sspitfire1's page

The value of a Backdated PFO Account, explained:

There are basically three things that potentially limit the rate at which you can train up your character. They are Achievements, Coin, and Experience. Of the three things, Experience is, by far, the most limiting, with Coin and Achievements varying by role.

If you have been playing PFO for more than a few days, then you have noticed that while the last rank of a feat may have taken only a few hours to save up exp for, the next rank will take a few days- then a week, maybe then a month, and progressively longer. In PFO, the cost of each additional rank of a feat increases exponentially, meaning the demand for experience points increases exponentially as well. The supply, however, is fixed at only 100 experience per hour. As a consequence, the value of experience to you is increasing dramatically with each passing rank of a feat. You need and want progressively more experience to advance- but the only thing you can do about it is watch the counter go up one slow tick at a time (and play the game, of course!).

To put PFO’s system into contrast, think about table top Pathfinder. In TT, the exp needed for the next level increases exponentially as well. However, the experience coming in to that character also increases at the exact same rate. So if you are going from level 1 to 2 or level 19 to 20, the rate of advancement is static (disgruntled and/or mischievous GMs aside).

Thus the value of backdated accounts! With a backdated account, you don’t have to wait! Well, you don’t have to wait as much. Eventually, you will have to wait because either a) you will have blown through all your backdated exp or b) one of the other rate limiters will kick in. With 6 months of backdated exp, a) is the bigger issue you will face. It’s worth noting that, at 6 months worth of exp, you can pretty much build out a character well into Tier 2 and very close to Tier 3. Tier 3 starts at around 1 year of experience, assuming no major sidetracks.

So basically, the question for you is, “How much are you willing to pay to not wait or to wait a lot less to get deep into Tier 2/into Tier 3?” (And then x2 for that DT account!)

Of course, the other benefit of Day 1 accounts is being able to have that character that is as uber as the game will ever allow- to be at the top and never a second behind!

The two other rate limiters:
Achievements - For combat roles, achievements are virtually nothing. You will blow through them in weeks. Crafters and Refiners are limited by their access to recipes and materials as well as their current rank. Gatherers may or may not ever be limited by achievements, depending on how much backdated exp they have to spend and how much the player enjoys gathering.

Coin - Combat roles have it very easy here, as well. Party up and go kill stuff! Gatherers can find a lot of value in selling raw mats and kill a few things along the way. Crafters are pretty well at the the mercy of a feeder account or their settlement/company until they get up enough skill to make goods that are worth selling at market.

By the roles:

(If someone else wants to chime in with more precise numbers here, please do!)

Combat Role - Coin is the only potential hard limiter, but won’t likely be a major issue until the account has years backdated exp. The real challenge may actually be getting yourself into the appropriate gear. (Here’s a hint: join a well established settlement and earn your keep!) You can never go wrong buying a backdated account if you plan to build a combat role.

Gatherer Role - Coin will be limiting sooner for the gatherer than the combat role; but achievements may be limiting at 1 years worth of back dated exp as that is about the point where the gatherer needs to have several thousand nodes harvested of a particular type. Make sure you really love gathering (and it really is (mostly) very relaxing) before you buy a backdated account to build a gatherer.

Crafter/Refiner Role - On the one hand, if you have folks feeding you what you need, you could zip by faster than the combat role and gatherer role, save for having to wait for stuff to cook. On the other hand, if not, you are going to be moving faster than if you also had to wait on exp; but not always by much. A backdated account for a crafter or refiner may be a valuable investment, but you will want to check with the settlement/company you are joining first.

The big DON’T! of buying backdated accounts:
Don’t buy more than one, especially if it is a DT account. If you are considering a back dated account, then you likely already have one account that you can continue to maintain at your leisure. For most folks, 2 or 3 characters is enough. Before quitting gaming, I was very happy crafting and fighting on my DT account and using my regular account for training a dedicated gatherer. I likely would have never used the 2nd DT account- most folks don’t! (And don’t forget you will have your 1K exp alts to run around with.)

How much!?
The prices of accounts vary greatly depending on what is on it, who is buying, and who is selling. DT accounts will always command a premium- not just because you are getting two characters now, but also because you will always get two characters for the price of one going into the future. At $11.95 for the annual subscription, if you plan to play the game for the next two years, then you are saving $286.80 on subscription fees alone with a DT account!

At the very least, for an account backdated to Day 1 with none of its exp spent, expect to spend somewhere in the hundreds of dollars for it- DT or otherwise. Once the game officially launches in 2016, Day 1 DT accounts may be selling for close to $1,000.

If the account is backdated to Day 1 but some or all of its exp is spent and it is NOT a DT account, then you should be able to land the account for under $100. (Just make sure you get their stuff!) Because of the way the ability score system in PFO works, this might not be a bad deal for the budget conscious. Basically, unless you are going in a radically different direction with the character, the bolstered ability scores will likely save you some time and training later down the line.

“Buyer Beware”
Goblinwork’s policy on buying and selling accounts is that we do it at our own risk. Here are some tips to make sure you don’t get screwed.

1. Ask for a list of all feats that have been trained on the character(s).
2. Ask for screenshots of the character(s) with their character sheet open and the computer’s calendar open.
3. If you are buying what someone purports to be a Day 1 DT account (or any account that might be high value), then you are well within your rights to ask them to make a video of them logging into the account (from the login screen!), and showing you the two characters. Its your money, after all, not theirs! Feel free to make them work a little for it!
4. Ask if the account has ever *not* been actively earning exp- even if just for a day or two.
5. Ask around! Talk to your company and settlement mates about what you are looking for, how a price is, who the seller is, etc!
6. If you don’t like the price, don’t pay it! Simple as that. Don’t be afraid to walk away from a deal. Other options- possibly better ones- will always be there. That seller is never your only option. As with many things in life, the more patient you are, the better the deal you are likely to get.
7. Make sure there is some kind of paper trail for the transaction.

