Harbour Instances

[Tagros]

I have spent a lot of time of the past years doing the icy games jumps in the harbour but it is much more 'grindy' now (if there is such a word). Did some ice jumps last night and found the coins aren't spawning properly.
Jumped - got the purple, blue and white past the final jump, ran back to the top of the cliff, and jumped again - only the white coin had re-spawned (I jumped to the final jump to check as sometimes the display doesn't show them all until you're closer). Waited until all three coins had re-spawned, jumped again and got all three coins. I did another jump from the mast in the harbour to collect just whites and blues, ran back to the top of the cliff, jumped off and only the blue coin of the final three had re-spawned. Both times I had to wait double the length of time for the purple to re-spawn.

Is it possible to just fix 3 harbour instances while the icy games are running? I don't mind running around and jumping for no xp for half an hour a day and for small upgrades to low level weapons - this is probably the only Mario style event I have ever been able to 'master' (my RL stats would show a Dex of 1) - but just waiting for the end coin to reappear is very frustrating to say the least. In the past things would get laggy when the instances were changing i.e. 1 to 2 or 2 back down to 1. With the populations as they are (I'm on G-Land), we will only have a single instance and so the time invested vs reward potential has fallen away to almost nothing.

(And when I say 'master', I have never been able to figure out the FvS/monk leap technique to jump from the Tavern roof to just grab the purple - tried it many times, failed every time. I go to the mast of the ship and jump to the slides and go around that way. When there are multiple instances you can swap to the next instance and the coins are usually there unless you've been unusually fast.
You still have problems with missed jumps, lag spike effects and the like so I don't get the purple coin every jump, probably 4 out of 5. When each jump still takes approx. 1 min, you are looking at 20-25 purples in half an hour, of which 1 will probably net you a 'recipe 3')

When we have only one instance, and the purples seem to be only appearing at half their normal spawn rate, the ice slopes may be emptier than usual this year. If its not possible to add and fix instances, then its not possible, just a thought...

Edit: 'recipe 3' should be 'recipe 5' - recipe 3 is the equivalent of 'how to boil an egg'

[Astoroth]

When we have only one instance, and the purples seem to be only appearing at half their normal spawn rate, the ice slopes may be emptier than usual this year. If its not possible to add and fix instances, then its not possible, just a thought...

It's certainly a lot nicer when you don't have to wait several minutes for the purple to respawn. I cant see them fixing it before the event is over, definitely something they should look at before bringing it back up again, perhaps a respawn of just a few seconds. The only real option is standing in the tavern for for a shorter time, or stepping into a quest. But yeah sitting around is sort of a show stopper, it's boring enough to farm them as it is.

[CaptainPurge]

It's certainly a lot nicer when you don't have to wait several minutes for the purple to respawn. I cant see them fixing it before the event is over, definitely something they should look at before bringing it back up again, perhaps a respawn of just a few seconds. The only real option is standing in the tavern for for a shorter time, or stepping into a quest. But yeah sitting around is sort of a show stopper, it's boring enough to farm them as it is.

I tested respawn rates vs /loc extensively last year. You only need 1 instance. The shortcut is to teleport out of the area which causes the purple to spawn faster:

1. Hotkey Harbor teleport and hit it as soon as you grab the purple so you port before you hit the water.

2. Wait 30-35 seconds at the teleport spawn location which gives enough time (as close as I was able to cut it) for the purp to respawn. Any shorter and if you enter the area the spawn rate changes back and then you have to wait for the standard duration.

3. Run back and the purple will have spawned.

4. Send me 20% of your purps for this pro tip

[Nonesuch2008]

I tested respawn rates vs /loc extensively last year. You only need 1 instance. The shortcut is to teleport out of the area which causes the purple to spawn faster:

1. Hotkey Harbor teleport and hit it as soon as you grab the purple so you port before you hit the water.

2. Wait 30-35 seconds at the teleport spawn location which gives enough time (as close as I was able to cut it) for the purp to respawn. Any shorter and if you enter the area the spawn rate changes back and then you have to wait for the standard duration.

3. Run back and the purple will have spawned.

4. Send me 20% of your purps for this pro tip

You can do this with the teleports built into the event as well, just have to run outside the zone at the top, but that can be a part of your '30-35 seconds' waiting period. I wish they would just setup two permanent Harbor zones during the event though. The less hoops people have to jump through & the less waiting involved, the more participation they are likely to get in the event.

