New LDoN Goodies

Sony sent us some more peeks at the coming goodies in Lost Dungeons. First off, the lewt! A series of pictures here demonstrate how item augmentations happen. Standardish everquest item, the Trueborn Elite Ring: An un-enhanced Blood Laced Axe of Mistmoore, this item shows the ability to add three different enchancements to it at once: Radiant Permafrost Chunk, note the new type, and it's limitations: The Polished Brown Stone, adding 15 HP to the item it enhances, but much less limited: After the augmentation, the Blood Laced Axe of Mistmoore has piced up some new statistics. an extra 2 damage, and 15 more hp, presumably able to recieve one more augmentation. One wonders if old world items will recieve slots for augmentation, however personally I doubt it. Oh, we were also sent over some lovely pictures of Miragul's haunts in Lost Dungeons.
Miragul10 Miragul13
Miragul10.jpg Miragul13.jpg
Miragul17 Miragul22
Miragul17.jpg Miragul22.jpg
Miragul23 Miragul6
Miragul23.jpg Miragul6.jpg

Comments

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solo content
# Aug 21 2003 at 5:41 AM Rating: Decent
Luclin, PoP and LoY all have solo content, PoP..anything that doesn't summon is pretty damn easy to solo, and there's a ton of that. It probably tops off at Plane of Fire for kiting classes, but I've seen beastlords solo in POE..so apparently some people have found a way. Robert kinda spelled it all out. As a level 65 necromancer there isn't much in LoY I can't solo...I kinda don't know where this lack of solo content is based, but I find it false(Mr. Anon).

Jebasiz Fatesealer
Arch Lich
RE: solo content
# Sep 09 2003 at 12:40 PM Rating: Default
I went to LOY as a 45 mage, solo. I hunted the caves, then the city before zone to dulak. Then I moved to the castle area. After that I went to Nadox and hunted the elementals at zone, then the miners, then the other trolls. My mage is now 58th level, with 19 AA points, 90% of that came from soloing in LoY that expansion has been great. I have made a ton of pp and gotten drops for upgrades as well as bazaar stuff. There is plenty of solo content in the world. There is plenty of Raid content in the world(although getting the raid mob you want at the time you want it is another story), and you can group anywhere, but now they are making a spot only for groups, where you can hunt when you want cause your the only ones there, so now you can set a time for your group to meet, grab a dungeon of your own and get done within a couple hours. Much needed for smaller guilds, and casual players. If you want to solo, go solo, tons of spots, if you want to raid you can do that in LDON,POP, and other spots. I doubt they will make an expansion for soloing, i can see it zones with lots of room and few mobs, and you cannot group in the zone............not going to happen
no edit
# Aug 21 2003 at 4:04 AM Rating: Default
Please forgive my mis-spellings, I can't edit my post =(

Bedara
AE group vs traditional groups
# Aug 21 2003 at 4:02 AM Rating: Default
I really hope they will take classes entering the dungeon into account when deciding what type, level, abilities, and such of monsters they spawn. If they don't take the class of characters enter I see the potential for drastic inequalities.

I haven't seen this mentioned yet so I will bring it up...there is a huge difference between an AE group entering the dungeon and a traditional type of group entering the dungeon. I'll give an example of what I mean. Let's say that the only differences in the dungeon between one group and another is the number of mobs spawned. Higher lvl ppl enter the zone, more mobs are spawned. To a traditional group this would make the encounter more challenging. To an AE group this would actually be a benefit, not an increased challenge, by giving more exp for the same mana cost.

Another example, the only difference in the dungeon is the damage done by the mobs. Higher level ppl, the monsters hit harder. This might make things more difficult for the traditional group. Again, this does not really effect the AE group since the mobs are chain stunned and are unable to do damage.

I could go on but I hope you understand my point. If the random generator does not take these types of things into account the dungeons will end up being the new AE spots in EQ. The AE groups will walk into the dungeons that are suppose to take an hour or 2 and demolish them in 2 AE pulls, exit, re-enter, demolish, exit, re-enter, demolish all night long. They will swim in exp and loot like they did pre Luclin and the none AE friendly classes will be up the creek without a paddle AGAIN.