I imagine Sir Terry wouldn't have it any other way. Godspeed and may you rest in peace. :'(

This is a redirect post to a post on the GW forums.

You can read one of many articles about him here.

RIP!

Long story short, I am getting off of some meds and it is making me very.... annoyed, among other things. Reflecting on my posts the past few weeks, I think this is occasionally coming out a little sideways. I'll try to keep a little more towards the friendly side; but I can't make any guarantees for the next month or two.

My apologies if you feel you have been unduly kicked in the shins by me in the past month or so.

Sspit

Relevant to this forum and the game on many levels. Enjoy!

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150130-the-man-who-studies-evil

Those of you who are more concerned with mobile resource nodes than stationary ones can skip this thread. The rest of you, read on!

Here's what you need to do followed by why:

What:
On your dedicated crafter, refiner and combatant, pick a single gather skill (preferably Miner, Forester or Scavenger) and train it to rank 6 (or 4 or 2, if you are a real mizer with your exp.)- but NOT- absolutely NOT rank 7. Ever. Period.

For reference, here are the cumulative Exp costs for each rank (days in parenthesis):

25 (0.0)
224 (0.1)
894 (0.4)
2,483 (1.0)
5,587 (2.3)
10,950 (4.6)

I recommend Rank 2 across all gather skills in all your non-1,000 exp characters simply because it will save you a lot of time in actually sitting through the gathering animation.

If you want to get serious about it, then train one all the way to 6. Miner is good for combatants as it will add an extra 0.261 points to your Constitution score (which is hard to come by no matter what role you are!) and it is vital for our access to coal and iron.

Why:
In 2 words, Tier 2. When we hit Tier 2 crafting, our global demand for Tier 1 raw materials is going to double in a lot of key resources, not drop off. To give some examples:

Yew Stave +0 requires 5 Yew and makes 2 staves
Composite Maple Stave +0 requires 5 Maple and 10 Yew and makes 5 staves

Steel Wire +0 requires 10 Coal and 10 Iron and makes 25 units
Dwarven Steel Wire +0 requires 10 Lodestone, 20 Coal, and 20 Iron and makes 25 units

Don't let the fact that Composite Maple Staves make 5 units instead of 2 fool you. We are going to need WAY more T2 Bows than we ever will need T1 bows because the vast majority of the player base, at any given time, will be in T2 (remember, it only takes 1 month to get fully out of T1!). And don't even get me started on apothecary mats! (WE NEED MORE TANSY LEAVES!)

By contrast, those of us who have dedicated gatherers and are taking those gatherers into T2 range (Rank 7 and higher) are seeing our T1 gathering PLUMMET- anywhere from 1/2 to 1/4 what it was before hitting T2.

That creates a huge deficit (gap, whole, crater, chasm, kobold) in the economy where we need- and I mean really NEED- more T1 stuff but find ourselves harvesting far far less of it.

And that creates a wonderful opportunity for your dedicated characters out there to seriously earn some coin AND help keep the cost of T2 gear low (aka affordable).

So do it! Then go gather stuff! We need it! You need it! And you'll thank me later, I promise ;)

(And yes, gushers will help with this; but since we do not have a timeline for those and we are on the verge of T2 crafting, I'm thinking waiting is a bad idea.)

How much does increasing + value of a CRAFTED item increase its item quality?

If the base Quality of a Hunters Longbow +0 is 20, what does it become at +1, +2, +3 and so on? Is there an actual equation involved in that? Or do we just have to look it up somewhere? If so, where?

Think of all the coal.

Greetings everyone,

I have created a rudamentary system for players to report non-consenual PvP such as banditry and griefing.

Any feedback is welcome.

The goal is three fold.

1. Document incidences of non-consenual PvP in a manner that will allow the community to better identify bandits from griefers.

2. Provide a system that will aid settlement leaders in the policing of their own territories.

3. Create a systematic means of recording where banditry happens most often so travelers can better plan their travel routes and enforcers can better focus their policing efforts.

The River Kingdoms currently has no systematic means of accomplishing items 1 or 2, and it is my concern that griefers may be going un-noticed because their actions are undocumented, while groups policing poachers and trespassers in their territory may be confused with true bandits or griefers.

tinyurl.com/WWpvpReport

I would appreciate support from settlement and community leaders by promoting this space on your respective forums as well as communicating its availability to players in-game and in IRC.

A Shivtr account is required to file a report.

At what point should someone who is legitimately playing the game stop doing what they are doing because of the amount of distress it is causing the other player?

I am specifically concerned with my actions and how they are/will be affecting Scorchbark; but I think the question has general merit, as well.

Greetings community! As I am doing something rather unorthodox here, I would like to be transparent on my process and my intentions. A few points of clarification are in order first.

1. I fully accept that what I am trying to do, seize leadership of Blackfeather Keep (BFK), does not fall in to any definition of the word “nice” that I am aware of.

2. That said, I would like to do this as fairly as possible. This primarily means giving Scorchbark and the Agents of Erastil the opportunity to actually show up in the game and make use of the space they possess in a manner constructive to the larger PFO community. My primary mechanism for this comes by way of limiting my harassment of their towers. Specifically, I will take 1 tower a week, up to the point of possessing all 6 core towers around BFK and any other towers the Agents mean to hold. The simple logic is that if they cannot spend enough time in-game each week to hold what they have, then they do not deserve it. And this is the way of the River Kingdoms.

