Making the game interesting

[Wiz]

Okay, so here's an attempt at improving the server. The main problem seems to be that there are two things to do, EXPing or Raiding, and Raiding doesn't happen often.

So, what would you like to see to do on those weekday nights? Stuff to fill your time, what should it be?

Don't suggest the War yet, please, server populace can't handle it yet.

[Lenlalron Flameblaster]

Tradeskills, if not just as a timesink. ;p

Theme nights, maybe? Like, monday is 'undead slaying monday!' where killing undead gives more xp or something. Or, like, you can have skeleton pets.

[twist]

tradeskills are a great timesink.

maybe put some good loot not just on level 60+ mobds but some rares and stuff

[Kudaien]

Best thing would be to add tons of quests ... fun quests though not things that are tedious, im sure lots of people have good ideas

[Uthen]

What would you people think about this idea:

Adding two or three zones to WR of which two can only be entered by six people at a time and one which can be entered by twelve. One of the sixpeople zones would be a tough but manageable one for a group of six where everyone wouldnt have to be lvl 60 (still 57+ or so) and the group would not have to be the best possibly balanced one.
Next sixpeople zone would be tougher, this one would need a well balanced group of 60s and it would require people to play and cooperate well. The toughest mobs in this zone (these would be very deep down and take time to get to) would drop close to raid loot. The third zone, which can be entered by twelve people at a time will be a raidzone that will be tough, while still not requiring everyone to dualclient and play characters that are not their own. This zone's toughest mobs would not be easy to get to or kill and they would drop loot that is up to pair with the average raidloot we get.
I was thinking not only the named mobs should drop loot in these zones but the tougher normal mobs also. Kind of like in hate and fear (eqlive). The named mobs could also have a chance (bigger one) to drop these random loots (in addition to their unique loot).

What I like about these zones is that they can be made tough for a certain number of people. If these were normal zones that could be entered by any number of people they would have had to be alot tougher to justify the loot and they would then require a number that we often do not have or that forces everyone to play two characters each. They would also be good for those weeknights when people want something challenging and rewarding to do.


/Suljin

[Dujek]

It's a very interesting idea.

Only allowing six people into a zone at a time could allow for a much more entertaining time. It'd also give people something to do when there are only five or six guildies online and they feel like doing something that's taxing without being impossible, and that would yeild rewards suitable to the challenge. :P

I think if a zone was made with a lot of different types of encounters (ie. other than just a pull-slow-tank-heal scenario) it could be quite different :P. Encounters that were geared towards a group with certain classes, but wouldn't be completely impossible for groups without that class. You could also make the named spawns slightly random. Make a few set spots for named mobs surrounded by these scenarios, then make a random (obviously pre-made and stuff, not on-the-spot-created) named spawn in each spot once the zone is activated, that way named mobs wont always be in the same old place and groups can't say: "Ok, we need class "X", "Y" and "Z" in order to go in and kill mob "R" for my Deep-Fried Onion ring". You wouldn't be able to make a single group to repeatedly farm the hell out of a single mob.

It also might be useful to make one for lower level players. It'd get them equipped while still being difficult, and would require them to band together a bit more to venture into the deeper parts.

This is an idea that could be developed upon. :P

[robsson]

You are such fragstealers.

Stealing the idea of LDoN and so on ;)

[Dujek]

I've never played LDoN, but I was thinking something like that while I was writing. Still, where's the harm in exploring it? :P

*shrinks Nazul*

[Bretto]

How about incorporating another game like Gems? Maybe make it multiplayer, like cards or something? That's always a good timespender. :)

[Dujek]

....

That is all.

[robsson]

How about a zone full of mini-trials? Like some you can do with a group and some you even can do solo. Of course, the harder trials would provide better equipment and the smaller ones could just provide some decent exp.

I know this is still about exp and killing. But it's another way of doing it :D

Wouldn't really have to be a specific zone. Could be trials like these all over the world. Although I have no idea how hard trials are to code/trigger/make whatever.

[Dujek]

Also, those events that you mentioned where you fight continuous waves of monsters. You could make that a kind of event in itself, each wave getting more and more difficult and ending (if you're lucky enough to get that far) in a raid level encounter that drops some looties.

Just an idea. :P

[Nuralia]

Ring of Fire events! Omg! Yes!

[robsson]

Ya that was what I meant. But trials that are for groups. Because at the moment we lack for something to do when not raiding, because when we raid, we raid (meaning we have at least more than the average people online at that point).

What we need (In My Opionion) is stuff that can be done with one single group or maybe even 3-4 characters besides exp.

