We need more DDO Wilderness!

[Cauthey]

My biggest problem with Wilderness areas: they waste my XP pots.

This got me to thinking...

Does an XP potion add it's standard benefit when XP rolls due to reaching a slayer threshold in a wilderness area?

Cause, if it does...you could setup multiple wilderness areas to need 1-2 more kills, drink your potion, and then rack up huge XP in a matter of a few minutes.

[Talias006]

I wouldn't see why it wouldn't. Other exp bonuses, like the delera's trinket or threnal cape apply in those situations such as when you score a rare or explorer point.

[FuzzyDuck81]

This got me to thinking...

Does an XP potion add it's standard benefit when XP rolls due to reaching a slayer threshold in a wilderness area?

Cause, if it does...you could setup multiple wilderness areas to need 1-2 more kills, drink your potion, and then rack up huge XP in a matter of a few minutes.

The only xp-boosting thingy that doesnt work on slayers is the server-wide xp bonus, which only works within specific quests.. so chug your xp pot, stick your voice of the master on & get an xp shrine from an airship.. then go and grab your 400th/750th or whatever slayer plus final explorer (and maybe final rare though thats harder to guarantee) & you can rack up a pretty huge chunk of xp in short order.

[PuppiesAndRainbows]

Puppies And Rainbows

[Cauthey]

The only xp-boosting thingy that doesnt work on slayers is the server-wide xp bonus, which only works within specific quests.. so chug your xp pot, stick your voice of the master on & get an xp shrine from an airship.. then go and grab your 400th/750th or whatever slayer plus final explorer (and maybe final rare though thats harder to guarantee) & you can rack up a pretty huge chunk of xp in short order.

Good to know...

[mleger]

I do not like walking for hours uphill both ways to get to a quest

I agree, it should be easier to get the teleports there.
Suggestion: Each zone has teleporters, you unlock them when you clear a named monster (make em tough) at them

I do not like having to remember where every thing is on a blank map

I agree, if you get the explorer that spot should no longer be blank. ever
if you get all explorers then the map should never be blank

I do not like having to show others where stuff is on a blank map

I agree, there should be a ping function. one person pings a spot on a map, or drops a flag so the rest of the party can go there

[redraider]

I love the wilderness areas. I think they add much to the game without being WoW type jog fests.

Please make more! Many many more.

I just wish Turbine would stop screwing with game mechanics for a while and just drop massive content packs. 2 gianthold size explorer/quest areas for lvl 17-20 are what this game desperately needs.

[Memnir]

I don't mind explorer zones. They're nice for when there is nothing much happening, or when I don't feel like PUGing and just want to while away some time. Since my game-time is a lot more casual these days, knowing I can just pop into a zone for a quick DDO fix and bail when RL calls and not bail on a group or commit to a longer quest then I should - it works for me.


But, I think that explorer zones should only be added if they serve a purpose and support a group of quests. I don't think that any outdoor zone should just be added for the heck of it. I mean, Searing Hights only has one quest present - and it is one of the most ignored outdoor zones in the game. Sure, you see the occasional group going in there... but it's pretty infrequent. And, theBlack Anvil Forest is pretty much a cul de sac that really could be harmlessly eliminated from the game. Granted - this is not a explorer zone with rares and kill-tallies... but still, it's pointless for it to even be there. Were it to be expanded, with only two quests - it'd probably share Searing Hight's fate. Three Barrel Cove was pretty much a wasted overhaul (and such a pretty overhaul it was), because the quests have no connecting plot. There are other reasons why it's an ignored zone too, but I really think it has more to do with humdrum quests that are too spread out, and do not engage a player's interests. Given a compelling reason for people to be out there, be it a quality quest-line or some named loot, and people would be out there much more then they are now.


Give a new zone a reason for being there, and tie it a connected story-line... and I'm in. Put it in just for the sake of putting it in - and it's going to be largely wasted Dev time.

[Gkar]

This got me to thinking...

Does an XP potion add it's standard benefit when XP rolls due to reaching a slayer threshold in a wilderness area?

Cause, if it does...you could setup multiple wilderness areas to need 1-2 more kills, drink your potion, and then rack up huge XP in a matter of a few minutes.

Yes, you can do that.

[somenewnoob]

I kind of always liked the quests that were way out in the wilderness zones, like some of the ones in 3BC that are a good hike to get to.

Just makes it feel more.........questy!

More so than getting a quest and walking through a door and you're there.

[Bargol]

Until starting meridia and vale quests the game seemed a bit odd in that with most areas (3bc, gianthold, sands, etc.) you are directly ported to the town. Meridia you need to leave the 12 and hike/walk to meridia to get to the next town. This made more sense to me that you need to travel to get to the town / quest area. Its probably why the vale is one of my favorite areas.