3. I sincerely believe that Scorchbark is unfit to have leadership of a settlement at this nascent, vulnerable and vital stage of PFO’s life. He is leader of a settlement that is dedicated to Erastil, the God of Community. Yet he makes no effort to actually cultivate community within his own company, much more the entire settlement. Further, my own efforts to engage the settlement many months ago and get a recruitment plan put together were met with toxicity rather than support. Such a response is the opposite of what would be expected of a true community leader and devotee of Erastil.

4. If the community leaders from other settlements active in the game right now are overwhelmingly against my efforts to take over Blackfeather Keep, I will cease and desist. The members of the Northern Alliance have particular sway in this matter.

5. I have nothing against the Agents of Erastil. They are welcome to remain at Blackfeather Keep. I have nothing against Scorchbark. He is welcome to remain at Blackfeather Keep. However, I take exception to Scorchbark remaining the the sole gatekeeper (or any gatekeeper) at Blackfeather Keep. That is the primary change I seek to precipitate.

Working Vision for BFK
My current working vision for BFK is that of a relatively safe base for PVE and RP-focussed players and companies (guilds) as well as a safe home for dedicated crafters and gatherers in the North East. BFK will maintain its dedication to the god of farming, hunting, trade and family, Erastil, with a particular emphasis on Community.

Action Plan
1. Continue to develop trade relations with other settlements in the game. Continue to support other settlement’s in their acquisition of key resources.

2. Maintain a firm but peaceful presence in Blackfeather Keep.

3. Recruit new members to the Wilderness Wanderers, Blackfeather Keep and PFO via MMO websties such as Massively and MMORP.com as well as on the Goblinworks and Paizo boards.

4. Work with incoming members to more fully develop both the vision for BFK and the resources and structure needed to manage the settlement.

Key Guiding Principles
Participation is the key to harmony.
Leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern. There is but one authority, the community’s conscience as it expresses itself in community meetings.
Individual self-care will be encouraged and respected over self-sacrifice. The health of the community depends upon the health of its individuals.
More to come as the process requires.

Best Case Scenario
Scorchbark willingly turns settlement control over to the Wilderness Wanderers.

Worst Case Scenario
Scorchbark and the AOE occupy BFK just enough not to trigger any redistribution action on the part of GW. Wilderness Wanderers begin an aggressive campaign to occupy all towers until Sorchbark sees fit to yield the settlement.

Middle Ground Scenario
Scorchbark and AOE give up on the game in short enough order to warrant redistribution action by GW. GW either directly transfers the settlement over to the Wilderness Wanderers or we take it in a second land rush.

Trigger warning: This thread is a total fanboi RP thread.

So I was trying to think of a way to justify Gale equipping Cleric Domains from an RP standpoint (so that I feel a little less weird slotting Fire Domain for combat benefit). I came up with one idea for a "Rite" Gale could perform before slotting the Water Domain, Fire Domain and Community Domain. Feel free to share you own!

Fire Domain:
Sarenrae, Asmodeus

To perform the rite, the individual must place a bowl on the ground and fill with it oil, then set light to the oil. The individual then prays to their deity of choice before placing both hands in the burning oil. The hands are then withdrawn and the oil allowed to burn off, leaving skin and clothes unsinged. The rite is then complete. In the absence of oil, the individual may use a hot fire, grasping the burning coals instead of the embers. Those praying to Asmodeus may feel the burn of the hot fire at first while those praying to Sarenrae may feel a warm and welcoming sensation.

Water Domain:
Gozreh, Pharasma

To perform the rite, the individual must spend a period of time meditating and praying to their deity of choice minimally clothed in the bitter cold. The amount of time spent in the cold and the depth of the cold required are directly proportional to the size of the benefit from the domain. Suitable places in the temperate environment of the River Kingdoms for performing this rite include the various snow-capped mountains in the region. In a pinch, an individual may strip naked and substitute an Alchemists Ice for the cold environment, uncorking the bottle while holding it in their lap (attacking themselves with it).

Community Domain:
Erastil

The rite for the Community domain cannot be performed by one's self*. At least one other individual is required as the focus for the rite. In rare cases, one or more animals may also serve as the focus. To begin the rite, the individual must state, "Erastil, help me be of service to ________ today." This designates the focus of the rite and begins the process. Next, the individual must complete one act of self-care. This act cannot be symbolic; it must be a genuine act of self-care. Acts of self-care include eating a meal because the individual is hungry, getting a good night's rest, or even simply saying "no" to another's request for assistance when the individual cannot give it. Finally, the individual must perform one act of service for the focus of the rite. This can range from something as simple as doing the dishes or gathering a necessary resource to something as significant as sacrificing one's life for the betterment of the community.

*In times of personal stress, the rite may be performed with the individual as the focus by stating, "Erastil, please help me be of service to myself in this time of personal difficulty." The individual must then perform two acts of self-care. "Times of personal stress" include being extra-ordinarily busy, grieving from a loss, and suffering from illness.

Don't make potions or grenades higher than +0 right now. The keyword tech on this is not working. A +0 Alch Fire will deal the same amount of damage as a +2 alch fire, etc. Presumably this means that a +2 Ward Gel will act the same as a +0 Ward Gel in terms of duration.

