Is there no X2 Raid in TOV? Is any planned? It seems like there is a missing stepping stone for guilds trying to build up to x4 raids. It looks like x2 zones did exist in some of the past content. Overland --> Adv Solo --> Heroics/Fabeled Zones --> Dominion --> x4's?
Fully gemmed Potent armor is nearly identical to fully gemmed Energized (first raid tier) armor. So the progression is just Potent Armor -> x4s/Dominion
what Sylke said is correct. It has really never been easier to "break into" raiding as a non-raider, since the top Heroic gear is as good or better than entry level raid gear.
Uhhhhh.......there were no x2's in CoE until the first game update well into 2013 after the 2012 launch. Not sure how they're necessary to raid?
This isn't about the gear at all. I'm looking at it from the need to quickly balloon a guilds roster vs. growing over time. It just seems like an odd step to go from 1-2 in adv solos, then to 6 in heroics all the way to 24 in an x4.
there are no x2s to answer your question. atleast not atm. but Kander said they are planning on pulling out new content in May/April, so we will see. But as others mentioned previously with the gear gaps being razor thin, there really is no place to put a x2. (gear that is) the ranking system just is too dense as it is
I love x2s for the same reason you want x2s. I wish there were more, positioned exactly as you wished for. The problem is, you and I actually make up a very small niche. x2s like that make up a no-mans land, for the few heroic guilds that want to take a small step up, but not a big step up. To be positioned where we want them, they must drop worse gear than the x4 EMs (making them pointless to people who have been running the x4s), but good enough of an upgrade over heroic, but not so much of a difficulty bump over heroic as to be a ghost town. It's a very difficulty needle to thread, and SoE hasn't hit the bullseye, well, ever? And other folks want something different. A late launched x2 (ie, not with the expansion), comes in many peoples minds logically 'after' the EM x4s. It's something for the folks clearing x4s to do when they don't have everyone one, but presents enough of a challenge to provide worthwhile gear so they still run it. Positioning it here makes the raiding community happy, but makes it inaccessible to growing heroic groups. And to make matters more complicated in ToV, as others have said, there's no real gear gap a x2 could fit in. Your best bet, is for everyone to put their big boy pants on, and consider Fabled Labs the x2. The first 8 nameds are x2 friendly* to folks wearing only Heroic gear. * Depending on your definition of friendly...
Actually it's overcharged that identical to 1/1 gemmed energized. 3/3 gemmed potent stats are lower than 1/1 gemmed raid gear
Thus the inclusion of the adverb "nearly." The difference between 3/3 Potent and 1/1 Energized is about 2-3% for each stat.
Raiding in the x2 format didn't used to exist, and it's never been a focus for EQ2. It's always gone solo->group->fullraid in most major MMO's. With itemization so tight between heroic and raiding right now, there's literally no room for x2 content... unless you make the x2's incredibly challenging (i.e. you're probably already an x4 raider) and give it unique loot that an x4 raider would also want. So, yeah, basically they don't have a good niche.
