Snowpeaks festival feedback

[kmoustakas]

I just run the event challenge and I must say it reminded me on the first secret level in hexen. It was a level with 0 enemies, zero challenge and full of health potions and treasure. It took a lot of work to open it but it was totally optional.

I do not mind having a zero challenge event especially since it's the xmas event basically.

I don't understand why we're basically using the mabar distribution of motes/keys with the added slowdown of opening a chest but I'm guessing it was thought that it would feel nice for people to open chests? From the three systems, epic old token fragment drops, collectable drops, remnant drops, this is probably the worst but meh.

edit: I may not have been clear enough, I like the event! I am terrible at mario but this is easy even for me. Not once in my life did I ever succeed at the risia jump, only the parkour find the spot. But I am one of those lucky ones that looked at my bag and had like 50-60 keys randomly.

[J-2]

Yeah, there's really nothing fun about it. More annoyance to me.
It's like they'll do anything to not fix bugs.

[thedip]

Getting the keys is far too random.

I ran over a dozen quests (most long or very long), post update, and not a single chest appeared inspite of them being all EE (and no I didn't kill the mobs before they could decide what type of champion they were). I even got conquest in Dryden's Crypt to try and coax one out - nothing, nada, not a sniff of a chest.

Today I ran 2 quests on EE and hurrah a chest dropped but the frozen key(s) must have all melted as none of my party got one.

I can really understand why people sought out chests in "A Small Problem" (I was not one of them) as the only way that I can run the event atm is using the free keys that we were given.

[Jaxtan]

Yeah, there's really nothing fun about it. More annoyance to me.
It's like they'll do anything to not fix bugs.

IKR, every time I open a chest and there's a key I sigh a little. Already ran it over 30 times, but building up another stack of keys to run that no-challenge slide over and over for the same couple of gems. Plus, seeing the bugs from the event in quests just highlights how bad things have become. Just finished Druids Deep and learned Jussko is actually a Scourge of Snowpeaks! Someone better alert the Harpers!

1452

[MaeveTuohy]

I have really enjoyed the simplicity and low-intensity of the event.

I think it's great that they have one that is mostly played within the regular questing structure.

I like the loot. Something for (almost) everyone in that list.

Nobody has to stop and open a chest if they don't want to. If people find it tiresome, burdensome or a drain on the their xp pot, there is nothing stopping you from ignoring the chests completely.

The slide is cute. I am sure they will do more with it next time.

Two thumbs up.

[droid327]

I think its a fun idea. I'd just like to see MORE of it. Different maps for the slide. More rewards available to choose from. And boosting the trade down even to like 3:1 wouldn't hurt...the drop ratio becomes a bottleneck.

I'd love to see the chest open bar reduced to 0.5 sec too, like the Simon puzzles. It can feel a little sloggy when you have a snow chest and a champ chest and both take two seconds to open and another to load before you can move on.

[Mofus]

I like the Snow slide event itself, but am not happy with the delivery system for keys. I would like to see them drop in quest end chests or Rare chests in the wilderness, or they could pick specific daily quests that drop them. Either way, like the Snow slide event, don't care for the key delivery system.

[kmoustakas]

Fun fact, the chests can actually block elevators from moving. Just got that in memory quest and it sucked, that quest is long enough without restarting it. One more point for collectables going straight to inventory without chests spawning

[Annex]

My opinion has not changed much since the start of the event.

* Gathering keys is about as exciting as gathering collectibles for Cannith Crafting.

* The Bunny Slope plays like a Secret Cow level that requires no effort to find and gets found often.

* After most of the cosmetic rewards were removed, I dismissed the rest of the rewards. That was unfair.
.....The festive Augments provide very useful perks for many characters. On average, three runs of the Bunny Slope will earn an Augment. I ended up collecting dozens.
.....The cosmetic items look professionally done. While not to my tastes, I have seen numerous characters wearing them and they must be counted a great success.
.....The Animated Snowman looks very cute and has some funny animations. While I rarely use pets, I have seen many players with the Animated Snowman and I ultimately purchased 6 of them.
.....Many players dismiss the cookies because they flood inventory and provide marginal benefits. However, a smart player can ruthlessly use those cookies to accelerate low level questing. Every year, a few players complain about changing cookie benefits. While some get much worse, others get much better. A smart player will use the good ones and store the bad ones until the bad ones change into good ones. The store needs a Huge Cookie Jar since the Large Cookie Jar is too small. However, one storage character can hold all the cookies.
.....Many players dismiss the potions but a smart player will bank many of them for low level questing. The Cold Shield potions make quests like Taming the Flames much easier and +30 Jump at level 1 is just fantastic.

* The event favors powerful characters but a smart player of modest skill can still acquire hundreds of keys. As with all events, players with little time to participate will not gain much.