Bedara Weiwuwei
7th Hammer
Phoenix Ascendant
Oooooo....
# Aug 20 2003 at 6:59 PM Rating: Default
If this would let me be able to add haste to whatever item I want.... niiiiice 8)
Slot Types
# Aug 20 2003 at 6:38 PM Rating: Default
Has anyone figured out what the various slot types mean? Obviously type 1 includes +HP items and type 6 include +damage items but what about types 2,3,4,5,7?,...etc.?

Bonequest D`Goth
Overlord, Saryrn
Solo
# Aug 20 2003 at 2:23 PM Rating: Default
I recently read the transcript of a live chat session that they did with the LDON dev team. This can be found on the main page of the EQ Live website right now. It states in there that for right now they are adding enough hardware so that 44,000 people can be grouped in their own dungeon. But later on they are planning on adding some Solo content or even be able to partner with someone for some of these dungeons. But right now they want to get the grouping/raiding content taken care of.
RE: Solo
# Aug 22 2003 at 5:03 AM Rating: Decent
22 posts
That would be great if they eventually added some solo or 2 to 3 member group content to the new zones. It's understandable why they are initially setting it up to do 4 to 6 member groups and raids first. Once the novelty of the new zones wears off, it will be easier to justify the reduction of the number needed to go in and be less of a load on the servers.

I for one tend to solo or group usually in a 2 person group as I enjoy the extra challenge and skills needed in a solo/small group set up (where each character has to play multiple roles at the same time such as healer/dotter/auxilary tank/crowd control or tank/slower/buffer/dotter). It makes for a much more challenging experience for me. Larger groups where my job is strictly one thing such as healing or dotting is anything but challenging and gets old quickly.
Druid Heals
# Aug 20 2003 at 1:22 PM Rating: Default
TO Quote some poor druid at the begining of this post
"You obviously don't play a druid - I do and I can tell you that a druid is not a substitute for a cleric in close encounters. A druid simply can't keep up with the damage output of some PoP mobs. In addition, a druid cannot rez."

I was the only healer in a Plane of Earth group last night. We had one death when the Chanter got chain summoned, show me a cleric that can prevent that. As for the Rez issue. Easy, have a palladin or even a necro in your group. Dont let anyone say Druids cant heal. If you know a druid who cant, or are a druid who cant, change your specialization to alteration and learn how.

Loielin Boh
65 Druid Tribunal


RE: Druid Heals
# Aug 25 2003 at 10:53 PM Rating: Default
"We had one death when the Chanter got chain summoned, show me a cleric that can prevent that."

I am not trying to bash druids. Druids are a great class, and have some really nice heals. But you obviously don't group with clerics often. Show you the cleric that can do that? Try looking into these:

Level 51

Level 59

Level 60

Level 63

Level 63

I'm not claiming any of these is a cure all situations, but a cleric that knows his job CAN save that Chain Summoned 'chanter. In fact, the cleric is probably the only one that could, short of an Evac. And in a lot of places, losing that 'chanter can be almost as deadly as losing your MA.

Druids are not, and shouldn't be, built to be a MH. You don't have the AC, or the HPs, to deal with the agro. The difference between having a druid, or having a cleric, is not always life and death; but it is USUALLY the difference in the number of deaths, as well as changing "successful" to "No deaths!".
RE: Druid Heals
# Aug 26 2003 at 8:41 AM Rating: Decent
Looking Forward to Wierd Groups
# Aug 20 2003 at 10:11 AM Rating: Default
I am the leader of an All Bard guild on FV called Molto Espressivo. We started this guild SPECIFICALLY to do all-bard, or bard-heavy groups. For many of us, the challenge of doing non-traditional groups, particularly with experienced bards from other severs who KNOW their class, has made the game new and challenging.

I am SO looking forward to taking a group of Bards through these dungeons without bogarts hogging the camps, or idiots training us!

Scherzo Glissando
Bard of 43 Songs
Maestro, Molto Espressivo
Can't Wait
# Aug 20 2003 at 10:10 AM Rating: Default
I can't wait for LDoN. I'm hoping they add sockets to some of my weird old junk (sucky legs and sword especially). I'm wearing full plate and carry a sword and shield; I have to sacrifice stats for looks and am hoping that augmentations will let me bump my int up a little more (it's currently 199 at level 65).

