Session play... WHY SO HARD TO FIX????

[MOOBEAR1]

Why is it so hard for devs to fix the scaling bug issue in session play? I can't get through The Fate of Laerdan. I can't complete the epic volume 1 without completing this stupid session play.

[Dragonkind]

You have my sympathies, I hate all session plays. Have you reached Mordor with another character yet ? , the Elven Allegiance intro is a corker , it often bugged out for me. ....

[Atrixzia]

That one was stupidly hard for me. I could not complete it even with my well geared Guardian. After 3 tries i gave up and took the dwarf alligance which was just run around the hall under the mountain and talk to people.

I fancied joining the Elves too

[Askelin]

The thing is, Session plays essentially just gives you control of an NPC. The problem with this is that over the years mobs have been buffed and their stats increased to make up for the fact that classes have generally become stronger over time.
But the issue doesn't just stop there. Some NPC skills are completely bugged or just haven't been scaled. You can see traces of this in monster play.
Also just to make matters worse, NPC skill animations are as slow as they were back in SoA, in general, the original session plays haven't really been touched on at all since when they were released. It's archaic and old and I don't think there'll be a lot of focus on fixing them, as long as it's technically possible to complete the quests it's just one of those things you need to rough out.

[Altair6]

When I do this one I just sneak past as many mobs as possible until I get to the end/top. And then I fight. And we all know how that ends.

[DavidmeetHal]

I like session play, but only for the storylines. I understand sometimes you need combat for example in cases like "We cannot get out", but you should never, ever, have to struggle in session play, because session play is for story progression, not gear and xp.

[Ballie]

Why is it so hard for devs to fix the scaling bug issue in session play? I can't get through The Fate of Laerdan. I can't complete the epic volume 1 without completing this stupid session play.

I did this one about a week ago on an alt. It maybe that I have done it on several chars over the years and I'm better at it than the first time.

Key is reading what the skills you have do: range, melee, debuff precursor for the big damage skill, crowd control. The last very important, it's to survive long enough into the end fight that gets you through. Keeping the melee mobs from hitting you while you back off and deal with the ranged toons has to be the priority.

Arrange the skills on your bar so there is some order and practice using them all the way to the final fight. CC melee and deal with ranged to get use to it.

Maybe scaling is at play but these session plays put us all on a level playing field, the strategies we employ are what makes the difference. They are seldom a DPS race, in this one more the control of incoming damage vs outgoing damage.


Sessions like these mentioned are your best chance to see just where your skill level is. Struggle here and accept further struggles. Learn from them and develop as a player, like so many before. This one was always the toughest, a right of passage.

I only say this because I completed it this last week and there was nothing to that made it no longer possible. I was actually surprised when mine ended with my character still on over half health, other times it's been much closer to defeat. Skill and strategy have improved since those times.

[MOOBEAR1]

I did this one about a week ago on an alt. It maybe that I have done it on several chars over the years and I'm better at it than the first time.

Key is reading what the skills you have do: range, melee, debuff precursor for the big damage skill, crowd control. The last very important, it's to survive long enough into the end fight that gets you through. Keeping the melee mobs from hitting you while you back off and deal with the ranged toons has to be the priority.

Arrange the skills on your bar so there is some order and practice using them all the way to the final fight. CC melee and deal with ranged to get use to it.

Maybe scaling is at play but these session plays put us all on a level playing field, the strategies we employ are what makes the difference. They are seldom a DPS race, in this one more the control of incoming damage vs outgoing damage.


Sessions like these mentioned are your best chance to see just where your skill level is. Struggle here and accept further struggles. Learn from them and develop as a player, like so many before. This one was always the toughest, a right of passage.

I only say this because I completed it this last week and there was nothing to that made it no longer possible. I was actually surprised when mine ended with my character still on over half health, other times it's been much closer to defeat. Skill and strategy have improved since those times.

Thanks for all that, and congrats on getting through this annoying bug. I have done all that you said. But as soon as I use 3 skills, my power is dumped and will not regenerate to use other skills and I think that's where the problem lies. I can't use any skills because Laerdan's power is constantly drained. I am able to get passed most mobs up the hill but get to an impasse where the gate is locked and need to kill mobs to open the gate. Again 3 skills later I'm powerless and get beaten down like a stray dog, lol I've played this game since 2008 and was just catching up on Epic quests with one of 13 toons when this one stymied me.

[Ballie]

Thanks for all that, and congrats on getting through this annoying bug. I have done all that you said. But as soon as I use 3 skills, my power is dumped and will not regenerate to use other skills and I think that's where the problem lies. I can't use any skills because Laerdan's power is constantly drained. I am able to get passed most mobs up the hill but get to an impasse where the gate is locked and need to kill mobs to open the gate. Again 3 skills later I'm powerless and get beaten down like a stray dog, lol I've played this game since 2008 and was just catching up on Epic quests with one of 13 toons when this one stymied me.

That is something I forgot. I will check out the power use of the skills and just ignore the ones that use too much for the use you get out of them, you can discover these things as you progress through the instance getting used to how your skills play. If drained and waiting for regen keep moving away from any melee mobs, anything to cut down on the incoming hits. I'm uncertain if you are able to run out and reset the last fight if you are close to death with too much time left. It might avoid the long run back before another try.

Also any skill that applies a dot move to another target after so you aren't expending power when the dot could finish off that mob.

[Edelhardt]

The power drain problem has become even worse than it already was with the latest update. As you say, you can only perform 2 or 3 attacks before your power is totally depleted, and regen is very slow.

I did manage the Laerdan instance, but it is beyond painful and absolutely, totally not fun. In my view it is totally broken and needs to be fixed asa matter of priority - as you say, this instance is required to complete the SoA Epic Story so it is fundamental to the game.

The way I did it:

- Sneak past all the mobs until you get to the stairs.
- At the top of the stairs, just peek briefly into the area so as to trigger the first mobs. Do not go too far in or you will trigger all of them at once. Run down to the bottom of the stairs.
- Perform the combo with the debuff and the Elven shot immediaely, this will instakill one attacker.
- Use low power melee skills on the other attackers. Kite around (but away from the other mobs near the entrance) and hit them with auto attacks (right click), those don't need power. You will wear them down and survive, Laerdan has lots of morale.
- Anytime the special combo comes off CD, use it immediately against an enemy that is still on full power.
- Keep turtling, in the end you will be the last man (elf) standing.

The final bit can still be done as always: run round the area like a headless chicken with a train of enemies behind you. No need to fight, but if you start with one combo on a stationay Angmarim it might just get a bit easier.
You may need to use the moral heal once, so keep power in reserve for that. Don't try to fight at all, just run in circles.

After 2 minutes you will have completed the session.

Frankly, I would prefer a root canal treatment over doing this instance. Unfortunately, it cannot be skipped.