Where do we go from here?

[LagunaD2]

There is too much PvE in the Moors as is. I mean it's meant to be a PvMP zone, I think you should focus on that.

Get rid of all PvE aspects and lower rank requirements. Missions are just going to lead to people who wouldn't normally PvMP, to come out and do missions for rank, and not ever actually engage Monsters/Freeps in combat.

Sorry but it's not a good idea imo.

Moors PvE *in the Moors* serves some function of creating spontaneous encounters in various places through the zone.

The idea of *instanced* PvE (missions), though, except maybe as a limited-scope training-wheels experience for fresh creeps to reach a viable baseline without getting farmed, seems like a terrible idea though.

[Blotch]

Hey Orion, as you are providing feedback and talking about the future, I'd like to ask about it a little bit further. As the main goal is to gain people's attention and to encourage more people to join the moors, how would you rate the probability of introducing new characters to the PvMP area?
What about this options?

• Uruk melee class-->the same kit the reaver has using the uruk-hai race
• Orc ranged class-->the same kit the BA has using the orc race
• Angmarin-->they are really important to the game, we even see some npcs at grams/dg
• Haradrim-->a race of men roaming the moors providing a champ version for the moors
• Trolls-->a weaker version of what troll sessions are supposed to be (just like nowadays)
  

I understand it is a lot of work but I can assure you that the novelty of finding new stuff to play will make people invest time on it. You have the game models available and a lot of skins already designed for this characters. If the problem is to give names to skills, race or class traits, and/or skins people will be more than willing to help with the creative process...

[ithinkiamserious]

Can something be done to improve freep buffs (food, scrolls, token, etc.) in the moors? It's very annoying to go through all those inductions for scrolls, food, etc., run out, get zerged, lose all your buffs, and then have a cooldown before they can be reapplied. Most creep buffs are instant, and remain after being killed. Can't something of the same be offered for freeps?

It would be great if these were sold/bartered at GV to remove another PvE grind that freeps currently have. Whether it's the grind for gold to buy the buffs, or the grind to farm the mats/craft, both of those are tedious to players who'd like to stay in the moors.

Even if the buffs were only usable in the moors, this would be a great benefit to freeps, without too much affecting the crafting market for PvErs.

[Ethelswift]

There is too much PvE in the Moors as is. I mean it's meant to be a PvMP zone, you should focus on that.

Get rid of all PvE aspects and lower rank requirements. Missions are just going to lead to people who wouldn't normally PvMP, to come out and do missions for rank, and never actually engage Monsters/Freeps in combat.

You know what brings people to PvMP? Actual PvMP, let those little PvE puppies do it on freepside in their multiple maps they have to do it with.

Sorry but it's not a good idea imo, and it's very shortsighted.

As long as the benefits for missions are only for monster characters then there's no reason for ppl to log on, do them and log off. Even if they're comms that freeps can use, that just means those logging on solely to do missions weren't playing creep in the first place. I'd definitely prefer for them to implemented in a way that prevents freeps from doing that, like tokens you collect x number of to purchase a rank of audacity or a skill/corruption etc.

Missions are something to do if freeps are camping grams, or if it's late/early with nothing going on, but I don't see how that detracts from core PvMP; it gives people a reason to log on and new players a way to make some progress without getting rolled 20 times. As long as there aren't too many missions and they have a 24 hr cooldown, they won't be something taking away from Ettens PvMP. Missions that both Creeps and Freeps queue into for small scale instance PvMP would be cool though.

I think it's shortsighted to expect more ppl to come into the Ettens when the power gap is so large between a fresh player and a top rank player. Some mission play is a way for people to bridge that gap and, as I say, something to do when the other side is dominating the map.

Across map PvE is also a good way of spreading people out and creating more small scale fighting; I don't think there need to be more quests, but I do think they need to be reworked in a way that encourages solo/small groups of creeps and freeps to hang around in the same areas as each other.

[LagunaD2]

Can something be done to improve freep buffs (food, scrolls, token, etc.) in the moors? It's very annoying to go through all those inductions for scrolls, food, etc., run out, get zerged, lose all your buffs, and then have a cooldown before they can be reapplied. Most creep buffs are instant, and remain after being killed. Can't something of the same be offered for freeps?