[FranOhmsford]

Ok, having completed every slayer up to and including Ataraxia {Not incl. Red Fens - New and Restless Isles - Annoying Rare}.

Past 3000 kills in Orchard and Sands.

Completed Explorers in GH and Vale.

I will list in order; 1st to last in my opinion.

01. Orchard
02. 3 Barrel
03. Sands
04. Restless Isles
05. Vale
06. Cerulea
07. Searing
08. Tangleroot
09. Waterworks
10. Sorrowdusk
11. Korthos
12. Ataraxia
13. Gianthold
14. Red Fens

These are for slayer only. Incl Quests Red Fens would be much higher, GH quests I've done aren't bad but slayer is just so annoying I haven't yet had enough experience with the quests to make a difference.

Restless Isles slayer is a quest in it's own right - only a pity HIPS has to be done to get there even after you've bought the pack.

Sands I used to hate until I spent an entire night out there filling in the map - now I love it.

Orchard and 3 barrel are simply the best slayer areas out there tho I'll agree 3 barrel's quests should be linked so as not to have to recall and run back between pt 1 and 2 of the Fire Caves and The Trog/Undead chain. Better end rewards would also be nice. Of Necro 4 I've attempted Ghosts of Perdition Solo and Duo with hires and failed both times - not yet attempted any of the others - Really like Ghosts quest atmosphere.

[Saravis]

I can understand the xp pot issue, but Wildernesses are great for having something to do while waiting for a group to fill. Nice for those impatient PUGs who can't wait and screw the quest up because they thought they could handle the quest with the group we had.

[somenewnoob]

They are good if you can only jump on for a few minutes and don't have time to run or don't feel like running a quest. I do that a lot in the morning b4 work, just for 10-15 minutes or so.

[Memek]

Yeah, DDO totally needs more areas for us to run through while invisible. Fun fun fun.

[donfilibuster]

I do not like them
I do not like walking for hours uphill both ways to get to a quest
I do not like them
I do not like having to remember where every thing is on a blank map
I do not like them
I do not like not having full bars when starting a quest
I do not like them
I do not like having to show others where stuff is on a blank map
I do not like them
I do not like to walk for hours and hours to find something cause its a friggen huge place
I just do NOT like them

The reverse of this.
Though i realize not everyone can orientate.

[Nerate_Mireth]

I do not like them
I do not like walking for hours uphill both ways to get to a quest You forgot to add through 12 feet of snow in the middle of winter wearing a speedo and a pair of sunglasses. If you're gonna whine...do it right man!
I do not like them
I do not like having to remember where every thing is on a blank map Ever heard of a PRINTER? Hmmm....print off the maps that are freely posted EVERYWHERE. Then you don't have to remember...just look at a piece of paper.
I do not like them
I do not like not having full bars when starting a quest For HP it's called heal pots. Casters, well, it's called use WANDS on your way there if you're that worried about your sp bar. Most of the newer areas actually have shrines right out front of the quests or nearby them.
I do not like them
I do not like having to show others where stuff is on a blank map Guess you're the one who likes SOLO play as well.
I do not like them
I do not like to walk for hours and hours to find something cause its a friggen huge place See my printer comment above or just don't go there.
I just do NOT like them

My comments in red

[TrinityTurtle]

I actually love a good wilderness area when I'm in one of my antisocial moods and just want to throw on some music and go around killing, so I would like to see more. I like learning my way around the areas and finding the rares/explorers as well as the stress free exp mentioned. So I would also like to see more, in addition to more quests, and more classes. I once leveled up a toon almost exclusively on them just to see if I could. He was really gear-dependant on other toons and it was slow, but it was also fun for something different. Almost because I did take the occasional detour into Delera's and had to do HIPS to open the twilight forge wilderness area for example.

[rrtemplin]

I like slayers more then quest. I try to level mostly on them. my 16 sorc hit 3000 gnolls, 1700 undead, and 800 of the drow, i am at 7200 slayers in orchard, 2000 vale, and 1600 vale, and i think 400 on all 3 of the GH slayers.

I am prepping Orchard, Vale, GH, for when i am 19, and i'll kill the last on each, and go to 20 .

[Emili]

My biggest problem with Wilderness areas: they waste my XP pots.

Wilderness areas are good for easy, stress-free XP, but terrible for XP/min (past that first sojourn where you get a few slayers, explorers and rares for the first time). I'd rather XP pots remained paused, and not apply to the XP gained, in Wilderness areas.

As is, I'm almost always on an XP pot if I'm leveling, which means I'm not willing to spend more time in a wilderness than I need to to run to a quest.

Otherwise, I'd be more willing to run them while waiting for a group to fill, or if I don't have time to do a whole quest.

10 minute run thru the orchard - TR'd on my bard - Total 26k xp, including some nameds. Really not too bad.