Are weapons overpowered?

[Sheri_UO]

Are weapons overpowered?

Now that countless valorite hammers have been duped and over-powered weapons are common should the dev's do anything?

 

[Kith Kanan]

YES and underwear.. and friend chickens... mongbats and ...and...

 

[Connor_Graham]

<blockquote><hr>

YES and underwear.. and friend chickens... mongbats and ...and...

[/ QUOTE ]

NERF MONGBATS &amp; GREATER CHICKENS!!


NERF NERFS!!

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

NERF NERFS!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Best. Idea. Evar.

 

[Guest]

weapons have been overpowered for monsters since slayers

 

[Guest]

Probably.

 

[imported_Trebr Drab]

I don't really like the power differencials between powergaming players and those who aren't. It's too much.
An example is with the current events, where some very valuable items can be had by those who do the most damage, who are the elite powergamers. However, the blackrock/Shadowlords thing allows any player to get something special, so that parts a good move (except for new players who don't have and can't afford blackrock).

But overall, I'd really prefer a closer spread on abilities so that all the players can be a little closer together in ability to "succeed".

 

[dorkuberalles]

the weapons need better balance. especially since ML, the legacy weapons are lacking.

i miss warhammers dearly.

 

[Connor_Graham]

"I don't really like the power differencials between powergaming players and those who aren't. It's too much."

So the people that have more time invested in the game should have that time negated? Someone that plays 3 hours a week should be equal to someone that plays 3 hours or more a day? Someone that's been playing for a year should be equal to someone that's been playing 10?

I'm sorry, but it seems to me the green eyed monster is showing it's face....

There is absolutely no good reason why someone that puts more time in than someone else should be limited in what they can achieve because someone else doesn't like the fact that they have more or better than they do.

Runics are easily available to anyone now with the recent changes, so there's no reason that anyone can't have good weapons and good armor. Doom arties are easily available now, and have even had the cost lowered if the players' choice is to purchase one instead of hunt for it. Strongbox quests can be done by even the newest of players, and have unbelievably good loot in them.

Again, there's absolutely no good reason why someone that's put in the time should be limited by someone that hasn't.


"An example is with the current events, where some very valuable items can be had by those who do the most damage, who are the elite powergamers."

1 piece of blackrock, which can be mined and not require fighting skills to obtain, is enough to get looting rights on a Shadowlord. I recently got the best bow I've ever seen in game from one, and all it took was a single piece of blackrock used on a fresh SL to obtain it. It doesn't take an elite anything to cast armageddon.

 

[imported_SavageSP]

Nope, everyone can use one, including mages that dont have a weapon skill.

Unlike Spells , you can miss, and unless your an archer, you actually have to catch and stay next to your target to have the chance to hit or miss.

 

[Guest]

Yeah lets remove weapons and magery and that way we all can just wrestle monsters/each other to death.

 

[Septar]

So because I happen to be able to get a blackrock through pure damage on my dexie, I'm now labeled a power gamer? Hurray! I have achieved my goal in uo and may quit....

 

[Connor_Graham]

<blockquote><hr>

Yeah lets remove weapons and magery and that way we all can just wrestle monsters/each other to death.

[/ QUOTE ]

It would take us a month to kill each other, and the monsters could rest easy knowing they'd never lose another battle...

All except the mongbats that is. We'd have us some epic mongbat battles.... Oh, and greater chickens too, can't forget the greater chickens.....

 

[Guest]

...

I'd say damage in general is overpowered and needs to be lowered across the board (from weapons, spells, and monsters).

Seems like you either kill something in 4 or less hits or you're killed in 4 or less hits.

While it's not "flip a coin" it's gotten pretty close.

Lower the damage levels and bring back more strategy and less "twitch" IMO

 

[Guest]

...


weapons have been overpowered for monsters since slayers


Slight disagreement... it's been overpowered since they made Damage increases percentage based

 

[imported_Trebr Drab]

<blockquote><hr>

"I don't really like the power differencials between powergaming players and those who aren't. It's too much."

So the people that have more time invested in the game should have that time negated? Someone that plays 3 hours a week should be equal to someone that plays 3 hours or more a day? Someone that's been playing for a year should be equal to someone that's been playing 10?

