Producer’s Letter: New Fabled, Ethereal Items, Server Stuff and MORE!

Whoops! Sorry; "molo" = "soloing" but with a Mercenary. It was a new term for me, too. :-/

Uwk

Er, no. A lot of that stuff (including the overland heroics showing up without any rhyme or reason [what IS a 24^^^ griffin doing in The Commonlands? being pissed off 'cause it's really, really lost? at least the 17^^^ shark in The Nursery in Greater Fay is an ocean critter and could be anywhere, I guess]), including shards, class quests, and dying through trade skilling (don't EVEN get me started on subcombines...no, no, no, no, and no) are things that I lump right in with the "you can only have one toon [per ACCOUNT, iirc, not just server] ever Broker anything, and if you want to save someone the fees, you have to be online, 24/7, with that character in your house 24/7, so you better just have them be a merchant and nothing else" bit. Which means, things I'm really, really glad we don't have to put up with any more. >:-/

Though I do want the suburbs back. ;->

Uwk

They'll merge 'em before they let them go poof, I think. ;->

Uwk

As a busy mother I enjoy eq2 for leisure and appreciate being able to find a quest quickly, I enjoy stretching the mind but sometimes time is short and finding a quest to complete it can be very frustrating so a choice of play would be good. I also find I solo as I need to be able to log on and off without being able to do long stretches so solo dungeons work best for me!

I agree to the extent that yeah, I personally don't care what loot I get, either, as long as I can get cool House Item loot souvenirs that mean something from quest rewards (and not just Heritage quests), critters I off, even things I can plunder in dungeons. But if all the dungeons with the cool House Item loot are only for groups or Raids, I can't earn plat fast enough to keep up with the "oh, just buy it off the Broker, schmuck" vibe I'm getting from the Powers That Be. I want to be able to check out all the game's lore content, I want to be able to check out where my prestige home zones are coming from, I want to be able to immerse myself in the world, without needing 5-11 other people with me constantly. :-/

So yeah, gear isn't so much the issue (this isn't WoW, after all), it's the story. ;->

Uwk

Are people still living lives where they can give that much time and effort to gaming?

I would actually be sad if it came to this, since I feel variety and diversity are great strengths in anything, but if we're going to be treated like second-class citizens, then yeah, maybe we should have our own servers where we won't be bothering everyone else. :-/

It will be interesting to compare the population numbers on each... ;->

Uwk

Totally agree

Hmm, just had a thought: we're apparently "too smart" to need the li'l map dots any more, but we're too weak to be allowed to play outdoors without a group around us? Hmph. :-/

Uwk

Greetings Daybreak team!

I love EQ2 and have been playing for 8+ years, leaving another very popular game (which I loved initially) to come here, because it had turned into a daily grind to advance rather than just being fun. Additionally, I am a casual/solo player that groups only on occasion, as real life "always" takes precedence over any game, and grouping requires your full attention.

1. PLEASE do not remove quest map marking from the game, but rather use a toggle to turn it off for those who do not want to use it. I know a lot of people that left the game because they got tired of having to surf the web to find more quest information, because quest instructions were not very detailed. Not everyone has hours of time to devote to searching for quest content locations. After a while you just give up.
   
   
2. We do need some server merges, as most times, servers show low population.
   
   
3. Cross server groups sound great, but again, we still need more on each server than there are now. The only server I ever see with medium or higher population is AB. Many people stop playing because they cannot find a group for some of the quests that absolutely require grouping, and others stopped because there is barely anyone on anymore, and they enjoy socializing in the game. This also includes those who mostly enjoy soloing, but sometimes do need a group to finish a quest. Not all the advanced solo dungeons and quests are solo-able, even tho it says advanced solo, and not all character types are equal in being able to solo.
   
   
4. PLEASE do not forget the casual and disabled players. There are tons of people who are not hard core, 24/7 gamers/raiders, that enjoy just playing the game.
   
