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Title: Character Wipe Post by: Arthur_Parker on October 20, 2006, 02:48:47 PM http://beta.lotro.com/showthread.php?&postid=67652#post67652
Quote Greetings! Thanks again to all of you for participating in the LOTRO Beta Program. You’ve probably noticed that we’ve been updating the game every two weeks, and this coming Thursday, October 26 is no exception. This update requires us to do the first character wipe since the Beta Program began. Something that many people have been looking forward to will be going live in this next update – the Ered Luin starter experiences for elves and dwarves will be available! We’re really excited about this, and hope you like them. The team thought it would be fun to have a “farewell” party for everyone before the wipe, so meet us at the Party Tree at 8PM eastern on Wednesday, October 25th for some fun! Admins will be on hand to give away items and perhaps wreak a little havoc in the Shire. Hope to see you there! -Meghan Ho Hum :( Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: WayAbvPar on October 20, 2006, 03:21:24 PM I am secretly glad. I decided that I hate my dwarf and will now be forced to reroll. May try a new class too...maybe Captain or Guardian.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Strazos on October 20, 2006, 03:48:28 PM I guess I'll reroll my Captain, and actually name him Strazos this time.
At least from what I played, I did not like burglers in this game. Which is a shame, because I usually like rogues. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Rasix on October 20, 2006, 04:01:48 PM I'll probably make a dwarf minstrel named "Spoony". Hunters, loremasters and burglars seem too gimpy to even bother with. From what little I played of a burglar, it was painfully boring.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: WayAbvPar on October 20, 2006, 04:02:48 PM Rogue classes are traditionally the last to get love in these games it seems. Although the Loremaster was in dire need of some attention last time I played one as well...
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Strazos on October 20, 2006, 04:48:02 PM I kind of liked the idea of the channled dots that Loremasters have...they were just very weak, and most of their other lowbie spells were fairly useless.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: WayAbvPar on October 20, 2006, 04:56:19 PM The problem with the channeled DOTs is that they were your primary attack for the most part, and you couldn't use any other powers while using it. It needs to be an instant, or A LOT more powerful/damaging.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Signe on October 20, 2006, 04:57:21 PM Damn. I was going to make a dwarf named Spoony, too! :| And one named Forky. And Spatula!
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Arthur_Parker on October 20, 2006, 05:00:46 PM I'm hoping they add race traits this build, class traits make a big difference to your more powerful skills later on. There's a slight UO feel to getting class traits based on your skill usage which I hope they expand on. Think I'm going to create another Guardian, not keen on being nerfed again and it's probably the safest.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Yegolev on October 20, 2006, 07:27:40 PM Damn. I was going to make a dwarf named Spoony, too! :| And one named Forky. And Spatula! Did you get the joke and are just being Signe? I'm not trying to be insulting, I'm really curious. I might even explain it to you. I like the idea of handing out items prior to a character wipe. Kinda sums up the whole of MMORPG history in one nice GM event that I probably will miss. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Cheddar on October 20, 2006, 09:43:46 PM Entire thing feels like Asherons Call 2. And just like AC2, I WANT to be there, I want to enjoy it. I WANT to ignore my kids for it; but something is missing.
Maybe its grammar snake. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Signe on October 20, 2006, 09:47:23 PM Damn. I was going to make a dwarf named Spoony, too! :| And one named Forky. And Spatula! Did you get the joke and are just being Signe? I'm not trying to be insulting, I'm really curious. I might even explain it to you. I like the idea of handing out items prior to a character wipe. Kinda sums up the whole of MMORPG history in one nice GM event that I probably will miss. I do and I am. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Xanthippe on October 21, 2006, 01:53:42 PM I don't and I'm not.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: NiX on October 21, 2006, 01:55:44 PM I can't and I wish I was.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Xanthippe on October 21, 2006, 08:06:43 PM I want to try something that doesn't fill me with frustration. I.e, the fotm class.
Which is that one, now? Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Trippy on October 21, 2006, 08:35:20 PM I want to try something that doesn't fill me with frustration. I.e, the fotm class. At the moment I would say Guardian or Minstrel. They might be making a number of balance changes with this upcoming patch, though, so that could change.Which is that one, now? Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Yegolev on October 21, 2006, 11:43:28 PM Even post-nerf, my guardian is pretty impenetrable. Even with vendor equipment.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: NiX on October 22, 2006, 08:49:20 AM How are captains?
