Underdark

[Urjak]

Recently, I ran the whole Underdark explorer area again - obviously not for xp, as explorer xp sucks - but because I remembered how much fun I had when I first ran through it (heck I even created the first version of the wiki map of it^^). And while I ran through it I couldn't help but admire how well done the graphics there are. The scenery and feeling is just awesome. The high-up runways where you have to search for ways to reach them and so on - really fun.

So, I though - why don't we have more content like this? I mean it is so beautiful, why did they not add some reason beyond that to actually run it?

My request here would be:
Could we maybe get a legendary explorer area through the Lower Underdark? With red named tough bosses that drop named loot? And random mini-quests that drop rare and desireful crafting ingrediences/loot? Maybe even for raid groups? With the base difficulty being higher than the current toughest EEs? And no scaling since it is a raid area? And then some quests there as well that drop awesome lootz? And include entrances to Illithid and Beholder cities (they should be either wilderness areas or raids)? Take the old Subterrain areas as inspiration - we got two raids there that can be fairly easy and quickly reached - and then there was a tough red named that could drop the best armor in the whole game back then (Icy Raiment).

In other words:
Underdark graphics + Subterrain raid/loot design + hard legendary difficulty = awesomesauce => Make it so. Pretty please!

PS: I know from good sources that the Underdark area originally was larger ... why was the size reduced?

[CThruTheEgo]

I know from good sources that the Underdark area originally was larger ... why was the size reduced?

Hey, it's not the size that matters, it's how you use it. :D

Seriously though, I also think the Underdark is very well done and, aside from unlocking Sschindylryn and the Riz Malag portal, there is no reason to go there. It seems like a big waste to put that much time and effort into something for so little reason. I would like to see more reasons to be there.

[dunklezhan]

I am not a fan of FR, particularly. But good content is good content - I agree with both the above.

[Saekee]

/signed

[Sooty]

I agree that explorer areas have so much more to offer other than just their current uses e.g. getting to a quest, or explorer points etc. I would love to see some quests in explorer areas, with objectives to complete along the way.

Whole environments have already been built, so how possible would it be to create quests to function within them? These could be the sorts of quests for people who want group play, rather than the XP/min crowd. Make them 6 and 12 player friendly.

Include things like the exploding ballistae from Storm the Beaches for example, so a microscopic amount of tactic/strategy/thought is actually required rather than head down and charge. Re-introduce the need for a bit more of a balanced party. There is more than enough content already that is solo and sprint friendly.

I do not agree that the difficulty level should be Epic Elite or higher, that just reduces who can play them, but it doesn't mean there shouldn't be a reaper version either.

These could all be epic level quests only from level 22 upwards. Personally speaking, I find the epic levels less interesting as so much of the epic level quests are just repeats of heroic content.

And now with the level cap being raised to 30, we need more quests, a lot more quests please:)

[Dragavon]

Both underdark and Schinndyrrlyn is awesome. I just think they should put more quests in there. Give us more reasons to go there than the occasional elite Belly for saga.

I think we will never see new content of this quality again. The current developers are not talented enough, and they do not have the time or resources to do stuff like this again.

I just hope update 29 will give us better content than 25, 27 and 28 did.

[BigErkyKid]

Signed!

I think that in general explorer areas could be beefed up a lot. They are the perfect spot to increase the random component. If you must, sell "legendary explorers" as a bundle for TP. Frankly, I think they could have a lot more replay value than say subversion.

[Pnumbra]

The Underdark is a great place. I would love for some new content and storylines to be added but not just legendary. Levels 21-30 content would be awesome. FR has a lot to offer.

[SamaelBael]

The current developers are not talented enough, and they do not have the time or resources to do stuff like this again.

Didn't they give us Haunted Halls, Thunderholme and the Temple of Elemental Evil? I have to disagree with you there.