It would be great if these were sold/bartered at GV to remove another PvE grind that freeps currently have. Whether it's the grind for gold to buy the buffs, or the grind to farm the mats/craft, both of those are tedious to players who'd like to stay in the moors.

Even if the buffs were only usable in the moors, this would be a great benefit to freeps, without too much affecting the crafting market for PvErs.

All those food, scroll, token buffs are very small, couple-percent effects. You don't need them and wouldn't notice a difference without them if you find maintaining them a chore.

[JonXu]

Here are some issues that need to be addressed.
Spy accounts and outnumber buff. lately, I have noticed that even when grams camp freeps have outnumbered buff. I feel like every self-respecting freep has a spy account.

[ithinkiamserious]

All those food, scroll, token buffs are very small, couple-percent effects. You don't need them and wouldn't notice a difference without them if you find maintaining them a chore.

So you'd be in favor of buffs being made available at GV that are better than those currently used in PvE. I think that's a great idea!

[Vilan]

Moors PvE *in the Moors* serves some function of creating spontaneous encounters in various places through the zone.

The idea of *instanced* PvE (missions), though, except maybe as a limited-scope training-wheels experience for fresh creeps to reach a viable baseline without getting farmed, seems like a terrible idea though.

This. Quests in the Moors are a good idea because they push people to move around the map to get quests done, which generates action. If there's no action at the time, you still get a consolation prize of a little renown/infamy for trying. Quests in a mission instance mean people are not available for action, making the Moors deader. Many servers don't have reliable action as it is, I can't see this helping. And isn't creating all these instances for missions partly responsible for the ongoing lag? I don't see how missions would contribute to the overall health of the Moors in any way.

[Luckyhit]

The Elf Camp on the eastern side of the bridges of Tol Ascarnen is rebuilt. The flag capture for the bridges is returned.

The Orc Camp on the western side of the bridges of Tol Ascarnen is rebuilt. The flag capture for the bridges is returned.

Hello. When you say rebuilt, do you mean the older version of these camps, or simply relocating the current version over to the old locations? It's a minor thing, but the way these current camps are built are horrific with how the watch-towers are closed off, and more generally, invisible walls completely closing off outside access to everywhere but the front entrance. Something as simple as removing the roofs on the towers, and removing the invisible walls disallowing jumping out would be a wonderful thing to have again.

Unrelated to above. The bridge connecting TR rez circle to the western part of the map: It's gross that it's just 2 bridges stacked on top of each other, without even having the ability to jump down between them. This is very important, please remove the barriers that disallow this crucial fighting location.

Unrelated to above. Would it be possible to remove floaty names for the PvP zone? Curious if that sort of thing is even possible, or wanted - my name bar floating above my head when hiding behind a tree, in a bush, or lying down in water as the only thing that gives me away feels bad, and it should be removed for that reason alone.

Thank you~

[SSG_Orion]

Hello. When you say rebuilt, do you mean the older version of these camps,

The old version of the camps. The forward camps are simply abandoned though they do still exist. Just nothing inside of them...yet...

[Nindrillion]

Very random thoughts but is there any tidbits on a new monster class coming? Also any chance Monsters can leave the moors and roam free? Even just for special events?

[UselessSmurf]

Very random thoughts but is there any tidbits on a new monster class coming? Also any chance Monsters can leave the moors and roam free? Even just for special events?

We need a Bloodbath in Bree event. Everyone is a target, Prancing Pony RP'ers, South Bree fence sitters, Crafters inside the Hall, all open game. If for nothing else, would make for funny I'm quitting the game posts here on forums.

[gildhur]

We need a Bloodbath in Bree event. Everyone is a target, Prancing Pony RP'ers, South Bree fence sitters, Crafters inside the Hall, all open game. If for nothing else, would make for funny I'm quitting the game posts here on forums.

I've been calling for the Bombadil server to come back as a cap-50 open PvMP server for years now.

[Annalyse]

First and foremost, its great to see you back at er Orion. You're an OG and really interested in how you're going to to traverse this project over the coming months.

That being said, I'm conflicted with the MP Mission plans/idea.

On one hand, during downtimes in the Moors it could really help break the monotony that has always been a core feature of the Moors. An alternate progression path is sorely needed certainly and there is a inherent "fun" factor to being able to get out of the Moors and be in locations that we've never been able to experience before which cant be understated or undervalued.