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Johny Cee on October 22, 2006, 12:40:58 PM Captain seems pretty solid. I was killing same level elites, mobs a couple levels higher, or multiple mobs on mine. Only leveled to 15 though.
The lore-master has uninteresting combat. Debuff pull, cast dot, sic pet, cast dot, maybe staff mob once. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I have no experience with the rest of the classes. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Lt.Dan on October 22, 2006, 05:14:00 PM Did Captains get a boost? They were second most boring next to Loremasters when I tried one out (only to level 10 though).
Looking forward to new starting zones though. I hope they don't wipe when they go live - that would be a fair reward for testing Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Arthur_Parker on October 24, 2006, 03:28:00 AM I reached the current level cap of 40 on Saturday and have been messing about a bit.
Some random thoughts. As a Level 40 Guardian I can solo a level 42 and a level 43 at the same time, couldn't handle a third mob even blowing all my timers. Nice items that drop and are level 41 restricted are really annoying. They need a lot more loot and they need it for each level not just in 2-3 level steps. Soloing grey elites takes way way too long as you can't use your special abilities, items wear out too fast. Visting grey instances such as the one in north downs are very good for jewelry items from the chests, I expect them to be farmed quite a bit. Named Elites in instances seem to drop a predictable range of items like WoW, I hate that and would prefer it to be random, otherwise there becomes a set "best" item for each slot at each level for each class and a defined way of obtaining it. In a game that suffers from a lack of customised character options I don't see the logic in encouraging players to obtain the same items. It's very nice that mobs drop items based on what you would expect them to drop, animals drop hide etc, if you want armour and weapons then expect to hunt humans, orcs, goblins or undead. That's logical and I approve, but as the crafting system kinda blows at the minute getting aggro from animals at level 40 is a pain in the arse as they won't drop anything useful. I expect the real cap of level 50 to suffer the same, so crafting is going to have to make extensive use of animal drops or all the non-animal spawns will be camped. I really like the fact that there's a mob of a detached undead arm and the only things lootable from them are rings. Conjunctions seem a bit flakey, spent quite a while in a couple of groups and either players take ages to pick a colour for a conjunction or the system still needs a bit of work. Successful conjunctions seem to reduce the need for parties to be made up of specific classes, so that's nice but starting conjunctions appears random, I'd prefer some player choice/skill to be involved. I found a hole in the zone in the Misty mountains, was able to walk around the outside of zones really far up in the sky. They seem to have built an awful lot of land area that won't be used, far to the north east of Ered Luin you can see river beds, it's all without textures but the land mass of middle earth is well defined. Angmar has had some nice work done on zone music and the colour of the sky changes to black smoke with volcanic traces, it also seems to have an area that restricts visibility, I couldn't see much on the ground. I made it over to Ered Luin, there's a massive Dwarf statue in Thorgin's gate, I couldn't reach the ground so again it was hard to see much detail. At the minute LOTRO looks like it will suffer from the same problems as WoW, the leveling up process with faster exp is quite enjoyable but at max level it's going to turn into raids for better items. Crafting is a bare bones system that needs a lot of improvement and no idea what pvp is going to be like, especially as so many classes have aggro handling skills as part of their limited skill set, so pvp combat might be even simplier than pve. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Viin on October 24, 2006, 07:42:27 PM There's a character wipe in 2 days? Crap! My level 8 Champion was getting on a roll!
I don't understand this need to stretch out the leveling experience - why does it have to take 6 months to a year to max out? What's wrong with reaching max level in a month or two? I say the leveling experience should be there to teach you how to play your class. Once you hit max level you should be into the main course of the game. And! If you do that, you can develop 90% of your content to that max level and max level groups (raids, areas, quests, whatever). Anyways - I'm having fun, but it really is WoW with a slightly different setting and graphics style. But I haven't played all that much, so maybe there's something amazing out there that's just so much better than WoW but I haven't seen it yet. (Even crafting is the same! It's almost the same exact interface!) Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Engels on October 24, 2006, 09:18:03 PM For me, its as good as WoW, but without the moronic insulting infantile cartoon graphics, so I like it better. Plus, there seems to be a bit more skill involved with fighting, and the different combat combos I can do as a Hunter in LoTR are more interesting than anything I could do in WoW.