~Sspit

So one of the things I have had a hard time with grasping so far in EE is how much things are worth- especially things which are easy to gather tons of in a short period of time, like essence. The thing is, we can't start paying coin for things (AH issues aside) without having a reasonable understanding of how much time is worth in the game. To get a very basic, one-dimencional hold on this I am going to do a little experiment.

In 15 minutes, I gathered the following in a monster escalation hex (lion hex):
66 ordered essence
42 tansy leaves (totally a coincidence, I swear!)
24 bloodstone
132 units in total

I chose the escalation hex due to the higher density of the nodes. It is also worth noting that this particular hex is easily navigable (some are literally mazes). I never died and only had a few run-ins with critters. My gather skills for all 3 nodes are at rank 5.

Next I am going to go kill some mobs for 15 minutes using Gale and his +2 longbow and medium armor. I'll do it in the same hex just because.

Gale picked up 97 copper, Footpad's Leather, Hide and Steel Banded, 3 torn peasant's clothes, Apprentice's Quickening Wand Recipe, Basic Strips +1 recipe, 4 Fragments of Battle, 2 Fragments of Learning, and 2 Fragments of Secrets.

Lets say for a moment that we ignore all the non-coin loot and just focus on the 97 copper. Lets also then make the rather large assumption that everything the gatherer got is equal in value. We have, roughly, that each unit gathered is worth about 0.75c.

No, no it isn't!

Lets be honest. We are all itching to kill each other. So why not do it in a cordial manner with a nice, big, team PvP tournament?

Date: Saturday, January 31st
Time: TBD (Whatever is best for all timezones)
What: Team PvP Tournament - Teams of 4 to 6 players representing any level of organization, from none to Settlement.
Style: Round-robin, most points wins
Where: Iron Guantlet
Fee: Any one of the items below. Must be raw- not salvaged- materials of the highest quality. Payment at time of registration on Tournament day.
Prize: 1st - 2/3 of Entry Fees; 2nd - 23% of Entry Fees; 3rd - 10% of Entry Fees (plus additional prize support provided by GW and Sponsors, if any)

Entry Fee Options
Iron 500
Silver 300
Coal 300
Copper 100
Bloodstone 30
Greenweed 50
Weak Adhesive 100
Pelts 75
Other Gems 75
Weak Sanguine 100
Pine 200

Settlements and Companies that would like to sponsor the event by providing additional prize support or support for volunteers, PM me.

If you are interested in helping organize the event, PM me.

If you would like to volunteer to stream and record fights, PM me.

10% of the entry fee plus whatever Sponsors provide will go towards compensating volunteers for their time - that includes me!

If GW would like to sanction the event by providing additional prize support, that is also welcome ;)

Rules:
1) Teams must be between 4 and 6 members.
2) No holds barred save one: No combining staffs/wands with heavy or medium armor.

Other:
- Points system TBD - open to suggestions.
- Round-Robin style PvP since we will none of us had too much practice with organize group PvP. A Round-Robin will give everyone equal opportunity to learn and adapt through out the tournament.
- Rules 1 and 2 are set in stone. Feel free to share any other rules that should go with this event.
- Any other comments or important points you feel need to be made, post below!
- Finally, yes, the combat system is not finished and has lots of issues with it, especially where team PvP is concerned. But these issues are universal and things we will have to deal with anytime we engage in PvP, be it fighting over a tower, a trade route, resources or a young maiden/boy-maiden. Best get used to them, now!
- Entry fees are based on a combination of rarity on the game map, scarcity in the market, and time spent to harvest.

This: https://goblinworks.com/forum/topic/1151/

I think its time we start planning its downfall, and the downfall of all 4 of the other starter settlements, as well. I don't care if it means rewriting a large chunk of my guide. I can take one for the team!

*A small notice has been tacked up outside the bank in towns all across the north east. It reads...*

ATTENTION: Yew, Bloodflower Gum (Adhesive/Sanguine) and Greenweed (Green/Yellow) are available in moderate quantities in the AH in Rathglen. The Greenweed, in particular, is heartily expensive, but will be dropping in price to 30c at the end of its sale period. If you would like more of these goods, please make a note of it at the bottom of this notice and I will see what I can do.

Best,
Gale Windswept, Wilderness Wanderers

So I had an interesting conversation with Ember last night. They brought up some points worth mentioning here and mulling over.

1) The "World's Greatest Swordsman" should own any new character, even with T1 +0 gear.

I think Ember was getting at how our power is strongly tied to out equipment- which is true, at least for our damage much of our defenses. But I got to thinking about it and the World's Greatest Swordsman would still own T1 characters as well as some low-level T2 characters with T1+0 gear. Here's why:

Sword Attack = BAB + Feature + Heavy/Light Melee Attack Bonus + Racial bonus + Dragoon = 20 + 20 + 40 + 10 + 20 = 110

Even without the Racial Bonus or Armor Bonus, the World's Greatest Swordsman is already dealing maximum effect and damage to anyone in T1 armor 1000% of the time. Adding on the Racial Bonus and Dragoon Armor puts them where they need to be to also have strong effectiveness against a player in T2 Armor.

The World's Greatest Swordsman will also have defenses stoked higher than a normal T1 characters, likely with Reflex Maxed and all their Defensives maxed. Their Reflex would be between 80 and 90 in heavy armor, or nearly on par with a T2 opponent in heavy. Their Physical resistances will be the main thing lacking; but it will still be around 27.

Finally, the World's Greatest Swordsman will have the benefit of maxed out Reactives, and an Attack, Utility and Reactive set up that is built to work together to take down most any foe- regardless of gear quality.

