Quick thoughts on 'Eclipsed Dawn Champion Spawn' (Origin)

[G.v.P]

I can't remember the last time I saw so many people online at once to do a Champ Spawn. It feels like the old "Evil in a Can" days (minus the eventual PKs).

First stop:
UO has a great reference webpage on its Wiki. It details really all you need to know. One thing to note, the final boss is a two-fer, which is very less intuitive to, say, Lord Oaks, in that I don't think there is any specific strategy here. Just hit one of them. Basically you just kill one or the other and you get a drop, and if you get enough hits in you seem to get both loot tables. Just remember to loot both when they die!! But I just ran in on one and they were both almost dead and I still somehow got on one of the two loot tables, but only one of the two, and snagged a shield anyhow (using a mage to do damage). Order of the day is Cold Damage, Demon Slayer. But really you just have to do damage of any kind.

I will say one thing, though. The champs here are kind of like The Sleeping Dragon spawn in Tokuno, in that they seem to issue forth a lightning attack like Serado does. No poisons, though, so it's rather inconsequential. Might be hard for some dexxers, though. Maybe just get one of those Paladin Shields and you will be set!

Second stop:
Drops are very common, it seems. Maybe 1:1?! Seems to be, which is kind of insane. These new items are great, unique, and everyone on Origin is looking to trade for what they don't have. Looks like it will be a very fun, high reward, low risk, event destination. Only thing I will say is why make a Paladin Cloak that has no stats, but has durability? That kind of sucks (unless I am missing something; and I was, transmog--thank you, Anon ). Also, the items only look good on the paper doll for 2D client, which is kind of a bummer. Not sure if 3D got more love. Really forgot how noob standard metal shields look on 2D sprite.

Third stop:
As far as I can discern, I have not gotten an "Of Evil" upgrade on my char. I am sitting firmly at Champion of Evil. I don't think this spawn contributes to the title, but I could be mistaken. I was hoping there might be an additional title!

Fourth stop:
Might be my connection, but there is a huge pause right now on Origin whenever the champs die at the end.

All in all, people will have fun with this one, I think! Champ spawn boss art could have been a bit more involved, and the strategy layer of releasing protection by destroying objects is fun, but other than for loot rights, the two bosses could have been a bit more like Oaks and involved some kind of strategy, which I think is a missed opportunity.

 

[Anon McDougle]

The cloak meant to be a transmog target

 

[Silent Singer]

All in all, people will have fun with this one, I think! Champ spawn boss art could have been a bit more involved, and the strategy layer of releasing protection by destroying objects is fun, but other than for loot rights, the two bosses could have been a bit more like Oaks and involved some kind of strategy, which I think is a missed opportunity.

Keep in mind your experience is skewed by the large crowd at the moment, a group that has been doing the champ all day (and yesterday). When this hits smaller shards those bosses are going to be much more difficult. I have really enjoyed the spawn and the drops are awesome, but we don't want to set boss difficulty based on Day 2 of Origin release. That would be like setting boss difficulty for all shards based on Atlantic crowds. Yes it may not seem difficult now, so just enjoy the spawn and enjoy trading your drops with others

 

[G.v.P]

The cloak meant to be a transmog target

Ah, thank you, so essentially the cloak can be whatever you want it to be (assuming the initial item is transmog eligible for a cloak).

 

[Anon McDougle]

Ah, thank you, so essentially the cloak can be whatever you want it to be (assuming the initial item is transmog eligible for a cloak).

Correct I made one cloak of water into Junos

 

[G.v.P]

Keep in mind your experience is skewed by the large crowd at the moment, a group that has been doing the champ all day (and yesterday). When this hits smaller shards those bosses are going to be much more difficult. I have really enjoyed the spawn and the drops are awesome, but we don't want to set boss difficulty based on Day 2 of Origin release. That would be like setting boss difficulty for all shards based on Atlantic crowds. Yes it may not seem difficult now, so just enjoy the spawn and enjoy trading your drops with others

Oh yeah, I know. That's why I say it is nice to see so many people, and that I haven't seen it since the "Evil in a Can" days (when Champ Spawns first started in Fel, in Pub 16). It took awhile for organized guilds to form back then, so for a long while, it was just a bunch of blues fighting together in Fel (and maybe a thief or two--with stealing skill--here or there, trying to steal scrolls). Reminded me of back then.

I know nothing lasts, and that Shard population will vary. Origin isn't my main shard, either, I just used to do Champ Spawns in Fel on several shards back in the day so I have chars on several shards ready to go. My goal used to be building a necro mage on every shard.