And like I said in a previous post, maybe even a solo/duo trial or three. Would give people something to do if they don't feel like grouping (now whoever would feel that I don't know)

[Wiggles]

i know a few people who'd probably come back to winters roar if it weren't for the extreme nerfage in exp and solo-ablility... you say you want more server populace, but then you make it harder for the population on the server to gain levels, kind of contradictory.. granted i haven't logged in, in about 2 months, but i'd be willing to give it another go if I could solo even 75% effecient as what I used to.. /shrug just my 2 cents i guess..

[Lenlalron Flameblaster]

I wouldn't mind if you got a bit mroe XP high levels solo; mainly because of the lack of population. I mean, there's plenty of chances for raids and stuff; bt, solo, it's tough.

[Wiz]

i know a few people who'd probably come back to winters roar if it weren't for the extreme nerfage in exp and solo-ablility... you say you want more server populace, but then you make it harder for the population on the server to gain levels, kind of contradictory.. granted i haven't logged in, in about 2 months, but i'd be willing to give it another go if I could solo even 75% effecient as what I used to.. /shrug just my 2 cents i guess..

How did I nerf soloability? :p

I added medkits, increased the range of blue mobs, and added a large amount of outdoor zones...

[Dujek]

Duh, you made mobs fight back.

[Lucrezia]

Add quests. Particularly ones that are "Go around the world and hand things into other NPCs" with various branches to it. Not terrific awards, but -something-.

[Erignamatic]

Add quests. Particularly ones that are "Go around the world and hand things into other NPCs" with various branches to it. Not terrific awards, but -something-.

Working on that :D

[twist]

you increased the range of dark blues, but then also lowered the exp for thoose blues to the point where hunting low dark blues is pointless. now i'm not saying i expect 50% exp a kill (since people just love jumping to conclusions anytime someone raises a point) but like 20+ lego's in sseru for 1pct is a bit much. the only people that are hurt by lowering the amount of exp granted by low dark blues are thoose that play regularly. raids don't kill them, groups don't either. people who play when there's very few people on do.
it would make more sense to just turn thoose mobs into light blues or greens since right now they aren't worth killing.

and adding quests with nice rewards would be great. but if they require an army of people to get the parts they defeat the point if they are being designed so people have something to do besides raid.

and before i forget add a way to get enchanted metals for non-enchanters (for JC), since there are harldy any enchanters. let alone ones that will probably do jc

[Bretto]

Incorporate Pacman...

Please?

[Wiz]

you increased the range of dark blues, but then also lowered the exp for thoose blues to the point where hunting low dark blues is pointless. now i'm not saying i expect 50% exp a kill (since people just love jumping to conclusions anytime someone raises a point) but like 20+ lego's in sseru for 1pct is a bit much. the only people that are hurt by lowering the amount of exp granted by low dark blues are thoose that play regularly. raids don't kill them, groups don't either. people who play when there's very few people on do.
it would make more sense to just turn thoose mobs into light blues or greens since right now they aren't worth killing.

and adding quests with nice rewards would be great. but if they require an army of people to get the parts they defeat the point if they are being designed so people have something to do besides raid.

and before i forget add a way to get enchanted metals for non-enchanters (for JC), since there are harldy any enchanters. let alone ones that will probably do jc

I'm gonna rework the exp tables for blues again, make high blues much more rewarding, but low blues at least decent.

[Yvin]

Quests, ala epic or Dain ring, good idea. Something which can be done mostly solo but requires a little help and a little exploration. Decent loot on a variety of mobs/levels would help too for ppl looking for things to do, ie ppl camping AC for Jboots. Underused zones would benefit greatly by adding quest material/items/misc. loot. A weight reducing bag, for example, isnt overpowering but is something i would camp greens/blues to get for my monkey.

Translocators would be a very good addition for grouping, as it takes a long time to run places with wizards/druids being very very rare.

I agree about the viability of soloing needing to be addressed, it is one of the reasons I haven't played in a while. I don't like soloing necessarily, but much of the time, there is no one on so I have to do it. It should offer feasible experience. 2 hours of high-end raid exp should not = 2 days of soloing exp because no one will ever play during non-raid times, or in normal exp dungeons. A solo friendly dungeon would be fun, something like solb with perhaps some raidable giants and a dragon, but the rest of the dungeon can be hunted with a few ppl. Named kobalds or spiders could be fun as well. Solb is small and could be coded, i would think, rather quickly. Another solo dungeon possibility is Howling Stones. I used to solo the whole thing with my necro, up to Drusella. I wanted to solo her before I quit but she was perma camped.

Just a couple thoughts.

[Sean]

From and NPC placement and pathing grid perspective, SolB is rather fucking large. Inhumanly large. And frustrating.

Epic quests are currently being worked in. Cleric and Paladin both are in, and one Cleric is almost done with hers.

Of course, she had a lot of help.

