Carnival or Sentinals more fun?

[LuKaSu]

I've bought all the points I will buy before Cyber Monday. I've bought half-orc, bladeforged, and several adventure packs with these Summer Sails, and I've only got enough points for one more pack. I'm trying to decide between Sentinals of Stormreach and The Phiarlan Carnival as my last purchas for a few months. I'll likely get both eventually, but one of the two this week. My question is, all other things being relatively equal, which is more fun?

They both seem to have fun loot. Epic Antique Greataxe vs Epic Midnight Greetings in the epics.
Both are low-level and Epic packs.
Both come highly-recommended on the forums.

I'm not hurting for packs at either heroic level, so I'm mainly just looking for fun content. I've played the Carnival once before because someone gave me a guest pass, so I know it's pretty fun, but I've never been in Sentinals.

So, forumites, if you could only have one or the other, which would you prefer?

[Garix]

For me Carnival hands down.

By far one of my favourite quest chains.

[Deadlock]

Sentinels and Three Barrel Cove make up a saga chain, so if you have Three Barrel Cove then that might swing you towards Sentinels.

[AdamSmith]

Carnival is much more fun especially the Snitch quest and beating down that tart Malicia.

[PermaBanned]

I'm mainly just looking for fun content. I've played the Carnival once before because someone gave me a guest pass, so I know it's pretty fun, but I've never been in Sentinals.

So, forumites, if you could only have one or the other, which would you prefer?Carnival, no contest.'That is of course assuming we have similar notions of what is fun ;)

I find the dialogue in the Carnival quests to be amusing, even after having run them countless times. The quests can be super zerged when I'm in the mood for such, but also offer many optionals when I feel like sniffing some flowers. Party Crashers offers the chance to use Social Skills for several optionals which can effect or negate the end fight. Snitch has a stealth optional that is so difficult to achieve (particularly @ level) that I often find myself wondering if it's bugged. A Small Problem has places that can be significantly challenging to solo. As for the Big Top... Well, what can I say? I'm a (rather stereotypical at times) guy, and do enjoy combatting a Succubus in a bustier :D

Not trying to say Sentinels sucks or any other such, but for pure entertainment purposes... Well, I make sure to run the Carnival on every heroic life, while the Sentinels is just something that: if I run it, cool; if I don't, no big deal - I don't feel like I've missed out on anything.

[kmoustakas]

They are fundamentally different. As such, it is nearly impossible to distinguish which is more 'fun' unless we somehow define what 'fun' is. Phiarian has unique elements of story telling, riddles, secrets. Sometimes it feels like an adventure more than a quest. Sentinels is directly opposite with a highly militaristic and action theme.

I have sentinels and would probably never buy phiarian.

PS It also matters that once upon a time sentinels had the absolute best in slot items for some cute builds out there. Not any more obviously but still.

[SirValentine]

Sentinels and Three Barrel Cove make up a saga chain, so if you have Three Barrel Cove then that might swing you towards Sentinels.

Agree with all the comments. Carnival is more fun, but Sentinels is still fun, and Sentinels maybe has more utility due to the saga.

[PermaBanned]

Sentinels and Three Barrel Cove make up a saga chain, so if you have Three Barrel Cove then that might swing you towards Sentinels.

Indeed OP: if (unlike me, but like many others) you find your fun tied/related to rapid advancement (XP/min) I would then have to recommend Sentinels over the Carnival. Especially with the saga element (pending ofc your ownership of 3BC), but even without the saga Spies in the House is fat XP and can be zerged for excellent XP/min.

[dunklezhan]

I prefer sentinels. Carnival quests are pretty long in the main (snitch being the shortest I think), so it's hard to keep a group together for the whole chain unless your group is full of zergers. I don't know about the XP per min or what you consider fun. I personally prefer the Sentinels quests overall (the one that isn't actually part of the chain but comes with the pack especially I enjoy, that's lots of fun), but I also find A Small Problem really entertaining, and Partycrashers is a very innovatively constructed quest. I'm less keen on snitch or the actual carnival end quest which I find tedious in the extreme.