Even though I personally find the event boring, many players enjoy it so good for them. Given the past history of events, I doubt this one will receive any future updates.

[adamkatt]

Keys do drop in end chests and even regular old champ chests.

[Marshal_Lannes]

Huge success. I got everything from the event, including quintuplets of the augments. Selling keys now.

[Livmo]

Huge success. I got everything from the event, including quintuplets of the augments. Selling keys now.

It took me about 100 keys to get everything I wanted.

Life is stressful right now, so I liked the ski part the best. I found it relaxing.

However getting keys was annoying/inconsistent.

Overall I still liked the event due to the skiing after the key finding.

[Carpone]

Just playing the game, I'm choking on 130 keys. I don't hate myself enough to run this event that many times. I just give them away to friends and guildies.

[Bunker]

Just playing the game, I'm choking on 130 keys. I don't hate myself enough to run this event that many times. I just give them away to friends and guildies.

^^^^This.

I did a TR 1-30 life this week, and collected 70+ keys just in regular questing. Of course did R+ the whole way. No trouble finding keys and did not farm anything. (ok, maybe SC. :) I'm no savage )

[Cordovan]

We do have plans to offer different challenges in Snowpeaks, and we've thought already about what a more skill-based version of the slide might look like, and what its reward structure might be. We'll see what ends up happening in the future, but the first year version of Snowpeaks should be considered the easy anyone-can-do-it version of the event.

[Evean]

The final “beep” at the beginning of the run should be an octave higher than the others.

[Alrik_Fassbauer]

My personal feedback is more about immersion (like almost all things I write about are about immersion and story(tellinG) :

- Fluffy ? Flurry ? Snowflakey ? looks and sounds like a very naive person on/in Ebberron, a plane she doesn't know a thing about. She is clearly from the Feywild, and my suggestion is thus this :

Please make it more clear that she stems from the Feywild ! That she doesn't really know Eberron (or the Forgotten Realms), doesn't know how to behave there, and that to her everything there must be similar like to us the Feywild is : Strange, following not easily understandable rules and habits ...
I think it would be a good idea to make her even more naive - even a little bit over-the-top - because a Festival of "Good Cheer" is best with some good laughs !
I mean that I think that it would totally suit her to be more of an (involuntary) jester than the very grim Prince of Frost ...

To put even more immersion into this event, I'd build a connection between Jack Frost and the Winter Court of the Feywild. Both might be in some kind of competition with one another.
With Snowy err Fluffy being more of a "damsel in distress" type, whose part in the competition - as some kind of Emissary of the Prince of Frost - has gone ... haywire.

Regarding the racing, I could imagine a course, which is set apart from the other courses, but with the requirement of the Risia Ice Sktes. Maybe it's a competing course set up by Jack Frost ?

I could also imagine passages within the racing ourse which slow the character town, speed the character up, or / and do other tricks with the character - and the player must 6take action to save the character !
For example, I noticed that on one of my chatacters, she is racing so far that she collides quite hefty with a wall after a curve in the racing course. That almost stops her for a second or two.

[3dent]

I just barely got from 1 to 6 this week, can't do Shan-To-Kor on R1 (granted, I have WHOLE 2 Reaper points) and I only got that far by summoning both Elleri and a regular hireling (pay-to-win.) I got 17 keys in total, and I farmed Kobold Assault. It was still enough to buy some stuff, and if I was completely dead set on getting everything I'd farm with an iconic, but honestly I don't even want to think what this would be like for a completely new player, with no PL gear or feats, no iconics, no tomes, no Reaper points... It would feel like a titanic slog.

Anyway, I like the way the Snowpeaks slide is short and straightforward, though I wish it was somewhere midway between this and frozen river in Eveningstar difficulty-wise, with some reward for better performance. Also, some appropriately cheery background music would be nice, the course feels more forlorn than festive right now without it.

Store elixir is a rip-off, 5% extra chance per chest for an hour just seems like a bad value when farming champions is so much easier. (unless it also applies to snow chests, but even then...)

And, I'm a bit too lazy to post a screenshot of it, but that white round moonlike thing in the centre of the course... Maybe it's my (far from perfect) vision, but I always kinda mistake it for a coin. :)

[Silverleafeon]

We do have plans to offer different challenges in Snowpeaks, and we've thought already about what a more skill-based version of the slide might look like, and what its reward structure might be. We'll see what ends up happening in the future, but the first year version of Snowpeaks should be considered the easy anyone-can-do-it version of the event.

I did notice the level 1 difficulty.


I was kind of thinking that level 100 could have some large gaps where players fall off the cliff and drop down in boss zones.

Stage 1 - drop into the end fight of Von 6
Stage 2, 3 - drop into one of the end fights of Gianthold Tor
Stage 4 - face off Tiamat


As well, the slide could be littered with Ozzes and guarded by hamstring archers sniping from the peaks.