I'm sorry, but it seems to me the green eyed monster is showing it's face....

[/ QUOTE ]

Connor, don't over exaggerate what I said. That's not what I meant at all.

"Green eyed monster"? Really now, sir. What's the matter, are you afraid that you'll lose your lofty perch?
It's simply not good for a game to have so much of a difference in ability that the power mongers can dominate the game, and cause other, more casual players to not have a place other than as the serfs to your masters.

If you want to have it the way it is now, then eventually all the other players, the majority of players, will (once and yet again) say "screw this" and move on. The number will again drop low, and the cities of Britannia will again be mostly empty.

Yes, I think the Devs see this, from what I see. They need to carry through with it though, and not let a few players, selfish players, continue to dominate.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

YES and underwear.. and friend chickens... mongbats and ...and...

[/ QUOTE ]

NERF MONGBATS &amp; GREATER CHICKENS!!


NERF NERFS!!

[/ QUOTE ]

I like my greater chicken

But i agree those monbats are dam scarry specially the greaters.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

Yeah lets remove weapons and magery and that way we all can just wrestle monsters/each other to death.

[/ QUOTE ]

Mud Wrastlin FTW!

 

[midiguru]

<blockquote><hr>

I recently got the best bow I've ever seen in game from one, and all it took was a single piece of blackrock used on a fresh SL to obtain it.

[/ QUOTE ]


ROFL

 

[Redxpanda]

Weapons are fine the way they are. They add a sense of adventure in loot (what little is left) and make crafting exciting. They just need to kill the dupers so they are less common. Nonetheless, there isnt much of a market for weapons and armor so even if they felt they needed a nerf...there are far more important things they have to take care of before it can happen.

 

[Guest]

Can we get tactical bombs that can take out all players in a 5 screen radius. It should work exceptionally well at banks in Tram. Ya sounds good when can I put in my order?

 

[Stigmatas]

<blockquote><hr>

Are weapons overpowered?

Now that countless valorite hammers have been duped and over-powered weapons are common should the dev's do anything?

[/ QUOTE ]


So says the tamer? Is that it? Metal envy?

NERF NERF THREADS

To answer your question, no weapons are not overpowered. If your fighting chickens and trolls, then yea, maybe. But at least, I'd say ever since AoS or thereabout, melee templates can hold their own in PVM against tamers, and rightfully so. They work for it.

 

[Stigmatas]

Just to add, in my ten years playing UO, I really don't think that different types of templates in the game have EVER been so balanced in regard to PVM. Each has a role, and benefits and negatives. Granted, they could tone down damage output on BOTH ends, players and creatures, but all that would do like Dermott said would make battles last longer. I wouldn't be too opposed to that. It'd have to be done right though.

Theres better things to fix/upgrade right now anyway.

 

[Connor_Graham]

"Connor, don't over exaggerate what I said."

I didn't. My response pretty much captured the gist of what you said.


"cause other, more casual players to not have a place other than as the serfs to your masters. "

Now who's exaggerating? Btw.....when do I get to collect tribute from you guys that are on my lands? The table could use a few roasted pigs and turkeys, along with fresh meat to toss to the 2 tigers I've got chained up over in the corner....


"then eventually all the other players, the majority of players, will (once and yet again) say "screw this" and move on."

Once the time is put in, "all the other players" will have all that "stuff" that you seem to be so jealous of. It's VERY easy to get now. As easy as turning in a runic bod and burning the runic hammer rewards...

Or you could do just as I just did recently and use a single piece of blackrock and find the best weapon you've ever seen sitting on a corpse that took nothing more to than pushing a macro button to say armageddon....

 

[luners]

No, weapons aren't overpowered.
They have been nerfed for a long time.
Swing speed change, mana leech and life leech changes, and special move change.
What do you want more than these nerfs?
Don't nerf weapons any more.
But improve weapons. For example, as you can select any mod when you create a weapon with runic hammer.