Enokhaon Starfyre
Ironclad 65 Mage
Innoruuk Server
Magelo # 519621
Groups
# Aug 20 2003 at 9:35 AM Rating: Decent
Once you start into a Dungeon, you cannot add somone or leave to go get them. What you start with is what you finish or don't finish with. If somone goes LD, they reappear where they went LD. The group can choose to wait, and wast time or contunue on. If/when the LD person comes back thay can try to catch up. If the senerio ends while you are gone, then you will reappear at the zone in. If you Die, you body pops at the zone in.
the higher your skill/level, the harder the dungeons get, and the greater the reward. So rewards will be different from 6 level 65's with 500 AA's to 4 level 65 with no AA's.(If you are 65 and do not have AA's you truly suck). There is a benfit in these Dungeons to haveing a well balanced group, but it's not needed. All classes will have some use. There are doors and BOXES that can be "picked" and spells (Rumor is cleric) to do the same.

ld in ldon
# Aug 19 2003 at 11:14 PM Rating: Decent
to all the people worrying about the ld issues consider this if your group stays in the dungeon and moves forward . you would be in a so called say spot as they said this is all linner and back spawns wernt in the plan ( lol unless sony changed thier minds about that))
What about newbies?
# Aug 19 2003 at 9:32 PM Rating: Default
I was wondering if you were a newbie will you be able to do this? I think it'll be easier for a Newbie to make a rusty wepon a little more better. It can also make Jewel crafting a valuble Trade Skill
Upgrades
# Aug 19 2003 at 3:28 PM Rating: Default
SoE has already said you can upgrade the old items you have in the bank. You may only get 1 or 2 slots for upgrades on an older item but they will still be there.

Also the only items shown that have lvl restriction are the axe and the +2 dam permafrost. The stone has no level restrictions. So before you go on harping about how SoE is out to ***** you over in favor of the power gamers why don't you sit back and keep your mouth shut until you have more information than just 3 items.
LD
# Aug 18 2003 at 11:24 PM Rating: Good
You dont leave the adventure until you click on the " leave adventure" button or the timer expires. So LD is a non issue
Come on ppl.
# Aug 18 2003 at 4:52 PM Rating: Default
Jeus ppl it's not even out yet, and some of you guys are already bashing it. Why dont you wait to see it first. Then if you dont like flame it, till then shut up.
Groups
# Aug 18 2003 at 4:45 PM Rating: Decent
Question : If the dugeons are set up for the group entering what if the groups are like this

Example:
65 : Warrior
65 : Monk
65 : Cleric
65 : Enchanter
65 : Ranger
65 : Necro

or
65 : Warrior
65 : Monk
65 : Druid
65 : Ranger
65 : Necro
65 : rogue

Now group 1 has an advantage of having a Cleric for healing & chanter for slowing & mez , So does the random generator take that into account ? I bet it dosent & slowers & clerics will be a must so many classes are going to be unwanted again in groups



On a side not , the above Pics ? The radiant Permafrost Chuck " DMG 2 ,DMG Bonus 13" yet i dont see an extra 13 DMG bonus on the weapon ? it started with 13 & still has 13 , so is that part of the feature only good for items with No DMG Bonus at all







Edited, Mon Aug 18 18:14:02 2003
RE: Groups
# Aug 24 2003 at 10:59 AM Rating: Decent
damage bonus works off your lvl and if the weapon is one handed or twohanded and its weight. all 1handers at lvl 65 for melees have a dmg bonus of 13, adding something isn't gonna double the dmg bonus.
RE: Groups
# Aug 19 2003 at 11:32 AM Rating: Decent
23 posts
Quote:
slowers & clerics will be a must so many classes are going to be unwanted again in groups
Um... Which classes, exactly, do you consider "unwanted in groups"? Warriors hold no significant advantages over paladins and shadow knights while in XP groups, but beyond that one class?

