The Future of Loot, Q for Feather

[DrDetroit]

Can we get an idea on the future of loot?

With the cap going to L28, are we getting new more powerful loot?

Is this the future, new loot that is better than current loot every few months?

Is there any plan for a loot cap? IE the max level for loot is ML25.

How will this effect current packs like Sorrowdusk, House C and Restless Isles. These packs should be cash cows for Turbine but they are not run much. Is the plan going forward to be to obsolete old content and just push new?

What about adding Heroic Coms tothe Titan Raid to increase its popularity? Or a piece of gear like the Minos that is valuable from L11 and up?

Will you provide us with any idea on the future plans for loot?

[gphysalis]

New loot will be created with levels above 25.
Your loot will become obsolete.

This is a reason that many people TR. Even though the past lives lose relative power with new content, the past lives stack with any other available bonus.

[bartharok]

New loot will be created with levels above 25.
Your loot will become obsolete.

This is a reason that many people TR. Even though the past lives lose relative power with new content, the past lives stack with any other available bonus.

And past lives retain their full power while leveling back to 20. WHich is the fun part of the game.

[Impaqt]

You dont have to be feather to answer these questions..


Can we get an idea on the future of loot?

With the cap going to L28, are we getting new more powerful loot?

of course, why wouldnt we?



Is this the future, new loot that is better than current loot every few months?

every few months might be a bit optomistic, but yes, whenmore content comes out, more loot generally accompanies it.



Is there any plan for a loot cap? IE the max level for loot is ML25.

o.O seriously? why would that be a good idea?



How will this effect current packs like Sorrowdusk, House C and Restless Isles. These packs should be cash cows for Turbine but they are not run much. Is the plan going forward to be to obsolete old content and just push new?

how will what effect sorrowdusk, House C and Restless islands? I dotn consider House C quite onthe same level as the other 2. THey have been dead for years(THeranal as well). Its the nature of MMO's. Some Content gets outdated.



What about adding Heroic Coms tothe Titan Raid to increase its popularity? Or a piece of gear like the Minos that is valuable from L11 and up?

no thanks. It should get an epic upgrade someday for sure. and a way to get to the raid easier for sure. But moving current loot around. No thanks.



Will you provide us with any idea on the future plans for loot?

[bartharok]

Threnal is dead only for those that dont like it. It is alive and kicking for me, just as the other packs mentioned. But then again, its not the loot that attracts me.

[Hutoth]

What about adding Heroic Coms tothe Titan Raid to increase its popularity? Or a piece of gear like the Minos that is valuable from L11 and up?



no thanks. It should get an epic upgrade someday for sure. and a way to get to the raid easier for sure. But moving current loot around. No thanks.

I read that as "what about adding a piece of loot that would be useful from 11 and up, on a par with Minos Legens" (or lesser greensteel, i.e. a good piece of leveling gear that can last the distance due to utility or slot consolidation etc.)

I can agree with that.

[br1170]

Threnal is dead only for those that dont like it. It is alive and kicking for me, just as the other packs mentioned. But then again, its not the loot that attracts me.Having experienced this questline for the first time ever yesterday (in its entirety) I cannot understand why anyone would subject themselves to it more than once.

[bartharok]

Having experienced this questline for the first time ever yesterday (in its entirety) I cannot understand why anyone would subject themselves to it more than once.

I know most people dont like it. Might have something to do with having to take it slow to succeed, which is utterly contrary to the xp/min attitude prevalent.

[Qhualor]

New loot will be created with levels above 25.
Your loot will become obsolete.

This is a reason that many people TR. Even though the past lives lose relative power with new content, the past lives stack with any other available bonus.

depending on the PL, it can help with gear, but its not why a lot of people TR. I think what you are trying to say is people TR when their build has become nerfed because of some changes to the game. better loot only makes the PL a little better and not a reason to TR.

[HungarianRhapsody]

With the cap going to L28, are we getting new more powerful loot?

Yes and no. The average power of the new loot will be higher than the average power of the lower level loot, but anything that is currently "best in slot" will still be better than a large majority of the new loot. Anything that is currently close to "best in slot" will still be just fine.

A majority of the new raid loot will be ignored just like a majority of raid loot today is ignored. Most of it is just not that good. But some pieces will be outstanding and people will chase that piece.

Greensteel will continue to be "just fine" for a majority of quests - even at level 28. We will continue to see players using ML 11, ML 14 and ML 20 loot when they are level 28. And that's okay. There may be better loot available for those slots, but it won't be *enough* better to make that player want to go through an additional grind to get it.

