Random response to some issues I saw come up a few times in the responses.
1. Yes, my guildmate soloed the level 6 chests. This by definition means that level 6 maps are still solo-able. However, my guildmate is an extraordinary player, as are all my guildmates actually, so she can do things that most players (including myself certainly) cannot. Now it's not like she's the only good player out there. So some others will also still be able to solo the maps, but it doesn't sound like it's going to be easy.
2. On whether or not the pardons should be discussed in this thread, if I minded that I wouldn't have expressed my own opinions alongside expressing my guildmate's results. I don't see how we can reasonably discuss the t-map changes without also discussing their potential consequences. I find it telling, though, that no one actually objected to the discussion until someone agreed with me!
3. On the substance of the pardons, my original opinion has not changed. Being a murderer should have consequences. When I was in champ spawn guilds I took several counts, and always had to mind how many I carried at any given moment. I don't like the idea of no longer having to worry. For the item to exist at all, it should be much rarer and/or have limited use (once per RL day, for example).
4. On the Imbuing ingredients. I believe she said there were mostly Essences, and she also got Abyssal Cloth once or twice. So we have to assume that you can get pretty much any of the Imbuing ingredients that spawn in the Abyss from a t-map.
5. No ML ingredients that she mentioned. I, for one, don't think this is a terrible idea. Imbued stuff will wear out sooner or later, even if it takes a good long while. ML stuff, by contrast, can last forever unless you screw up. Thus the need for Imbuing ingredients is eternal, and the need for ML ingredients last only as long as all active players does not have ever ML item they need. So, why not keep the ML stuff exclusive to the ML bosses? If she corrects me, realizes that she saw some ML ingredients in there, or does more tests and the results change, I will be sure to correct myself.
6. I think you're all seriously missing the potential for 6-property items.
7. Remember, that at least some of the new Brittle Artifacts, the Shield for example, can be Imbued.
8. As indicated in my original post, the level 6 map artifacts are, indeed, still spawning under the new system.
9. Someone asked for there to be at least one unique or very hard to get item? Remember that the Brittle Artifacts are non-PoF-able, and have low durability. There will be potentially an eternal need for at least some of them.
10. I view these changes as overall positive and have moderate enthusiasm for them. I am looking forward to hiring some t-map hunters to do some maps with my guild.
-Galen's player