[CaptainPurge]

You can do this with the teleports built into the event as well, just have to run outside the zone at the top, but that can be a part of your '30-35 seconds' waiting period. I wish they would just setup two permanent Harbor zones during the event though. The less hoops people have to jump through & the less waiting involved, the more participation they are likely to get in the event.

Sure. But if you want purples, you do the tavern jump. And if you want whites you probably don't even know this forum exists.

[FestusHood]

I tested respawn rates vs /loc extensively last year. You only need 1 instance. The shortcut is to teleport out of the area which causes the purple to spawn faster:

1. Hotkey Harbor teleport and hit it as soon as you grab the purple so you port before you hit the water.

2. Wait 30-35 seconds at the teleport spawn location which gives enough time (as close as I was able to cut it) for the purp to respawn. Any shorter and if you enter the area the spawn rate changes back and then you have to wait for the standard duration.

3. Run back and the purple will have spawned.

4. Send me 20% of your purps for this pro tip

I usually just wait at the start of the top ramp for about that amount of time.

I see people waiting on top of the leaky dinghy or on top of the mast for coins to respawn. In that range it takes several minutes.

[CaptainPurge]

a thing

Yes they can sit en wait for 3 minutes. And you can too, as you have just stated. The point is most players want to cut that time down and we've provided a quick how-to guide.

[CaptainPurge]

In that range it takes several minutes.

Edit: Actually, 2 min 50 sec is the standard respawn wait if you stand there contemplating your navel.

[Nonesuch2008]

Sure. But if you want purples, you do the tavern jump. And if you want whites you probably don't even know this forum exists.

Nah, the focus for me is entirely on the purple via the ramps, because the blues & whites will automatically pile up in the process of getting those. A successful purple run will net me 6 of the other coin types along the way.

My skaters don't have teleport natively & I don't have the inclination to stock up on scrolls. In a single instance, after I come off that last ramp & nab the purple, I swim for the automatic teleporter. Re-appear up top at the Harbormaster's house, then run to the IQ gate. Pop into IQ, pop-out, and the Harbor instance is reset.

In a dual instance, I don't bother with the teleports at all, I'm doing the entirety of my jumps from the mast.

[moomooprincess]

wah wah wah

So you have to wait a little bit. Big deal.

No fair, you can mast jump, I can't. That isn't fair. I say get rid of that ship.

OK, I don't want to have to wait at all. Just give me purple coins.

OK, wait, I don't like NOT getting a recipe 5 every time. I want that fixed. I just spent hours jumping and received no recipe 5s. No fair.

OK, wait, how about they just get rid of the games? Remove something to complain about.

No matter what, people will not be happy.

Darned if you do, darned if you don't.

The games are fine just the way they are.

[Nonesuch2008]

wah wah wah

So you have to wait a little bit. Big deal.

No fair, you can mast jump, I can't. That isn't fair. I say get rid of that ship.

OK, I don't want to have to wait at all. Just give me purple coins.

OK, wait, I don't like NOT getting a recipe 5 every time. I want that fixed. I just spent hours jumping and received no recipe 5s. No fair.

OK, wait, how about they just get rid of the games? Remove something to complain about.

No matter what, people will not be happy.

Darned if you do, darned if you don't.

The games are fine just the way they are.

The idea behind suggesting two Harbor instances is to grow the event & stimulate participation, especially among newer players who aren't forum or Wiki savvy to learn all the angles. It's not about me, changing the structure of the games, or helping other prolific farmers become even more so. This is our world, so to speak, so we might be more forgiving of having to wait or perform a few extra steps in order to move things along & make the re-spawns happen.

But what about that new player who has no meta knowledge? Both of the winter events are gated, requiring purchases for participation (the rental skates are really more of a test drive for the real deal). It's very easy to see someone new being put off by having to pay for something which they could use briefly, but then be forced to wait in order to use again. In this day and age, I am not putting my money on anything holding their attention for that long. I'd rather help them by removing that artificial barrier.

A minor tweak like this, plus some of the good ideas in Saekee's thread over in the Suggestions forum could really drive up the participation numbers for both new and existing players.

[CaptainPurge]

wah wah wah

So you have to wait a little bit. Big deal.

No fair, you can mast jump, I can't. That isn't fair. I say get rid of that ship.

OK, I don't want to have to wait at all. Just give me purple coins.

OK, wait, I don't like NOT getting a recipe 5 every time. I want that fixed. I just spent hours jumping and received no recipe 5s. No fair.

OK, wait, how about they just get rid of the games? Remove something to complain about.

No matter what, people will not be happy.

Darned if you do, darned if you don't.

