The Official Thunderholme Adventure Area Discussion Thread!

[rosedarkthorn]

Yep, that's working as intended. The idea is that non-raiders can run it as a regular landscape, but it will scale up for raid groups (and raid groups won't have to fuss with creating a raid group in a lobby, as with Shavarath.)

Will you be implementing a shortcut to the raids in Thunderholme? I don't want to see it end up like the House C raids, which I also think needs a shortcut.

[CaptainSpacePony]

If commendations of valor are not offered as rewards from chests or slayer/explorer completions, then this entire area is a waste of everybody's time.

I do not want more content that hurts my progress for completing it.

I have to agree with the sentiment here. Epic XP is easy to get--comms are what I hunt for. When I accidentally run a ransacked quest or spend anytime in an Epic Explorer, I actually feel bad about it because I feel like I've completely wasted my time. (Obviously I haven't. It's a game--for fun... but this doesn't sit well.)

[Pandir]

Yep, that's working as intended. The idea is that non-raiders can run it as a regular landscape, but it will scale up for raid groups (and raid groups won't have to fuss with creating a raid group in a lobby, as with Shavarath.)

Thanks for the clarification, still disappointed at being locked out of the T2 and T3 upgrades but the outside being intended(and it not being only a bug lol) for all group sizes is definetely a plus.

[oradafu]

If commendations of valor are not offered as rewards from chests or slayer/explorer completions, then this entire area is a waste of everybody's time.

I do not want more content that hurts my progress for completing it.

If Thunderholme is an Epic Raid wilderness area, why not copy the SubT's planar shard drops or the old Epic Fragment mechanism? Every mob killed in the Epic Raid area has a chance to drop a single CoV. On top of that, each rare chest in the Epic Raid wilderness can drop a handful of CoVs, maybe 3 to 5 CoV.

If there are decent named items and a few CoVs dropping in the wilderness, Thunderholme might resemble Garamol runs in pre-MOTU, which were popular because of the Icy Raiments but the planar shards were nice also if you needed more bags.

[danotmano1998]

If Thunderholme is an Epic Raid wilderness area, why not copy the SubT's planar shard drops or the old Epic Fragment mechanism? Every mob killed in the Epic Raid area has a chance to drop a single CoV. On top of that, each rare chest in the Epic Raid wilderness can drop a handful of CoVs, maybe 3 to 5 CoV.

Really liking this idea.. +1

[count_spicoli]

If Thunderholme is an Epic Raid wilderness area, why not copy the SubT's planar shard drops or the old Epic Fragment mechanism? Every mob killed in the Epic Raid area has a chance to drop a single CoV. On top of that, each rare chest in the Epic Raid wilderness can drop a handful of CoVs, maybe 3 to 5 CoV.

If there are decent named items and a few CoVs dropping in the wilderness, Thunderholme might resemble Garamol runs in pre-MOTU, which were popular because of the Icy Raiments but the planar shards were nice also if you needed more bags.

ya like this idea. storhorns and wheloon could use that too. stormhorns migh be fun area to cruise around if you ae getting something other than verdor trash chests.

[Pandir]

ya like this idea. storhorns and wheloon could use that too. stormhorns migh be fun area to cruise around if you ae getting something other than verdor trash chests.

Agreed. Especially comms would be awesome to make wilderness areas more meaningful.

Unique named items for the Thunderholme adventure area have been pretty much confirmed in the thread about the new crafting system.

[Zzevel]

I have to agree with the sentiment here. Epic XP is easy to get--comms are what I hunt for. When I accidentally run a ransacked quest or spend anytime in an Epic Explorer, I actually feel bad about it because I feel like I've completely wasted my time. (Obviously I haven't. It's a game--for fun... but this doesn't sit well.)

You cant drop Comm's in an explorer area, once that occurs FoT and (especially) CitW would be pointless to run in addition to every other Raid.

Unless you support this idea simply to Troll, then Carry on!

[oradafu]

You cant drop Comm's in an explorer area, once that occurs FoT and (especially) CitW would be pointless to run in addition to every other Raid.

Unless you support this idea simply to Troll, then Carry on!

I'm pretty sure CaptainSpacePony and I are talking about the same Comms (which are the new Comms of Valor used for Epic Hearts and the soon to be new crafting), and not the old Comms of Heroism (which are the ones that drop in those raids and used to upgrade those raid items).