   
5. ...and last, but not least, PLEASE fix the Eidolan Jungle, Throne of Fear: Ascension, JUMPING PLATFORMS. I can kill every mob in there without dying, but will die a Zillion times trying to jump those useless platforms, and I can guarantee you that this is is NOT fun! I love the instance, but those platforms take away all the love and fun, and IMHO, serve no real purpose except to destroy your armor, lose any level advancement you gain, and totally turn you off to playing. Thank you.
   
   Sincerely,
   
   ~Rose~

I'd like to add to the chorus of voices that are saying that the removal of the blue/green quest markers and areas on the map would be a terrible mistake.

EQ2 is, in its current form, quite an excellent fit for casual gamers, especially groups of casual gamers. The mentoring system allows groups that play at a different rate to continue to play together (though it could be better tuned to bring higher characters into better balance with their lower counterparts), and the quest marking system lets players quest and level at a steady pace even when they can't (or don't want to) commit their entire attention to the game. It also has a decade of content, making it a great place to come and stay for people who don't play 22 hours each day.

Much of what is being announced seems to be not only geared toward "hardcore" players, but also geared toward alienating casual players, or forcing them into substandard content (agnostics are fun, but they're more like a minigame than they are real game content... they're good for leveling, but also for missing out on a rich game world). I'm not against there being additions that cater to the folks who play 6+ hours a day and raid 12 hours each week... I think it's awesome that they can do that... but for every one of them there's five people who aren't like that.

So, as has been suggested, you should consider continuing the quest markers and simply allowing them to be toggled off by the people who find them "too easy". I suspect the real reason for considering their removal is to reduce the work that needs to go into creating quest content, not that anyone thinks players are too smart... but it's effort and work that's worth putting in.

1. Amen. Absolutely. I was really getting fed up and discouraged on Test server, trying out an important new addition, but one of the quest locations (well, heck, all of them) hadn't even been written up on Zam yet, so I was one of the pioneers, groping about trying to figure out how to solve one li'l puzzle that someone apparently thought was a cute idea. Way too much frustrating time spent on something that if it had been written up, I could go boom, got, boom, got, boom, cool, now I'm where I need to be and can continue with the quest. If the map dots to at least get to the location in the first place weren't there either, I probably would've given up. Too many times the quests just say, "Go here and do this." without any further information, advice, or assistance. I guess it's one way to force us to group with people who know how it works, but when it's brand new (or there's not a lot of people out there at the time you're playing), that's not a lot of folks. :-/

2-3. Low population has never bothered me, so I don't particularly care about merges (though it would probably help the Broker economy, to have more folks contributing to it). I'm on AB, Crush, Everfrost, Splitpaw and Storms (which probably won't merge any more than they already have; I'm considering Valor, though my German's not much better than my French ;->), and Test, and the numbers in all of them are pretty good, imho (though Test is, and always has been, a special case).

4. Absolutely!

5. Sounds like another appeal to the "Mario crowd," what with all the jumping required (hopefully it doesn't turn people off playing altogether, just doing any quests in that area ever again). Even Kelethin has bridges (at least nowadays). :-/

Uwk

I agree with this totally. I have a physical disability that makes grouping difficult and sometimes impossible so I tend to solo play. I also pay for the "right to play w/out limits the FTP have" and would like to see more things available to solo players. It stinks that those of us who solo, for what ever reason, seem to be being left behind. Please seriously think about adding things for us solo players that way the game stays fun for us too and keep us here instead of looking elsewhere for a game that is fun and rewarding for us.

I'm not whining only stating my opinion and agreeing with others opinions.

I see a lot of "Gripe" in this thread that's virtually unrelated to the OP. It seems that some players want the opportunity to voice their concerns on various matters that effect their gameplay experience. Personally I'd suggest that they voice their concerns in the relevant area of the forums instead of hi-jacking threads in "News and Announcements". This is partly the fault of the forums mods or Holly for not locking this topic when it was originally posted.

Saying that, because there is already a lot of content in this thread I'll chip in my opinion regarding the gear issue.

• Players who have concerns about the level of stats available on the gear that has been developed for the tier of content they are participating in should present some form of constructive criticism on the topic such as telling the Devs and other players who seem do disagree with them what they want to see in terms of increased stats or better items rather than just being vague. Do you want access to the same gear as players who do group content for the start, the ability to directly upgrade to that gear from your Adv Solo gear or a new tier of intermediate gear?