Add a few beholders flying about and some random Kobolds trying to help you, and a few exploding Codex Pages...

[Annex]

We do have plans to offer different challenges in Snowpeaks, and we've thought already about what a more skill-based version of the slide might look like, and what its reward structure might be. We'll see what ends up happening in the future, but the first year version of Snowpeaks should be considered the easy anyone-can-do-it version of the event.

*smiles sweetly and bookmarks for future pestering*

[Livmo]

The final “beep” at the beginning of the run should be an octave higher than the others.

I thought that as well. Plus Pole Position is abandoneware, https://www.myabandonware.com/game/pole-position-8o . I like how that game starts.

[gravisrs]

We do have plans to offer different challenges in Snowpeaks, and we've thought already about what a more skill-based version of the slide might look like, and what its reward structure might be. We'll see what ends up happening in the future, but the first year version of Snowpeaks should be considered the easy anyone-can-do-it version of the event.

Oky, so we will prolly have a more skilled challenge with like better gold-coins-per-key reward ratio ? Nice! I love super-challenging mario games.

To keep this event interesting please add some nice consumables [could be for gold coins for the best ones], like stat buffs [doh those kobold anniversary party cookies would be sooo much better if they were +2 to stats for those 15 mins], hp regen [but not like slow-casting festivult candy bar unless u want to speed it up ;), you could reuse those hp throwed potions from card cruncher - the ones that scales with level].

You plan to re-introduce ricia games/midwinter rewards to this event?

[3dent]

Oky, so we will prolly have a more skilled challenge with like better gold-coins-per-key reward ratio ?

Gold coins aren't really the bottleneck right now, from my (admittedly limited) experience it's silver that's (relatively) difficult to get, as everything that isn't either pure cosmetics or a cookie requires it, and augments and trinkets actually require 100 silver which is roughly 3-4 keys and 20 gold which is 2-3 keys...

[salmag]

Gold coins aren't really the bottleneck right now, from my (admittedly limited) experience it's silver that's (relatively) difficult to get, as everything that isn't either pure cosmetics or a cookie requires it, and augments and trinkets actually require 100 silver which is roughly 3-4 keys and 20 gold which is 2-3 keys...

True.

In my experience, Silver are harder to get then Gold.

They should offer a bronze trade in for silver. Maybe, 100 bronze for 10 silver, or something similar.

[Ahwaric]

I just checked the event and only one words comes to my mind: BOOORING!
Many people like this event due to fact that it is easy to get rewards. Sure, but is this all the event is about?

Compared to Midwinter Festival and Risia Ice Games, it is as flavourless as possible. Just favors strong characters that can kill many champions and open many chests. I can, too, but Midwinter nad Risia were nice change - required different skills and I was always thrilled to get a better score. Or learn how to get that purple coin.
Maybe there was a huge discussion that I missed about how bad the previous winter festival was. True, it had some flaws -mostly the rewards were not updated for a long time and all the recipes needed were quite annyoing. But this is much much worse. I doubt if even a bit more challenging snow slide will be introduced it will change much.

I usually try to find good points in changes and were even accused to be Dev's fan-boy one time. But this is probably the worst change in my 5+ years of playing DDO. . Just bring the old one back if that is all you can offer in exchange.

EDIT: Or best, and to be more constructive:
Use the old challenges (risia + midwinter) and new trading system. I mean no need to use 10+ recipes to get an item, new items and old items updated to game power creep (like augments were). An overhaul to currencies would be needed. Something to replace motes - or just buy coins with new motes. But it is still easier to do than designing new challenges. Especially good ones, as current example shows.

[Thrudh]

Getting the keys is far too random.

I ran over a dozen quests (most long or very long), post update, and not a single chest appeared inspite of them being all EE (and no I didn't kill the mobs before they could decide what type of champion they were). I even got conquest in Dryden's Crypt to try and coax one out - nothing, nada, not a sniff of a chest.

Today I ran 2 quests on EE and hurrah a chest dropped but the frozen key(s) must have all melted as none of my party got one.

I can really understand why people sought out chests in "A Small Problem" (I was not one of them) as the only way that I can run the event atm is using the free keys that we were given.

That is so weird.... I see multiple chests in nearly every single quest I run, and usually get 1-3 keys every quest... I am overflowing with them...

I am running elite and R1 while leveling from 12-19....

[Alrik_Fassbauer]

That is so weird.... I see multiple chests in nearly every single quest I run, and usually get 1-3 keys every quest... I am overflowing with them...

I am running elite and R1 while leveling from 12-19....

RNG. You are among those who regularly say : "it drops like candy", meanwhile RNG cursed players hardly ever find a key.