And eSoS will continue to be the best two handed weapon in the game.

[Charononus]

Threnal is dead only for those that dont like it. It is alive and kicking for me, just as the other packs mentioned. But then again, its not the loot that attracts me.

Lack of loot and xp/min isn't the reason to avoid it, the reason has a name and it's coyle.

[bartharok]

Lack of loot and xp/min isn't the reason to avoid it, the reason has a name and it's coyle.

Coyle has taken a turn for the better. Its actually pretty easy, boring, but easy. And the rest are fun.

[FrancisP.Fancypants]

Coyle has taken a turn for the better. Its actually pretty easy, boring, but easy. And the rest are fun.

Yes, now it's more or less having to pay attention for fifteen minutes with a decent hire instead of a really long panic.

[PNellesen]

Will you provide us with any idea on the future plans for loot?

Ooh! I know this one!!

No.

[Postumus]

Having experienced this questline for the first time ever yesterday (in its entirety) I cannot understand why anyone would subject themselves to it more than once.

1. I like most of it.

2. Dealing with Coyle is like rubbing that canker sore against your teeth; it hurts but also kinda feels good.

3. The end reward is THE ingredient needed to craft heavy fort.

[Chai]

Consider the alternative: The new loot is not better than the old loot. Thats takes one very good reason to even play the new content right out of the equation. It doesnt make any sense to create new content, raise the level cap by 4, then dump a bunch of garbage loot into the tables.

I dont consider old loot obsolete simply because new loot adds a few plusses here and there. Its not usually so much better that it fits into the "must have" category compared to what my toons are already wearing.

I also dont see the old content as being obsolete for those that enjoy playing the entire game. Alot of the stuff being mentioned, Threnal and Sorrowdusk for instance, are great XP for TRing for those that prefer to not farm the same few quests ad nauseum to gain xp.

[Nickademus42]

Having experienced this questline for the first time ever yesterday (in its entirety) I cannot understand why anyone would subject themselves to it more than once.

It used to be a lot worse. But I like the quest chain. (I'm in the middle of it right now for this life.) It has a nice mix of monsters. Though I would recommend something good for rusties. The chain is fairly light on traps and spellcasters too, so it's a nice choice for leveling dps if you don't mind the slowing down.


Lack of loot and xp/min isn't the reason to avoid it, the reason has a name and it's coyle.

Coyle and Lars got a bump in U16 I believe. I do have to admit, the changes to Coyle and a good holy cold iron of bane for the reavers/renders makes a big difference. Solo'd (with a hireling) elite Hold and was more worried about the hireling surviving than Coyle. Didn't even bother knocking him out; just did my thing to grab aggro and kill quickly. It was quite painless compared to the mental scars I have of the quest before the change.

[Ape_Man]

Expect every cool and shiney to be not so cool and shiney come the level increase. That's how the new loot people roll at Turbine.

[badbob117]

Well maybe we will see the rare suffix and prefix's drop more often with a level increase

-Tempestous
-Devastation
-Obscenity
-Thousand suns
-Meteoric
-Oceanic
- maybe a few others im missing

Would be nice to see these drop a bit more. Hopefully a level increase helps this. Would personally love to get my hands on some of these effects on a weapon of my choice.

That's what i am hoping for.

No idea whats gonna happen with all the older Quest lines. Some of em would benefit greatly from a major overhaul. Will have to wait and see.

[zobo]

Level 28 wasn't picked at random.
- Tomes can be used at every 4th level, so now +6 tomes.
- Augments also go in increments of 4 levels, so +8 stats, +3 insightful stats, +40 false life, +128 spell effects... Maybe even a faster striding speed.

We already had +8 / insightful +3 stats on named items, so we can expect this to increase to +9 / +4 so that named items remain better than random loot. Maybe even exceptional +2.

Level 30 quests should start dropping +17 maybe +18 random loot weapons. So probably need new prefix/suffix. Otherwise, only way random loot weapons can hit +18 is for them to be +8 hit/dmg.

On clothing/jewelry, I except random loot needs to finally break the +15 skill limit. My +7 CHA +15 Haggle necklace is +14 ML 24. I've seen +8 / +15. Only way to make a +16 ML28 version of that is to either allow +9 / +15, or to allow random loot to have +17 skills. Given +20 skills are showing up more often now in named loot, I think they can increase the skill cap on random loot. Named items will probably start to hit the low 20's skill boost. Maybe even more insightful boosts for skills.

