Saltmarsh and Feywild explorer areas?

[Nite_Prowler]

I can't figure out why the devs made these areas the way they did. You can see a group of monsters (always three I might add) but you can't target them until you are almost within melee striking distance. I like to take my characters out to explorer areas to test them out, but these areas offer ZERO challenges for melee characters and caster/ranger types are at a serious disadvantage because the monsters can't be targeted from a distance.

Why was it designed this way?

And why only three monsters per mob?

:confused:

[beta1]

I can't figure out why the devs made these areas the way they did. You can see a group of monsters (always three I might add) but you can't target them until you are almost within melee striking distance. I like to take my characters out to explorer areas to test them out, but these areas offer ZERO challenges for melee characters and caster/ranger types are at a serious disadvantage because the monsters can't be targeted from a distance.

Why was it designed this way?

And why only three monsters per mob?

:confused:

One possible answer to your first question is to keep the dungeon alert down. If you have a party of 4-6 running through some wilderness areas to a quest you can easily get to Red long before anyone gets to the quest. In the Saltmarsh if everyone sticks to the roads (as much as possible) the DA doesn't get too high.

[LeoLionxxx]

Why was it designed this way?



I think it's so that when you're running through to get to quests, you don't pull agro from as many monsters.

Something that might be nice for wilderness areas is the ability to choose whether enemies are in "normal" or "aggressive" mode:

- "Normal": Enemies are more content to leave you alone as long as you don't draw near (i.e. what happens in Saltmarsh and feywild)
- "Aggressive": Enemies will notice you from further away (i.e. what all the other wildernesses do)

[Nite_Prowler]

One possible answer to your first question is to keep the dungeon alert down. If you have a party of 4-6 running through some wilderness areas to a quest you can easily get to Red long before anyone gets to the quest. In the Saltmarsh if everyone sticks to the roads (as much as possible) the DA doesn't get too high.

So?

What difference does it make if you get a Red Dungeon Alert?

Most of the mobs will rubberband before they become a threat, especially if you're riding on a horse.

Seems like a lame excuse to nerf the explorer area to me.

[Strider1963]

So?

What difference does it make if you get a Red Dungeon Alert?

Most of the mobs will rubberband before they become a threat, especially if you're riding on a horse.

Seems like a lame excuse to nerf the explorer area to me.

Because a lot of people like me dont like having to run through explorer areas to get to a quest, we would rather be ported there. You get a dungeon alert and then you slow down, and if you're on a horse, even 1 hit from a bowman and you dismount and then you have to fight them all. The devs did it right with Ravenloft, you can port right to the quests, and if you want to go into the slayer area and have fun killing stuff, you can do it that way too. Best of both worlds. They dropped the ball with Feywild and Saltmarsh.

[Oxarhamar]

So?

What difference does it make if you get a Red Dungeon Alert?

Most of the mobs will rubberband before they become a threat, especially if you're riding on a horse.

Seems like a lame excuse to nerf the explorer area to me.

I think it was to cut down on pathing lag maybe

I agree though its silly compared to other explorer areas

Still disappointed on the nerf in slayer cap

[dunklezhan]

I can't figure out why the devs made these areas the way they did. You can see a group of monsters (always three I might add) but you can't target them until you are almost within melee striking distance. I like to take my characters out to explorer areas to test them out, but these areas offer ZERO challenges for melee characters and caster/ranger types are at a serious disadvantage because the monsters can't be targeted from a distance.

Why was it designed this way?

And why only three monsters per mob?

:confused:

probably for the reasons already given.

HOWEVER you can generally still target mobs at range by using the mouse to aim - shoot them and they activate. Frequently the mob next to them doesn't activate, so it can be a bit slower but it's very 'safe' (not that explorer areas are particularly dangerous). If you're a caster you can also target things like fireballs and rays this way, but not magic missiles or other 'never miss' spells & attacks.

All told, they might as well have them active.

Also: teleporters to quests please, for heaven's sake. Especially if 'red DA' is the concern. I mean, there's no trail of mobs chasing you if you 'port in. And while you're going back to add convenience to explorers please change Wheloon so there's a non-shard quick travel option?

I still run around Ravenloft and pick up the explorer points every time I'm doing the quest chain - I just do it *between* quest chains, generally to top up some XP and hit the next enhancement point/level or whatever. One of the many reasons Ravenloft is a great expansion that I run basically every life, despite the fact Ravenloft as a setting in general does not at all grab me here or in tabletop.