That said, the graphic animations need work, lots of work. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Yegolev on October 25, 2006, 06:54:45 AM As much as I liked WoW's improvements to MOG quests, I like LOTRO's improvements to WoW's quests. I'm not under any sort of illusion as to what sort of game this is, and taken as a formulaic offering I find it rather nice. I hope that the jackass ratio stays low after retail, because I like that a lot. I'd like it to stay PvE, but peer pressure is a bitch.
I actually find it more similar to EQ2 than WoW, but using the best bits from both can only be good. I have also had a couple "Ah, neat" moments and I haven't even gotten past level ten, so there is definite potential. I never once said "Ah, neat" when testing Asheron's Call. I believe that they are going to have a new crafting system in place after the wipe... did I read that in the notes? Also: the constellations are in accordance with the lore. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Engels on October 25, 2006, 09:12:02 AM Constellations? Splain plz.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Yegolev on October 25, 2006, 09:21:01 AM In the olden days, people would pass the time by imagining shapes in the patterns of stars in the heavens. These are called constellations, and are given common names since apparently lots of people could see a big question mark in the sky. The fake sky in the simulated Middle-Earth closely resembles the real sky in Middle Earth.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Engels on October 25, 2006, 09:25:20 AM Oh, heh heh. Thought you meant some obstrues game mechanic.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Yegolev on October 25, 2006, 12:39:10 PM Any chance to be a jerk, I'll take it.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Johny Cee on October 25, 2006, 08:25:57 PM On quests:
Some really interesting stuff here. I only just hit the Shire for the first time, and there appear to be lots of quests in the non-combat vein. The "collect eggs and avoid the rooster" one, "deliver mail and avoid nosey hobbits", and "deliver pie and dodge hungry hobbits" ones.... as well as the "deliver water to spring and avoid mobs in a time limit" one near Combe (I think). I liked most of the "run over there and collect roses/athelas/Preparation H" quests. I'd like to see more of this kind of quest, less "kill X number of mob Y" unless it makes sense. Killing some wolves to get pelts for a fur trapper is fine, randomly killing 10 wild hogs for the Constable feels out-of-place. Nice touchs on the dynamic quest items. Make them more available through other means (stealth in to get Brigands Secret Diary after luring off the stealth-detecting guard, or some such). On combat: As a two-handed Captain, it was alright. Your toon feels fairly tough for his level, not like some games where you see an even con coming and you need to back off. The basics feel pretty solid. As Engels said, needs more color/snazz. More animations, flashier moves or effects. If I hit a mob with a Captain shout/Minst song, make him cover his ears for a second. I use the captain's haste-thingy, blur me a bit. Give the impression that the abilities are doing what they claim. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Xilren's Twin on October 26, 2006, 01:17:07 PM Hopefully, this phase will include yet another round of beta invites....
I mean got a new dual core box to test on and everything, but noooo, more Oblivian for me. Not that Im bitter. Xilren Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Strazos on October 28, 2006, 06:28:59 AM Well, seems I will not be playing this at all for the time being.
I got through the tutorial fine with my new toon, but once I got into Archet, the game started to crash...violently. First it locks up, then I lose the video feed, then I get a hit-pitch whine out of my speakers. Only resetting the system from my tower itself fixes the problem. I've tried twice to play, with the same exact result both times. Oh well. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Trippy on October 28, 2006, 07:39:45 AM Well, seems I will not be playing this at all for the time being. If you can get to the options screen try turning down all the graphics settings.I got through the tutorial fine with my new toon, but once I got into Archet, the game started to crash...violently. First it locks up, then I lose the video feed, then I get a hit-pitch whine out of my speakers. Only resetting the system from my tower itself fixes the problem. I've tried twice to play, with the same exact result both times. Oh well. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Engels on October 28, 2006, 09:29:16 AM Could also be an audio setting. Set it to whatever option isn't currently selected. My game was using the Nvidia audio drivers, and when I switched it to Hardware instead, it sounded a thousand times better.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Xanthippe on October 28, 2006, 03:31:45 PM Made Xanthippe the female man, today hate how she smirks. She's becoming an elf today I think.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Viin on October 28, 2006, 04:32:20 PM Careful with the elf thing - folks are stuck in the tutorial mission.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Xanthippe on October 28, 2006, 05:09:33 PM I now have two full bags and am halfway to level 3 due to restarting the tutorial. It's pretty bugged.