[PsychoBlonde]

The Dragon Breath ability that the caster bosses just SPAM is NOT GIVING A SAVING THROW OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER. Should be a reflex save, not "here take 600 damage" followed immediately by "ooh, and another 600 damage!!"

Sheesh.

[dunklezhan]

Much though I love massive wilderness zones, it is a pain to have to do lots of running to get to quests. I don't mind the first time but really, you guys have to have quick travel to them after that. I'm sometimes wondering if we're being primed for the introduction of mounts.

I want to be clear I love wilderness zones. I love having quests located in those zones. But I don't love HAVING to run across them to get to quests everytime especially in large ones and especially when the quest itself is long.

[whereispowderedsilve]

Much though I love massive wilderness zones, it is a pain to have to do lots of running to get to quests. I don't mind the first time but really, you guys have to have quick travel to them after that. I'm sometimes wondering if we're being primed for the introduction of mounts.

I want to be clear I love wilderness zones. I love having quests located in those zones. But I don't love HAVING to run across them to get to quests everytime especially in large ones and especially when the quest itself is long.

IMPLEMENT FAST TRAVEL WITH PLAT NOT ASTRAL SHARDS...Oops caps. I hope/did I get my point across? ! :P! ! Cheers!

P.S. REVERT ANY OF THE OTHER FAST TRAVEL THAT COSTS ASTRAL SHARDS TO PLAT!! Oops caps. Thanks!

It would be greatly appreciated! Please consider these 2 things!

[Shorlong]

IMPLEMENT FAST TRAVEL WITH PLAT NOT ASTRAL SHARDS...Oops caps. I hope/did I get my point across? ! :P! ! Cheers!

P.S. REVERT ANY OF THE OTHER FAST TRAVEL THAT COSTS ASTRAL SHARDS TO PLAT!! Oops caps. Thanks!

It would be greatly appreciated! Please consider these 2 things!

Squeak said that there will be a teleport option, should be free or plat based, not shards.

That being said, doesn't gianthold have a free teleport option? Isn't there a free teleport option in Stormhorns? The answer is, yes, yes there is.

[Jasparion]

If commendations of valor are not offered as rewards from chests or slayer/explorer completions, then this entire area is a waste of everybody's time.

I do not want more content that hurts my progress for completing it.

This.

The only content I bother with is what gives a good mix of XP and Comms. Im not in the slightest bit interested in anything else.

Especially new areas which will most likely have terrible XP, poor loot, or good loot with such low drop rates that you simply dont bother.

Like the last 3 or 4 releases...

If I need gear I go to the AH and Shard Exchange. I cant think of anything I truly want which cant be found there.

I wont spend any time killing in a Slayer zone. When I do the new dungeons I always choose the Heroic version of the Slayer zone so I can race through to the dungeons.

[WanderingGrump]

This is an interesting area but I do find the look rather dull and monochromatic. I understand it's a ruin but I would love to see places where it just shines. The bridgework and abutments seem to call out for real lasting color as a testament to the dwarven craftsmanship standing the test of time no matter how long ago they were made.

+1 for the idea of Commendations of Valor dropping the chests out here.
+1 for a teleport to or near the raids as well. The Shadow Dragon raid is a long setup no reason to add a very long walk just to get there once you are flagged.

I have no complaints about the XP for the Rares/Explorers or Kills they seemed about right to me.

[dunklezhan]

Squeak said that there will be a teleport option, should be free or plat based, not shards.

That being said, doesn't gianthold have a free teleport option? Isn't there a free teleport option in Stormhorns? The answer is, yes, yes there is.

If I recall, to a generic location in the region of the quests. I want to go right to the frickin' door please. I do not want to have to get to the adventure area, then buff and fight/run my way a distance across the map once I have done that the first time.

This is DDO. Fast travel (e.g. Mounts) is not supposed to be necessary because everything is supposed to be at your fingertips straight through a loading screens. That's why we put up with loading screens when most MMOs are moving as far as possible away from them. Eveningstar and Wheloon already did my head in by having large public areas with so much running about and the rather awkward & time consuming ways of getting from Eberron to Faerun (seriously, a half hour cooldown on that key?). If I can teleport to my ship from the cavern, why can't my planescaller on the guild ship take me straight back? Why doesn't the hall of heroes allow a straight run through to the other realm? When I exit Eveningstar cavern why don't I get a choice of skipping straight to the Wheloon public space? Why do we need to go through the eberron/eveningstar caverns at all? Why not just choose straight from harbour to Eveningstar? Its not like there's anything interesting in the Eberron side of the portal. HINT: put something interesting there or let us bypass it. Getting to wheloon itself is a PITA - run to harbour, through public area to portal, through caverns to eveningstar, through eveningstar, then through wheloon. I just lost about 5 mins off my ship buffs and I'm already bored before I start.