[zodium]

i know a few people who'd probably come back to winters roar if it weren't for the extreme nerfage in exp and solo-ablility... you say you want more server populace, but then you make it harder for the population on the server to gain levels, kind of contradictory.. granted i haven't logged in, in about 2 months, but i'd be willing to give it another go if I could solo even 75% effecient as what I used to.. /shrug just my 2 cents i guess..

We don't really want people who give up at the first sight of challenge. We want people, yes, but not worthless people.

Also, SolB is so tiny that I'd be willing to spawn it if I had the time to do anything at all on the server :P.

[Yvin]

solb is not large at all. sola is large and confusing. maybe you're thinking of that. another idea that might be fun: befallen with lvl 50+ undead.

[Sean]

SolA is easy.
SolB has so many twists and turns with narrow hallways (whereas SolA has some that are pretty large) that making a pathing grid for it wouldn't be a viable alternative to hammering rusted nails through my dick and testicles.

[Muuss]

hammering rusted nails through my dick and testicles.
Don't do that, u would regret it later.

[Muuss]

Adding Karnor as a dog populated city with negative faction by default, with quests, lords... etc Then adding some ways to raise that faction, thru killing / quests, or via another new city ?

[zodium]

SolA is easy.
SolB has so many twists and turns with narrow hallways (whereas SolA has some that are pretty large) that making a pathing grid for it wouldn't be a viable alternative to hammering rusted nails through my dick and testicles.

Valid point.

Muuss: Karnor's, as is true for most of Kunark, is already planned out. At least it was last I checked.

[Muuss]

Oh great, Kunark is, from far my favourite playground :)

[darkyth]

How about random named NPCs that rarely spawn throughout the world? Not ones that spawn in a specific location. Such as an ogre bard called Bunny who runs around playing the drums and drops a special drum. :roll:

[Yvin]

There needs to be a zone with farmable armor for mid 40s to mid 50s, ala Plane of Fear (or Plane of Growth). There is a big equipment shortage between the Othmir armor and the Kael quest armor. Or more of this sort of armor dispersed randomly in 50+ dungeons, like soft leather is for lowbies. Another problem with quest armor is the gems give me the login bug so I almost always destroy them. Regardless, there needs to be a specific zone where not raid-parties can gain various decent equipment off lots of misc. mobs, instead of a handful of bosses. Live has smartly always offered planar (farmable) armor which seems a necessary component of high-level server health.

[Yvin]

There needs to be a zone with farmable armor for mid 40s to mid 50s, ala Plane of Fear (or Plane of Growth). There is a big equipment shortage between the Othmir armor and the Kael quest armor. Or more of this sort of armor dispersed randomly in 50+ dungeons, like soft leather is for lowbies. Another problem with quest armor is the gems give me the login bug so I almost always destroy them. Regardless, there needs to be a specific zone where not raid-parties can gain various decent equipment off lots of misc. mobs, instead of a handful of bosses. Live has smartly always offered planar (farmable) armor which seems a necessary component of high-level server health.

[zodium]

There needs to be a zone with farmable armor for mid 40s to mid 50s, ala Plane of Fear (or Plane of Growth). There is a big equipment shortage between the Othmir armor and the Kael quest armor. Or more of this sort of armor dispersed randomly in 50+ dungeons, like soft leather is for lowbies. Another problem with quest armor is the gems give me the login bug so I almost always destroy them. Regardless, there needs to be a specific zone where not raid-parties can gain various decent equipment off lots of misc. mobs, instead of a handful of bosses. Live has smartly always offered planar (farmable) armor which seems a necessary component of high-level server health.

While I concur that a dropped set of armor between CS quest armor and Kael/ToV quest armor is necessary, I don't agree that planar armor in general is necessary for "high level server health". At all. :p

[Yvin]

Planar isn't as necessary on WR since Wiz gives bosses a nice amount of drops, but on live when a boss drops 1-3 items for 45+ folks, and rare mobs spawn every 5 hours and drop 1 item for 6 ppl, you need somewhere to equip yourself. SG is a very well designed zone in terms of loot and mob distribution, but it seems other zones don't have as nice non-boss itemization. I've noticed that high-levels only want to hunt for AA points or epic quests (or to lvl thier alt). My suggestion is that there be somewhere to hunt for a wide variety of items for general equipping of the 50+ server, nothing uber but simply utilitarian. Somewhere for 2 or 3 mid-40s, 2 mid-50s, or 1 good 60s group to hunt and everyone involved getting a chance to get something decent. Thanks for considering it.

[Shatterblast]

This is just an idea, but how about using one of the trade skills or even a quest to change how a pet procs sometimes? I'm not sure how well this would integrate. Maybe it could be something weak like a magician's water pet that casts a very weak version of regeneration on an ally once every 5 minutes or such and only during non-battle.

