Bavoria. No one told us

[Altra]

So, Husband and I have been playing about a year and a half.

One of my goals since I kinda figured out what parts of the game we like was clearing a wilderness area.

We decided on Barovia; well, it just kinda happened. We got all the scrolls and the slayer was close to cap, so we just thought we'd go all the way and take out the rares.

We didn't know <sob> we. didn't. know.

(Yeah, we finally wound up in the cave. Took us almost 3 hours nothing but chasing it. Wiki was no help.)

[Mindos]

(Yeah, we finally wound up in the cave. Took us almost 3 hours nothing but chasing it. Wiki was no help.)

It's a really cool location! There's a nice chair to sit on.

[droid327]

The Wiki page for Cebruvass says one of his portal spawn points is just east of Argynvostholt...couldnt you just keep porting there, checking for the Mists, and then recalling until you get it?

The fact that this isnt more common knowledge (I just learned about it through this thread lol) shows the downside of having auto teleport to quest giver...the wilderness itself becomes niche knowledge

[ahpook]

The Wiki page for Cebruvass says one of his portal spawn points is just east of Argynvostholt...couldnt you just keep porting there, checking for the Mists, and then recalling until you get it?

The fact that this isnt more common knowledge (I just learned about it through this thread lol) shows the downside of having auto teleport to quest giver...the wilderness itself becomes niche knowledge

its not a factor of the teleport. In absence of teleport it would just be characters riding to the quests and ignoring the wilderness. The issue is the size and total randomness making the rares somewhat pointless. You could runaround for days and without the use of the wiki most people would not know about Cebruvass no matter how much time they spend running to quests.

[Aelonwy]

I've done ALL the locations at least twice although usually its a once through grabbing whatever I see easily but the rares out there are exceptionally rare and owing to the rares spawning in many far flung random locations... really just NOT WORTH THE EFFORT. It would have been 10x better to have had 2 or even 3 times as many rares but with standard specific locations, even if the xp per rare were far less. Its not as though a wilderness that large doesn't have enough cool, mysterious locations for a plethora of rares.

The problem was too much RANDOM.

[Altra]

The Wiki page for Cebruvass says one of his portal spawn points is just east of Argynvostholt...couldnt you just keep porting there, checking for the Mists, and then recalling until you get it?

The fact that this isnt more common knowledge (I just learned about it through this thread lol) shows the downside of having auto teleport to quest giver...the wilderness itself becomes niche knowledge

We did that for about an hour and a half. Then he thought, "if it's random if he spawn there, would it also be random WHERE he spawns?"

So we ran out of the inn to the first mist, recall, break party, re-form party, go back out. He finally showed up, (long time. Long, long time)

We can say we did it. I'll never do it again! I love Ravenloft, but I have had enough of it for a good long time.So frustrating.

[droid327]

its not a factor of the teleport. In absence of teleport it would just be characters riding to the quests and ignoring the wilderness. The issue is the size and total randomness making the rares somewhat pointless. You could runaround for days and without the use of the wiki most people would not know about Cebruvass no matter how much time they spend running to quests.

If you had to run out to Berez manually every time, then occasionally people would stumble across the teleport spot that appears on that road, and the info would make its way into general knowledge. Eventually, everyone would stumble across it sooner or later - even if most didnt know there were other places to find access too

[ahpook]

If you had to run out to Berez manually every time, then occasionally people would stumble across the teleport spot that appears on that road, and the info would make its way into general knowledge. Eventually, everyone would stumble across it sooner or later - even if most didnt know there were other places to find access too

If it is consistent, (not certain that it is) it still looks like a random mist so anyone running to a quest would NOT click on it. It has been found because people were interested in running around the explorer and tried things out. That is how I found it, random luck while exploring. In the case of the OP they decided to get dedicated and continually click on mists to find it. They were not running to a quest and stumbling on it. The presence of teleports is not a factor because people using teleports are not interested in exploring the area (unless they are teleporting to that area to explore and not run a quest of course). Omitting teleports does not make explorers a better use of game time. Better explorer areas make a better use of game time.

[KoobTheProud]

I found him maybe the third time I ran the wilderness. Never once in 5 years since then. I just don't ever need Barovia wilderness as a complete process and so I don't hunt him down.

[Antheal]

Rare encounters should either be "random location but guaranteed spawn" or they should be "guaranteed location but random spawn".

Not BOTH random. That's just terrible design.

[ahpook]

Rare encounters should either be "random location but guaranteed spawn" or they should be "guaranteed location but random spawn".

Not BOTH random. That's just terrible design.

Very much this.

Although for Cebruvass, he could be a guaranteed spawn but since he is hidden behind a random mist any where on the map where investigating the mist will take you different area on the map he might as well be absent. The reward for finding him is certainly not worth it though the cool factor of finding him once is nice. Would anyone else have preferred that the mists activated by running into them rather than clicking and using the dialog (like they do in "into the mist"). They are pretty easy to avoid if you don't want to teleport.

[Xgya]

Rare encounters should either be "random location but guaranteed spawn" or they should be "guaranteed location but random spawn".

Not BOTH random. That's just terrible design.

It would be fun with that first option.

Make people to explore most of the map to look for rares, but no duplicates (I've faced the same rare in the map IIRC), and locations all over.

