Spot not working?

[sigmadyre]

update: resolved. thanks all

Hi, I'm pretty new to this game, so this could just be me doing something wrong (rather than a bug), but if so, I can't figure out what the problem is.

So, I'm level 5 with 1 level in rogue, and I've got 9 spot right now, which isn't super amazing or anything, but up until now I've always been able to spot the traps, hidden doors, etc in the dungeons.

But since yesterday evening, I haven't been able to spot anything at all. I've done around 10 dungeons, all for my level or lower, all on normal difficulty, and I haven't spotted a single trap, hidden wall, etc. And it's not like there just aren't any hidden objects. My level 3 cleric hireling, who I'm pretty sure doesn't have as high a spot level as I do (don't know about this game, but at least in 3.5e, clerics have high wisdom but spot isn't a class skill for them), is spotting everything, albeit sometimes too late since she lags behind me.

Is this a bug? I wiki'd the spot check list, and it looks like around my level the spot checks necessary are around 15 or so, so I should be making most of these checks. And I can't really believe that I just made terrible rolls throughout ten dungeons (including one this morning).

edit: Also, what's the best way to get help for these kinds of issues? For example, should I post here, or submit a bug report? Are there in-game moderators to talk to?

[Mindos]

Did you just get something? Some armor weapons, etc, can cause your spot to go down.

[sigmadyre]

Did you just get something? Some armor weapons, etc, can cause your spot to go down.

I don't think so; my spot is 9 including all ability / rank / equipment modifiers :\

[Krelar]

Is this a bug? I wiki'd the spot check list, and it looks like around my level the spot checks necessary are around 15 or so, so I should be making most of these checks. And I can't really believe that I just made terrible rolls throughout ten dungeons (including one this morning).

There is no roll for the spot skill so if the dungeon needs a 15 your spot needs to be 15 or higher. Your probably at the point where to keep spot useful you need to invest skill points into it and/or get the best +spot gear you can find.

[Sardonica]

Hard difficulty dungeons seem to be balanced around having full points in spot PLUS gear that gives an enhancement roughly equal to your character level. So at level 5 you need 4 points (rogue level 1) plus 4 more levels and a +5 item "of the eagle." So figure 2 times character level plus 3 to be good at spotting. And you will need to improve your gear as you level.

The hirelings are good at a lot of things they should not be...they have been beefed up due to complaints about their AI. They can typically work runes that their character class has no business activating, and they all seem to have great spot.

Hope this helps!

[sigmadyre]

Ah, alright. Thanks both of you for your answers, that clears it up completely.

I didn't know the spot wasn't rolled (they could at least assume the character does a take 10 >_>), and I guess from now on I'll have to keep a hireling around when I'm soloing dungeons :\

edit: more of an opinion question, but is it viable to just have pump ranks into search instead of spot (I'd need fewer skill points, since my int modifier is +6 right now, while my wis modifier is -1), and do a search check or two if I see clues for traps nearby?

[Enoach]

Even in the d20 system Spot is not a d20+skill. Which means you can't take 10 on spot.

[Talon_Moonshadow]

DDO is sometimes unfair to Rogues when it comes to traps... especially new player Rogues.

Cause the DCs for traps almost require max skills and max items available to that level of character.... plus maybe even buffs as well.

Beg/borrow/roll a Kobold in a back alley.... do everythin gyou can to get the best Spot and Search Item you can find. Probably the best DD item and OL item as well.

Learn what buff potions you can buy and scrolls you can UMD to beef up your trap skills.

Spot is a Wisdom based skill, potions of Owl's Wisdom can be bought.

Ask someone to craft a Spot item for you... one's for your level should be easy to do for anyone who has made an attempt to level up their crafting skills a little bit.

[sigmadyre]

Seems like a pretty big investment just to spot traps, but I'll try to do those things, thanks