You mention the presence of a cleric as a significant advantage over that of a druid, for instance. Speaking as a paladin, I rarely find the lack of cleric buffs much of an issue; to begin with, I'm able to imbue myself with more HP than Aegolism, and as for the lack of true CH, a high-level druid's percentage heals will do the job 99% of the time. The druid, of course, is able to buff everyone with mana-regen spells, which a cleric is not, and when healing doesn't require all of their mana, they obviously have an edge in the DD, DoT, and debuffing departments.

You don't have either a druid or a cleric? Get a shaman to both slow and heal. Hell, in zones like those on the first PoP tier, even a (high-level) paladin could handle the healing chores, although he would have to meditate between fights now and then, but that is beside the point; we're talking about workable groups, not ideal parties, which most people rarely get anyhow.

You don't have an enchanter or shaman to slow? I do believe some level of slowing will remain as a virtual requirement, but that said, even now, you don't need either of those two classes I mentioned. Simply get the beastlord or bard to slow and have the paladin tank use his stuns to best effect. Works on the first, second, and third PoP tier, so I'm sure it'll work in the new expansion, too.

At any rate, a great many workable high-level groups can be build around this flexible skeleton:

Tank: Paladin/shadow knight/warrior

Healer: Cleric/druid/shaman

Slower: Shaman/enchanter/beastlord/bard (necromancer against undead)

3 x Damage Dealer: Any except warrior/shadow knight/paladin/cleric.

Of course, if you prefer to simply sit around waiting for the perfect group to invite you along while you could have earned a couple of AA points while fighting alongside me, then that is your choice. ;)

[link=www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=363164 newwindow]Duke Karnos Darkmere[/link]
Crusader of the 64th Circle and 116th Alternate Advancement
Lord of the Order of the Fiery Heart
Firiona Vie
RE: Groups
# Aug 20 2003 at 7:28 AM Rating: Default
You obviously don't play a druid - I do and I can tell you that a druid is not a substitute for a cleric in close encounters. A druid simply can't keep up with the damage output of some PoP mobs. In addition, a druid cannot rez.
RE: Groups
# Aug 19 2003 at 7:09 PM Rating: Default
I noticed that no one feels the need to defend the poor rogues of the world that will, most likely, get left out of the fun again. After all.. we have our uses too! Im sure some where in the world there is a door that needs to be picked, a pocket that needs to be looted. But anyway, My point to all of this is that it seems that the rogue always gets left behind. I would like to know if this new dungeon is going to accomidate the talents of the rogue to make her a worth while party addition.

- Xoey Pok'eda
RE: Groups
# Aug 21 2003 at 12:33 PM Rating: Decent
*
50 posts
We did a dungeon, I played a betabuffed 65 rogue. We opened a door, looked down a long hallway with no mobs and I immediately thought, "This looks like a perfect place to put a trap." So the beastlord runs in ahead of me, and triggers the trap.

He stands there, stunned, while a pile of rocks drops on his head, and 3 mobs swarm him.

So...yeah, rogues are going to be useful in LDoN. VERY useful.
RE: Groups
# Aug 20 2003 at 11:01 AM Rating: Decent
29 posts
From the looks of it, with chests that can be lock-picked rogues will be a valued member of a group (lessen o' course the group just bashes them open and deals with the traps). Heck, I love rogues in my group anyway... gotta love BS/Assasinate.
RE: Groups
# Aug 20 2003 at 12:16 PM Rating: Decent
A_warrior01 Bashes An_Ornate_Chest.
A_warrior01 has failed to see the hidden trap.
An_Ornate_Chest shouts, "A_WARRIOR01!"
RE: Groups
# Aug 19 2003 at 6:14 PM Rating: Decent
*
64 posts
Actualy he has some very good points there. while u natter on about how many classes can slow etc the issue he raised was the flexablity of the random generator.

For a different example does the generator produce the same dungeon for 6 65's of the same classes even though one group has full elemental armor and 500 aa's each when the other group is working with scratch armor and no aa's? Does it throw in undead mobs when the only avalible slower is a necromancer?