So Test 1 is a pass. The World's Greatest Swordsman can definitely take down any T1 character with ease, and probably some T2 characters as well.

The person to bring me one of those in Rathglen gets the full set of mats required to turn that +1 stave into a +2 T2 bow.

When EE arrives, we will have nothing. I want to see just how fast we can make something from nothing!

The settlement that can post the most screen shots of a completed +1 item (crafted, not refined) within 24 hours of the start of EE (time TBD) will get props and a prize.

Any crafted +1 item is valid for this competition.

The winner will pick the item from the list of items they completed and I will personally supply them with 100 units of each of the raw materials required to complete that item.

Screen shots must be posted below, showing the item in your inventory with the server time on the mini-map.

Sspit

So once EE comes around, the first few days items will be scarce and there may be some competition/strategy about acquiring them and distributing them.

Once the initial rush settles down, though, starter towns will need to be kept in-stock with starter gear for the newbs. In an effort to have a slightly organized approach to this, I would like to propose players, companies or whole settlements "Adopt a Starter Settlement."

Simply post below if there is a particular starter settlement you plan to or are willing to help keep supplied with starter gear. I will PM you to remind you of your pledge after the start of EE. TK is not listed since no one starts there.

Starter Settlements:
Ossians Crossing (Central West)

Rathglen (North West)

Marchmont (North Central)

Kindleburn (Central East)

This is just a brainstorm I had.

TL;DR: Dragons are Marked of Pharasma. Their loot pools are filled by the husks of the players they kill. Their loot drops are husks which players get a couple of minutes to harvest before dragon respawns.

So Ryan pointed out somewhere in these forums that there is one very major issue with having big boss spawns like dragons in a game like this. Simply put, imagine word goes out that a dragon has turned up in a hex, then suddenly hundreds of people in the nearby hexes swarm on it. Bad things happen, not fun things. If nothing else, only a small handful of people actually get to enjoy killing the beast, while everyone else gets stuck out in the cold. So random big monster spawns are a bad idea in this game.

My idea: Have "Dragon homes" (or homes for other similarly large, rare creatures we would like to see in the game). Pick a hex- or even just a portion of a hex- that is a home to a dragon. Locate an (inactive) Shrine of Pharsma there, and say the Dragon is one of the Marked of Pharasma. Players can kill the dragon, but the dragon will just respawn in a very short time-frame (1 or 2 minutes).

Now here is the catch: The dragon does not drop loot. It drops a husk (or husks) that the players have to harvest while the beast is dead.

Here is the second catch: Those husks aren't filled by the game. They are filled with the husks of dead players the dragon has killed. In other words, when your husk drops after the dragon eats you, it immediately gets absorbed into the dragon's loot pool.

What this does: It sets up a system where we can haz dragons, players can enjoy seeing the dragon, fighting the dragon, and getting eaten by the dragon. Then players can enjoy one day actually being able to kill the dragon and take some of its stuff- but not all!

This system should remedy the issue of everybody wanting to rush to see the dragon since it will always be there. Likewise, it will remedy the issue of players trying to farm the dragon for goodies, since the dragoon only has as much loot as the people it has killed. Other than the Dragon's loot coming from other player's husks, and the dragon dropping its own husks, this system would work basically just like the current PvE combat system.

Some stats for two different dragons:
Great Wyrm Red Dragon (intended to be nigh unbeatable):
80 All Resistance
100 Fire Resistance
20 Cold Resistance

~250 Reflex, Fortitude and Will

4,000 hit points

100 base damage for its attacks

Range on Breath attacks: 35 Meters
Range on Bite Attacks: 10 meters

Perception: 300

Aggro Distance: 35 meters

Mature Adult Black Dragon (Intended to be beatable by T2 parties):
40 All Resistance
100 Electirc Resistance

~150 Reflex, Fortitude and Will

2,000 hit points

70 base damage for its attacks

Range on Breath attack: 35 meters
Range on Bite attack: 5 meters

Perception: 150

Aggro Distance: 35 meters

Possible Locations:
Black Dragon: Monster Home Hex in the swamps south of Hammerfall
White/Silver Dragon: On snowcapped peaks of mountains near Brighthaven and Callembea
Green Dragon: Forests anywhere
Red/Silver Dragon: Mountains
Blue/Brass Dragon: Lower Plains
Copper Dragon: Hilly hexes
Gold Dragon: Lower Plains, or Forests near LG settlements like Ozem's Vigil

I'm thinking one of each type on the map, so they are rare enough to be special, but common enough to not be meccas.

Sunday December 21st, at 5PM EST/2PM PST/10PM GMT - Rotters Hole population test! [Make it if you can!]

Due to the new optimizations from the last two patches, we would like to try a HUGE Endeavor, we want to get 100 accounts (more if we can) logged on at the same time on Sunday in Rotters Hole. This will be a population test just to see how hard we can stress the server, so we ask everyone to try and make it for the betterment of the game. If you can't make it, just log your character(s) in ahead of time, and idle in Rotters Hole near the Shrine of Pharasma.

If we meet and exceed 100 accounts, please move excess accounts to the center of hex directly south of Rotters Hole.

Thank you all for your help and support!

Running a non-exp gaining alt over to RH and leaving it there is the best approach. (Likewise for our sister event, Saturday December 20th, at 5PM EST / 2PM PST / 10PM GMT - Brighthaven population test! [Make it if you can!].) (Yes, stolen like an artist from Cheatle's event.)

It gets stuck at the Apple screen with the little whirly bit going round-and-round. Tried starting in Safe Mode, too. No dice.