Anyhow--based on the difficulty of other champ spawns--whether traditional or hidden, like let's say Bedlam's Pestilence Champion Spawn--this one is not very hard. There is tons of space to move around, no trees or anything to really snag you (unless you get snagged by the big tree in the middle, lol) the waves are not obnoxious (especially after dealing with Undead Gargoyle Paragons FOREVER in towns during the last event), you can recall in and out easily between spawns, and it is fast to get to even on foot.

Asking for strategy is not always asking for things to be "harder" for a small population shard, but I get your concern. For example, Changeling AI in Ilsh was very unique when it came out, and while paragons could be ROUGH, the regular ones were a fun challenge because they would change targets but they wouldn't one-shot you or anything. This new champ spawn has teleport-to AI, and so let's say you are a tamer with 0% defensive skills, wielding a weapon/shield set that is not mage wep or anything useful for fighting, yeah, the boss could kill you in two-three melee hits as it blobs around. I guess difficulty in that regard is relative, because I don't make character suits like that...but anyway, Oaks as example:

Lord Oaks first spawns with Silvani, his "forest queen." The queen must be defeated first, or it will be extremely difficult to kill Oaks (he takes far, far less damage when she is alive).​

Lord Oaks - UOGuide, the Ultima Online Encyclopedia

www.uoguide.com

​

Me personally, I like this spawn because:
- It is difficult for negative karma champs like necro mages or necros in general, so you have to think about how you aggro, especially in Ilsh due to paragons (I know, no one does these probably in Ilsh, lol)
- It has a bit of character to it; Silvani protecting Lord Oaks is a lot more tangible to me than pillars or whatever protecting two blobs (new champ spawn in Ter Mur)

But yeah, no one ever wanted to do a Lord Oaks back in the Fel days they would always want to go for something easier, basically Barracoon, and I get that. Just to me, why have a new spawn with two bosses that do nothing except extend loot tables? If the goal is more loot for everyone, maybe just change the tables? I dislike game design that doesn't really serve a purpose. For example, one of the two bosses could heal the other one, so you would need to target the healer first, then kill the other one. It doesn't make it "harder" per se, but it establishes a reason for there to be two bosses. Then you adjust HP/stats so it doesn't make it a long battle and scale it as needed based on expected shard populations. It doesn't have to break anything.

Now if one of the two blobs is already supporting in some way, then yeah, that would underline your sentiment about Origin just being too full of people right now and me not noticing the intended strategy layer for small populations but I guess we will see how it goes. Seems pretty straight forward of a fight, though.

 

[Halister Marner]

Correct I made one cloak of water into Junos

Can you dye it once it’s transmogged?

 

[Anon McDougle]

Can you dye it once it’s transmogged?

I tried unsuccessfully with a pigment of tokuno but not anything else

 

[Cinderella]

Can you dye it once it’s transmogged?

can't dye with natural dye or pigment.
i posted on the forums

hopefully they will fix that too
(balron & vambraces can't be dyed after the conversion to the new store look)

 

[Coco_Zamis_DF]

So when you transmog IT, IT Changes the Name. When you could apply a color you will loose the special color. In CC they didnt Look special. Why you want to change the color then?

 

[Cinderella]

So when you transmog IT, IT Changes the Name. When you could apply a color you will loose the special color. In CC they didnt Look special. Why you want to change the color then?

people keep asking if it is dyeable. I am guessing that they like the look but want it in a different hue.

 

[Cinderella]

so you can't dye the cloak at all


this should have been in demonic forces hue
that way it would look pretty on your characters paperdoll and on you

I don't know about you
but I only like the color orange for October

 

[Anon McDougle]

Baby steps they are offering some different looks, let's just hope they listen and improve on it

 

[Keven2002]

View attachment 159725

so you can't dye the cloak at all

View attachment 159726
this should have been in demonic forces hue
that way it would look pretty on your characters paperdoll and on you

I don't know about you
but I only like the color orange for October

You also cannot cut up the cloaks to make that color cloth for other clothing. While I do like the design on the paperdoll and even how the items look in your backpack; the fact that they just like like regular cloaks outside of the paperdoll kind of kill it for me; especially since the colors are just "meh" as you mention.

Personally, I don't love the cloak look anyway...I was kind of hoping the new cloaks would at least be like the cloak of justice where it looks slightly different.

 

[G.v.P]

Baby steps they are offering some different looks, let's just hope they listen and improve on it

Any new art is good, I agree.

