Even more praise for Three Barrel Cove quests

[Draccus]

A couple of weeks ago, my regular adventuring partner and I entered Three Barrel Cove and completed the Prove Your Worth quest. I immediately came here and praised the quest as being the best quest I've done in over 10 years of online MMOs. I love that quest and still run it whenever I find myself in TBC without a group or partner.

This weekend, we ran Ghost of a Chance. Wow.

It took us 95 minutes. For reference, my first trip through STK, where I did nothing more than try to keep up with the group, took about 11 minutes. Ghost of a Chance was a total crawl and we loved every one of the 95 minutes. The final puzzle was fantastic. My partner gave up after 10 minutes and basically said 'I suck at puzzles. It's all you.' She sat on top of one of the platforms and watched me figure it out. A few minutes later, she was right back in there, helping figure it out.

The sense of accomplishment of springing that guy from his cage after over an hour and a half was FAR greater than blowing through STK or TR at light speed.

Thanks Turbine, nice work! (and thanks, also, for not making ALL your quests take 95 minutes!)

[FlimsyFirewood]

Thank you for making my day. I knew someone out there would like a puzzle of this size.

We all worked very hard on that mod, and that's what it comes down to at the end of the day: to make you guys happy after completing a tough challenge.

[Angelus_dead]

It took us 95 minutes. For reference, my first trip through STK, where I did nothing more than try to keep up with the group, took about 11 minutes. Ghost of a Chance was a total crawl and we loved every one of the 95 minutes.

What you're saying is what you liked better about that quest is not the quest itself, but the fact that you did it with a small group, with no members who already knew the quest.

You could've chosen a small inexperienced group for your first run of STK or anyplace else, instead of joining up with speed-runners. What's different about 3bc quests is that they're unpopular, so it would be difficult to find a large group of experienced runners.

[Alavatar]

I like TBC as well. One of the quests reminds me of the movie Goonies. When I was doing it with a group I kept wanting to yell out, "HEY YOU GUYS!"

[Django]

One of the quests reminds me of the movie Goonies. When I was doing it with a group I kept wanting to yell out, "HEY YOU GUYS!"

The Legend of Two Toed Tobias (waiting for confirmation, the townsfolk still swear it's an urban legend!)

I'm glad you folks are enjoying the Three Barrel Cove area.

[Pellegro]

What you're saying is what you liked better about that quest is not the quest itself, but the fact that you did it with a small group, with no members who already knew the quest.

You could've chosen a small inexperienced group for your first run of STK or anyplace else, instead of joining up with speed-runners. What's different about 3bc quests is that they're unpopular, so it would be difficult to find a large group of experienced runners.

Always the bright ray of sunshine ...

Maybe you should defer to the OP's own explanation for why they liked the quest, instead of trying to turn it into something ugly?

Just a suggestion.

[doodooman]

first time i did it i grabed the key from the red named and opened the gate... /shrug

[Andora]

I love Three Barrel Cove! Friday we had a guild FUN run. We got two players back in the game to play it and they loved the new area and the quests. We are going to do it again this coming Thursday and are working on getting back more members that left a year or more ago.

Fun is different things for different groups. One set of player types should not have a strangle hold on the game. Our best bet is trying to meet the needs of different play styles and when this happens try and entice old players who left due to a lack of whatever to come back.

The first time my husband and I did STK it made us go from the trial to a full account. We tend to run many quest with just the two of us. The magic of jumping into the darkness and trying to land on a mushroom with no feather fall was a blast. The awe of finding that Hob city was a thrill. Sorry you did not get that from such a great quest.

The odd thing is, every time I go to the Salty Wench the bar is full. Others must be playing it.

[Angelus_dead]

Maybe you should defer to the OP's own explanation for why they liked the quest, instead of trying to turn it into something ugly?

I did.

He explained very clearly: he didn't like some other quests because he joined a group with other players who beat it with hardly giving him time to see what was going on, but in the new Ghost of a Chance quest he enjoyed it because nobody in the group already knew how to do it.

Therefore, the variable that changed between the two situations is not the underlying quest, but the party makeup, meaning this is something he could've controlled on his own in existing quests.

[Alavatar]

I did.

He explained very clearly: he didn't like some other quests because he joined a group with other players who beat it with hardly giving him time to see what was going on, but in the new Ghost of a Chance quest he enjoyed it because nobody in the group already knew how to do it.

Therefore, the variable that changed between the two situations is not the underlying quest, but the party makeup, meaning this is something he could've controlled on his own in existing quests.