Thinking back i realized that I hardly ever play in wilderness areas. In those cases I was after loot mostly:

*)Sands of Menechtarun
http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Ring_of_Spell_Storing

*)Vale of Twilight
Greensteel ingredients and easy to get a party for that area

*)Subterrane
Planar Shards for bags
http://ddowiki.com/page/Planar_Shards

Maybe spicing up the loot table of the rare encounter chests offers an incentive for running Wilderness areas more often?
-) BtCoe/ BtAoe gear like clickies or great items boosting just 1 skill (maybe lower mL?). Bound on equip because it draws characters who intend to sell those items too.
-) guaranteed drop of guild renown in the chests might draw those intent on maximizing renown/min
-) good chance of a huge stack of Mysterious Remnants, not just the few we get from champs. x10 to x20? Named mobs must've done SOMETHING to gain their prowess in battle...
-) something that separates loot from wilderness areas from loot from quests. Even random loot.
--) High chance of a CURSED item with Wondrous Craftmanship (http://ddowiki.com/page/Cursed) would draw newbies and pros alike.

It would be fitting to get an Underdark update with the Svirfneblins (Deep Gnomes), wouldn't it? Vargouille, any intention/desire/plans to return to the Underdark for the gnomes update?

[Talon_Moonshadow]

I think they should put more quests in explorer areas..... and not tell anyone! ;)

[Marshal_Lannes]

Completely agree with you OP. It is a dark, thematic area that is already built and can be developed so much more. I would like to see a small 3 or 4 quest pack for heroic levels like Shan to Kar that introduces a major theme that will then carry over into epic play. In my opinion one of the best story arcs in the game starts in the Lords of Dust and carries thru into the Drow assault on ES, the adventurers advance into the Drow homeland, the foray into the Abyss and the clash with Lolth. I don't know which characters Turbine has access to from the Forgotten Realms (they did get Elminster), but there is a wealth of Drow novels with famous characters that could make appearances.

[JOTMON]

Recently, I ran the whole Underdark explorer area again - obviously not for xp, as explorer xp sucks - but because I remembered how much fun I had when I first ran through it (heck I even created the first version of the wiki map of it^^). And while I ran through it I couldn't help but admire how well done the graphics there are. The scenery and feeling is just awesome. The high-up runways where you have to search for ways to reach them and so on - really fun.

So, I though - why don't we have more content like this? I mean it is so beautiful, why did they not add some reason beyond that to actually run it?

My request here would be:
Could we maybe get a legendary explorer area through the Lower Underdark? With red named tough bosses that drop named loot? And random mini-quests that drop rare and desireful crafting ingrediences/loot? Maybe even for raid groups? With the base difficulty being higher than the current toughest EEs? And no scaling since it is a raid area? And then some quests there as well that drop awesome lootz? And include entrances to Illithid and Beholder cities (they should be either wilderness areas or raids)? Take the old Subterrain areas as inspiration - we got two raids there that can be fairly easy and quickly reached - and then there was a tough red named that could drop the best armor in the whole game back then (Icy Raiment).

In other words:
Underdark graphics + Subterrain raid/loot design + hard legendary difficulty = awesomesauce => Make it so. Pretty please!

PS: I know from good sources that the Underdark area originally was larger ... why was the size reduced?

The underdark explorer zone is a good foundation to build upon, hopefully over the next year or so we will see additions to make this more enticing.
perhaps even a hub center Underdark city version of the marketplace as a waypoint to more FR and underdark quest packs.
Currently there is 1 quest and 4 portals used as through ways to the 1 quest and to Sschindylryn.
The current underdark is pretty barren.., considering Menechtarun desert is comparable in size but has named item drops from rares, 5 walk-up quests, 3 flagging quests and a pre-raid quest.

[Kielbasa]

I have been waiting for them to add more content to the underdark for as long as it has been out. The explorer area is very nice and could easily support 2 adventure packs worth or additional content. The same goes for the storm horns which could support another quest pack.

[MaeveTuohy]

Agreed. More should be done with wilderness areas. Menechtarun remains my favourite place in the game. There it's even worth the xp.


Wheloon is also terrific, even though I always get lost. Perhaps that's why I like it?

Schindylryn for me is a huge disappointment. It's so sparesly populated and has the feel of a ghost town. Combat should not have formed a part of it, just searches and interactions, a marketplace, schemes to uncover.

