Things we use to do when the game was hard- list

[DarthCaedus]

I thought the old epics were a lot of fun though. The new stuff is good, but there was something about needing a group to get an epic in. History has probably forgotten the bad parts but I remember great times and really bad jokes on Comm's.

It was a different era and once you learned how to beat the epics there was a never a chance of failing unless you had a random PUG for an important role that wasn't accurate about their abilities (cc dc, tank etc.)

The biggest difference is that information is shared more quickly and freely now about how to beat a quest and there is a much higher percentage of strong characters. Back then techniques, safe spots, bugs, etc. was not so freely shared so you had to know the right person to get that information or figure it out yourself. Now there is a video on youtube before it hits live. A random pug back then was almost always a first lifer. A random pug now is usually on their 3rd life or greater and the raids usually have many completionists. Over a year ago I joined an EE FOT pug raid that read "Completionists only" and filled up in a few minutes. Ironically it was alot of the same people I saw regularly joining random raids.

[Kylstrem]

Starting a bard, wizard, sorcerer, or rogue and have a good chance of dying in the first quest you needed to do to get out of the Starter Tavern before you "killed many kobolds".
Nothing like starting with XP debt trying to complete the FIRST quest you had to do.


Getting cursed or blinded in in WW or Butcher's Path, and then waiting in a tavern for a 5th level cleric to show up and then be kind enough to remove Curse or remove blindness on you because the game was still new and potions of remove curse were not available in the harbor area, or if you had access to them you did not have spare plat to buy them.

[EllisDee37]

Epic Devil Assault

- Get someone with good cc
- Get a healer
- Get a tank

Auto Win

There were way more safe spots then vs. now. The powergamers of that era were all about exploiting safe spots and UI bugs.

Yeah, sure, that's a cheesy safe spot exploit. Whatever you say.

[Panzermeyer]

I know it still happens today, but I still think the hardest "nostalgic" moment for me is how the first time I did shroud. I got up on that altar and I swear I clicked that portal RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE arghhh...

This!!!

I joyfully was able to do this one one the wifey when she ran it for the first time. It was so much fun. =)

[dredre9987]

Swim clerics that could swim faster than they could ever run!!!

And Batman LOL.


Also, see my sig...

[DarthCaedus]

Yeah, sure, that's a cheesy safe spot exploit. Whatever you say.

Well you truncated my response to make it seem like my safe spot comment had anything to do with devil assault, but it did not. If you are honest you will edit the post to include my entire quote or remove your post entirely. If not, we know you are just trying to mislead.

Anyhow those are 2 different points not one . The devil assault and the safe spot points are both valid points.

[mudfud]

Back when we had "bad" pugs and a friend came online and could kick that pug mid quest.


I loved xp debt on deaths, wish it never left, wish it would come back. Maybe ddo wasn't ready for it then, but it's more then ready for it now.

[elraido]

Back when tempest spine was first released, our party was in there for 5 hours before we wiped.....5 HOURS.

[arcane_nite]

Ok I'll start.

When the party wiped one toon would stay in while the others ressurected, buffed at airships and came back in fresh.



Since some of you are new or might have forgot this is before flavor toons ruled and everyone could do everything. Before difficulty streaks were so important and they ruined most of the raid gear with too much auction house power creep. When Bloodstones were awed at and most raids upto TOD were run on a regular basis. Before heroic was gimped in favor of epic content making 2/3rds of the game a ghost town. When parties needed a healer and waited forever for one to show up. When soloing and short manning was the exception instead of the norm.

How about maxing primary stay bc otherwise you could not hit anything.

[Theolin]

Actually post informative threads of the reverse engineering of the math, stats, DCs, strategies, distances, swing speeds, puzzles solutions, etc ..... of different aspects of the game

To all the number crunching, insightful, way over the top and often quite insanely great & crazy analysis thread posters: THANKS
- This I miss the most

[EllisDee37]

Anyhow those are 2 different points not one . The devil assault and the safe spot points are both valid points.

