on players soloing dragons...

+1

 

Disagree with your ideas on magic.

Magic has been nerfed or changed for the worse many times in the last year, and you still want to complain about magic? Some NPC mages have a unique +55 death resistance buff, making them even more resistant to death magic above and beyond what their normal, insane magic resistances are. Dragons are just about immune to magic, as are a lot of other tough mobs. Right now melee and ranged are the strongest they've been in the time I've played this game, and that's only because they beat magic down to the point of only being usable as a tool for grinding experience, in a group setting, or after a hundred million experience, finally soloing something. The people I see soloing higher end monsters is currently more balanced between magic and melee/ranged than I saw this time last year. I could be wrong, and personal observations without all the data are anecdotal, but I just don't see significantly more casters soloing than I do melee. It takes me 4-5 minutes to solo Torc'dawl with my death magic set-up, and 2 minutes or less with blades and using almost zero magic.

If anything, every monster 5 skull and above should be given a 50% physical damage reduction and see how you like it. Maybe even a chance to have an extra +55 blades resist on top of the 50%, or whatever physical skill Mac is using at the time of the patch, and then never remove it after the following nerfs.

A non-magic healing or bandaging ability would be awesome, but it would make the game even easier for the top tier player as it just adds another tool to the classless sandbox.

 

I may be wrong about the "dragons should not be soloable". Maybe someone saw the same thing than I did. If not, let's consider that's just my imagination.

You are right about the non magic skills and cumulation : my hope was that with hundreds of skills, the hotbar would finaly act as a limit but now we can switch ten decks so.... They will have to regulate this some way (like they did with avoidance, specializations and such).

About the resistances, I saw your posts but I suspect that @Chris will make it his own way, probably because you and me generally miss a detail with our suggestions.

 

As you stated it yourself, most top people are now using hybridation. Not only magic spells or pure weapons but both. It is a concern as long as it push everyone into very few styles of fighting.

As an archer, for exemple, not using fireflies or blind is a self-made nerf for me. As a sword fighter, not using healing spells is a self-made nerf for @Sara Dreygon . I see and say that from my side (my mistake) but a lot of mages also complained about that on their side, including @Stundorn , as long as they had to learn multiple schools in order to be competitive.

Globally, all the combat mechanics in Shroud of the Avatar (deck switching, skills behavior), including learning curve push you towards training a lot of skills to an acceptable level rather than focusing on a tree or a small (and consistent) selection of skills. Specializations are the only notable exception.

Therefore, we have an issue with the "roles" in the game as long as everyone want to play a role but nobody will accept not to be competitive.

And then, you are right about the non-magic heals. Creating such skills would damage the balance even more if it's not done properly.

Anyway, that's my opinion.

edit (sorry, I always freneticaly edit my posts ) : There could be another solution. Instead of creating skills organized in multiple trees, they could reorganize the skills according to the effects they have and allow us to chose our "graphic" pattern (pure combat/one of the nine magic school) and transform the skill animation accordingly.
You are using healing touch and it costs you reagents ? I'm using bandages. Same skill. Same effect or slight variation. Different "pattern".
You are using fire field ? Lunar mage will use meteor shower. The swordman and the archer will use calltrops... etc...

 

I also disagree with a lot of what you have said here. Many of the changes they have made have only served to push us into more and more specific styles of fighting. Many spells and non-magic abilities now cancel each other out, forcing you to pick one or the other, and this is compounded even further with specialization. There is nothing more restrictive than a class system and that is what it is starting to feel like. Why do you feel that being able to use a lot of skills at the same time is more restrictive on your play style than being forced to pick 2 trees, 1 buff, and 2 defensive buffs? It sounds like you want your personal, self imposed restrictions put on everyone else and are calling it the opposite of what it truly is.

 

"As an archer, for exemple, not using fireflies or blind is a self-made nerf for me. As a sword fighter, not using healing spells is a self-made nerf for @Sara Dreygon ."

Exactly, you CHOSE to not use them, just like sara did, difference is, sara does not complain about it, he understands that it is his choice.

 

Do you pretend to know my intentions better than I am ? Because it's not exactly the topic here. Or we will have to try to understand why you defend your position so badly yourself... Because, surely, you pretend not trying to impose your opinion ?

As stated above already, a lot of people who will play this game will try to play it in their own way, (let's say "role"). But a lot of people probably won't accept to do so if it's not to be competitive.

IF the game is about to have only hybrid builds with shrouds on the shoulders and cabalists hoods/bonesteel crowns on the head, sure, everything is ok. Let's go on.

