tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post8350170013854792165..comments2024-03-28T10:18:05.213+00:00Comments on Inventory Full: Backsliding : GW2, EQ2Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-11550878515186849762017-02-15T18:57:29.452+00:002017-02-15T18:57:29.452+00:00It seems like the LS3 maps have been less regular ...It seems like the LS3 maps have been less regular repeating event chain than the HoT proper maps. Lake Doric felt structured more like the base game maps: you can do hearts and one-off events as they pop up, you can do some shorter event chains, you can go do minidungeon/JP stuff, or you can just farm centaurs. My hope is that expansion number two will have a mix of some of those maps and some more HoT-like maps.<br /><br />(On the other hand, some of the content of this update has been around unused since the base game. I think I remember people finding some stuff about a Lake Doric zone in the data files, and people who broke out of the map in Caudecus's Manor found the room with this episode's final boss fight a long time ago.)Aspeonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-19986112709327356342017-02-15T00:12:18.462+00:002017-02-15T00:12:18.462+00:00Look up the Treasure Hunter collection. Things lik...Look up the Treasure Hunter collection. Things like Rhendak's signet, Pendant of Arah and Sam are pretty durned expensive because there's a demand and not enough supply as the event chains aren't popularly run.Jeromaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02206083433625986970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-12885832923530936552017-02-14T21:00:08.460+00:002017-02-14T21:00:08.460+00:00Alright, no problem! If you ever change your mind ...Alright, no problem! If you ever change your mind there's still room. It'll be a three to five hour run or so, so it won't be that long anyway.Armathyxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12605672751498969775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-49188217142806454162017-02-14T20:36:21.313+00:002017-02-14T20:36:21.313+00:00There are several ways they could implement variab...There are several ways they could implement variable difficulty, although, being ANet, even if they decided to do it they'd probably need six months to do it in such a way that there's a huge backlash so they have to do it all over again. They really need to do *something*, though. Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-84062507357564038162017-02-14T20:33:18.628+00:002017-02-14T20:33:18.628+00:00As you may know from reading the blog, I rather li...As you may know from reading the blog, I rather liked HoT. I found it a lot less challenging than some people seemed to and very much less formalized than the Dry Top/Silverwastes model on which it built. Granted there are always cycling zone-wide event chains but it's very easy to ignore that and just explore in the same way you might have done in the original game if you choose to.<br /><br />ANet seem completely locked into the concept of a regular, repeating event chain for every map now, though, which I think is a major mistake. It makes every map feel extremely similar. If they do it for the whole of the new expansion, which I am all but sure they will, it's going to be annoying. I'll probably just ignore it though. I'm getting in the habit of doing just that already.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-56017485253320702012017-02-14T20:27:12.735+00:002017-02-14T20:27:12.735+00:00That's a very good analogy. I might borrow tha...That's a very good analogy. I might borrow that.<br /><br />It seems just about every MMO apart from GW2 has worked out how to offer some form of scaling difficulty for story instances. The mechanics vary but the result is much the same. Only ArenaNet seem oblivious to the new normal. I just read your post about SW:tOR and it made me ponder again whether I should download and try it while the extra xp is running. Still don't really have the time free to make it worthwhile - I haven't even logged back into Aion yet after that first brief session...Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-25604536234420420622017-02-14T20:21:31.492+00:002017-02-14T20:21:31.492+00:00Thanks for the invite - I appreciate it but I thin...Thanks for the invite - I appreciate it but I think I'll pass. I played Silkroad online when it was in beta (presumably the Western beta - it was so long ago I hardly remember anything about it other than that I didn't like it much). Mrs Bhagpuss seemed to enjoy it more than I did.<br /><br />I look forward to reading about how it all goes on your blog!Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-84110269709830416692017-02-14T20:15:21.792+00:002017-02-14T20:15:21.792+00:00All the world bosses have a couple of specific ite...All the world bosses have a couple of specific items they can drop, some of which are valuable/sought after, others not so much. I have been doing the Claw of Jormag event on and off for over four years - probably several hundred times in total by now - and I have had one of his "good" drops, once. I sold it because at the time it was worth almost as much gold as I had earned in total in the game but now I wish I'd kept it. I could, of course, just buy it from the Trading Post but somehow that's just not as appealing as getting it as a drop. It never is, at least for me.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-61115804752737866412017-02-14T18:34:21.125+00:002017-02-14T18:34:21.125+00:00Hey bhagpuss, not sure how else to contact you, bu...Hey bhagpuss, not sure how else to contact you, but this weekend I'm organising a Silkroad Online party. We're gonna download that game and grind it up to level 30 or 40. That game's levelling system is like a constant raid, so it will be great fun, and if you're looking for a new game to blog about it might be an opportunity! Well, it's an old game, but you get the point.<br /><br />I'm gathering 8 people for it. Some might know the game, others don't, so it's ok if you've never played it either. If you're interested send me an email (link is on my blog), or reply here or with a comment on my blog, either way works. Cheers!Armathyxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12605672751498969775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-63502091101328822342017-02-14T15:58:45.435+00:002017-02-14T15:58:45.435+00:00SWTOR has easier instance options (Story Mode) now...SWTOR has easier instance options (Story Mode) now as well, I learned on my return. I 'fondly' remember struggling through the Esseles flashpoint a few years ago (first, getting a group and secondly, having it perform in such a way that we could both enjoy and complete it). On my return, I solo'd the story mode instance and had a grand time doing it. Someone used a concert analogy once for the new MMO style - you go to a concert alone, or in small groups, but the whole thing is often better just for being in the same crowd enjoying the same thing. You don't really need to like