From 2941906992064465393 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: fb739,231a40429e2c448e X-Google-Attributes: gidfb739,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2002-09-16 16:15:03 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!nntp.itservices.ubc.ca!cyclone.bc.net!newsfeed.telusplanet.net!news1.telusplanet.net.POSTED!53ab2750!not-for-mail From: "James Grahame" Newsgroups: alt.games.everquest References: <6deaou0hohcvtjrfjm8l549aknvihtvd3g@4ax.com> <2hicousavm2aa3p2b4n25vdjutrj4gmod3@4ax.com> Subject: Re: Another cockblock by Verant Lines: 88 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2600.0000 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2600.0000 Message-ID: Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2002 23:15:02 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 216.232.78.121 X-Trace: news1.telusplanet.net 1032218102 216.232.78.121 (Mon, 16 Sep 2002 17:15:02 MDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2002 17:15:02 MDT Xref: archiver1.google.com alt.games.everquest:231243 "Ment" wrote in message news:2hicousavm2aa3p2b4n25vdjutrj4gmod3@4ax.com... > On Mon, 16 Sep 2002 17:33:43 GMT, "James Grahame" > wrote: > >"Ment" wrote in message > >news:6deaou0hohcvtjrfjm8l549aknvihtvd3g@4ax.com... > > > >> What if we find the occasional mob the gives high rewards vs low > >> risks, that is extremely rare in this game. Common is high risks with > >> low rewards or worse. Come a on little balence is needed here. > > > > Balance means no free rides. > > > >> And valid complaints are not whines, if the mobs were too strong think > >> they would nerf them some? Nope nadda aint no freakin way. Games full > >> of those buggers. You can find them in zones that are dam near empty > >> at camps no one will touch a second time ). UNLESS it has an epic tied > >> to it but thats another story :). > > > > Things that are too hard don't cause balance issues, because nobody gets > >a free ride compared to anyone else by doing those camps. It only causes > >crowding issues, as people flock like sheep to the easiest possible camps > >for given reward levels. > > Ok you guys are making my point for me: > Dozens of zones are freakin empty! Doesnt this say something? Yes, it says that the average player won't look for a good place to solo or group. Rather, they'll go wherever it's "good" to go. Part of that is the group nature of the game - you have to be where other people are if you want in a pickup group. But part of it is people THINKING that "I can only go here, everything else is too tough or someone would have mentioned it as being good". How many people do you know that did AoE on Shadow Haven guards? Triton did it after the XP patch, got an AA point EVERY 20 MINUTES, and got the entire thing nerfed because of how good it was. I doubt they've nerfed Mother Fordel, the level 70 NPC in Shadow Haven with 32 K HPs, hits in the low 100's and is soloable by a guild paladin. Oh, and she respawns fast, too. It's just that nobody ever bothered to try and kill these NPCs for XP. I've seen many places just like this, with piles of mobs waiting to be killed, but nobody goes there because.... nobody goes there. > It aint > a matter of players being sheep its a matter of zone design being > screwed up. Either the risk is too high or the reward is too low or > both. Or people are unwilling to look through the zone and see if any "sweet spots" exist. Ask Graeme about the spawn of spiders in Nurga he used to solo. But nobody does Nurga because it's too tough, riiiight? > Come on they know what zones need fixing but whens the last time > you saw one fixed? You mean made easier? Ignoring individual boss mob adjustments, and adjustments that come from other changes (like the resist patch): -removal of pets from mage mobs in Hate -removal of the AoE from bottom floor goos in Dalnir -the raising of the levels of all Velk's spiders without increasing their difficulty (also itemized them) -adding of acrylia drops to several non-Grimling mobs throughout Luclin (Luclin tailoring was made MUCH easier by this) There's one per expansion. Need more? > Lastly this from castersrealm: > > UBER MOBS ON VACATION > > Emperor Ssraeshzra and Lord Inquistor Sseru have been disabled after > an anomaly in their resistance levels was discovered which was > reportedly making the encounters too easy. The resist change made them slowable. So instead (in Emperor's case) of the mob being 25% slowable, it was 70% slowable. The zone was also lagged to hell and back in such a way that the mob's actual damage output was reduced further. It took what was supposed to be the final fight for entry into Vex Thal, the Luclin end-game zone, and made it damn-near trivial to anyone capable of getting there. James