This is my old, 2009 or 2010 MacBook Pro 13"

There isn't anything to recover. I just want to get it working again.

Please and thank you!

Sspitfire's No-Brainer guide to PFO: Part 1

Its a work in progress and likely won't be done for a good long while. But I've explained sooooo many different aspects of this game in-game and on the forums to date, that I figured I ought to just write a guide, then I can just tell people, "Look here" for the more complicated stuff.

Anyways, Part 1 is simply a walk-through style introduction to get new players in the door. You can see an outline of what the rest of the guide will contain as well. My goal with Part 1, in particular, is to give the new player a very gentle introduction to the feat training system and a few other aspects of the game. The rest of the guide will be written in a similar fashion.

I don't expect this to replace the wealth of information already out there, but rather to be an alternative source. People have different learning styles, so different sources with different teaching styles will be valuable to the game.

~Sspit

PSA: If your character was not previously a member of a settlement and it had feats trained up above level 7 (or level 3 for attacks, level 6 for Armor), you will find them reduced to those levels. THESE FEATS HAVE NOT BEEN UNTRAINED. You simply cannot access the higher levels until you join a settlement.

How do you join a settlement? The easiest way is to create your own company:

/vccreate <Company Name>

then type:

/settlementapply <Settlement Name>, <Company Name>

I recommend doing this while the leader of the settlement you want to join is online (so some coordination may be required).

A further note: Ryan mentioned ath some of the character's company information got FUBAR'd while they were working on all that stuff. At this point, those characters are SOL since we are too close to EE and the fixes would "take time away from preparing for EE." Ryan apologized for the inconvenience.

Silver lining: We are getting close to EE, folks!

If you are in the south, and you want to play with grenades and potions, the following options are available to you:

20 Flammable for 6 Alchemists Fires

30 Adhesive for 6 Tangle Bombs

25 Acidic for 6 Alchemists Acid

25 Luminous for 6 Alchemists Frost

20 Flammable for 6 Thunderstones

10 Stimulant and 2 Golden Crystals for 6 Speed Potions

20 Soothing and 5 Antiseptic for 6 Soothe Syrups

10 Sanguine, 10 Tonic and 1 Sepia Crystal for Cure Potion

10 Soothing, 1 Crimson Crystal and 1 Golden Crystal for Alch's Resistance

PM me or catch me in game for the trade.

I found a reliable source of iron, though it sounds like they will have another patch early next week to fix the node bug.

Head due north from Kindleburn, through the mountain pass, then one more hex north. That hex and the hex NE of it are confirmed to have reliable nodes. Others in the area may be good to go too.

Has anyone looked into creating something like this? Or has anyone at least pulled the Settlement and TK maps out of the game?

Ireland's Goat King Still Reigns

:P

Is this a sign your efforts to curtail teleportation is working? I know there was talk about having the server out-right drop us instead of teleport us when it gets overloaded.

Its happened twice now to me tonight.

I wasn't joking about writing surveys being my PFO Methadone. Anyways, I learned some new tools I want to test out, so yall are going to be my guinea pigs. But first, the survey needs to player tested and player approved! So get in there, root around, and tell me what you think!

https://duke.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_2rzW4ig5nUX8cqp

Ok, I am going to try to go do something more healthful for myself right now. Maybe. If I can.

Someone pointed out that it has been a while since the last patch. I'm starting to feel withdrawal symptoms, I think. I build surveys and stalk the forums to bide the time. But it isn't enough! I need more! I need new features to critique! I need new excuses for killing Nihimon! I need! I NEED! AHAGHGHAAHGDHAHSGHAGHAHGASGKag;ajlgag;ajg.a......

Greetings folks! I decided to do another quick survey to help GW get a better sense of where we all stand on the start of EE. The survey is brief- should take less than 5 minutes.

Please promote the survey to people you know who are vested in the game but not currently active on the Paizo forum due to the lull in development activity.

This survey will be live for 3 days before being closed.

The link is below:
https://duke.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_0Dmrs9nvbcXHwMd

Thanks!

I'm not sure they are. Yall mind helping me much with it a bit to figure it out?

Some attacks that do one or the other:
Knockback
Bull Rush
Stagger (on Opportunity)
Hydraulic Push (Wizard Spell 1)
Arctic Winds (This is what the Goblin Shaman use, so we know it works for them!)
Telekinetic Fist (on Unbalanced)
Sonic Thrust
Impact Critical Shot (on Critical Hit)
Shove (on Unbalanced)
Shield Charge (on Unbalanced)
Clustered Shots (on Unbalanced)
Smash (on Flatfooted)
Hoist (on Unbalanced)

Immobilize
Charge (on Opportunity)
String Bolos (Rogue Maneuver 1)
Binding Web (on Disrupted)
Steel Speed (on Disrupted)
Shiv (on Unbalanced)
Parting Shot (on Distressed)
Mangle (on Distressed)
Transfix (on Opportunity)
Stagger (on Opportunity)
Pause (Fighter Maneuver 3)
Web (on Disrupted Wizard Spell 2)

By the way, I need a job. Anybody hiring?

I am looking for someone with a build that can successfully counter my Longbow/Spear combination. The key trick is going to be having a healthy set of fast, uninterruptible attacks (cool-down times of .9s or faster). I recommend using Dragoon 5 and Hide and Steel Banded, as well. If you are using a wand, you must wear Cloth Armor.

Shortbow and shortsword/dagger are probably the best candidates; but you are welcome to experiment.

If you can put together a build that reliably owns mine, I will happily help you acquire +2 Weapons and Armor come EE.

