Hotfix Notes - No Sig Line bypass?

I'm not really even sure what kind of point you are trying to make here. I have 13 toons. All level 92+, all 320AA's, fully adorned, all fully experted and most are fully mastered. Figuring out class mechanics and how to play classes in EQ2 isn't that complicated. There is enough info both in game and around the net that anyone with half a brain and some dedication can work out the details of their toon fairly easily. The thing about learning your toon though, you don't even really get to experience your toon's potential unless you are grouping/raiding in my opinion.

I enjoy playing every one of my toons and frankly, in my opinion, I play them all pretty well. I've completed CM fights and PoW fights on 6 of them. I'll play any of them at the drop of a hat if the group needs a chanter/bard/tank etc. Soloing is a bore and ridiculously, stupidly, easy for me. I did not die a SINGLE time on the sig questline on my main. I pulled mobs in numbers of 15 to 30 at a time and wasn't even threatened. The 12 hours or so it took me to do ALL of the quests, not just the signature line, was 12 hours of absolute boredom and wishing for a challenge or at the minimum, other PLAYERS to spend time with.

So what do I have to look forward to so that my characters have access to Obols/Spirits and can zone into these zones? My next 4 toons are all equally as geared and capable. That's 8x4 or 32 hours of absolutely mind numbing boredom. The other 8 are all full Skyshrine instance/dozekar geared and won't have a problem either for the most part. So what, another 64 hours of stupidly boring forced solo questing? No thanks.

I'll just continue doing what I have been. Logging on to raid or looking for a PuG for 20 minutes with no luck, camping and watching tv while debating even continuing my subscription.

Let's face it, most of the group content is ridiculously easy also and only requires 1 healer. With the only toon I've managed to suffer through the access line on being my healer main, the need for healers to do group content is drastically reduced. You basically have 2 options for most players. Suffer the solo questline for access to group content loot/zones, or accept the fact that you are running zones with a detrimental aspect to your chacters.

I do see the point others are making about the lack of incentive for grouping. IMO that is not just a result of the sig quest but seem to be an overall effect in this entire expansion. I have gotten far more/better fabled drops from doing all the solo advanced zones than I would have ever gotten if I had spent the same time trying to get into/run pugs. Sure its crap shoot on what we get in that box of goodies (or 3 in the case of CM WE) at the end but so is trying to form/find a PuG......then hoping for something to drop in a heroic and then having to contend with 5 others when it does. With the solo.....everything short of the stupid food/drinks/repair kits that drop nets me something even if its only a mute.

For many the Obols/Spirit gear is a non issue since EM raiding in CoE is perhaps the easiest ive seen in any expansion yet.

Overall , SOE seems to be a very 'anti social/community' expansion

Bingo.

And I don't mean to be smug, because it effects me too, but I raised this a few days after release and got shot down by people for saying solo loot is too good. Apparently I was against soloers.

I can either waste time forming a PUG for a chance at an essence dropping that I win for + 175 stat gear and a load of 160 stat gear to share among 5 others...

Or I can straight away do the solo instances for a chance of + 179 stat raid gear for me or my alts, or a load of 160 stat gear all for me, with the occasional TS book.

Most people are choosing solo runs first, grouping as an afterthought and a bit of change.

I could just be that at this stage of EQ2's 'life' SOE has settled on the fact that the only people still playing the game are at both extremes.........die hard raiders and soloer's. Those in the 'middle' for the most part have long gone.....at least from what ive seen over the past 2 expansions. I pretty much only want to do raid content.....the rest of the time I am farming the solo advanced. Have zero desire or incentive to do any group content....just not worth the time and effort. I guess for me COE was perfect =P

I don't buy that. Even casual players can group if they have an hour. It's not like you need 3-4 hours at a time like raiding.

I'm casual, with no set playtime, and I like grouping. I like working with others to get better stuff.

If there is the option of getting better loot by grouping, then people will do it. But currently you lose a red slot by getting heroic best in slot gear vs advanced solo rare gear.

Oh, I agree that if they made the content worth doing people would do it. I was just trying to see how SOE might be looking at things.

