tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post9209150566648167577..comments2024-03-19T09:54:28.647+00:00Comments on Inventory Full: It's The Beginning of a New Age: EQ2Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-57937100007942333392011-12-03T22:32:44.590+00:002011-12-03T22:32:44.590+00:00@Green Armadillo The EQ1 beastlord was an extremel...@Green Armadillo The EQ1 beastlord was an extremely unpopular, even hated class for some people for very similar reasons to those you note. It was the Swiss Army Knife of Norrath and a well-played Beastlord could sub almost any group role in Heroic content - tank, healer, dps, even the enchanter role to some degree. Shamans in particular absolutely loathed them (those that didn't feel they had to re-roll and play one themselves) because BLs got a Slow that was almost as good as a Shaman's but which had a fraction of the cast time. It looks like the same might happen again, only with different classes crying foul.<br /><br />I haven't played the Beastlord so it's hard to be sure but on paper it really looks quite a lot like the WoW Hunter to me. If BLs used bows they'd be really close. I maintain it isn't really a Beastlord at all but I'm looking forward to playing one, whatever it turns out to be. <br /><br />@Wilhelm It is odd. The avatar has no relation to your character whatsoever. You zone into the dungeon as your own character but once inside you can't move. You get a pop-up window offering a choice of avatars that fill different roles - tank, healer, dps etc. You start with some standard options - I remember the Drolvarg and a Drachnid among them but they were all familiar Norrathian creatures. There are many more that you can gain as drops while out adventuring, in much the same way that various Arena champions used to drop (and still do, come to think of it).<br /><br />Each member of the group selects an avatar. I was solo but I assume it requires you to fill appropriate roles the way the Dungeon Finder does before the dungeon will start. You then become that creature. All your abilities vanish, you appear as whatever it is that you've chosen and your spells or CAs are replaced on your hotbars by those of the avatar. When everyone has chosen, the dungeon begins. <br /><br />There have been EQ2 quests over the years that used a similar system. There's one I remember in Somborne for example. The system shouldn't be entirely unfamiliar to most players who've been around for a while. It's also very similar in that one respect to the Monster Missions form EQ1, although thankfully in no other way.<br /><br />One of the big complaints has been that the avatars only have a very small number of spells or skills. I think the ones I played had four or five. Personally I liked it. It made them very easy and fast to learn and play. <br /><br />One thing that hasn't been mentioned much is that all the dungeons are Level 50. Your avatar is 50, the mobs are very close to 50 - I think bosses are 52. The dungeons also scale to the group size with the mobs starting at no up-arrows and adding up-arrows as the group size increases.<br /><br />When you complete the dungeon you get tokens which go into the Currency tab of your actual character, the one you were playing when you entered the dungeon. I didn't look into what you can spend them on.<br /><br />In beta there was an almost unanimous demand to be allowed to play your own characters instead and it looks like that might eventually happen. The balance issues would obviously be horrendous if they also allowed you to use your own abilities and I really can't ever see that happening. <br /><br />Wow, that was almost longer than the original post!Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-17325901764442506532011-12-03T17:59:37.448+00:002011-12-03T17:59:37.448+00:00The Dungeon Maker thing has been a bit confusing t...The Dungeon Maker thing has been a bit confusing to me for a while. You run an avatar through the dungeon, but what is the avatar? What skills does it have? Seems odd.Wilhelm Arcturushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07033496821708933394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-30627209736636082322011-12-03T16:36:03.060+00:002011-12-03T16:36:03.060+00:00People who actually played Beastlords are happy. ...People who actually played Beastlords are happy. People who play existing classes and don't intend to reroll have a more mixed impression - Beastlords get pet features Summoners have been wanting for years, and apparently they fill the melee support niche in a way that makes Feldon of EQ2 Wire describe them as how a Dirge should be. (As a Dirge, I'm not thrilled to hear that review.)Green Armadillohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15564045048380177626noreply@blogger.com