Other things to expect:
Resistance +8, Protection +8... on random gear, and +1 to that on named items.

Unknowns:
Max Seeker, Stun... effects have been +10 for a while. Will these see an increase?
Run Speed increase?

When it is all said and done, none of this will cause toons to be much more powerful than they are today. Best boost will probably come from casters getting another +14 on spell effects. Everything else (+1 hit, +1 dmg, +1 saves, +1 AC..., +1 STR/CON/...) won't add up to much at all. Most power on capped toons comes from EDs which would need a change for this expansion to add any real power.

[fco-karatekid]

Threnal is dead only for those that dont like it. It is alive and kicking for me, just as the other packs mentioned. But then again, its not the loot that attracts me.

Indeed - there's an entire population that likes these areas. They'll be marketing them as a bundle next quarter - the "masochist's bundle".

EDIT: along with Tangle Root Canal.

[silence383]

Having experienced this questline for the first time ever yesterday (in its entirety) I cannot understand why anyone would subject themselves to it more than once.

Awesome xp..the only part that sucks at level is the last part. If need be at level do it on norm with a hire and repeat the rest for xp is what I do. I hope they will implement the "I can take care of myself like epic babysitting quest where they do not die)" deal but they have bigger probs than that quest.

The last quest just knock his butt out and draw aggro away from him..sorry didnt read this whole thing.

Ok read it. Yes its mostly a chain of babysitting but after you do it a lot over time. Yea I do not mind it much cause i have done it alot and you learn it over time. Babysitting chains suck of that i will not argue with anyone..coyle needs an update..do not hold your breathe it has been forgotten for years.

[bartharok]

Indeed - there's an entire population that likes these areas. They'll be marketing them as a bundle next quarter - the "masochist's bundle".

EDIT: along with Tangle Root Canal.

ITs better to have variation than far the same quests over and over, and then complain how its unfair that the repeat penalties carry over to epics.

[Coyopa]

I know most people dont like it. Might have something to do with having to take it slow to succeed, which is utterly contrary to the xp/min attitude prevalent.

Maybe for some people. For me, I find Threnal to be utterly boring and overly long. I think I have run the entire chain three times: 1x to get Mantle of the Worldshaper on one character way back when I was new to the game, and 2x to get Fernian Wraps for TR'ing the same character who has the Mantle. Even though I discovered the True Seeing effect from both VoM and MoW equipped was fantastic when I needed it, I will not be running this chain to get the MoW for any other characters' TRs.

I hate this chain so much and find it so dull that I will not even run it when I TR.

[Tid12]

Why everyone forgets about Assassinate DC? We have had +2 from UPDATE 4 (http://ddowiki.com/page/Update_4) added in the 2010 !

It's about time we get another weapon/accessory/item in general with a +4.

Please. Thank you.

[dopey69]

Indeed - there's an entire population that likes these areas. They'll be marketing them as a bundle next quarter - the "masochist's bundle".

EDIT: along with Tangle Root Canal.

*shakes fist*

I pluss repped you on an earlier post and now........

you go and bad mouth tangle root :)

[maddmatt70]

Well they could change the loot system so it mirrors the reincarnation system. I am not sure how I feel about the idea myself. Let me give you a few different examples of what I mean.

Example 1: You kind of see this with heroic condemnations. Take for instance the celestia shortsword which to fully upgrade has 4 parts. I can not exactly recall the values, but they are something like 3 heroic coms, 5 heroic coms, 7 heroic coms, 10 heroic coms for each tier of upgrade. Turbine could start to assign values to raid and named loot - like for example a shroud double tier 3 shortsword is worth 3 coms. You could then use this old shortsword in lieu of a certain number of coms when you upgrade the celestia. This way your old loot that you grinded before has meaning like true reincarnation does. I would also vastly increase the power of weapons/gear and the grind so that it corresponds to the true reincarnation grind. Basically players have to make more of a cognizant choice either they true reincarnate or do the loot grind.

Example 2: Earning loot that is named or raid loot gives a character especially if that loot fits that specific character class/build prestige points. Prestige point can be used to upgrade the power level of the character. It could be as simple as that if a character loots enough items they can purchase true reincaration past lives instead of farming them via xp.

The devs have never adequately addressed the end game in DDO. They have added true reincarnation which has had some negative consequences to the game in my opinion.