I could think of a whole list of stuff to add through this method that shouldn't really unbalance the game in an akward fashion. It would just help round out pets a little since armor is already customizable.

I haven't looked at the server code so I don't know how do-able the idea is at the moment.

[Goldblood]

:brow: What about adding mobs (quest or no) to Erimal's valley, in that abandoned heretic city...

Maybe make it some decent levels for 15-30 to kill.


Just a thought.

[Ligghtning]

For levels 15-30 there is Warrens, First Ruins, and Neth. And Crystal Caverns. And Warrens and First Ruins are right next to Erimal, so what is the point?

[Ksia]

Ok every starter city has a PvP area right? well make a NPC that you can bet with and watch 2 mobs / character duke it out in the areana OR better YOU yourself fight a mob and depending on its difficulty changes what reward ya get, or mabye something like you fight 10 mobs in a row, or mabye get a group of people in the arena and spawn 50 in a row!
Like the final fantasy seven battle game in the Casino game place ... golden sumtin forgot its name ... oh well not important. single people could do it as well as groups! but that would make it kinda crowded since only 2 cities with PvP arenas are Thurg and Erudin, but still isnt it a good idea?

[Noindy]

Id love to see a game long quest for a suit of armor, for instanse start u off with noob armor, like the noob quests in live, but take it to the next lvl. have the next part of the quest doable around 20, where you have to aquire the components, and combine them AND the first peice u got to get the next set. and so on at lvl 40, 50 and 60. give people something constant to work at through the whole experience.

[Darkmidget]

Something like the epic Armor they had in Dark Age of Camelot, only actually make it WORTH doing? :p

[zodium]

Something like the epic Armor they had in Dark Age of Camelot, only actually make it WORTH doing? :p

We have tons of quest armor, duder. :P

[Kaio]

Need I not to go into scientifical schematics about the subject line, but to put it in a general and conservative response, but most people don't know it but there are three concepts to creating a successful game: Unique Qualities, Options, and Curiousity. I'm only gonna focus on the relevant topic here, and that's Curiousity.


Curiousity didn't just kill the cat; It hung the cat by a noose, shot it up with an ak47, and ran over the remains several times with it's ferrari! And that's just what Everquest did, it brought upon many adventures, lands, and creatures to explore, view, and conquer. There was more eye candy than anyone ever thought possible, with brilliant spell graphics, various armor and weapon designs, and beautiful landscapes. As if it wasn't enough, as time progressed, so did new worlds get discovered. There was so much in the world, that practically not one single person could ever truely grasp every valuable and knowledge possessed by the world (if only people were this enthusied to learn about the real world, lol).

Your probably wondering the relevance of all this to Winter's Roar. Well to put it short, Winter's Roar has provided us a new sense of curiousity. It's not the same world we remember from live. Surely the terrain is the same, but the story and the threat are all too different.

But there is a flaw with curiousity. It seems some adventurers wish to make journals of all the knowledge they obtain through their journeys. While such a guide may prove resourceful, it is surely another way to bring a demise to what would be, perfection. Creating online guides and such with every bit of data you uncover could become a reason less to keep that "fresh" vibe you first got from EQ Live. People will only go to "this" place and try to hunt for "this" item and hunt for "this" exp. I know myself that I have used the exp modifier post to try to find the best source of exp. It's just a bad idea to be THAT informative. Surely when other adventurers (specially the newbies) ask players in game, that's one thing. But to list ALL the data at any one person's fingers at any time is more than anyone should handle.

It's a simple request, not a demand, not a threat, and not a vision. It is merely a statement of request that perhaps these sites halt their production for the sake of WR. It's up to you whether or not you wish to continue your sites and stuff, I'm just explaining why you probably shouldn't.

NOW, most of you will say, just ignore the posts and the advertised sites. Well sure, I COULD do that, but then what about the many other players who fall victim to the necessity to view these sites, losing focus of the general concept to a particular game such as this. It's like free samples: They suddenly become available, and you expect people to pass it up? No way! People are gonna take what they can get. And like I stated above, most people are blind to many facts, such as the small things that got people addicted to EQ in the first place (I use the word addicted lightly).


Now, in a completely new sense. The quests that are slowly being put in are great, and tradeskills to keep people busy, good. But what else? It's bad enough I was put to boredom camping Raster for god knows how many hours on Live. What's the point of just fighting all the time? Everything in EQ Live was ALWAYS connected to some kind of a fight with something. Very FEW cases was there an alternative, which would be running around doing errands (boring). Here's the key: Find out how to create something in WR that DOESN'T require fighting and sitting around, and if you choose to use that key to find and unlock the door, you just might bring a brand new interest to the game. Your probably asking, and how on earth do we do that? Well, it's simple, think outside the box. :)

[viperman550]

Great post Kaio. I was trying to explain something to that extent in a previous post, in another topic.

