Goblin Squad Member
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I almost forgot an important issue:
Right now, the only way to tell someone is attacking you is to see the animations. So if you are in a large group, you have to actually see them make the motions to be sure who it is. Then of course, the animations are bugged so you may never see it.
Maybe I am missing something.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I had five cleric focuses drop, but no holy symbols. I had seven longbows and no shortbows. I had several greatswords and one each light mace, longsword, and shortsword. Five staffs and three wands dropped. I noticed no dropped spells whatsoever. I harvested a huge number of esoteric essences but few other types.
Wow, Being, this sounds almost exactly like my drop-and-gather experience. Fewer greatswords, more staves and wands, but otherwise...
Oh, and no armour, but I was far from the most dedicated hunter for it.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I almost forgot an important issue:
Right now, the only way to tell someone is attacking you is to see the animations. So if you are in a large group, you have to actually see them make the motions to be sure who it is. Then of course, the animations are bugged so you may never see it.
Maybe I am missing something.
On the other hand, I found this quite handy a couple of weeks ago, when Cheatle et al thought I was helping them slay guard and I was actually helping the guard slay them.
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Goblin Squad Member
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If only I had a bank or storage facility where my characters could put things in that my other characters could then take out. :-)
In the meantime, you can trade with yourself if you have two machines (either physical, or virtual). Each alpha player can log in three characters simultaneously. Or you can look for a kind stranger to pass the item between you.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I don't know for sure if it's implemented yet, but the quality of monster drops is supposed to be modified by your matching skill (the underlying explanation being that you are better at finding their "den" or "stash", so bumping your knowledge dungeoneering and the like may improve your chance of getting other equipment.
I got several of various types of armour, but spent a lot of time killing ogres and bandits, and had pretty high skill levels for everything to test gathering.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Knowledge:X skills don't have an affect yet, other than to raise your Int.
Most issues have simple fixes like adjusting tables for more short bows and copper.
I harped on melee a lot and that is getting simple attention for now with whatever more complicated (programming) needed after that.
Killing monsters/nodes for stuff is in, as well as
...a complex crafting system. It can use small tweaks to recipes or putting quantity in the recipe titles but it's at a strong base.
Even without a market or currency we bartered recipes for mats etc and both parties ended up better off. So part 3 is in an will really take off with a market and the blooming of recipes.
Part 4 is not in yet and they've been saying for a long time it wouldn't be in this early. Reputation loss for killing high Rep characters is steep, Lee Hammok said even steeper than they were hoping for and they're still tweaking based on the data we feed them, but I'm also attacked a few non-criminal low rep players (after they unflagged from previous random murder sprees) and my Rep loss was much lower or absent. We don't have looting yet until there is storage and encumbrance but hey, alpha is alpha.
The parts that are there are working mostly needing only tweaks to polish (a handful of areas might need a coding varnish), and we just need to await the addition of further elements to the grand design like the coming alpha 8, which may seem like a much different game.
It seems as though it is very hard to get worthwhile gear. I don't know what's what, per se, but you need a lot of mats to make an item and it can take awhile to get them. I found getting animal drops (like dead prey) was pretty hard. Should ideally get a dead prey with almost every kill. I cleared a whole escalation hex of wolves and got less than 10.
The aggro is easy enough to figure out, so you can clear the whole map if you want to take a long time. Add two players, then you are even better. Again, much farming and some drops, but a lot of it seems pretty worthless.
Many starter items. It would be nice to be able to salvage them in some way and use the raw mats to craft with.
Bows are stupid OP with how the aggro is, it makes no sense to use anything else, especially if you are alone. Obviously, if you had higher tier gear, it might be different, but starter longbow is the best weapon I've seen.
Didn't get worthwhile drops off of red and purple ogres, in my opinion. Given how much stronger they were.
Edit: Oh, most important part. I believe that the game should give you items when you take your first class level. Maybe not armor, but it should give you weapons necessary to use your skills. It's not really fair for casters that have to beg in all chat or go farm with a club until they get one.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I'm not a PVP oriented player so 4 for me isn't an issue though I do understand the concern of others and hope it is implemented well ... in reality I just plan to be periodically killed as an easy mark ..
