Update 6: Commendations Developer Diary

[Muzzard]

This sounds great, I am quite impressed actually. I hope you go through with it.

[Sapience]

No earned DP will be lost. All DP you currently have acquired will remain on your account after Update 6. However, once update 6 launches, only leveling your Freep character will accrue DP. There are no other mechanisms for earning it after update 6.

The suggestion to spend it now is aimed primarily at creeps as they will be unable to spend their DP on creep side post Update 6. So if you have something you want to spend DP on for your creep, do it before Update 6 is released.

Commendations will be the new "Ettenmoors currency".

[Thorgrum]

You know, I see this complaint from time to time, so I'd like to know, what exactly are the disparities between creeps and freeps?

Dps? Okay, fair enough.

What about morale? Right.

OOC run speed? Right.

Aoe in combat rezzes? Right.

Store skills? Right.

Skins/cosmetics? Right.

Mits we're admittedly a nerf, and are being addressed.

Did I miss anything?

Nothing in the moors is ever going to be perfectly equal, and life isn't always fair. This is a game. If you don't enjoy it and aren't having fun, maybe you should just leave.

What I want to know...I mean what I REALLY want to know is......why can I stay on my creep charecter select screen indefinately, yet my freep charecter select screen logs me out after a brief period of inactivity?!?!?

Talk about disparity! Lolz!

I’m flattered you went back and pulled some quotes from me. I’m glad I have been consistent that was my goal. I’ll take it one at a time:

1. DPS: The damage disparity is huge when we factor in critical hits. I have R10 toons on my creep server that cannot match the damage output of freeps. I think you will be hard pressed to find creeps and freeps who believe there is balance here, and no I’m not talking about a r4 warg getting a 3k critical. The damage output from uncapping of stats in ROI via the crits hasn’t been adjusted for on creepside. The whole point of the new currency fiasco is to encourage more combat and the victor gets the spoils. Wouldn’t correcting the damage disparity be the first logical step to take before forcing this change?


2. Morale is scaled for damage and it’s too low for creeps. I have an R7 warg little over 11k morale. I get stunned by a LM, A chimp comes in and an RK or hunter from range and in 5 seconds I’m dead with damage ranging from 1k to 7k. Once in a while? Fine, repeatedly night after night day after day, month after month? I don’t think that’s balanced you? Now if I had BA’s who critted regularly behind me, okay I’ll take that. As it is we have BA’s getting crits much less then freeps and they are the OP class of the creep side.


3. OOC run speed: Horse’s, I can’t out run them. Sprints, what’s the cool down on the chimp and guard sprints? My warg sprint is an escape skill, I need it (see item 2), freeps need theirs too. I’m ok with run speed as is right now. Take away the horses, I’d concede advantage creeps.


4. Store skills: you win, advantage creeps. It’s not balanced to have a freep player have to grind out their level, gear and I can log on and with TP buy a lot of skill. However those store bought skills close the disparity in item 1. I’d have no problem at all allowing freeps to buy skills in the store, that’s a big can of worms though…..


5. Mit’s were a nerf after a freep buff (uncapped stats) and took 2 months + (and 2 tries) to bring it back to where it was prior to ROI, so the end result freeps got the uncapped stat buff creeps didn’t get a mit buff to coincide (we actually got a nerf).

Nothing in the moors is ever going to be perfectly equal, and life isn't always fair. This is a game. If you don't enjoy it and aren't having fun, maybe you should just leave.

No kidding really sport? That’s what my CO told me in Iraq too, you an expert on life are you? I know it’s a game and I am having fun. Legit input and pointing out clear disparities doesn’t equate to someone “not having fun” or not understanding this is a game. I enjoy Lotro, I have several toons on multiple servers, I think this part of the game needs to be improved and I am very specific and consistent on what I believe needs to happen.

Did I miss anything?

[Sertsac]

The suggestion to spend it now is aimed primarily at creeps as they will be unable to spend their DP on creep side post Update 6.

So, creeps will no longer have access to DP perks? Will creeps be able to buy equivalent buffs with Commendations?

[DancesInTrees]

...However, once update 6 launches, only leveling your Freep character will accrue DP. There are no other mechanisms for earning it after update 6. ...