If we're going to have to repeat that for the shiny new adventure area, let's please not then compound it by repeating the 'appear somewhere in the adventure area and then run some more' issues that are in Stormhorns (no matter how pretty it is - and it really is, I love the stormhorns).

I could go on. I won't, I'll just say this: I am sick of running about to get to quests in a game where that isn't supposed to be necessary. To. The. Door.

[whereispowderedsilve]

If I recall, to a generic location in the region of the quests. I want to go right to the frickin' door please. I do not want to have to get to the adventure area, then buff and fight/run my way a distance across the map once I have done that the first time.

This is DDO. Fast travel (e.g. Mounts) is not supposed to be necessary because everything is supposed to be at your fingertips straight through a loading screens. That's why we put up with loading screens when most MMOs are moving as far as possible away from them. Eveningstar and Wheloon already did my head in by having large public areas with so much running about and the rather awkward & time consuming ways of getting from Eberron to Faerun (seriously, a half hour cooldown on that key?). If I can teleport to my ship from the cavern, why can't my planescaller on the guild ship take me straight back? Why doesn't the hall of heroes allow a straight run through to the other realm? When I exit Eveningstar cavern why don't I get a choice of skipping straight to the Wheloon public space? Why do we need to go through the eberron/eveningstar caverns at all? Why not just choose straight from harbour to Eveningstar? Its not like there's anything interesting in the Eberron side of the portal. HINT: put something interesting there or let us bypass it. Getting to wheloon itself is a PITA - run to harbour, through public area to portal, through caverns to eveningstar, through eveningstar, then through wheloon. I just lost about 5 mins off my ship buffs and I'm already bored before I start.

If we're going to have to repeat that for the shiny new adventure area, let's please not then compound it by repeating the 'appear somewhere in the adventure area and then run some more' issues that are in Stormhorns (no matter how pretty it is - and it really is, I love the stormhorns).

I could go on. I won't, I'll just say this: I am sick of running about to get to quests in a game where that isn't supposed to be necessary. To. The. Door.

/SIGNED!!!!

Thanks for putting into words what I was thinking! So much this! I always wondered why there weren't more options at the crack in the harbour:

1. go to estar cavern.
2. go to estar.
3. go to wheloon(now that's been added.
4. so on & so forth.

Same for from the entrance to the beyond the rift quest.
Same for the portal that goes to the demonweb & back to eberron(it should have an option if your not in a guild to teleport you right to the harbour).

Also right from the estar cavern that portal should give you options as well to go other places.

Same for what he said about getting to the quests, in the underdark it isn't as bad for the 3 of them(Rusted Blades/Death Undone/The Portal opens), Broken Chains is far away though.

Same for the Sands(not that many people even run them anymore). Same for Epic GH.

Only thing I can think of it has something to do with WOTC & lore reasons. Also I stress again these should all be PLAT options NOT Astral Shard options.

Maybe Dunkle & me are in the minority though, who knows... Sigh.

[PsychoBlonde]

This is an interesting area but I do find the look rather dull and monochromatic. I understand it's a ruin but I would love to see places where it just shines. The bridgework and abutments seem to call out for real lasting color as a testament to the dwarven craftsmanship standing the test of time no matter how long ago they were made.

I thought the same at first, but on a second run-through after they added a bunch of stuff it looks a lot better. Still a lot of dingy corridors, though.

The mirrors on the top floor are broke, though, I can't get them to light up the crystals at all. The ones on the castle platforms level are erratic in their behavior, too.

[PsychoBlonde]

I agree with the people who say that we ought to be able to teleport straight to the raid (this is the SINGLE WORST aspect of LoB, HoX, VoD and MA IMO, although VoD and HoX aren't as bad because the raid itself is VERY short). I don't mind having to run a bit to get to QUESTS--I can solo those if I am so inclined. Don't make us run to another raid.

And put some teleporters in House Cannith and the Subterrene while you're at it.

[Ivan_Milic]

You cant drop Comm's in an explorer area, once that occurs FoT and (especially) CitW would be pointless to run in addition to every other Raid.

Unless you support this idea simply to Troll, then Carry on!

DO people even run citw anymore?