[Arnhelm]

The future of DDO loot is BtC/BtA items to be sold only in the new AH for real money, with Turbine taking an obscene profit from the "option".

Just my perspective on it. I could be wrong. *shrug*

[bartharok]

Maybe for some people. For me, I find Threnal to be utterly boring and overly long. I think I have run the entire chain three times: 1x to get Mantle of the Worldshaper on one character way back when I was new to the game, and 2x to get Fernian Wraps for TR'ing the same character who has the Mantle. Even though I discovered the True Seeing effect from both VoM and MoW equipped was fantastic when I needed it, I will not be running this chain to get the MoW for any other characters' TRs.

I hate this chain so much and find it so dull that I will not even run it when I TR.

I play it almost every life, so theres room for a lot of opinions when it comes to quests

[Karavek]

for me the ruins of threnal will always hold a special place in my heart. It was one of the few early chains where the named items really felt worth the effort. When my first paladin claimed Retribution I felt like I was finally playing D&D. I did a heroic task and was rewarded a heroic tool. Simple and fun. The fact my pally was also part rogue and part ranger, and had been very useful in the party getting us through our first run only added to the depth of my affections for the content.

Sure it needs abit of revamping here and there I can see that, but the QQing from people over this very straight forward and well designed dungeon crawl is beyond me, it actually makes use of a variety of foes and their special abilities to create dynamic challenge rather then just bigger buffer foes. Those odd beholder guards, rust monsters, and vision hindering mephits through out are actual challenge to overcome. It also rewards good rogues who can scout ahead, find traps then use those traps to take out large groups of foes. Something those who play rogues really appreciate finding content where charging ahead isnt always the best choice.

[Thrudh]

Expect every cool and shiney to be not so cool and shiney come the level increase. That's how the new loot people roll at Turbine.

Will you admit that you would ALSO be complaining if a new expansion came out and none of the loot was better than what we have?

Curious how honest you are.

[Standal]

One of the options they have instead of making the loot more powerful by jacking the stats up it just making it all more flexible. Have loot items with 1 or 2 base abilities, then 2-4 compound color slots on them. They could also add more powerful but rare augments that only drop in game. I'm thinking of Lightning Strike type procs on the new augments, not 1d12 fire.

[lugoman]

Easy fix to power creep is tie weapon min level to quest level, not player level. This way you couldnt bring your level 27 sword of awesomeness into the shroud - you could only use it in a level 27 or above quest/raid. Turbine would need to add another inv slot.

[wolfy42]

Ok Threnal I can understand. Never been a huge fan myself.....although I still do run it fairly often.

But Sorrowdusk?

And now.....Tangle Root/Splinterskull as well?

I run those with EVERY character. I sometimes even run them more then once (elite then hard).

They are both extremely easy to solo..even well below the level (of the end chain quests). Between them with Elite run bonuses they let you zoom a level 7 fresh character up to 9 or so....and quite fast as well. TRG at least used to be super fast/cake with invisibility clickies (kinda broken now though). Sorrowdusk is probably the easiest series of quests on elite for their levels..you can solo them with any character fairly easy.

And both are fun in my opinion.

It would be nice if they got a better end reward update (still nothing great from either of them really...though I think Sorrowdusk drops the new snowstar now..which isn't too bad).

Anyway OT, Loot is going to get better with any level cap increase. It always has, and it always will. Who knows, more of the "obsolete" early content make have epic versions added with the update as well. If the level cap increases, we are going to need more high level quests to do as well. Makes sense if they make more epic versions of low level quests in the process as it's probably far less work then making new quests instead.

[1Soulless1]

Maybe for some people. For me, I find Threnal to be utterly boring and overly long. I think I have run the entire chain three times: 1x to get Mantle of the Worldshaper on one character way back when I was new to the game, and 2x to get Fernian Wraps for TR'ing the same character who has the Mantle. Even though I discovered the True Seeing effect from both VoM and MoW equipped was fantastic when I needed it, I will not be running this chain to get the MoW for any other characters' TRs.

I hate this chain so much and find it so dull that I will not even run it when I TR.

I run it once and done on elite for Tr'ing....oh and lvl7 heavy fort is nice also =o]

[DeafeningWhisper]

Will you admit that you would ALSO be complaining if a new expansion came out and none of the loot was better than what we have?

Loot is in a permanent state of flux since MoTU, before that getting that specific piece of epic loot was the "end goal" because epics were very limiting to new players, meaning many items were "place holders until I get my epic _______".