Le sigh. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Arthur_Parker on October 28, 2006, 05:50:44 PM It's a lot harder to play a Guardian at low levels now, I don't remember it being such a struggle before the changes. It's started to pick up again now I have heavy armour though, a couple of lucky magic weapon drops helped as well. If you see a signature mob around your level, kill it for a good chance of a decent drop, they look like elites but it's possible to solo one at about the same level.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Trippy on October 28, 2006, 05:57:07 PM I now have two full bags and am halfway to level 3 due to restarting the tutorial. It's pretty bugged. The forum has some workarounds. I don't know why Turbine hasn't patched that yet.Le sigh. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Engels on October 28, 2006, 06:02:04 PM Board ate my post on this.
I got through it by standing to the right of the gate where the troll is, making sure I'm not in line of sight, and making sure I had no NPC's selected. After the stun, for some reason, you recover if you're in this spot. I hear its not an exact science. Edit: Aparently, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I presume I was lucky. If you are dead set on playin an elf, like I am, just log out for 5 min and try again. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Viin on October 28, 2006, 08:02:15 PM I can't even get the troll to break down the door - I've only had him do that once.. and then Elrond and the troll stared at each other for 5 mins.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Signe on October 29, 2006, 05:03:14 AM I was level 3 and had 10 silver worth of items before I got out of the elf newbie instance.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Engels on October 29, 2006, 06:38:59 AM !
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Signe on October 29, 2006, 07:41:42 AM Well, most of the items are from the dead bloke who's body you have to rob. The first several times, I didn't even realise I still had those items on me. I'm not great at noticing things. Then, of course, I killed those 5 mobs so many times. Then, I would get stuck at the HUGE monster gate where either he couldn't knock it down or he would have a staring contest like Viin said, while I swayed, dumbfounded. I did bug the item thingy, but not sure it matters much.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Viin on October 29, 2006, 10:26:51 AM I was able to get through the Elven tutorial instance by following these instructions from the forums:
Quote After your quest guy runs to the troll attacked gate and gets there go down the path after him, but don't pass the bushes that you see on your left next to the building.(Your proximity would triggers gate crash too early if you got to close) Watch the troll swings and time it so you run up and are between the 2 npcs as he pulls back for another swing, giving you time to get to the gate. Just stand there and all should be fine. - Reannna Does anyone know how to enter the default channels? I closed them not knowing that turning off the filter for them on the General tab actually kicks you from the channel.. I just wanted OOC and stuff on a different tab but now I can't get to those channels at all. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Engels on October 29, 2006, 11:04:40 AM I think you just reselect them again. I did the same in the General tab for OOC, kicking me out. I just selected them again, and I rejoined them just fine.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Viin on October 29, 2006, 01:11:11 PM I think you just reselect them again. I did the same in the General tab for OOC, kicking me out. I just selected them again, and I rejoined them just fine. I thought I had tried that, but maybe I need to relog after selecting them again.. last time I tried I reselect but never got the 'joined channel' message and doing /ooc says you aren't on any ooc channel. Its silly it's required to be on, on the general tab, anyways. What if I don't want it there? :P Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Arthur_Parker on October 29, 2006, 03:15:41 PM As a Level 18 Guardian I can't fight for shit, just died to 3 level 14 mobs. It wasn't bad luck, I wasn't unprepared, three level 12's are difficult, the level 14's just kicked my arse.
It might improve in a few levels but I wonder if the Turbine curse is starting to take effect. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Signe on October 29, 2006, 04:12:28 PM I don't know! Guardian used to be pretty soloable last build.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Xanthippe on October 30, 2006, 12:36:32 PM I've worked up my fortitude to attempt the elf again.
