I wouldnt mind bind npcs at local inns or class guilds. Again, in limited locations and not at every small tent camp you come across (I dont even want those tent camps but thats another story).I don't care for Bind Soul. I get the interaction it forces, but there are plenty of times there was no caster available. At the very least, there should be an NPC at each bind location that can do it for you.
fair enough, i was aiming not so much the double dmg part of it, but that everything could be ground down to something common and something people would use. most games these days that have anything like that are broken into crafting mats which just feeds back into the issue of adding more gear, need something that actually exits the loop that isn't gear based, is consumed, and consumed quickly.Seconded , as someone who enjoyed original L2 grind, pvp , music , environment and all, soul shots were one of the worst mechanics ever in a game.
Prime example of this was the moronic decision upon EQ2 launch for the "locked" encounters while fighting. I see someone getting thrashed in open world by some mob and try and help them , unless they "released" the encounter I couldn't help them. The devs putting that in to try and combat power-leveling was one of the stupidest things I've seen.There is also something to be said about EQ having all these unique utility abilities and players using them in a way that weren't intended. I think the removal of them has been a big mistake and really killed my enjoyment of MMO's.
Yes, that was really dumb.Prime example of this was the moronic decision upon EQ2 launch for the "locked" encounters while fighting. I see someone getting thrashed in open world by some mob and try and help them , unless they "released" the encounter I couldn't help them. The devs putting that in to try and combat power-leveling was one of the stupidest things I've seen.
It's such a fine line because sometimes you remove "fun" for the sake of the game.. There has been too much fun removed. You compare all the fun things you could do in say EQ to the fun things you can do in Rift or more recent FF and there is no comparison. Especially within a unique class. It's really watered down the class system which was in Rifts case the more appealing features going in.Prime example of this was the moronic decision upon EQ2 launch for the "locked" encounters while fighting. I see someone getting thrashed in open world by some mob and try and help them , unless they "released" the encounter I couldn't help them. The devs putting that in to try and combat power-leveling was one of the stupidest things I've seen.
Troy, you working on Pantheon?Yes, that was really dumb.
like charming low level mobs in noob areas and buffing the piss out of them, then releasing them. or giving dain 2 hammers. I miss odd crap that.It's such a fine line because sometimes you remove "fun" for the sake of the game.. There has been too much fun removed. You compare all the fun things you could do in say EQ to the fun things you can do in Rift or more recent FF and there is no comparison. Especially within a unique class. It's really watered down the class system which was in Rifts case the more appealing features going in.
This irritated me to no end. It hurt more than it helped.Prime example of this was the moronic decision upon EQ2 launch for the "locked" encounters while fighting. I see someone getting thrashed in open world by some mob and try and help them , unless they "released" the encounter I couldn't help them. The devs putting that in to try and combat power-leveling was one of the stupidest things I've seen.
The hurt more than helped is something I hope Brad gets.This irritated me to no end. It hurt more than it helped.
So many little things like this are make a world feel real and not like sterilized plastic. I think a lot of people miss the point, and in the mad dash to add rubber bumpers to all the sharp corners, you actually get a less robust player experience.like charming low level mobs in noob areas and buffing the piss out of them, then releasing them. or giving dain 2 hammers. I miss odd crap that.
No thank you. I'd rather a system that has the players looking for alternate solutions or having patience when they don't get what they want the first time. I'd rather go to a dungeon, realize it's full, and either use my social skills to work my way (or my groups way) into a free area, or go find something else to do. When the camp my group wanted was taken in EQ, we weren't so entitled as to think the game owed us a second version of that camp. We simply found something else to do, and were rewarded with creativity as we'd often find something to kill that others couldn't or thought they shouldn't, like killing ogre guards or something.EQ2 would create another instance of a zone if that zone's max population was reached.
Why would any of this be necessary other than convenience for a single player? Which remember, is evil.Also, I'd like to see some faction missions (quests) be instanced. These missions could yield faction bonuses plus points you could spend on gear, but they'd be a slow way to grind out XP and loot.
Amen brother! Mistmoore castle was something my guild/group stumbled on as an awesome XP area to grind AA's when a lot of the other places were full. We rarely saw people there. People also mentioned the far away zones that people didn't want to run to. Well those areas supported groups too. Just gotta be creative.No thank you. I'd rather a system that has the players looking for alternate solutions or having patience when they don't get what they want the first time. I'd rather go to a dungeon, realize it's full, and either use my social skills to work my way (or my groups way) into a free area, or go find something else to do. When the camp my group wanted was taken in EQ, we weren't so entitled as to think the game owed us a second version of that camp. We simply found something else to do, and were rewarded with creativity as we'd often find something to kill that others couldn't or thought they shouldn't, like killing ogre guards or something.
The attitude of the game being sorry you didn't have the exact right place you wanted to exp and creating another at your convenience is starting down a bad path... that leads to things like:
Why would any of this be necessary other than convenience for a single player? Which remember, is evil.
Why do humans stand around in PvP or even run away when their friends are getting attacked which they can plainly see? I understand the point about certain situations (a large room filled with mobs and nothing attacks you as you systematically single pull and kill all their comrades) but seriously, you have to suspend a certain amount of disbelief to play a video game. Just because you don't feel like a wild animal would sit tight while its friends are being beaten to shit doesn't mean you're correct in every situation. If an entire room aggros me the second I step foot in it that is just plain not fun unless the mobs are so weak and prone to CC that it's not a death sentence. And if they are that weak and easy to kill it's really just half a dozen on one hand (split pulling) and 6 on the other (weak as shit easy to kill rooms full of baddies)As a monk on live and P99, yes - pulling is tons of fun (for the puller).
However, as a mechanic, I'd agree with Draegan that it's dumb. Why do the other creatures happily stand around when their camp is being attacked, that they can plainly see?
I'd be fine with seeing it go the way of the dodo, along with things like static spawns and respawn timers and such - if it was replaced with a more compelling mechanic that helped the world actually feel alive.
That said - I'm also 100% fine if this is not the game for that type of forward-thinking outside-the-box direction. I'll split that shit for you, just give me a FD button.
How was the first-person view in EQOA? I never tried the game, so am not sure.Not to keep harping on EQOA but they should consider a class mastery system. It worked GREAT in that game. I never played EQ1 much but EQOA shared a lot in common with it and may have done a couple things better (that system being one of them).
I think the best direction is designing a game where you CC first, then engage. Give more classes pre-combat CC tools. Your enchanter can mez a mob, sure. But your rogue can lock one down pre-pull. Your wizards has a magic cage or whatever on long cooldown or that's out of combat only. Your shaman can root. Etc. Make many/most of the pre-combat abilities. You then have combat designed where you come to a group of mobs, plan an attack, pick targets, synchronize your watches, execute cc (including which mob the tank will grab), and now you've got to kill them in order, deal with any early breaks, and are on the clock to kill them before they're all free from mez.I don't mind if they remove pulling for smarter mob AI. However, pulling is preferred over WoW, which doesn't have pulling, or CC (no longer), or anything in place of it but mowing down group after group of mobs.
Brad said pulling was an accident. That's fine, but it was a good accident for its time. There has to be mechanics that require strategy when facing more than one mob.