Thinkmeats
War Is Good For Business
Way to utterly ignore my reasoning for the Orb's supremacy to shoehorn it into an unrelated comment about the item you'd apparnetly rather talk about than the item the thread is for.
Exquisite Crystalline Orb
- Thread starter dongsy
- Start date
Way to utterly ignore my reasoning for the Orb's supremacy to shoehorn it into an unrelated comment about the item you'd apparnetly rather talk about than the item the thread is for.
cyryllis
Dalayan Adventurer
the item sucks...move on
Yeah ft3 whoopdidoo
flowing thought is basically imaginary mana that over time and as you progress through tiers to longer fights becomes more powerful.
You argue its overpowered- yet at tier 5 with a ton of short fights, ft3 amounts to very little. Yeah they could wear this at tier 8/9 maybe- just for the sake of FT, but I doubt many tier 8 folks would ever really equip this item.
On top of that, as its been stated numerous times before, this item still takes a lot of time and effort for lower tiered people.
For people that can one group this item- Most wont because of the time required to complete and its much easier to smack a quick thaz/tot named down for better shit
Leave the tier 4-5 guilds alone- tmaps are annoying enough to do as it is, especially since tons of people wont even do them.
Its very balanced time invested vs reward. Yes, it is a game where its not always about RISK vs REWARD as much as it is time invested. Much like it doesnt take RISK to farm the same zone for 5 months gearing everyone and their alts with insane gear...it just takes time.
The whole game is a time sink- let them enjoy something for their efforts.
Yeah ft3 whoopdidoo
flowing thought is basically imaginary mana that over time and as you progress through tiers to longer fights becomes more powerful.
You argue its overpowered- yet at tier 5 with a ton of short fights, ft3 amounts to very little. Yeah they could wear this at tier 8/9 maybe- just for the sake of FT, but I doubt many tier 8 folks would ever really equip this item.
On top of that, as its been stated numerous times before, this item still takes a lot of time and effort for lower tiered people.
For people that can one group this item- Most wont because of the time required to complete and its much easier to smack a quick thaz/tot named down for better shit
Leave the tier 4-5 guilds alone- tmaps are annoying enough to do as it is, especially since tons of people wont even do them.
Its very balanced time invested vs reward. Yes, it is a game where its not always about RISK vs REWARD as much as it is time invested. Much like it doesnt take RISK to farm the same zone for 5 months gearing everyone and their alts with insane gear...it just takes time.
The whole game is a time sink- let them enjoy something for their efforts.
Last edited:
If you wanna tell me the healer offhands that are superior to this in the first six "tiers" go ahead. Its replaceable "easily" , but not anywhere near the difficulty of this quest.
My problem is not with the fact that the items are good , its with the fact that they are very good and the quests difficulty is almost non existent. The other items are pretty awesome in their own right but I agree I messed up in making this thread seem like it was only for the shield to get nerfed(lol).
You seem to be unaware that you can opt to do the map in firegrotto without standing in the middle of the spawn of elementals , and finish it prior to the repop. I've done it with undergeared toons at this. This is not about vd maps, this is about this quest having no difficulty and giving a reward to players that is extremely good.
If this quests original point was to give higher tier players something to go back and do then thats all good, never the less its still giving a great item to people who otherwise would not be able to achieve something on that level. If there was something more then doing 3 tmaps for the upgrade I would be content with these items.
Also people saying "lol your overtiered and your perspective is biased" are completely wrong, I've done the vah tmaps with a group of 200 aa misfits with tmap/tradeskill pieces.
Rorne
The sad fish is a reactionary creature; an enemy o
And what about the time and effort spent collecting the pieces for the original reward? Or the time it takes to progress to that point in the Vah quest? You can't judge the reward of a quest by a single step.
What I want to really know is why this bothers you so much.
Because I've seen loot from raid zones that have CLR/DRU/SHM on them and I wonder why its even there as every cleric/druid/shaman could have a better item without raiding?