Now we can either chase after the new loot and re-do our whole gear setup after every update or miss and match old gear and new gear that now everyone can grind.

EGH is fun, the raid is a few billion times better then CiTW (not that it's hard to be better then the worst) yet people complain the loot is not better then it is.

If the expansion is the most fun bunch of quests in DDO history people will complain if the loot doesn't eclipse *at least* some of the gear we already have, that I can guarantee.


Loot in any MMO is paradoxal, the players want the hardest to get, grindiest gear to be permanent end-game loot while at the same time they want better loot to be made...

Basically players hate power creep while demanding it at every turn.

[Postumus]

Will you admit that you would ALSO be complaining if a new expansion came out and none of the loot was better than what we have?

Curious how honest you are.

Touche. And if he were not, a whole slew of people would be. Even in PnP part of the allure of playing higher content is for the phat lewts. Every time there is an update there are a couple of dozen posts about how there still isn't anything as good as ESoS.


Can't please everyone.

[Postumus]

One of the options they have instead of making the loot more powerful by jacking the stats up it just making it all more flexible. Have loot items with 1 or 2 base abilities, then 2-4 compound color slots on them. They could also add more powerful but rare augments that only drop in game. I'm thinking of Lightning Strike type procs on the new augments, not 1d12 fire.

This is probably what they had in mind with the augment changes.

[HungarianRhapsody]

Will you admit that you would ALSO be complaining if a new expansion came out and none of the loot was better than what we have?

Curious how honest you are.

I find it curious that you read Ape's post as a complaint.

[Postumus]

Expect every cool and shiney to be not so cool and shiney come the level increase. That's how the new loot people roll at Turbine.

Really? How do you interpret the quote above? As a compliment?

[HungarianRhapsody]

Really? How do you interpret the quote above? As a compliment?

I read it as a neutral statement of fact. It's neither positive, nor negative.

He didn't say "the new loot ****heads" or "the awesome new loot geniuses".

It's entirely possible to acknowledge the reality that exists around you without either condemning it or condoning it. What is, is.

[Silverleafeon]

you dont have to be feather to answer these questions..


Of course, why wouldnt we?

+1

[Postumus]

I read it as a neutral statement of fact. It's neither positive, nor negative.

He didn't say "the new loot ****heads" or "the awesome new loot geniuses".

It's entirely possible to acknowledge the reality that exists around you without either condemning it or condoning it. What is, is.


It seemed fairly snarky to me. I don't think most folks associate snark with positivity, so I don't Thrudh is alone when he interprets that comment as a complaint.

[HungarianRhapsody]

It seemed fairly snarky to me. I don't think most folks associate snark with positivity, so I don't Thrudh is alone when he interprets that comment as a complaint.

You and Thrudh are welcome to interpret it however you choose. That's more of a reflection on the two of you than it is on anyone else, however.

[Ape_Man]

Will you admit that you would ALSO be complaining if a new expansion came out and none of the loot was better than what we have?

Curious how honest you are.

With the absolutely abysmal drop-rates we have in DDO is really doesn't matter.

I needed a zillion comms so I bought a bunch of bypass timers . . . 20 FOTs . . . NOTHING pulled. Not a single item dropped in 20 FOTs.

Where the loot is better or not doesn't matter since it never drops anyway.

[Robai]

I see just one problem: bank/inventory space.

[Gremmlynn]

Ooh! I know this one!!

No.More like "What's a plan?".

[Silverleafeon]

I see just one problem: bank/inventory space.

+1


After all, some items are useful to have two copies of with different augments slotted.

{Insert long and boring rant about lack of bank space here}

{Insert hopeful surmises, begging for a new shady bank in the prison city
this summer here}

[Postumus]

You and Thrudh are welcome to interpret it however you choose. That's more of a reflection on the two of you than it is on anyone else, however.


You're right. Snarky replies should always be construed as positive. My mistake.

[kingfisher]

You and Thrudh are welcome to interpret it however you choose. That's more of a reflection on the two of you than it is on anyone else, however.

haha +1

[HungarianRhapsody]

You're right. Snarky replies should always be construed as positive. My mistake.

Take it however you like. Your overwhelmingly negative attitude toward people on the forums and your antagonistic approach to posting in general makes me wonder why you put yourself through the pain of participating in these forums. You're certainly welcome to hold any opinion that you like, but it's obvious that you frequently get upset with what you see here. I absolutely don't want to tell you not to post on the forums, but if it bothers you so much, then do you really need the extra heartache in your life?