I am generally in the minority though so /meh.

[tralfaz81]

Personally I think Sentinels is more fun but Carnival is more challenging. That may be because Sentinels is way easier to solo than Carnival. With Carnival you need a group (especially for partycrashers) which can either be an easy zerg or a more fun slaughter, depending on the group.

Sentinels is part of a saga though, so that might be a deciding factor - can pick up extra xp/renown/tomes by getting it that you'll miss out on with Carnival.

[Psiandron]

What an awful choice to have to make. Both are great options. I'd say Sentinels is easier and some people seem to have lag issues in Carnival, so you might be able to play Sentinels more.

[PermaBanned]

What an awful choice to have to make. Both are great options. I'd say Sentinels is easier and some people seem to have lag issues in Carnival, so you might be able to play Sentinels more.
^This^ reminds me. On the subject of lag/performance issues, each pack has an especially problematic quest.

• Under the Big Top (Carnival)
Weird DC issues, seemingly related to party members getting spread too far apart.

• The Black Loch (Sentinels)
The main chamber has insanely lagolicious behavior. Facing the wall while walking along the platforms helps considerably, and after the end boss dies it seems to ease up quite a bit (though not entirely).

The above is pure observation, no data to back it up. Some people have experienced them to greater or lesser degrees, and some not at all. Ymmv.

[cdemeritt]

I prefer Carnival, but I might be a bit biased in that I've pulled 2 +4 Tomes from Partycrashers on the +2 loot weekends... Actually I run Carnival far more often than sentinels... but they both are good... But as it has been pointed out, Sentinals ties in with 3BC.

[droid327]

Something else to consider....Carnival comes with the MotU pack, Sentinels does not.

MotU is the first purchase I recommend for anyone...even if you already have some of those packs, I'd still get it for EDs, Epic content, Druid, the XP tome for your main, 2000 TP, etc. Honestly, I would have spent money on that last November rather than just bulk TP...

So unless you're certain you'll *never* buy MotU, and will just buy all those components a la carte as you need them (because you will, eventually), I'd go Sentinels.

[burningwind]

personally i would say sentinals... carnival is fun..but one of the quest is so nasty..... well up to you.. but personally i would go for sentinals all the way.. also some nice loot..

p.s. come to think about it sential also have a nasty quest called spy something.. can't recall... well that is a side quest not required for the chain.. so sentinal still wins..

[kanordog]

Both are good packs but I prefer sentinels. Easier to run without a group.

[DirtySheepdip]

^This^ reminds me. On the subject of lag/performance issues, each pack has an especially problematic quest.

• Under the Big Top (Carnival)
Weird DC issues, seemingly related to party members getting spread too far apart.

• The Black Loch (Sentinels)
The main chamber has insanely lagolicious behavior. Facing the wall while walking along the platforms helps considerably, and after the end boss dies it seems to ease up quite a bit (though not entirely).

The above is pure observation, no data to back it up. Some people have experienced them to greater or lesser degrees, and some not at all. Ymmv.

i believe you

[Qhualor]

I personally like Carnival chain overall because its more fun, but what isn't fun is the still haven't been fixed DCing problem in Big Top.

not a big fan of Sentinels because its more undead and feel there is too much of an abundance of undead in the low levels. its ok, but I do really like Tide Turns.

[DirtySheepdip]

both fun packs op, can't really go wrong with either.

[Psiandron]

^This^ reminds me. On the subject of lag/performance issues, each pack has an especially problematic quest.

• Under the Big Top (Carnival)
Weird DC issues, seemingly related to party members getting spread too far apart.

• The Black Loch (Sentinels)
The main chamber has insanely lagolicious behavior. Facing the wall while walking along the platforms helps considerably, and after the end boss dies it seems to ease up quite a bit (though not entirely).

The above is pure observation, no data to back it up. Some people have experienced them to greater or lesser degrees, and some not at all. Ymmv.


I had completely forgotten about the cavern with the ship in it! Yeah, the lag there is ridiculous.

