Gypsies need a fix

[Lore Master]

I know tomorrow the spawn rate will increase which is good but I haven't seen one single gypsy I could heal yet there always human when i see them.

• All the big guilds seem to have these gypsies camped out which hurts the little guy like me. I don't know entirely how this works but wouldn't it be fair if the gypsies required 10k or more heals to heal them entirely? wouldn't it be fair if other players don't get credit for your healing of the gypsies?

Wouldn't it be fair if you gave us the max number for how many heals per player it takes to get a single robe after all we pay to play? I don't care if it takes up to 50, 75, 100, or up to 200 heals to get a robe. all I want is a single 140 luck garb robe not to sell but for myself. other then this I think this is a great event.

 

[Kratos Aurion]

Another example of a great idea with poor implementation. I hope they throw out another publish with a much quicker spawn rate, oh say 30 minutes to 1 hour? better yet every 15 minutes. And then balance out the way blue crystals are turned in so that someone doesn't blow hours of work just to have someone else collect off of it.

 

[NBG]

Dev need to have the hag and give a quest that ask for set # of blue crystals and the reward for the quest would be a single use heal potion that will heal the gypsies NPC in 1 go. That way people don't have to worry about hidden/random person getting in that last heal and get the robe.

 

[MalagAste]

I agree something needs to be done...

Ridiculous the way it is. And WAY over camped. I certainly hope that something gets done so those of us who work most every day have some sort of chance at these things before they are gone.... I HATE that they do this last one on thing and soooo predictable that scripters and farmers can just sit there and time it out just right to get everything.

I too would love just one robe. But don't look like I'm gonna get it.

 

[riohnyx]

The theory of everyone chipping in to cure is nice and all... but only one person get the reward does sort of suck. Only want one robe, but I've yet to find a gypsy in monster form after the first day. I guess I can just hope that have the opportunity to camp one of them all day sometime before the event ends.

I almost wish that this quest would end as soon as a character gets a robe. Once you've done that you can't get another. If you want another robe you have to do the entire quest again on another character.

Or... (and this is probably asking too much, but I think event items like these should be attainable by anyone who participates) once the gypsy is healed, everyone who supplied cures would get the reward.

 

[Tandek]

Agreed. The event overall is enjoyable, but the requirements for the robe are implemented very, very badly. I'm fine with the effort it takes to get a robe, but I'm opposed to the "last blue turned in is rewarded" mentality. It only invites griefers. I'm also disappointed that a person can take effort to get 20-30 crystals and have basically no chance to get the robe, between griefers and the almost non-existant gypsy. The fixes to this are many, and many poeple already stated them:

- Have another PC collects blues and give a one shot cure. That cure then is used once on the gypsy.
- Each crystal has a 1 in X chance to cure the gypsy. It doesn't matter how many are turned in, the chances are the same.
- Each crystal has a 1 in X chance to cure the gypsy, with X diminishing as crystals are used by a player (like the Virtue items)
- The gypsy is only cured if 10, 15 or 20 players are all using the crystals at once. Have a gump appear showing how many players are currently turnning in crystals. Once the required number is being turned in, all players turnning in crystals recieve the reward. This keeps the feel of a "community event" since all the players need to stay near the gypsy while removing the "hose the other 19 players" concept. This might work best with the first idea of giving the crystals to another NPC for the cure, then all the players applying the cure together.

Whatever the fix, something needs to be done. It's simply not enjoyable to work toward something, find out you fall short, have someone else profit off it and you be sent back to square one. Especially for those of us who don't live on UO and wouldn't mind having a life outside the game.

 

[legendsguy]

shoulda made the robe: mr 1, dci 1%, luck 1 and then given it to everyone who healed it. and then made it one per account.

 

[Kratos Aurion]

It appears that the developers have definitely made changes to the respawn rate of the gypsys. I've encountered several "sick" ones today and everyone seems to be collecting off of their earnings (which is good). Step in the right direction devs!

 

[Scarst]

The gypsies are fine I've cured 3 times. first was Felucca Jared, second was Trammel Carl, Third Trammel Laura.
Did Laura just about an hour ago.

Each time I was ready for my crystals not to heal them after all were used. In fact on my first one I went back 3 times to drop blues on him and was racing the people who decided to post the locations on this board.