By the way I personaly do agree that the cleric part is a bit over rated (they balanced us awhile back so we could finaly tank Orc Pawns at lvl 60 woot! hrm that's just a personal rant :P) Clerics were given complete heals of 3k higher with AAs and % heals later on that tied with their mana regen to increase everyones dps (there by lowering mob's total dmg output) makes them a more flexable healer / buffer / porter / dser etc etc same for sham's in their own way.
Slowing is about the same bard sham chanter epic ranger ranger w/ swarmcaller warrior with trunchon of doom (can go on and on...) slowings a fillable spot aswell...

However I personaly won't waste money on LDoN if we come to find out that it doesn't account for equipment and / or AA. Lets face reality folks a team equiped with "uber" gear and high AA's should have to face a larger number or stronger enemy to reap the same reward as a nominaly equiped team with no aa's. No I realy don't expect them to SOE has always tended to favor the elitests crowd. /shrugs That's just the way the game is, was and will be.
Drakkiinn Portamedic 61 cleric of Tunare
(on friends computer)
RE: Groups
# Aug 18 2003 at 5:28 PM Rating: Default
It's most likely that since damage bonus on weapons is based on level, that when you look at an augmentation item that adds to damage, it also factors the damage bonus you'll get on the weapon. It doesn't add extra damage bonus, just tells you what damage bonus you have because of your level hehe. Most likely it was a level 65 testing 'toon that took the screenshots of the axe and the augment items, as well as the augmented item.

Arkades Rathlean, 30 Beastlord
Kindias, 12 Ranger
LD
# Aug 18 2003 at 4:20 PM Rating: Default
I just think this expansion is gonna be a problem for people who go ld alot. What if u only have 4 people and then one of u go ld-what happens? Is the person who is LD able to come back in to the dungeon or do they all get kicked out because they dont have the 4-6 players? I figure if u went LD u would be sent back to the zone in because if you come back again, you would have to be sent back to the specific pocket that your group was in, or if your group already left, it would have to generate a new dungeon, but it couldnt for one person, but if u cant enter a dungeon while a group is already in there, what would happen, im so confused, and plus i noticed with the most recent zones with new graphics and things, i tend to go LD much more than usual, and i assume theyll be adding new, better graphics with Ldon like they did with other expansions, so i just figure going LD would be a real problem, what do u think?
RE: LD
# Aug 19 2003 at 9:14 AM Rating: Default
I think you need to upgrade your computer, get rid of the TRS 80 and get a new one. 8P
RE: LD
# Aug 19 2003 at 5:55 PM Rating: Default
*
64 posts
Actualy it's not only old computer that have trouble with sony's gfx engine. e.g. my P4 2.4ghz w/1024mb ram and ati radion 7200 64mb gfx card makes anything more than 10% plane clipping a chore... ex. 4FPS at 20% in PoK though truth be told I still can't say witch component is the problem cause a gforce 4 (ti600?) 128mb DDR card ran only around 4.5fps when I swapped with mine.
RE: LD
# Aug 20 2003 at 6:40 AM Rating: Default
I also have the same problem. I love grouping but everytimes espicialy in PC I lag every 5 or if I was lucky a good 15 minutes. I think this was why I'm still having trouble with EQ I really whould love this expansion the most if I can fix my problem.
RE: LD
# Aug 22 2003 at 4:31 PM Rating: Default
Actualy when i was talking about going ld alot, i was talking about my friends. I only go ld in the LoY zones for some reason.

Murdocc
Customizing pre-existing items?
# Aug 18 2003 at 1:56 PM Rating: Good
Quote:
Have a helmet that you like, but think needs a little boost? This new item system allows you to customize that helmet and make it fit your character's needs better. Most characters have a favorite item that they've had in their bank for a while. They don't want to destroy it because it holds some memories, a link to the adventures they had gaining it. With this new item augmentation system, those items gain new life and endless potential!

That makes me think that somehow you'll be able to add at least 1 customizeable slot to a pre-expansion item...otherwise they just flat out lied, not like they didn't do that on the original box artwork that promised there were more playable areas and continents than what existed in the game for the first, what 8 months to a year?
RE: Customizing pre-existing items?
# Aug 18 2003 at 11:04 PM Rating: Default
I keep remembering that. They say they've been reworking the whole database system, and when you combine that info with your quote it kinda makes you think "Maybe that Shade Silk Robe will be useful after all..."