On the other hand, If queuing up for instances is on the table, then why not go back to the old MOM idea? Instanced TA battlegrounds. Or if making TA instanced is outside the scope of what you have time/tech for, use Skirmish maps. 2v2, 3v3, 5v5, 10v10. Rip out all the NPCs/mobs and have just a blank canvas. Tie the alternate progression to actual PvP. Not PvE.

At the very minimum if you implement the vision you're speaking on, Time gate it.
There needs to be a window of time each day when Monster players know they can log in and queue up and get a group for these. If its an all day thing you're going to have less groups firing which will lead to a lack of confidence in the stystem which will lead to yet another Lotro system that gets underutilized.
There will always be a handful of players who want to queue up, and a handful that want to stay in the moors. If there is a time frame when the queue is open, you'll have MPs lining up to queue and then spending the rest of the evening/day actually PvPing with their new upgrades. Additionally, Freeps will know during these hours while its okay to go to the Moors they may not get as an active Creep playerbase, but once those timed instances close, Freeps will potentially flock to the moors to engage with the Creeps coming back to pvp. You could go one step further and during those Creep Instance windows of time, activate a couple quests for Freeps too to gather some currency or some way to work towards Audacity gear but only during those times.

Drive activity to the Moors. How many hours a day/week/month in the lifetime of this game has a Freep and/or Creep spent their time just running around aimlessly. Its been an issue since day one. Drive people to the moors, create "peak times" based on these time gated instances. Peak times encourage health and stability in the long term.



Audacity
Which brings me to Audacity gear. I'm thankful to see that you wont make a change until that problem is resolved. I implore you however, to not make Freeps have two sets of gear. There should be nothing inherently 'wrong' with being able to survive and thrive in the Moors while wearing Raid gear. Raid gear is supposed to be good. But I do agree that "PvP" gear should be better if you're actively PvPing.

So if scaling gear once you enter the moors is off the table (I'm sure that would be a huge undertaking) then how about something like a socket? Freeps work towards purchasing a socket via questing/kills/ect (Moors activities) once they have gathered enough of this Socket currency they are then able to apply a socket to as many pieces of items you (Orion) decide based on balance numbers. In that socket you can then place an Audacity Gem. The level of the Gem dependent on your Rank, Activity, ect.
Or, a simple Audacity Scroll. Just like a weapon damage type, apply Audacity to an armor piece. Scales with Rank/ect


Having a bunch of end game armour pieces invalidated, sitting in your bags, isn't the answer IMO. Raid armour should be competitive. But, Raid armour with Audacity scrolls/gems attached should be the targeted 1:1 balance then let skill take over threshold you shoot for.



Allegiances.
Are we thinking like Covenants (WoW) type of thing? If so, If I learned anything from Covenants its that arbitrary costs to switch was poorly received and I dont see any different outcome here. You can have a cooldown on when you're able to switch back, or make switching back to an Allegiance free if you're maxed rank with them, but any cost besides time is nothing more than prohibitive. If/when you go down this route, there should be some great cosmetics, useful rewards, and useful currencies attached to the ranks.




Really stoked to see what you come up with man.


Gramps.

[SSG_Orion]

First and foremost, its great to see you back at er Orion. You're an OG and really interested in how you're going to to traverse this project over the coming months. \

Glad to be back.

That being said, I'm conflicted with the MP Mission plans/idea.

On one hand, during downtimes in the Moors it could really help break the monotony that has always been a core feature of the Moors. An alternate progression path is sorely needed certainly and there is a inherent "fun" factor to being able to get out of the Moors and be in locations that we've never been able to experience before which cant be understated or undervalued.

On the other hand, If queuing up for instances is on the table, then why not go back to the old MOM idea? Instanced TA battlegrounds. Or if making TA instanced is outside the scope of what you have time/tech for, use Skirmish maps. 2v2, 3v3, 5v5, 10v10. Rip out all the NPCs/mobs and have just a blank canvas. Tie the alternate progression to actual PvP. Not PvE.

At the very minimum if you implement the vision you're speaking on, Time gate it.

The initial idea nd implementation of MP missions is different from the standard Free People mission. Instead of it being an instanced experience it is an "open world" experience with a limit of 12 players in a regional layer. Just like the normal game world, when a population limit is met there is a new "layer" of the world created to handle that load.