It took a total of 48 blues for Jared. And I was ready to expect not getting a robe because those are the breaks.

Second was Carl and it took me 21 and and I have a feeling I was racing a stealther who popped out after I cured him. I asked if he had dumped blues on him and he said no but I'm not sure that is true.

The third time it took 40 blue and I saw doors opening without me opening them.

It's part of the game just grab 50 blues find an uncured gypsy or jared and dump on him. To make sure you have the amount you think put them in a bag because some people can't count. You people know who you are!

At about fifty you should almost always cure them and if not go through the routine once more real quick and dump the blues you get.

Next, I'm tired of seeing people say you have to do the quest 100 times to get 40 blues. You can get 100 crystals in general in 20 go arounds, all you have to do is mark runes to the following locations.

Covetous entrance
Covetous Lvl 2 Entrance
Covetous Lvl 3 Entrance
Destard Lvl 2 Entrance
Orc Cave Entrance
Orc Cave Brutes
Any other of your favorite caves
And a Cemetery for moon grass
And the hag

Also with one transformation you can go through the the gathering process up to 10 times if your shard is of medium population but can safely get 4-5. This is with about 4 other people going through each of these caves at the same time.

Lastly, if you are to dumb to go through it more than once a transformation you are wasting your time even doing it at all.

Stop whining and actually do the grind if you actually want the reward it's a competition because if it wasn't it would be a giant handout and the robe would suck and not be worth the grind in the first place.

Feel lucky you can actually do the quest I have a guy in my guild that can't even do the quest due to lag. So before you whine think about what it means would happen to what you actually want.

 

[G.v.P]

I'd just aim for the gold and get the 140-luckless version, although that takes awhile and some risk too.

I was worried I wouldn't get the 140 robe but it turned out to be real easy. There are 12 NPCs on each shard, 6 in tram, 6 in fel, and they respawn pretty fast now.

 

[Astrel]

One of the things I have noticed is the guild involvement in this quest. The other night (morning 4 am) I watched Carl in monster form. There were 4 players using essence monster form going back and forth just scouting the situation (presumably 4 different guilds who didn't have hidden guys on the ground). Nobody does anything until the words pop up from Carl, and then suddenly every one comes out of hiding and starts giving crystals and guys start recalling in.

Everyone being able to see the white curing text is a basic design flaw, rather than a specific individual response. These robes are the same as val runics for guilds, so they watch every gypsy on both Tram and Fel. Needless to say they also eat up most of the sparklies, and the fact that the base essence lasts for 3hrs is also another basic design flaw, so the guilds have collectors, scouts, and stealth workers.

Of course if you live in the backwoods of UO, where people say that they can collect 50 crystals in 2 hrs, on my shard, Asuka, it would be more realistic to say that 50 crystals will take you at least 6.5-8 hrs on a good day, and up to 25 hrs at weekends.

 

[Kratos Aurion]

The gypsies are fine I've cured 3 times. first was Felucca Jared, second was Trammel Carl, Third Trammel Laura.
Did Laura just about an hour ago.

Each time I was ready for my crystals not to heal them after all were used. In fact on my first one I went back 3 times to drop blues on him and was racing the people who decided to post the locations on this board.

It took a total of 48 blues for Jared. And I was ready to expect not getting a robe because those are the breaks.

Second was Carl and it took me 21 and and I have a feeling I was racing a stealther who popped out after I cured him. I asked if he had dumped blues on him and he said no but I'm not sure that is true.

The third time it took 40 blue and I saw doors opening without me opening them.

It's part of the game just grab 50 blues find an uncured gypsy or jared and dump on him. To make sure you have the amount you think put them in a bag because some people can't count. You people know who you are!

At about fifty you should almost always cure them and if not go through the routine once more real quick and dump the blues you get.

Next, I'm tired of seeing people say you have to do the quest 100 times to get 40 blues. You can get 100 crystals in general in 20 go arounds, all you have to do is mark runes to the following locations.

Covetous entrance
Covetous Lvl 2 Entrance
Covetous Lvl 3 Entrance
Destard Lvl 2 Entrance
Orc Cave Entrance
Orc Cave Brutes
Any other of your favorite caves
And a Cemetery for moon grass
And the hag

Also with one transformation you can go through the the gathering process up to 10 times if your shard is of medium population but can safely get 4-5. This is with about 4 other people going through each of these caves at the same time.