I was thinking just a moment ago after reading your post about different forms of quests that could be added. With just a moments thought, i came up with the idea of a form of riddle based quest.

Basically a quest where you could stumble upon the quest mob, and hail it. It could tell you about your quest in a somewhat riddle form. Where you will need to wander around the lands and gather knowledge. Once you gather this knowledge you can find the quest mob(s) you need and speak to them. You could be presented with another question. With two or more possible answers. Getting the answer incorrect = death, or some form of penalty. Getting it correct however, could lead you deeper into the quest.

Eventually, this would lead to a reward, which imo should not always be uberitem_05 with +99 to all stats. But something more "fun" or somewhat helpful to that person. Illusions are of course one fun thing, they allow you to RP as another type of character, without changing your base stats or abilities. Small click effect items such as, grim aura, small stat buffs, tiny damage shield, or even charms etc. Something that does not make your character uber, but can add fun to the game. That is after all why we all play, right? To have fun.

Spells and effects that would be beneficial to you, but not to the extent where it would be overpowering. I'm curious as to what spells/effects could be added other than the ones already in game, for some fun effects. Im sure its possible to add other illusions than what was found in eqlive. I know i wouldnt mind having Illusion: Walrus. There are many things that could be done.

Another idea would be to have the reward be an item used to craft a special type of armor/weapon for your class, or information on another quest which may aid you based on your class. This item would have to be made undestructable via failing crafting it, but reuseable until you can finally craft it. Make it require some items crafted by other people so that its possible to get the items needed, but not very easily. This might stimulate the servers economy.

These items you craft do not need to be an epic style item but something that could proc an effect that would help you, or have a cool particle effect added to your weapons/character. Something unique and artifact to set one person apart from another.

I see a lot of people wearing the same items that everyone else has. As Kaio said, you often see people going to "this" zone, to find "this" item, off "this" mob. Everyone wants that item because its uber, so they camp it, and they get it. Now everyone has it, and the joy of owning such an item goes down. You aren't the only one with it anymore, EVERYONE has it. So who cares if you have one.

The possibilities are endless. Quest rewards could include an item that you could hand in to the next GM online, and they could reward you with a title, or something to that affect. Something to make your character stand out from others, make you different. So we arent the same class, running around with the same armor, and the same weapon, fighting in the same zone, to kill the same mob, to get the same outcome we always get.

I know this post is somewhat scattered about, but I thought up most of it as I went along. Read it, its probably not the best, but I hope it is somewhat helpful and informative about what the server needs, that EQlive never really had. Something to make you unique. Not just another character "in their world"

[Podge]

Easily the most sucessful quests/events in live were the Shawl and Ring quests. For those of you that were around on live during their implementation (a few years ago, during the mid-Velious era - I have played live since beta2) you have to remember the excitement that uncovering each new step entailed. I can't say that I enjoyed how heavily it incorporated the trade skills, especially for casters (raising your tailoring to 182 is a pain, even to a 60), but I loved everything else about it; it incorporated exploration, combat and lore into something that, after a lot of work, paid off big time.

It provided both casters and meele a chance to do something with their spare time that was useful. People love progressive quests, with each new step bringing in a bigger reward. My personal favorite part about it was the lore. I think above anything else developing a deep history of the world is important; that really is what kept me going in live for so long. Think about it - where else can you go from Greater Faydark, with the Wood Elves - High Elves alliance against the orc threat, to the high moon of Luclin, with the history of Akheven people, and their shadow queen. Winter's Roar already has an interesting background, with a well written lore baseline, but I want to see more.

I guess I am a bit fanatical about the lore, in fact I was (and am, though I hardly play live anymore) the server historian for Terris-Thule. If anyone wants some live lore, look me up, I'd be glad to share my favorite story with you, of King Trakanon, and his rise to power, and his mutual defeat and slaying of Phara Dar's (the ruler of Veeshan Peak) father, Jaled Dar.

I have studied the history of WR too, and I like what I see, well done so far, but to really hook in a lore-person like myself, I would like to see a progressive quest that gives me a reward in both items, and in interesting history.

Just my 2cp...



Hodge - Shadow Knight (Winter's Roar)

P.S. - to the GM's, I have endless ideas and specifics for a quest like the one above, if you would like to hear my ideas, I would love to do anything to help; ideas, scripting, or even something as simple as pathing diagrams. Look me up :)

[zodium]

Stuff

WR has a massive background story, it's just not very available to players yet.

[Podge]

Stuff

WR has a massive background story, it's just not very available to players yet.

And I said I was impressed with what I had seen so far. The fact that is isn't all available yet was why I suggested a quest as a means of delivering the hidden lore bit by bit :)

[zodium]

Stuff

WR has a massive background story, it's just not very available to players yet.