A guild member from "my" guild does have this problem. We did a whole quest chain - yet he got only 1 or two keys out of it.

[Hawklynn]

Running the course, it brought back memories of the Disneyland Park ride "Matterhorn" which had an Abominable Snowman around one of the turns. During the last tunnel at the end of the Snowpeaks course, I was thinking he might make an appearance and jump out .. kinda like the Orc in "The Captives" who jumps out by the gate in the end area.

[3dent]

By the way, I finally screenshotted that annoying "moon" thing I was complaining of earlier. It's this stained glass window

https://i.imgur.com/fOljb3n.png

It's re-used several times in the course, but the one to the left of the 2nd milestone pad does look annoyingly like a coin you just missed when you're in a rush.

[Fauxknight]

A guild member from "my" guild does have this problem. We did a whole quest chain - yet he got only 1 or two keys out of it.


Most of my guild plays much more casually than I do. I give them as many keys as they want, even they don't want any more and I'm sitting on >100 keys atm.

Some times I don't get any keys for awhile, then one quest will yield 3-5. It is pretty random, and the only way to balance that out is with a larger sample size, i.e. to play more. Otherwise there are some quests that naturally yield more (lots of orange difficulty mobs) and there is no over level penalty on getting a chest, so if one really wanted to farm keys you could use a higher level character on a lower level high yield quest.

[Sieannae]

I am stuck trying to figure out why in the Snowpeaks run, and only in the Snowpeaks run, I randomly lose connection to the server. More than a little annoying, since it costs me coins, which disappear on the run, when I have to reload the game. I freeze and then sit there as the server stops sending packets. None dropped and my side is sending with no reply.

It is most likely something on my end, but honestly, I have a hard time giving SSG a pass with all the lag issues in game. And the fact I can play for hours without losing connection really points to their side.

It has been a struggle to get through a few runs. Guess I will wait until next year to see if there is more effort put into developing the event. :(

[Iyllelia]

I'd rather not have spent 50 gold coins on a cosmetic that doesn't look like the icon given to represent it and also doesn't look like "frost".

Can that be updated to look like a white or silver flame or something? It's too similar to the diadem of flame.

[kmoustakas]

I understand random key mechanics like this and mabar have lots of issues.

I went to run the event first time and had to take the keys out of the bag and I had like 60+ on only one of my toons. I also remember running mabar the first time this year and getting 6 keys, then having a run with 0 keys. But random is meant to be that way: some people are lucky and some people are always lucky. Should we remove random from the equation and make it skill only or free only? I have to point out that has a huge set of issues on its own.

I give the course 10/10. It's so easy and casual you can just do 1 minute quick runs between coffees or quest haha

[MalarKan]

We do have plans to offer different challenges in Snowpeaks, and we've thought already about what a more skill-based version of the slide might look like, and what its reward structure might be. We'll see what ends up happening in the future, but the first year version of Snowpeaks should be considered the easy anyone-can-do-it version of the event.

Awesome! I figured as much :D

I actually enjoy it as a in between quests filler, or run a couple times before logig off for the night.

May i use this oportunity to remind everyone that the store bought ice skates still exist in many players TR bank? ????????????

[Craigrx1]

I have a toon Adcms that is getting key drops but every time I loot them they say they go into the ingredient bags but nothing appears in my ingredient bag even if I buy the keys nada. I am not sure what is going on but it seems to be just limited to this avatar

[boredGamer]

I have a toon Adcms that is getting key drops but every time I loot them they say they go into the ingredient bags but nothing appears in my ingredient bag even if I buy the keys nada. I am not sure what is going on but it seems to be just limited to this avatar

Two ingredients bags?

[3dent]

I have a toon Adcms that is getting key drops but every time I loot them they say they go into the ingredient bags but nothing appears in my ingredient bag even if I buy the keys nada. I am not sure what is going on but it seems to be just limited to this avatar

This is probably things you already know, but are you sure you're checking the green (ingridients) not brown (collectible) bags? And that you actually don't have multiple bags?

[Craigrx1]

Actually I do have 2 ingredient bags one small and one tiny, One is from the The Twelve patron and one is from the NPC that gives the crafting quest. And yes I have checked them both

[rabidfox]

It would be epic to have the mimic event at the same time as this one. Being randomly attacked by snow chests would be giggle worthy.

[Cybersquirt]

..., but the first year version of Snowpeaks should be considered the easy anyone-can-do-it version of the event.

This is what I don't understand. The slopes are level 1, period, and this is a first. WHY? The Ice Games I've played for years was prematurely cut short, imho, for this? It feels like a desparate attempt to kill yet another event where many players had old loot that SSG wanted dead. Or am I missing something? Playing to FTP accounts. . . ?

The Crystal Cove event was successfully (? or did SSG not get enuf $$$?) modified. Mabar (do). Why not the Ice Games? Too much hard code?