[Saekee]

I have both; am too lazy to completely learn Carnivals. By now I can stealth Spies, Blood Bizarre, and Tide Turns--great xp and now easy seeds. The seal shard drops are REALLY stingy--have two EMG seals but no shards--have flown through TT so many times that I know how many teeth are in the end boss'es mouth.

Spies is also one of those great roguish quests.

That said, I feel like Carnival is more imaginative.

[EllisDee37]

Carnival is:
...interesting (ie: fun)
...artistic
...group oriented
...easy to make the item (Epic Antique Greataxe is soloable with reasonable effort)

Sentinels is:
...part of a saga
...good xp/minute
...trap heavy
...undead heavy (similar to Three Barrel Cove)
...difficult to make the item (Even in full groups of 6 all passing mats to you, Epic Midnight Greetings could take a lifetime to make)

One thing Sentinels boasts is Spies in the House, which is one of the uber-quests in the game, on par with The Pit, Crucible and Inferno of the Damned.

Both packs are very good. If I could only have one, I'd prefer Carnival. However, because Carnival comes with MotU, if I didn't yet have MotU I'd get Sentinels without regret.

[Uidolon]

Farming for the Antique axe is actually quite fun even if i personally dislike both packs as a whole.
So my judgement would be both are among the worse packs but the sentinels have no staying power and isnt even a fun first time experince

[Tshober]

For me Sentinels is much more fun. The Carnival quests are all much too long and really for no good reason. Carnival is one of my least favorite lower level chains in all of DDO. Really only Necro 2 is anywhere near as bad. Compared to other DDO packs, Sentinels is pretty unimpressive, but compared to Carnival it is awesome.

[General_Gronker]

Good question. Which is better, a hammer to the little toe or the pinky? I find them pretty equally annoying.

[byzantinebob]

Carnival is fun except for A Small Problem. God, I HATE that quest.

Every quest in Sentinels is fun. I even like the optional Spies quest.

Either is a fine choice.

[goodspeed]

id say carnival. Sentinels used to be run alot, but now pretty much everything is beyond useless and the xp sucks.

[droid327]

Carnival is fun except for A Small Problem. God, I HATE that quest.



Yeah me too...I hate any quest that involves a lot of running back and forth. And escort missions. And platforming. Small Problem has all three. Plus, the last fight on Elite is incredibly tough at-level for anyone who cant counter level drains (and, at L7, there's very few ways to do so).

Partycrashers is long too, and it really challenges characters that aren't well-rounded (and have good Will saves), but its much more fun. Big Top is fun as long as you can trap or survive the traps, and Snitch is just fun for the whole family :)

[Rykka]

^This^ reminds me. On the subject of lag/performance issues, each pack has an especially problematic quest.

• Under the Big Top (Carnival)
Weird DC issues, seemingly related to party members getting spread too far apart.

• The Black Loch (Sentinels)
The main chamber has insanely lagolicious behavior. Facing the wall while walking along the platforms helps considerably, and after the end boss dies it seems to ease up quite a bit (though not entirely).

The above is pure observation, no data to back it up. Some people have experienced them to greater or lesser degrees, and some not at all. Ymmv.

I remember horrible lag in the black loch near the ship when i used to run it, but ive run it twice in the last month and got no lag at all. fixed?

[FrancisP.Fancypants]

• The Black Loch (Sentinels)
The main chamber has insanely lagolicious behavior. Facing the wall while walking along the platforms helps considerably, and after the end boss dies it seems to ease up quite a bit (though not entirely).

The above is pure observation, no data to back it up. Some people have experienced them to greater or lesser degrees, and some not at all. Ymmv.

For clarity-
For whatever reason the graphic effects of the water in the last cave remain turned on in spite of your settings; if you play with the graphics settings turned down normally (particularly if your card doesn't handle certain effects well) you'll notice a big drop in framerate. If you move the camera up high enough so the water and its reflection on the walls are out of view, your "lag" will disappear.

As for the OP, it's a toss-up for me. I prefer epic Carnival to epic Sentinals, but vice-versa for heroics:

Sentinals is more solo-friendly overall, if that's your thing, and if you like monks the upgraded bracers are aces. Carnival has Partycrashers, which I find one of the most interesting quests in the game and well worth poking around in a few times just for fun. I really suggest looking at the named drops and what other packs you have at-level.