Sspit.

Key Attacks for my build:
Longbow
Half-Draw
Overdraw
Impaling Shot
Followthrough Foresight
Patient Anchor

Spear
Penetrate
Stab
Spike
Gore
Skewer
Impale

Reactives
MoO Stop L2
MoO Suffer L1

I have (most) of the raw mats needed- plenty of cotton, tons of maple, and oak, and maybe half of the goods needed for the moderate varnish. But I have none of the skill to refine any of it all or make the bow or spear.

Anyone willing to help out with the missing mats for the moderate varnish, refining the mats, and crafting the bow, let me know!

I've temporarily joined up with Phaeros since I know they have enough towers to allow me to train in to T2 bow usage and skirmisher to train at- and hopefully that will be possible to do before the start of EE.

Some of us are privileged to have access to the Alpha forums and occaisionally the devs post some really cool stuff there. Here is a post from Stephen Cheney yall might like:

[Half-Draw + MoO Stop] Should be two separate rolls. But a 40% and 50% together is a 70% chance overall of either of them triggering (and a 20% chance of both of them triggering, which doesn't do anything extra), so it's still pretty likely.

And, yes, people specced to spam interrupts is exactly why slow attacks are so good; the chance of getting interrupted is built into the math. If you're in a fight and you keep getting interrupted, switch to attacks that are faster than 1.3 seconds (and, consequently, have no interrupt phase).

(That said, interrupts should fail if factors reduce the attack's effect by 30% or more and that seems to be bugged right now, so, once that bug is fixed, another solution is to buff your defense enough that the interrupter fails by a decent margin.)

THE WILDERNESS WANDERERS

"Well I am a gnome you see and we are a very curious lot. We must seek out new experiences or face the dreaded bleaching. We do anything to avoid that. So I wander and look to see what over the next ridge what in that midden pile or covered by that interesting pile of plants. There are so many interesting thing in Golarion I must check out each and every one." ~Diella (a Wilderness Wanderer at heart, but not in reality)

Alignment: NG
Acceptable Alignments: LG, NG, CG, LN, TN
Home Settlement: TBD
Affiliated Settlements:* Brighthaven, Keeper's Pass, Ozem's Vigil, Phaeros, Tavernhold, more to come...
Affiliated Deities: Erastil, Desna, Gozreh, Pharasma

Who We Are
We are a collection of travelers, wanderers and explorers who appreciate companionship as much as we do solitude. We travel to meet new people, discover new resources, or simply to see what is over the next hill. Our purpose is simple: to be of service to ourselves, our fellow company members, and the other fellows of the River Kingdoms that we meet on the road. While our community may be a diffuse one, we place high value in its integrity as well as in the integrity of any other communities we may belong to.

Code of Conduct
All members of the Wilderness Wanderers are expected to abide by the following Code of Conduct.

Roles
Any! Only a willingness to explore is required. We especially encourage any individuals that favor a bit of gathering and wandering with their weapons or a touch of weapons with their gathering and wandering. Rangers are, perhaps, the most compatible with our organization, but all roles are welcome.

Required Skills
Basic proficiency (level 3) in Stealth, Perception, Survival and any one Knowledge is required.

Recommended Skills
Basic proficiency in any or all gathering skills is wise.
Advanced proficiency in any one or more gathering skill is highly desirable.
Advanced proficiency in any one or more of the Required Skills is also highly desirable.

Area of Operation
All the lands Pharasma permits us to enter, but especially new, uncharted lands at the edge of the map.

Services
Guides, Escorts, Information, Exploration, Tracking, Scouting, Delivery

Free Agency
Company members are free agents for the purposes of negotiating fees for their services and who they decide to work with.

What The Wilderness Wanderers can do for You!
Training. Whether it is player or environment that threatens you, I, Gale Windswept, will personally train you in the basics of how to handle different combat situations. If you work for The Wilderness Wanderers, you will not go into the wilds unprepared! That I can promise you.

Companionship. The Wilderness Wanderers is not a faceless company. It is a faces company. You will find warm and inviting companions here- not just for the trail to the lowlands, but for the Trail of Life as well!

Purpose. The River Kingdoms are wide open for the exploring! But why are you exploring them? We will help you give purpose to your passion.

PvP
We will defend ourselves if attacked.
We will defend our wards from bandits.
We will defend other travelers on the road.
We will defend our home settlement and its holdings from foreign aggression and bandits.

PvE
We will help manage escalations in the region of our home settlement or abroad.
We will defend our wards from the local inhabitants.
We will defend other travelers on the road.

*Affiliated Settlements are settlements which welcome members of the Wilderness Wanderers as citizens. A local branch of WW will be set up at that settlement and allied with the settlement when a member requests such. More settlements to be added in the future.

"[I] would be a rangerish/paladin type who wanders the world killing bad things here and there and randomly helping people as he goes. Archery, sword, healing, and stealth, with a few harvesting skills to trade or sell goods for the coin he might need." ~ EoX Hobs (a Wilderness Wanderer at heart, but not in reality)

Basically, what do you use and why?

Blackfeather Keep uses Shivtr, which is what I am familiar with. Poking around with it, it appears to do everything I need for creating a site to the Wilderness Wanderers.

I'm out until EE comes online (unless they delay it a solid 2 weeks).

Its been good! Big HUGE thanks to Nihimon for getting me an Alpha invite back in Alpha 7. I'd say it was an invite well spent :)

I'm leaving both of my laptops behind for the trip I am taking, so I won't be able to comment on the Paizo or GW forums for a week or so. I'm sure that makes a lot of you very happy :)

Peace,
Sspit

Greetings, Gale here.

