f13.net

Have you ever been in one of those groups that just makes you shake you head and wonder "why are you even playing this game"?  Groups that fully intend to use every AI flaw, exploit and bug to earn as much loot and exp as they can, and challenge and fun be damned?  It would be different if I thought these people were just well intentioned beta tester who were planning on reporting issues, but we all know that a small minority.

At any rate, the specifics revolve around Irestone Isle, again, and this time ranged combat and aggro (and rez bugs, but thats less troubling except for the full party wipes people can recover from due to bugs).

I got asked into a group doing II on hard, and the first group message I saw raised a red flag for me: "Bring plenty of arrows and bolts".

The problem is simple, you can stand certain distances away from mobs and be able to target and attack them, yet they wont respond.  So as a result, many challenging camps in II were mowed down 1 by 1 with storms of arrows and bolts, even magic missles, with nary a response.

Now not all mobs did this, but a LOT of them would just stand their and die without either moving to attack or running away (actually I dont think DDO mobs ever run away unless feared).

Just seemed a really cheesy way to mow through what should be a challenging and fun quest.  (And it WAS quite challenging on hard when we had stand up fights; 1 lvl 3 cleric (me), 2 warforged fighters, 1 rogue, 1 wiz all level 2's.  The silver lining? The good captain (CR9) wiped the floor with us since we had used up every rest shrine on the island prior to his fight so we didnt complete it anyway :-)  No exp for you!).

Xilren
PS Yes, I know, getting loot and exp is what most mmorpg players consider "fun", not the actual details of how they played to get it
PPS Would some of you wanna be Tarrentino's log in once in while?

That's why I reflexively leave any pickup group that's planning to do the Inlet.  It's a conditioned response at this point.

I'm depressed that the Catacombs quests won't advance (http://betaforums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=2017), since they're the only quests I can actually take on at my level that I haven't done already.  So I've been playing the Movies to console myself, and hoping that when I come back it'll be better.  Don't judge me!

Actually, I had a different problem with the catacomb series, but was still able to do it.  On the find the pieces of the hidden tome in the library, he secret door to the 3rd piece would never open.  Tried it 6 times, aborted the series and redid them all, no dice.  But, oddly enough the last time i tried it i went back to one of other secret areas and it showed the piece still in that one, i picked it up again (piece 2) and it counted as a completion.

The problem you are decribing seems like a "which instance am I going in" problem.  Right now I need to go back to Dryden to kill the wraith, and when i click on the door, I actually get a choice of what to pick, "Endgame CR3" or "Seek Dryden's Council CR1".

You sure it doesn't have multiple Seel Dryen's Council listed in that pop up box?

Xilren

Stab Kill Mangle

Positive.  After the first time I encountered the problem I thought of that and logged back in to check on it.  Nope, just the "Seek Dryden's Counsel".

Maybe that's why I've enjoyed solo play in the lower levels -- granted, I'm only a level 1 cleric who hasn't done more than the starter quests and just a very small number of the city quests. I allowed myself to soak up the atmosphere and wasted a lot of time doing Searches and walking near every wall to click on any objects *just in case* there is something I missed. So far, I've never been rewarded for doing this. Only the same objects in each instance are selectable -- with one exception (I was able to lift a portcullis in one instance which I had never been able to do before).

I think it would drive me nuts if I played in a group unless I was fully expecting beforehand to simply plow through the mobs to "get to the end".

There is a great dev response on the Beta boards saying something like: if you're dying all the time because of traps, bring a rogue to detect the traps; and then bring cleric to heal and remove posions and a fighter to keep monsters off the wizard who is decimating the monsters with combat spells. i.e. they designed most quests for good old-fashioned four-class D&D groups rather than soloers. Sounds good to me -- as long as I'm playing with a like-minded cooperative group (the antithesis of most pick up groups).

Definately.  Much MUCH perfer playing with good people or solo to random strangers.  Pickup groups are very hit and miss, and knowing the beta environment is always better than general release, you just know every tavern is going to be filled with LCD mmorpgs just looking for the path of least resistance.  That why I want them to fix the ranged non-aggro thing.

I enjoying soloing b/c I can take my time, think and plan, and I try to wring every bit of what the quest offers.  Just did the two Clan Tunnelworm/Find Venn quests this morning and I love that prison quest b/c it has like 5 optional objectives: kill the ogres, save the  prisoner from the scorpions, kill the head shaman, free the other prisoners, kill the interregator, plus the main quest which has several parts.  I've debated adding a level of rogue to my cleric just so I can unlock the optional doors I find or deal with traps I detect.  Still, even knowing I can't see all the optional stuff, I love being able to solo as a cleric, yet still be very useful in a group.

BTW, Samwise et al, I did the Kobold blockade bit in the market, so Im ready to try the nice and long Seal of Shan-Tor delve into the Hobgoblin fortress quests again next time I see any of you on.

Got a Composite Longbow of Reptile Bane, plus gloves and necklace of Elvenkind to offer as bribes for rogue types even :)

Xilren

I'm still puzzling over the meaning of those notes we found.  It almost sounds like the pieces of the key are hidden in other quests in the sewers, which would be unspeakably cool.  I'm not sure how that would work, though, and I know I haven't seen anything that looks like it could possibly be a piece of a key.  So I'm guessing that the pieces are just in the next section of the dungeon and it was pure bugginess that was preventing us from getting there last time.   :cry:

That comp longbow of reptile bane makes me happy in my pants.  I have a halfling ranger (Pip) who specializes in archery and has reptiles as his favored enemy.  With that bow he'd be a tiny god.  If only I could get him past level 1...