Where have all the relics gone???

I would like to see powerful artifacts tied to quests other than "kill the boss". There might already be some I'm not aware of.
Also a chance to appear in unpredictable places - think there was something in the past about a peddler overworld-map encounter? Hmm...

It is unfortunate that these things usually come down to predictable math, but it would take some super innovation to get beyond that.

As with most other aspects of the game, as the choices scale up this should be less apparent. In most mainstream games nearing endgame (or per level bracket if there are level restrictions on eq) there is always a set of eq that is hands down the best for your class. SotA is already more complex than most, and as we are given more character-building content like skills and equipment, that should help. If it's good content that is. Then again, the Ankh of Wala is pretty hard to beat, unless you're Ebenezer Scrooge

 

I can't respond to the abuse part, but I think it is very important to address the PERCEPTION by players of content like this. The feeling of "the rich get richer" can be destructive to a game, and can become a real problem beyond perceptions. This is why I think random drops on more mobs should be an occurrence (maybe it is and I don't play enough?).

Also, if we ever get that system where mobs will drop player-made loot (please oh please!) it will go a long way to improving drops in Shroud of the Avatar.

 

Yes, exactly .

 

The problem is, it is not hard at all, it`s just a stupidly ultra heavy grind grind and again grind.
Producer XP is even worse, but everyone knows this by now anyway.

 

Not to sound too dumb but you have to lock EVERY skill now at level 40 - 50, then go gain MILLIONS of exp points, then go back and train ONE skill at a time.

This is all a result of the FACT that some players already abused the weak system that was implemented and instead of correcting the error they just corrected the problem.

Last post here about this sorry but I am not going to get worked up over it anymore, things where abused, action taken did not correct results just the actions, perpetual cascade affect resulted and creates more separation EVERY time . . . EVERY time.

peace

 

Doesn`t sound dumb at all and i fully agree.
I grinded all my XP in Deep Ravenswood killing undeads over and over again btw.
350 - 450k XP / hour, depends...

 

The XP pool should be for those contemplating a change of direction or who want to train extra skills. It should NOT be the most efficient way to level.

This is by far my most disliked 'feature' of Shroud and is pretty much stopping me from playing the game. I don't want to grind for three hours so I can raise healing ray from 75 to 76 with one cast in town. I want to feel like my character is growing in strength because he is going out there and experiencing thing, not because he casts lightning bolt at a training dummy. The way it is now, it accentuates the grind.

And the thing is, it's a simple fix. Split the exp in half. Give at least half of the exp to the skills the char actually uses while actually adventuring and allow the char to decide what to do with the rest. Want to put it in the pool to train some new or rarely used skills? No worries. Set you xp to 50/50 skills/pool. And I would give a substantial bonus to those who allocate all their XP to skills while adventuring- at least 30%.

 

I like the rare drop rate... and I only have gotten one artifact ever... so yeah.

 

If the rares were actually worth something, maybe. I suspect that it changed pretty quick, but I remember early in WOW's run how rare finding a purple drop was, and that when I finally did, was actually useful.

Most if not all the artifacts (like all dropped loot) flat sucks. I took another chunk of time off until recently, I think I've found 4 so far (all rings, 3 of the +10 ones and a gambler ring).
None of which I'm using and 3 of which only really have some use when collected in quantity..and even then requires removing a major stat item to equip.

But port has promised crafters that they will be the source of gear, and its making the rest of the game less fun for it.

 

I will not speculate and point fingers as to how some players achieved their current power levels. As I am not personally privy to what was actually abused or who may have knowing considered what they were doing to be abuse. I am also not going to speculate on what you mean by players being "left in the dust". As one of those "normal" players. I do not spend my time comparing myself against what others have. I am playing my own game. Extremely difficult in gaming for regular players is only a matter of time.

 

No you don't. In fact I would consider that to be an inefficient way to gain most skills. First you're spending time NOT gaining skills while you store up your pool.. then you're spending the extra time to use up that XP that could already be in your skills. You could've been training that skill as you go and getting the benefits of that training making the XP gains (at least in some cases) both easier and faster.

The only time you really need to save up is when you want to train you don't intend to use in the field.. such as a secondary weapon you want to bring up to speed before you start relying on it.

 

I really appreciate your perspective. I think it's both mature and exactly how to play games and actually enjoy them. I will be honest that is the perspective I strive to have but often find myself in an envious position.

That said, in pvp you don't have the luxury of ignoring other players leaving you in the dust.