EDIT: It's cool that if you slide off the ramp you can restart. That's really the only plus.. but it is L1, right?
It's not cool to have to hunt for keys, or buy them, to participate.
It's not cool I thought skates made a diff (as a nod to what SSG killed) when they don't. And the tunnel is a joke-bullYwit. Would be perfect for a creature combat situation, but no.
As a player that's been paying/playing this game for 13 years @ $99 per year, I feel cheated, again.
It's BS the final row of coins is 3 copper.. so that's a hidden roll now... Yeah. I LURVE MMO'S
This game (maybe others are the same) is why I will never pay $$$ for another MMO.
a problem
As far as the key delivery system, check the Auction House/Shard Exchange. But that's not important, right? ppl that farm these things n capitalize on it....
It's not cool that Keys have to be found to participate in a Level 1 only event.
It's not exactly cool this thread was started by a Forum Member and not SSG, but stands as a sign of the times, apparently.

Dun talking. SORRY, not.

[Aelonwy]

That is so weird.... I see multiple chests in nearly every single quest I run, and usually get 1-3 keys every quest... I am overflowing with them...

I am running elite and R1 while leveling from 12-19....

I was playing with my hubby and son for ~4 hours yesterday (the most we've gotten to play in the last two weeks) and we ran an assortment of quests on elite. By the end of it my son had more than 3x the keys I had received, and a little less than twice what hubby had looted. Son 23 keys, hubby 12 keys, and myself 7 keys. None of us were using the little Festival Luck potion from the first week. Son had also looted a skill tome, and more named items than hubby and I combined.

Since I keep track of who has looted which named items this is par for the course when playing as a group. My sons characters, or his account just seems to be vastly luckier.

Yes I know, RNG. But I've been keeping track of the RNG within my little family group since last summer, the trends just seem to continue on and on without end. Hubby's characters have always seemed luckier than mine (now I can prove it to him in rows and columns of check marks and initials), son's characters blow his luck out of the water. I don't know what it means, I don't know how to prove it whatever it is, and I don't know how it could possibly be made more fair.

*shrug*

[Dragavon]

Since I keep track of who has looted which named items this is par for the course when playing as a group. My sons characters, or his account just seems to be vastly luckier.

DDO code is based on Asheron's Call code.

https://asheron.fandom.com/wiki/Wi_Flag

[3dent]

Another thing I really like about this event and nobody mentioned so far is the lack of any timers/blatant appeals to log in daily. It really simplifies participation and there's Daily Dice for incentivizing that already.

Anyway, I got the key drought over the weekend all of a sudden, again, considering I level slowly and don't have a lvl 30 able to just mass-slaughter some relatively low-level oranges right now. (Vermin keepers in HH Devil Assault had been my best bet, but I got 4 chests off them, all with keys once, and nothing in 5 or so subsequent runs.)


DDO code is based on Asheron's Call code.

https://asheron.fandom.com/wiki/Wi_Flag

That's a scary story for baby coders if I ever saw one...

[Aelonwy]

DDO code is based on Asheron's Call code.

https://asheron.fandom.com/wiki/Wi_Flag

Okay I had read that before but I fail to understand what that has to do with treasure, looting, RNG items, named items etc. The Wi Flag as I understand it is about aggro mechanics. DDO's aggro system is completely different (and equal parts ridiculously implemented but that's another discussion.)

Are you implying the Wi Flag somehow also affects treasure distribution? How would that be?

[Cavalier]

A bit off topic, but here goes.

Been collecting keys for a couple of weeks now and haven't turned em in yet. Looked last night and I have over 100 or them in the bank.

No way I am running 2 hours of that sliding event so I was wondering if the devs, for the next incarnation of this event, could add an option to turn in the keys in bulk and get a random amount of GOLD/SILVER/BRONZE coins, like maybe 75% you'd get from running the actual sliding course.

It was fun the first 50 runs, but it's worn thin and it is a no fail, so I don't really see a downside to this......I'd rather be running a quest for tokens or heart seeds for a TR than doing the slide.

[Aelonwy]

A bit off topic, but here goes.

Been collecting keys for a couple of weeks now and haven't turned em in yet. Looked last night and I have over 100 or them in the bank.

No way I am running 2 hours of that sliding event so I was wondering if the devs, for the next incarnation of this event, could add an option to turn in the keys in bulk and get a random amount of GOLD/SILVER/BRONZE coins, like maybe 75% you'd get from running the actual sliding course.

It was fun the first 50 runs, but it's worn thin and it is a no fail, so I don't really see a downside to this......I'd rather be running a quest for tokens or heart seeds for a TR than doing the slide.

They're unbound aren't they? You could sell your extra keys on the AH/ASAH to those less RNG lucky and/or at the same time purchase the coins you want from the same sources.