~ Pardus, the shaman that just wants his #@!$ robe graphic to work...
What happens with LD?
# Aug 18 2003 at 12:56 PM Rating: Good
Got a couple scenarios Im wondering about:

Yer a non-gating class toon in a group and everyone else gates out or goes LD leaving you alone and staring at two dk blue mobs you know would pound you into oblivion. How do you get out without dying? What happens to your corpse if you DO die?

Lets say that your group has made it halfway and are doing well and another friend logs on you want to add to the group. Can you do this and invite them to your dungeon instance?

With regards to leaving the dungeon, I assume they will design the levels so that the way out is the same way as the way in. There would be too much potential for abuse if the zones were designed like the Howling Stones, Chardok or Droga where you need to fight your way to the exit. I can just see a party of griefers inviting some clueless n00b to their group and entering one of these zones and then all gating out leaving the hapless non-gater there scratching their head trying to figure out what to do now that he has to fight his way thru 10 mobs to get to the exit.

Also, there has to be some way to return to your specific instance of a dungeon so that if you all suffer a complete wipeout, you can make your way back to do CRs.
RE: What happens with LD?
# Aug 19 2003 at 1:34 PM Rating: Default
You have access to the zone instance up until either the timer for you adventure runs out or you Leave the adventure.

If your group ports out and leaves you there, then you'll have a good chance of dying, I suppose. If that happens, you'll be able to go back in and get your corpse (and yell at your group).

If time runs out or your entire group Leaves the adventure, all corpses will be placed at the zone in point for your adventure.

Absor
RE: What happens with LD?
# Aug 19 2003 at 10:41 AM Rating: Default
Without violating the NDA, I can say that as of now, it works fine, except for rangers (those bastards~). Only down side is that sometimes if you wait outside for your corpse, you have to wait upwards of an hour.
RE: What happens with LD?
# Aug 20 2003 at 11:35 AM Rating: Decent
What you mean rangers are bastards.....

I play a ranger and I am wondering what the problem with us is.. Please explain a lil bit..

Scrot Friggans
41st Lvl Ranger Povar
http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=718971
RE: What happens with LD?
# Aug 18 2003 at 1:40 PM Rating: Excellent
Perhaps its the same style GraveYard as in the Planes expansion. Every corpse after a set time ends up there with all the gear on it.

RE: What happens with LD?
# Aug 18 2003 at 1:45 PM Rating: Good
Your corpse will spawn at the dungeon Zone in as you can not zone into the dungeon without being on adventure
RE: What happens with LD?
# Aug 19 2003 at 5:48 AM Rating: Default
perhaps a no rent key or a key you can use to resume the adventure that you must destroy before going on another~
Huh?
# Aug 18 2003 at 12:35 PM Rating: Decent
What? So if you get LDoN you absolutely have to group with 4-6 people? And what if ya dont group? And what does this expansion add....sorry, but i'm not up to date on this stuff.
RE: Huh?
# Aug 18 2003 at 1:05 PM Rating: Decent
Yup. Each group entering the dungeon has to have at least 4 people. If you dont group, this expansion adds the ability to customize or "augment" equipment similar to Diablo. So that 12/24, sword can become a 14/24 sword or whatever depending on the augmentation.

The reason they made a min group limit of 4 was to reduce the demands on their hardware since each dungeon instance uses additional hardware resources and bandwidth.
Solo aspects
# Aug 18 2003 at 12:25 PM Rating: Decent
The exspansions are nice, but I wish they would add more of a solo aspect for the players. Many times - because I have a life - I don't have the time to dedicate to grouping. It would be nice to be able to go on for an hour or less and enjoy playing for times when my playing time is limited.
I do check to see if those rare solo spots are open, but when they are taken I just log and go play a shootem up game ie battlefield 1942 etc.
I started with 3 EQ accounts. Down to 2 now and seriously considering dropping one more.
RE: Solo aspects
# Aug 18 2003 at 1:49 PM Rating: Decent
Ok, just cuz ya got a life dont mean that you dont have to play EQ. I mean hey, i play EQ alot and i have a life, too. lol Plus, how can you say that you have much of a life if you used to have "3" acounts and now 2? I only have 1 account, and i dont plan on going more than 2 (if that). Maybe you dont have enough time on ur characters cuz you have too many accounts to play on....? Anyways, im lookin forward to this expansion. Actually im quite excited about it.