Lastly, if you are to dumb to go through it more than once a transformation you are wasting your time even doing it at all.

Stop whining and actually do the grind if you actually want the reward it's a competition because if it wasn't it would be a giant handout and the robe would suck and not be worth the grind in the first place.

Feel lucky you can actually do the quest I have a guy in my guild that can't even do the quest due to lag. So before you whine think about what it means would happen to what you actually want.

No one is complaining about the grind. We were complaining about the 10 or so people who camped the gyspys day in/day out when they spawned every 6 hours or so farming the robes preventing other players from being able to get the robes. Now that that appears to be fixed, it would be nice to create a more fair turn-in system to get the robes for players who don't have all fricken day such as yourself to sit around and farm the damn things all day and farm robes.

I myself have finally farmed up to about 60 or so myself over the last week squeezing in about 30 minutes of playtime each day. No body I've seen has complained about grinding the crystals. It's the turn-in system that we're complaining about.

 

[JC the Builder]

The 140 luck robe is obviously meant to be a limited drop. So everyone who wants one is not supposed to get it.

 

[Connor_Graham]

The 140 luck robe is obviously meant to be a limited drop. So everyone who wants one is not supposed to get it.

Says you. I didn't see that in the official announcement. Please link it for the rest of us, thanks.

 

[Sakkarah_]

The 140 luck robe is obviously meant to be a limited drop. So everyone who wants one is not supposed to get it.

That is correct.

Luck isn't the most powerful property. That's why the rarer version had that property instead of one of the much more desirable other 2. This way everyone was guaranteed to at least get one version of the robe if they fought a couple Harbingers. The luck property itself was a hint hint that only the lucky folks would get it.

The fact that only the person who applies the last crystal gets it is intended. You may not agree with that approach but that's what gambling is about and this was setup on that very principle. When you buy a lottery ticket, you never know if you will win. Some people are lucky and win the first time, others will have to try a 100 times before they win any kind of prize, others will never win no matter how many times they try and some will simply never bother because they don't think it's worth the risk/time/effort.

When everything is always guaranteed, it loses its value and you lose the excitement of receiving it.

I play on Atlantic, and believe me the competition is fierce. I sat by the gyspies, healing them like a fiend, my heart pounding the whole time just to see someone else snag it. But I kept at it and eventually got my robe on the 2nd day with only 6 crystals. That "OMG Woot!" moment more than made up for everything.

And if guilds are working together, more power to them. That's what MMOs are about, people joining forces towards achieving a goal. If you're not in a guild, group up with other people, start a party and do the same.

At least with this, you choose when to you use your crystal and how many of them you want to give up. You can do like another player did: he offered a friend of mine 50 blue crystals and a couple gold ones in exchange for a luck robe. That player didn't care for the "gambling" so he found a smart alternative to still get what he wanted.

Do not always expect to receive everything. There will be rare drops in future events, some way more rare than these luck robes are turning out to be.

 

[Connor_Graham]

Stealing from other players is and always has been limited to Fel since Tram was first brought into the picture. It needs to stay there, for the same reason it's not allowed there to begin with, and not be hidden by some BS like calling it gambling. Players get PISSED off when hours worth of effort goes down the crapper because of some jackass griefer. That's a good way to lose players, not keep them.

 

[Scarst]

No one is complaining about the grind. We were complaining about the 10 or so people who camped the gyspys day in/day out when they spawned every 6 hours or so farming the robes preventing other players from being able to get the robes. Now that that appears to be fixed, it would be nice to create a more fair turn-in system to get the robes for players who don't have all fricken day such as yourself to sit around and farm the damn things all day and farm robes.

I myself have finally farmed up to about 60 or so myself over the last week squeezing in about 30 minutes of playtime each day. No body I've seen has complained about grinding the crystals. It's the turn-in system that we're complaining about.

To clarify I do not have all day to play the game most of the time I'm on I'm multi-tasking on a web browser. I'm lucky to get 2-3 hours of concentrated play time without sacrificing a bit of sleep. I'm just efficient enough to do what you evidently can't.

(Oh and my usually amount of concentrated playtime is about an hour to an hour and a half a day late at night.)