And I said I was impressed with what I had seen so far. The fact that is isn't all available yet was why I suggested a quest as a means of delivering the hidden lore bit by bit :)

It's available, it's just that you won't see it unless you're high level because our world is pretty much in ruins, so information is scarce.

[gloworm]

I've noticed some classes are underused on the server (i.e. wizards, druids, bards, rogues, beastlords) I think to get people excited about playing them the epic suggestions should be started with those classes first. Also to increase wizard and druids I would strongly suggest agianst any translocator divices. Group port spells are a rewarding way wizards and druids can offer their help. Solo zones are also nice for BL, druids, wiz, and bards (bards at higher levels) and would also be a reward. In a group setting these classes are usefull (wizard being the most) but there are better sources for damage output or healing (warrior, shaman, cleric). However these classes are good for groups but not soloing, so more soloing zones would increase the benefit of playing one of these classes. As a druid I've also noticed there seems to be hardly any good druid items dropped in a lot of the zones I've played in, in warrens for example most of the leather pieces have str, or dex, or agi pluses but hardly any wisdom. And in first ruins there is a lot of good ac or wisdom pieces that drop but they are BL or shaman pieces, not druid. This may frustrate people from playing them as well.

For rogues possibly adding more situations they are usefull such as dungeon crawls. Make certain areas almost impossible to get through without the aid of a rogue. Or add more rogue only quests. Overall I think adding more class specific, possibly no-drop, armor/weapon pieces would be nice, at all levels of play. I've noticed it seems people are playing a race to get to 40's so they have a chance at getting anything decent so up till then it's all level level level. This might be an alternative to just leveling for exp. Personally I think the server is enjoyable enough but if asking for possible ways to generate more excitment from it, heres my suggestion.

[Foonie]

I've noticed some classes are underused on the server (i.e. wizards, druids, bards, rogues, beastlords) I think to get people excited about playing them the epic suggestions should be started with those classes first. Also to increase wizard and druids I would strongly suggest agianst any translocator divices. Group port spells are a rewarding way wizards and druids can offer their help. Solo zones are also nice for BL, druids, wiz, and bards (bards at higher levels) and would also be a reward. In a group setting these classes are usefull (wizard being the most) but there are better sources for damage output or healing (warrior, shaman, cleric). However these classes are good for groups but not soloing, so more soloing zones would increase the benefit of playing one of these classes. As a druid I've also noticed there seems to be hardly any good druid items dropped in a lot of the zones I've played in, in warrens for example most of the leather pieces have str, or dex, or agi pluses but hardly any wisdom. And in first ruins there is a lot of good ac or wisdom pieces that drop but they are BL or shaman pieces, not druid. This may frustrate people from playing them as well.
I don't know what level you're talking about getting druid equipment, if you mean 20-30, then I doubt it, you could get better on live than here. At level 60 I have 228 wisdom, with just 2 pieces of equipment that is raid equipment.
I fail to see how beastlords are underplayed, since I remember 50% of the members in DC was beastlords, I have no idea why, but that was how it was.
If Beastlords/Bards gets port spells, I'll quit playing my druid, it one of the few things that makes us unique, if you ask me. It would be like giving clerics C1 just because we need more clerics, it's wrong.

For rogues possibly adding more situations they are usefull such as dungeon crawls. Make certain areas almost impossible to get through without the aid of a rogue. Or add more rogue only quests. Overall I think adding more class specific, possibly no-drop, armor/weapon pieces would be nice, at all levels of play. I've noticed it seems people are playing a race to get to 40's so they have a chance at getting anything decent so up till then it's all level level level. This might be an alternative to just leveling for exp. Personally I think the server is enjoyable enough but if asking for possible ways to generate more excitment from it, heres my suggestion.
If you're thinking of pick lock, that might be a good idea, I don't find rogues underplayd though, but a pretty good idea.
As for making armor for each class, this would also be a good idea, especially if you combine it with the idea about having upgrade armor, like the monk sash/shackle thing on live (think there's one of those in CS too on WR?).

[gloworm]

If Beastlords/Bards gets port spells, I'll quit playing my druid, it one of the few things that makes us unique, if you ask me. It would be like giving clerics C1 just because we need more clerics, it's wrong.

Who said anything about giving any class other then wizards or druids port spells?

[Foonie]

I misread this:
Group port spells are a rewarding way wizards and druids can offer their help. Solo zones are also nice for BL, druids, wiz, and bards (bards at higher levels) and would also be a reward.

Since you talked about group ports, I thought you wanted BL and bards to get gate spells.

