When level cap is raised to 30 will we get better hires?

[Connman]

So I know the level cap increase is down the road a ways. That is why I am asking now. When the level cap is raised to 30 will we get level 30 hires? I ask because, in my opinion, Kaylen is the best hireling. I have been questing with her for years. As soon as I reach level cap, err I mean level twenty, she is one of the first people I group with. Why? We went to Sschindylryn, a level 22 area, to do a few slayers. A picture is worth a thousand words.



So I don't neccesarily want new hirelings, what I want is Kaylen to take 10 epic levels, max out Magister to keep those DC's up, and keep being one of the best Sorc's to run with. How many sorc's you know that carry Haste and GH?

Do you have any current hires you would like to see made "epic?"

[legendkilleroll]

i dont want any hires at lv30

low levels sure but imo at epic levels the way the game is now people should be self healing and doing enough damage

[Powerhungry]

i dont want any hires at lv30

low levels sure but imo at epic levels the way the game is now people should be self healing and doing enough damage

We need an epic hireling capable of spotting/disarming epic level traps since not all of use min/max our builds and add 2 levels of rogue (rant on - A character with 2 rogue levels should never be able to disarm an epic trap - rant off).

[QuantumFX]

we need an epic hireling capable of spotting/disarming epic level traps since the epic rogue hirelings are terrible at disabling and opening locks.

ftfy.

[lyrecono]

when new people start out, hirelings are a cheap alternative to self healing (since turbine made playing healers not fun i guess....), a new player might simply not have the resources
Even on heroic elite, hirelings can come a long way, assuming you control them well and keep m far enough from the action to avoid massive spell damage (mob aoe's centred on you).

On epic elites, hirelings are a waste of time, not enough hp (and i think no mrr/prr that seems to matter), they die too fast, but i do recognize casual people enjoying wilderness area's and normal /hard content and they really enjoy/need decent hirelings.

It might not be my cup of tea but i think we should cater to them too.

as for the OP, is that red dragon armor and a chaosblade(+orb)? A swf pali?

You don't look like a casual player that would need a hire for a gh (though i still agree that hires need an update at 30)

[Connman]

as for the OP, is that red dragon armor and a chaosblade(+orb)? A swf pali?

You don't look like a casual player that would need a hire for a gh (though i still agree that hires need an update at 30)

What am I using? Red dragon armor, as far as you know, chaos blade, as far as you know :P. Yeah they are cosmetic. best 800 DDO points I ever spent. Sword and board though, that doublestrike can make for some sexy crits.

No, I am not a casual player. I TR often. Not for the uber power gains, because I get tired of the same old stuff.

On kaylen,*wink* I haven't summoned her in over a year. Never took her down to Sschindylryn before. But I knew, *smug look* that I could take her down there and she would, one, break their spell resistance; and two land that finger of death. In all, It took me about ten minutes to get the screen caps I wanted. This what you have to understand about Kaylen and her AI though, you ask for you haste and GH, to set her to active, then you go do your own thing. She runs around like a lunatic in those explorer areas getting you kills, you know like the sorc that hits your slayer LFM. Only unlike that guy, she carried haste and GH, and has no problem giving it to you. She doesn't go off on some five minute rant about how much scrolls cost.

And that is why I want her epic'd, she is perfect the way she is, she just needs to have a level 30 version. And for the sake of all that is good in the realms, give her cocoon. Have her be stingy with it and only use it on herself, but she could be very useful with it.

As far as hirelings on EE, lol no. I don't use hirelings anymore anyway. But I did in the past, I have just outgrown them. There will always be a special place in my heart for Kaylen though. Wyoh on the other hand, I dropped her stone in the lava and never looked back.

[lyrecono]

hahahahaha, thanks for making my morning

Only unlike that guy, she carried haste and GH, and has no problem giving it to you. She doesn't go off on some five minute rant about how much scrolls cost.

XDDDDDDD

i wasn't calling you a casual by any means, i was just responding to another post where someone was saying there should't be any lv 30 hirelings.
Though detrimental to people's play style (looking at you lady bladeforged dying 12 times with full sp bar), i still think some people enjoy them (and hopefully the ddo store).

[legendkilleroll]

The problem i have is people rely on hires for heals, what happens when they join a raid or group of real players, they have barely any self heals and nowdays people dont have dedicated healers, sure raids will have people who will heal

I wouldnt ban hires from my groups but i rarely host but alot of people wont allow them

All this talk of soloing not enough grouping and people want hires for heals, traps, next they gonna want Elite opener hires :P

[lyrecono]

that's what happens when you want your game to cater to many play styles, i don't mind casuals using them on their normal/hard runs, but on my elite runs they won't make it into my groups.

[TrinityTurtle]

Depends what you mean by better.

If you are talking purely stats, possibly.

If better means they function much better, highly doubtful, as AI has made incredible strides to date, but it's still not a human brain.

[Connman]

Depends what you mean by better.

If you are talking purely stats, possibly.

If better means they function much better, highly doubtful, as AI has made incredible strides to date, but it's still not a human brain.

By better I mean max level, higher stats, and better gear. As far as the AI? Well they could be better, they could be worse, as in they have been better and they have been worse. It would be nice if they hirelings performed as well as a guy with a $200 keyboard, a case of mountain dew, and a strong desire to "kill all n00bz!." But we are definitely a ways from that I would say.

As far as casual vs. leet. well the one guy that is so casual he has been playing for 9 years and hasn't left the Harbor yet he might not need a level 30 hire. On the other hand the one guy that was born leet, solo'd every quest in this game, and beat Sins of Attirtion on elite, exactly 10 minutes after it went live, yeah he probably dosen't need one either, but if he had any sense he would bring one when he did slayers. Unless of course this guy is so leet he can be in two places at once.

