Producer's Letter

[Monkey-Boy]

How many EH/EE MOD's have you run in comparison to the ENorm farm.

My Wizard ran 20, mostly Elite (16?), and got everything she ever needed from the raid. I never have to run that again on that character if I don't want to.

Have fun banging out 80 Normal runs if you think it's more productive.

[axel15810]

This is the biggest issues in the game, very little worth doing on a capped character. Throw us a bone please.

So much this.

I don't like running ETRs but I do it since there's absolutely nothing to do at 28. Especially since you can run the endgame raids without being at cap...and flagging and completions count doesn't reset. I feel like I'm just wasting XP by staying at 28.

You don't even lose much power by going down to 20 since the majority of it is in epic destinies. I want a compelling reason to stay at cap. And I wish more power was taken out of destinies and distributed between the 8 (soon to be 10) epic levels instead.

[Seikojin]

This is pretty good stuff, but my outlook on this is invariably tainted by how you folks decide to handle loot. If you can keep the more powerful stuff to the harder difficulty settings, then this would be perfect - instead of letting any average joe acquire the same toys with a lot less effort as the most invested players.

Here is the thing: Post ratios and why. Just saying people getting it on lower difficulties does you no good. You need to detail this request in a way that makes sense.

For example:
Chronoscope, the earliest raid you can do (lvl 6). I have not seen a stat tome drop from there, ever. I think +1 stat tomes should drop from there to get players started on stat upgrades. So only +1's. Same with skill tomes.

Loot bonuses : current max is +6 AFAIK

Format will be: Default, +1 loot, +2 loot, +3 loot, +4, 5, and 6.
Normal: 1 in 1000 pulls, 1 in 900 pulls, 1 in 800, 1 in 700, basically drop the ratio by 100 for every +1 to loot level.
Hard: 1 in 350 (slightly better than doing normal with +6 loot bonuses), reducing by 50 for each +1 to loot level.
Elite: 1 in 40 (slightly better than hard with +6 loot bonus), reducing by 5 for each +1 to loot level.

Meaning, in chronoscope, my suggestion would be to add +1 stat and skill tomes to the loot tables for all the chests that drop named items. Or in the last chests. And that at best, on elite, with a +6 loot bonus, you will have a 1 in 10 chance of pulling a +1 stat or skill tome. But by running elite alone, you have a 1 in 40 chance. Which is 25 times better than running normal.

As an example only. Ratios and reduction costs would need to be tweaked based on actual distribution amounts of special loot from that chest.

[JOTMON]

My Wizard ran 20, mostly Elite (16?), and got everything she ever needed from the raid. I never have to run that again on that character if I don't want to.

Have fun banging out 80 Normal runs if you think it's more productive.

Well then you are an anomaly, I don't even think there have been 16 successful runs of EE MOD on the Argo server to date... there have been several hundreds of Normal runs.

[HedgeHogShadow]

Honestly, guys, if you are going to epic-ify Vale, don't give us retreads of the same content. The same map, and the same mechanic with different mobs is unbelievably tedious. If I have to re-run the same content just so I can run a different raid (that I'll have a hard time getting a group to run anyways), I might as well just not run the content in the first place.

Yeah, re-ran some of the eOrchard quests people have been raving about. It's reheated leftovers. I might as well just run heroic and not even bother.

Not everyone defines fun as farming uber-powerful loot. Some of us want actual variety of adventure.

I agree that doing the same maps as epic is boring, BUT - if they added even a couple new quest maps and reused a couple existing maps with new enemies & atmosphere (like something dark set up shop in the gnoll lair & adds a whole new feel & pace to the quest), I could get on board.

Also important would be to change the wilderness area some. Not the map, but maybe make it look different - like random astroids falling and pestering toons.

EDIT: Sorry, I guess they are called meteorites, not astroids.

[Uska]

Well then you are an anomaly, I don't even think there have been 16 successful runs of EE MOD on the Argo server to date... there have been several hundreds of Normal runs.

Most I see on khyber run hard on that one

[Mahatu]

I am super excited to hear the warlocks are being considered for the new class! I have been wanting warlocks in the game sense shortly after release. They are one of my favorite classes in pnp both in terms of mechanics and theme, so I really hope this goes though. I am curious about a few details though.

Is there are reason you are not sure that you are adding warlocks? The wording in the letter is rather non-commitave, but I am hoping that if you were confident enough to mention them specifically in the letter that warlocks have a reasonable chance of getting in the game.