The games are fine just the way they are.


The idea behind suggesting two Harbor instances is to grow the event & stimulate participation, especially among newer players who aren't forum or Wiki savvy to learn all the angles. It's not about me, changing the structure of the games, or helping other prolific farmers become even more so. This is our world, so to speak, so we might be more forgiving of having to wait or perform a few extra steps in order to move things along & make the re-spawns happen.

But what about that new player who has no meta knowledge? Both of the winter events are gated, requiring purchases for participation (the rental skates are really more of a test drive for the real deal). It's very easy to see someone new being put off by having to pay for something which they could use briefly, but then be forced to wait in order to use again. In this day and age, I am not putting my money on anything holding their attention for that long. I'd rather help them by removing that artificial barrier.

A minor tweak like this, plus some of the good ideas in Saekee's thread over in the Suggestions forum could really drive up the participation numbers for both new and existing players.

Pretty much that. Someone wants to farm this efficiently so we're helping, I hope.

[Saekee]

I tested respawn rates vs /loc extensively last year. You only need 1 instance. The shortcut is to teleport out of the area which causes the purple to spawn faster:

1. Hotkey Harbor teleport and hit it as soon as you grab the purple so you port before you hit the water.

2. Wait 30-35 seconds at the teleport spawn location which gives enough time (as close as I was able to cut it) for the purp to respawn. Any shorter and if you enter the area the spawn rate changes back and then you have to wait for the standard duration.

3. Run back and the purple will have spawned.

4. Send me 20% of your purps for this pro tip

thank you!

[moomooprincess]

The idea behind suggesting two Harbor instances is to grow the event & stimulate participation, especially among newer players who aren't forum or Wiki savvy to learn all the angles. It's not about me, changing the structure of the games, or helping other prolific farmers become even more so. This is our world, so to speak, so we might be more forgiving of having to wait or perform a few extra steps in order to move things along & make the re-spawns happen.

But what about that new player who has no meta knowledge? Both of the winter events are gated, requiring purchases for participation (the rental skates are really more of a test drive for the real deal). It's very easy to see someone new being put off by having to pay for something which they could use briefly, but then be forced to wait in order to use again. In this day and age, I am not putting my money on anything holding their attention for that long. I'd rather help them by removing that artificial barrier.

A minor tweak like this, plus some of the good ideas in Saekee's thread over in the Suggestions forum could really drive up the participation numbers for both new and existing players.

You know what I do for new players? I give them white coins to rent skates, I let them join my party and get some of the purples that would have been mine, I give them recipe 3s, 4s, and 5s, I teach them how to jump, I show them the boathouse, I give them Snow Elementals, I explain to them on how to use the crafting device.

If I move on to a server and find the prices people are charging to be out of whack I will drive the prices down. It is amazing how much whining happens when someone starts asking for less than what others are. On Thelanis there was a concerted effort to keep Icy Burst kits at 75,000 plat. I respected that, too bad the player that did that passed away.

making more instances is NOT for the new player, it is for the veteran players. Call it what you will, but I am not buying what you are selling.

You want to know what really discourages the new player? How difficult it is to get the purple.

You get free tokens and free skates in Eveningstar. No one has to buy anything.

[Nonesuch2008]

You know what I do for new players? I give them white coins to rent skates, I let them join my party and get some of the purples that would have been mine, I give them recipe 3s, 4s, and 5s, I teach them how to jump, I show them the boathouse, I give them Snow Elementals, I explain to them on how to use the crafting device.

If I move on to a server and find the prices people are charging to be out of whack I will drive the prices down. It is amazing how much whining happens when someone starts asking for less than what others are. On Thelanis there was a concerted effort to keep Icy Burst kits at 75,000 plat. I respected that, too bad the player that did that passed away.

making more instances is NOT for the new player, it is for the veteran players. Call it what you will, but I am not buying what you are selling.

You want to know what really discourages the new player? How difficult it is to get the purple.

You get free tokens and free skates in Eveningstar. No one has to buy anything.

I also provide training, help, advice, etc., not quite sure as to why you would assume otherwise, and I can assure you that I have had newer individuals tell me that they have balked at making the purchase. That's where the education & mentoring comes into play, but my point is every little bit of positivity helps. But if you are that full of doubt and negativity as to my intentions, there's not much more that I can do for you.

[Tagros]

making more instances is NOT for the new player, it is for the veteran players. Call it what you will, but I am not buying what you are selling.

You want to know what really discourages the new player? How difficult it is to get the purple.