 

[imported_Hawkeye_Pike]

To my opinion, the question whether weapons are overpowered or not always depends on your point of view. Does it even matter to you? I think, the question only mattes when you do Felucca PvP. It doesn't matter, if you fight monsters. It doesn't matter, if you do guild wars. So basically, it doesn't bother me at all if someone has a weapon which is slightly better than mine. And even in Felucca PvP, your combat experience and tactics counts more than the narrow difference between weapons.

 

[Prudentis]

I'm your perfect casual gamer, Trabr Drab, and still I'm with Connor on this.
What I always liked about UO was the fact, that you could accomplish absolutly everything the "power gamers" could as a casual gemer. You just needed more time. Now that I have returned to UO after a long break and playing DAOC, WOW, etc, I don't see that this changed. Yes, there are items in the game now, you didn't have prior to the later expansions.
My main char has no artifacts and I am just playing three weeks now, after over seven years of absence. And I allready have dozens of planeshields, planeswords, threads and even four cloaks of corruption.
And I don't even go in with a greater drag, only with my mare/WW combo.

Where I am with you, is, if the game forces you into situations, you don't want to be in, by design. That would be forced grouping to achieve almost all goals and even moreso raiding. That is the main reason, why in the end, I always leave games like EQ, WoW and DAOC and will come back to UO as long as they keep the client updated.

 

[imported_Trebr Drab]

<blockquote><hr>

I'm your perfect casual gamer, Trabr Drab, and still I'm with Connor on this.
What I always liked about UO was the fact, that you could accomplish absolutly everything the "power gamers" could as a casual gemer. You just needed more time. Now that I have returned to UO after a long break and playing DAOC, WOW, etc, I don't see that this changed. Yes, there are items in the game now, you didn't have prior to the later expansions.
My main char has no artifacts and I am just playing three weeks now, after over seven years of absence. And I allready have dozens of planeshields, planeswords, threads and even four cloaks of corruption.
And I don't even go in with a greater drag, only with my mare/WW combo.

Where I am with you, is, if the game forces you into situations, you don't want to be in, by design. That would be forced grouping to achieve almost all goals and even moreso raiding. That is the main reason, why in the end, I always leave games like EQ, WoW and DAOC and will come back to UO as long as they keep the client updated.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, I said that I saw signs the Devs understood that more casual gamers have a problem, and the current event is trying to answer to that with the blackrock damage and also with the Berserker Deamon damage that allows numbers of hits to be more important than damage calculations (I think).
As far as getting planeshields and planeswords, your a tamer. Tamers have a distinct advantage in PvM that even the Devs have struggled with, being forced to create special rules to compensate for.

But this event is only a small part of this game. What about every day gaming? How many runic kits does a non-powergamer player get? How many Doom Arties does this player get? How many powerscrolls?

The question isn't if there is a difference in what a powergamer can get over the casual player, we all know that he/she'll get more. No one has a problem with that. The question is, how much difference there is, and how it affects and divides the player base.

 

[Connor_Graham]

"how it affects and divides the player base."

Exactly how does me having a nice weapon affect and divide the player base?

 

[the 4th man]

Duping an item, yes the devs should do something about it. Are weapons overpowered, that, is an extremely vauge question.

We could always use harsh words though!!

 

[Yenji Yasagari]

NERF WEAPONS. NERF TAMERS. NERF MAGES. GIVE US BACK 70 Damage DEATH STRIKES! GIVE NINJAS A BOOST!

 

[Guest]

I'm not sure if I agree PvM templates are balanced, at least not 'Dexer' templates. It seems like being anything other than a Paladin/whatever or that incredibly dumb 'Sampire' template is just shooting yourself in the foot, since they're just so, so much better than anything else.

The Paladin/whatever one is what annoys me, since it's so absolutely incredibly powerful and yet I don't tend to make characters whose concept and theme would let me stick Chivalry on their template.

I think things are pretty close to being balanced, but I think that the 'Sampire' template should maybe get a look and I think that the ability of Chivalrous players to exceed anyone else's damage by 100+ points in a lot of situations -per hit- should maybe get a look.

 

[Connor_Graham]

The Sampire is what brought most peoples dexxers from cold storage. There isn't a thing wrong with it. Take it away, and the dexxers get put away in PvM again.

