My little rant about the so-called "easy button"

[My2Cents]

Sure, if you TR a lot and have every conceivable twink item.

But I can tell you, with a few crafted medium items, 20-30 quests to make a level in the level 8 range is a bit daunting, especially on builds (especially pure builds) that don't reach full enjoyability 'till they get bigger. I chose not to TR my main (at least not this close to the expansion) and so am bringing up more first life alts..and as a midrange experienced player I can tell you the new people aren't going to have a cakewalk.

So do me a favor and chill a little on the Easy Button eh?

/rant off

[Esserbe]

No but you're wrong, the game is a big giant easy button and you're wrong if you can't see it. Here, let me list the reasons for why the game is so, so very easy nowadays:

[Lifespawn]

No but you're wrong, the game is a big giant easy button and you're wrong if you can't see it. Here, let me list the reasons for why the game is so, so very easy nowadays:

excellent post lots of info there

[My2Cents]

No but you're wrong, the game is a big giant easy button and you're wrong if you can't see it. Here, let me list the reasons for why the game is so, so very easy nowadays:

No I absolutely insist that I am right and you must be wrong, and here are the incredibly obvious reasons why:






:)

[fco-karatekid]

We'll never convince the easy-button crowd until we can force them to play what drops. I was playing from level 4 to 5 (vet status-created character), and during first couple runs through Ringleader and Inlet I noticed the HUGE difference twink gear and unlimited plat has in easing the character's life.

I was too lazy to mule a buncha twink stuff to this character, and just jumped into those two quests; thought process being 'I'll play what drops' (like the PD crowd). Normal was perfectly fine, but hard really started sucking the life (literally) out of the character. Before jumping into waterworks, I twinked him :)

There may be some adjustments here and there (I, for instance, find Catacombs a joke, even with a lvl 3 character); but overall, I think the difficulty's balanced fine. If you're geared nicely, then it's due to TIME IN GAME that you are seeing ease.

[Burtle]

Oh yea...well here's my reasons we have an easy button:

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff294/virualt/Easybutton.jpg

[MacRighteous]

But I'll bite!

I think its a matter of perspective, MMO experience and character establishment... and who pays the bills

My 24 year old Nephew who has end-game raided every MMO since EQ, leveled from 1 to 20 over spring break...
He played entirely F2p, didn't spend a dime in the store and is now playing a different game but occasionally pops in to my static group for the fun factor. He thinks the game is easy (although very fun) but i'm not sure how much grouping and raiding and grinding he has done. I think he just power leveled - put another tick on his gamer resume and then moved on.

My 80 year old mother (I kid you not) who beat every version of zelda, marrio brothers and FF was ready to rage quit over the difficulty of Misery's Peak - her and my 50 something sister (my static group - lol) have a hard time with nearly everything but likes the game enough to pay for a sub, plays 3 nights a week for an hour or 2 and buys rez cakes and other buffs from the store to maximize there limited play time. They think the game is incredibly difficult and complicated, but also very fun.

Myself - 48 years old with a life time experience in PnP D&D, 3 years end game raiding in LotRo and semi-computer literate (which is a good thing considering I make a living QA'ing software for a major tech brand) Thinks that turbine has done a great job in balancing the fun, the grind, and the difficulty. Granted my main Is only level 9 ATM and I only solo with him so there is a whole bunch of the game I haven't seen yet, but I have enjoyed each new pack or zone I have cleared - it starts out hard - I have to figure out the layout of the zone - whats where, then learn the dungeons (find the traps, secret doors, chests, solve the puzzles etc) then figure out the weakness of the main mobs and bosses - which might include grinding for a piece of gear - or crafting something and then apply my strategy to beat the instances - then farm it.

I play F2P but have spent at least $100 at the store over the last 4 months buying things I consider an investment: Shared bank, character slots, 32 build, both vet status, Guild charter, and adventure packs: STK, Tangleroot, Delera's Tomb and Red Fens - (currently looking for suggestions on my next pack)


Now considering the above range of players (3 groups I believe probably represents the DDO demographic pretty well) who do you think turbine has in mind when they develop content for the game?

