DDOCast 468 - Casual Gaming: Gearing Up

[pjstechie]

We give some tips and a few choice items for Casual Players to Gear Up! We also cover the latest game and community news with our guests Evennote & Evilbeeker!

Have thoughts on this show, ideas for round table topics, questions you’d like us to answer, or topics you’d like to see us debate? Leave us a comment, send us an email (ddocast@gmail.com) or give us a tweet (@ddocast)!

Check out www.ddocast.com for mp3 audio, our show calendar, swag, archives, and more!

Want to support the show? You can feed the kobolds (give money) on our Patreon page! We use these gifts to support the show and give out prizes.

Casual Gaming: Gearing Up - 4:33
Game News - 1:06:34
Community News - 1:22:14
Lightning Post - 1:28:44
Closing - 1:33:50

Watch shows live at twitch.tv/ddocast

Update 35.1 Release Notes -
Update 35.2 Release Notes -
Riding the Storm Q&A with Torc -
Notes to Strike a Chord: Level 6-10 Gear -
Notes to Strike a Chord: Level 11-15 Gear -
Tactilicious & Craftilicious: Dragon-Re-Born
Confessions of a Geek Mom: The Continued Adventures of the Youngest Halfling Commando
Confessions of a Geek Mom: What a Difference a Year Makes
How to Farm Collectibles

[FranOhmsford]

Well I gave up on this video 18 minutes in and I've posted on YouTube why but I missed something there and here might be a better place for it anyway:

http://ddowiki.com/page/Jeweled_Cloak

How does this merit a PERMANENT Cloak slot?

As a swap in maybe but Permanent? How the Heck do you fit it in?



Oh and like most other named loot now the rest of the easy {no need to fight Dragons or run Raid} named loot in GH has been massively outdated over the past 2 years!

[pjstechie]

Well I gave up on this video 18 minutes in and I've posted on YouTube why but I missed something there and here might be a better place for it anyway:

http://ddowiki.com/page/Jeweled_Cloak

How does this merit a PERMANENT Cloak slot?

As a swap in maybe but Permanent? How the Heck do you fit it in?



Oh and like most other named loot now the rest of the easy {no need to fight Dragons or run Raid} named loot in GH has been massively outdated over the past 2 years!

Sure, a lot of named items are outdated, but I dont think that means that casual players shouldnt consider it. A lot of that gear is good gear and its not too hard to get.

I guess my problem connecting your feedback is I hear you saying: "Casual players shouldnt run raids (where ppl generally consider the best loot to be) but they shouldnt go for outdated gear" and "PUGs dont pass gear and static groups/guilds dont run what i want to run"

So I'm unsure what you are suggesting since it seems to me like you are excluding pretty much everything but solo?

[Steve_Howe]

Sure, a lot of named items are outdated, but I dont think that means that casual players shouldnt consider it. A lot of that gear is good gear and its not too hard to get.

Agreed. I think he missed the fact that this series is about Casual players.

The Jeweled Cloak has a lot to like about it and is perfectly acceptable for the casual player.

[FranOhmsford]

The Jeweled Cloak has a lot to like about it and is perfectly acceptable for the casual player.

Really?

No, No it's Not!

The Jewelled Cloak is a Min/Maxer's item, a gamer's item NOT a Casual Player's item!

It's one of those items that Vets go on and on about but newbies and casuals will have real trouble fitting in to their IMPERFECT Gear set-up!

And you didn't answer my question either - How do you fit this item in? Remembering it takes up a CLOAK SLOT!

If it's a swap-in STATE it's a swap-in, But stop expecting Casuals and Newbies to utilise every swap-in item - Generally they're not going to be quick enough and will have trouble remembering/finding all these swap-ins.
You shouldn't really be expecting Casuals and Newbies to have 8-10 Tabs open either unless they're playing a Lvl 17+ Cleric or Wizard with a tonne of spells to fit in to those tabs and then they'd need even more tabs for all those extra swap-ins!

Then there's inventory space which generally casuals are not going to have every tab and most may only have 4 or 5 maximum IF they've got the Coin Lord Favour, the Plat and the Portable Hole.
Not to mention that the vast majority of bank space is behind multiple pay walls!



Oh and PLIS depletes in seconds and that has 50 charges - If the depletion rate of Jewelled Cloak is anything like that then again it's a gamer's item, a swap-in NOT a permanent gear slot!