Child Vox
53rd level Magician

Rasula Rahnsugo
33rd level Warrior

7th Hammer Server
RE: Solo aspects
# Aug 18 2003 at 12:58 PM Rating: Good
LOL.

You dont have time to dedicate to grouping because you "have a life"? Why do I find this humorous coming from someone who once had 3 accounts and is now down to 2? <boggle>
No solo, no buy
# Aug 18 2003 at 12:00 PM Rating: Good
The last expansion that offered decent content for a soloist was Luclin. The only thing I got from PoP was PoK and the books, LoY only gave me Prismatic Dye. Each sucessive expansion offering less and less solo content. Now we're asked to buy LDoN, a fully group only expansion with no false pretenses about solo content. I enabled the LDoN module downloads at first but waited for info about the expansion before ordering. I'm glad I did, autodownload is now disabled and I wish they'd added a "never" button to the pre-order screen. No soloable content, no sale...
RE: No solo, no buy
# Aug 18 2003 at 1:13 PM Rating: Good
****
4,574 posts
I can easily understand the frustration when it comes to EQ and soloing. EQ’s focus has always been on interdependence between characters, so naturally those of us who enjoy soloing have a much harder time of it. I knew this going into the game so I can’t really complain about it. From a solo point of view, all the expansions that have been introduced to EQ since I started playing, a few months before Luclin was released, have contained solo content of some kind. But like every area of the world you have to search for it. The Plains of Power expansion was a godsend to solo players. The introduction of the port books makes every part of Norrath much more accessible and cuts down on travel time so those with little time to play don’t have to wait 45 minutes to get from Butcherblock Mountains to Freeport, for example. And LoY has great solo content as well, in limited locations of course. My beastlord has been soloing in Dulak for the last five levels. In fact its my favorite solo zone so far, as it’s the only place I’ve soloed “yard trash” for four hours and walked away with over 700pp in common drops.

Obviously Lost Dungeons of Norrath is not going to have the same soloability as other expansions, but its also going to make grouping much easier. So I see it as a kind of compromise. From my understanding, all you have to do is grab three other people and talk to an NPC to generate a dungeon. Then the four of you enter the dungeon and start playing. You don’t have to worry about traveling to ten different zones only to find the camps you want already taken. LDoN, unlike any other expansion, is designed for those people who have limited playtime. I don’t completely agree with mfritzlen’s assessment that, “The majority of EQ gamers enjoy grouping and rarely solo…” Most of the people I know either solo or duo in addition to grouping. But even so, this expansion will introduce new spells, magic items and trade skill items. So even if you loath grouping and never use it for that, LDoN can still have a positive impact on your game play.
RE: No solo, no buy
# Aug 18 2003 at 12:15 PM Rating: Decent
Sorry you feel this way but Im one of the many who are REALLY looking forward to this expansion. As one who actually LOVES the dungeon crawl experience. I think this is a step in the right direction especially since many of the PoP zones require a very high en guild to crawl thru.

I would say my friend-less friend, that the majority of players look forward to this expansion unlike you. The majority of EQ gamers enjoy grouping and rarely solo so SOE is doing what makes sense when it comes to making money...market to the majority.

RE: No solo, no buy
# Aug 19 2003 at 12:15 AM Rating: Default
Hmm, I can't say I agree with you. Most of the people I know solo to some extend or another (some more, some less). Granted, when they are playing what I call "Pure Group" classes (ie War, Cleric, etc) they have to group, but most of them will not spend two hours looking for a group. If they don't get a group in 30 minutes or less, they usually go play an alt. As a mater of fact, some of this same people have a second account and two box frequently (this also counts as soloing). If you don't believe me, ask most high level tanks if they don't have a cleric/shaman in another account, many do. But that is not the point, the point is that even if you love grouping and will do nothing else there is a considerable group of customers that like to solo or at the very least like to partner with one other person. Me and my wife spend most of our EQ time playing together and usually is just the two of us. Don’t get me wrong, I love the entire idea of individual dungeons and such, but it would have been nice if they provided a bit of solo content like they did with all other expansions, even the PoP have solo content so I don’t see why they can’t do the same here.
Just my 2cp.