I have a small concern that affects this company and the settlements it may affiliate with. Given the diffuse nature of The Wilderness Wanderers, I would like for members to be free to settle wherever they like. This may mean one company member chooses to settle in Bright Haven, while another in Keeper's Pass and a third in Tavernhold, and so on.

"...we place high value ... in the integrity of any other communities we may belong to." A part of being a member of the Wilderness Wanderers does mean being an asset to your local community, so members of the Wilderness Wanderers will be desirable to have around. But as a member of WW, they may not always be home.

Would settlement representatives and settlement leaders please comment on how you would feel about such an arrangement?

Ok, at the behest of Karlbob, I have TS3 now.

Next time I am in game, I would appreciate some guidance on how to use it beyond setting up my hotkeys.

The Wilderness Wanderers will be bringing you the first ever PFO Player generated quests this Friday and Saturday night!

My alter-ego, Sspitfire, will be announcing his location in game as a riddle (of sorts). The first 10 players to find him will receive their choice of 2 of the following items (note that he only has one of a few of these, so you might want to inquire before venturing forth to find him).

+3 Battle Axe
+2 Battle Axe
+3 Long Sword
+3 Dagger
+2 Club
+2 Greatclub
+2 Spear
+1 Spear
+2 Buckler
+1 Buckler
+2 Longbow
+1 Longbow
+2 Shortbow
+1 Shortbow
+2 Wool Mittens (MITTENS!) & +2 Stocking Cap
Spell: Holy Light (Level 3 Cleric)
Spell: Darkness (Level 2 Cleric)
Spell: Resist Energy (Level 2 Cleric)
Spell: Strength (Level 2 Wizard)
Spell: Web (Level 2 Wizard)
Spell: Hydraulic Push (Level 1 Wizard)
Maneuver: Rush (Level 2 Fighter)
Maneuver: Bully (Level 1 Fighter)
Maneuver: String Bolos (Level 1 Rogue)
A small horde of crafting materials as he is able to provide.

Anyone wishing to supply extra goodies for the game, feel free to post below! More advanced Implements; varieties of Armor with +'s; wands, staves and foci with +'s; Spells or Maneuvers not listed above; and nice crafting mats would all be welcome. If I have enough supplies, I can offer more goods to players and/or increase the number of handouts each night. Please post below if you would like to contribute to the game, including your company and/or settlement affiliation and what you have to offer.

Cheers!
Gale

The Wilderness Wanderers
(Click here for a complete and up-to-date company description.)

Alignment: NG
Accepted Alignments: LG, NG, CG, LN, TN
Home Settlement: TBD
Affiliated Settlements: TBD
Affiliated Deities: Erastil, Desna, Pharasma

Who We Are
We are a collection of travelers, wanderers and explorers who appreciate companionship as much as we do solitude. We travel to meet new people, discover new resources, or simply to see what is over the next hill. Our purpose is simple: to be of service to ourselves, our fellow company members, and the other fellows of the River Kingdoms that we meet on the road. While our community may be a diffuse one, we place high value in its integrity as well as in the integrity of any other communities we may belong to.

Code of Conduct
All members of The Wilderness Wanderers are expected to abide by the following Code of Conduct.

Roles
Any! Only a willingness to explore is required. We especially encourage any individuals that favor a bit of gathering and wandering with their weapons or a touch of weapons with their gathering and wandering. Rangers are, perhaps, the most compatible with our organization, but all roles are welcome.

Required Skills
Basic proficiency (level 3) in Stealth, Perception, Survival and any one Knowledge is required.

Recommended Skills
Basic proficiency in any or all gathering skills is wise.
Advanced proficiency in any one or more gathering skill is highly desirable.
Advanced proficiency in any one or more of the Required Skills is also highly desirable.

Area of Operation
All the lands Pharasma permits us to enter, but especially new, uncharted lands at the edge of the map.

Services
Guides, Escorts, Information, Exploration, Tracking, Scouting, Delivery

Free Agency
Company members are free agents for the purposes of negotiating fees for their services and who they decide to work with.

PvP
We will defend ourselves if attacked.
We will defend our wards from bandits.
We will defend other travelers on the road.
We will defend our home settlement and its holdings from foreign aggression and bandits.

PvE
We will help manage escalations in the region of our home settlement or abroad.
We will defend our wards from the local inhabitants.
We will defend other travelers on the road.

PM me for inquiries or to sign-up!

I've seen this with Critical feats and Master of Opportunity feats. When a Reactive successfully gets triggered, it mirrors back on the attacker as well as hitting the target. I had MoP Stumble slotted just now. Hit a goblin while it was provoking. The MoP Stumble went off and both the Goblin and I were "knocked down." Every other Reactive I have used does the same thing, mirroring the effect right back on me.

Very annoying. I've unslotted my reactive feats and will consider that system defunct until this issue is fixed.

It been like this since Alpha 7 at least.

I'd like to put together a one-stop quick-reference sheet for me to use when doing various calculations, and PFO has a lot of equations running about. If such sheet already exists, feel free to point me towards it. If you know what a particular equation is, feel free to post it below.

Some equations I am looking for and don't already have at my fingertips:
1. Keyword matching between attacker's weapon and defender's armor and how that affects attack effects. Additonal clarification on whether that matching process also effects the extra conditional abilities of 2ndary attacks would be nice, as well.

2. How critical hits are determined.

3. Looting equations.

4. Crafting time equation.

5. Any other random equations I am missing.