Are you planning to implement warlock pacts in some way? I know they are more a part of 4e/5e, but they are a great way to help give you warlock a sense of uniqueness and identity within the class.

Do you have any thoughts on how the warlock will work with the existing epic destinies, caster destinies in particular? They were designed with traditional casters in mind and may now work as well for the warlock's style of casting, notably in regards to spellpoints and schools of magic.

Here's hoping that we will find out more soon =)

[MangLord]

Shaman would also be cool, but I can't see how that class would be much different than a druid when translated to DDO. Support classes are somewhat unpopular until they gain some measure of offense. Warlords would also share a similar niche to paladin and fighter tanks, so they don't seem to be unique enough to warrant an introduction to DDO.

Warlock seems to be the easiest class to translate to DDO, with enough unique flair to make it something different to play, but it's unlikely to be popular unless they can self heal to some degree.

[Cetus]

Why does this bother you? The lesser players with the same toys still wouldn't be "you."

If the casual, ordinary players can acquire it, that means it is acquirable on lower difficulty, which means that I can as well.

Then, I'll just roflstomp the content - get my goodies, and take another 4 month break until new content is released for me to stomp.

If the devs don't see the value in extending the longevity of their own content, I'm not going to create artificial barriers for myself just to enjoy the game for a few extra weeks.

The games most powerful treasures cannot be guaranteed handouts to whoever chooses to acquire them. It cheapens the experience, makes content wasteful, and provides no impetus for returning.

The old epic days that took months to get an ESOS were far better. That content lasted orders of magnitude longer than anything that has been released recently. And the high you get when you finally assembled your uber ESOS simply cannot be matched by anything the game can offer today, chiefly because the developers have done nothing but cater to the whims of entitlement.

Once we can burn through this scrim of appeasement and silver platter deliveries, then we'll have a better game and more of a push for newer players to actually get better.

[Postumus]

The old epic days that took months to get an ESOS were far better.

No. That was horrible and most people complained, and still complain, about it.

[Cetus]

No. That was horrible and most people complained, and still complain, about it.

Pointing out the existence of "complaints" isn't exactly a rebuttal. People complain about everything.

[XodousRoC]

"]If the casual, ordinary players can acquire it, that means it is acquirable on lower difficulty, which means that I can as well."
*And if the only thing you lust after is the gear, you are welcome to do so.

"Then, I'll just roflstomp the content - get my goodies, and take another 4 month break until new content is released for me to stomp."
*See above

"If the devs don't see the value in extending the longevity of their own content, I'm not going to create artificial barriers for myself just to enjoy the game for a few extra weeks."
*People play EE all the time for the challenge. Why are you different? If you truly don't enjoy the challenge, then by all means, take your 4 month break, and we'll see you on the flip side.

"The games most powerful treasures cannot be guaranteed handouts to whoever chooses to acquire them. It cheapens the experience, makes content wasteful, and provides no impetus for returning."
*Nothing in this game is guaranteed. I do agree that norm running content to get the best gear is not desirable, but by no means are the best gear in the game a guarantee to anyone.

"The old epic days that took months to get an ESOS were far better. That content lasted orders of magnitude longer than anything that has been released recently. And the high you get when you finally assembled your uber ESOS simply cannot be matched by anything the game can offer today, chiefly because the developers have done nothing but cater to the whims of entitlement."
*The only sense of entitlement I'm hearing (all over the forums) is from the old guard elitists that defend their uberness with unmatched sarcasm, belittlement, and unfounded claims.

"Once we can burn through this scrim of appeasement and silver platter deliveries, then we'll have a better game and more of a push for newer players to actually get better."
*There may be some forumite chatter to make things easier to get...I'm not seeing it, but it may be there. What I AM seeing is a lot of disgruntled old school players belittling everyone that has come after the beginning and lumping us all into the same "entitlement" boat. It's honestly ridiculous. I've seen your vids. I've read many of your posts. You have a lot more to offer than hostility if you so choose. If this kind of post is the best you have to offer after your 4 month break, perhaps another 4 will freshen it.

Enough with the histrionics already.

[NyteByrd1017]

Mabar is not coming back. There will be a replacement that offers the Mabar items from what's been said overtime

Then I guess that means I won't be renewing my VIP.