The time you spend doing it is entirely based on luck, Maybe I am a freak and don't consider sitting in an experience zone for an hour very demanding or worthy of getting this reward. So far what I have seen in this thread is people bringing up the time of doing the maps. You get a reward for doing that, but then you get a massive upgrade for that reward for what? Completing 3 more tmaps, and experiencing in a few zones.
You aren't camping a named(ala ytrazliarch), you aren't killing anything difficult, your just diddling around in mielech c until you get your spawn and move on.
If you had to go to emberflow and kill the entrance trash until you found these maps to complete the quest this would be a totally different story. However thats not the case, you complete a patience trying quest, do nothing risky, complete 3 barely challenging tmaps and shazam you have a tier 5+ item.
Something that the majority of entry 65 players cannot waltz in and do.
I opened with this and I'll leave it at this:
This item is far too good of a reward for the difficulty of the quest
Hell lets fix that:
These items are far too good for the difficulty of the quest
Rorne
The sad fish is a reactionary creature; an enemy o
I'm sorry but if we're talking about fresh level 65 players, as in not alts or twinked out, I'm dubious about their ability to do a mod map, let alone the entire quest.
wolfwalkerEci
Banned Jerk
I point to the fact that my group of overgeared toons doing tmaps for my druids vah pieces happened upon the "average 65" group. They got their ass's handed to them a few times over. Since I was around and right in that area I helped them out.
This tells me that to the "average player" this quest is not easy. (mod map mind you)
This also tells me that for the overgeared player this quest is just a big time sink. (why this game is called eq...)
An easier item to get I would rather use is the shield from UT earth boss that I think I saw drop once while Exo 2.0 was active in UT. This was over an extended period of time and honostly easier to do then all these damn tmaps hoping for a piece to drop.
I have bad luck on drops it seems and for the past 2 years have done tmaps off and on and have yet to see all 4 pieces drop and have only collected 2.
This is why I am currently buying every tmap I can get and doing them every time I am not raiding or working on another quest.
So what did this reward do to harm you? Or is it that your not a healer archtype and you believe your reward sucks because it lacks the focus effect?
This tells me that to the "average player" this quest is not easy. (mod map mind you)
This also tells me that for the overgeared player this quest is just a big time sink. (why this game is called eq...)
An easier item to get I would rather use is the shield from UT earth boss that I think I saw drop once while Exo 2.0 was active in UT. This was over an extended period of time and honostly easier to do then all these damn tmaps hoping for a piece to drop.
I have bad luck on drops it seems and for the past 2 years have done tmaps off and on and have yet to see all 4 pieces drop and have only collected 2.
This is why I am currently buying every tmap I can get and doing them every time I am not raiding or working on another quest.
So what did this reward do to harm you? Or is it that your not a healer archtype and you believe your reward sucks because it lacks the focus effect?
I'm a druid and I think this item is overpowered myself.
I agree with dongsy. The Brimstone Buckler is the shield you talk about, dropping from UT earth boss (FT2, 200m augged). Yes, this shield is much better than the exquisite crystalline orb. But,
The "average player" is also just starting and does not have a raiding guild or okish gear. This quest is not intended for the "average player", rather for someone in the mid tierish range.
I would think that if this shield wasn't available, one would be wearing something like Darkened Shield of the Storm (NO FT, 95m). People around this tier (and possibly lower, D maps are raidable by relatively new players) would be easily able to do the necessary maps and get this overpowered healing item, with FT3, HI7, *AND* the 95m that's already on it.
If you don't think that FT3 is useful, then consider that even on a 3 minute fight, 3m/tick = 30mana per minute = 90 mana over the course of the fight. That makes this secondary worth 185m! Hell, even on a 1 minute fight, it would be worth 125m.
