Weekly Dev Activities - 11/05/07

[Hafeal]

So you think that a level 14 humanoid should be able to make an ancient red dragon helpless and autocrit for 6 seconds with one swing?

Perhaps physical size and/or shape should be a limitation to trip rather than just a blanket immunity.

Weekly Development Activities

Monsters

• NEW - Further reduced the rate at which incorporeal enemies phase on hit to about a third of the rate it was at before.

Thank you for listening. I hope this change, in effect, makes the undead quests and ghost touch weapons much more fun to use.

[Lorien_the_First_One]

So you think that a level 14 humanoid should be able to make an ancient red dragon helpless and autocrit for 6 seconds with one swing? Or just run up and knock her on her ass? Sure I can support that I wonder what the Stormreavers fort save is well in order to support the 50000 hit points he has his con has to be like 700 soooo you will need like a +350 stunning weapon and youre set!

I think they should follow the rules for their race/CR and not automatically be immune because they are a "boss". Of course a real Ancient Red would have saves making a stun less than unlikely and would generally kick our ass at L14. The red creature we face in von6 doesn't deserve to be called a Dragon as half of her abilities are missing.

[maddmatt70]

Come on Q, this ain't gonna cut it. Just when you are teleported? What if you succeed? Come back to platform to receive your -10 again? And what of the guy who died but never gets teleported to a puzzle?

If you want us to do the puzzles soooooo bad, why don't you make them integral to the Touch. Every puzzle completed knocks -2 off the "curse". Let's see 3 puzzles, 2 iterations, 6 total. What I'm advocating is each puzzle completion knocks it down by 2, so if you complete 5, touch is gone. For everybody. Makes you want to complete the puzzle, and puzzle completion makes the end fight easier, right? Dev's win, we win, everyone wins.

Link the puzzles to his "power" so something. As it stands, just having it gone while doing the puzzle is no incentive to get me to go back in there.

Borr.

According to Eladrin's post in the official abbot raid thread they are working on making all of the puzzles easier scalable from normal to elite. This was not in the development activities thread because they probably have not completed that development work for qa purposes. Same goes with the shrine at the end of the quest which would remove the Touch that Eladrin mentioned. Is that enough? I don't know. The issue alot of people have is with the when. I like the quest - think it is pretty just wish it was qa'd more/more well thought out I guess.

[alchilito]

Despite my love for ddo, I have come to the conclusion that the developers of this game are not interested in hearing the actual gamers that pay for its existence.

Im not gonna go into details here, I just want to say that it is extremely disappointing to see nothing is being done to improve the artifical intelligence of mobs.

[jjflanigan]

Despite my love for ddo, I have come to the conclusion that the developers of this game are not interested in hearing the actual gamers that pay for its existence.

Im not gonna go into details here, I just want to say that it is extremely disappointing to see nothing is being done to improve the artifical intelligence of mobs.

Hrm, did you even read the WDA notes? There is an explicit statement about the improvement of the AI. Not sure if this is sarcasm or you are just being negative and refuse to actually give the developers any credit.

[Kerr]

I think they should follow the rules for their race/CR and not automatically be immune because they are a "boss". Of course a real Ancient Red would have saves making a stun less than unlikely and would generally kick our ass at L14. The red creature we face in von6 doesn't deserve to be called a Dragon as half of her abilities are missing.

I'm surprised she still doesn't have a Fear aura.

[Mad_Bombardier]

Well since the unofficial WDA thread has devolved, I'm going to post my positive comments here.

Soooooo much good stuff there.

Ranged Combat, Seek Eternal Rest spell, no more "blocked" spells, Holy Burst Sword!, another attack for GrTWF (that makes 8 in full combo!), less phasing. I'm one Glad_Bombardier.

[ArkoHighStar]

Despite my love for ddo, I have come to the conclusion that the developers of this game are not interested in hearing the actual gamers that pay for its existence.

Im not gonna go into details here, I just want to say that it is extremely disappointing to see nothing is being done to improve the artifical intelligence of mobs.

what would this be. It looks like they are working on it, and just because it isn't in the WDA does not mean something is being done. When the final release notes come out then we can complain for sure

NEW - Monsters now have a better understanding of the world around them know what to do around doors and some area of effect spells.

