Curse

wiz12268 · Sep 09, 2005, 04:22 AM // 04:22

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

Updates are so fun. I had put the game aside for awhile as it was extremely boring, and the changes they had made were not symbiotic IMO. But I actually like the update/patch/expasnion, at least from the PvE side of it.

I took my usual assortment of henches and quickly polished off the first 2 missions, and thought to myself how easy it was, not anything like it was described. Then I tackled the priest quest. Found out that it is "impossible" with henches, until I dragged the baddies back with me to the area. So I got that one.

BUT, dam that Orozor quest is a bitch. I cleared the first run with henches (and a couple PUG groups) but the second portion is a bitch. IMO henches are the best team you can form (when you don't need to split up) since they always target and they don't quit if they die. But we had a solid PUG team and we got Pwned in the narrows, and before we rezzed the dude died. SO definately a challenge there. I am assuming finishing those 4 missions unlock more missions so I have been tryign to ge that one completed all day, but to no avail. (Elona flashback). But as someone that likes playing the game on the PvE side it is all good.

Now on to the farming. Some good some bad. The greens to me are basically worth less, and people seem to think they are goign to farm them every time they kill a boss. WRONG. I soloed this map twice, or in better terms I killed the two bosses I am able to alone. I got a green from each the first time through. I got a gold armor and a experience scroll from the other. I also killed one for a third time before I froze, and got the infamous err=7 messeage, I got a blue armorthat time. I am not sure if it diminishing returns or bad luck, but I gave up the "farming" angle since the green weapons are not all thatgreat, simply a new fad.

Now the chests on the other hand. Bad idea I think. I did farm the chests, I like the fact that everyone can take a chest even if it is open, but when you se guys getting a perfect perfect weapon and you get a useless purple 13 req piece of trash it is annoying, but the luck of the draw I guess. But allowing people to "gamble" for 600& 700 gold is WAY too easy.

IMO the keys should be 5-10K per this is supposed to be a mission for advanced ascended players, so they should have that much gold if they have been playing the game. I bought 10 each and I got 9 golds and 7 purples so far, so that is a better than 50/50 chance of getting a decent gold weapon for 700 gold. I actually got a staff that used to be worth about 150-175K, but not sure what value it will have now. But is a +5 insightful max 8 req air staff with 9/10 cast/charge split with open suffix. I gotthat for 700 gold, granted not sure what it can be traded for, but even if the market drops a ton, it is worth 100 time what I "paid" for it.

Also flooding the market with gold weapons is basically making purples useless, who is going to want purple weapon now? Even if it is a better than gold one. Similar to the collector items, most epople laugh at them, but it take a good weapon/offhand to beat the collectors.

So there are some nice things with this upgrade, but also somebad things. There are 20+ dirstricts going and trying to find people to actually do a mission is impossible, everyone wants to farm or kill bosses. I had a group with 3 monks and we couldn't fill we had to rezone.

Maybe I am jaded since I have farmed myself silly, so the idea and "challenge" of farming that area is not that great to me. I went right out alone and did it. Hell I got there alone, I did die because of the archanist, when I first zoned in, but I switched amor and away I went. Made it around the corner and switched back. If they want a map to be totally solo proof they have to have the strippers follow a little longer.

HOPEFULLY people will get bored or notice that they aren't getting greens every drop from a boss and actually do the missions and quests. I think that completeting all the suposed new missions and quests could take longer than the whole other story by themselves, but with everyone enamoured with farming for basically crappy green weapons it is hard to even get started.

Maybe once I complete this mission the others can be done with henches to some extent, as I said, they are definately the most reliable.

But so far in terms of PvE I like it. I think the trading is goign to be a lot like Diablo 2 pretty soon with a ton of weapons available that are so overboard that everyone wil be getting those, and making other very good weapons totally obsolete. Again I am looking at this from the point of view of someone with about 5 million in assets (again old value) But 250 ectos, 230+ shards 100+ rubies and 100+ sapphires and 1.2 million in gold is going to hold some value, along with the 20% enchant wraps and +30 fort and +5 insightful heads I have. SO money is obviously not an object to me. BUT, I hve never bought a weapon DFOR the weapon, I have bought some for upgrades, and soem gambling on unideds, but I don't spend millions on some rare sword that no one has, I FIND my stuff.

So a slight diference from the rich people that buy and sel all day. Damn I gave a ton of purples away today simply because they are now useless, and even then people didn't really want them. A +12% >50% max axe with an 8 require and a 10/8 furious and +26 fortitude, the guy said it wasn't worth anything cuz it wasn't gold/green. Pretty sure those are max stats for a pruple item, and better than 80% of the golds out there. If it were gold it would be 50K in LA, if it were green (not sure if all greens are perfect or not) it would be 500K. But it is purple so it is useless.

So the whole complexion of the game and weapons ahs definately diminished. The new color makes new poepl think they are more expensive, not realizing they are worth less (on average). And the ability t go out and load up on gold weapons from chests will greatly diminish how weapons are looked at. But eventually all those "rare" items wil have to be duplicated, since you have so many possibilities to work with. So they basically cease to be rare, and become like any other uber weapon (al a Diablo 2).

This isn't a bitch, just an observation. If they want to make it easy to get weapons open an auctionhouse or a blacksmith or forge where you can build your own weapon. Even have a guy that will let you name one after yourself (again ala D 2).

It has basically gone from a couple hundred guys doing chest runs to 90% of the guys that play the game doing chest runs. Nt sure that adds to the gaming experience.

I am basically going to get what PvE fun I can get out of this upgrade and go from there. I am sure once I finish the quests I will bebored again. While I used to get excited in killing stuff and seeing gold/purple things drop, it just isn't the same using a key and knowing that I am going to get a gold/purple.

But a major thumbs up to the true aim of this area, the missions and quests, and side story line. Unfortunately the by product is all to familiar.

Amused Observer · Sep 09, 2005, 04:33 AM // 04:33

On the flip side, allowing easier access to decent equipment balances the imbalance between the "haves" and the "have nots." Also, the chinese farmers at LA are definitely gonna get screwed by this; the chests-n-keys may have been AN's answer to them (plus ebaying of items). And this was probably a serious consideration for AN in deciding to add chests-n-keys to the game.

wiz12268 · Sep 09, 2005, 04:42 AM // 04:42

True it shortens the distance between haves and have nots, bBut I have ben playing the game since it came out in late May, I have 1100+ hours, so it isn't like I haven't "earned' what I have. I PLAYED the game, on the PvE side.

Why should someone with 2-3 hours old character that got rushed into ascencion and within 12 hours of TOTAL game play have 40 gold wepaons?

It defiantely takes the grind out of it, but once you get everything you want it gets boring (see me). Unless you PvP, so this might actualy backfire. Once people get everything they want they will stop playing. Of course there will be those few hundred that play PvP exclusively that live in HoH and Tombs, but the PvE side might suffer.

Some people might not even do the misisons, they will fail a few times and give up. Much like the UW and FOW. I bet 75% of the people that go into those places have not done more than 2-3 quests in each place. I see some similarities, at least on the mission side. They all want to farm those places, but actually doing the missions is another story.