Prey on the Hunter (changed?)

[Metal_HamMaster]

Did something change with the update to this quest?

I ran it a few times right before the update with out any issues-appears after the update my group ran it and had a very difficult time getting to the Dragon before she was almost dead.

Im not sure if something was changed or if I was just having a bad day but we failed it on Normal twice. She died just as we arrived. I am pretty good with the random maze and don't usually have trouble getting to her.

[Phidius]

I haven't ran it since U17 dropped, but ran it last week on Hard with no problem.

Well, except for that stupid dragon wing-buffeting me all the way back to Kansas... gawd I hate her.

[voodoogroves]

They did tweak giant ai ... And they are now more of a threat.

Maybe too much :-)

[UurlockYgmeov]

They did tweak giant ai ... And they are now more of a threat.

Maybe too much :-)

dragon AI was also tweaked. so the combination of changed Giant and Dragon AI might also be the culprit.

[Battlehawke]

There was a time when they gave her more hp because this happened a lot, especially on elite. Maybe in the update it reverted back. They did just change Giant and Dragon AI. Maybe......

Are you missing a key CC or Intimitank player from your group that you normally run with?

[Metal_HamMaster]

There was a time when they gave her more hp because this happened a lot, especially on elite. Maybe in the update it reverted back. They did just change Giant and Dragon AI. Maybe......

Are you missing a key CC or Intimitank player from your group that you normally run with?

Nah-we have a good SD in group-really wasn't the issue-she was almost dead when we arrived-could not maintain anything long enough to pull her away from the garbage. Her health was a sliver both times.

[knockcocker]

Spellpower

[Tenolas]

Some guild mates and I ran this again to get one of us flagged. the rest of us ran it a couple days ago before U17 with not a single problem, she had enough HP for me to throw some Scorching & Necrotic rays to get aggro and kite.

After U17, In on elite no problems, got through the maze quickly (we all know it). Aaand failed. This happened twice.
And on the third try, I didn't even want to go near her with my death aura, she was that low, Couldn't even see the red in her bar.
(also Wail being bugged didn't help)

What 3 of us blasted through a couple days ago, 4 of us struggled with today, It has changed.

[parowan]

Yes, giants got too much of a buff or AI improvement. I normally have no problem with this quest. Today failed on norm right after arriving at dragon, casual for quick re-try also failed. Dragon goes down like a . . . well you can finish that sentence however you want, but the quest now seems impossible at level.

It's not a bug so I haven't filed a bug report. It's just an unintended consequence of U17.

Devs please acknowledge! Thank you!

[Feather_of_Sun]

Thanks for the heads-up, we're working on a fix for this ASAP.

[Missing_Minds]

Thanks for the heads-up, we're working on a fix for this ASAP.

Don't forget to double check A Small Problem with the air elemental. Thanks.

[redspecter23]

Bah, just do away with the way too variable damage fail condition. Every time any AI is adjusted, the devs have to go in and monitor every "protect" quest to make sure it's still on par with the intended difficulty. Just change the mechanics of that fight so that the impact of AI changes is limited. Don't start the fight until the players enter the actual arena and adjust the dragon hp down if necessary to compensate. In this way you lower the "failure window" from say 4 minutes (time to get from the shrine to the bottom) down to 15 seconds (time to get from the dragon arena entrance to the fight). By lowering the amount of time the dragon actually takes damage without players nearby, you lower the impact of AI changes that can wildly change the nature of the fight.

[Purkilius]

Thanks for the heads-up, we're working on a fix for this ASAP.

Please close the quest.

I do not have much time to play the game I love so...

[Zenako]

Interesting. It was always considered by many groups to be harder on Normal than Hard or Elite, just because the Dragon was so squishy that it was always a lot more damaged when you arrived making that last fight more difficult. With AI changes to make Giants more fearsome foes, perhaps the Dragon is now taking it on the chin.

Developers, perhaps you could just put in a timer that starts a countdown once the first character enters the maze perhaps. For example 1% HP loss for the dragon with each second and .5% HP loss on the giants for each second to reflect the battle results and coming into the middle of things. The slower rate on the giants ensures that you need to hurry your group in to get there with time to spare. Once the first character enters the chamber then autopilot damage goes off and combat ensues with normal outcomes and damages. This would end this problem in many ways.

[sirgog]

Interesting. It was always considered by many groups to be harder on Normal than Hard or Elite, just because the Dragon was so squishy that it was always a lot more damaged when you arrived making that last fight more difficult. With AI changes to make Giants more fearsome foes, perhaps the Dragon is now taking it on the chin.

Developers, perhaps you could just put in a timer that starts a countdown once the first character enters the maze perhaps. For example 1% HP loss for the dragon with each second and .5% HP loss on the giants for each second to reflect the battle results and coming into the middle of things. The slower rate on the giants ensures that you need to hurry your group in to get there with time to spare. Once the first character enters the chamber then autopilot damage goes off and combat ensues with normal outcomes and damages. This would end this problem in many ways.

This was changed AGES ago. The first Aussircaex now has almost the same HP on norm/hard/elite (easily tested by dragging her away from the giants and throwing 10000 fire damage at her, she'll lose 13/13/15 pixels of health on n/h/e if you have 4 player scaling in effect, so she has ~110k/110k/100k hp. (She has more like 80/110/145 the second time).

The giant melee attacks RIP HER UP. (She's almost immune to their spells). Like hundreds of damage a hit.

So any change that makes giants attack more often in melee or favor melee to casting spells will make the quest a LOT harder.


Suggestion to the devs: Don't mess with the giant AI. Just adjust the bonus damage they do to dragons or frost creatures or non-humans or whatever it is in melee to make the encounter have the desired time pressure.

[Spoonwelder]

That is a solution....it requires alot of new programming OR they just jam her up with another 100k HP.....which do you think they will choose?

[Jasparion]

That is a solution....it requires alot of new programming OR they just jam her up with another 100k HP.....which do you think they will choose?

Not sure why, but I giggled like a schoolgirl after this. +1 to you.

[Phidius]

Let us heal her...

[sirgog]

Let us heal her...

Won't make a difference. She has far too many HP to even notice healing from players (unless she's given 1200-1500% incoming positive energy healing, but even bosses usually cap out around 600%).

[FranOhmsford]

Let us heal her...

This would make for a nice viable tactic!

Have Cleric/Soul/Druid/Bard spam heal Dragon while she does all the work killing the Giants.

Dragon is extremely grateful

Using this tactic removes option to Kill Dragon!