I forgot to mention my 40 something friend who rage quit LotRo because turbine nerfed his class, vowed never to pay turbine a dime again, was gonna farm favor and TP's to get everything free and really stick it to the man - burnt himself out after about a month and a half and I haven't seen him since - last report: he hated the game.

MacR

[axel15810]

My 80 year old mother (I kid you not) who beat every version of zelda, marrio brothers and FF was ready to rage quit over the difficulty of Misery's Peak - her and my 50 something sister (my static group - lol) have a hard time with nearly everything but likes the game enough to pay for a sub, plays 3 nights a week for an hour or 2 and buys rez cakes and other buffs from the store to maximize there limited play time. They think the game is incredibly difficult and complicated, but also very fun.

My

Awesome! hats off...I've never met someone over the age of 80 with any computer skills...much less one that's a gamer. I hope that's me many years down the line.

[yawumpus]

We'll never convince the easy-button crowd until we can force them to play what drops. I was playing from level 4 to 5 (vet status-created character), and during first couple runs through Ringleader and Inlet I noticed the HUGE difference twink gear and unlimited plat has in easing the character's life.


There is certainly a difference and a reason to grind all that gear, but if you can't loaf along on a new server you either are doing it on purpose (such as PD and G.I.M.P. guilds) or know little of the game. Here are some of the usual suspects:

[cleric] hirelings: Bringing bad ideas about a cleric's role since 200?. Bring one of these good boys along and you no longer need concern yourself with your red bar.

armor [or robe/docent] of invulnerability: requires 3 Greater Body Essences, 12 Lesser Body Essences, 5 levels of divine crafting. Shrug off all melee damage in Korthos and the Harbor, and most of it till Gianthold. Formerly twink gear.

weapon of superior clickie of [important spell discipline] I requires zero greaters and four lesser ingredients, and pretty low level (note that sorcerers will care about superior freeze I till about 6th level).

guild shrines: no cost (usually) to the player, no ML, pure twink. The catch is you either have to run with serious TR types (who have high guild level and fancy ship) or catch as mass guild on its way up. My guess is to check the guild list by size and see who has >100 members and growing fast. That guild will be >60 soon (and then stop due to decay issues).

bravery bonus: requires either a TR or VIP in the group, plus a group sufficiently twinked/"skilled*". Turbine seems pretty dead set on having vets power level newbs, and trying to drop the amount newbs have to learn every day. Not only will newbs not have to walk the low road (I mean misery's peak) uphill both ways, but rumor has it that they will allow vets to hand out large chunks of levels. Don't be too offended when the next raid not only asks for boss beaters, but heavy fort, con item, and any other basic gear.

workable builds: Cookie cutter or custom, any forum reader should be able to start a build capable of going to 20. Turbine seems to go out of its way to encourage horrible builds. Note that on the build screen "custom" appears to be well hidden and discouraged, while the builds all do things like shoving multiple toughness feats if any toughness is used (one build has 4) and making sure every blue bar has both mental toughness and improved mental toughness (the Host forbid any sorcerer take something like maximize). Also googling "ddo character builds" lead me nowhere near good starter builds, so a newb can really expect to be told to reroll a few times.

There you have it, now go and hit the easy button (or choose not to) and stop those mobs flat.

[yawumpus]

But I'll bite!
Now considering the above range of players (3 groups I believe probably represents the DDO demographic pretty well) who do you think turbine has in mind when they develop content for the game?

MacR

Obviously they started developing content for you (and you seem to be coughing up as much money as your mom), but apparently there are more moms out there than I have pugged with (I tend to avoid pugs, but did my share in the Cove).

