Mabar Re-Incarnated

[Nonesuch2008]

Or maybe change the spectral dragon part to a conventional raid? - you reset the timer by turning in a key.

I'm like you, I think there are several things along these lines that could be done to mitigate the lag. Between this and a population quota on the garg's, we might be onto something.

[Faltout]

I've said before that Mabar should be converted into a regular raid

The randomness of people in summoning chamber is part of its charm. Besides, I don't want to not be able to join just because I am not in a raid group. I also do not want to see many groups ending up in the same instance because the game wants to keep them together (like what happens now in Crystal Cove -50 players start in instance 1 and create groups, so 300 players end up in instance 1 because their group is there- which is generating extreme lag)
And watering down the fight with only 3 or 2 rooms, less stuff to do, etc. for small groups to complete is gonna make summoning chamber no longer that attractive.

Summoning Chamber had a significant chance at failure. This, and Abbot raid, have been reliably raising adrenaline levels leaving you with a sense of accomplishment in the end.

[Uska]

It needs to stay dead and buried

[Loromir]

I really missed Mabar last year. Unlike most, I enjoy the graveyard aspect as much as the summoning chamber. Mabar seemed to be the one event that tended to bring the most people together (Probably one of the many causes of the massive lag).

The overall feel in the graveyard just oozed Halloween...It did tend to get a little grindy, but there was always chatter going on that really just made DDO a bit different for a couple weeks out of the year.

I really hope we get the Mabar event back in some form this year.

[CPDK9]

Just bring it back (sans Shadar Kai) and stagger the spectral dragon opening by 5 minutes per level range... so the entire server is not entering the summoning chamber at the same time, and the peaks and valleys of the battle are not overlapping at all level ranges.

Put level 28 items in of course as again NO EVENT SHOULD RE-APPEAR WITHOUT SOMETHING NEW FOR VET PLAYERS TO ACQUIRE, ever...

This would work and I'll speak from experiance. On one of my earliest runs our group was hit with massive lag (no suprise), but a wise veteran player quickly sent out a message to hold off on preping the alters. We waited at least 5 minutes (maybe more), the lag was gone, and our group was able to complete the run. Since that time, any of the times a group I was in was hit with lag I would get that same message out and every time it worked. Maybe I am just lucky but, of the many runs that I completed I can only recall one run where that tactic failed.

[Postumus]

Ditch Shadar-Kai. Return giant skellies. Keep werewolves.

And either:

1- Eliminate the spectral dragon fight altogether and make the dragon scale a turn in at the barter box for motes and other dropables

2- Change it to a 6 (or 12) player instance where grouped players get to stay together (like cove) and you have certain amount of time to pull all the levers (which stay pulled) then find and defeat the dragon before it destroys all 4 altars.

[Postumus]

The randomness of people in summoning chamber is part of its charm.

I find the randomness frustrating. If I've been farming Mabar for 30-60 mins with the same group, I'd like to be with that group in the dragon portion. Just like Cove.


I also do not like that you don't have voice and have to try to get everyone organized using the common chat channel.


We had random. I think changing it to be more like CC would be a huge improvement.

[HAL]

Mabar was my favorite festival. I was very sad that we didn't get it last year. I hope that Turbine is able to salvage Mabar and that we not only get to use our collectibles from it but also get the gear.

[Jatner]

EDIT:

Just noticed someone said what I did already earlier in the thread

[Faltout]

I find the randomness frustrating. If I've been farming Mabar for 30-60 mins with the same group, I'd like to be with that group in the dragon portion. Just like Cove.

You do that in every quest/raid/challenge in the game. This can be different. This event will enforce you to communicate with people outside your guild's circles.
Also, I think I already mentioned how staying with the group is not going to work for summoning chamber due to people needed and due to people without a group.

[Sam1313]

Fall just doesn't seem like Fall without Mabar. Remove the Shadar kai they do not fit the Halloween theme. Sorry to anyone who likes them they just don't fit. Need more Skeletons, Pumpkins, Ghosts, Wraiths, Liches, and Vampires and bring in some Werewolves from the high road that will work.

