Rare Drop Community Events are kind of demoralising

[Naurduin]

So I know the intention with these things is good, but I showed up to my first one on Laurelin for the Anniversary and didn't manage to get anything at all. Monsters weren't open-tapping and all died within milliseconds. So seeing other people boast they managed to get cool pets etc. while standing around hoping to get lucky wasn't a great feeling and from my perspective was less of a celebration and more a waste of time. It's just a bit of a tease, especially as these events don't happen often.

If these events happen again in future, could monsters perhaps be a little tougher, open-tapping, and instead make the drops BoA but fellowship tradable? That way it doesn't matter so much if they're easier to get as it's not like people will hoard them.

[ChromiteSwiftpaw]

So I know the intention with these things is good, but I showed up to my first one on Laurelin for the Anniversary and didn't manage to get anything at all. Monsters weren't open-tapping and all died within milliseconds. So seeing other people boast they managed to get cool pets etc. while standing around hoping to get lucky wasn't a great feeling and from my perspective was less of a celebration and more a waste of time. It's just a bit of a tease, especially as these events don't happen often.

If these events happen again in future, could monsters perhaps be a little tougher, open-tapping, and instead make the drops BoA but fellowship tradable? That way it doesn't matter so much if they're easier to get as it's not like people will hoard them.

The items Cordovan was giving out were being dropped on the ground. They look like little bags and if you have names off you can miss them.

Once Cord gets to spawning boss mobs, loot/items are irrelevant since they don't come from them.

[Strider5548]

The items Cordovan was giving out were being dropped on the ground. They look like little bags and if you have names off you can miss them.

Once Cord gets to spawning boss mobs, loot/items are irrelevant since they don't come from them.

What's this now?

[Arnenna]

What's this now?

Reads like there was a community event where Cord joined one of the servers for some Anniversary shenanigans.

[Esgalad]

They have the community manager and some GMs log in and spawn items and visit players in person for every anniversary, but I haven't seen a single word or post anywhere about when they're doing it, the twitch or youtube stream for it etc, so if you're saying it already happened this year that is extremely disappointing. Then again, the fact that I have checked the schedule multiple times to figure out when this anniversary was to begin and don't have a date or time for a stream already shows it's getting less and less planned or prepared for on time.

[Pontin_Finnberry]

Reads like there was a community event where Cord joined one of the servers for some Anniversary shenanigans.

Yes and this has been done in the past for Lotro's Anniverary event, Cordovan visits servers for a little bit for fun dropping little items to pick up, its a special Anniversary fun they don't always do it every year but nice when do. but this year Cordovan wasn't live streaming it (other stream team members were) but did pop into twitch chat saying hes on this or that server, i think he also popped into world chat saying where he was. they did this last Friday.

[thinx]

To my opinion the purpose of a community event organized by game companies is to generate positive emotions.

The results of this community event were positive emotions by an absolute minority taking part, some envy by those reading the forums and *no* emotions by the absolute majority of players that do not even know that this took place at all.
IMO a lost chance to generate some excitement at little cost.

[Cordovan]

It's a bummer when I read about people who stop by and didn't get anything; typically those people just need to PM me and I'll make it happen. The reality is these kind of quick drop-ins are what they are; to expect this to be similar to a mass distribution to everyone is unrealistic. Another bit of reality is that the only way to pull these kind of visits off is to not promote them; if people know where I am going to be it will be simply inaccessible for anyone including myself to reach that location when the time comes. So, they are what they are, people keep asking me to do them so I do, they are nice to do, and they are fun for many and frustrating for some.

[Nywyn]

I stumbled upon one of these on Ark the first day we ran anniversary quests. It was really fun and I didn't feel like I deserved a prize for being there, though the dragon fireworks were a nice bonus. My hubby was with me and he didn't get anything. It was just fun to fight some random balrogs outside of the Bree gates.
I hope you guys keep doing these.

[Druidsfire]

So I know the intention with these things is good, but I showed up to my first one on Laurelin for the Anniversary and didn't manage to get anything at all. Monsters weren't open-tapping and all died within milliseconds. So seeing other people boast they managed to get cool pets etc. while standing around hoping to get lucky wasn't a great feeling and from my perspective was less of a celebration and more a waste of time. It's just a bit of a tease, especially as these events don't happen often.

