So the summer ethereals are in expert zones only.

I personally don't mind them being in the expert zones, what was point of gearing up if you are going to face roll the easier heroics to get the cloak?

 

However that being said, I also think the tokens should be rewarded in the normal heroics as well, not as many but still be rewarded.

 

I'd be interested to see how many accounts have a 340+ resolve character on them and can even make that check.

I think this will make it easier for a lot of people to walk away from the game. If you've been on the fence, unable to get groups or run the experts, this will help you slip away. I have 2 months left on my year sub, and I still can't find something to move to myself. If you have any suggestions on a similar look and feel game to this I would love to hear about it.

 

This xpac has been out since Nov....been plenty of time to complete epics and gear up for experts. If you can't play in experts by now then you weren't trying hard enough or maybe you were in the wrong guild. Way too many players clinging to old dead guilds unable to find groups/gear and then blame it on the game. Of course it takes time/work....but it is and was doable. I know players who just returned to the game in the last 2-3 months and were able to catch up with resolve/gear.

With that said.....I think the REAL issue is lack of tanks/players wanting to run these zones. There will be a group of the same folks each day possibly LFG..same as last summer. Only bad thing is this xpac we have even less players willing or able to run these zones because the devs pretty much killed alt toons leaving most guilds with only 2 maybe 3 geared tanks....without tanks you aren't going to get experts done or earn the coin needed to get your ethereals.

 

And I hear the coins are no-trade so even if you do get someone running on an alt tank they still have to run the zones on their mains.

 

Yup, by checking the merchant you can see the coins are No-Trade.
And, if the ability on your class cloak from ToT was garbage it still is.. if yours was great, it's still great. The same imbalance... and you lose a purple adorn slot off the cloak.. so you lose a useful purple for an orange that may, or may not, be useful.
It's also not until master/grandmaster lvl for the cloak that it might be better then the TS cloak

 

I'm sorry Nommi but I just don't buy it. It should be a reward for the normal heroic zones as well.

I'm tired of all the "You must be this tall to ride" crap in this game.

And I'm almost sure most of the alts are not capable of doing expert zones... which is even worse.

 

And no purple slot is B.S.

 

This will be known as the Summer of the Great Tank Shortage, since few people could alts to 'expert' level readiness and tanks will be highly desired to make the runs needed.

 

Of course it should have included heroic zones..and adv solos too.

My point was simply to say we have all had enough time to gear up a toon able to survive expert zones.

 

It's like they're purposely trying to aggravate players.

They seem to of attracted quite a few players back with KA and the 100 boost, myself included. Now watch them flee.
There's a real shortage of players on in the hours I play (HoF) And Expert PU groups? lolz no thanks.

With all the grey grind and other shitful decisions they've made lately this could of been their chance to make players happy, did they achieve that? In my mind NO.

Who exactly would it of hurt if they made the tokens available in heroic or adv. solo zones? Even if the token price was higher it would of given ALL PLAYERS something to aim for and be excited about.

So back to AoM sig and SF for me I guess. All the time thinking 'omfg how can I level tithe and ascension while I'm doing all this grey ****'.

 

Interesting design decision again.

 

The problem is we haven't, not if we've only just come back. I've been back probably 6 weeks now. I felt I'd done a lot. But, there is a lot more to do and I'll never catch up to players that didn't take a break. NEVER.
It's not just a gear re-set at increased levels / new expansion anymore.

I'll be lucky if I can finish my epic before the next expansion, and while I'm still ok with that (sort of, well not really), I imagine that when the new expansion hits and I'm still doing it, I'll be somewhat disheartened.
But hey, maybe then with a 10 level increase, I'll be able to solo the heroic zones needed that it's near impossible to get groups for.

As for ascension, I have ONE to level 8 ... My highest tithe level is 12.

Every day anyone but the 'new / returning players' play, we're even further behind. I see no way to catch up, the grind is real.

They really need to do some damage control and fast, there is no way new players could compete. It's not level related anymore, it doesn't even matter how much effort you put in, it's a gated grind.

I guess stay tuned for ascension / tithe levels for sale on the MP.

 

And that right there is the problem now isn't it?

a is singular

 

Always been my problem, I have every class at 100 (27 total), and I love them all, how can I just pick one. After 10 years of loving them all, I have to kill 26 friends for 1 to thrive. /sad panda

 

The Devs KILLED alts with this xpac...I feel your pain....I have 20 lv 100's....only 1 main and 1 semi geared alt....the others have been reduced to crafters, daily plant havester, and when I can tolerate it then PG solo grinding for coinage for my main. None have the gear to run any current zone. None have epics or ascensions done.

 

My main is 6 on third ascension, because the Weekly quests award so much. And he has 340 resolve, but finding groups is just terrible these days

 

I've been reading EQ2 forums, wishing I could post, thinking it's probably lucky I can't.

So many 'if you can't do experts, sucks to be you', 'you should be geared for them by now, you've had time' comments.
Are these from the same players that run / ran the mind numbing snoozefest, aka PG's, to get BIS in multiple slots?
Ya know, the zone that you play an avatar, can zone in naked, with not a care in the world about your AA, or which buttons you press?

And are these same people, really of the mind that they actually deserved BIS stuff from that? Orly? It makes my brain bleed. It doesn't even matter which buttons you press tbh. And this is worthy of BIS stuff, but heroic zones or adv. solo's are not?

At least I found a way to play my alts (I have 5 at 100) I put a movie on, zoned in to PG's, hit buttons, got tokens, and wondered how on earth anyone could find this at all entertaining.
At least now I have the gloves and the ring, from one night, doing nothing but pressing random spells. Is this somehow better than knowing your class?

This event should of included EVERYONE that wanted to take part. It would also have helped gear up returning players up so they could fill spots in hard to find groups.
Coins issued, and prices set so players that only did adv. solo's could only of got say the second cloak, heroic third, by the end of the event, or something would of been the better way to go.

It irks me, it's irksome.

 

These types of issues always bring out the elitist assholes. "lolz I canz solo it, so could you!" EQ2Flames used to confine them to mostly one place but that forum has been almost dead for years.

I personally think our dev team (except for a notable very few, who are awesome) hate the game they are working on and are doing everything in their power to sabotage it.

It looks so much better on your resume that you lost your job due to being laid off instead of being incompetent.

 

I don't think any of our devs hate the game...I honestly think they are very invested in the game. Even the ones that aren't as good at the customer interaction side are still passionate and dedicated and are often better one-on-one than when speaking "in public".

I don't think anyone is actively trying to sabotage the game. But I do think the now smaller teams are lacking in direction and a single vision; everyone has ideas of what they'd like to do and where they'd like to take their part of the game, and they are missing someone to wrangle everything into a coherent whole. Add in the increased drive to keep numbers (both play time and dollars) consistent and it makes for a really uneven player experience.

(I also think that the world has changed since MMOs were the giants, and EQ2 (and many other games) haven't quite kept up. It's less of an "honor in grinding" and "slow and steady" age now, so clinging to those old models is not doing the game or the customers a service.)