One of the things I liked (and naturally alot disliked) about Skyshrine was the 'chance' for those Mythicals off the final bosses in the heroics zones. I know that kept me and alot of my in game friends constantly forming/joining instance groups.

I do not have an issue with the chance for nice loot from solos........but the heroics need a better carrot than the solos. At this point I would actually favor the heroics giving the "box of goodies" (with chance at better loot) to all 6 group members at completion.

I don't really buy this either. There was tons of grouping for dozer heads, tons of grouping for ST. I mean so much so you'd do ST, swap to another alt, do ST again, rinse and repeat. I can think of many, many times I did ST 4x in a row by alt swapping. There was a very steady stream of players doing this so you could jump in easy.

With CoE, its almost non-existent.

Regarding some other dopes in this thread, people alt to maximize the potential of other classes when they've mastered / bored of their main. They do not alt to repeat dry, tedious quest lines. SoE understands this, you can gather that from Holly's comments in Dellmon's last podcast.

curious - they said it would allow you to access the instances, unless I missed it no where does it say that you will be able to collect obols which require the end quest of the signature line to access the merchant and to be able to loot the new currency

What Lyndro said was once you have completed the sig line on one character, you can buy a heirloom thingy to allow your alts to receive obols/essences.

Personally, I think you should receive them regardless of completing any quest, like every other currency in the game. You just can't spend it. But that doesn't seem to be happening.

Disagree with that - agree that you should have art least one character on the account that has completed the entire quest line to be able to pruchase the item that will unlock it on all characters. I did go back to look at the original post, the characters can get the currency items but will be unable to buy from the vendor unles they completed the quest line. That is a equitable arrangement

Why do you disagree?

All SF and DoV shards and Drozekar heads could be looted by anyone. They were heirloom but you couldn't spend them until you had completed the questlines to get the faction on one character.

Why do you think this should be different?

I agree I'll take this over nothing, just curious why you think the way you do.

For one, on dozekar, EVERYONE In group got head (yay!), whereas Spirit Essences, etc. are contested. So you would potentially have someone with no way to use it taking it away from someone that can. It's a "forced" need-before-greed. I am not sure i agree with it, but that's definitely a good argument for keeping it how it is.

On the other hand, I don't like how long it takes to get groups running cause people don't want to play alts. With what is proposed, 3/4ths of my alts are still gated till I find time to do the quest on those accounts. So, you want utility for your group, sorry my utility alts likely wont be available to you for months.

If I could roll on the stuff, I'd go even knowing I wouldn't spend it for some time. In fact accumulating the items would serve as more incentive to finally unlocking the accounts.

All the changes in question made the live patch notes today.

You get better loot turning in COLLECTION QUESTS than you do for grouping.

the collection pieces can cost a decent amount of money.

I notice that I was getting over 40k exp from the large dungeons - the one offering 100+ marks. They are quick, very easy to do with your toon, and can be redone as often as you want.

its as boring at bat's poo, but thats true for most grinding.

Why not just make then tradeable and be able to put them onthe broker for sale, then everyone will profit off of it. After all, it is all about profit isn;t it - get your money for nothing and your triks for free

That's a sarcastic response to a valid question. The currency (shards/heads/etc) have never been tradable. But they have always been lootable prior to having the faction to use them.

But Arieste answered my question like an adult and it was a good answer, so I'll leave you to continue responding stupidly.

Can i have your stuff when you leave?

Regolas mentioned ...Even casual players can group if they have an hour ...

my favourite toon is my pallie, but I dont group since i dont want the hassle of being a tank, and I dont want to let the group down if I stuff things up.

An example is last night when i tanked for a guildie who need an update in a zone. When whacking a name, a mob came in, I fired off a few AOEs to get agro, and I kept agro on the creature that I was fighting., But i didnt notice that i lost agro on another mob within the encouter, That started chewing on the wizard, and I didnt notice fast enough to send him a heal.

For a guildie, I shrugged my shoulders said 'oops', then revived him, and we kept on going with no more deaths. But I wouldnt find that acceptable tanking in a full group. So I refuse to group on my pallie with non guildies

short answer - i do have the time to group, but I dont since I worry about letting people down.