But I highly doubt that you will get something else than other people complaining when they will find out that the game actually impose them to go in some predestined way if they want to go into the competitive stuff. You know ? Like a self-imposed (role) restriction that a pure archer should accept....

 

Thanks bro

I'm a tank... I can handle up to shock monkey gold without any problem...

But I also do as I was bid, I play myself... and myself, I prefer to die 20 times in one night but succeed at something really hard than spend hours in the same easy spot getting more loot. I do it only when I'm forced to, and that makes me frown at the game, cause I'm a magical outlander and I do only great deeds !!!

Man the pride I felt when I killed my first ghost alone, it wasn't easy to find a good rhythm and tactics !

Then people tell me yeah you shouldn't bother with them, they have 0 loot...

I'm really having fun with content... that is like a very very good news

I just would like to share it in a way that seems intuitive...

 

I understand my posts are long and disorganized, but how often do I have to repeat haha

I don't mind...

We were a guild of 5 people, 3 of them are ADV level 100+, yes dirt poor cause we used everything we had to level some crafters and get a nice house. But they kick ass.

The dragon in the fall and grundvald were pretty easy once we understood how to defend from its attacks, it just took a long time to drop.

So the disconnect from my perspective is that one player, could do better than our guild.

It makes my guild now prefer friends online, and I'm a social animal, I like the challenge of pvp zones...

In fact I'm almost to the point of causing said pvp on purpose, because I have not fought another player EVEN ONCE.

But since they've seen this guy... they are like ok its not really an accomplishment, and those players we can meet in pvp zones can probably drop our whole guild like flies... it would be harder for him than the dragon I understand the clarifications... but nonetheless he kills the dragon 10 times faster than our guild.

So we end up doing that people tell us... go in friends mode, and farm easy stuff for hours on end... just to get to that level where everything is easy and we move there then.

I don't want it to be a bad idea to adventure in places where we shouldn't be... I want it to be a learning experience, a daring adventure.

 

I say they are much more organised than our discussions in those threads and are aiming for both.

They want to make it harder in multiplayer and easier in single player, to please as many people as possible. That is my educated guess

 

Thank you, exactly what I've been repeating since the beginning, my expectation are higher than stundorn's even !

Its far from the current reality.

I'm just looking for some compassion, explanations, like people talking about the ancient dragon... and I'm trying to make some sense of it with the lore we know. Thats the type of stories and information I'm trying to get

 

I know players that have focused and did the build they wanted to do, and they do it well, still kill people in pvp, still kill high end stuff, dont wear cabalist hoods or bonesteal crowns ( do have the shroud on)

 

As I already said, in this game, as a MMORPG, progression (level, gear, experience, practice ) is important. This means that an high level player with a solid build, good equip and experience points spent in the right way can own 2 or also 5 people lvl 5o that play without strategy, that don't wear a good gear and have not the right skills: I can't see anything wrong with it.
I saw many times also the opposite situation: a group of low level players killing one high lvl PVP player just using strategy and right moves.

Most of the content in this game aren't in PVP zones, for example there is a Dragon in Southern Grunvald Barrens, one in Boreas Colossus, one in the stag plain random encounter, one in The Rise and one in Krul, so you don't need to stay in friends online.

My advice is take your time for build a good character and level up a bit your skills, ask help to other players about how to build your character, equip and what skill level up first. Don't be afraid, you will have your chance to win versus dragons or other players.

 

I know we don't need to be in friends online... but now my guild is firmly convinced we aren't close to ready for PvP.

We have killed many dragons already...

And we are NOT level 50.. I'm the one at level 50... and I would like to ask people PLEASE stop laughing at the way I build my character.

I do not min max my adventures, I do not calculate my skills and my pool.. I just play intuitively... when my avatar is happy with a skill effectiveness it goes on maintain, thats it.

My guild leader is now about adv level 110 and he still get 1-2 shot by some players, it happened to him a few times, now we're done with PvP cause they others are more afraid than me at adv level 50.

Can't help but see the gap here, its just too big...

It's the total opposite of what we had in UO... I could handle a 7x Gm character with my skills in the 80-90s... he was about 20% stronger than me.

Not 10 times stronger than me and when I attempt to hit him I miss miss miss.

You can't build a sandbox like WoW.

I used WoW as an example of raiding mechanics...

 

Just as a reference, im level 90. I cant solo to dragon. I do the same DPS or more than some lvl 100 folks.

The reason i cant solo the dragon is because it requires higher HP than i have (i have 500ish) and more defense, and knowledge of how to avoid its attacks if possible. I do intend to attempt to kite it later, and use a shield.