 

But do casual players PVP? Most PVP players are hardcore... and they tend to level faster because of the fact... casual player /PVP is kind of an oxymoron

 

I understand what you mean about PvP but that is a never ending argument. Any new player will always be at a disadvantage against the veterans. The same can be said of two players who start at the same time but one plays twice as many hours. So long as the game allows players to gain power over the long term there will always be players "left in the dust".. especially in PvP. The only system I can recall where this wouldn't be the case is old UO with a 500 skill point gap and no levels at all. Even then I remember people complaining about other players who macroed their 5 chosen skills to 100.

Like any other play style, PvP should be enjoyed because it's fun for you. (If indeed PvP is fun for any individual in question). Which, I would hope includes more than just laying waste to ones opponents. There's always going to be someone out there who's better, stronger or who just always seems to "have your number"

Of course, the general state of PvP is another discussion entirely and one I'm sure will continue for so long as the game is live.

 

Well hopefully the artifacts will get changed out to keep them rare. Perhaps this is all you will see of the current ones, now that would surprise me but they should do it imo. Scary thought but also hmmm it could work as a new set of artifacts gets introduced. But building so much item content could be time consuming right now, but who wants to buy artifacts when there is a chance to find them, less and less people would buy them in hopes of finding them . Besides who has that kind of cash, not me

 

Hiya !

I think everyone has forgotten about the "skill" factor. Just because some players have insane amounts of experience, is not the reason why most of them are good. I have been playing the game for 80 days. It was not long ago I hit adventure level 80, but I was soloing the daemon when I was Adv level 75. That being said, I agree that something needs to be altered, and I think it should start with the difficulty of the bosses.

Cheers !

 

In sota theres no such thing as being able to compete competitivly in PVP as a casual player. The gap between the *average* pvper and the casual player increases daily. Ive asked numerous times about how they intend to make PVP not just for the end game people, and it doesnt sound like they have a solution.
Even if 150 new players were to go into a shardfall today. (i say new, but i mean up to adventure level 80 ) a group of 3-4 of the *hardcore* pvp'ers currently running around could take them all on.

Theres a good chunk of people that can 1 shot adv level 100+ guys like nothing. Im level 90 and i can 1-2 shot anyone under 40-50. That gap is only getting worse.


Back on topic tho, i actually have gotten 3-4 artifacts off normal T5-T6 mobs... so i agree with the decrease of drops.
It was pretty silly to call them rare, when not only were people farming 2-3 an hour, an average person adv level 80+ (majority of people playing currently) were pulling them out daily.

the fact every single artifact was documented and Screenshoted in the first like what.. 3 hours? lol kinda redicoulous.

If your going to make something rare.. make them rare. Maybe the adjustment is a better balance.. but it definitly needed adjusting.

 

I stayed out of the XP extravaganza back in the day, as I felt like it would ruin the game. But the downside is it ruined my pocketbook, because I'll never be able to compete at those levels, and I thus miss out on millions of gold sales.

 

Here's the real kick in the pants... the same crowd that gets to farm all the experience, sell the millions, and collect the artifacts... also gets to set market value for igg and artifacts. They come in strong, sell to the resellers, go farm - come back and undercut the same folks they just sold to. It's all backwards and it makes me laugh... laughing is what keeps me from rage quitting.

 

That's why I stopped selling new things coming out of the game proper. Old rares, crafted items with a set material cost, store items (which have a set value,) and normal mats are the only things I trust.

But when you say gets to, I could have, a lot of us could have.

It's just such a fascinating thing. We're getting to see a lot of reflections of the RL in super fast and stark ways. Invaluable ways. There are different games being played, with different things at stake, and they all have things to teach.

Look at the strongest players, relative to how hard they hit. They put a lot of time (a resource) in at a moment when things were ripe for the picking and thus became powerful resource extractors (mats, artifacts.)

It's kind of like the ongoing pillaging of the Outland.

Look at the strongest players, relative to how much they are worth. Their ancestors put a lot of resources (money, manpower, time, influence, murder) into setting up resource extraction coalitions when things were ripe for the picking (the pillaging of a couple of new continents,) and thus become powerful resource extractors (mats, strategic resources, luxury resources.)

When new resources pop up (oil, artifacts,) there is a boom, then bust, followed by an evening out. It happens really fast in SotA, like a couple of days.

Or maybe minutes but it takes me days to notice.

Now, in either world you can become a part of the resource extracting economy, but you will need to dedicate a lot more resources to catch up than if you started out with the first boom.

And then there are those doing real estate. We literally had a Land Rush, like Oklahoma. OMG, we totally should have all had to start in one location, and it be PvP. Oh, what a missed opportunity!

And malls. POT owners that are shooting for being shopping centers are owning malls.

I'm more in the department store side of things.

There will be rent systems. We may eventually have slum lords.

And then, we hope we get a rush of new players, immigrants from the Otherworld.

So fascinating.