The 100+ hits you refer to are archery damage or the slow 2 handed weapons that dexxers use, and are balanced by the fact that they are slow, and can't reach top swing speed. There are 1 handed weapons that reach the same DPS as those weapons, the damage amount just isn't as pronounced because they're smaller faster hits instead of one big whopping one.

LEAVE OUR DEXXERS ALONE. FOR THE FIRST TIME THEY CAN COMPETE WITH EVERYONE ELSE.

 

[Guest]

Exactly. And even with my favorite weapon (a 2-handed runeblade) on some monsters I can barely reach 80 a hit, and when my stam is beat down I can't even chug pots to get it back up.

 

[Guest]

Ah, okay. Sorry, the event has colored my perceptions of damage and all the people gloating must have pushed the average up that I was hearing about. Sorry!

As for the Sampire thing, though, I disagree that having 35.0 in a skill should grant you indefinite use of a skill that's appropriately powerful for the 99.0 skill it's supposed to require. It's just so darn good for such a small investment, and sort of ******** from a thematic point of view.

EDIT: Indefinite use of a SPELL, I meant to say.

 

[Connor_Graham]

"I disagree that having 35.0 in a skill should grant you indefinite use of a skill"

You only get the use of 1 spell, not the whole skill, and you do have to take 35 points from somewhere to be able to come up with it. It balances itself, and as I said, dexxers are finally able to compete with everyone else.

 

[imported_Trebr Drab]

<blockquote><hr>

The Sampire is what brought most peoples dexxers from cold storage. There isn't a thing wrong with it. Take it away, and the dexxers get put away in PvM again.

The 100+ hits you refer to are archery damage or the slow 2 handed weapons that dexxers use, and are balanced by the fact that they are slow, and can't reach top swing speed. There are 1 handed weapons that reach the same DPS as those weapons, the damage amount just isn't as pronounced because they're smaller faster hits instead of one big whopping one.

LEAVE OUR DEXXERS ALONE. FOR THE FIRST TIME THEY CAN COMPETE WITH EVERYONE ELSE.

[/ QUOTE ]

See? This is what's wrong. Because of overpowered things, not just items but powerscrolls and runic kits and whatever else, there are loads of game play possibilities that just won't work.
Some examples, if you want to play a tamer of mongbats it's completely useless. (You may laugh, but what if someone wanted to? Why do Mongbats have to be so week as a pack?)
Unless you have the right powerscrolls and items, you can't be viable in many of the trade professions.
Unless you have top tier gear, not just one or two items, you are more than just substandard.

But what if you want powerful items? What has to happen when games are centered around that? When players get to the point that many are screaming because there's "nothing more"? Do you add more powerful items? More powerful skills? Inflationary gaming? Causing all my points to expand even more? At what point do newer or casual players start to say "damnit, it'll be years before I can compete, if ever"?

Where is that line? UO has to decide on this, maybe they already have. Maybe they'll change their minds. But players don't decide more than once. (Except for a few like me, I guess.)

 

[Connor_Graham]

"At what point do newer or casual players start to say "damnit, it'll be years before I can compete, if ever"? "

No new player should or would expect to start playing a game and be in the same league as someone that's been playing for years. To expect such is ridiculous, and as I've already said, smacks of jealousy of those that have as opposed to those that have not. People need goals in a game. If you give everything to them at the beginning, what are their goals going to be?


"if you want to play a tamer of mongbats it's completely useless."

I think it's time to put the bong down.....

 

[imported_Trebr Drab]

<blockquote><hr>

"At what point do newer or casual players start to say "damnit, it'll be years before I can compete, if ever"? "

No new player should or would expect to start playing a game and be in the same league as someone that's been playing for years. To expect such is ridiculous, and as I've already said, smacks of jealousy of those that have as opposed to those that have not. People need goals in a game. If you give everything to them at the beginning, what are their goals going to be?


"if you want to play a tamer of mongbats it's completely useless."

I think it's time to put the bong down.....

[/ QUOTE ]

Stop being offensive. There's no reason for that.
The only reason you see the mongbat suggestion as so ridiculous is because of preconceived notions.

