Is this a bug in hirelings???

[thegrindre]

Hi all,
Listen, I hired two hirelings because one was about to run out of time and I lost both of them while in a quest and I had only used one of them.
What's up here???
Why does the timer start/continue to run even if you don't use any hireling???

Thanks,

[Dax85]

Be sure, if u carry 2 or more of the same hireling, to summon the "opened one"!! (you recognize it by a blue clock on it).
Once you have started a contract with hireling and summoned it once, everytime u are in a wild area or quest the timer will go on.
You probably activated the new one, while the old almost finished one was in the inventory. Both of the continued the countdown.
The good thing is that once u called an ihreling that last only a few mins it will stay with you till you go back to city area. So, starting the almost run out hireling would have last the whole quest if u didnt recall.

[thegrindre]

That's what I was getting at. I had one hireling with about 5 mins left on the clock. When I jumped into a wild area, I accidentally called the new one. Once I noticed this error, I recalled then went back in and called the 5 minute one. By the time I'd finished my 'run', I'd lost both hirelings.

That needs to be fixed!!! If I'm not using a hireling, the clock should stop, no matter where I am.

Thanks,

[Arnhelm]

It's not a bug, and is "working as intended". Hireling descriptions state they pause only in public areas.

Edit - What I do in situations like the one you describe is drop the second hireling into my bank. Then, when I'm done with the area and cleaning up, I pull the saved one out for use in the next dungeon.

[TheDjinnFor]

I think the OP is referring to a situation whereby both hireling contracts disappeared when only one of the hireling contracts was out of time. If that's the case, I'd say bug report it.

[stainer]

I think the OP is referring to a situation whereby both hireling contracts disappeared when only one of the hireling contracts was out of time. If that's the case, I'd say bug report it.

The timer still clicks down on the unused (but activated at least once) one in the slayer area/quest. He may have exceeded the time limit on the new hireling. Since he did activate it once, it would be on timer. This is WAI.

[Hollyella]

Not a bug, its doing exactly as they're supposed to. Any time you are not in a town or logged out of the game, the timer will continue to tick down on all PREVIOUSLY USED hirelings regardless of whether they're summoned or not.

That being said, even if the timer reaches 0 while in a quest, they do not vanish which (thank you devs) is a MASSIVE bonus. There would be little more infuriating than having your hirelings vanish while in the middle of combat with an "Sorry, our paid time is up. You'll be fine handling that dragon on your lonesome won't you?".

My only grumble is when hireling healers don't heal and rogues fail to spot traps before you waltz into them.

[TheDjinnFor]

The timer still clicks down on the unused (but activated at least once) one in the slayer area/quest. He may have exceeded the time limit on the new hireling. Since he did activate it once, it would be on timer. This is WAI.

I realize that.

He did, however, seem to imply that the run was fairly short. If the run took an hour (or whatever) then I stand corrected. But I was under the impression that the 'just-recently-activated' hireling should not have disappeared.

[Kaytis]

Moral of the story: hireling timers continue to run when in a wilderness or quest. If you have a hireling that has been started in some previous quest, you might as well call him or her if there is room in the party, because that timer is ticking down from the second you step in.

On a side note -the system was not always this generous. In the olden days, when we had to walk to school uphill both ways in the snow, hireling timers ticked down in public areas too. It often led to mad dashes to the next quest entrance just to get that hireling back up and running before he timed out.

[zorander6]

Moral of the story: hireling timers continue to run when in a wilderness or quest. If you have a hireling that has been started in some previous quest, you might as well call him or her if there is room in the party, because that timer is ticking down from the second you step in.

On a side note -the system was not always this generous. In the olden days, when we had to walk to school uphill both ways in the snow, hireling timers ticked down in public areas too. It often led to mad dashes to the next quest entrance just to get that hireling back up and running before he timed out.

And we had to use onions as belt buckles....


Nothing serious to contribute but it wasn't that long ago. +1 though :)

[Fridas]

It's not a bug, and is "working as intended". Hireling descriptions state they pause only in public areas.

Edit - What I do in situations like the one you describe is drop the second hireling into my bank. Then, when I'm done with the area and cleaning up, I pull the saved one out for use in the next dungeon.

That is also what i do, sometimes its a pain to run to a bank, but that's what i get for accidentally starting a hireling. Plus, its not like there are not plenty of banks around.

[TheDjinnFor]

That is also what i do, sometimes its a pain to run to a bank, but that's what i get for accidentally starting a hireling. Plus, its not like there are not plenty of banks around.

Hireling timers still run while in banks, as far as I know. I recall losing a hireling once, as well s seeing a dev post about it confirming it's non-WAI.