 

[Stupid Miner]

The fact that only the person who applies the last crystal gets it is intended. You may not agree with that approach but that's what gambling is about and this was setup on that very principle. When you buy a lottery ticket, you never know if you will win. Some people are lucky and win the first time, others will have to try a 100 times before they win any kind of prize, others will never win no matter how many times they try and some will simply never bother because they don't think it's worth the risk/time/effort.

Nothing wrong with implementing a "gamble" system. What *is* wrong is not making sure people know that it's a gambling system, and having it disguised as a non-gambling system. (In other words it looks like a plain quest.)

 

[legendsguy]

i had some respect for you before, Sakkarah. but you lost it all. this shouldn't be a gamble. everybody just wants to have fun. not your kind of fun, which apparently means grinding for hours only to get screwed out of a robe. i mean actual fun. keep the thieves in fel.

 

[Stupid Miner]

i had some respect for you before, Sakkarah. but you lost it all. this shouldn't be a gamble. everybody just wants to have fun. not your kind of fun, which apparently means grinding for hours only to get screwed out of a robe. i mean actual fun. keep the thieves in fel.

Well the problem isn't so much gambling... tons of players would love it if they put a casino or something in Luna.

As long as they make sure everyone knows they're gambling, there's nothing wrong with it.

... and I'd have to agree with Connor... this really is a lot more akin to stealing than gambling. Gambling is random chance, if this was a gambling system there'd be a chance for the NPCs to be cured after 1 crystal or after 60. This is stealing because it's *always* 40-50 and anyone who gets the robe for a few crystals was merely a parasite off the people who did the work to turn in the 30-40 of them.

 

[JC the Builder]

It isn't even a gamble if you take precautions. Either you plan out your strategy or just hope for the best.

 

[Ender]

Yeah, it's not a gamble. It's bull**** and that's all it is. I wasted hours getting the crystals, and every time it was a waste. ****ing stupid event.

 

[JC the Builder]

There are three rewards. You are acting like the 140 luck robe is the only outcome of the quest. You get costumes and another version of the robe from the Harbinger.

 

[Gheed]

Gathering crystals for the 4th (and probably last) robe now. It was total blast! Very well done Sak!

 

[Ender]

Costumes are useless, and I can't solo the Harbinger, so even if the robe does drop, I'm not guaranteed to get it. I'm guessing it will take at least 5 people to kill it, and robe drops maybe 1 in 5 Harbingers? 1 in 25 chance that I'll get that version... So no.

 

[JC the Builder]

I can't solo the Harbinger

Yes you can. Either use a bard to provoke tough creatures on it or summon it in a location where positive karma creatures kill it.

 

[Ender]

Yes you can. Either use a bard to provoke tough creatures on it or summon it in a location where positive karma creatures kill it.

1. I don't have a bard.

2. I see that as an exploit. :/

 

[JC the Builder]

1. I don't have a bard.

The crystals last forever. So you can just hold on to them until you do have a bard.

You are just being difficult. There are different rewards available for everyone. If you don't like it then don't participate.

 

[Sakkarah_]

Nothing wrong with implementing a "gamble" system. What *is* wrong is not making sure people know that it's a gambling system, and having it disguised as a non-gambling system. (In other words it looks like a plain quest.)

The word gambling was merely a comparison, not litteral since obviously someone is guaranteed to "win" after a specific number of steps, unlike lottery. Instead of relying on the RNG to determine when the goodies get handed out, it was predetermined. You just couldn't know for sure if that number was up.

The original design was that only 12 luck robes would be available per shard. Since we had to address a duplication bug that was also causing a couple of the gypsies to reset, we decided to meet the players' request of making them all reset a few times a day so more people have a chance at it.

Bad decision...

With the original setup, most Gypsies would have been healed with every player using no more than a couple blue crystals, which you could potentially get in a single run. By making them reset, we have unwillingly introduced a "grind". Healing the Gypsies was meant to be more of a bonus side quest as the main one was to simply find the proper ingredients to make Halloween costumes and get Harbingers.

Lessons learned? Stick to the plan even if it's not perfect. We will never be able to always please everyone. Trying to please more players halfway through can cause more harm than good.

Mea culpa

 

[Der Rock]

That is correct.

Luck isn't the most powerful property. That's why the rarer version had that property instead of one of the much more desirable other 2. This way everyone was guaranteed to at least get one version of the robe if they fought a couple Harbingers. The luck property itself was a hint hint that only the lucky folks would get it.