You get free tokens and free skates in Eveningstar. No one has to buy anything.

You're right, having more than one instance is not specifically for the new player, but seeing other people swap instances during the icy jumps meant that I tried it (didn't occur to me that it was even an option before I saw someone else do it). Never got the hang of swapping instances in mid-flight but that's my low dex again... It also meant that when I was learning it, the chances of a potential reward were there on each jump - it's easier to practice hitting a target, when the target is actually there.

The second most discouraging thing for newer players, I would suggest, is seeing that no one else is doing the jumps. This was a suggestion to increase potential rewards and so possibly increase participation (even if only by one!)

I only managed the icy jumps after watching a Utube vid of somebody's low level dwarven pally managing it, where it also showed roughly where you should be trying to land on each jump (thank you for whoever did that!). It then took a lot of practice and stubbornness - luckily being a Yorkshireman, being stubborn is part of our genetic structure. At the time, slapping Icy Burst onto a low level weapon seemed worth the effort.

The original post was only a suggestion. The Devs will either take it on board or ignore it - pretty much a Boolean option.

[sk3l3t0r]

A minor tweak like this, plus some of the good ideas in Saekee's thread over in the Suggestions forum could really drive up the participation numbers for both new and existing players.

Never been interested in the games and no tweak will change that... It takes everything just to get me to turn in the coins I get from chests let alone to even to bother with the event.

But if this will help other people participate, then I am all for it. We need tweaks in content once in a while to stimulate people to come back and replay it or for new people to want to try it out if they are new to DDO.

Now, can we also get some revisions to Crystal Cove? That is my favourite event and would really like to see some love for it.

[moomooprincess]

I have been checking the prices for recipes for Winter Recipes and Midwinter Recipes on EVERY SERVER. I don't see any cheap ones on any servers. Some servers, Midwinter recipes are only on the ASAH auction house.

Now, how is a new player suppose to afford those prices? Are we sure this request is REALLY for the new player? It seems the request is for the veteran players to do it to ask exhorbitant prices for the Icy Burst Kits since hyper inflation is in the game and people just feel the need to charge high.

I have not done one harbor jump, just checking the AHs from Eveningstar. Sure, the items I see are the ones not selling, maybe all the affordable ones are quickly purchased by the "new" player.

the prices in the harbor could be more affordable for the new player.

[Annex]

If I recall correctly, my first Risia/Midwinter Festival was January of 2014. The ski jump and race track looked fun so I bought permanent skates on both my accounts. At 95 points they're cheap!

In 2016 I spent the time to learn the race track and earn a polar bear. Nothing held me back for two years. I made the effort when I was ready to make the effort.

Last night I finally nabbed my first Purple Coin. I try every year, usually for a couple hours, but only after watching a tutorial last night did I 'get it'. Again, nothing held me back for three years. I made the effort and finally figured it out.

Last night I spent about 6 hours jumping. In that time, I acquired 98 Purple Coins. My thoughts:

* Anyone who can grab one Purple Coin a minute and claims poor dexterity skills is full of Kobold Cookies. Lots and lots of Kobold Cookies. :D

* Watching a tutorial will greatly help any new player seeking Purple Coins.

* If you ski jump perfectly, you can grab one Purple Coin about every 60 to 75 seconds with one instance of the Harbor active. I usually mess up often but have achieved that rate a couple times. More instances will definitely help the super awesome jumpers shave off a few seconds between jumps.

* Other players in the Harbor lag me. I enjoyed the event best, late at night (server time), when I had the Harbor all to myself. (It was awesome!)

* As with almost every piece of equipment in the entire game, rewards from the event will serve a character for a limited amount of time during each life. If you enjoy the mini-game, go for it! If not, in my opinion, you will not miss the stuff.

* If all these new players who would surely come out if there was one more instance would come out, there would be more than one instance! :D

I am being a bit cheeky. :D In my opinion, it works fine as is. If the developers can easily add another instance so the super jumpers can corner the Auction House, go for it! If the developers want to add more rewards, yuuuUUUUUUHHHHHEEEESSSSSS!

Have fun jumping out there and remember, when mast jumping, always remember to wear heavy gloves. Splinters really suck.

[Tagros]

Glad to hear that you've had success in ice jumping and 6 hours is definitely showing commitment :-)

My dex and reaction skills are legendary in my guild. My cleric when we first started (so before we had underwater action items) died from drowning many, many times because I kept turning the wrong way in the L2 retrieving the backpack quest. Seems strange now as its all so easy with the right equipment and knowing the quests, but back then I would taking the armour off, putting the weapons and shield in the backpack, swimming on the surface as far as I could - and then having someone else in the guild grab my soul stone from the bottom of the water...