[F2PPremiumLeech]

Or maybe change the spectral dragon part to a conventional raid? - you reset the timer by turning in a key.

This is something I've suggested before. Just make it a normal raid that is available during the event to anyone who has a key. (Maybe throw some 3 hour timer on top). This way everyone would not be doing it at the same time.

[eachna_gislin]

I would like it returned, period. Even if they have to rebuild it from the ground up. I would like to see it more like CC, personally, in that everyone plays together, you loot treasure, and Guild Renown is awarded.

Actually, the one thing I wish they would remove from CC and Mabar, if it were to return, is the server wide unlocking mechanism. Just slap a replay timer on completion and reduce the chances of the "key" from dropping. Of course, you could still purchase the "key" (compass for CC) from the collectables you have been gathering, at say a 15% increase in cost (from previous years). As far as what is a good "replay timer," events can happen every 20 minutes during peak times while hours may go by during non-peak. A replay timer of 30 to 45 minutes wouldn't be too unreasonable, imho, and would allow people to run adventures for XP in between timers.

Oh, for hope and dreams.

The _best_ reason to get rid of the keys/compasses and have a timer is so that off-peak players get the opportunity to collect as many mats as peak-time players. One run every hour around the clock would be awesome, and leaves plenty of time to farm mats or do actual questing. Even when a special event is up, you shouldn't be separating players into the group willing to chain themselves into the event, and those who are avoiding it like the plague. People should drop in and leave as they like.

I'm so tired of having the opportunity to play during my (Australian) day and have my husband (whose not yet retired) come home at night just when all the late-night US folks drop off to sleep. If he's lucky, he'll get one run a night. Most times, it fails (due to not enough people to pull levers or someone not knowing what to do). Then, he has to go to bed. He can't wait another four hours for another run.

A great fix would be to have people in the same group end up in the same instance (and only combining groups if they're too small). It makes absolutely no sense to be part of a group farming the graveyard and then dropped in with strangers for the dragon event.

I'd also like to see something that lets us use our old mats to create/upgrade items. I have a big stack of mats that are three Mabars old, thanks to Turbine being unable to keep Mabar up and on schedule the past three years. I'd really like to get wraps for my monks and cloaks for all my toons. I farmed my mats legitimately, I should be able to spend them legitimately.

[Amundir]

As far as removing the collectable turnins to open the event in favor of a variable set open time depending upon activity level, I'd say I'd be against that as it favors the more active times and could also encourage peak times to be even higher, simply due to the more frequent opening time simply because of 'when' you play. Would discourage playing in off peak times.

Instead I would suggest another option.
Change the opening of the event to be a set time lapse all the time, but still take collectables.
Turning in collectables would simply be changed to reduce the timer so that it opens faster.
So during busy times with people turning in collectables you get in faster.
During slow times, your not waiting around *4EVA!!!!* because no one is turning in collectables, and can still speed it up some with the work your doing.
Does not directly promote a given time to play, but does still incentivize turning in collectables.
Cooldown between being able to open it after it closes would still apply.

[Nonesuch2008]

I'd also like to see something that lets us use our old mats to create/upgrade items. I have a big stack of mats that are three Mabars old, thanks to Turbine being unable to keep Mabar up and on schedule the past three years. I'd really like to get wraps for my monks and cloaks for all my toons. I farmed my mats legitimately, I should be able to spend them legitimately.

Well said, and this is of great importance to me as well as some other players that have posted here & in other Mabar threads. I put a lot of honest time & effort into acquiring my mats. Doubtless, there are those that put in even more. All of us were deprived of the chance to use those mats when the event was abruptly pulled.

It's not just the mats though, I personally already have a lot of Mabar gear spread across my toons that I would love the chance to finish. Would it be too much trouble to park the Mote of Night Collector in the Hall of Heroes or some other location to allow us to use what we've earned & finish up our gear?

I hope that you & your husband can have more windows of time to enjoy events & DDO in general. Trust me, IK all about work and RL cramping DDO time!

[Postumus]

You do that in every quest/raid/challenge in the game.