[FranOhmsford]

Sure, a lot of named items are outdated, but I dont think that means that casual players shouldnt consider it. A lot of that gear is good gear and its not too hard to get.

6 years playing and I have 2 maybe 3 Shroud items and no more than one on any single character!

And that's because I ran Shroud quite a bit {I managed 20 completions on my Battle Cleric} pre MotU.

These days Heroic Shroud is no longer a popular Raid - In fact it's about as dead as Reaver's Fate!

I guess my problem connecting your feedback is I hear you saying: "Casual players shouldnt run raids (where ppl generally consider the best loot to be) but they shouldnt go for outdated gear" and "PUGs dont pass gear and static groups/guilds dont run what i want to run"

That's not what I said at all!

I said Casual Players CAN'T run Raids like you want them to NOT THAT THEY SHOULDN'T RUN THEM AT ALL!

Do you REALLY expect "Casual" Players or "Newbies" to EXTREME SHORTMAN SHROUD ON ELITE!?! We USED to run it on NORMAL!

So I'm unsure what you are suggesting since it seems to me like you are excluding pretty much everything but solo?

The fact is that most "Casuals" will end up soloing the vast majority of the time! That's just the way the game is!

It's all well and good saying "Join a Guild" or "Find a better Guild" but that's actually quite a lot harder to do than given credit for - Especially if like me you've levelled your OWN guild past 150 or even to lvl 50 or 75 or 90 or so on!
But that's on Cannith, I am in Guilds on other servers that aren't my own, that do have multiple players, that are considered Casual, Newbie Friendly, One has over 200 active accounts!
And guess what THEY ALL RUN REAPER OR EE WHEN THEY GROUP UP!

There are no Large "Casual" Guilds that aren't either filled with inactive accounts and soloers or cliquey guilds of Static Groups!
Mid sized Guilds and smaller Guilds have this problem even worse! The so-called "Good" ones will generally be full of Elitists NOT Casuals!

Heck I've even had people from KNOWN ALL-WELCOME GUILDS {Yeah and you know what I mean} join my LFMs and complain and whinge that I won't change it to Reaper! Or even worse go zerging off through EE Beyond the Rift before the rest of the party have even entered co-incidentally wiping the rest of the party as they all entered one at a time! {This was a while ago}.

But I'm not "excluding" anything!
I'm simply explaining that saying things like "check if anyone in group wants each random item you see in chest" is just plain lunacy! Even Static Groups are generally going to loot and run, Pugs are absolutely going to loot and run!
Unless it's Epic Two Toed Toby and Jibbers might drop! People will stick around for that but that's an end-chest too and frankly even then the RNG is 99% of the time utter vendor trash!

[Steve_Howe]

Fran,

The Jeweled Cloak, whether you like it or not, is indeed a casual player item.

I see all Heroic versions in the Plat AH all the time and I see Epic Normal versions in the Plat AH as well.

The EH and EE versions, however, are almost exclusively in the Shard AH. Regardless, the EN version is perfectly acceptable.

[FranOhmsford]

Fran,

The Jeweled Cloak, whether you like it or not, is indeed a casual player item.

I see all Heroic versions in the Plat AH all the time and I see Epic Normal versions in the Plat AH as well.

The EH and EE versions, however, are almost exclusively in the Shard AH. Regardless, the EN version is perfectly acceptable.

How does that prove it's a casual player item?

To me it proves the exact opposite - Why are they in the AH? Because no-one wants them!

EH and EE Versions maybe in the ASAH but again we don't know if they're actually selling and no selling for 5 shards or less doesn't count!


I've put Jewelled Cloaks on the AH for 20k plat and had them not sell - That is not the AH price of a must have item!


Now maybe it's because the item itself is too common - It's also in a very very popular quest that gets run multiple times per life if people are saga farming so that could definitely have an effect on it's selling price.
And yes pretty much every other item on that chain reward list {All normal versions} is utterly worthless and outdated and not even worth putting on the AH at all so most people who don't grab some extra runes or a renown reward if one actually turns up on the list will grab the cloak and stick it on the AH for 5k plat or just vendor it.



Casual players can get a Jewelled Cloak but will they want one?
Now maybe there could be a point in having a DDOCast Video on Named Gear that is better than it looks and have the Jewelled Cloak mentioned there BUT again gear that is better than it looks just like enhancements and feats that are better than they look is the preserve of the Veteran Builders NOT Casual Players!