other people to be a part of that group. =PIseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09489936780809266112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-40608517271379961012017-02-14T10:50:06.041+00:002017-02-14T10:50:06.041+00:00I think I'm on Awyren's side of the attitu...I think I'm on Awyren's side of the attitude to PQ spectrum. I loved events in GW2 at launch, and continued to enjoy them up until their gradual morphing into organised multi-group outdoor raids during LS1. I don't mind that some of the world bosses required such coordination mind, some challenging content is great for those that want it, but locking main story behind such events annoys me. <br /><br />Coming back to Rift as I have recently I still get regularly distracted from levelling/questing by zone invasions, and despite being an expansion behind a group will usually form to combat them - I've completed quite a few successfully compared to only one or two that I've given up on. <br /><br />We never bought HoT since we weren't enjoying the pre-launch content (Dry Top etc) so we're kind of locked out of the game now by time and many zones - the perenniel problem of MMOs is being left behind enough for it to seem like too much to bother coming back is compounded in GW2 by a radical shift in game design that makes what was such a fun and casual game into something altogether too frantic/intense a gameplay experience for me to enjoy.<br />Telwynhttp://gamingsf.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-41089407263966027172017-02-14T10:30:41.117+00:002017-02-14T10:30:41.117+00:00"Contrary to popular belief, GW2 mobs do have..."Contrary to popular belief, GW2 mobs do have desirable drops."<br /><br />Seriously? Wow. I already was in the open beta and play regularily (although not intensively) and not only have i not yet noticed any special drops, nobody yet even mentioned them. <br /><br />If they actually exist then you are right, they are so rare that they could as well be deleted to save harddisc space, nobody would ever notice...Sylownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-53414385870382284252017-02-14T10:17:27.545+00:002017-02-14T10:17:27.545+00:00Same here. It is even more pronounced as GW and GW...Same here. It is even more pronounced as GW and GW2 were the only 2 MMO i was able to play more than 2 weeks.<br />Now the player base size is shrinking so it can be difficult, but wont you love some difficulty level choice as rhere is in single player game ? It coild be linked to server, there could be some restriction such as no achievment for the casual player and i am pretty sure the real player would be very happy to no linger have to work with random player like myself.Ettesiunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12910627709133317584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-23679736521440314342017-02-13T22:46:30.786+00:002017-02-13T22:46:30.786+00:00FATES were one of the things I liked in FFXIV alth...FATES were one of the things I liked in FFXIV although they seemed fairly limited in scope. EQ2's PQ's are generally pretty good, with quite a lot going on and several stages - in theory. In practice most of them tend to come down to a very large number of people firing off every skill on their five or six hotbars in a vast explosion of sound and color. I love that sort of thing so it works for me. At the center I guess there are a few experienced raiders because somehow someone seems able to hold agro and someone seems to keep them alive - I know that if I ever get aggro I'll be flat on my back in a second which is why I do try and keep my merc around if I'm not told to put him away! I can't recall actually dying in one for a long time though - heals always turn up from somewhere.<br /><br />The problem with PQs in most games seems to be how they work when the crowds no longer turn up. Warhammer PQs didn't scale too well as I recall. Some rifts and invasions did - I soloed some - but others didn't. GW2 probably does the best job with scaling but even there some events don't really work if there isn't a crowd.<br /><br />The HoT think is a difficult one. Since they have decided never to have a level cap raise and since it takes about five minutes to get to 80, they pretty much have a game that's all at the cap. That means everything they add is for level 80s and they do assume that no-one is going to want to be 80 and NOT buy HoT, I think. <br /><br />I think the final proof of that was in the current update. The new map has no real reason to require HoT. It's physically right next to Divinity's Reach and the instances in the story all use DR or Caudecus Manor, a base game dungeon, as the setting. It could perfectly well have been available for everyone but you can't play the story unless your account is HoT-flagged and you can't enter the map unless at least one character on your account has done the first part of the story.<br /><br />That's also on message with the shift to exclusivity, I guess. I hadn't really thought of it that way or I'd have worked it into the post.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-41889934472403063732017-02-13T19:45:37.034+00:002017-02-13T19:45:37.034+00:00Public Quest type content is my absolute favorite ...Public Quest type content is my absolute favorite type of MMO content ever. I remember the first time I saw something like this in Warhammer Online. I was in love. Here, I could be part of the community without having the stress of grouping -- I could help other people, get rewards, and have a fun time doing content all while playing solo. This meant a LOT to me. <br /><br />I spent hours running the same Public Quests in that game just because it was terribly fun to me. But then, I'm the type of player who likes being social in proximity with others with no strings attached. The fact that I'm there, playing with other people, and working together (that's important, the together part) to achieve something makes me a happy camper. <br /><br />I'm thrilled to know that EQ2 is adopting some of this for their content! FFXIV has FATES, which are similar to these kinds of events. I still enjoy running them, but sadly, that's not the case for everyone in the community. <br /><br />In contrast, GW2 used to be MMO heaven for me until their attention moved away from open world story to closed instanced stuff. The last major map I ran group events on was Dry Top, and the events were just too frustrating with mobs too dense and mechanically annoying to be fun. <br /><br />I'm locked out of even trying the new content since I choose not to spend money on HoT. They might have been able to sway me to try the game again, but not when open world content is locked behind the expansion price tag. So I'll continue to read what you and Jeromai write so I can keep up with what's going on in the game I used to love. <br /><br />You're right. Whereas most games are moving towards making things more inclusive, GW2 did the opposite. That's where they lost me. Aywrenhttp://www.aywren.comnoreply@blogger.com