[Nandos]

After they come out with gnomes next year, I was thinking they should do a new adventure pack series based in the Underdark. Players would help the Svirfneblin (deep gnomes) fight off the Drow and other creatures attacking them.

[Son_of_the_South]

Schindylryn for me is a huge disappointment. It's so sparesly populated and has the feel of a ghost town. Combat should not have formed a part of it, just searches and interactions, a marketplace, schemes to uncover.

Agreed. For a Drow 'city', there isn't much going on.

Love to see more content in the underdark.

[Urjak]

Completely agree with you OP. It is a dark, thematic area that is already built and can be developed so much more. I would like to see a small 3 or 4 quest pack for heroic levels like Shan to Kar that introduces a major theme that will then carry over into epic play. In my opinion one of the best story arcs in the game starts in the Lords of Dust and carries thru into the Drow assault on ES, the adventurers advance into the Drow homeland, the foray into the Abyss and the clash with Lolth. I don't know which characters Turbine has access to from the Forgotten Realms (they did get Elminster), but there is a wealth of Drow novels with famous characters that could make appearances.

Thx. Just, please - PLEASE do NOT introduce Drizzt - he is such a whiner in the books already, imagine what a crybaby he would be in DDO, where Elminster is already the infamous pikeminster ....

I'd much rather see characters like those evil drow in that Menzoberranzan book series (forgot its name) ... with really evil characters, like I think Pharaun (or so?) Or those evil priestesses .... or that lich who ruled one of those houses ... lots of stuff around - agreed.

[gphysalis]

I think they should put more quests in explorer areas..... and not tell anyone! ;)

One way to get people to run an explorer area to completion would be to give them favor if they complete the explorer area.

[Dragavon]

Didn't they give us Haunted Halls, Thunderholme and the Temple of Elemental Evil? I have to disagree with you there.

I agree that Haunted Halls and Thunderholme was great content, the Thunderholme raids not so much but the explorer area is really good. Temple is a boring piece of **** though, endlesly long and repetitive.

But Haunted Halls launched in march 2014, so that is almost 2 years ago. The last update that had some good content in it was IMO The Heart of Madness that launched in December last year. It is my honest opinion that nothing released in 2015 has been good.

So that is why I have lost faith in the current developers.

I still hope that update 29 proves me wrong :o

[Urjak]

One way to get people to run an explorer area to completion would be to give them favor if they complete the explorer area.

Or Commendations of Valor / Heart Seeds ;) ... that's one major drawback of explorer area xp - you will not have enough commendations/seeds at cap for the next ETR/ITR heart ...

[janave]

/yes

I also kinda liked the garamol runs when it was a thing, a legendary underdark would be interesting, lots of room for new encounters in there. I think what this game is missing is a battle vs a party of 6 that are similarly powerful to a really good PC party ;).

[Mobiusss]

/Signed

Untapped potential here & would be great to have more reasons to visit.

[Saekee]

In general, wilderness areas could use a buff for fun. Epic Orchard offers the mats from rares and heroic gives tome & skull ingredients. Heroic 3BC drops nice rare named items and the epic version too (& the ship fights are fun). There was a whole thread a while ago about how to make wildernesses even more compelling, don't have the link.

Things you don't get from explorers:
1) remnants
2) favor, & consequent TP bonuses
3) saga rewards
4) in general, for some areas, the xp/minute really decreases as the kills go up, save for the exceptions that are farmed (Orchard zombie train/rats, Thunderholme, etc). I am ok with the xp rates though

So yeah, lots can be done. For the Underdark, I would love to see walkup quests at the very least. Could gnome-oriented quests appear there? (I do not know the lore). Add some nice named item drops for red named rares like in 3BC (does the dragon drop scales?). Slave revolt side quests, something with the salamanders, maybe a second drow camp that is conniving to gain power & influence, etc.

Also, how about a quest in which you gain a slave collar as a special named magic item drop? It would work as a full-quest duration charm-type spell, one use per rest. (I would love to see a paladin use it, heh.) Surely there is somewhere where they make them.