[dunklezhan]

The cynic in me - particularly with regard feywild - is that they want you to feel like it's bigger than it is, whilst still calling it an expansion. I hope that's not the case, which is why I've posted this 'conspiracy theory' version as a separate post. I don't want it to interfere with my more rational feedback above, should a design dev happen to read it!

[Weemadarthur]

Still disappointed on the nerf in slayer cap

I personally don't understand this from a financial perspective either. If players run slayers they use up their points on pots to make their runs as efficient as possible all the while not gaining points from running quests. Once the player moves back from slayers to quests they are earning the points to spend on the pots again. From a purely financial perspective it would make a lot more sense if players were spending more time in slayers than questing as the majority would still be spending to get the pots they want whilst also reducing the amount they would get for free. In short slayers are a guaranteed source of long term income if they are a viable source of xp or are at the very least a sure fire way to eliminate a large portion of the playerbases free store points.

[dunklezhan]

I personally don't understand this from a financial perspective either. If players run slayers they use up their points on pots to make their runs as efficient as possible all the while not gaining points from running quests. Once the player moves back from slayers to quests they are earning the points to spend on the pots again. From a purely financial perspective it would make a lot more sense if players were spending more time in slayers than questing as the majority would still be spending to get the pots they want whilst also reducing the amount they would get for free. In short slayers are a guaranteed source of long term income if they are a viable source of xp or are at the very least a sure fire way to eliminate a large portion of the playerbases free store points.

That's awfully coherent for a MacFeegle. Have you not been drinking? Are ye well, Weemad?

[Weemadarthur]

That's awfully coherent for a MacFeegle. Have you not been drinking? Are ye well, Weemad?

Ach de ye nae ken that if ye drinks enough ye come oot the other seed. Everything becomes clear as day if ye have enough wee drams an then a few more :P.

[dunklezhan]

ach de ye nae ken that if ye drinks enough ye come oot the other seed. Everything becomes clear as day if ye have enough wee drams an then a few more :p.

keep this man away from the klatchian coffee at all costs.

[droid327]

Its probably mostly to avoid pathing lag, yes. Red DA isnt just there to annoy players...its there because having 3 dozen mobs all trying to chase you is murder on the servers. The whole reason DA was added was to discourage people from training entire maps full of mobs. It worked...but then Horses kinda destroyed that, because you dont suffer a slowdown when Harried on a horse :) So they just changed it so the mobs dont aggro you in the first place.

I think a secondary reason is also to make Slayers more balanced between melee and ranged. You can still snipe at range, but you have to manually aim...you can just hit tab, fire, tab, fire, tab, fire and rack up kills super fast like you do in Orchard or Feywild.

[beta1]

So?

What difference does it make if you get a Red Dungeon Alert?

Most of the mobs will rubberband before they become a threat, especially if you're riding on a horse.


This is NOT true if the party is spread out. When the first 1 or 2 run past mobs, the rubberband back, but if the others are just arriving at a point when the mobs rubberband back and the DA is orange or red, the later arrivals will get shot off their horses and harried. This can happen when someone joins a party after the quest has started and the first members are already in the quest, but the wilderness area is still active and on high alert.

[Nite_Prowler]

Because a lot of people like me dont like having to run through explorer areas to get to a quest, we would rather be ported there. You get a dungeon alert and then you slow down, and if you're on a horse, even 1 hit from a bowman and you dismount and then you have to fight them all. The devs did it right with Ravenloft, you can port right to the quests, and if you want to go into the slayer area and have fun killing stuff, you can do it that way too. Best of both worlds. They dropped the ball with Feywild and Saltmarsh.

You've clearly not run around in Gianthold, the Vale, the Orchard, Ravenloft, or any of the other explorer areas that have been in DDO for YEARS.

I guess people sticking together to get to quests in an explorer area are gone.
Running as a group is part of the allure of DDO or at least it used to be ...

[droid327]

You've clearly not run around in Gianthold, the Vale, the Orchard, Ravenloft, or any of the other explorer areas that have been in DDO for YEARS.

I guess people sticking together to get to quests in an explorer area are gone.
Running as a group is part of the allure of DDO or at least it used to be ...

Uhhhh...GH, Orchard, and RL all have teleporters...

And I rarely see anyone talk about running Vale anymore, except for the two Leg Shroud quests that are right there inside the hub