If these events happen again in future, could monsters perhaps be a little tougher, open-tapping, and instead make the drops BoA but fellowship tradable? That way it doesn't matter so much if they're easier to get as it's not like people will hoard them.

From what I understand about them, they're bosses whose scripting is exactly the same as they would be in their native instances including loot drops, so presumably SSG would have to create a second version of the boss specifically for these sorts of shenanigans, which would include testing to make sure they still work and don't break anything else. Not sure they'd be able to carve out the amount of time it would take to make those copies considering they'd get used maybe once a year, versus all the higher priority tasks for things that get used more frequently.

[LeRaginAsian]

The rare drops weren't that rare. Anniversary fireworks and pets from Extra Life charity streams. Everything was bound to character to limit hoarding except for the Lively Slug, which was the newest charity pet and still bound to account.

Our kin had just finished up a raid when Cord landed on Crick, so we were fortunate to be able to get all of us on the right layer quickly enough. The balrogs died almost instantly so there really wasn't much to the "fights". More than anything it was just fun having something unpredictable happen in the open world, even if it wasn't strictly speaking lore-friendly.

[thinx]

It's a bummer when I read about people who stop by and didn't get anything; typically those people just need to PM me and I'll make it happen. The reality is these kind of quick drop-ins are what they are; to expect this to be similar to a mass distribution to everyone is unrealistic. Another bit of reality is that the only way to pull these kind of visits off is to not promote them; if people know where I am going to be it will be simply inaccessible for anyone including myself to reach that location when the time comes. So, they are what they are, people keep asking me to do them so I do, they are nice to do, and they are fun for many and frustrating for some.

I really understand the reasoning behind that - it is obvious that the servers (and some clients) have problems when there are too many players in one place. From that perspective it is clear that it is not possible to announce where and when exactly such events happen.

On the other hand it would still be possible to say *that* they will happen at random times and locations in this week (with some restrictions, 2am might not be the best time). Probably port from place to place. Or play hide and seek. Visit another server in between. Announce the end of a presence phase so that people stop porting. Do it on a few weekdays. Whatever is possible and (still) fun.

(and it is not about the drops for me, it is that I hope for some positive impact on game and community. Taking a hit on a landscape Balrog is motivation #2 and drops come third.) Take part and do something fun!

[WorrBinpike]

I know those visits in the past when Cordovan did it while he was streaming. This was nice. He popped up on a server without saying where he is. People just have to guess from the landscape where he is. And normally it lasts a while untill many people are there, and after 10 minutes he was disconnecting.

I was hoping that he did it the same way this year, and was a bit dissapointed that he did it offstream.

My account was 8 years when i was able to snag the dragon fireworks, which you get with 10 years which he spawned to loot when visiting Bele 2 years ago.

Now i have it on all my chars

[Tancanspanc]

I confess I wasn't aware these events still happened.
Last one I encountered was years ago with GM-Balrogs at West Bree (played like a slideshow because it was Bree) and an altogether more satsfying fight with them outside Lhanuch in Enedwaith (may have been Codemasters last stand IIRC). The drops you mention seem pretty meh to me, but I do miss the spontaneous 'peril' of these interventions. I wish SSG would do more of them (agree that advertising them beforehand would lead to massive performance issues).

I'm probably in a minority of one here, but perhaps SSG could implement that Bombadil-server PVP mechanic, for a 1 hour spontaneous event in a single zone only (Mordor, Elderslade, a high level area). Might liven things up a bit. Anyone who could get say, 30 kills in the hour gets the title 'Psychopath' or 'Creator of Carnage'.

[Yuffie67]

I remember when staff were running around as Arailith (or how ever her name is spelt) Bump into her outside Ost Guruth. >_> (thanks to them not murdering me out right, lol)

I think handful of times on Test Servers (when they got new servers) few of events at bree west gate. (which everyone kinda rushes over and lags game)

Handful of those in world chat (be nice if that still happen, we got so much spam on Arkenstone from gold seller trying get real world items, or packs of afk bog lurkers gold farming..)


Can't say I've seen one Since I got back few months ago. It sucks to miss the chance.. thats just luck of draw that goes with it. =3

[greendarner]

Founder/Lifetime member here. I haven't even SEEN any of these events in . . . about the last seven years. Seeing this thread was a total surprise to me! Unless I am ill, or out of town, I play every single day. I don't even have enough luck to encounter one of these "events"! How's that for demoralizing?