Please do elaborate what the "valid" point is about running devil assault in a balanced party using team tactics.

[nibel]

Actually post informative threads of the reverse engineering of the math, stats, DCs, strategies, distances, swing speeds, puzzles solutions, etc ..... of different aspects of the game

We still have the wiki page doing spell damage calculations, where eventually we discovered that DDO had weighted dice (ie, 1d6 on spells was actually 1d3+3). Took some time to also made the devs admit our data was right, and more time for them to actually change the in-game description to what it is now.

Also, remember when shroud was released, and not only no one could complete on the first week, we didn't even knew what the altars were supposed to give us? Lots and lots of people gathered ingredients together for science, and tried all combinations. I still remember the day someone discovered the double shard recipes.

[schelsullivan]

I remember playing in a groups where the tanks shield blocked doorways while the rangers and casters would unload on the mobs. Never played a tank before but I bet that felt really cool holding a whole room full of angry mobs at bay.

[arcane_nite]

Ok I'll start.

When the party wiped one toon would stay in while the others ressurected, buffed at airships and came back in fresh.



Since some of you are new or might have forgot this is before flavor toons ruled and everyone could do everything. Before difficulty streaks were so important and they ruined most of the raid gear with too much auction house power creep. When Bloodstones were awed at and most raids upto TOD were run on a regular basis. Before heroic was gimped in favor of epic content making 2/3rds of the game a ghost town. When parties needed a healer and waited forever for one to show up. When soloing and short manning was the exception instead of the norm.

People yelling heal! Heal! Heal! Or typing hjeal! Jeal! Lol

[mudfud]

I remember playing in a groups where the tanks shield blocked doorways while the rangers and casters would unload on the mobs. Never played a tank before but I bet that felt really cool holding a whole room full of angry mobs at bay.

HAH that was afk or bio time for the tank or anyone designated as such, since they would aggro on the people behind and were too stupid to hit the person blocking them from getting through.

[Missing_Minds]

Getting cursed or blinded in in WW or Butcher's Path, and then waiting in a tavern for a 5th level cleric to show up and then be kind enough to remove Curse or remove blindness on you because the game was still new and potions of remove curse were not available in the harbor area, or if you had access to them you did not have spare gold to buy them.

Fixed that for you. Standards changed.

Back when death ment XP loss. To quote my wife "/death is fun."

[Qhualor]

I remember playing in a groups where the tanks shield blocked doorways while the rangers and casters would unload on the mobs. Never played a tank before but I bet that felt really cool holding a whole room full of angry mobs at bay.

until lag hit while you were spamming the Intimidate button. the mobs would than attack someone else until the cooldown was done so you could go right back to turtling up and intimitanking.

it was funny sometimes though watching players jump around because they didn't know what to do with the agro.

[Theolin]

We still have the wiki page doing spell damage calculations, where eventually we discovered that DDO had weighted dice (ie, 1d6 on spells was actually 1d3+3). Took some time to also made the devs admit our data was right, and more time for them to actually change the in-game description to what it is now.

Also, remember when shroud was released, and not only no one could complete on the first week, we didn't even knew what the altars were supposed to give us? Lots and lots of people gathered ingredients together for science, and tried all combinations. I still remember the day someone discovered the double shard recipes.

Yep remember the great shroud community collection & sharing

[LordKalkin]

But the ship buff removed half the re entry penalty. :/

Those old buffs I mostly never bothered with, 1 hour and they ticked away while chilling in town. Just grab the xp buff and you'll be fine, save the rest for raids so you don't have to ask for resists unless it was an easy raid in which case why bother.

Get your fire ship buff before entering Spine, or making sure a caster buffed you.

[darkly_dreaming]

Invis/sneak running Claw of Vulkoor for glove seals on every character, every day, because you could only complete an epic quest once per day.