The fact that only the person who applies the last crystal gets it is intended. You may not agree with that approach but that's what gambling is about and this was setup on that very principle. When you buy a lottery ticket, you never know if you will win. Some people are lucky and win the first time, others will have to try a 100 times before they win any kind of prize, others will never win no matter how many times they try and some will simply never bother because they don't think it's worth the risk/time/effort.

When everything is always guaranteed, it loses its value and you lose the excitement of receiving it.

I play on Atlantic, and believe me the competition is fierce. I sat by the gyspies, healing them like a fiend, my heart pounding the whole time just to see someone else snag it. But I kept at it and eventually got my robe on the 2nd day with only 6 crystals. That "OMG Woot!" moment more than made up for everything.

And if guilds are working together, more power to them. That's what MMOs are about, people joining forces towards achieving a goal. If you're not in a guild, group up with other people, start a party and do the same.

At least with this, you choose when to you use your crystal and how many of them you want to give up. You can do like another player did: he offered a friend of mine 50 blue crystals and a couple gold ones in exchange for a luck robe. That player didn't care for the "gambling" so he found a smart alternative to still get what he wanted.

Do not always expect to receive everything. There will be rare drops in future events, some way more rare than these luck robes are turning out to be.

Jesus..... THIS is IT
this is the best post i´ve ever read !

BEST POST EVER !

you should simply post more often.

 

[Gheed]

Jesus..... THIS is IT
this is the best post i´ve ever read !

BEST POST EVER !

you should simply post more often.

Der Rock? Is this really you? I really can't tell... is this sarcasm? This is (I think) the absolute very first positive post I have ever seen you make! I'm not making fun either. I've actually enjoyed reading your posts. I've always seen you as and angry but overall good fella. So don't take this as a negative post towards you. The world has gone bonkers this Halloween. Wow...

 

[Der Rock]

Der Rock? Is this really you? I really can't tell... is this sarcasm? This is (I think) the absolute very first positive post I have ever seen you make! I'm not making fun either. I've actually enjoyed reading your posts. I've always seen you as and angry but overall good fella. So don't take this as a negative post towards you. The world has gone bonkers this Halloween. Wow...

no no no , i also made a positive post in 2004

 

[Gheed]

The word gambling was merely a comparison, not litteral since obviously someone is guaranteed to "win" after a specific number of steps, unlike lottery. Instead of relying on the RNG to determine when the goodies get handed out, it was predetermined. You just couldn't know for sure if that number was up.

The original design was that only 12 luck robes would be available per shard. Since we had to address a duplication bug that was also causing a couple of the gypsies to reset, we decided to meet the players' request of making them all reset a few times a day so more people have a chance at it.

Bad decision...

With the original setup, most Gypsies would have been healed with every player using no more than a couple blue crystals, which you could potentially get in a single run. By making them reset, we have unwillingly introduced a "grind". Healing the Gypsies was meant to be more of a bonus side quest as the main one was to simply find the proper ingredients to make Halloween costumes and get Harbingers.

Lessons learned? Stick to the plan even if it's not perfect. We will never be able to always please everyone. Trying to please more players halfway through can cause more harm than good.

Mea culpa

Who said this caused more harm than good? A few bitter folks? Geez come on already. I'm not putting down the bitter posters about this event either. I have been bitter about things and very vocal about it in the past as well.

There isn't anything you'll add or change in this game that won't rub somebody the wrong way. And if you do nothing... well that will rub alot of folks the wrong way too. If your goal is truly not to upset anyone anymore than you should petition EA to shut the game down completely.

Look it wasn't a grind at all for me. It was very fun. It was very clever. It was perfect use of RNG. My 2nd favorite event ever (sorry the Magencia event is going to be hard to top). Shards won't be flooded with (the luck) item as everybody cant farm 100 of them before the event is over.

I would not have been upset at all not to get the luck robe. But I am thrilled to have received one so thanks for changing it. My guild has been having a blast with it as well. I think if you could ask each and every person who took part in the event just how much they enjoyed it you would see just how much more good it did than harm.

I like the attention you give us. I like that you are here quite a bit checking up on things. Please don't get burnt out on making our (yours too) game better. I think you are where you belong for now.