Halfway to level 3, 2 full bags, going to try to get out of the tutorial zone. Man! This is a hard tutorial! Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Xanthippe on October 30, 2006, 01:12:42 PM Now level 3, have 3 full bags and a title, I've tried everything people have suggested. Still can't get past the ogre/gate bug.
Not only that, but some dildo is saying that I am just trying to stir up trouble and purposefully doing it wrong just to cause trouble. Because he told me EXACTLY how to do it, and I haven't yet. So it's my fault! Fuck it. I'm done for the day. I thought WoW had a shitty playerbase, but I'll take 1337 d00ds over fucktard fanbois any day of the week. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Signe on October 30, 2006, 02:23:34 PM Fucktard's name is Aeguil. We should all put him on ignore for picking on our Xanthippe. If it gives a message, it'll drive him nuts trying to figure out why so many people hate him. Hopefully.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Arthur_Parker on October 30, 2006, 02:57:07 PM Guardian skill Sting costs 44 power gives base damage +3
Guardian skill Vexing blow costs 14 power gives base damage +11 I don't think they have a clue what the fuck they are doing with the Guardian. At level 18 I killed a level 23 Orc and got about 60 xp points but if I get agro from two level 13 mobs at the same time, it weakens me so much I have to rest, three level 13 mobs might well kill me. A level 13 mobs gives about 5 xp. At level 19 most quests around my level now require a fellowship, though few people group. So I think sod it, join a group and then listen to some numpty talking about boiling water, making noodles and "I'm so hungry lol". I just want to shoot people. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Arthur_Parker on October 31, 2006, 04:00:49 PM Now level 3, have 3 full bags and a title, I've tried everything people have suggested. Still can't get past the ogre/gate bug. Not only that, but some dildo is saying that I am just trying to stir up trouble and purposefully doing it wrong just to cause trouble. Because he told me EXACTLY how to do it, and I haven't yet. So it's my fault! Fuck it. I'm done for the day. I thought WoW had a shitty playerbase, but I'll take 1337 d00ds over fucktard fanbois any day of the week. Hotfix tomorrow. http://beta.lotro.com/showthread.php?&postid=78968#post78968 Quote The Arwen server will be unavailable from 10am until 2pm EST on Wednesday, November 1st as we publish an update to fix the bug in the Elven starter experience. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Xanthippe on October 31, 2006, 04:26:38 PM Oh goodie.
I started a dwarf (Gidget) but something about playing a male-looking toon just bothers me! I don't see how you manginas can stand the genderbending. I like Xanthippe the elf. I want to play Xanthippe the elf. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Trippy on October 31, 2006, 04:37:13 PM I started a dwarf (Gidget) but something about playing a male-looking toon just bothers me! I don't see how you manginas can stand the genderbending. We're broken like that.Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Signe on October 31, 2006, 04:43:01 PM My dwarf is named Bertha. I'm going to pester Calladryl into giving her boobies.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Xanthippe on October 31, 2006, 04:47:51 PM I would be happy with Gidget, beard and all, if she had boobies.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Signe on October 31, 2006, 04:49:25 PM I know. I can't play male characters either. They just feel off balance.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Engels on October 31, 2006, 05:11:29 PM boobies are wierd in this game. its as if the gals are all flat-chested so they stuffed hamburgers into their bras. horizontally aligned hamburgers, with an ever so slight tilt.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Xanthippe on November 02, 2006, 07:35:23 AM Got my elf guardian Xanthippe out of the tutorial.
At level 4, fighting level 2 mobs, shouldn't they be a little easier? I had enough stuff to sell that I could upgrade all my armor with the best available from merchants. Trying to feel more motivated toward logging in, but am struggling with motivating. The combat seems slow or something. More like slogging than fighting. Reminds me of EQ2 fighting more than it reminds me of CoX or WoW fighting. Which is a bad thing. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Arthur_Parker on November 02, 2006, 11:11:57 AM Try a champion, Guardians are not fun pre 20 imho, too weak, die too fast, they pick up again after 20.