There would only be a certain number of quests available in this shared space with a limit on how many of these quests can be done a day. It would be for short-cycle play to begin with...no reason to stay in this space once the quests are complete. No treasure, no advancement outside of the quests.

QUOTE=Annalyse;8157540]Drive activity to the Moors. How many hours a day/week/month in the lifetime of this game has a Freep and/or Creep spent their time just running around aimlessly. Its been an issue since day one. Drive people to the moors, create "peak times" based on these time gated instances. Peak times encourage health and stability in the long term. [/quote]

There is another item to be added to the list later this week. It's meant to directly drive more action into the 'moors for both players and monster players.

Audacity
Which brings me to Audacity gear. I'm thankful to see that you wont make a change until that problem is resolved. I implore you however, to not make Freeps have two sets of gear. There should be nothing inherently 'wrong' with being able to survive and thrive in the Moors while wearing Raid gear. Raid gear is supposed to be good. But I do agree that "PvP" gear should be better if you're actively PvPing.

We want to make some quality of life changes that would make this type of situation more livable.

QUOTE=Annalyse;8157540]Having a bunch of end game armour pieces invalidated, sitting in your bags, isn't the answer IMO. Raid armour should be competitive. But, Raid armour with Audacity scrolls/gems attached should be the targeted 1:1 balance then let skill take over threshold you shoot for. [/quote]

There has always been a different set of gear for the Ettenmoors and the normal game. We're unlikely to change that now.

Allegiances.
Are we thinking like Covenants (WoW) type of thing? If so, If I learned anything from Covenants its that arbitrary costs to switch was poorly received and I dont see any different outcome here. You can have a cooldown on when you're able to switch back, or make switching back to an Allegiance free if you're maxed rank with them, but any cost besides time is nothing more than prohibitive. If/when you go down this route, there should be some great cosmetics, useful rewards, and useful currencies attached to the ranks.

No, the allegiance would function identically to the way that they work Freepside. The only difference would be the inclusion of the clan blessing. Again, this would be a second iteration after the first iteration proves successful and provides us some good information on balance.

[Gutterat]

Interesting the changes to PvMP map. I might come back and play sometime to check it out.

[Xerxes2007]

There has always been a different set of gear for the Ettenmoors and the normal game. We're unlikely to change that now.

True but pvmp gear has only been required at level 75 and 85. And again at 140. There have been other periods of time during the course of the game where there has been pvp gear, but not as a prerequisite of participation. I think the poster is saying that he's unhappy that his main effort (or a main effort) in the game - raiding - is being invalidated just because he wants to participate in another part of the game. Pvmp and raiding have both thrived at other times in this game when Audacity gear wasn't required.

I think he's just asking to play with the gear he's worked so hard to acquire. Audacity as a virtue or a passive debuff against the more potent bonuses on raid gear, or as a creepside-only buff to prevent against those bonuses is more palatable way to go.

[UselessSmurf]

Orion, if you are conflicted about the MP Missions, then err on the side of place on back burner for the time being maybe?

It's not something crucial that needs to be implemented right now. If anything, the Emissaries for damage roles etc. is a dapper idea, and ya should definitely make that a priority focus imo.

Also, have you ever thought about a third faction of Wood Trolls and Morrovails? I know it's not really feasible, but I see a wood troll spin kick me, and I think to myself, I would love to kick a Freep out the Lugs window that faces the side cliff.

[Bondamar]

The road goes ever on...

Hey Orion!
To start, I’m not a game-dev and won’t understand all the intricacies behind certain decisions but am always interested in hearing the reasoning behind decision making, so feel free to fill in any gaps. I by no means claim to have all the answers here, I've played a lot of this game and only want to move the discussion forward and see the game thrive.

Please forgive any outdated information, or suggestions that are no longer relevant/have been changed already. I've been away for awhile and just recently came back. I've tried to digest as much information as possible but it's likely I've missed things.

I can see the passion you’re bringing to the team and things look to be heading in a good direction, thank you. You’re a big part of why I think it’s worthwhile to share feedback. Communication goes both ways after all.