Could you please clarify: does this mean that there will no longer be DP quest rewards from repeatables eg from the 21st Hall for Moria instances, and the Hobbit village in Enedwaith (Maur Tulhau)?

[Reximus]

No earned DP will be lost. All DP you currently have acquired will remain on your account after Update 6. However, once update 6 launches, only leveling your Freep character will accrue DP. There are no other mechanisms for earning it after update 6.

The suggestion to spend it now is aimed primarily at creeps as they will be unable to spend their DP on creep side post Update 6. So if you have something you want to spend DP on for your creep, do it before Update 6 is released.

Commendations will be the new "Ettenmoors currency".

Currently there are PvE dailies that reward DP, are those going away? If so how are players supposed to obtain more to buy more perks? Are we being forced to level alts we don't want to keep accruing DP?

[Wibz]

No earned DP will be lost. All DP you currently have acquired will remain on your account after Update 6. However, once update 6 launches, only leveling your Freep character will accrue DP. There are no other mechanisms for earning it after update 6.

The suggestion to spend it now is aimed primarily at creeps as they will be unable to spend their DP on creep side post Update 6. So if you have something you want to spend DP on for your creep, do it before Update 6 is released.

Commendations will be the new "Ettenmoors currency".

Thanks for confirming that this is a pure money making change. Once PvE'ers have used up all their stored DP the only way for them to get the DP perks will be to buy them from the store (or grind alt-leveling)

[VincentVanPort]

Currently there are PvE dailies that reward DP, are those going away? If so how are players supposed to obtain more to buy more perks? Are we being forced to level alts we don't want to keep accruing DP?

No you are supposed to buy the buffs from the store, since they offer the same effects.

[Keirion]

No earned DP will be lost. All DP you currently have acquired will remain on your account after Update 6. However, once update 6 launches, only leveling your Freep character will accrue DP. There are no other mechanisms for earning it after update 6.

What's happening to the reward for newer instances or for session plays?

Most importantly, what's happening to the cost and the reward for chicken session play?

[duamarth]

However, once update 6 launches, only leveling your Freep character will accrue DP. There are no other mechanisms for earning it after update 6.

Then this is total garbage. You are, for all practical purposes (since leveling is not a good source of DP and since many players will run out of their supply quickly or sometime after) taking away from paying customers a whole group of products--all the DP bonuses we can now get from casual and ettenmoors game play--and making us pay extra via the store if we want to use them. These statements are conditional on whether no other changes will be made, such as making DP points available via gameplay in other, comparable ways, which has been suggested in others posts by devs.

[Oldwiley]

Dilbert indeed.

I don't know why some folks are still asking about quest rewards, shell shock I can only presume, - it is clear, unless you rince repeat levelling to obtain dp's for heavens sakes, then dp's are being phased out so that the store is required for buffs.

What this means to me is that there is no longer any point in maintaining my Vip sub. I for one will not be using the store for consumables or for buffs, so they just removed the main source of revenue from me.

So having made it clear the purpose of removing dp's is a direct move to revenue raising, back to my previous point, since there is no detailed information, it appears that freeps will now continue to make pots through crafting, while creeps decent pots will rely on multiple kills to obtain. Great. Because in order to move towards a more balanced approach, it was necessary to undermine the most basic of tools.

[DancesInTrees]

Dilbert indeed.

I don't know why some folks are still asking about quest rewards, shell shock I can only presume, - it is clear, unless you rince repeat levelling to obtain dp's for heavens sakes, then dp's are being phased out so that the store is required for buffs. ...

Yes you are probably right, but I wanted to give them once last chance to reply. I expect continued silence though.

Ah well, I guess I'd better go collect boar poo while I can!

[Fledermaus]

No earned DP will be lost. All DP you currently have acquired will remain on your account after Update 6. However, once update 6 launches, only leveling your Freep character will accrue DP. There are no other mechanisms for earning it after update 6.

The suggestion to spend it now is aimed primarily at creeps as they will be unable to spend their DP on creep side post Update 6. So if you have something you want to spend DP on for your creep, do it before Update 6 is released.

Commendations will be the new "Ettenmoors currency".

So creeps won`t even be able to spend already banked DP on perks like buffs?

If so, this is a clarification of the diary, which seemed to say that it was only skills and traits that would no longer be purchasable for DP.