For reference:
Exquisite Crystalline Orb:
[MAGIC ITEM] [LORE ITEM] [NO DROP]
Slot: SECONDARY
AC: 45
Focus Effect: Healing Increment VII
Effect: Flowing Thought III (Worn)
STR: +10 STA: +10 WIS: +10 INT: +10 CHA: +20 HP: +95 MANA: +95
Weight: 1.0 Size: Tiny
Class: CLR DRU SHM
Race: ALL
Exquisite Porcelain Chalice:
[MAGIC ITEM] [LORE ITEM] [NO DROP]
Slot: RANGE
AC: 40
STA: +30 AGI: +30 HP: +145 MANA: +125
Damage Reduction: +5
Aggression: +3
Weight: 0.5 Size: Tiny
Class: WAR PAL SHD
Race: ALL
Exquisite Golden Earring:
[MAGIC ITEM] [LORE ITEM] [NO DROP]
Slot: EAR
AC: 11
Skill Mod: Offense +2
STR: +11 DEX: +11 HP: +110 MANA: +110
MR: +11
Critical Strike: +3%
Weight: 0.1 Size: Tiny
Class: RNG MNK BRD ROG BST
Race: ALL
Type 3 Aug Slot
Exquisite Emerald Bracelet:
[MAGIC ITEM] [LORE ITEM] [NO DROP]
Slot: WRIST
AC: 15
Effect: Flowing Thought III (Worn)
CHA: +14 HP: +85 MANA: +75
MR: +4 FR: +4 CR: +4 PR: +4 DR: +4
Weight: 0.4 Size: Tiny
Class: NEC WIZ MAG ENC
Race: ALL
Type 3 Aug Slot
Type 3 Aug Slot
Tyvec-a-tron
Dalayan Adventurer
These item are not nearly as easy to acquire as are being made to appear.
vistachiri
Dalayan Master
The only reason one would be wearing darkened shield of the storm at the time when one can actually have a reasonable chance of burning through these maps and collecting the pieces (which does in fact take a while) is that one is a makeshift twink, and people kill king every single time he's up, and twink their alts with the drops. Because he's insanely easy. I'd also add the shield has pretty hardcore resists, thus at times it's actually worn over the ft3 shield. It also is drastically easier to get, pointing out people would be wearing a lower tiered item off of far easier content, doesn't really plead your case at all. I'd be remiss in not pointing out it's a full 60 mana better when it's faction bound, has more wisdom, and has 45 more points of resists.
Tbh before one has a 220k charm, shield of freeport is actually a better plan (unless of course one has the belt of badcharm, in which case the entire point is moot, as one could easily go and get a buckler at that point). Which is easily purchasable.
It's difficulty tier is hard to estimate, based of course on the time spent. However seeing as the intended tier of difficult maps themselves are tier 8, and generally you have to do multiples to get one piece, including the difficult done from the vah...see where I'm going with this?
And no, they aren't as easy to acquire as they're getting made out to be. Hell, maps are a cakewalk when you're sanctum tier, yet these quest rewards are missing from most of my alts. If it was easy to acquire, you can bet your ass my cleric, enchanter, warrior, and shaman would have these sported or in the bank.
Tbh before one has a 220k charm, shield of freeport is actually a better plan (unless of course one has the belt of badcharm, in which case the entire point is moot, as one could easily go and get a buckler at that point). Which is easily purchasable.
It's difficulty tier is hard to estimate, based of course on the time spent. However seeing as the intended tier of difficult maps themselves are tier 8, and generally you have to do multiples to get one piece, including the difficult done from the vah...see where I'm going with this?
And no, they aren't as easy to acquire as they're getting made out to be. Hell, maps are a cakewalk when you're sanctum tier, yet these quest rewards are missing from most of my alts. If it was easy to acquire, you can bet your ass my cleric, enchanter, warrior, and shaman would have these sported or in the bank.
robopirateninja
Staff Emeritus
I think the basic premise of the post is that a minimum group that COULD complete the quest to get the exquisite rewards COULD NOT kill raid encounters that drop healer secondaries that are not upgrades to it.
I agree with that.
Whether or not this is an issue is something else entirely, the quest does take a fair amount of time to complete if you don't get super lucky with drops.