[KaKa]

So let me get this straight... you have no problem bringing the servers down to put the Dolurrh changes (amongst others) in. Then you realize you went too far, but you're going to wait until mod 6 (which we probably won't see until February) to tone it back a bit? Pfft.

I agree waiting for mod 6 for any change to the abbot is unacceptable.

[Spookydodger]

NEW - Monsters now have a better understanding of the world around them know what to do around doors and some area of effect spells.

This sounds interesting. Care to elaborate more on this, or shall it just be a whole round of stealth changes.

[Venar]

The fact that there is only 3 pages of comments so far speaks a lot about the current interrest of players.

[Lorien_the_First_One]

This sounds interesting. Care to elaborate more on this, or shall it just be a whole round of stealth changes.

I'm hoping that this means rather than swinging uselessly at closed doors while we take 3 minutes to gather and prep the fighting area they will OPEN THE DOOR and attack us if they hear us.

In PnP steath in dungeons mattered.... you could sneak up to a door and surprise monsters (ya you in the armor, stay back 60 feet please - ready a run action when we open the door) or you could clank around and have them ambush you instead....

Ooooo and maybe they could learn to work ladders too. And if we are blocking the firewalled door they could back up after a couple rounds of damage like we do and range instead of just sitting there and roasting. Or maybe the casters could start caster fire/acid resists... so many fun possibilities....

[Twerpp]

In PnP steath in dungeons mattered.... you could sneak up to a door and surprise monsters (ya you in the armor, stay back 60 feet please - ready a run action when we open the door) or you could clank around and have them ambush you instead....

Yes could you imagine if in PnP we would stop at the door for 5 mins of buffing, discuss a game plan, and say one, two, three go? All while the fat dwarf in adamantine armor is clanking around impatiently, casters are verbally casting buffs etc etc I dont think with a good DM it would fly. Oh yeah let me change armors right quick too this one has greater fire resist lol!

[sirgog]

Sounds good so far. Here's some further requests for Mod 6.

Tweaks:

1) Change VON and DQ flagging to allow either completing all quests once each on any difficulty for one-time flagging (as is the case now), or completing all prereq quests once each on elite for permanent flagging.

2) Consider allowing an option to voluntarily lower your caster level for spells like Suggestion where a longer duration isn't necessarily better. (This is a minor point, but definately irks some people).

3) Most importantly, INCREASE THE XP REQUIRED TO LEVEL TO 15, 16 and 16.999! I do not want to hit the new level cap in 10-12 quests like you currently can if you are 1XP short of level 13. I'd suggest changing as follows:

Current system:
14 910000 (Action points 938k, 966k, 994k, 1022k)
15 1050000 (AP 1080k, 1110k, 1140k, 1170k)
16 1200000 (AP 1232k, 1264k, 1296k, 1328k, cap at 1359999)

New system:
14 910000 (AP 938, 966, 994, 1022, 1050, 1078, 1106, 1134, 1162)
15 1190000 (AP every 50k to 1640000)
16 1640000 (AP every 80k to 2360000, cap at 2399999)

This helps allow for the increase in XP granted per quest in modules 4 and (to a lesser extent) 5, which is IMO required by the higher death XP debts incurred above level 10.

New content:

1) 1-2 new races would be great. I'd request half-orcs as available to everyone, and Aasimar as a 750 or 1000 favor reward. This will help keep existing players interested, as more races gives more options for character builds. Allow 32 point ½orcs, but not 32 point Aasimars as they are intrinsically more powerful than base races.

2) Likewise, Monks would be a great improvement for the same reason.

3) Add at least 2 new raids, one of the 20-30 minute boss fight/puzzle/loot run/must flag for style that most of the raids are, and one of the Tempest Spine 12-player quest with rare unbound named loot style. (If only one of each can be done, make both level 16 or 17 on normal. If 2 TS style raids can be done, one at level 14 and one at level 17 would be ideal).

4) Add one (no more than one!) quest that's based on tricky puzzles like Tomb of the Tormented or the Pit, but is high level (15+). Keep it to one, as only a minority of players will truly like it.

5) Add one (no more than one!) non-raid quest at level 17, that is very very long (perhaps taking a group that knows it well 45-75 minutes) and is very difficult to complete (I'm thinking along the lines of Inferno of the Damned - tough due to a combination of challenging fights and challenging non-fight elements like Inferno's maze). If the Devs want ideas for the implementation of this, send me a PM - have a maze idea that's a cross between the Shadow Crypt, something sensible and Prison of the Planes. Unlike the Shadow Crypt, it doesn't rely on randomness or frustrating mapping/searches, but has shortcuts which are random, and available only on normal and hard difficulties...