Yes, I agree players need goals. But they don't have to be for ever increasing power. There are many other goals, rare items and collectibles, housing and decoration, colors. How about rare pets, if anything other than super dragons were competative, like white tigers? There's loads of ways to go here.

I never said that new players should be instantly ready to compete with vets. I said they should be able to see that at some point they are just as good, and not in years. Again, I think you are trying to protect your own status here, and that thinking is bad for a game as a whole. I'm a vet too, you know. I started when UO was released, on the first day. I've quite a couple of times, so I have maybe a year less than others who stayed. But that still gives me much more time than "new" players. So stop with the claims that I'm just a jealous gamer. But I am most definitely not an elite player. I can't stand in the same spot for hours doing the same thing. I want viable, alternative game play that still allows me to compete, and I want to enjoy my gaming in my way. Not in yours.

 

[Connor_Graham]

"I said they should be able to see that at some point they are just as good"

I was hunting in Doom, with my Fencer, 2 months after I started playing the game. What more do you want? At that time I was working 12-16 hours a day, 6 days a week, so I was even less than a casual player.

The things you ask for are already there. A new player can go and do anything within a few months of starting the game. What they're not going to achieve is to be on the same level as someone that's been playing for years, and thus has had years to work his/her characters up to a very high level of equipment.

 

[imported_Tina Small]

<blockquote><hr>

Are weapons overpowered?

Now that countless valorite hammers have been duped and over-powered weapons are common should the dev's do anything?

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe they can start giving new characters spoons for starting weapons.

Seriously, do you realize how many people drifted away from UO the last time weapon mods took a hit? I know a couple of people who just completely lost interest in playing their PvM characters when the mana and life leech nerfs happened about 18 months ago. None of them have come back yet. And, contrary to what you might think, not everyone owns one of these overpowered weapons you speak of. Not everyone has that kind of gold and/or plays on shards where it's possible to find a wide selection of uber weapons.

I'd prefer to see monsters become harder to kill than end up owning a lot of stuff that's suddenly useless. Harder monsters = challenge. Devalued possessions = frustration and loss of interest.

 

[Prudentis]

Trebr, you say I'm a tamer, and I kind of guessed you would.
And that was exactly my point. Everyone can become a tamer. With a bit of time and patience.
And I agree with you, that there shouldn't be just one style of play to be successful. That's why I thing, superdragons are too powerful. I'd rather see dragons, hiryus, mares, kirins, unicorns, etc. etc. =endgame pets much closer in ability than they are now. But saying, that you should be able to achieve the same goals with a pack of mongbats is an exaggeration.
You do not expect a GM fisher/cook/herder to be able to survive doom, do you?

And now items ... I don't like the power itemfest. UO should not become that kind of game. We allready have those. Where you can go to instances, to get items, to be able to go to bigger instances, to get more powerful weapons, to be able to go to great raids to get super uber items ... you get my meaning

Now if you see UO heading in that direction, than maybe I'm just being blind, and ignorant where I should be alerted. But for now, I'm under the impression, that in a few months I will stand in Doom against a peerless boss. If I can't achieve that because only real powergamers can, no matter the time I invest, that I'll come back to you and appologize for being such an ignorant fool

 

[imported_Trebr Drab]

Prudentis, I think you are missing my point (and Connor too). I don't mean that a tamer with a pack of mongbats should be as good as a tamer with the best pet. I mean that they should be able to compete, and be allot closer.

I would like to play a variety of characters who have lower skills, but more variety. One is a tamer with a pack of panthers, who can stealth and have at least some ability in magery. But under the current power extremes, this kind of character can't compete at all. His pets would die very quickly. While this character would be going backwards in tame's skills and spending his time resing his pets (or actually just leaving the area), the guy with the super dragon can be loading up with gold and items. This is what I meant originally by adding game play options by reducing the power differentials. Imagine all the options that would open up for game play?

And wouldn't it be good if a tamer could have 10 mongbats that could actually pose at least a little risk to that super dragon? Or at least work the edges of the spawn that the dragon wades into without fear?

And the same goes for every other aspect of game play.