 

[ChReuter]

Folks... Calm down. While I agree that it would have been a lot nicer to have a different system put in place for receiving the robes, I really think people are forgetting something very important. This is a game. I know that it's nice to get items and whatnot, but isn't the most important part to just have fun playing the game? I mean, if this isn't something you enjoy than why do it? (I do feel for those that didn't know that it was a "gamble") There's a whole lot else to do in UO. What's the point of playing if it isn't "playing", in that I mean when something just becomes an obsession or an end goal that is just to tough to attain by ones standards, than it isn't "playing" anymore. It becomes a dirty job and that's not the point of it.

Things aren't always going to go as you want. Look at it this way, you have a much larger chance of getting one of these robes than you do getting the one off item at an EM event. You now know what it takes to attain this item, either you choose to shoot for it and have fun doing so, or you find something else to do. Anything else just doesn't make sense. Is it really any different than powerscrolls? It's a game. Which sadly, seems to be a bit of knowledge that a lot of players have forgot since I left the game in 02 or something.

 

[Stupid Miner]

The word gambling was merely a comparison, not litteral since obviously someone is guaranteed to "win" after a specific number of steps, unlike lottery. Instead of relying on the RNG to determine when the goodies get handed out, it was predetermined. You just couldn't know for sure if that number was up.

...

Lessons learned? Stick to the plan even if it's not perfect. We will never be able to always please everyone. Trying to please more players halfway through can cause more harm than good.

Mea culpa

Well it's nice to know the full story, we're always blindly grasping at straws trying to find the reason why you all do the things you do.

Since the choice was this system or no system, I'm glad you picked this one

Oh, and i'd like to comment that the "grind" of the system is dramatically lessened by the timer. It's more of a race than anything, and when you're so busy trying to get the essences as fast as possible, the grind loses most of its tedium. (IMO at least)

 

[Scarst]

Nothing wrong with implementing a "gamble" system. What *is* wrong is not making sure people know that it's a gambling system, and having it disguised as a non-gambling system. (In other words it looks like a plain quest.)

The word gambling was merely a comparison, not litteral since obviously someone is guaranteed to "win" after a specific number of steps, unlike lottery. Instead of relying on the RNG to determine when the goodies get handed out, it was predetermined. You just couldn't know for sure if that number was up.

The original design was that only 12 luck robes would be available per shard. Since we had to address a duplication bug that was also causing a couple of the gypsies to reset, we decided to meet the players' request of making them all reset a few times a day so more people have a chance at it.

Bad decision...

With the original setup, most Gypsies would have been healed with every player using no more than a couple blue crystals, which you could potentially get in a single run. By making them reset, we have unwillingly introduced a "grind". Healing the Gypsies was meant to be more of a bonus side quest as the main one was to simply find the proper ingredients to make Halloween costumes and get Harbingers.

Lessons learned? Stick to the plan even if it's not perfect. We will never be able to always please everyone. Trying to please more players halfway through can cause more harm than good.

Mea culpa

It didn't cause more harm than good even though it did cost me from having a 1 in 12 item to having an item that shows I did the grind. It was still a good call. Remember just because they are loud doesn't make them plentiful I didn't count but there can't be more than 10-15 people total who posted on this thread and that is counting myself and others who aren't upset.

If I can get over the fact that an item I did the grind for became not nearly as rare the next day these people can get over a bit of misfortune.

After all if it weren't for the Dev team turning the into a grind they wouldn't even be able to get a chance at a luck conjuror's garb in the first place and they should remember that.
This comment is directed at the people who have decided to whine about a bit of misfortune when it could have been a lot different and you could have not even gotten the chance!

If you are really fed up with it don't do it or as others have said trade blues you've gathered for a robe from someone who is will to trade for about 70 blues. Or just kill a few harbingers and forget the luck no one has forced you to do this and for the people saying "I don't have time to play.". I have this to say "Then why do you want one if you can't play why do you want the items?" It's a simple fact that the people who invest more time or have better planning will have a better chance. I owe my success to a few guild members that helped me find an uncured one in the beginning.

 

[Sweeney]

...I play on Atlantic...

Make a character on Siege please.

