Update 28 Patch 1 (The Night Revels) is now available on Lamannia!

[SirShen]

They will be in the DDO Store on live but we have removed them (as of today) from the DDO Store on Lamannia to get a better sense of key drop rates. We don't want the drop rate to be so low as to make people feel like we are "forcing" them to buy one, since that is not our intention.

Well that what it feels like at the moment. That the only way to get a key is to buy one or spend hours trying to get one.

[wmdearmond]

I managed to pick up 3 keys inside of 30 minutes no problem!

[Cleanincubus]

Went and slayed for 4 keys. Took about 45 minutes or so, from around 2pm-2:45pm.

For the first key, I had to kill 36 enemies, got 12 Dark Chocolates.
For the second key, I had to kill 41 enemies, got 13 Dark Chocolates.
For the third key, I had to kill 20 enemies, got 6 Dark Chocolates.
for the forth key, I had to kill 50 enemies, got 14 Dark Chocolates.

I could have easily run one of the new challenges twice, in the time it took to get one key (other than my luck with the quick third key.) The time it took, and the amount of enemies it took to kill, isn't unreasonably, in a general sense. But for the amount of time/kills to run a challenge that is so quickly completed, key farming is way too much of a time sink for me. If there was more of a social aspect to this event, it wouldn't be nearly as much of an issue. But there's really no reason to run with others. In fact, when the Keys are spread between party members, it's much quicker to just slay alone. However, specifically farming for Dark Chocolates would be the opposite; likely better to farm in a group. I don't see many people farming for Chocolates like that though, when Challenges provide far more/better bang for the buck.

[DANTEIL]

So is no one else having the problem that I was having, which is that it was near impossible to see and/or target the undead enemies in the Graveyard? Is this just a Warlock thing?

[patang01]

I like it

There is some need to tweak difficulty in the quests and the instance. As a 28 Warlock I trounced the level 30 stuff without really having many issues.

However I love the fact that the quests are based on familiar quests we don't really run anymore, with some changes that adds flavor. I like that they're medium to short - as longer challenge type quests can be a mixed brew. I suggest a few more waves on the higher end for the 2 shorter quests using a wave mechanic. It should be somewhat of a challenge - the quests are short as they are so adding a wave every 5 level would ramp up the challenge somewhat. Right now I think both of them have 3 before the end boss arrives.

The others need a little more creature density as in larger spawns on the higher end. They really feel like playing Epic Normal even when under leveling (such as 28 doing 30).

Finally - the loot.

I'm not sure about it. I get the temporary points here and there and it seems like it favor lower end, swap in temp boosts. And only 2 different augments for the spooky ability bonus. I hope you intend of covering all abilities. There certainly should be a few more offerings as I rather see interesting augments than gear (there are plenty of gear in the game).

Anyways - I like the format. I like the quests and there's just a matter of balancing and tweaks. I prefer it over the raid type instances - altho I love crystal cove, the idea to wait for the cove to open is jarring. Here it's a matter of finding a key (and there should be an expensive way of making one since we are no doubt going to have LOTS of mats at the end of the end).

[patang01]

So is no one else having the problem that I was having, which is that it was near impossible to see and/or target the undead enemies in the Graveyard? Is this just a Warlock thing?

The targeting with Warlock gets wonky. It's easier to aim with say a ranged toon or just go up and smack. The Warlock way is almost a hybrid ranged aim so often times you end up 'firing' into the heavens. It will most likely leading to Warlocks trying to kill something and in a crowded instance someone else will instead (like energy bursters and divines).

[UurlockYgmeov]

all this talk of dark chocolate is making me hungry! MUMMY! where's the BOOberry Lichcakes!

[Severlin]

Went and slayed for 4 keys. Took about 45 minutes or so, from around 2pm-2:45pm.

For the first key, I had to kill 36 enemies, got 12 Dark Chocolates.
For the second key, I had to kill 41 enemies, got 13 Dark Chocolates.
For the third key, I had to kill 20 enemies, got 6 Dark Chocolates.
for the forth key, I had to kill 50 enemies, got 14 Dark Chocolates.