When you go to Doom, take note of how much you can accomplish compared to elite characters. They will wade though spawn and horde so much of the best stuff that they leave behind lesser stuff, while you are stuck following in their path and not getting any of the elite quality stuff. It's not a matter of being able to be there and survive, it's a matter of what you can get, and it's not even close.

Are you aware that by doing most of the damage, those guys and gals will be getting looting rights to the best of items while you, even if you can get enough damage to get some looting rights, will be left with much lower quality items? Unless you have elite gear, you don't stand a snowballs chance in hell to compete.

All I want is a closer chance to compete, not total equality. A much closer chance, compared to the current set up.

And to be honest, I hate this item drive. It puts all other options for game play far in the rear behind it. It makes MOBs have to be that much tougher to provide the elite geared players a challenge, which makes those without elite gear impractical against the same MOBs.

But it's not that there's "elite gear", it's that the spread is far too wide. We all want to have the elite top end stuff in the game, but it just doesn't need to be to this kind of extreme.

I very much liked the old original system. If you got a top end weapon (a "vanquishing" weapon) you were elated. It was special. But it wasn't that much better than the lower end stuff that it could dominate the game.
It did lack variety though. They could have added something like up to 10% better resistance to fire damage to armor instead of this 0-100%. They could have added +D in other-than-physical types of damage to weapons normal damage, in other words a "vanquishing fire sword" that did normal damage plus 5 in fire damage, and let the resistances determine how good that was. They could have added special abilities to weapons and armor like invisibility charges and recharges, or blessings (like the spell), or any number of other ways to add to the list for variety and interest. Yet not overpower things like it is today.

 

[Guest]

Weapons have been overpowered since AOS. Player skill has been replaced by items.

 

[imported_Tina Small]

Trebr, I understand the points you are trying to make. However, I think UO would lose a lot more players if too much more is done to try to reduce what you see as massive disparities between new players and veteran players. Like it or not, I believe most people will agree that veteran players who have put in the time to go out and hunt, hunt, hunt and build up their bank balances so they can purchase better gear deserve to be able to enjoy what they acquired through their efforts.

Also, I have a couple of questions for you. How many new players do you think are truly that aware of all the uber stuff that exists in game and that they don't have yet? And do you really think the average new player (if there is such a thing) who is informed that the game has existed for ten years and has many players who have played for most of that time truly expects to have the same quality of items as those veteran players within a short time after starting to play?

I'm sure there are a handful of people who start playing UO who come into the game and play with their friends and are exposed to all the uber stuff immediately and therefore feel the need to acquire it as soon as they can. However, I think most people who start playing UO really don't know for quite a while what exists and therefore don't spend the majority of their playing time becoming discontented, resentful, jealous of what others have. Instead, I think most of them gradually become aware of the possibilities and adjust their goals and aspirations as they go. In a way, I feel sorry for anyone who starts playing and has "friends" who do them the disfavor of making them feel like they must be able to compete almost immediately with veteran players.

I suspect that what you want to do to the game to speed up the acquisition process for new players probably would appeal most to returning players who lacked the foresight to hang onto gold and their best items when they quit. All I can say to them is that they return to the game with their eyes open and should have a pretty good idea of what it's going to take to build themselves back up again. If they want to pancake and moan about the process, I guess to a certain extent their complaints are going to fall on a lot of deaf ears. Better for them to just suck it up, do some research on what's changed, get busy, and try to have a good time while keeping the green-eyed monster at bay.

 

[Guest]

Tina Small, you again completely missed the point made. It's not about new player versus veteran player, but about giving veteran players options. If anything, your post is a testament to just how ingrained the idea of, "there can only be one elite template, and it's simultaneously both the elite and the veteran template," is in the players.

As was mentioned, there are other pets that take GM skills to use reliably, but they're worthless against the monsters that were scaled to superdragons. There are Gauntlet-level bosses that at most two templates of dexer can stand toe-to-toe with, while everyone else will get gibbed -- and stand to get gibbed even if they try to joust.

Reducing power creep by buffing the less-used options instead of nerfing the strongest ones is perfectly possible. No one has to be nerfed, and no items or anything of the sort need to be nerfed either. The problem is, though, that the nerf option is -easier- and we've seen how the devs like to take the easy way out.

