the darkened sea

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by strongbus, May 16, 2019.

  1. Aurastrider Augur


    Of course its subjective as is all entertainment. Enjoyment by definition is a purely subjective word. Everything about this game is subjective based on the person playing it. It does not change the fact that if a paying customer dislikes something about the product they are paying for they should voice this dislike to the company. Personally I dislike forced progression which is subjective just as the person who says "force me to play in a linear fashion" because that's what I enjoy. The only difference is the person who wants to play progression in order can do so without ever being forced. They can just play content in order.
  2. Thunderkiks Augur

    The zones aren't unlocked, but like previously mentioned, doing the progression grants you hero AA"s.

    I recently started playing my old character I left back in TBM. I had a couple of new characters that I added to my box crew and they needed TDS progression. I had them to Arx in one day. That was also doing the mercs which weren't needed for progression but just made sense to do at the same time. I left out some of the longer ones though like Thuli and Combine. At the time my main goal was to get them to Combine so they could get some XP with me while I camped power sources. I couldn't just stop there though since they were so close to getting their trophy so I went through Arx also hehe.
  3. SubEffect An Original Lord of Fizzle and Whiff

    Fair assessment. I guess what I meant to say was, every "modern-ish" expansion has progression, just not locked zones. So, I don't feel it's broken, just.. forcing more linearity (your point). They are all linear to an extent depending on what you want to do (partisan questlines and achievements). If you want to reap the benefits of the special AAs and such, the zone locking really doesn't hurt anything. Personally I feel that TDS is still locked due to some unique rewards (power sources, coin-purchased items) similar to how other expansions had faction locks (TBM, HoT and so many others before). I feel all of these things are similar in design but refreshingly different as well, if that makes sense.

    To be fair, I have a similar complaint about TBL, since the wall to progress was put at the second zone in, so only my raid character has really been beyond. I would have preferred the wall was at the second-to-last zone instead, but.. because story (I believe).

    This is probably off topic vs. OP's post now, but good design discussion. I still vote to leave TDS as is :)
  4. SubEffect An Original Lord of Fizzle and Whiff


    It made sense to do the Degmar mercs at the same time. The sheer amount of Thulisaur ones turned me off originally but I do want to go back and finish those. I'm after all of those special Hero AAs to benefit my raid warrior (and others as they tag along). I admit a major drive for me was the tank PSs in Dredge. At the time I started TDS, farming RoS named just wasn't something I could do and really still do not want to even now that I can (solo). Plus, Dredge is one of my favorite zones.
    Thunderkiks likes this.
  5. Krisiun Lorekeeper

    I didn't see any mention of the shoulder aug, is that outdated now?
  6. Brohg Augur

    It's a good one, but most who have TBL's 4 tiers of augs have upgraded it by now
  7. Jhenna_BB Proudly Prestigious Pointed Purveyor of Pincusions

    Just dealing with the siren's zone progression stuff is annoying enough to want to have TDS unlocked lol.

    As an EQ overachiever, I would certainly want to do all the Hero AA stuff in TDS if I didn't already have it all. I'm not every EQ player. People really should at the very least be able to enter these zones to do their traveler achievements to level their evolving kickers. It's been long enough to unlock.
  8. Zunnoab Augur

    I liked Siren's Grotto... not that I spent much time there overall.
  9. NameAlreadyInUse #CactusGate

    The traveler /achs and other /ach rewards are precisely why I think it should remain locked. Everybody asking for these zones to be unlocked is also saying there is a reason to still visit these zones.

    It made sense to unlock some old zones that required ridiculous keys (or raids) to enter, but which didn't actually offer any rewards at all. Because it makes no sense to have content that literally nobody can experience and which nobody has any reason to even see because the rewards are irrelevant.

    But with TDS, all of the zones offer still-relevant rewards (including the /ach rewards, like traveler /achs), and this thread proves that there is still a lot of interest and activity in those zones. And the progression required to unlock the zones is far from "too difficult".

    I will say this though: I still can't think of any reason that anybody would ask for these zones to be unlocked except for the tank powersources and the Bone Shards of Frozen Marrow. If a better proc aug drops somewhere else, and if the new tank powersources are dropping at a reasonable rate now...well then I probably wouldn't have much to say about unlocking TDS zones. I personally wouldn't care: I would still be doing the progression for the Hero AAs.
  10. Inga Elder

    Do the people who justify the locked zones feel happier if they had to do sebilis key quest just to enter HH sebilis for all their characters? If TDS progression is as easy as you say, it means it is no longer challenging entertainment and just tedious work now.

    Also, if the Hero's AAs are worthwhile as you say, then TDS zones should be opened. It will make players cooperate easier and fun. If players lose interest in TDS progression just because zones are open, it simply means the AAs are not worth it.

    Our new content is getting less and less? Yes, TBL is practically zero zone expansion with single mission Fight Fire, if you could not beat smoke trials for any reason. TBL is "Form 6 player characters group, or Quit" expansion. The only way to create worse expansion is make all zones in next expansion locked and make TBL progression required before you begin next expansion progression, just like they did in RoS.

    Developers' time should not be spent on unlocking zones? They should not lock zones in the first place. Locked zones itself is worst mechanics in Everquest unless it is molo/duoable. It doesn't make game any better for any way, and cause massive playerbase fragmentation if it is not implemented properly.

    Just open all TDS and TBL zones now. It will make this game 100 times better.
  11. Abitrator New Member

    At the risk of sounding contrary, I think a lot of expansions should retain locked zones. Like why ever make Vex Thal an open zone? It's not like it's a good xp zone. And there are some drops there that are still useful for players way past Luclin levels. (Bone Earring, Umbracite Swarm Orb, Ring of Immoblization, Wand of Everlasting Water---for annoying your guildmates---Orb of Satisfaction, same, etc.) If you want this stuff, then go do the quests to access Vex Thal. Yeah, it's a bit of work but it's kinda fun and the reward justifies the effort, if you're into that stuff. Yes, I get that not all locked zones have content of any value to level 110 players. But maybe that's the problem. DBG should add some loot that would justify the efforts. Of course, that isn't going to happen anytime soon...
    Thunderkiks likes this.