A lot of it is to do with the new stupid to hit and damage bonus that lower level mobs get when attacking a higher level player character. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Xanthippe on November 02, 2006, 01:42:18 PM A lot of it is to do with the new stupid to hit and damage bonus that lower level mobs get when attacking a higher level player character. I can't imagine why anyone would think that is a good thing to do. WTF? Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Signe on November 02, 2006, 03:44:52 PM I'm glad I made it through the Elf starter instance with something that I don't mind playing. I can't imagine trying to get through it again. At the moment, I'm having good fun with FFXII, anyway. I'm sure I'll be fiddling with lotro again sometime soon... I flit often.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Azazel on November 06, 2006, 03:14:18 AM The posts in this thread make me not want to bother logging in again.
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Yegolev on November 06, 2006, 09:32:45 AM Me too, oddly enough, even though I didn't have any problems at all with the snow troll. Then again, this is what happens whenever I read forums for pretty much any MOG. Thanks, complainers, for ruining my fun!
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: WayAbvPar on November 06, 2006, 09:51:16 AM I am actually having a bit of fun with my guardian. I started up a Hunter as well and got her to level 3. Hunters seem sort of gimpy early on. Anyone play one to higher levels?
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Rasix on November 06, 2006, 09:55:39 AM If FFXII ever starts sucking, I'll give this another go. Right now my time is just stretched to thin to play multiple games. (My irrigation system got broken by a shitty landscaper (he won't fix it, dick), I've got an hour talk to give to a technical conference, tennis, wife, work overload.. I NEED A CLONE).
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Signe on November 06, 2006, 10:20:07 AM I know... me, too. FFXII is seriously not sucking.
Please don't clone yourself! PLEASE! Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Trippy on November 06, 2006, 04:35:57 PM I am actually having a bit of fun with my guardian. I started up a Hunter as well and got her to level 3. Hunters seem sort of gimpy early on. Anyone play one to higher levels? Yeah Hunters do start off a bit weak but grow to become single target killing machines of doom. Unfortunately taking on more than one at a time is problematic because it's way too easy to interrupt your incredibly long bow firing animation. In contrast Minstrels get insta-cast DD spells nearly comparable to the Hunters specal bow attacks *and* can fire them off on the move. With Hunters there's a delay even after you stop moving before you can fire your bow and you can't move if you want to use some of the better skills.Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Arthur_Parker on November 06, 2006, 04:54:12 PM I'm enjoying it still, Guardian is a lot better post 20, they have said they intend to buff the Guardians damage output soon which is good as an Elite at -5 levels is death 50% of the time. They buffed lower level mobs to make them a challenge, I think that's stupid but whatever, it does make lower level quests more difficult which I don't mind, but it forces you to group for the majority of the fellowship quests, even if they are well below you in levels, which I do mind.
So as usual my main complaint with this type of game is the players. Every group I have joined recently insists on picking a player for each colour in an ideal conjunction chain they want to achieve. Despite the fact that you know at least half of the group will have the reaction speed of heavy drug users. So instead of using common sense and picking green when we need healed, blue for when we need mana, red for damage and yellow when feeling funky, a complex red blue yellow green order is chosen. I have never even seen half of one of these complex chains complete, so immediately after the failed conjunction Mr "I'm in charge" starts bitching about colour choice again. This is compared to one group I was in a week ago, when everyone picked whatever they liked and no surprise, most of the time we just hit 6 reds and watched some mob get stomped into the ground. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: WayAbvPar on November 07, 2006, 11:53:43 AM I have no (Middle) earthly idea how conjunctions work. I got the option for one in a PUG the other day and randomly selected an icon, but I was totally clueless. Can you give me the lowdown?
Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Arthur_Parker on November 07, 2006, 01:04:34 PM They changed it recently so read the change first and then the Conjunction FAQ.