[Livmo]

Fran,

The Jeweled Cloak, whether you like it or not, is indeed a casual player item.

I see all Heroic versions in the Plat AH all the time and I see Epic Normal versions in the Plat AH as well.

The EH and EE versions, however, are almost exclusively in the Shard AH. Regardless, the EN version is perfectly acceptable.

I play on all the servers and oodles of first life toons. Other than projects and my main on Sarlona, I guess all the other would be considered casual.

I tend to start new iconics and one of the first items I get is a Jeweled Cloak. I put a Deathblock augment in the yellow slot and my off or dump stat in the clear slot. Opens up allot of gear options. I wear that L14 Elite cloak to epics when I can equip either the EH or EE version and call it good on cloaks for the toon.

I rarely need more spel absorbtion than that. If I do later in epics, I can swap in an out the trinket from Haunted Halls once my cloak runs out of charges. My trinket slot is a swap slot for me.

This cloak makes it easy to focus on other gear like armor, rings etc. If I don't pull it, there are sometimes allot of them on the AH. It drops in 2 quests in the GH chain. Sometimes I go back and farm Maze of MAdness for it before epics if I didn't pull it and none on the AH.

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

These days Heroic Shroud is no longer a popular Raid - In fact it's about as dead as Reaver's Fate!

Not for everyone it isnt. We just posted a heroic shroud AT LEVEL and it was a ton of fun! Run it on elite with less than pimped out gear and with some new guildies and its actually challenging! TON of fun. We will be posting weekly heroic shrouds again. old raids dead raids... BRING IT!

I am in Guilds on other servers that aren't my own, that do have multiple players, that are considered Casual, Newbie Friendly, One has over 200 active accounts!
And guess what THEY ALL RUN REAPER OR EE WHEN THEY GROUP UP!

Do you just join guilds to do your guild charts? No biggie if you do thats your thing I guess..

There are no Large "Casual" Guilds that aren't either filled with inactive accounts and soloers or cliquey guilds of Static Groups!

We are a medium to large sized guild (by today's standard) that has 109 active players. Sure we have inactive accounts. But many come back when RL isnt kickin their ass.

Do we have static groups? We have a couple that meet once a week, but each member also plays OFTEN with guildies.

Mid sized Guilds and smaller Guilds have this problem even worse! The so-called "Good" ones will generally be full of Elitists NOT Casuals!

What is your definition of a "GOOD" guild Fran? My definition is one that represents IN GAME what they say they represent. Also a good guild KEEPS their guildies because they are HAPPY to be a part of the guild. There are MANY good guilds here that feel like family to players. There are many good guilds on all servers. And its still the best way to play DDO in my opinion no matter your playstyle. We WELCOME small guilds to join our alliance. The FELLOWSHIP is a premiere no drama no zerg alliance that resides on Ghallanda that welcomes casual guilds or anyone that wants to play WITHOUT AHOLES

Heck I've even had people from KNOWN ALL-WELCOME GUILDS {Yeah and you know what I mean} join my LFMs and complain and whinge that I won't change it to Reaper! Or even worse go zerging off through EE Beyond the Rift before the rest of the party have even entered co-incidentally wiping the rest of the party as they all entered one at a time! {This was a while ago}.

If you are the party leader its YOUR party. Do it YOUR WAY. If they dont like it they leave. Or, if you want to run with them... NEGOTIATE! I tell my PUG groups if they zerg in my run, they are soloing it. Works for me every time! Most people that would normally zerg actually play together and have fun. Imagine that.

If you dont speak up, you cant blame party members. Most people just want to have FUN. That's FUN by definition. THEIR definition. No communicate Fran, No Cry Fran.

[Steve_Howe]

Not for everyone it isnt. We just posted a heroic shroud AT LEVEL and it was a ton of fun! Run it on elite with less than pimped out gear and with some new guildies and its actually challenging! TON of fun. We will be posting weekly heroic shrouds again. old raids dead raids... BRING IT!

My wife is one of your newer guildies and was in that Shroud group. She said she had a lot of fun despite Harry, the blades, and the Devils bugging out in part 5 during the first attempt.

[FranOhmsford]

The usual

Wow, You really will take ANY opportunity to advertise your Guild won't you?