 

[Sarsmi]

Oh, and i'd like to comment that the "grind" of the system is dramatically lessened by the timer. It's more of a race than anything, and when you're so busy trying to get the essences as fast as possible, the grind loses most of its tedium. (IMO at least)

I totally agree. The grind thing was greatly reduced by the race against the clock element. Getting 4 or 8 residue (whatever you can get in the 10 minutes moongrass lasts) then doing a few round of getting sparklies is a great period of time for a quest. What's also fun is seeing other people in the same area but maybe doing a different part of the quest. There were really only two options for that though, either you were getting residue or you were getting sparkles.

I'd like to see that more advanced in the future, where players go to the area to do the quest but there are more parts of it so some people will be doing one thing, some people will be doing something else, and everyone will be racing around trying to finish. Has a nice feel for the solo player who still likes to see other people around.

 

[Harlequin]

The word gambling was merely a comparison, not litteral since obviously someone is guaranteed to "win" after a specific number of steps, unlike lottery. Instead of relying on the RNG to determine when the goodies get handed out, it was predetermined. You just couldn't know for sure if that number was up.

The original design was that only 12 luck robes would be available per shard. Since we had to address a duplication bug that was also causing a couple of the gypsies to reset, we decided to meet the players' request of making them all reset a few times a day so more people have a chance at it.

Bad decision...

With the original setup, most Gypsies would have been healed with every player using no more than a couple blue crystals, which you could potentially get in a single run. By making them reset, we have unwillingly introduced a "grind". Healing the Gypsies was meant to be more of a bonus side quest as the main one was to simply find the proper ingredients to make Halloween costumes and get Harbingers.

Lessons learned? Stick to the plan even if it's not perfect. We will never be able to always please everyone. Trying to please more players halfway through can cause more harm than good.

Mea culpa

Actually, I think it's a good change. And I thank you for the change.

I am of the "letting everyone get a fair chance" school of thought. I would have been opposed to limiting it to only the first 12 players that cure the gypsies.

It's not that much of a grind. And when certain players having problems, there are other players contributing their tips for collecting the crystals efficiently.

The halloween events were all very well implemented and I am having a blast! Including the gypsy respawn change.

 

[Harlequin]

Yes you can. Either use a bard to provoke tough creatures on it or summon it in a location where positive karma creatures kill it.

1. I don't have a bard.

2. I see that as an exploit. :/

1. As mentioned by Sak, the crystals will be available for use even after halloween. Just save them until you can whip up a bard, or tamer or a couple of friends, or when you have a couple of hours you can play uo and ev it to death using (there's a technique to ev'g too, you try to always have 2 up), or joust or even explosion pots.

2. It's not much of an exploit considering the effort to get a yellow crystal in the first place. Considering the amount of thought the devs have put into these quests, I believe they intended for this to be a legit method to kill the harbringer.
Also, think about it, the devs patched it to be unusable in the Abyss, but not other places. If they want to prevent this, they could have just fixed it so that mobs don't attack it. Or restrict its summoning to a couple of specific places.



Other notes:
1) This is a good way to allow you to kill good karma creatures without losing karma yourself
2) It's also a great tactical weapon for creating chaos in Fel (say champ spawns or harrower *evil grin*)
3) Makes very good guild events
4) I'm definitely gonna keep a few yellow crystals for future use

 

[BadManiac]

The original design was that only 12 luck robes would be available per shard.

Wow, that makes me feel extremely privileged having got my 140 luck robe before the "fix" went in. I waited up until 3am and watched one of the gypsies until he turned back into a monster, then cured him. Took me 37 crystals and some creative thinking.

Can I just say that all this:
"I can't solo..."
"I don't have a guild to..."
"I don't..."
"I can't..."
"I..."
"I..."
"I..."

Are you people serious? Playing an MMORPG is all about the COMMUNITY. How about joining it? UO is a REALLY terrible single player game, why are you treating it as one? I don't get it.

 

[Harlequin]

Yeah, it's not a gamble. It's bull**** and that's all it is. I wasted hours getting the crystals, and every time it was a waste. ****ing stupid event.

Ok, this is where it pays to be paranoid.

Do you have a buddy or guildmate you play with? Each of you prep 50 blue crystals and use them on 1 gypsy simultaneously. Once once of you get the robe, go look for the next gypsy and cure him too. You will get 2 robes, then just split it amongst yourselves.