Yours is a novel solution? but I doubt it will happen because its... kind of indolent and it sort of debases the work of the dev that created the slide run. I sort of like the slide, my daughter loves it, I understand some people want something trickier with risk and skill and luck involved and I'm fine with that so long as I can "slow and steady" make my way to the same rewards with longer or more effort.

Maybe save your keys for next year? Cordovan did imply there would be something more to the event next year.

[Cavalier]

They're unbound aren't they? You could sell your extra keys on the AH/ASAH to those less RNG lucky and/or at the same time purchase the coins you want from the same sources.

Yours is a novel solution? but I doubt it will happen because its... kind of indolent and it sort of debases the work of the dev that created the slide run. I sort of like the slide, my daughter loves it, I understand some people want something trickier with risk and skill and luck involved and I'm fine with that so long as I can "slow and steady" make my way to the same rewards with longer or more effort.

Maybe save your keys for next year? Cordovan did imply there would be something more to the event next year.

Oh for sure I am saving them, and I don't want to downplay the effort to make the run. But unlike Night Revels, there is only 1 run type and you can't fail. Selling is an idea. Might look into it.

That is why I suggested maybe onkly getting 75% of the potential coins if you chose to just turn them in.

Maybe add an option of say, 5 keys for a 50 Gold Coin reward, 10 keys for a 100 Coin reward. You know you are losing out on the silver and bronze coins but you make an informed decision to do so.

I'm a big proponent of choice. More choice is always good.

[Aelonwy]

I'm a big proponent of choice. More choice is always good.

You have my whole-hearted agreement there.

[SiliconScout]

We do have plans to offer different challenges in Snowpeaks, and we've thought already about what a more skill-based version of the slide might look like, and what its reward structure might be. We'll see what ends up happening in the future, but the first year version of Snowpeaks should be considered the easy anyone-can-do-it version of the event.Well fart. I hadn't run it, didn't have a need for any of the rewards at this time so I saved up coins and keys as I found them figuring I would jump into it next time around as it didn't sound like it was too grindy.

But that is on me, I should have realized it's not likely to be as easy down the road and that as usual the early adopters of the new content META get the easiest awards.

Silly silly man I am.

[Dragavon]

Okay I had read that before but I fail to understand what that has to do with treasure, looting, RNG items, named items etc. The Wi Flag as I understand it is about aggro mechanics. DDO's aggro system is completely different (and equal parts ridiculously implemented but that's another discussion.)

Are you implying the Wi Flag somehow also affects treasure distribution? How would that be?

Every account and every character is identified in DDO by a number. I believe that number is in some way used by the RNG so that some characters can be luckier than others when opening chests with named items in them.

I read something about it a long time ago, but do not ask me where / when :o

[Dragavon]

Well fart. I hadn't run it, didn't have a need for any of the rewards at this time so I saved up coins and keys as I found them figuring I would jump into it next time around as it didn't sound like it was too grindy.

But that is on me, I should have realized it's not likely to be as easy down the road and that as usual the early adopters of the new content META get the easiest awards.

Silly silly man I am.

You still have more than a week to run it.

Getting some charisma and dexterity augments is wise

[donblas]

As an altaholic I like this kind of event (plus the Mabar and Crustal Cove type things - and the challenges).

They allow me to farm a large amount of gear (not great gear, but better than what I'd already have) for a large amount of characters.

Thanks for inventing it!

[Hawklynn]

Every account and every character is identified in DDO by a number. I believe that number is in some way used by the RNG so that some characters can be luckier than others when opening chests with named items in them.

I read something about it a long time ago, but do not ask me where / when :o

This reminds me of the old school NES Classic game "Dragon Warrior". The Hero's name would dictate the initial stats and stats gained per level up. Each letter or number in a name would have a number value and then an algorithm used on the sum of a name would define the stats.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/563408-dragon-warrior/faqs/18342

Although the stats/skills in DDO are static pending your choices or race/class, I'd be curious on the algorithm if in-game dice rolls had a positive (or negative) benefit from a name, i.e. Treasure.

[Cantor]

Just playing the game, I'm choking on 130 keys. I don't hate myself enough to run this event that many times. I just give them away to friends and guildies.

My feels too. Drowning in keys and have to waste time to convert them.

[Annex]

Kobold remember Rose Colored Glasses.

[shmagmhar]

I dont want to loose time on my XP pots doing the slide that is boring and gives no XP . I like Mabar . It gives XP. I dont like the slide. you really expect me to want to do that slide more than once? I am insulted that you would think I would have fun doing that . sorry but I mean that sincerely. watching my fingernails grow could be more entertaining. finding coins in random chest OK .