I'm pretty sure this is not the case.
I agree with that.
Whether or not this is an issue is something else entirely, the quest does take a fair amount of time to complete if you don't get super lucky with drops.
I'm pretty sure this is not the case.
Last edited:
Manguadi
Dalayan Beginner
I just want to know why you care. I'd rather see you put your efforts towards rewards that aren't worth the effort.
This is indeed the only reason why my shaman doesn't have the orb yet (while I have collected almost every single necessary drop). IMO SoF > this pre 200k charms (for shamans at least).
And I've spent over 150 hours collecting these items. It's clearly not negligible.
The OP speaks of a case when all the items would fall into some lucky one's lap. It never happens: to do the quest, you spend at least as much time helping the others as collecting your items, wich doubles or triples the required time.
Maybe it's overpowered, I don't know... But saying it's easy to acquire is pretty ridiculous imo.
vistachiri
Dalayan Master
Pretty much. I wouldn't really even start to go out on a limb with the time one would spend acquiring pieces. Both aisling and imeriaz I've acquired the respective rewards with. Aisling was more of an accident, acquiring the first reward, and never really using it, and progressing in the vah quest, then finding out, hey this turns awesome and useful. I simply picked up pieces for aisling while they were rotting, having had no intention of using the first reward, and acquiring it pre-vah. Imeriaz I had pretty much if I recall correctly 3 of the pieces sitting in my bank already, again from doing maps many many times with others (Many of you may remember rurho's dmap buying rampage for drello's parry ring, my difficult piece for these 2 characters, as well as another on one of my alts who does not have the quest finished, were acquired as a result of the 40+ maps he did).
It would be interesting to figure out the droprate, and then discuss things from there. However I highly doubt anyone wants to do and record the results of an adequate amount of maps. So I'm pretty sure we'll just have to go with they're pretty rare unless you get lucky. Also, for a while there maps dropped like...everywhere. You'd look at a mob, and it would drop 3 ve's and a mod (obvious exaggeration, but some people probably remember the period I'm referring to). In addition, fished maps were popping up left and right. Then there was a period where there were very few to none, seems like they're pretty decent on droprate now, not too high, not too low. Though many who have acquired the rewards, did so during the maporama period, which also incidentally was before maps could be vendored, if you wanted to get any money, you had to do them, or sell them to a player, leading to a literal ton of them being done. Regardless of how rare they are, if you end up with several hundred being done, that's going to be alot of quest pieces.
Last edited:
Just because you are on a map that drops the item you need.....there are others in the group that need it too and you can't win every roll. So you spend LOTS of time doing this quest line. It is a very good item for new to mid Lvl 65's. It is something they can work toward and eventually get and have an awesome HELL YEAH feeling of accomplishment. It isn't over powered for the difficulty.
Last edited:
Allielyn
*Pony*
This is correct.
Bottom line: the reward is the best one for the difficulty, by FAR, though that *may be* offset by the time/cost required. The balance between these two things is really the only debatable issue here.
Also, for clarification: Difficult maps typically give rewards which are on par with tiers 1-2, with some rare specimens coming in at tier 3.
Also: The obscene availability and market crash of tmaps due to far-too-good fishing rates (even nerfed) means that the difficulty/cost of obtaining them is not what it once was.
Just clarifying, I have no opinion on the matter.
wolfwalkerEci
Banned Jerk
I dont believe that. Think it was 12 maps for first piece. 22 maps later still waiting on the second piece.
Of course we could go into the argument of sellers price vs. ammount you make off maps.
GuiardoTuneweaver
Staff Emeritus
I would agree. Being one of the ones that's been fishing since the fishing restructure (not rebalance) and when tmaps went in, prices on VE -> D have never really gone above what they're at now, thanks to the vendor price that was added. They used to sell for much less; certainly never more than the average cash return on the maps. You have always made money buying these at the going rate and doing them.
VD and ED maps are the ones whose prices have fluxuated quite a bit based on changes in supply and demand.