Placing unused contracts in the bank is only good for when the contract hasn't been used, so that you don't accidentally click it.

[Spartus]

Hireling timers still run while in banks, as far as I know. I recall losing a hireling once, as well s seeing a dev post about it confirming it's non-WAI.

Placing unused contracts in the bank is only good for when the contract hasn't been used, so that you don't accidentally click it.
That's been fixed. I've been putting partially-used hireling contracts into the bank for a while now, and the timers have not continued to count down until I retrieve them and take them into a quest or wilderness area. Pulled a patially-used hireling contract out of the bank and used it in a quest just yesterday, as a matter of fact, and it had been sitting in the bank for well over an hour of my play time.

[weddingly]

why shud a hireling timer tick down when u r logged out?

u logged out in a public area so it is still in the public area..?

[Gremmlynn]

That's what I was getting at. I had one hireling with about 5 mins left on the clock. When I jumped into a wild area, I accidentally called the new one. Once I noticed this error, I recalled then went back in and called the 5 minute one. By the time I'd finished my 'run', I'd lost both hirelings.

That needs to be fixed!!! If I'm not using a hireling, the clock should stop, no matter where I am.

Thanks,If the hireling clock stopped no matter where you are, players would be bringing small armies of hirelings to buff then dismiss at the start of quests. While the current system does not prevent this, it makes it rather expensive as all those hirelings would be ticking down for the entire quest rather than only as long as it takes to cast the buffs.

[thegrindre]

Yes, I lost both hirelings during a long run of over an hour while only using the 5 minute one.
I happened to be sitting at a shrine when I saw the 'new' hireling vanish from my quick click box. (Hot-bar?)

Now, if this is so, what's the Hireling Folders for then? If you're gonna lose 'em in an hour, whether you're using them or not, anyway??? The hireling folders sold in the DDO Store are useless, to me anyway and, is the reason I won't spend any 'money' on one.

[cdbd3rd]

Now, if this is so, what's the Hireling Folders for then? If you're gonna lose 'em in an hour, whether you're using them or not, anyway??? The hireling folders sold in the DDO Store are useless, to me anyway and, is the reason I won't spend any 'money' on one.

The folders are so you can haul around several contracts and only use one pack space. Nothing more, nothing less.

In this particular case, had that second contract been tucked safely away in his lil folder, he wouldn't have gotten accidentally activated. ;)

[thegrindre]

The folders are so you can haul around several contracts and only use one pack space. Nothing more, nothing less.

In this particular case, had that second contract been tucked safely away in his lil folder, he wouldn't have gotten accidentally activated. ;)
Not necessarily so. I keep my hirelings on my hot bar. When running with a party, you never know who is using what and, since you can't duplicate a hireling, I toggle between a couple of them.

[Seikojin]

Here is how I do it. I only pull the hireling contracts that I am going to use, or that are on timers into my hotbar. That way I never misuse the contracts. Even if I am swap summoning to get sp.

[Sleepsalot]

Partly used hireling in banks do not run time off no matter where you log out of the game Hirelings do not run time off.. Hireling folders are only good for holding hirelings that have not been started. I use hirelings a lot never any issue just need to be aware how they work as far as time.

Sleeps

[My2Cents]

If the hireling clock stopped no matter where you are, players would be bringing small armies of hirelings to buff then dismiss at the start of quests. While the current system does not prevent this, it makes it rather expensive as all those hirelings would be ticking down for the entire quest rather than only as long as it takes to cast the buffs.

I propose that a change be made so that hirelings that have paused in a public area not automatically restart when you go into a quest or wilderness area, that they require manual restart. This would save a lot of trips to the bank and as far as I can figure not change the current usage model, although the descriptions would have to be designed clearly to avoid confusion.

I would also like an extended timer for those of us who take more than an hour to complete a quest.
I would also like to see 50% sales or quantity discounts.
I would also like to see two vendor hirelings allowed.

With discounts and two allowed, I'd play much more, enjoy it more, and probably on balance in the end spend more.

[thegrindre]

I propose that a change be made so that hirelings that have paused in a public area not automatically restart when you go into a quest or wilderness area, that they require manual restart. This would save a lot of trips to the bank and as far as I can figure not change the current usage model, although the descriptions would have to be designed clearly to avoid confusion.

I would also like an extended timer for those of us who take more than an hour to complete a quest.
I would also like to see 50% sales or quantity discounts.
I would also like to see two vendor hirelings allowed.

With discounts and two allowed, I'd play much more, enjoy it more, and probably on balance in the end spend more.
BINGO!!! I agree 101%. You hit that nail right on the head! This is what I was getting at to begin with. Thanks, My2Cents...
Having to manually restart a 'previously used' hireling should be implemented.

:-)