I think that the progression of items and content was very good in late ToV/CoE and from the start in AoM. With AoM the basic gear you got from the fully soloable questline and regular solo instances was more than good enough for my Ranger to do the Adv solos without a merc where the Yellow Gear was a nice upgrade that when gemmed up was good enough for Heroic zones in Tranquil Sea. This in turn dropped blue gear that when gemmed became good enough for Phantom Sea Heroics. If I'd wanted, I could have refined some materials and made myself a full set of Refined Mastercrafted and then Experimented on it to give me gear that was equal to fully gemmed Phantom Sea Heroic Armour.

I personally don't care if the new Ethereal items drop from all content or just heroic. If its all content I'l run all the content when I get time and if its just from heroic then I'l get one if and when I choose to do any heroic content outside of solo and raid but that's my choice just like its many players choice not to do that content because of their situation. If its such a big deal then make 2 tiers for Ethereal one for Solo and one for Heroic.

Back before Runnyeye was merged with Splitpaw, we had regular PUGs on Saturday mornings, with similar RLs. They laid everything out for those new to raiding, would give tips even in the heat of battle, and didn't boot someone just on the basis of 'your gear's not good enough'. They'd suggest improvements afterwards, or give you the opportunity to back out before the fighting started, but you generally got a chance to take part if you wanted to. Nowadays, raiding seems to be there for the 'elite' who've been there, done it many times, don't have time for learners. And you have to play your toon the way they think it should be played. Haven't raided since shortly after the server merge. Which in itself was not much fun, and lost us way too many good players (as did the Pro7 fiasco). The game hasn't really recovered from those events. So, yes, more for solo players please! And I would also love the return of the suburbs. I miss the Willow Wood

Point clearly entirely missed. Honestly, whenever I see solo players going on about gear differences it is BECAUSE they cannot earn Raid Gear from solo questing, and that heroic questlines interfere with their soloing so they need Raid Gear to challenge the heroic line.

Not all solo'ers are you. Most solo'ers are those guys in chat on AB hoping they made enough plat to purchase the next Raid piece in auction because "The devs are mean and won't let me one-shot overworld mobs with the gear I can actually earn" kind of solo'ers who then come to the forums and ask for Best in Slot gear to be obtainable by soloers.

What they don't seem to realize is that their gear has stats, which are meant for handling their overworld/solo/adv solo mobs. They do not need raid-equivalent gear, which is what a lot of them have been asking for around here -- Some sort of way for a solo'er to earn raid gear without raiding.

You and maybe two other people are literally the only people I have seen, throughout the entire game, that are not asking for this.

Hmm this is a game right, that has a service for paying customers so both solo players and group players should get same satisfaction!

Except by making raid/group gear readily available to soloers, you give the peeps who play in the other two realms of play less incentive to engage in the playstyle they like. Suddenly, group and raid people drop subs since they don't need the exclusive tools (doubled currency, grandmaster/ancient access, or the movement of their AA slider) to obtain the best stuff in game.

I did say same satisfaction, not same gear Both types of players (who pay subs) need same satisfaction, surely one is not more important, I can see your point though.

If I were red/green colour-blind should I ask for a discount to view an art exhibition that showcased art in only those colours? I know that's a pretty bad metaphor but the point it makes is "We all pay the same amount for the same content to be available but we all take away from it what we choose". I wouldn't be upset if I paid to view this hypothetical exhibition and only liked the work that I could see properly.

I'd still like to know what the crowd that is unhappy with the gear available that was designed for their Tier of content actually want from the game? Is it gear from content that they cant access that would trivialize the content that they want to play in?

Solo and Adv Solo gear is designed so that you can survive that Tier of content with the ability to upgrade that gear to survive in the Tranquil Sea Heroic Group zones. On top of that, some of the rare Adv Solo Fabled drops have effects that don't even have an equivalent in Raid not to mention Heroic content such as the Phase Stinger ear which gives you 28% Flurry in groups of up to 3 players.