That said, since Alpha 8 is supposed to be on an expanded map with many bug fixes, I think that 1-3 will be ok .. more variety for various PVE encounters would be nice, just not essential for completing the 1-3 loop.
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Goblin Squad Member
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It seems as though it is very hard to get worthwhile gear. I don't know what's what, per se, but you need a lot of mats to make an item and it can take awhile to get them. I found getting animal drops (like dead prey) was pretty hard. Should ideally get a dead prey with almost every kill. I cleared a whole escalation hex of wolves and got less than 10.
I'd like to see crafting skill incorporated here. On one hand, I shouldn't be able to run past that pack of wolves I just killed and magically hoover up their pelts. On the other hand, I've got a pile of dead wolves at my feet. If I choose to spend the time, I should be able to use a crafting or knowledge skill to try to skin them correctly and maybe get useful hides from them. Heck, I'd bet ogres have thick skin--I want to be able to flay them, too!
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Goblin Squad Member
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When EE starts, the pace of XP gain versus the pace of resource accumulation and economic growth will be completely different. It'll take a while for the production chains for T2 gear to get humming, but nobody will have a character who could leverage that gear for even longer. There'll be plenty of time to fine tune the drop rates for pelts etc.
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Goblin Squad Member
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1. Killing Monsters: Yes it is there, but the variety is not. Bandits, Ogres, Goblins, Wolves and Skeletons and that is it.Actually, there is a bit more. I just don't think that they are in the escalation cycles that are playing right now. You missed goblin dogs. There is also Razmiran and Ustalavian escalation cycles that have been live at some points during Alpha, but not right now.
Btw, there are also some high level wolf-type monsters that have been built, but I haven't seen them yet in the game, including worgs, winter wolves, and even hell hounds! Trust, me, the first time you see a burning black dog bearing down on you, it will scare the heck out of you! Especially at night!
-Lisa
I saw a pack of Worgs out near Cloverdell last night. I was solo, so decided not to run up close.
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It seems as though it is very hard to get worthwhile gear. I don't know what's what, per se, but you need a lot of mats to make an item and it can take awhile to get them. I found getting animal drops (like dead prey) was pretty hard. Should ideally get a dead prey with almost every kill. I cleared a whole escalation hex of wolves and got less than 10.I'd like to see crafting skill incorporated here. On one hand, I shouldn't be able to run past that pack of wolves I just killed and magically hoover up their pelts. On the other hand, I've got a pile of dead wolves at my feet. If I choose to spend the time, I should be able to use a crafting or knowledge skill to try to skin them correctly and maybe get useful hides from them. Heck, I'd bet ogres have thick skin--I want to be able to flay them, too!
Yeah, I agree. The last game I played had carcasses and butchery. Most people disliked that system, but I think it has potential when tweaked.
Even having a tree that allows you to 'gather' better stuff from the dead would be nice. Even new tiers of stuff you can get from animals, the same as for nodes. Would be nice.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I saw a pack of Worgs out near Cloverdell last night. I was solo, so decided not to run up close.
Yup, when the crowd was doing the PvE escalation runs last night we went through 2 or 3 groups of those. It was our high level characters from Alpha 7 - so it will be interesting to see how tough Worgs are with lesser characters.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I had five cleric focuses drop, but no holy symbols. I had seven longbows and no shortbows. I had several greatswords and one each light mace, longsword, and shortsword. Five staffs and three wands dropped. I noticed no dropped spells whatsoever. I harvested a huge number of esoteric essences but few other types.
Shortbows, Axes, Holy Symbols and Spellbooks were not drops at all, they had to be crafted.
Spells seemed to only drop from high level critters EXCEPT for the wolf escalation where they dropped a lot, as did recipes.
The essences depend on hex so you just did not wander enough. Basically essences are like iron and coal you need to work out where to go for them. One hex will be all esoteric and then 3 across you get all antithesis essence. Presumably its connected to terrain type but I never got around to working it out.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I saw a pack of Worgs out near Cloverdell last night. I was solo, so decided not to run up close.Yup, when the crowd was doing the PvE escalation runs last night we went through 2 or 3 groups of those. It was our high level characters from Alpha 7 - so it will be interesting to see how tough Worgs are with lesser characters.