Could you confirm that after Update 6, creeps will be unable to spend banked DP on anything?

[Thorgrum]

So creeps won`t even be able to spend already banked DP on perks like buffs?

If so, this is a clarification of the diary, which seemed to say that it was only skills and traits that would no longer be purchasable for DP.

Could you confirm that after Update 6, creeps will be unable to spend banked DP on anything?

You need to read the post you quoted.

The suggestion to spend it now is aimed primarily at creeps as they will be unable to spend their DP on creep side post Update 6.

unable to spend their DP on creepside should have been the give away.

[Ellerian]

However, once update 6 launches, only leveling your Freep character will accrue DP.

Well I have to say that if this is true, then LOTRO will be uninstalled from my computer. I'm fed up of the store taking over everything.

[Sertsac]

You need to read the post you quoted.

Call me Pollyanna, but I hope Sapience misstated. Not that I find the DP perks particularly useful, but it is somewhat disquieting to think that already overpowered freeps will have access to additional buffs (at least until they run out of DP) that creeps cannot access.

[abc0815]

Seems alot are missing the:

Commendations will be the new "Ettenmoors currency".

So no more PvE farm to pimp the PvP char. Seems logical to me

[Oldwiley]

Seems alot are missing the:

Commendations will be the new "Ettenmoors currency".

So no more PvE farm to pimp the PvP char. Seems logical to me

This is true only if crafted pots are not usable on the moors? Am doubting it... but since they are remaining silent am increasingly certain of it..

[Sapience]

If so, this is a clarification of the diary, which seemed to say that it was only skills and traits that would no longer be purchasable for DP.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. You won't be able to buy the skills and traits any longer. As stated in the dev diary.

For those concerned about the perks post DP exhaustion, we're looking at other ways to add them to the game. The store will not be your only option.

[Hirion_of_Dale]

For those concerned about the perks post DP exhaustion, we're looking at other ways to add them to the game. The store will not be your only option.

So, what is exactly the use of DP if they can neither been used for PvPM nor for PvE perks?

[godsservant1]

Wow this is really discouraging. I don't creep but I do raid both in the moors and PvE. I use DP sometimes to boost my stats in the PvE raids. Knowing that I will most likely not level multiple alts to get enough DP, I will most likely not keep my DP for very long. Turbine, please don't allow this change to take place. It will cause both your freep player base and creep player base to become very unhappy. No one wants to keep forking over money for stuff that we have gotten for free for all these years.

[Oldwiley]

Sorry, I wasn't clear. You won't be able to buy the skills and traits any longer. As stated in the dev diary.

For those concerned about the perks post DP exhaustion, we're looking at other ways to add them to the game. The store will not be your only option.

Could you confirm if creeps will only be able to buy pots/dof pots with the new commmendations and how this links to freep crafted pots please. A definative answer on this issue would be greatly appreciated.

[Thorgrum]

Call me Pollyanna, but I hope Sapience misstated. Not that I find the DP perks particularly useful, but it is somewhat disquieting to think that already overpowered freeps will have access to additional buffs (at least until they run out of DP) that creeps cannot access.

I won’t call you names, this is like a first date for you and I (I don’t think I have replied to you ever), the bad behavior doesn’t begin for a while. I find it unlikely Sapience mis spoke, even if he did you would be wise not to point it out. Freeps won’t have DP to spend in the moors, they will have commendations just like creep players. Sadly this is an unnecessary change players didn’t ask for, even though turbine is “powered by their fans”.

It’s beginning to look more and more like the tact of trying to affect positive change is a waste of time. Apathy is beginning to win.

[Lurkerinthemist]

So what I'm seeing is, creeps with xxx,xxx's of DP saved will not be able to buy the DP perks after U6, but freeps with xxx,xxx's DP saved will? This seems like a self-terminating issue, but still...

Nice. huh.

[Skro-Noleth]

No earned DP will be lost. All DP you currently have acquired will remain on your account after Update 6. However, once update 6 launches, only leveling your Freep character will accrue DP. There are no other mechanisms for earning it after update 6.

Does this mean that DP currently earned via instances/raids quests will disappear, or is it included in the "levelling your Freep" part?

Regards,
Skro