Dev Diary Feedback: Solving Problems and Making Friends, Parts I & II

[TheOneRinger]

The main thing I'd like to see is a solo or small group instance that has a fight that is more than a signature mob with no really special abilities. In other words, a fight like Helch, Udunion, several of the bosses in MoM or even Mordy, but solo. It seems like all the solo bosses currently are just signatures that are a little bit tougher than their normal brethren of the same race. I would like to see something a bit more complicated and in-depth... Oh well, Lorien and these instances should keep me busy a while.

[slack_n_hash]

It is sad to see so many critics who haven't tried the instances themselves. So much for open minds ...

I started the instances over a week ago, being lucky enough to have my main on E. It was interesting to read the Dev's intentions, and I think he has mostly succeeded.

As a few posters have noted, these "Crafting" Instances are much less focussed on crafting than you'd initially think. I expect most people completing them will not farm the nodes at all.

I enjoyed the instances, including the mob variability, but have a few criticisms (which may have been addressed in the patch as I haven't done them recently):

• they are currently very hard to navigate, with inaccurate maps and multiple vertical levels. Many players will hate this. Better maps please.
• they don't have "back doors" behind the boss. It is no fun having to retrace your steps through an empty cave to find the door, especially given navigation complexity as above. A back door would solve this.
• it was not initially obvious that all 3 quests from a NPC MUST be done simultaneously. e.g. I cleared an instance while completing one quest, then the "next" quest was to kill the boss. Obviously I couldn't due to the lock. This is unlike the current solo instances. Better NPC instructions please: "while you're in there, can you ....". If necessary, make boss non-attackable until you have the quest.
• the starting locations are a little inconvenient, compared to DV. Yes, I'm lazy! They are slightly better than the mirror quest locations though. Swift travel between the instances would be nice ...

[Bullwinkle2]

The instances your talking about sound fun provided there soloable since most people the farm for mats don't do it in groups. With that in mind I hope you don't make them disapointing to those who attempt to mine, cut wood, or collect whatever it is they need to craft. I haven't heard anything about the extreemly low drop rate for mithril-flakes or how you plan to address the creation or third age items with random legancys. As far as I'm conserned that's insame. I don't know if you have much of a data base on just how many third age items have been created but I'd be willing to guess its so low in number that its not even worth mentioning.

When the moria website teaser came out there was a place where you could create a third age weapon, name it and it left crafters thinking they were going to have some control over how an item was made but instead of that what you gave us was nothing short of a disapointment. In a few words "it sucked".

I don't know why I need to burn through 10,000 rusty tools, or tablets to find an item that has legacys that will do rather then what I need, or have 3/5 legacys that will work while the other 2 never get trained because I don't see a need for them. I shop at the AH for second age items because its almost impossable to get groups to goto some of the more difficult instances to get the radience armours pieces so very few will be doing VM while the rest of us just become disillusioned with grinding out the same old stuff.

As the owner of a SP master tailor, weapon/woodworker, jeweller, scholar, Armoursmith, I see they frustraition in crafting as something that has been in the game from the begining and from what I read it doesn't plan to be any different. I still have allies whom I have become kinderd with that won't share the recipes with me that give quest rewards that are far better then anything I can make. The guilds are more of a joke then a blessing with a limited amount of item recipies and a 6 day cool down. I have to ask who the genious was that thought that one up. And whats even funnier is that the teal 6-day cool down weapons are better then the third agers because at least you can count on them to be what they say they're going to be.

As far as I have been able to see, there is no list saying what these new excotic legacys do, or how they will make a player better. Can I get the list please so I know what adour joiner heal does, or one of the many others that don't say anything about what there for or how they work.

I know turbine party owns dungoens and dragons, how about a nice fire weapon that burns a mob or a ice weapon that freezes it and shatters it. that would ne so nice of you.

How about my kindred allies giving up those recipies that will let me make rift armour, or do I need to join a higher guild in some distant land to make what my allies seem to have stacks and stacks of?