Mabar itself is not coming back but there will be a new Halloween event. Several posters on the forums, including myself, suggested a Haunted House themed event to replace Mabar. The Haunted House could be completely dark except for one source of illumination carried by the players (e.g., a pumpkin lantern) similar to the Rainbow in the Dark quest.

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...o-Mabar-Event?

Sounds like an interesting idea. I'll read the reviews when it's over. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the extra money from NOT being a VIP.

[Nascoe]

My Wizard ran 20, mostly Elite (16?), and got everything she ever needed from the raid. I never have to run that again on that character if I don't want to.

Have fun banging out 80 Normal runs if you think it's more productive.

I guess the challenge is in managing to do that many runs on Normal then and not giving up, as Jotmon does mention challenging himself by doing this.

[Uska]

Then I guess that means I won't be renewing my VIP.



Sounds like an interesting idea. I'll read the reviews when it's over. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the extra money from NOT being a VIP.

Not much money as it costs what 7 bucks or so a month with the best deal?

[Hendrik]

Not much money as it costs what 7 bucks or so a month with the best deal?

Yea, the price of an adult movie ticket.

Let's see the value;

2hrs of entertainment for $7 or 480hrs for that same $7.

[Aelonwy]

If you can Imp, go DL ToEE and take a look just at the maps.

They are adding the 4 underground and one ground level area that is the Temple proper.

Then there are 4 Elemental nodes, each about as big as a single level of the temple but with more area, I mean just about the whole map is used just for each of the Nodes.

That is nine "levels" of the dungeon!

That does not include other areas one can explore within the Temple.

Just by looking at the module in size, they would almost need to break things up, kinda like Tangleroot.

HH is rather large but no where near the size of the Temple complex.

My PnP group does mostly group created adventures and we rotate DMing between us, semi-annually, that is most of 2014 was DMed by one guy, 2015 is being DMed by another giving the first guy a chance to just play.

From your description, this place sounds bigger than Thunderholme. Hard to imagine a single quest in a map as large or larger than some explorer zones. Then again, Shan to Khor covers alot of ground and levels, and so does Tear of Dhakaan with alot of optionals, so perhaps if I envision this as a bigger more bad*** quest of that type in a Thunderholme/Haunted Halls like setting then my mind can take this in.

[JOTMON]

I guess the challenge is in managing to do that many runs on Normal then and not giving up, as Jotmon does mention challenging himself by doing this.

"]*And if the only thing you lust after is the gear, you are welcome to do so.

Challenge of the quest it self is interesting until you land a clean no deaths decent time run.
Then what is the point of continued running.. its the loot..
Players will rinse/repeat run the content at the most comfortable level of success, as players exceed level and become more powerful, older content will get steamrolled at higher difficulty until it no longer offers anything of benefit.

Loot is a stronger motivator to run more difficult content.
Otherwise it is one good run and done. then back to easiest level of content that gives best chance of reward.
So running 20 steamroll normals with any form and go pug group and plentiful LFM's for the low% in quest chance and guaranteed list at 20 blows a way the alternative..
..restrictive waiting to form selective group of EE channel players, resource intensive, longer duration, risk of failure and slightly better crappy drop rate for the same loot...

Epic gianthold was a good model for loot. it had the graduated system of better at higher difficulty and options to improve lower level loot from easier difficulties.
It also dropped unique items on EE. like the draconic augment.
Now people had reason to run all difficulties in GH and go back to run at higher difficulty to get upgraded versions and bonus items.

ENecro on the other hand.. best of the best gear and mythic versions can drop on ecasual.. why is Mythic dropping on anything less than EE...

[painkiller3]

...
And the high you get when you finally assembled your uber ESOS simply cannot be matched by anything the game can offer today
...

This...this 100 times. The accountants have taken over DDO, only 26 more runs of MOD before i'm *guaranteed* to have everything i'll ever need from the raid.

[Wongar]

This...this 100 times. The accountants have taken over DDO, only 26 more runs of MOD before i'm *guaranteed* to have everything i'll ever need from the raid.

And with this post I think you identify a big difference in viewpoints:

"Only 26" more runs of a raid. 26 raid runs is more of a mountain than an "only" for many players

Let's assume you are after just two items so 40 runs total.

How long will it take you to do these 40 runs?

Without raid timer bypass it would take over 4 months.
For an average player that gets to run a raid about once a week - closer to 10 months

I don't think that being *guaranteed* what you want after 4-10 months is such a bad thing.