I could have easily run one of the new challenges twice, in the time it took to get one key (other than my luck with the quick third key.) The time it took, and the amount of enemies it took to kill, isn't unreasonably, in a general sense. But for the amount of time/kills to run a challenge that is so quickly completed, key farming is way too much of a time sink for me. If there was more of a social aspect to this event, it wouldn't be nearly as much of an issue. But there's really no reason to run with others. In fact, when the Keys are spread between party members, it's much quicker to just slay alone. However, specifically farming for Dark Chocolates would be the opposite; likely better to farm in a group. I don't see many people farming for Chocolates like that though, when Challenges provide far more/better bang for the buck.

Keep in mind that the key rate spikes dramatically if you hunt creatures in a big group. Creatures spawn much more quickly when a group is in the area, and you kill them as a group more quickly. Our group runs had much higher keys per minute than anything solo.

Sev~

[Severlin]

So is no one else having the problem that I was having, which is that it was near impossible to see and/or target the undead enemies in the Graveyard? Is this just a Warlock thing?

Undead rising from the group are untargetable until they fully form. Is that what you are seeing?

Sev~

[Holymunchkin]

will you guys be making the challenges any more difficult?

[DANTEIL]

Undead rising from the group are untargetable until they fully form. Is that what you are seeing?

Sev~

That could have been what was going on in some instances, but in general, I think the answer is no that can't be it. In many cases, I was standing right next to a wight or a shadow, who was just standing there ignoring me (i.e., I hadn't aggroed them because I couldn't hit them to get their attention) trying to blast them with no reaction. I guess I am comparing my experiences to Crystal Cove, where I can run around and as enemies appear, tab-target them to bring them into my focus orb -- which also makes (given my UI settings) their red health bar appear for me, which is how I know they are targeted -- and then blast away.

In the graveyard last night, this wasn't happening. I was running around in the darkness. I would hear the sound that means that an undead has emerged somewhere nearby. I would circle around until I could make out the hazy form of that undead in the dark. (shadows/wraiths were especially impossible). Usually when I spotted them they were fully formed and just standing there chilling waiting to be attacked. Then, since I was on my Warlock, I would try to use my Eldritch Blast to attack them, and even though it looked like my Blasts were going in their direction, I couldn't hard-target them first, and so the blasts didn't hit them and thus they didn't aggro and didn't take any damage. Yes, I did eventually kill some (enough to get a key and about 20 chocolates in 45 minutes) but it seemed to be totally random when my blasts hit or when I actually did get the red health bar to appear.

Let's put it this way: My experience was completely different from what I experience in Crystal Cove. If it is supposed to work in a different manner than Crystal Cove, then that might be good to know. Otherwise, something felt very wrong. And can you tell that I found the extreme darkness annoying?

The thing that I didn't test, I realize now, is turning off my blast and trying to see if I could run up to them and whack them with a sword instead. I'll try that tonight.

[Franghasea]

Undead rising from the group are untargetable until they fully form. Is that what you are seeing?

Sev~

As a sorc I am unable to target the spawns in the Graveyard using Q/E. I am forced to cast acid blast in their general area without targeting, and the spawn "activates" allowing me to target it after damage has been taken. This is similar to how it works in Crystal Cove.

[Henky]

The targeting with Warlock gets wonky. It's easier to aim with say a ranged toon or just go up and smack. The Warlock way is almost a hybrid ranged aim so often times you end up 'firing' into the heavens. It will most likely leading to Warlocks trying to kill something and in a crowded instance someone else will instead (like energy bursters and divines).

If you want to farm this with a warlock you are better in Enlightened spirit with aura + spirit burst + spirit blast. Energy bursters will cry while you erase the mobs from the graveyard. Also remember you can also twist EB and have Divine Wrath. Warlocks were made for this type of events.

[FestusHood]

Haven't tested this yet, but my prior experience with both Mabar and Smuggler's rest is that enemies could not be targetted until they had been damaged and activated. On casters i would generally hit them with a weapon or cast an aoe type spell to activate them. I guess blasting Warlock's don't have that option.