 

Of course you do. You even know someone who doesn't wear the shroud : me. For more than one year, I always played my way and never bothered anyone and when I did, lastly, I never tried to advocate for my PERSONAL CASE and I rather tried to bring objective points in order to defend a more balanced system, but that doesn't mean that I'm happy with the way things are for me, nor that it's a good thing for the game.

Now, regarding the players you mentioned, did they come here to give their point of view ? Are they happy with the way the game is ? The only one I know among those players is @Sara Dreygon and I know for sure that he is not happy with how the resistance work because ... he said that he was not happy with that. By the way, he never told that he was refusing all the things which came to reduce the jack of all trade advantages, and he especially said he was very satisfyied with the new arrival of the specializations.

And even if no one of us complained, does that mean that the game is balanced for people like us ? No. Is this a good thing for the health of the game ? No.

Given all of this, you can see that the "I have a friend..." is not a solid argument here. We have a game which needs to be appealing for every RPG gamer at the very least. With the combat mechanics as they are, the game is not supporting those who doesn't want to experience large skills combinations and who want to play traditional roles. Those people are not competitive, which meant that they need a lot more of experience (and personal involvement), to get the same result. Not only because they need higher skills despite a very unfavorable learning curve for the same result, but also, sometimes, because their build is far less efficient to farm experience.

You say that they/we are self-limited. I say that the whole combat system is limiting us in a discriminating way. In other words, SotA forces everyone into some ways that makes not necessarily everyone happy. That's a problem, especially for a game who needs more players.

 

In WoW you can PVP also at low level, Battlegrounds have level range, and there are lot of dungeons and bosses for low level players ( an high lvl player can solo this easy), but, of course, world PVP is different, you can find the lvl 100+ player of the opposite faction waiting you in starter zone and killing you repeatedly.

Here there aren't istanced battlegrounds or arenas ( because it's a different game from WoW, as you said) just world PVP, so you can find players of every level and build around, just strategy can save you. ( Strategy is also don't attack a player if you aren't in an advantage situation, mostly if he's higher than you). GMs doesn't count too much here; your build, your gear, your experience and the strategy are more importants.

If your guild leaders get one shotted every time he goes to pvp probably he have to review something on his build or arrange something else on his equip. I know many casuals player lvl 80/90 that can be realy competitive in a world pvp contest ( duels are different things).

 

Another thread where a player concerns are measured by what they see others do and then complain that the game is broken due to the "I want to be that high level, but don't want to put the time in" argument! I for one think it is selfish and self centered to force others to have to experience a game watered down for casual players and completely disregard the hard core players! IMO Sota is not a kiddie pool and should not be turned into one for the sake of pleasing casual players!

 

From what I remember of WoW, you were gated into peculiar zones with no interest for high level players, if you were ganked lol it was a total loser lol...

I know that technically, even in UO which I consider a very balanced world pvp you could be one shotted to.

Thats not the idea... the idea is that it makes sense within the lore aspects of the game.

A troll can take a rock, smash it on my head and I'm stunned for what, 5 seconds at most ?

Sure.. I have a iron helm but... you know. It's my magical defense aura...

And then an avatar that has finished episode 1, which quests I am also participating in can leverage a mountain and drop it on my head and I can't resist it because I'm a noob and I haven't trained all my schools of magic by grinding in the most effiscient spot ever and then locking all my skills and calculating the rate of return. Then I ask myself where the center of balance to the proportion is.

It can't be this way.

I'm a magical outlander, my strength should be balanced against other outlanders within appreciable limits.

I should not receive the full power of that player, the game should know that fights are meant to be fun and mitigate. He should be indeed stronger than me and fizzle less and all, its already a major advantage, but within 30-40% of my own power for his skill and hit damage. Magical aura. NOT ONLY THAT, he has items and potions and blessings I have no idea about. KNOWLEDGE I have no idea about. His skill shouldn't hit 100% on me, ever, period. Resist or not, this is a one-on-one oh and shoutout @Oracle if you can force the pvpers to loot only two items, you can force them to play fair.

When multiple players join the fight then those rules should change. It NEEDS to be dynamic and sorry if I sound arrogant but I have been trying to get people to talk about this since R11.

Some days I feel like my idea of a dynamic handicap is totally alien, but I think it's not... its a simple formula and its been used in many tabletop games.

It's recognized as fair.

I think we're just losing sense of perspectives, illusions of grandeur here...

 

Another thread where people come and are completely condescendant and do not take the time to read the nuance of the discourse but often then correct themselves and really participate in the discussion.

*loooong sigh*

ohhh heavyness...

When you know the difference between watering down and gaming handicap as a concept, call me back.

Where I come from, the skilled players who REFUSE handicaps, are the anti-social crybabies.