For the rest us that fall somewhere in the middle, I would like us to have the option anyway of bringing some type of hire with us in the higher level quests. She has to survive the run to the lever she needs to pull after all.

*edit* I wanted to also add this, what do I expect from a level 30 Barbarian hire for example? Well what will you expect from a level 30 Barbarian that clicks your LFM? I bet your going to expect at least a little self healing. Our toons have really changed over the years, we got away from the holy trinity. The hires should evolve a little too. They are still stuck in ye olden days. The hires need to gear up, twist in cocoon, and contribute. Do I expect a tier 3 mortal fear weapon on them with a ruby of devotion slotted for the cocoon, no of course not. But I do at least expect them to take off that starter gear at some point.

And quite frankly now that I have been thinking about it, maybe we should have a hireling or two that follows some build, like maybe that elusive bardcherarti.

[TrinityTurtle]

By better I mean max level, higher stats, and better gear. As far as the AI? Well they could be better, they could be worse, as in they have been better and they have been worse. It would be nice if they hirelings performed as well as a guy with a $200 keyboard, a case of mountain dew, and a strong desire to "kill all n00bz!." But we are definitely a ways from that I would say.

OH goodness, I certainly hope not at least in the case of the healer sort of hires, since one of the big reasons I defend their existence is they help new players and groups of new players to quest instead of hoping a healer will happen along. If it wanted to kill them...well..yeah. Poor new players. LOL

*edit* I wanted to also add this, what do I expect from a level 30 Barbarian hire for example? Well what will you expect from a level 30 Barbarian that clicks your LFM?

No, I expect to be on the floor weeping by the end of the quest as I make them my personal quest on Waterssong, Loggerhead, and Turtel to keep them alive. And once in a while I get one that makes it a much harder game when I play keep this toon alive at all costs than trying to run naked epic elite, it's awesome.

I bet your going to expect at least a little self healing. Our toons have really changed over the years, we got away from the holy trinity.

Semantics moment: I hate that term. In pen and paper it was always the holy quad, a dps unit, a healer unit, a caster unit, and trapper unit. My 30+years of pnp are going back into hiding now, but they had to show themselves. LOL

[WhiiteWolf]

Hi All,

I hope the hires will get at least an upgrade to make them at least do what they gained levels in and perform accordingly. As for their A.I. as of late it still isn't up to par, they ( healer types ) are still to aggressive. And I feel that there is too much time between when they should cast a heal, it is way , way off at times, you might get slapped and only take 200 points damages and they throw a mass heal, and other times your breathing fumes and then they stand there and look at you.

And the idea of putting them out of harms way, well then what's the use of bringing a hire if your going to keep it at the entrance and they have to run all the way to you, to throw a heal/AOE. However I have done this before and it boggles my mind how their A.I. knows to send them all the way to you for a heal etc. but it's not smart enough to actually throw you a heal when you only have 100 hp left in a fight and then they arrive and decide it was a waste of time and turn around and go back leaving you lying on the floor. Or better yet, your fighting 6 + mobs while they are running to you and your expecting a heal and they run right past these mobs and go 100 yards past you to throw a spell because the A. I. felt, I suppose the other 20 up the hall needed to come down to the fight, as if you weren't getting killed fast enough.

Instead of making that A.I. control panel via right clicking the hires name, just have it that if you got the fight icon pressed then their behavior is set, and if you have Guard icon clicked then that just for heal bot mode, and they will only actively fight if there is something within their area, possibly the area of what a blade barrier might be if they were in the middle of that.

There was a comment made, about what would one expect from an actual player wanting to join a pug, will lets take it a step further... If you had someone join your group and they acted just like some of the Hire A'I' does in the game, running off and pulling the next 20 mobs to the group, or your really low on HP and they ran by you to cast a heal on the person that got a scratch how long would it take before you put them on you black list? Or gave them grief that they have no clue how to play or gave them the " Noob " tag.

For me all I want out of my hire whatever I may use at the time, is to perform according to the icon in their quick bar, And for a healer that means...... Stand Still/ Guard means just that, you stay there I'm going down here and fight and throw me a heal when I actually need it, If I click " stand Still " but your on Fight, then all bets are off but Damm Hire !!!!!! Don't run past the 6+ things I am fighting here to throw a spell on the other 20 down the hall.

Anyway that's my 2 Plat, I like hires when there is no one on I usually quest with, they allow me to try some quests at my own pace, which isn't a bad thing at times, because there are times when you just need a little time to do you own thing, because some people just like to run in and fight groups of mobs because they know they can but not everyone has that many past lives or are new to they game. So for me beef up the hires a little to suit the higher levels , but don't make them better then the person that are using them. And definitely, tweak the A.I. that guard means guard, and fight means fight, And Stand Still means stay right there!!!! Not sneak off when my back is turned. And if your getting pelted with arrows/ranged attacks don't stand there with your head snapping back and forth, move out of the way, you stupid pin-cushion.

Sincerely, W.W.

[Jsbeer]

Giving (healer!) hirelings a heal-only option where the only thing they do is heal and letting them have quicken (at least for heal and mass heal) would be a very good start.

[Zasral]

I am perpetualy walking around with 4.3 million pp in loose change in my pockets, and I'm paying them around 1k an hour to be human sacrifices. I don't think my heart would be in it either if I were them.

[Uska]

I agree with the other guy no more hires