As to lag being top priority – Thank you, this is good. Long time coming. I’ve heard discussion around the questing and effects system, may I also suggest looking at kills/auto loot bag (if not already done or part of the quest/effect systems). Always seems to be a spike when registering loot, especially noticeable on many kills at once. Post lag fixes I would love to see more server consolidation to bring people together to whatever capacity the game could handle, something especially important for PvMP health.

The main point I’m hearing people provide feedback around but not directly speaking to is their time spent with gameplay and systems. I think it’s important for players to be able to jump in and play the game in the way they want, engaging with the systems they enjoy and be rewarded for it. If we compare the state of systems at the time of Isengard or Mirkwood PvMP to now we have considerably increased the scope of what’s necessary to maintain your character for PvP. LI system requires more upkeep, essences exist now, levels have doubled requiring days/weeks of time and hundreds/thousands of quests with very little streamlining. Traits used to be isolated to skill deeds only, now requiring meta deeds, whole region and epic quest chains, and a couple dozen Epic Battles. Virtues used to be capped at 12/14, now it takes as much or more time as class trait points and all this is for just one character (would be nice to see virtues unlock account wide, even if it takes a little longer). In some expansions a portion of gear has been tradable between alts to support those of similar main stat/role. Being able to progress your whole account in certain ways as you play, (even while in the moors) would be great. The expectation of time investment has also scaled every year with little help to get players into Freep PvMP. I know many veterans who many times over the years (myself included) would have loved a chance to come back to the game but the barrier to entry for systems they want to engage with actively kept them away from playing. This is often a draw of creepside, not requiring this time-consuming grind just to get started on the PvMP system progression (aud, skills, traits etc.) and fight other players.

A lot of changes to the game in the last few months and upcoming seem to specifically be targeting the new/returning player experience. This is a good direction to go. Having both sides populated is necessary for gameplay and supporting creeps by making them more interesting and accessible without any systems that bog the experience down as well as giving freeps the needed progression paths to fully advance their class could put the Ettenmoors in a healthy spot. It currently gives nothing back to the rest of the games systems, only actively needing to be supported by them, a parasitic system. Since PvMP is endlessly repeatable content that doesn’t require as much new development time and in the spirit of creating a self-sufficient ecosystem for the PvMP space here are some thoughts to take or leave as you will.

-PvP gear is important, creating a progression and reward path. I would love to see it expanded to even more things required by your character such as traceries. I think some of the pushback on PvP gear comes from the people who have already had to spend a bunch of their play-time getting PvE gear, which is necessary to farm all other aspects of your character and not wanting to do it again. With the option of farming meaningful PvP gear from the start, players can choose what they want to do and how they would like to progress toward it. I think both PvE and PvP sets could function as a starter set for the opposite type of content if they wanted to make the switch, with audacity making the difference.

-The ability to increase both LI and player level exp through monster-player kills. Level scaling already exists in a small capacity, this could offer a viable alternative for players to PvP and progress simultaneously.

-Some sort of repeatable Virtue-point rewards quest/deed for monster-player kills. Virtues are a huge time investment; they could be rewarded for spending your time investment in the moors combatting the forces of Gramsfoot instead of the mass slaughtering of wolves in the Shire for the 6th time. This doesn’t need to be as efficient, it just rewards players for playing the game how they like.

-The clan system is interesting thematically, however PvE should only be an introduction or entry point to the system. If it’s the center point, efficient use of play time would have you logging on each of the creeps you play and doing missions first (or only) before ever joining in PvP. Taking peoples time away from the action. You could have your PvP kills and poi captures/defence contribute to the clan progression, having a mission facilitate the rank up to the next tier before sending you back to PvP.

- The new daily repeatable slayer quests offer a very minimal rank/comm reward, what if these were worth more? It would add even more incentives for PvMP action.

-Since balance is often intended to be slightly imperfect allowing an evolution of meta, barring the majority of your creeps stats or build customization behind clans directly limits your ability to respond to game-play evolution with the system acting as a barrier to enter/swap clans let alone being able to respond to what the action looks like and what types of classes are out that day. Those less active or spending play time elsewhere will have their capacity to respond hindered even more. I’m unsure what the strength of the remaining corruption options are in responding to meta shifts or on a smaller scale if they are suitable for who or how you fight that day. Your options of strategy and how to engage with freeps and poi become more limited.