My cleric/fighter could ALMOST solo them with that somewhat OP whirlwind attack (which unlike cleave that never does anything to adjoining critters despite the description hits everything in range for good damage). He would get them down to about 10% HP left and then they got him.
If I had got around to begging for some +2 varnish and made my +2 plate I probably could have survived long enough to solo them, I am sure some people did.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Trading and running multi clients does work. It does slow things, a bit, but is working.
Thank You, GW for fixing trading. Now if we get all the recipes to be "not bugged" and some of the missing mats to be available, things will be even sweeter! :)
trading with one of my untrained alts was the only way I could find to clear the bugged recipes you got when in party mode.
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CEO, Goblinworks
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One thing I wanted to mention was the pace of the cold start. Remember, the goal is not to have a fully equipped, ass-kicking character a few minutes after you start playing. Rather, you should think about getting a basic start on gear for your character in your first couple of hours in the game. And you need to think about selling the stuff you have that you don't want, and buying the stuff you didn't get from loot drops. That will make your rate of acquiring the specific stuff you want much more efficient than the idea that you have to find everything yourself.
It might take a week or so for a full range of Tier 1 goods to fill the most active markets but those markets will fill. Players who come in after the first week are going to have the markets working in their favor - they'll never see the totally empty world that the very first players will see. Instead, they'll have access to virtually anything they want to buy as soon as they accumulate some coin through loot and by selling what they recover from monsters. Most players will not be trying to solo all their own gear.
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Goblin Squad Member
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trading with one of my untrained alts was the only way I could find to clear the bugged recipes you got when in party mode.Trading and running multi clients does work. It does slow things, a bit, but is working.
Thank You, GW for fixing trading. Now if we get all the recipes to be "not bugged" and some of the missing mats to be available, things will be even sweeter! :)
Actually, I got bugged recipes while doing solo too. They were not fixed by trading to other characters (my alts). At least Steel Wire +1 was not.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Actually, I got bugged recipes while doing solo too. They were not fixed by trading to other characters (my alts). At least Steel Wire +1 was not.trading with one of my untrained alts was the only way I could find to clear the bugged recipes you got when in party mode.Trading and running multi clients does work. It does slow things, a bit, but is working.
Thank You, GW for fixing trading. Now if we get all the recipes to be "not bugged" and some of the missing mats to be available, things will be even sweeter! :)
I also got them solo on occasion. But they were always bugged when partying.
I traded them to my alt to get rid of them out of inventory not fix them.
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Goblin Squad Member
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short answer: 1 2 & 3 are in there. We're ready for build 8's cold start. Working in full groups with crafters IN group is the way to win.
4 requires player looting, & that needs to come after encumbrance, which needs to come after banking/storage.
Emphasis mine. I think this is really important. When we talk about what feels right, we should always keep in mind that PFO isn't meant to be a solo game.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Emphasis mine. I think this is really important. When we talk about what feels right, we should always keep in mind that PFO isn't meant to be a solo game.short answer: 1 2 & 3 are in there. We're ready for build 8's cold start. Working in full groups with crafters IN group is the way to win.
4 requires player looting, & that needs to come after encumbrance, which needs to come after banking/storage.
That is sooo very true.
One thing I wanted to mention was the pace of the cold start. Remember, the goal is not to have a fully equipped, ass-kicking character a few minutes after you start playing. Rather, you should think about getting a basic start on gear for your character in your first couple of hours in the game. And you need to think about selling the stuff you have that you don't want, and buying the stuff you didn't get from loot drops. That will make your rate of acquiring the specific stuff you want much more efficient than the idea that you have to find everything yourself.
It might take a week or so for a full range of Tier 1 goods to fill the most active markets but those markets will fill. Players who come in after the first week are going to have the markets working in their favor - they'll never see the totally empty world that the very first players will see. Instead, they'll have access to virtually anything they want to buy as soon as they accumulate some coin through loot and by selling what they recover from monsters. Most players will not be trying to solo all their own gear.
Getting loot may be pretty hard if you are a no-skill character or a starting to skill as caster character with a club. Depends on how much else is going on outside and how many people you have with you to help.