Powering everything else up to be on par would require rebalancing almost the entire game, from items to skills to monsters. It's something not for a patch or even a publish and only barely for an expansion -- it's more the level of work that would realistically accompany a reinvisioning of the game, how KR was supposed to be ... but all that we were really getting there was the graphical changes, and the ability to move forward with ease adding new graphics.

 

[imported_Tina Small]

Haep, my response was not directed to you or your comments about templates not being balanced.

 

[imported_Trebr Drab]

Tina, I hope none of you taking this stance have ever complained or thought that this game needs new blood, or is losing players. Because what you are saying to them is "come play with us, but you must accept that you will always be sub par to us vets because, well, we're vets, and you will always have less time in this game than us". Or do you mean to say "in 5 years or so you can be just as good in this game as we are"? I'm being a bit facetious here, humor bones needed, just trying to make a point on that.

But that's only a part of the issue, as Haep is trying to point out. This works on just about everything in the game. It's not a very simple problem. It's a domino affect, with a room full of dominoes branching this way and that, and all falling over from this one domino that someone probably kicked over while trying to set up others.

 

[Connor_Graham]

"And wouldn't it be good if a tamer could have 10 mongbats that could actually pose at least a little risk to that super dragon?"

Uh...No? It's a dragon for Pete's sake. A Super Dragon at that. The mightiest of the mighty. You want a small pack of one of the weakest creatures in the game to pose a risk to one of the strongest? Sorry, but I don't think you'll find anyone here that would agree with this one.


"Are you aware that by doing most of the damage, those guys and gals will be getting looting rights to the best of items while you, even if you can get enough damage to get some looting rights, will be left with much lower quality items?"

Are you aware that this is 100% incorrect? The loot pack is divided equally between the top 16 damagers, with the quality of the loot itself determined by the luck of the top damager. Anyone that has looting rights has an equal chance at the "best of items".

And btw....that trip to Doom I took after playing UO for 2 months saw me walking out with an Ornament of the Magician, which vets at the time had never gotten themselves as a drop, so the "best of items" are certainly available to even a newer player.



"And to be honest, I hate this item drive. It puts all other options for game play far in the rear behind it. It makes MOBs have to be that much tougher to provide the elite geared players a challenge, which makes those without elite gear impractical against the same MOBs."

There are people that have been playing for 10 years. Why shouldn't they have their own class of creatures to provide a challenge for them? Why should a new player expect to be able to take on something that provides this challenge for a veteran player? New players need goals. You've just discovered one.


"I very much liked the old original system. If you got a top end weapon (a "vanquishing" weapon) you were elated. It was special. But it wasn't that much better than the lower end stuff that it could dominate the game."

So now it all comes out. You just want to go back to pre AoS stuff.....

Sorry, but I won't agree to that either. Part of the fun of suit building is the versatility and variety we have now. It could sure use some work, as plate armor should provide better protection than leather, but for the most part, the system itself is pretty cool imo.

 

[imported_Trebr Drab]

While I'm at it, I'll throw this in here too. I wish they'd never added Dragons as tamables. If Dragons are to be powerful creatures, then it really unbalances the game. I can understand how desirable pet Dragons are, but jeeze, it's just too much. It's part of the reason things are so powerful in weapons and armor, I think, as an attempt to even things out. But it doesn't work, as I'm trying to point out.

What I wish had been done instead was to get Dragon eggs from Dragons, or sneak in and steal them. Then allow the tamers to "hatch the eggs and raise the dragonling to a smaller, young adult stage (this is hind sight on my part too, Devs). But never let the pets grow to full, adult size and power. Dragons, after all, live for hundreds of years, right?

To compensate, taming needs even more training stuff. And more commands, anything more except raw, unbalancing power. And ways to make all pets more armorable, magic and gear.

These Dragonlings could still be the most powerful pets, still be very cool, come in a wider range of colors and even looks with horns and patterns, and maybe even trainable to say things?

But I understand that players who have them now sure wouldn't like to give them up. But for the game, people, for more balance, more players....for the good of UO, I wish you all would give in on this, and these issues.