Change (http://beta.lotro.com/showpost.php?p=59883&postcount=79) Quote I want to give you a heads-up on some changes to Conjunctions that will be going live with the next update. There have been a lot of changes based on your feedback and internal testing to try to make them a little easier to use. The "vulnerability" concept is gone, you will no longer see the shimmering orb over the heads of your opponents. Instead you will automatically open a Conjunction attempt at random when in a Fellowship and while attacking an enemy that is rated as a "Signature" or tougher opponent. The Burglar is still the master of Conjunction initiation and can start them with skill reliably on any opponent as before. The time for contributing to a Conjunction attempt has been extended to account for the removal of the "vulnerability" concept. The "Conjunction initiator" skills have been removed, you no longer need them. Enjoy the free quickslot. You cannot open an Conjunction attempt on an opponent unless you are tapped to them. Attempts are now only available to the Fellowship that is tapped to the victim. Loremaster pets, Hunter traps, and other objects that fight on your behalf can now open Conjunction attempts for your Fellowship. The Conjunction UI will no longer display unless there is at least one other Fellowship member nearby to contribute to an attempt. You can now move the attempt and contribution displays, use Ctrl-\ to show the hidden drag bars for these two UI components. There are many new Conjunctions for you to discover... have fun experimenting! I will be looking for your feedback on the forums, please be sure to post your thoughts and any issues you come across once you've had a chance to try out the new changes. I'm especially interested in hearing thoughts on the new initiation scheme, and also about whether the frequency of the random attempts is too often, too infrequent, or just right. Thanks for your help! Conjunction FAQ (http://beta.lotro.com/showthread.php?t=834) Quote from: Xeo People keep asking about this so I decided to write a short (read: extremely long and confusing) FAQ. Conjunctions are just a little confusing at first, but... once you start doing them a little and find out a bit more, they become very, very confusing. Here goes: First, a few basic clarifications on conjunctions: 1) Only signature mobs and higher become randomly vulnerable to conjunctions. Regular only become vulnerable to conjunctions if a burglar or guardian causes a vulnerability. 2) All classes get a conjunction trigger ability (Conjunction initiation) around level 8. 3) Conjunctions triggers can only be used on vulnerable mobs. 4) Mobs become vulnerable by themselves sometimes, albeit rarely. This is illustrated by a bluish-red globe above the monster's head, and a message that "<name> has let his guard down!". Under the mobs portrait, you can see a little blue icon that indicates vulnerability. 5) Burglar has an ability to cause the mob to become vulnerable, so does the Guardian. Look below. 6) Once a trigger is used, a quad-color wheel pops up on your screen and combat is paused. 7) Everyone nearby picks a color, and the conjuction is resolved. 8) If you don't have the conjunction mob targetted at the time the conjunction is initiated, you will get a target icon in its place, which you have to click in order to get to the "wheel". Hurry before it expires! Time to expire seems to very depending on the cause of the vulnerability. The guardian conjunctions seem to be much shorter then the regular vulnerability conjunctions. 9) Conjunction colors have different effects, yellow does damage over time, red does direct damage, green heals, and blue restores power. 10) You must be in the correct range to choose a conjunction color. Mouse over each of the colors in your conjunction tab to find out the range of each conjunction skill of your class. 11) You can only use conjunction initiation if you are a member of a fellowship. 12) There are reports of bugs with the initiation and being a member of a fellowship. Sometimes it will allow you to use a conjunction solo, sometimes not, according to one of my sources. 13) All conjunctions you have used are recorded in your conjunction journal. The journal currently wipes on logout. The Guardian class has two skills that can vulnarabilitize (I made this word up!) a mob. Any mob, swarm to Nemesis (Never saw an Arch-Nemesis yet, so don't know about that). The two skills are called Overwhelm and Thrust. They are both opened up after the guardian successfully parries and utilized the parry chain through their skill called retaliate. You can only do Overwhelm or Thrust once before the for parry chain runs out and you have to re-trigger it. The chance of opening a conjunction with the two skills is fairly low, I would say maybe 5%. This creates an instant conjunction, popping open the colors window. The burglar class also gets a skill to vulnarabilitize the elite mob at about level 10 (They get another one at late 20s allowing for instant conjunction out of stealth or something like that). This skill has a 5 minute timer, and CAN fail (low chance of failure if mob is equal level). Once this is triggered, the mob is vulnerable to