-With that said, front-loading the blessings to the first tier is good, however even with no entry cost and the ability to swap between them freely you now must go to grams any time you want to switch, putting us back to where we started (which may be enough with the changes to corruptions you’ve suggested). If barriers remain, then many will just select whichever is best in slot according to community consensus and forget about it, now having to play with a suboptimal build if things evolve. It also becomes very difficult to test different clan blessings and time-gates your ability to find what build would be best for your use cases.

-You could keep corruptions in the system they are now, and rearrange set bonuses, stat distributions, add/remove slots or have the blessings within the clans be customizable, becoming a faction representative and not a combat priority. Cosmetics tied to clan allegiances are great incentives to engage with the system and I’m not sure what or if anything else is needed. PvP is a great avenue for showing off personal flair.

-I’m in favor of the EC/OC moving back. The more systems and gameplay elements/rewards directing you to fight the enemy the better.

I look forward to seeing where you take things. I have some thoughts on other areas of the game, but that’s all for now. At the end of the day, we all want a great game we can come online and enjoy. The Ettenmoors could be a great place for creating a self-sustaining ecosystem of players who love to battle tooth and sword.

edit: adjusted some things that were based on outdated information/systems.

[aleczander]

Orion - hats off to you!
I haven't stepped foot in the Ettenmoors for years - because the power imbalance was just so not fun. Nothing has significantly changed, yet. A lvl 140 freep in quest gear is still waaay more powerful than a fresh creep.
Creeps don't have gear, and they don't have a place to level up (audacity) that has any consistent, reliable (uninterruptible) means of progression. Besides being constantly one-shotted by freeps anywhere on the map, the pace of progression is severely limited and interrupted by the current offerings and quest/map limitations. As a freep, all I have to do after being bored with my lvl 140 PVE experience is fast-travel to the moors and start killing creeps with my inherent advantages from simple PVE quest gear.

I LOVE the idea that as a fresh creep I can jump into PVE missions where I have a steadier and much more reliable pace of character progression, free of the constant setbacks caused by freep griefing. Once I have progressed to a point where I'm not underpowered and can hold my own with a creep, then I can step into the Ettenmoors map in much the same way as a fresh 140 freep can.

If this addition of missions gets introduced to the creeps, I intend to resub. If not, my years-long absence from the Ettenmoors will continue. There are MANY other players, judging by the discussions I've had with current guildies, ex-guildies, and random people that feel exactly the same way as I do about the moors.

Some folks are worried about overall Ettenmoors population/popularity being negatively affected by missions. I have a hard time reading these as earnest. I believe the opposite is true -- there's a huge potential number of players who would jump into the ettenmoors if they could start a creep, progress the creep without freep griefing, then start PVPing with said creep knowing the creep has no big disadvantages.

[SSG_Orion]

Bullroarer updates are still a little ways out, but here is what you should know.

Minor Updates

When our next Bullroarer opens you will have access to the following changes:

Elf Camp & Orc Camp back at their original place.

The current Elf & Orc camps are emptied out and access to the Ettendeep is closed off at these locales.

All major control points, when defended by Free People or the Armies of Angmar have far fewer defenders that are vastly more powerful. The goal here is to leave the current iteration of outpost as is so that they can be tackled by small groups. The Towers, Central Keep, Lumber Camp, and Mine are all meant to require a small raid to flip.

Dar-gazag and Ost Ringdyr should require a large raid to penetrate.

Monster Player Update

DO NOT LEAVE GRAMSFOOT WITHOUT SPEAKING TO AKULHUN AND VISITING THE MAIN WAR TENT! THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. Talk with the Clan representatives and get your choice of specialization.

More to come.

[Gwyndor]

Bullroarer updates are still a little ways out, but here is what you should know.

Minor Updates

When our next Bullroarer opens you will have access to the following changes:

Elf Camp & Orc Camp back at their original place.

Man I can't wait. Been a strong proponent of this for many, many years.

I haven't posted much at all in recent months, not since Fantus came to town. I've played little in fact in the last twelve months. Partly due to work commitment, another reason the game itself: bad action, bad lag, bad all round experience. But now that wheels are starting to move - like really noticeably move - I'm beginning to get excited again.