I also have to imagine it is much, much more difficult for them to attempt .mul file art (the moving graphics needed for each race, etc.). Transmog is a happy medium where the devs do the least amount of work making new assets and the players get something new and customizable.

 

[Petra Fyde]

I can't remember the last time I saw so many people online at once to do a Champ Spawn. It feels like the old "Evil in a Can" days (minus the eventual PKs).

First stop:
UO has a great reference webpage on its Wiki. It details really all you need to know. One thing to note, the final boss is a two-fer, which is very less intuitive to, say, Lord Oaks, in that I don't think there is any specific strategy here. Just hit one of them. Basically you just kill one or the other and you get a drop, and if you get enough hits in you seem to get both loot tables. Just remember to loot both when they die!! But I just ran in on one and they were both almost dead and I still somehow got on one of the two loot tables, but only one of the two, and snagged a shield anyhow (using a mage to do damage). Order of the day is Cold Damage, Demon Slayer. But really you just have to do damage of any kind.

I will say one thing, though. The champs here are kind of like The Sleeping Dragon spawn in Tokuno, in that they seem to issue forth a lightning attack like Serado does. No poisons, though, so it's rather inconsequential. Might be hard for some dexxers, though. Maybe just get one of those Paladin Shields and you will be set!

Second stop:
Drops are very common, it seems. Maybe 1:1?! Seems to be, which is kind of insane. These new items are great, unique, and everyone on Origin is looking to trade for what they don't have. Looks like it will be a very fun, high reward, low risk, event destination. Only thing I will say is why make a Paladin Cloak that has no stats, but has durability? That kind of sucks (unless I am missing something; and I was, transmog--thank you, Anon ). Also, the items only look good on the paper doll for 2D client, which is kind of a bummer. Not sure if 3D got more love. Really forgot how noob standard metal shields look on 2D sprite.

Third stop:
As far as I can discern, I have not gotten an "Of Evil" upgrade on my char. I am sitting firmly at Champion of Evil. I don't think this spawn contributes to the title, but I could be mistaken. I was hoping there might be an additional title!

Fourth stop:
Might be my connection, but there is a huge pause right now on Origin whenever the champs die at the end.

All in all, people will have fun with this one, I think! Champ spawn boss art could have been a bit more involved, and the strategy layer of releasing protection by destroying objects is fun, but other than for loot rights, the two bosses could have been a bit more like Oaks and involved some kind of strategy, which I think is a missed opportunity.

[teasing] You linked to the wiki page, but somehow missed that the cloak is listed as a transmog target on the page? [/teasing]

 

[G.v.P]

[teasing] You linked to the wiki page, but somehow missed that the cloak is listed as a transmog target on the page? [/teasing]

I may not have read everything very well LOL my "something new and shiny" FOMO kicked in first ;P

I am also not too familiar with transmog in games TBH...I guess it is for the good because it makes it easier for the art team to leverage existing art, it puts money in their pockets (when tied to in-game currency system), and it is an easy win for players, who are always looking for new customization options.

The old player in me wonders if it will be more confusing for (some) of the oldies (or maybe some of the newbies) because they will see an item named XYZ and they will look it up but the historic item will look one way and now it might look another way. But meh hard to keep things easy to understand when there is literally over two decades of information to absorb, eh?

Part of what got me playing UO again lately was I forgot to sign in to keep my Orc ship afloat, so I started to do pirates again and then I remembered how much crafting can suck initially until you get going lol then it was the colored mares, and who doesn't love a good nightmare ...or the ability to buy additional stable slots $$$...now this champ spawn oo lala the Legendary Artifacts I have gotten on Origin have replaced so many bad pieces I have kept

I have learned the following:

-Transmog is a thing (if only I just read)
-Unless you reforge, I am pretty sure imbuing is kind of worthless when you can just loot Greater/Major/Legendary arties
-Invulnerable blobs can hurt but they ARE NOT REAL, I WILL NOT HAVE NIGHTMARES ABOUT INVULNERABLE BLOBS
-I am such a packrat on all shards that it was nice to play Origin because I clearly have mostly crap in my banks that I could toss so I could actually PLAY

 

[Keven2002]

I will say... I logged on to Origin just now to find all the spawn dead and the 2 champs just hanging out (yellow) with nobody killing the runestones. I have a feeling this will be how the spawn stays majority of the time since the rewards are easier to get on ATL.

 

[Anon McDougle]

We did it last night on baja and definitely different then without all the off sharders I think as long as people need to complete sets of each item we'll keep going