[Selvera]

So from my perspective:

There appears to be way too many keys. Perhaps this is just playing someone who can easily complete quests on elite+ and playing more then a couple hours a day; but I've easily run the slide upwards of 100 times so far and keys continue to pile up. Given that it takes about 1 minute 7 seconds to do the slide and loading times; we're talking over 2 hours of sliding there.

The slide was fun at first; but after 10 times or so; it gets very boring and very repetitive. It sort of feels like a sonic the hedgehog special stage ring half-pipe from sonic the hedgehog 2. Except slower, without bombs to avoid, and worse music. It also sort of reminds me of mariokart, without competition, moving parts to the track, shortcuts or interesting items. And in both those games there's a variety of at least half a dozen different maps to change things up, instead of just 1. It is calming/relaxing, it is not exciting and it's something I actively attempt to not run while running xp potions since it'll burn your potions for no xp. Also it is penalizing to do while in a party (yay competition! you both get less rewards), and can't be run in a raid group (you know when waiting for a raid to fill and you're looking for something quick to do to pass the time.)

RNG seems heavily featured in this content. RNG to get champs; RNG to get chests; RNG to get keys; RNG to get silver coins in the slide; RNG to get coins at the end of the run. And by posts above; it appears that folks are nowhere near even on this RNG, although that may just be specific observations and anecdotes. Over the course of 48 keys (my sample size for testing) I pulled 307 gold coins, 985 silver coins and 3347 bronze coins. I did not collect every bronze coin in the slide, but I collected every gold and silver on the slide. This averages to 5 keys per augment (21 silver per coin on average); starkly worse then the above mentioned 3 keys per augment. While RNG is okay to have in games; this seems to be too much RNG for an event like this.

Failure on the slide is 100% based on RNG, there is no skill involved, since you can simply go backwards to pick up anything you miss, or even just restart. There is no choice involved; there's only 1 path to go and there's a pretty defined best route to go on that path; there's no choices of "left or right", there's no choices of "attempt a dangerous thing to get a reward", there's not even a choice of "go faster to get a better reward but maybe miss out on some stuff because you didn't have time to react or go backwards for stuff you missed."

But I mean I got everything I wanted from the event first time and enough spare coins/keys/augments to sell for at least 500 spare shards, so it's not all that bad an event right?

Mostly, it just feels a bit boring, unfinished and strangely punishing to participate in.

[zooble]

Right now it would be a better experience if you simply traded keys for rewards with a trader at the end of the slide.

It's nice that they tried to change it up but it's so boring. So boring that it would also have been better if they had a "10 key" version where it takes 10 of your keys and gives you 10x the rewards inside just to get it out of the way. I'm sure right now people would accept a 10 key for 5x reward mechanism. That's not how a limited time event should feel.

If they wanted it to feel like some kind of loot pinyata like Diablo 3's Vault run or Whimsydale then it fails on that in both player experience and reward. Outside of the slide, at the start it was like 'ooh a chest'. Now it's a burden in higher level quests where the sheer amount of chests spawns slows down a run. It's also: [sarc] great, another slide run. Inside the slide, I think everyone has already covered the issues.

They mentioned possible future difficulties but what would that bring? More coins per run? Decent XP for the first run then rubbish after, which doesn't help with the repeat run issue? There will probably still be a lot of keys that won't ever get spent.

[Cybersquirt]

Why is there no trade-in/upgrade to silver for bronze? Boo n BS.

[Livmo]

So from my perspective:

There appears to be way too many keys. Perhaps this is just playing someone who can easily complete quests on elite+ and playing more then a couple hours a day; but I've easily run the slide upwards of 100 times so far and keys continue to pile up. Given that it takes about 1 minute 7 seconds to do the slide and loading times; we're talking over 2 hours of sliding there.


Keys seem both plentiful and rare in my opinion across 7 accounts. All game play for these was on Sarlona if that makes any difference. Perhaps RNG has something to do with it or not. Also it seems keys are harder to get trying to farm them as opposed to questing. Across accounts questing elite+ gave the most keys. IDK maybe trying to farm keys is like watching the pot waiting for the water to boil when making mac-n-cheese.

I've also enjoyed gliding down and running the course in reverse. Good times! Did find a stuck spot, but forgot to screen shot. On one run I fell into a crevace and /stuck didn't help. Cost me 1 key to re-enter and finish.

[thedip]

If you want keys, don't run Quarantine as the town's folk don't drop chests - even if they are the right type of champion.

[ValariusK]

Every account and every character is identified in DDO by a number. I believe that number is in some way used by the RNG so that some characters can be luckier than others when opening chests with named items in them.