As they say, it's not meant to be a solo game, but almost no MMO is. I *guess* it could be where you could roll a melee char first and then pass them off to your other characters, but I just don't see any reason to inhibit people from getting their caster items in the beginning being as a club is offered to others. Even if the game had to introduce other tier .5 items like the club. Cuz the club isn't really a bad weapon once you get a couple skills.
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Goblin Squad Member
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One thing I wanted to mention was the pace of the cold start. Remember, the goal is not to have a fully equipped, ass-kicking character a few minutes after you start playing. Rather, you should think about getting a basic start on gear for your character in your first couple of hours in the game. And you need to think about selling the stuff you have that you don't want, and buying the stuff you didn't get from loot drops. That will make your rate of acquiring the specific stuff you want much more efficient than the idea that you have to find everything yourself.
It might take a week or so for a full range of Tier 1 goods to fill the most active markets but those markets will fill. Players who come in after the first week are going to have the markets working in their favor - they'll never see the totally empty world that the very first players will see. Instead, they'll have access to virtually anything they want to buy as soon as they accumulate some coin through loot and by selling what they recover from monsters. Most players will not be trying to solo all their own gear.
Getting loot may be pretty hard if you are a no-skill character or a starting to skill as caster character with a club. Depends on how much else is going on outside and how many people you have with you to help.
As they say, it's not meant to be a solo game, but almost no MMO is. I *guess* it could be where you could roll a melee char first and then pass them off to your other characters, but I just don't see any reason to inhibit people from getting their caster items in the beginning being as a club is offered to others. Even if the game had to introduce other tier .5 items like the club. Cuz the club isn't really a bad weapon once you get a couple skills.
Well you can BUY a wizard class kit of course. If the game suddenly gave out starter gear everyone that already paid for starter gear kits has just wasted $10 .
Also people tend to give away starter gear eventually as it ends up being junk.
One curious thing was that in Alpha 7 I was trying to give away surplus +2 weapons I had made for either free or in exchange for iron and coal and had some players saying they did not want to "beg" and would prefer to get their weapons as loot.
wow that's what it is? 10bux? I didn't know that was what that meant. I thought it might have been something better than just nubgear.
I def killed enough monsters to see much of everything. Finally started getting pot plate, too, which was cool. Took me forever to get my first chain mail. Then got 3 pots. I think they changed the rate in the middle.
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Goblin Squad Member
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wow that's what it is? 10bux? I didn't know that was what that meant. I thought it might have been something better than just nubgear.
I def killed enough monsters to see much of everything. Finally started getting pot plate, too, which was cool. Took me forever to get my first chain mail. Then got 3 pots. I think they changed the rate in the middle.
The pot plate really only dropped from boss monsters, you probably just got better at killing bigger stuff :D
The pot plate really only dropped from boss monsters, you probably just got better at killing bigger stuff :Dwow that's what it is? 10bux? I didn't know that was what that meant. I thought it might have been something better than just nubgear.
I def killed enough monsters to see much of everything. Finally started getting pot plate, too, which was cool. Took me forever to get my first chain mail. Then got 3 pots. I think they changed the rate in the middle.
wish that were true haha. I got it off of wolves. An escalation hex. The only time I really killed the high lvl monsters I got nothing of worth. Killed many one night, got nothing not even a robe.
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Goblin Squad Member
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wish that were true haha. I got it off of wolves. An escalation hex. The only time I really killed the high lvl monsters I got nothing of worth. Killed many one night, got nothing not even a robe.
Well not that high a level, we never killed any purple text monsters.
Hunting Ogre Brutes and Ogre Shaman (both Red Text) up in the locked off area was actually quite productive for drops. I would tank them while one of the Keeper's Pass Wizards popped them off. She was actually quite adept at soloing them, would hit an ogre brute and kite backwards while firing at long range and the Ogre Brute would generally detach from its mob and chase her solo.
Actually I agree with you about the wolf escalation. I was chewing through the Pack and Rabid spawns with whirlwind attack and dropped two spells and half a dozen recipes in a few hours.
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Goblin Squad Member
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As far as I can tell things are really comming together at GW. What impressed me was much of the art quality. Great variety of trees that still fit well around eachother although a brush system that stops duplicate trees from being next to eachother would be great. Aside from that it just needs skyrim grass ;-p