When there were multiple instances, I could average about 20 purples in half a hour. Jump from the mast, go around the slides grab the purple then swim back to the ship. Swap instance and repeat. Sometimes with 2 instances you still had to wait a little, but with 3 you never did. However with 'floating' or dynamic instances it meant instance 1 and 2 were full of people and so you would get intermittent lag effects and so the attempt for the purple was even less certain than in instance 3. That's why I was suggesting 3 instances. Instance 1 would be the normal instance that people actually using the harbour would use, and then the jumpers could swap between 2 and 3. Do half an hour, then spend the rest of time questing. I found that if I spent more than half an hour, my success rate went down as I got bored (and the hand holding the mouse got sweatier - don't know why it was worse doing the jumping, but it was)


I have bought recipe 5's from the AH in the past, never posted any. Didn't have any plans to this time.
I have given icy burst kits to my guildie's in the past - I had time, they didn't.

This was a suggestion to increase MY participation in an event that I have really enjoyed over the years. This was also following on from an old observation that if you are having problems with something, then probably other people are as well. It appears that I was incorrect in the assumption. No worries.

[Annex]

For what it is worth, I remember having some difficulty swimming. :o We do not talk about that.

If there were three instances I would run it exactly as you describe. With one instance I do the ski jump, grab the Purple, swim to the lighthouse, port to the ski ramp, wait about 30 seconds, then go again. If I do everything perfectly I grab a Purple every 60 to 75 seconds. I miss a lot but am now earning 10 Purples in 30 minutes without much trouble and I am definitely less skilled than you. Maybe I should buy myself some Kobold Cookies?

I have no issues with adding more instances. I just wanted to say that a new (and sucky, like me) player can do it, right now, as is.

Oh! One last thing. In Lord of the Rings Online the developers added really good, new rewards to the last two festivals. Well guess what! Participation shot up and the events were _really_ active! *gasp* What a SURPRISE! They know what to do to increase festival participation. I just hope they can find the resources to do it.

[cdbd3rd]

...

Oh! One last thing. In Lord of the Rings Online the developers added really good, new rewards to the last two festivals. Well guess what! Participation shot up and the events were _really_ active! *gasp* What a SURPRISE! They know what to do to increase festival participation. I just hope they can find the resources to do it.

*Steps carefully*...

It always has been... interesting... how 2 sides of the same shop handle things so differently. LOTRO fests usually have something new every year, even if a different skin of an existing item. DDO side has been more stingy with such things.


I have noticed the odd respawn issue with only certain coins showing up at the normal respawn time.

In closing, I point out that the festival was originally designed with a lot more participation expected. With the current number of folks trying to jump within one instance, a *slightly* faster respawn rate wouldn't hurt anyone. Myself, I have tried to avoid "navel contemplation time" by turning in each jump's coins between jumps.

[CaptainPurge]

Risia event is dead. Long live event.

Not even a 2nd instance ---- yes many hours on peak and off peak, don't ask stupid questions.

So weak ass worthless event. Big deal

[C-Dog]

Last night I finally nabbed my first Purple Coin. I try every year, usually for a couple hours, but only after watching a tutorial last night did I 'get it'.

Got a link to that vid?

Also, just curious - what build (generally speaking?) did you use?

[Nonesuch2008]

Risia event is dead. Long live event.

Not even a 2nd instance ---- yes many hours on peak and off peak, don't ask stupid questions.

So weak ass worthless event. Big deal

Two options on how to proceed then:

1) M-B-G&C
Feels good short term but doesn't accomplish much, other than that.

2) Do something to make it better
https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/471426-Suggestions-for-new-Risia-recipes

Some more good feedback would be great, to go along with some killer ideas already presented.

[C-Dog]

I have spent a lot of time of the past years doing the icy games jumps in the harbour but it is much more 'grindy' now (if there is such a word)...

Oh yes, yes there certainly is...


When each jump still takes approx. 1 min...

I don't mind that - it is what it is.

I'm hoping I'll have a face-palm moment at the answer here - is there any faster way to re-charge boost effects than to jump into a quick quest? I rely on the boosts to get my coins - and I'm getting a bit tired of Home Sweet Sewer. :/

[Ballabuss]

I do the jump and grab my coins then run up into the inspired quarter, wait at least 10 seconds and go back and do it again. So far I have yet to get a purple. My jumping skills are very poor