[Qzipoun]

The fact that there is only 3 pages of comments so far speaks a lot about the current interrest of players.

The fact that we have no dev posts (other than Quarion's threads) so far speaks a lot about the current interest of devs

WDAs are usually tons of pages long with major discussion and dev input... oh well.

[jjflanigan]

3) Most importantly, INCREASE THE XP REQUIRED TO LEVEL TO 15, 16 and 16.999! I do not want to hit the new level cap in 10-12 quests like you currently can if you are 1XP short of level 13. I'd suggest changing as follows:

Current system:
14 910000 (Action points 938k, 966k, 994k, 1022k)
15 1050000 (AP 1080k, 1110k, 1140k, 1170k)
16 1200000 (AP 1232k, 1264k, 1296k, 1328k, cap at 1359999)

New system:
14 910000 (AP 938, 966, 994, 1022, 1050, 1078, 1106, 1134, 1162)
15 1190000 (AP every 50k to 1640000)
16 1640000 (AP every 80k to 2360000, cap at 2399999)

This helps allow for the increase in XP granted per quest in modules 4 and (to a lesser extent) 5, which is IMO required by the higher death XP debts incurred above level 10.

While I understand the sentiment, what you are asking for is an entirely new exp / levelling system. Currently you get 4 AP per level then the 5th "dot" is for the actual level. You are splitting that out in a completely different method that would require so many changes it boggles the mind.

[gelgoog]

i'm sick of stating my place on red named boss immunities.

i put it in this post because i want a dev to see that it still is annoying to me.
and yes it matters to me cause i am a paying customer, it was in the game before mod 4. turbine changed it for no reason what-so-ever. well at least they haven't stated why they did. i suspect it's for the solo people out there and getting that lucky stun or trip.


just click on my profile and you will see a ton of posts even after the forum clean up about red named boss immunities.

yes my spelling and grammer is bad.
yes i don't speak for the everyone in ddo.
yes i do play the game and don't just post on the forums.
yes i thought my opinion mattered to the devs as does everyones.

this game has the capablility to become a juggernaut of an mmorpg.
i just hate seeing this game since release slowly slip away.

and yes one unanswered legit question on to why they changed something to the basic game in an mod does mean something. add up all the things they change without stating that they changed it makes for distrust between the player base and the devolpers of the game.

distrust with the devs makes me at least feel like it doesn't matter what i post since they will do what they want to do.

i know it's just a game and i should go outside and such(which i do). it's just that i think great things for ddo, made suggestions in older posts and such. but the game still is slowly going down the slippery slop.

ok ranting is done ...for now. lol.

/shrug

[debo]

So let me get this straight... you have no problem bringing the servers down to put the Dolurrh changes (amongst others) in. Then you realize you went too far, but you're going to wait until mod 6 (which we probably won't see until February) to tone it back a bit? Pfft.

The hypocrisy is amazing isn't? That abbot raid is such a mess I don't even think its worth complaining bout... Takes them one week to code all those "fixes" yet it is going to take them months just for them to implement these new changes just so the raid is playable? Hey Turbine...most players waited around for 6 months eagerly anticipating mod 5 and the new raid? You best be assured it must be pretty bad if barely anyone even attempts it. Make it a **** priority to fix it will ya? I really don't blame people for leaving this game. Great job Turbine! Keep up the good work!

[MrCow]

Oh... I like the addition of Seek Eternal Rest.

I will be able to test the HD of more powerful undead that can't be intimidated.

[Strakeln]

The hypocrisy is amazing isn't? That abbot raid is such a mess I don't even think its worth complaining bout... Takes them one week to code all those "fixes" yet it is going to take them months just for them to implement these new changes just so the raid is playable? Hey Turbine...most players waited around for 6 months eagerly anticipating mod 5 and the new raid? You best be assured it must be pretty bad if barely anyone even attempts it. Make it a **** priority to fix it will ya? I really don't blame people for leaving this game. Great job Turbine! Keep up the good work!

Heh... I can't resist:

"Mod 6: When you can play the Mod 5 raid again!"