You can add new instances, and mobs all you want, but I have news for you, the greater number of players are going to burn through Loth in the first 30 days its live. If you want to do something thats never been done before that will get the attention of the greater amout of players and the ones to come. Upgrade the other half of the fun of being there and do it with crafting.

From Everquest all the way to lord of the rings people have moved on to the next best, but so far lotro hasn't ben toped. If you ignore the crafting eventually the half of your player base will find the next best with a balanced crafting system and then you won't be on top anymore.

Stop the madness and make a window that lets crafter choose the legacys for the Lv60 item they can make (and add more items that allow us to make Lv53 items and up to Lv60). Upgrade the rest of the crafted items so I can earn those recipies (rep) that my allies seem to have a lerge supply of, make quest reward more of a choice between what I made and what I can get from the reward. Maybe even give the option to get a random sack of coins instead of that item thats offered.

I've played lotro from about the second or third month it came out and I've left a few times simply from bordom. I play the game sometime 10 hours a day and no less then 6, every day. You guys don't have that kinda time from what you say but I do and I hear a lot of complaints about the game and whats messed up and I read in the forums about some of it but you devs must ether be bind or you think this shinny fireengine is gonna be shinny forever while you ignore us.....the people that are paying to play it.

Look at Everquest, 25 expansions later, and its a ghosttown if you still play. They went from 50 servers to 5 and even now its still a ghost town.....and you have what? about 10 or 15 more to go.

do you really want people to stay around instead of searching for the next best?

[b-morgan]

After reading through this thread and finally getting to run these instances my initial impressions are great job!

My live main is a Hunter / Explorer and my first alt is a Minstrel / Historian. The Minstrel will be traited for healing and after reading a couple of posts about making the solo instances duo instances, it occured to me that one way to accomplish this is to add an optional NPC to the instance (maybe located inside the door with a quest ring). If you click on the NPC's ring, then keeping him alive through the whole instance becomes an added requirement.

This (healable) NPC can be tuned by Turbine so as to make the instance doable by a healing class who would have a hard time soloing the instance. Non-healing classes can just ignore him as adding the NPC would actually make the instance harder for them.

This avoids the complexity of having to tune or create instances for two players, while allowing everyone an opportunity to complete the instances solo.

Regards,

Brad

[Logal444]

There already is a limited-supply crafting supply system. Consignments. Improve them. All Scenario had to do was bump up the timer, increase the cost to a fair minimum, increase the consignment return order and you've solved the issue.

Please tell me there's something wrong with the above.

I hear what you are saying, Arctic. From what I understand by reading your posts (correct me if I am wrong) is that you are worried that the competative spirit of the market involving materials and nodes on the servers will be affected by this change. I also understand that you advocate and/or suggest changing around the current consignment system as an alternative. I think there is an overall flaw in your argument.

If Turbine were to fix up the consignment system (which I have used once for hides, but never again) and bring it up to par as a viable alternative, wouldn't it have the same effect as the instances? At least through an instance the player has to go through the mobs and work for their prize. Is it more in the spirit of the game to grab a piece of parchment with a 24 hour timer and run back to an npc at the end of the timer to grab your new materials or to strike out with your axe and shield and kick some butt?

[opurt]

"I was also noticing a fairly intense amount of competition over the new tier of Crafting resources"

I have never encountered this myself. (Most likely a function of being on a low-pop server.) Of course the question is: Where will these be? If they are a pain to get to it will be a total loss. There's already a lot of running all over Moria just to do the IXP quests (Dolven View, Redhorn Loads, Flaming Deeps, Waterworks, Durin's Way, Foundations of Stone) plus the 7 existing instances, so it would really suck if we need to run all over to a whole new set of instances as well. I know it's way to late but it would be nice if they were near travel points, or at least near the mirrors. Knowing the way Turbine works though I bet they'll be located all over the place. Here's hoping I'm dissappointed.

[paulsavage177]

This sounds great it gets a little old competing for resources it really effects the over game ethics, I have had many nodes stolen from me why fighting off a creature.

Now if we could work in a little bit more on the Champion 2nd age drops that would also be helpful, Us champs are getting a little mad about it.