I think the catch is the idea that new players should be playing on the same level as alts and TRs is just not going to happen. Consider growing tired of a capped, fully geared barbarian and deciding that sorcerers have gotten all the love lately. The situation isn't like Micheal Jordan leaving basketball and trying out baseball. It is more like an established baseball player going back to A ball on another team [think English premier league to conference south for you foreigners]. It just isn't going to work without simplifying the game to Buildville. If the game centers around kicking minotaur bull and taking loot, that loot has to matter.

If the game is complex, it will take awhile to learn and those who have learned it will have an advantage (rumors of the expansion imply that the slate will all be wiped clean and you have to re-learn and reroll (or TR/GR) after figuring out what it all means, and playing through everything to understand what is needed).

[Plaidpooka]

But I'll bite!


I play F2P but have spent at least $100 at the store over the last 4 months buying things I consider an investment: Shared bank, character slots, 32 build, both vet status, Guild charter, and adventure packs: STK, Tangleroot, Delera's Tomb and Red Fens - (currently looking for suggestions on my next pack)


MacR

Before you buy more packs, are you considering buying the expantion? If I'm remembering corectly, the packs come free with the pre-purchase expantion, so it's worth considering.

[MacRighteous]

Obviously they started developing content for you (and you seem to be coughing up as much money as your mom)


I think I have spent more money in the store than my mom and sister combined.

[Gremmlynn]

I play F2P but have spent at least $100 at the store over the last 4 months buying things I consider an investment: Shared bank, character slots, 32 build, both vet status, Guild charter, and adventure packs: STK, Tangleroot, Delera's Tomb and Red Fens - (currently looking for suggestions on my next pack)


That depends on your game goals. If you are just looking for fun quests in about the same level range, Three Barrel Cove and Sarrowdusk aren't to bad, but they really don't offer much more than that and both involve a bit of travailing through explorer areas to get to the quests, as well as Pharlane(sp) Carnival and Sentinels of Stormreach which I really haven't run enough to comment on.

If you are looking for the next step up in the game, Vault of night is about where you are at and Devil Sands is, IMO, a very fun pack that sits just above what you have level-wise.

Then of course there is always Vale of Twilight if grinding gear and a fast track to the level cap are your primary goals, which doesn't seem to be the case.

[herzkos]

agree with ya op. This has been touched on in other posts (in this thread and others), but I feel it needs
to be said again.
The easy button:
Guild Buffs, quest knowledge, gear, and understanding of game mechanics.

guild buffs: 30 resists for every quest make elemental damage trivial at low levels.
+2 to every stat makes your character somewhere around a 40-44 pt build not to mention
carrying over tomes (which you might have purchased on the ah but a new/newish player doesn't have
the resources for anyway).

quest knowledge: after the 3000000th time running ww part 2 you've finally figured out how to deal with
the ambushes. (just an example).

gear: not just having your choice of twink gear, but (quest knowledge) knowing that either a holy/puregood/
righteous or flametouched iron weapon will make deleras much easier. That is IFF you don't have a wall of fire
casting arcane. psst, halt undead works pretty well on those skelly archers too.

Understanding of game mechanics: pretty much self explanatory. your character isn't gimp unless you intended
it to be (or you're just a noob :)) knowing which spells to load for which quest (arcane and divine) or even
picking the correct spells (sorc/fvs/bard/arty) to learn on level up. knowing tactics (when necessary in
the zergerific game we play) that enable you to survive/thrive when someone pops red alert.

none of the above does a new player have (or excel at). There's the easy button. you have it all and
want to be challenged while levelling. That challenge (if given to you) will annihilate new players who try
to play the game without your assistance (read- ride your coattails and ooh and ahh in the appropriate places
just so they can get invited to your uber leet guild.)

[adamkatt]

Watch this a learn about the Nerds amazing Beat A Game button!

http://cinemassacre.com/2011/02/03/avgn-star-wars/

[backandforth]

The cap will soon be 25 .If the low levels aren't easy,some people will never cap.