[Ariana]

When i only have a couple of hours to play during the weekdays, I think simple quests for easy items (Tasks), tradeskilling, instanced zones (where there is a time limit and only up to 6 in zone {LDoN}). Tasks are cool, they can be just simple deliveries or looting certain things for NPC's or Kill Tasks where you have to go out and kill a specific mob or number of mobs....these should be simple enough to accomplish in an hour or two and in other games I have played, are usually good xp to boot and you usually receive a small amount of cash as well. Just a few opinions on what I enjoy doing when i'm not grinding xp or raiding.

[daimyo]

I stopped playing entirely a few months back because high level solo'ing became ultra lame.

As a ranger, bow kiting just isnt worth doing anymore (or at least wasn't when i was playing).

I struggle to see how Risk Vs Reward works out to better xp for groups than for individuals who clearly have a harder time killing and a harder time staying alive.

Not to mention the lack of zones where one can actually solo, due to efficiency or even possibility (thanks to summon on 99% of anywhere high lvl).

At the time I left,

DN had been upped massively in AC to the point where 1 in every 3 or 4 shots would hit. (This with lvl 1 deadeye, supposedly increasing accuracy).

In sseru, Godswords had been secretly changed to allow them to summon, which I found out the hard way after soloing there for 2 months, suddenly got summoned and killed.

Velks? 1 percent AA per kill...... yawn fest.

Stormkeep / ToV - everything summons

Silent Lands - everything summons

Maidens Eye - cant land snare or root on shades, everything else summons except for bats which are pathetically poor xp.

AKheva - all shades summon/nuke, boulders are doable but reward is pitiful and not worth the effort.


All indoor zones such as Mielech, ToFS etc are full of summon mobs or there isnt enough space to kite.


Do you see where im going with this?

There's hardly anywhere to solo at high level and if there is it's not worth your time or effort. Hence, why i got bored and quit.



Dukat

[Gordraug]

Okay, I'm still new to the WR server. So far I'm liking what I see. Many kudos to the Devs. Being new, I am made completely aware of the lack of low end quests. And yes, I know that more are being developed, just commenting. I agree with the progression type quests idea. I first fell in love with this type of questing back when Kunark went live and my iksar warrior learned that he could aquire his trooper pike by returning a few items. Once returned, I found I could get a better one by returning more items and my trooper pike. This quest continued until a very anti-climactic Legionnaire's Mancatcher.

But despite the fact that the weapon stunk, the fun of searching all over Kunark for pieces was unmatched by anything else Verant or SOE came out with since. They actually went back and finished the SK version and introduced the Blade of Greenmist (or some name like that) that ended up being so nice the final product was eventually made wieldable by non-iksar (or at least I think so).

Since doing the Pike quests, I had always wished Verant or SOE would introduce similar quests for all races/classes. The closest they came is when they introduced the ring/shawl quests. While still along the same principle, these quests sucked because they forced everyone to become a master in every tradeskill, which in part helped to destroy an already failing economy (or so I believe).

SOE then finally started introducing newbie armor/weapon quests. But they never got around to implementing them for all races. They even introduced a secondary upgrade quests for the newbie quests and still hadn't covered all races/classes.

Being online and a newbie (only in levels and time on this server) I see alot of other newbies asking about quests and they're always referred to Erudin. This, to me, puts a bit of damper on the play of the game. If I created a wood elf druid because I wanted to skip around GF hugging trees and killing lizards, why would I want to travel all the way to Erudin for a quest that may or may not help me?

Also, some of the newbie quests that do exist have pieces that can only be aquired at newbie levels if extreme world travel is involved. Example, a certain quest in Erudin Palace is doable at level 2. If you run through Mistwoods avoiding aggros while doing so, jump up to Nexus, jump back down to Faydark, kill a few mobs and then return to Erudin. But in order to do the quest and stay local to Erudin, you have to wait until 10+, by which time as soon as you see the reward, you want the upgrade.

Anyways, I'm not going to keep griping because I actually like what I've seen so far. These are just a few things that I felt I could comment on due to the title of the Topic.

Many congrats to the Dev. team and keep up the good work!

[1ND14N]

How about a zone full of mini-trials? Like some you can do with a group and some you even can do solo. Of course, the harder trials would provide better equipment and the smaller ones could just provide some decent exp.

I know this is still about exp and killing. But it's another way of doing it :D

Wouldn't really have to be a specific zone. Could be trials like these all over the world. Although I have no idea how hard trials are to code/trigger/make whatever.

I agree with everyone that has mentioned this, but I think that if implemented, it would become a hot zone for problems... People refusing to share a trial, or people who never leave the trial area....


Id love to see a game long quest for a suit of armor, for instanse start u off with noob armor, like the noob quests in live, but take it to the next lvl. have the next part of the quest doable around 20, where you have to aquire the components, and combine them AND the first peice u got to get the next set. and so on at lvl 40, 50 and 60. give people something constant to work at through the whole experience.