conjunctions (glowing ball over the head and a message in chat window). At that point you have to press the skill "initiate conjunction". Anyone can press this skill as long as they are in range of the vulnerabilatized mob, which triggers our magic square of colors! Time to make a conjunction work! There are four colors to use - Red, Green, Yellow and Blue. Yellow and Green are tricky, because the yellow is a little orangy and the green is a little yellowish. The way you can tell the two apart is that the yellow has a spider on the icon. Also, if you go into your conjunction tab you can see that the Green has the name "Conviction Quad" (see below). Yellow has a spider icon and is called "Guile Contribution". Green has an eagle icon and is called "Conviction Quad". Blue has a horse icon and is called "Tactics Quad". Red has a tree icon and is called "Strength Contribution". Immersion Note: If you feel that saying a color like "red" breaks your immersion... Try persuading your fellowship to use Guile, Tactics etc... NOTE: Currently all classes have all four colors. Please disregard the following untili is changed back to the way it was (if it will be). Each class has different colors, and here is the rundown: Minstrel - Red, Blue, Green Champion - Red, Blue, Green Hunter - Red, Yellow, Blue Guardian - Red, Yellow, Green Loremaster - Yellow, Blue, Green Burglar - Red, Yellow, Green Captain - Red, Blue, Green END NOTE By using the initiation ability each class gets at level 8 you can have the triangle of colors pop up on the screen of your fellows who are near the mob. The first person to click a color goes to slot one, second into second and so on, until everyone has used their conjunction. The different combos are recorded in your conjunction journal. Currently, the journal wipes when you log. Some of the conjunctions we used were (order matters!!!): Sinister Plan - Red, Blue, Yellow Clash of Arms - Red, Red - Did damage, quiet a lot actually (red ent stomping animation) Hail of Blows - Red, Red, Red, Red - Did around 1000 damage (red ent stomping animation) Don't know the name - Blue, Blue, Blue - Drained the monsters power (cool blue horse/panther? animation) Don't know the name - Green, Green, Green, Green - Delivered a HUGE heal... Something like 150 health every 5 seconds for 30 seconds Here are some more Conjunctions that worked for us. R= Red B= Blue Y= Yellow G= Green Note: These also works backwards, R/Y/G also works if you do G/Y/R. Hail of Blows - R/R/R/R Sinister Plan - R/B/Y Clash of Arms - R/R Wrath of the Rightous - R/G/Y Strength of the Pure - B/R/G (very powerfull) Will of the Strong - G/Y/B Planned Attack - B/B Rallying Cry - G/G Mustering the Troops - G/G/G Resounding Strikes - R/R/R Deception - Y/Y/Y/Y I realize this is not very usefull, because we are not sure what each does, but with the fullness of time, perhaps this missing part can be filled out. Ok, so you are still confused? Well, here is a basic idea of what to press when your fellowship opens a conjunction and you're sitting there wondering what to press. Red = Instant damage. Use it when you need to kill something quick, fast and in a hurry. Yellow = Damage over time. This is best reserved for mobs with more than 1000 health left since this takes time to work (but overall does more damage than red). Blue = Restores power. If you're in a long drawn out fight and everybody is low on power..choose this. Green = Restores health. If your healer can't keep up or you're in a dangerous situation where some people are about to run out of morale then choose green. If you see someone in your fellow hit a button like blue when they are short on power and you don't know what to press... hit the same color they did. This will result in a combo (two of the same color in a row) which will be a much more effective version of the single color: Double Blue = Restores the entire fellowships power Greatly. Double Red = Does a significant amount of damage instantly Double Yellow = Does a very powerful DoT, very useful formobs with 1500+ health. Double Green = Restores the fellowships morale and puts on a heal-over-time for 150 points. If you have any addtional information/questions, please post here so I can update this FAQ to help others who are new to conjunctions to try them out. A big Thank You to Hakai, Chosen, Hobble, Tiggs, Woof (Wolf), Thorgar (Mito), Bascgone (sorry for misspelling, shame on me) Skunky, Mystie, Elvirnith and countless others who helped with the research for this information. Without you this wouldn't have been possible! Also, thanks to Aesir and everyone who spreads the link to this FAQ to all the threads asking questions answered here-in. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: WayAbvPar on November 07, 2006, 01:15:21 PM Wow. I think I was better off not knowing- my head is spinning now. :oops:
Sounds like a pretty interesting mechanic though, especially if you game with the same group all the time and can coordinate. Title: Re: Character Wipe Post by: Trippy on November 07, 2006, 05:54:13 PM Basically when one pops up just hit the red button -- that's the one you want the vast majority of the time.
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