I do? Wait, no I don't.


What I actually do is form a group with people I know, and then run a raid/challenge/quest. I do not have this option in Mabar.


Even in a PUG I can choose who I group with. I do not have this option in Mabar.


It's not conducive to social interaction when you are dumped into a random mix of people with a timed quest with specific objectives and none of you have had a chance to interact beforehand. Especially if you have just spent the last hour in the graveyard interacting with a group of people only to have your group broken up and thrown into a blender with a bunch of other random players with whom you have a short period of time to identify who the are, where they are, what they can do, what roles they will play, etc.


It is forced grouping at its worst and I find that aspect of Mabar chaotic and unenjoyable.


Let me stick with my group, like CC, and fight against the dragon with the same people I spent the last hour in the graveyard with.

[Postumus]

A great fix would be to have people in the same group end up in the same instance (and only combining groups if they're too small). It makes absolutely no sense to be part of a group farming the graveyard and then dropped in with strangers for the dragon event.

Well said! I agree 100%.

[Zoogar]

I would like it returned, period. Even if they have to rebuild it from the ground up. I would like to see it more like CC, personally, in that everyone plays together, you loot treasure, and Guild Renown is awarded.

Actually, the one thing I wish they would remove from CC and Mabar, if it were to return, is the server wide unlocking mechanism. Just slap a replay timer on completion and reduce the chances of the "key" from dropping. Of course, you could still purchase the "key" (compass for CC) from the collectables you have been gathering, at say a 15% increase in cost (from previous years). As far as what is a good "replay timer," events can happen every 20 minutes during peak times while hours may go by during non-peak. A replay timer of 30 to 45 minutes wouldn't be too unreasonable, imho, and would allow people to run adventures for XP in between timers.

Oh, for hope and dreams.

I really like the idea of replay timers instead of the server wide unlocking mechanism. I would imagine it would be easy enough for the developers to add it.
If not that then how about having the doors open on a cycle at the top of the hour and stay open for 30 or 40 minutes.
But, then that might make running around in the wilderness useless for the most part within the crystal cove. With Mabar you need run in the wilderness in order to collect the Vampire Fang & Lich Dust.

[barecm]

Something to do with launching pumpkins with a catapult.

[Faltout]

I do? Wait, no I don't.


What I actually do is form a group with people I know, and then run a raid/challenge/quest. I do not have this option in Mabar.

So you do after all... (You obviously misread my point)

It's not conducive to social interaction when you are dumped into a random mix of people with a timed quest with specific objectives and none of you have had a chance to interact beforehand. Especially if you have just spent the last hour in the graveyard interacting with a group of people only to have your group broken up and thrown into a blender with a bunch of other random players with whom you have a short period of time to identify who the are, where they are, what they can do, what roles they will play, etc.

As I said, you have that kind of preparation in every other instance of the game. There is no need to extend that to an event trying to be different than everyday life.

Also, when in real life you find yourself in a room full of strangers and something happens when you all need to work together and interact to that unforeseen event, what do you do? You say "Let me call my team of specialists because we're prepared to deal with this kind of situation"?
Some people find this aspect of Summoning Chamber exciting. Someone needs to pass out advice, someone needs to take a supervising position, many people that don't know each other need to work together. And when success comes, the fact that you managed to deal with a bunch of strangers and complete a task you can't have full control over feels great.

I'll accept that you don't like being put in a situation where you need to deal with strangers. But, for many other people that's part of the adventure and since that's the only place in the game where that was happening, there's no reason to try and mainstream it with every other quest in the game.

---

About the ideas for turn in changes:
How about the counter goes down in a slow pace making sure that the cove/summoning chamber opens within a given time frame.
For example, Cove needs 2000 turn ins. If 1 map piece was being automatically turned in every 4 seconds, then Cove would open at least every 2 hours and 13 minutes. Peak hours would still keep their rate of Cove opening every 20 minutes (by having players turn in thousands of map pieces at once) and dead hours would have cove open about every 1 and a half hours (by having a small set of players turning in the occasional 20 pieces).