PS: PoP solo content:
1) Most mobs in tier 1 planes don’t summon so it allows for traditional forms of soloing (kiting, root/dot, charm, etc).
2) Have you noticed that in the PoN there are mobs specifically tailored to be Dire Charmed? There is a level 46 animal (“a young bat” for druids/shaman), a level 46 Undead (“a wailing banshee) for Necros), and of course both of this can be charmed by the enchanters as well as the level 46 monster “an ethereal banshee” (not an undead oddly enough). In addition, about half the blood ravens are level 51 (max level charm for most pre-61+ charm spells). This is not a coincidence, those mobs are there specifically to allow people to solo there with the traditional solo classes (druid, necro, shaman, bards, wiz) and even some non traditional ones (enchanter).
RE: No solo, no buy
# Aug 19 2003 at 12:24 AM Rating: Default
Sorry, made an error, shamans don't get high level charm spells only the low level "charm animal" spell.
What if....
# Aug 18 2003 at 11:56 AM Rating: Decent
What if someone wants to join the group after the group has already entered? Does that group have to go all the wy back out to get the new person? If not, how are they going to handle late comers? I realize that it comes down to making sure peeps show up at a specifc time, but I was just curious.
RE: What if....
# Aug 18 2003 at 1:51 PM Rating: Excellent
I doubt entering the dungeon once its been generated will be possible. It would be generated based on the levels of the characters in the original grupe. To add a lvl 65 trump card player would be ridiculous.
RE: What if....
# Aug 18 2003 at 1:13 PM Rating: Good
Im GUESSING that each dungeon instance is going to be keyed to the group leader who spawns it so that the group leader will have to exit the dungeon, add the new member to the group and then reenter the instance. This is assuming that you can reenter the instance to continue where you left off. Since these dungeon crawls are supposed to be relatively short in duration, its very easy for SOE to just say to hell with it when it comes to coding in the ability to reenter these instances and port everyone out if the leader leaves.

Until we can see for ourselves, we can just presume to know what will occur :) Still fun to think about tho.
Curious
# Aug 18 2003 at 1:39 AM Rating: Decent
I am just curious... In order to get into these dungeons are you going to have to go in with a full group of 6 or will say just 2 people be able to go in or hell even one? cause if you mus be in a full group i think that would suck. whereas if just a couple of people can go in and explore that would be alot better.



Holotta *********** Taby Katt
52 Beastlord 56 Beastlord
Fellowship of Blades Castouts
(luclin server) (Brell serilis)

Sinyn Ainteasy Lynos
47 Warrior 40 Enchanter
Fellowship of Blades
(luclin server) (Brell serilis)
RE: Curious
# Aug 18 2003 at 9:16 AM Rating: Good
**
508 posts
You need a group of 4 to 6 people. They are capping it at a minimum of 4 due to hardware constraints; they are adding a lot of new hardware to run this system and they want as many people as possible to have access to that. The number of dungeons they can simultaneously create is somewhat fixed (although they can add more hardware as required), no matter how many people are in the group. So, for example, they could either service 20,000 players in groups of 2, or 60,000 players in groups of 6 (numbers are my own).

They have already stated that this is only for rollout, and they will see if chnging the group size is feasible after launch.
RE: Curious
# Aug 18 2003 at 2:03 AM Rating: Decent
Well i think They have groups in mind. Most everything now days is single groupable/Soloable so i dont think think they will tailor a group enouncter to a single/double group. i think this will restore the need for more people, Rogues/bards are gonna get used for more than mana song and DPS.
It will only suck if your a solo'er looking for loot to sell like every other loot ***** in EQ, instead of seeing the game for what it is and use what you work for. Personaly i think this will restore some what of the destroyed Aconomy in EQ.
#Anonymous, Posted: Aug 17 2003 at 11:00 PM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) yay rogues rejoice! now all the uber rogues out there will have a 22 dmg BSer..
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