Hmmm... I could have sworn he said it was a different quest. Oh wait, he did. Therefore, the underlying quest is another variable that changed. And I bet there are a few other variables that changed that you don't know about.

Seriously, A_D, this is not the thread for trying to say someone is wrong. The guy liked the quest. Just leave it at that.

[transtemporal]

I like the puzzle too OP. We killed him 3 or four times before we figured it out.

[Lithic]

I like the puzzle too OP. We killed him 3 or four times before we figured it out.

The only thing I didn't like about the puzzle is that once you know the solution, there is no more thinking involved. Its the same old path. Well ok two things: searching the traps is hit or miss due to some strange behavior of the traps. I would think it was a line-of-sight thing, but other traps are searched through solid walls just fine.

The first time I solved it though it was lots of fun. All you need is a ticking clock to make it more urgent

[jkm]

while i liked the quests, i looooovvvveeeee the outdoor area. the castle type assault on the orcs and the airship assault just makes my day. the only thing i wish we could have done was to put an alarm at the base of the airship that causes it to fly away when they alert it to danger

[transtemporal]

The only thing I didn't like about the puzzle is that once you know the solution, there is no more thinking involved. Its the same old path. Well ok two things: searching the traps is hit or miss due to some strange behavior of the traps. I would think it was a line-of-sight thing, but other traps are searched through solid walls just fine.

The first time I solved it though it was lots of fun. All you need is a ticking clock to make it more urgent

True. That searching thing is a bit weird.

Prove your worth (the one with the darts?) is the same way unfortunately, but is fun figuring it out. The biggest challenge for our group was going up the ladders, lol. The ladders I was good at, the puzzle... not so much. I died under a hail of iron defenders.

[esoitl]

hmmm... the Prove your Worth puzzle was really good, must try this one next

[Geriant]

Have always enjoyed Three Barrel Cove, but then I've got a soft spot for Pirates.

The Prove your Worth and Ghost of a Chance quests are great, especially the puzzles. Would be nice if the Ghost of a Chance one was random. Doesn't seem that it would be that hard as all of the rune spots can be part of a track, though the programming time might not be worth it. Also love that the key is available if you just want to finish quickly.

[Puddles404]

So glad im not the only one.

Prove your Worth is singularly the best and worst quest i have played so far in the game. Besides falling on the last ladder (!!!!) of the agility trial (irony is, in the party i was in, i had the highest dex by about 10....) and deciding to run back to the quest and arriving just as the rest of the party finished off the roof dart puzzle (made it in 2 tries), was great fun. Especially the 40 minutes we spent sratching our heads over how to get to the chest in the Fire trap room.

[Arianrhod]

I do enjoy new puzzles, but must say I liked the Prove Your Worth puzzle better than the Ghost of a Chance one. The Prove Your Worth puzzle is one you can (mostly) figure out by studying it; I couldn't see any way to figure out the Ghost of a Chance one other than trial and error. I wouldn't mind seeing puzzles of the first type randomized somewhat, but the second type I'd just as soon stayed static. On the other hand, the layout of the puzzle (multiple surfaces, all over the room) was a lot of fun. Would definitely enjoy seeing more puzzles like that.

To the OP - if you enjoy solving puzzles (rather than arriving after someone else has already done them), might want to consider doing Scoundrel's Run, Cult of the Six (one of the last parts, anyway, forget which), and The Pit with people who don't have them memorized. Scoundrel's Run & the Pit shouldn't be too hard to find less experienced people for, but Cult of the Six is a little tougher - it's always been a popular chain. It is a fun puzzle, though, if you get a chance to actually solve it

[Vormaerin]

Well, some of the traps won't show up for searching which is a nuisance, but otherwise you can figure out the big room puzzle without trial and error. Or, at least, you can figure it out by trial and error without zapping the guy. The first corner was tough, but the rest went quite smoothly.

I really liked all the 3bc quests and the outdoor area. And not just because I did it with all quest noobs (I've done nearly every quest that way the first time). The ladders were interesting. I didn't have too much difficulty with them, but my partner couldn't get the hang of the mouselook jumping so she ended up going back to the beginning while I went through the ladder section. Man was she happy when we were able join back up.

I would have liked to see more use of the sahuagin. They are my second favorite D&D monster (after stirges). I must be missing something about the cave town. I can't think of any reason to base one's self there. Its cool, but pretty inconvenient compared to the Salty Wench. Otherwise, major thumbs up. The pirate camp with the spikes was wicked cool and pretty tough.

[FlimsyFirewood]

Taking notes, thanks guys.