Then you run the risk of all of the high levels being equipped in the same armor... FFXI for example, it gets to a point where only your best quest armor is acceptable... And then everyone becomes the same really...

-Summary- "I think we need translocators"

No! I like this server because it is how everquest was pre-luclin... It is fun!! Live became a slave to convenience...

[bluetequila]

Alright, i'll start off by saying that i'm new to WR also.. I started off with a friend of mine, and we've gotten to mid-20.. but our equipment is pretty pathetic, I do like the new Soft Leather Armor (as opposed to the old Soft Wicker Armor) but weapons seem to be pretty scarce, I love the idea of low-level quests, but stealing an idea from Dark Age of Camelot, Kill Task quests.. killing a (few) random monster(s) for a random reward, I know that's really combat-oriented, but it would give people a reason to explore the area. In my opinion, more low-level equipment drops or more ovbious quests to get them would be great.. they wouldn't even have to be very good, if you had a few options on what to wear ;)

someone said something about using arenas for monster fights.. i'm not sure how hard it would be to code, but maybe you could let people bet on two monsters fighting, with scheduled times.. like Emerald Mountains Drake vs Giant Spider! people could bet some money on it, and make a little more.. then players would meet up at the arena to kick back, relax, bet on fights and get to know each other a little better.. maybe they'd even go off and kill something together!

I also like the idea of the planes, and whatnot.. give lvl 50+ some planar armor, it wouldn't even have to be any good, just something better than what you'd expect them to be using, even a little better, if they could solo for it.. you could even make lower pieces that would be good for lower level, more common, so that people who can hunt there could give it to a lower alt or a friend.. or just a random newbie! :P

I must admit I do love the server.. I would love most of all to see the tradeskills get in, spicey kobold sandwiches, yum yum!.. nothing quite like seeing a wood elf take a bite out of a Halfling Sandwich! :eek: (as a druid, I sit a lot and like to bake while I meditate :P)

my two cents! *throws it down next to the cash register* it's there if you need it :roll:

[kynzaryn]

Ok, my time on the live servers taught me one thing: GM events are fun. Then, I learned that GM events aren't run by GMs, but instead by a seperate group called the actor's guild. They have GM abilities, but none of the being bugged by players for fixxing stuff. So they are free to create and run events. And they were great. Something along those lines, more gm events, would be great. Thanks for listening. =)

[Duvena]

Incorporate Pacman...

Please?


heh, /gems ?

wee.

[pils]

I'm also new to SoD, so I apologize if some of the ideas are already in-game...

One thing I hated about EQLive, was how it punished the casual player by forcing people to guild in large numbers to accomplish big things. I think the LDoN model they incorporated was a good start to help those of us who couldn't frequently raid, still have the opportunity to find items, have fun crawling, and take on "boss" type mobs.

One of the more underutilized quests that my guild LOVED doing were the Scout quests (ring events) on Luclin. Something like that would be fun, especially if you could do it with 3 - 12 folks.

Server pop being what it is, you've got to make content that can be handled with small groups, yet is content that is fun, and satisfying from a "loot" standpoint.

Tradeskilling, with the ability for players to quest to create exceptional items, works well in EQ2, and something that can be done solo.

Overall, I'm enjoying the game so far, even though I'm trying to not get caught up in the EQ part of SoD, lol.

[grehyton]

I really like SoD, I think the exp is real good and perhaps a little too much for me personally. I see lots of soloing even warriors in ebadlands a lot, this is almost impossible on live as most of you know. But perhaps a few more mid ranged random wandering adepts and such to encourage more grouping and stuff and add more flavor...

I like to idea of rounding out more tradeskills that is a definate plus for sure, and I am sure you guys could make some great tradeskill items that are well balanced as you have done a good job with the economy.

Maybe just for some more flavor, make a zone like islands of slaughter that is in the middle of a common route, you dont have to go through it, but if you do you can save travel time but you take the chance of some in range pvp combat and such....

The quest idea is good too, although there are lots of quests already...Maybe quests that are given by monster mobs that are hard to gain faction with....I always found it interesting that one could gain faction with 'evil' or 'killer' mobs and possibly become an enemy of the 'good' guys ....Like gain faction with seru guys enough by killing good guys, then get quests from them like assassinations in newport and such...

Just some thoughts...

[iaeolan]

Maybe just for some more flavor, make a zone like islands of slaughter that is in the middle of a common route, you dont have to go through it, but if you do you can save travel time but you take the chance of some in range pvp combat and such....

A place right off newport would be sweet... If not used already for something, you could take one of the paths going underground in the newport war guild and zone it to (south felwithe would be fun, but no) cs home (offer the download! im sure someone that plays was a live gm/guilde before =P). Better yet, make an area that ports you in-zone to the UFO thing in snp (don't think thats used for anything atm, is it?)