[Kylstrem]

It's all well and good saying "Join a Guild" or "Find a better Guild" but that's actually quite a lot harder to do than given credit for - Especially if like me you've levelled your OWN guild past 150 or even to lvl 50 or 75 or 90 or so on!

Fran: Serious question for you. You said you stopped listening to the podcast when you realized it wasn't giving accurate information for casuals.
But look at your quote above. How many casuals are going to have worked long enough to solo level a guild past 150, or even to 50? If someone has run that many quests and figured out how to maximize guild renown, they probably aren't a casual player.

So, are you trying to give advice to casuals or not? It seems on your quote above, your stance would be: Don't try to join an existing guild... you can level your own guild ship to 50 or 150. Oh and after you do, you certainly can't join another guild that has an airship at your level or higher because you will then have lost all that work for your "personal" airship and you can't give up all that work to join a guild that has exactly the same amenities as your own ship

It seems that you consider yourself a "casual" player and then when anyone gives advice for casuals, if that advice doesn't fit your personal definition for "casual" and/or your personal play-style, then you immediately say WRONG! and start talking in absolutes about how ALL casual players are.

[FranOhmsford]

Fran: Serious question for you. You said you stopped listening to the podcast when you realized it wasn't giving accurate information for casuals.
But look at your quote above. How many casuals are going to have worked long enough to solo level a guild past 150, or even to 50? If someone has run that many quests and figured out how to maximize guild renown, they probably aren't a casual player.

So, are you trying to give advice to casuals or not? It seems on your quote above, your stance would be: Don't try to join an existing guild... you can level your own guild ship to 50 or 150. Oh and after you do, you certainly can't join another guild that has an airship at your level or higher because you will then have lost all that work for your "personal" airship and you can't give up all that work to join a guild that has exactly the same amenities as your own ship

You know it doesn't take till Lvl 150 to feel your efforts would be wasted by joining another Guild.
It doesn't take till Lvl 50 either.
I've felt that way since Lvl 20!

That also goes to another point about "Casuals" that I was making in that Casuals generally don't have one single character - They can go through many before settling on one or like me they can keep most or even all of their alts as more or less equal mains.
As that sort of Casual player you can quite easily get into a Grind mindset about leveling your Guild or in my case about maxing out Slayers early on - I really had a thing about maxing every slayer up to and including Sorrowdusk on every character, every life and I've only recently got past that somewhat.

You know what happened when I got my Guild to Lvl 165 and stopped running Sagas - My Gametime went down by 3/4s easily - It's been 5 months now and my Guild has only hit 166 in the past couple weeks.


You don't stop being a Casual because you've hit some ephemeral number of hours playing the game!


Everything's a "Grind" in DDO - You Grind for XP or you Grind for Loot or you Grind for Renown or you Grind for simply the feeling of achievement i.e. because it's there - why else would people max out Red Fens slayer at 150 mobs a run average and 7,500 max?
The point I've been trying to make really since MotU came out is that the Devs are introducing REQUIRED Grinds one on top of another and leaving new players and casuals and altoholics and many others too so far behind there's just no way to catch up anymore unless that new player is willing to zerg grind xp till their eyes bleed!

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

We give some tips and a few choice items for Casual Players to Gear Up! We also cover the latest game and community news with our guests Evennote & Evilbeeker!

Have thoughts on this show, ideas for round table topics, questions you’d like us to answer, or topics you’d like to see us debate? Leave us a comment, send us an email (ddocast@gmail.com) or give us a tweet (@ddocast)!

Check out www.ddocast.com for mp3 audio, our show calendar, swag, archives, and more!

Want to support the show? You can feed the kobolds (give money) on our Patreon page! We use these gifts to support the show and give out prizes.

Casual Gaming: Gearing Up - 4:33
Game News - 1:06:34
Community News - 1:22:14
Lightning Post - 1:28:44
Closing - 1:33:50

Watch shows live at twitch.tv/ddocast

Update 35.1 Release Notes -
Update 35.2 Release Notes -
Riding the Storm Q&A with Torc -
Notes to Strike a Chord: Level 6-10 Gear -
Notes to Strike a Chord: Level 11-15 Gear -
Tactilicious & Craftilicious: Dragon-Re-Born
Confessions of a Geek Mom: The Continued Adventures of the Youngest Halfling Commando
Confessions of a Geek Mom: What a Difference a Year Makes
How to Farm Collectibles

I have to thank you for this DDOCast. Its one of the best ever. Just a great topic.