[Draculetta]

So is no one else having the problem that I was having, which is that it was near impossible to see and/or target the undead enemies in the Graveyard? Is this just a Warlock thing?

I'll have to roll up a Warlock to test, but my Rogue was having no problems at all

[Cleanincubus]

Haven't tested this yet, but my prior experience with both Mabar and Smuggler's rest is that enemies could not be targetted until they had been damaged and activated. On casters i would generally hit them with a weapon or cast an aoe type spell to activate them. I guess blasting Warlock's don't have that option.

^ This is correct. It's the same way Mabar was done for years, though different from the first couple of times Mabar was around. Enemies can't be targeted until you physically hurt them, or hurt an enemy directly next to them (works most of the time, but not always.)

[kalma360]

is the AA revamp coming out with patch 1 or is that still later on down the road?

[Nonesuch2008]

So is no one else having the problem that I was having, which is that it was near impossible to see and/or target the undead enemies in the Graveyard? Is this just a Warlock thing?

Hey Danteil,

Have you tried enabling "View overhead monster hit point bars" in your UI settings? This has a couple of benefits for me. I can literally spot shades hiding in the shade, so for locating mobs before they time out & disappear, this is a great feature. Likewise, it also helps to spot pirates in the foggy miasma of Smuggler's Rest.

The other benefit is that it let's me know exactly when the mobs are active after they spawn. There is a brief moment of time as they spawn from the ground without the bar, but as soon as it displays, they are ready to be hit.

Good hunting to you!

[DANTEIL]

Have you tried enabling "View overhead monster hit point bars" in your UI settings?

Thanks! yes, I did try this and it definitely made a huge difference in my ability to see spawns. Everything is just so dark for me that I can be almost on top of an enemy and not see it. The irony is that I actually died in the graveyard tonight (a level 25 was nearby and spawned higher level things that killed me) and it was easier to see where I was going when I was dead.

Anyway, after some experimentation I have determined that my issues with targeting are, yes, due to however Eldritch Blast works, in conjunction with the fact that you cannot target non-aggroed creatures in the graveyard (plus the fact that I can't see where they were clearly enough to be sure that I was aiming at them). I had better luck with the Eldritch Cone, which is more forgiving of all of that, and I could of course also turn off the Blast and thwack them with my staff. I have to say that I think using the Blast here puts the Warlock at a real disadvantage, because you miss a lot of the time if they aren't targeted.

Anyway, in an hour and a half I got 4 keys and so I could try out each of the new instances. I ran each of them at Level 14 (my Warlock's level) with a cleric hireling (that I probably didn't need, but whatever). My feedback is much the same as the others -- it seemed way too easy to 5-star these challenges, and I'm a bit confused why a Challenge that says 35 minutes only takes 7 minutes. The most involved one is the Kobold's New Ringleader one, and that is only because you have to cover more ground. It was very anticlimactic after all that time to get a key.

So really, as far as the entire event goes, the real hurdle seems to be persisting through the murk of the graveyard and the low spawn rates long enough to finally get a key, which can take 10-40 minutes, followed by a quickie 2-5 minute run of one of these mini-challenges. The balance between those two activities seems way off.

[Aletys]

~snip~ Also with the ingredients expiring, it doesn't matter how fast or how much people collect things in this event, they won't be able to use it next year.

~snip~

Is this correct? The new event ingredients will not carry over to next year, unlike Crystal Cove where they do? If this is accurate, it is very disappointing.

One of the great things about Crystal Cove, is that regardless of how much time you spend out there, if you don't get enough ingredients to make/finish a particular item, you can save the ingredients & continue the next time the event comes up. When CC came up at the beginning of the summer this year, I was about to go on vacation, didn't have a lot of free time to spend out there, and it was over when we got back. But, I was able to save the ingredients I did gather, and then finish making the items I wanted at the recent CC weekend. It would have been much more difficult to do that if the ingredients had expired.

Crystal Cove and the House C & Eveningstar challenges all allow you to save ingredients, and I do not understand why this one should be different. Having the new ingredients expire is a very bad idea and will greatly reduce my interest in participating in this event. I suspect a lot of other players will feel the same way.