If you have more buddies, just adjust the strategy accordingly. Make sure you have an agreement first.

That will allow you to cure the gypsy in half the time, and even less if you have more buddies.

Just make sure you have an agreement before hand.

Also, before you start, track the area for other players a couple of times.

Do it during off peak hours.

And this is important - If you see someone already there curing a gypsy, be polite and let him finish. Just look for another. They revert back to mobs alot faster now. Do not try to steal. You have been a victim, and you know how it sucks. Of course, there are no rules against this, it's just player etiquette and being nice in general.

There's no need to gain something at another player's expense. You can still come out ahead.

 

[GreySteele]

It's part of the game just grab 50 blues find an uncured gypsy or jared and dump on him.

Stop whining and actually do the grind if you actually want the reward it's a competition because if it wasn't it would be a giant handout and the robe would suck and not be worth the grind in the first place.

The problem is trying to find an uncured gypsy or Jared. I've been trying for nearly four days, and can never find one that isn't cured.

If I take the time to gather 50 blues, I'd like at least a chance one a week to try to cure one of them, instead all I find are ones already cured, and nearly always someone is stealthed waiting............ so it would not matter how many people work together trying to get robes. If someone is stealthed, then well.... it decreases your chances of your hard work paying off.

So I have nearly 150 blues just sitting around in multiple character's banks.... just taking up space at this point with the clock ticking down to November 15th. So thus, I have wasted time trying to complete a quest. All other quests, no matter how many people are doing the same quest, everyone has an equal chance of completing that quest. This one, it's whoever wants to wait around, hidden, for hours, at the same spot, doing nothing, and then taking a chance that no one else is around when they do revert back to "uncured". Wow, that's how you play this game? That's news to me.

They should have made it one robe per character.

So yes, I would like some cheese with my whine. And while your add it, throw in a couple pieces of bread and some ham.

 

[Obsidian]

The word gambling was merely a comparison, not litteral since obviously someone is guaranteed to "win" after a specific number of steps, unlike lottery. Instead of relying on the RNG to determine when the goodies get handed out, it was predetermined. You just couldn't know for sure if that number was up.

The original design was that only 12 luck robes would be available per shard. Since we had to address a duplication bug that was also causing a couple of the gypsies to reset, we decided to meet the players' request of making them all reset a few times a day so more people have a chance at it.

Bad decision...

With the original setup, most Gypsies would have been healed with every player using no more than a couple blue crystals, which you could potentially get in a single run. By making them reset, we have unwillingly introduced a "grind". Healing the Gypsies was meant to be more of a bonus side quest as the main one was to simply find the proper ingredients to make Halloween costumes and get Harbingers.

Lessons learned? Stick to the plan even if it's not perfect. We will never be able to always please everyone. Trying to please more players halfway through can cause more harm than good.

Mea culpa

I think the change to offer the reward to more players was very positive. I disagree with your assessment that you should have stuck to the original plan. I appreciated your effort to flex and make the quest rewards more available. I got my first Conjurer's Garb today after collecting crystals for the past few days. Had the original plan been implemented (the only 12 per shard plan) I probably would not have participated in the event... just like I don't buy lotto tickets in real life. The chances of the final positive outcome (the garb) would have been too low to justify taking time from doing the billion other things available for a player to do in UO. Again that is why I liked Treasure's of Tokuno so much... everyone is guaranteed to get something if they keep at it. I dislike events where there is certainty of some people getting the reward and others not. If a player puts in the time and effort, they should be able to benefit.

-OBSIDIAN-

 

[legendsguy]

so the person in charge of pretty much all UO events thinks it shoulda been 12 per shard...

think about that. something no one would have enjoyed.


think about that.

 

[Lord Gareth]

Stick to the plan even if it's not perfect.

I think the system is horrible and a bad idea. So, everyone can complain about it which we know never helps or just go do something else. I decided not to participate in the healing event or the EM events. So honestly if you don't like it don't participate in it and do a system you like. Perhaps if they see not many participating in it they will notice the community doesn't like it. Also have to remember the majority of the community may like it. (Back to my Bods)

 

[phantus]

so the person in charge of pretty much all UO events thinks it shoulda been 12 per shard...

think about that. something no one would have enjoyed.


think about that.

I think it's great. With ideas like this it will be easier to stop playing this game.

12 per shard indeed....