My wish-list for the Moors is considerable, the overhaul it required being extensive. EC and OC was high on the list. It's a seemingly simple change that could and should have happened years ago. So thrilled it's finally coming. For the first time in a long, long time I'm genuinely optimistic.

Because there's been too many false dawns..

Thank you Orion for bringing us the sunrise.

[Sindhol]

I'm not at all a fan of the idea to add more PvE to creepside. I don't even like killing slugs on my spider, and that only takes a minute. Also, missions are utterly, irredeemably ####, so if you're going to make any kind of content, never ever use that name for it, or I'll hate it with the fury of a thousand suns from the get-go. Just FYI .


Improving corruption set bonuses is great, but do their base values really need to be nerfed? I feel that they're already a bit underpowered to begin with. My spider runs 3x pmit, 3x tmit, 3x mastery, 1x finesse, 2x morale, and has lower stats in those things than a geared freep would have, and still no crit corruptions, nor capped mastery, and less in-combat healing than most freeps, too.
Also, are the finesse corruptions getting a set bonus now?
Also also, creeps need a +morale/+inc. heal corruption, maybe as a replacer for the power-for-stuff corruptions (because those don't matter in any case).

I'd break it down into a 2x3 system of four sets of corruptions each, replacing all thing-for-thing corruptions:
Attack
- Tact & phys mastery
- Crit & magnitude
- Finesse & attack duration/induction speed

Defence
- Tactical mitigation & resist
- Physical mitigation & bpe
- Morale & crit def & inc heal

Special
- Stealth detection
- Stealth level
- Attack/heal range (as the legacies)
- AoE targets (as the legacies)

Each corruption offers about 1.5x the current values in raw rating. Then each set has bonuses for having multiple of the same:
- 2 of the same: +5% mits/morale/resist/crit chance or -10% attack duration or +20% mastery, as appropriate. Mastery needs a higher percentage to be equally relevant.
- 3 of the same: a proc that allows you to "spool up" and grow in long fights. For example, with 3x crit corruption, if you crit, you get a 1% crit chance buff for 30s, can proc once per 5s, additional procs refresh the duration and stack up to 10x, expires out of combat. (This would bring creep crit chance in line with freep crit chance--freeps have a lot of crit chance traits and legacies and armour--but only in long fights.) The idea being that when you have a large fight, people who stay up (instead of being rezzed all the time) are notably tougher and worth going after.
- 4 of the same: a tactical skill unlock (i.e. a skill that's not in your rotation but used tactically). E.g. with 4x crit corruption, you get Aim. With 4x pmit/bpe corruption, you get Pledge. With 4x mastery, you get Burn Hot (but with tactical damage/healing boosted as well). With 4x morale, you get Catch a Breath.

Now your corruptions provide adequate stats, and actually change the way you play. Woop woop!

[BlitzKr1eg]

As for BA, dont you think CD for strong pull is a bit much? Makes it very hard to keep up the new corruption buff, and you can't have a fluid ranged rotation, you end up standing there for a sec or two with all ranged skills on CD. Also any ideas about "Flaming Arrow", it used to be the bread and butter skill for BA, now its completely useless since dmg is incredibly low and Freeps have tons of ways to cure wounds these days. "Fire-trap" is also extremely underwhelming considering the induction and how enemies have to stand in a tiny area to get hit.

Reaver I just tested briefly, felt like the class do way too little dmg for a melee class that is out in the front, also survivability is difficult, at least compared to Champs... Unbalance seems still to be a problem, since you end up seing classes like LM/RKs/Wardens/Rvr/warg way less than classes like BA/Def/Champ/Hunt/Minstrel etc.

In general I also think heal tagging and the amount of self heals (especially for certain classes) have ruined much of the fun that PVP used to be. Im also guessing that auto-flips isn't solved?

It also quite awful that maximum range is even greater now for both sides (46m BA, 50m Hunters)...

[Xerxes2007]

Do you have any plans for freep gear? I see the every day guys that are running around in the 35, or is it 36, audacity gear and they seem to be able to compete. But I'm in the purple stuff and just get immediately targeted and blown up. I don't play enough out there to get enough commendations for the good stuff, it will take me months. I want to play with the regulars sometimes, but not going to bother if it just means getting blown the heck up over and over.

I'm told you can farm newly created creeps with the intro quest for commendations but that seems like cheating, and frankly a colossal waste of time.