Guaranteed spawn but a few known locations would give it the old "The witch lives in this hut, but she hunts mushrooms in the forest to the north" feel old paper adventures had.

[droid327]

If it is consistent, (not certain that it is) it still looks like a random mist so anyone running to a quest would NOT click on it. It has been found because people were interested in running around the explorer and tried things out. That is how I found it, random luck while exploring. In the case of the OP they decided to get dedicated and continually click on mists to find it. They were not running to a quest and stumbling on it. The presence of teleports is not a factor because people using teleports are not interested in exploring the area (unless they are teleporting to that area to explore and not run a quest of course). Omitting teleports does not make explorers a better use of game time. Better explorer areas make a better use of game time.

I dont think its that much different than, say, the Yuan-ti optional in High Road. That's another randomized special-instance encounter, and it'd be pretty unfamiliar too if there was a teleport-to-quest option for that zone. But because you see it on the way, occasionally, some people will check it out.

Rare encounters should either be "random location but guaranteed spawn" or they should be "guaranteed location but random spawn".

Not BOTH random. That's just terrible design.

Collect crests/do puzzle is also OK - I dont mind the crests in Blands or IoD, nor the puzzle in Saltmarsh, as guaranteed spawns in guaranteed locations.

[J1NG]

I dont think its that much different than, say, the Yuan-ti optional in High Road. That's another randomized special-instance encounter, and it'd be pretty unfamiliar too if there was a teleport-to-quest option for that zone. But because you see it on the way, occasionally, some people will check it out.

The only thing is, Barovia (the explorer) is (much, Much) MUCH larger than the High Road. And the High Road also has one of the highest rare spawn chances in any explorer. So the chance of running into that encounter is much greater, despite it also using the same scenario of a random spawn at random location.

Incidentally, it is possible to reach that Message from the Yuan-Ti through other indirect methods as well. Unlike the Barovia one that requires an actual teleport to reach a location that is otherwise entirely unreachable.

J1NG

[Oxarhamar]

Rare encounters should either be "random location but guaranteed spawn" or they should be "guaranteed location but random spawn".

Not BOTH random. That's just terrible design.

Too much random is terrible indeed

I've seen this rare doing slayers




I like red named non rares in IOD every less

[Oxarhamar]

The only thing is, Barovia (the explorer) is (much, Much) MUCH larger than the High Road. And the High Road also has one of the highest rare spawn chances in any explorer. So the chance of running into that encounter is much greater, despite it also using the same scenario of a random spawn at random location.

Incidentally, it is possible to reach that Message from the Yuan-Ti through other indirect methods as well. Unlike the Barovia one that requires an actual teleport to reach a location that is otherwise entirely unreachable.

J1NG

Agreed like Epic Gainthold Random rares are alright because it's not so vast

[ahpook]

I dont think its that much different than, say, the Yuan-ti optional in High Road. That's another randomized special-instance encounter, and it'd be pretty unfamiliar too if there was a teleport-to-quest option for that zone. But because you see it on the way, occasionally, some people will check it out.

This is getting somewhat off topic but it is very different than the Yuan-ti optional. The Yuan-ti optional is an obvious rare that you will go kill and then an unusual bowl that you may click on to discover a teleporter to the caves. Cebruvass' teleporter is a mist. Like dozens of other mists that randomly teleport you around Barovia. No one running to a quest is going to click on a mist for a random teleport. You may never get to the quest if you did that.

And the number of times, I have run by the Yuan-ti and ignored them on the way to the quest is greater than the number of times I have killed them. I kill them when I want to do the explorer area. I ignore them when I don't. A teleporter to the quest would acheive the same results with less server resources.

An explorer area that is worth exploring will be explored. An explorer area that is not worth exploring will be ignored. Teleporters just make it easier to do the second choice. It does not make the first choice more attractive. IOW, A stick does not make something better but a carrot does.

[Oxarhamar]

This is getting somewhat off topic but it is very different than the Yuan-ti optional. The Yuan-ti optional is an obvious rare that you will go kill and then an unusual bowl that you may click on to discover a teleporter to the caves. Cebruvass' teleporter is a mist. Like dozens of other mists that randomly teleport you around Barovia. No one running to a quest is going to click on a mist for a random teleport. You may never get to the quest if you did that.

And the number of times, I have run by the Yuan-ti and ignored them on the way to the quest is greater than the number of times I have killed them. I kill them when I want to do the explorer area. I ignore them when I don't. A teleporter to the quest would acheive the same results with less server resources.

An explorer area that is worth exploring will be explored. An explorer area that is not worth exploring will be ignored. Teleporters just make it easier to do the second choice. It does not make the first choice more attractive. IOW, A stick does not make something better but a carrot does.

The teleporter should always be there every instance in a set location and the rare should be random would be a better way

Still I don't like the teleport system anyway if I'm running a slayer I'm clearing it out systematically being teleported is counter to this

[Wahnsinnig]

So we ran out of the inn to the first mist, recall, break party, re-form party, go back out. He finally showed up, (long time. Long, long time)

You do not have to break party. The party leader can reset the instance on the entry screen.

[SilentRunning]

The randomness of getting this particular "rare" is why I never bothered.

Instead of randomness, perhaps a jump through the hoops approach would be better, maybe as a final encounter type. You get all the other rares and then you get info from an npc to go to a location and take the mist at that location to that encounter.

Some people may not like this approach, but it would be more consistent.