my guild has over 400 people in our dkp system as we run a very open raid force, and not everyone tells who is their alt etc. We don't do some of this older stuff because of the flags are a pain. They also come and go, and we started opening our raid force in later rof early cotf, so many didn't get all the flags. We run t1 cotf (not all the raids) almost every sat for the server, and we still have flagging issues some times.
You discount the possibility of two things: 1.) Much less ability for some to make raids off the schedule. 2.) The possibility that most show up already having the flags but can not necessarily be on the days higher tier stuff is done. Remember when people need nothing from 90% of the raids it becomes a bit more complicated. I reiterate that the unlocks were proclaimed not only standard but supposedly automatic too. Lastly we had less than 100 active and it still took us most of Spring to get enough Arx flags to start working on T2 Arx... just in time for the summer downturn of course. When stuff like Arx is way more important, it is asking a lot of people to raid extra days on a massive backflag for mostly alt loot. That said perhaps the irritating Arx mechanic is making me exaggerate the effort needed for old backflags. I suppose we still do have flags for the CotF Void raid despite not doing Bixie raids since Spring after all. Still, confirmation on the flag unlock schedule would be appreciated.
Actually, when there are 400ish people enrolled in a pickup raid list and a significant number of them lack flags, then there is without a question sufficient numbers of them to create a second raid force that sets about obtaining those flags and currency for some highly desireable "rare" items. Over the last few months I've helped a pickup raid on Povar that went through the flagging process (repeating parts of it for months) and farmed currency for older content rares. 1. It was not a pain. It was fun. 2. It was profitable along the way - a lot of rares were gained by people who otherwise would have never gotten them. Achievements achieved. 3. It was profitable after arriving at its final destination. a. People flagged for PoWar group content. PoWar farmed. b. People flagged for PoWar raid - on farm. c. Raids done to enable Old Man NcKensie Vox and Naggy raids. Those raids done opening up his raid catalog. d. CoF and RoF flagging completed for enough people to allow, even with constantly changing attendance, then to be on farm, achevements to be achieved, and massive amounts of gear to be had by many. IF this pickup raid force had 400 registrants I assure you there would have been a minimum of two forces doing weekly pickup raids, perhaps 3 (one constantly doing backflags feeding the other two). Yes, I get it. Pushing the EZ Button is easier. But playing EQ isn't, despite what some would suggest, either a pain nor hard. Expansions that contain raids with focii that do not decay prior to current max level shouldn't be unlocked. You want max level compatible raid gear get flagged or 85/15'd. You want to cherry pick unlocked raid content be satisfied with cherries and don't demand a buffet you did not earn. One should not be able to acquire raider rewards without making a raider effort. (When PoTime was made defenseless in the face of depredations by the unworthy only a few weapons weilded by a small handful of classes were still relevant. It was opened for cherry picking and not wholesale older raid gear acquired for less than group content effort because it was old and flagging was eliminated).
Zone / Raid flags should be automatic starting with 3rd exp behind the current. so TDS (current) , CoTF (1st behind) , RoF (2nd behind) , and VoA (3rd behind). I dont play live servers so i cannot confirm this, but it has been working on the Fippy Darkpaw servers. We are on VoA and SoD is unlocked for us. There are some odd ball zones and raids out there for some reason that dont seem to get affected correctly (or maybe done on purpose)
Probably because sometimes there wasn't a max level change. It's not just the age of expansions that matters - there's their relevance given current max level to be considered too.
Yeah, but on Fippy they unlocked OoW Citadel of Anguish Raid event/flag requirements but kept in place the signet quest (individual quest) lockout. There may be some other examples but this one has been the most observant one that I recall (for fippy darkpaw)
That is a good question, and one of the reasons I would like an official response on the matter. Secondly, it has nothing to do with the generic "EZ Button" mumbo jumbo, especially in the context of people far past the content that just want to go back for a couple trinkets. I know it would be a semi-noble cause to go back and run open raids just for that purpose of reflagging. (I say semi-noble because unless it continued after the reflag I would feel like I used people to get a few people in my guild trinkets.) I am NOT saying you used people of course, obviously your open raiding is quite an active effort. Personally? I love doing older stuff. For example even T1 CotF (and even T2 by this point) many in my guild hate going back to it. For me it's fun to revisit other events. I'd love to do an official full RoF backflag. When we are pushing into the last couple events in Arx though it would be a supremely irresponsible decision for me as a raid leader to have our force go back to... RoF, other than in the context of if numbers are slow to pick up for the day. Even then putting up the illusion of having to fall back to older content (which isn't the case) works people into a tizzy sometimes. (I am not bashing my guild; it's just how people are.) I don't take numbers for granted, so I am very careful before doing anything on that level. (This is where a former guild bard would tell me to shut up and not be so transparent in how I think.) In addition to that we have many people that make our raid hours but have families and bend over backwards to get their schedules to work. I'm not going to ask those people to consider putting even more time in off our regular hours to do old content unless I'm sure the unlock is a long ways off. That isn't accounting for the people that are from other time zones such as the UK (or even China) that raid at really strange hours as is. I don't think asking that much time of people is trivial; so I am not demanding they unlock it so much as I want to know if it's happening.
We'd like it if Chardok and Anguish had their raid flags removed. Also that paladin 1.5 fight that requires 12 people to be in whitey city to start it. I don't see it happening at all.
People are free to come and go as they want, we don't keep a last attended and we don't delete their dkp in case they come back.
Well I was thinking more about how accurate the numbers were in regards to the post you were responding to and it sounds like possibly not very accurate or at least not usable in the response if non one ever gets deleted. Though it does make sense not to delete them it means the total on the roster can't be used really as a response.. that is all.
we have about 140 that show up at least once a month, and many of those are just once a month because of their lives and play styles. That is the biggest reason flags are a pain for us. we are not just an open as in not any guild association, because its considered SA raids, but we are open as in first come first get in, we don't ask anyone to sit out based on skill or anything else.
As part of that raid force, I can concur that Sojeros numbers are accurate, I'm eagerly awaiting them to open up a second day. There's not enough loot to go around, that's the #1 complain I get from new raiders. Why would they want to waste 2-3 hours of their ever-shrinking EQ time for almost no chance at getting anything, and that's IF they can get in. Several times I've brought new raiders with me and they had to sit and do nothing for 3 hours because they couldn't 85 in. They either need to double the raid currency, or cut the prices in half. Remove flagging from non-current expansion raids, and double the coin.
1. Playing EQ for 2 hours a month is not a playstyle that is consistent with making reasonable progress in an RvR game. a. One can not become nor remain anything like current as a non-raider playing 2 hours a month. b. Casual effort leads to and should lead to a casual outcome. 2. There's gobs of loot to go around doing pickup raids. I know since I've helped out in some for the last several months. Further the amount of coin provided is adequate for players (in contrast to those who occasionally dabble if they feel like it) to complete accomplishments and purchase rares. I've seen pickup raiders purchase rares. It's one thing to lower flagging requirements so casuals can cherry pick the Necro and Shaman weapons in PoTime. It's entirely different to lower them if most of the gear is an upgrade for the raid force and the raids represent a less effort for better gear alternative to doing group content <- EZ Mode. Doubling the currency would be adding insult to injury - Double EZ Mode. What's next - requesting that older accomplishments be automatically granted because having to do them locks out currency purchased rares from /cough players that apparently can't even earn regular raid gear unless the bar is lowered so far that a 2 hour a month /cough player can waltz over it? I realize RvR is challenging. But its supposed to be challenging. I could be wrong but I doubt that DBG will create a be 6 months behind current raid content and get an EZ Mode alternative progression.