[patang01]

I've bought all the points I will buy before Cyber Monday. I've bought half-orc, bladeforged, and several adventure packs with these Summer Sails, and I've only got enough points for one more pack. I'm trying to decide between Sentinals of Stormreach and The Phiarlan Carnival as my last purchas for a few months. I'll likely get both eventually, but one of the two this week. My question is, all other things being relatively equal, which is more fun?

They both seem to have fun loot. Epic Antique Greataxe vs Epic Midnight Greetings in the epics.
Both are low-level and Epic packs.
Both come highly-recommended on the forums.

I'm not hurting for packs at either heroic level, so I'm mainly just looking for fun content. I've played the Carnival once before because someone gave me a guest pass, so I know it's pretty fun, but I've never been in Sentinals.

So, forumites, if you could only have one or the other, which would you prefer?

I'd go Carnival. Great diverse quests, long, medium and short - good XP and okay amount of loot and named items. It's a must do for me on every life and new toons. Not so much for Sentinels. They're okay and I'm glad they made the last one Epic, but they're not as fun as Carnival.

[dunklezhan]

I remember horrible lag in the black loch near the ship when i used to run it, but ive run it twice in the last month and got no lag at all. fixed?

I will check when I get chance. I think I've run it more recently than 1 month and it was just as bad. I bug reported it about six months ago after a system upgrade. Ditto the bottom half of the marketplace, FWIW. If it's still busted, I'll bug it again, in case whatever they did fixed it for some hardware builds and not others.

[Loromir]

You've gotten about an equal number for Carnival Vs Sentinels. Would be hard to choose based on people's opinions of the playability of the two chains. Loot is basically equal. XP slightly favors Sentinels (Mainly due to spies in the house). So I will give you 2 good reasons to choose Sentinels over Carnival.


-Sentinels Saga Tie in with 3BC.
-Sentinels not available with the MOTU package.


This is why I say Pick Sentinels.

[LuKaSu]

You've gotten about an equal number for Carnival Vs Sentinels. Would be hard to choose based on people's opinions of the playability of the two chains. Loot is basically equal. XP slightly favors Sentinels (Mainly due to spies in the house). So I will give you 2 good reasons to choose Sentinels over Carnival.


-Sentinels Saga Tie in with 3BC.
-Sentinels not available with the MOTU package.


This is why I say Pick Sentinels.

Thank you all so much for the great info and opinnions. I think I'm going to end up getting Sentinals after all, especially with the saga thing, since I do enjoy 3BC quests. I've just recently started doing sagas, and I think they are fun playing-goals. I only play maybe 4-8 hours a week, so having sagas to shoot for keeps me motivated to keep playing, even though I level too slow to consistantly play with particular people. Hearing that it is a more soloable chain puts it over the top. Thanks again, guys and gals!

[Banshee_Kate]

I have mostly casters. I would choose Carnival, because I can get Roderic's Wand as an end reward. I not only get a free pet with the wand, good enough for many levels, but I run it again & get another wand to epic. This epic wand allows use of the Augment Summoning feat to every epic character that has one.

While holding that wand, you can summon an Augmented pet, Summoned Monster, and even your Panther & your Hirelings will all be enhanced.
For me personally, this would be worth getting Carnival, although I enjoy Carnival very much.:)

http://ddowiki.com/page/Epic_Roderic%27s_Wand


oops! Ninjaad!!
Great, I hope you enjoy Sentinals then. :)

[Bargol]

Lots of good points mentioned above. However if it was me I would look at the gear, as there is a ton of xp available. Much of the house P gear is ok / decent for a few levels during epic TR and EAGA is a strong choice for a universal DR breaker until you get higher end stuff. Sentinals items are very hard to make because of low drop rates. Additionally other then the docent, which is still pretty strong, maybe the bard or rogue weapon if you don't have better options.

So looking at it for gear house P would be my choice, but I have all quests already.