[Uhtred_Stark]

I don't know if you've run it recently or not but Sorrowdusk got some really great end reward upgrades. ML8 10% melee alacrity? ML8 15 base dmg rapier with red slot and keen? Yes plz. The cult of the six part of sorrowdusk has always been great xp too, it just often gets leveled past because of all the high popularity quests it is competing with (deleras, von3, shadow crypt).

[Postumus]

Your overwhelmingly negative attitude toward people on the forums and your antagonistic approach to posting in general makes me wonder why you put yourself through the pain of participating in these forums.


I think any negativity you think you see is something you are inferring on your own.

[Singular]

The future of DDO loot is BtC/BtA items to be sold only in the new AH for real money, with Turbine taking an obscene profit from the "option".

Just my perspective on it. I could be wrong. *shrug*

You're dead on here. That's why the new ASAH allows you to post BTC stuff. That's pretty amazing - you can get rid of all your old BTC loot sitting in the bank.

I wonder if we'll be able to auction GS items or any items we make?

[blacloc]

It's BTCoE not BTC. Big difference.

[Singular]

It's BTCoE not BTC. Big difference.

Sorry, I misread the line. Anyways, this is it:

" Equipped Bound-on-Equip items can be sold even after they are bound, but become immediately bound to the buyer."

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=376774

So already bound items can be recycled if they started life as BTCoE.

[DrDetroit]

of course, why wouldnt we?

o.O seriously? why would that be a good idea?

how will what effect sorrowdusk, House C and Restless islands? I dotn consider House C quite onthe same level as the other 2. THey have been dead for years(THeranal as well). Its the nature of MMO's. Some Content gets outdated.

These are all along the same idea and have a lot to do with my post. I agree that is the nature of MMOs, but they also shed their customor base and go out of business. This is what I would like DDO to avoid. Doing something different, like a loot cap would be an attempt to keep all content relavent.

Knowing new loot is coming, would you encourage anyone to buy House C, Sorrowdusk, Three Barrel Cove or Restless Isles? I wouldn't. These packs should be a cash cow for Turbine. They are rapidly approaching dead weight. The more people that buy content and/or go VIP the longer DDO stays in business. Having value to these packs and having people run these packs is better for DDO.

There would still be new loot, it would just allow for more gear customization as opposed to the need to re-slot so you can have +8 stats or 9 or 10 or whatever the future holds. The idea is to ensure that all of the content is valuable to run for everyone who is either a vet or just starting.


So, a loot cap would add value to all content. Alternatively, do you have any suggestions to keep all content worthwhile to own and run?

[HungarianRhapsody]

I think any negativity you think you see is something you are inferring on your own.

Given the amount of time you spend talking about how you are offended by other posters and berating posters for not giving Turbine enough love, I have to ask what you would call it if it isn't negativity.

[HungarianRhapsody]

Knowing new loot is coming, would you encourage anyone to buy House C, Sorrowdusk, Three Barrel Cove or Restless Isles? I wouldn't. These packs should be a cash cow for Turbine. They are rapidly approaching dead weight. The more people that buy content and/or go VIP the longer DDO stays in business. Having value to these packs and having people run these packs is better for DDO.

I wouldn't encourage anyone to buy those packs, but I would encourage people to buy Vale of Twilight (Shroud), Deleras, VoN, GH, Demon Sands, Phairlan Carnival, The Necro Bundle (or at least Necro II and IV), Tangleroot (Yes, I actually like that chain :)), Shard Syndicate, Reign of Madness, and Path of Inspiration/Dreaming Dark. I would even recommend buying VoN/GH/Desert if they didn't have Epic content. The Epic side of each of those just makes them a better value.

The answer to getting more people to buy more of DDO's content is to make the content better, not to make the loot more powerful.

I do think that having higher level loot be more powerful than lower level loot *on average* is a good thing. I think that the balance of power among items is currently pretty decent with the exception of Caught in the Web weapons. Those are pretty sad when you consider what you have to go through to get them.

[Singular]

Easy fix to power creep is tie weapon min level to quest level, not player level. This way you couldnt bring your level 27 sword of awesomeness into the shroud - you could only use it in a level 27 or above quest/raid. Turbine would need to add another inv slot.

No to this suggestion. That would be really, really annoying. Not to mention, it wouldn't make any sense in a DnD based world.