I read something about it a long time ago, but do not ask me where / when :o


You know, I do think something is wonky with item drops. My own characters seem to have pretty normal amounts of drops. As in, I get roughly an item for every three elite or reaper runs on quests that are supposed to have 33% drop rates. Over time it seems to be consistent with what is reported.
But by the Sovereign Host, my wife has insane luck on drops. For instance last night on a white plume mountain R1 run, she looted 2 1000 sentient xp items and a blackrazor, and the group didn't even do most of the opts. Also not long ago, in one chest in sharn she looted a good item with a mythic bonus, a good artifact also with a mythic bonus, and a normal item with 2 augment slots suitable for deconstruction. Her character just seems to have crazy luck---as in 33% chances for her seem a lot closer to 50% or more.
And, of course I know lots of people who seem to get drops way less than that---they post her pretty often and I've helped a fair number on Orien to get their Sharn sets.

[Slominator]

I think the event would be a lot smoother to run if we could turn in a key at the bottom to get ported to the top for a restart. Less load screens is always better.

[rabidfox]

If each coin played a musical note from a holiday song then it'd be a bit more interesting. Zip down fast enough and hit each coin correctly along the way then you hear the song played correctly (with different coin patterns for whatever random song track one gets each run). Just something like that to break up the monotony of 100+ runs down the slopes.

[Maxx_paine]

I don't mind how you have to aquire the keys. Rather nice that it applies to all dungeons and not just one area like Mabar. The slope part is relaxing and presents zero challenge which is a nice cool down just before logging for the night. Two things:

1) Don't have Flurry sitting on top of the cliff at the end. Low jumping skills coupled with the current lag issue make for an irritating time trying to get to her.
2) Put an exit door near her instead of making us use recall. Having a dozen or so runs to do a day makes this tedium unbearable since recall is almost as long as the run itself.

Being a winter event, I would expect more content than just the slope though. I am not sure what I would expect. Maybe a couple/few short dungeons related to the event or more city based games...

[Xgya]

I don't mind how you have to aquire the keys. Rather nice that it applies to all dungeons and not just one area like Mabar. The slope part is relaxing and presents zero challenge which is a nice cool down just before logging for the night. Two things:

1) Don't have Flurry sitting on top of the cliff at the end. Low jumping skills coupled with the current lag issue make for an irritating time trying to get to her.
2) Put an exit door near her instead of making us use recall. Having a dozen or so runs to do a day makes this tedium unbearable since recall is almost as long as the run itself.

Being a winter event, I would expect more content than just the slope though. I am not sure what I would expect. Maybe a couple/few short dungeons related to the event or more city based games...

Talk to flurry after looting the chest. Instant exit.
If the exit was as close to the chest as Flurry currently is, I can ASSURE you I'd hit that exit by mistake and would lose my chest.

Totally agree about that final jump up being a bit tricky.

[shmagmhar]

So from my perspective:



The slide was fun at first; but after 10 times or so; it gets very boring and very repetitive. It sort of feels like a sonic the hedgehog special stage ring half-pipe from sonic the hedgehog 2. Except slower, without bombs to avoid, and worse music. It also sort of reminds me of mariokart, without competition, moving parts to the track, shortcuts or interesting items. And in both those games there's a variety of at least half a dozen different maps to change things up, instead of just 1. It is calming/relaxing, it is not exciting and it's something I actively attempt to not run while running xp potions since it'll burn your potions for no xp. Also it is penalizing to do while in a party (yay competition! you both get less rewards),

Mostly, it just feels a bit boring, unfinished and strangely punishing to participate in. 100% agree you are not the only one! I thought about Sonic too . If i made the event I would have something similar to Mabar but Winter / Christmas/ Yule themed . from stuff in the winter areas in feywild . like the giant cookie golems , Ice abashais , winter wolfs , ice mephits . all the ice monsters , some fire monsters too. remember fighting Xantilar the fire giant in storm cleave ? I always liked that fight it was mad challenging when i first started playing. If we had a powered up version of that where waves of ice monsters spawn and we earn ice coins the longer we survive .

[ValariusK]

Some suggestions on the snowpeaks festival. I suspect it might be part of what's causing lag. Also, the slide gets repetitive after a while. So I suggest the following:

1) Obviously you designed the coins return as the (average chest contents) plus (probability of a key) * (return of a slide run).

I suggest this: Increase the average chest contents substantially. Reduce the probability of a key. Do this to make the coins return about the same as it is now. This will make for less boredom with the slides because people will be doing less of them, and less new instances being spammed and deconstructed. Shift more of the return into the coins from the chests.
Second: Allow the keys to be turned in for say, half the maximum return from a slide. You can set a maximum number of keys you can do this for if you're worried about exploits generating more keys than you'd planned for, perhaps you can only do this 10 times a day. But a lot of people are going to want this after a while, even if you substantially improve the slide. I'm not in any way particularly trying to farm keys, but I'm getting tons of them just leveling alts and such on r1 to r3. More than I want to slide honestly.