Just some thoughts from an old timer

[Archbishop Monk]

I can't say this isn't being said in PMs, but I haven't seen this anywhere on the public forums.  There are a few things that do make a difference in strategy, and that is gear.  Gear changes your tactics dramatically.  If you have 50/50 hr.dr, your tactics for what you can do with a melee class will change.  If you only have 30/30, the same tactic will not work unless you are facing someone with equivalent stats.  The one thing I can say I read more often than not, is the advice tends to be given for tactics when they are geared.  I.E.  Kick dirt all you want vs an invoker with -700ac, if you only have 30/30 hr/dr, you may as well just run after the lag wears off.

I'll never forget the battle I had with Grum as Heureush, where he handed me some gear before the fight and then said, 'Gear matters' and winked.  The last time I faced him it was a nasty one-sided fight.  If I wasn't built to be a tank, I would have been dead in seconds.  Once he gave me the gear though, we fought for nearly a day in the Emerald.  I could actually use tactics rather than just run.

 

The idea of 'Get better gear' is the greater problem I could see newer players having.  Hell, the last time I returned, I was shocked at some of the new numbers possible.  Combine that with new weapon procs (anyone who can use whips can paralyze).

 

So, I'll ask some questions for the returning players and newer players:

1.  How much mental saves would protect you from being paralyzed?  -30 mental?

2. Do svs and specific saves still stack?  i.e.  -20 svs and -30 mental, does it equate to -50 saves vs mental?

3. Does -ac cut damage by a percentage, or by an amount?

 

Just some simple questions.  The thing with saying try it out in game works for those of us who know where to find the gear to test it out.  For the newer players, they are busy being dead before they can ever get to the numbers where it may or may not make a difference.  Roll against Martineous with -200ac and before you could even factor in whether or not it was having an affect, you were dead.  My example might be outdated, but hell, I'm old.

[Trick]

A lot of very solid points. You're right. Gear matters, no doubt about it.

I have no idea to any of those three questions. I never paid attention to that. I know the least about the code than anyone here, lol.

What I will say, though, is you can send a veteran player your EQ list and ask what can I make better and where can I get it.

[f0xx]

5 hours ago, Archbishop Monk said:

The idea of 'Get better gear' is the greater problem I could see newer players having.

 

How can this be a problem when this is the core idea of any role-playing-game out there? Do you know of any such game that doesn't revolve around getting better gear? I will be curious to try it out.

[edit] As for your questions:

 

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1.  How much mental saves would protect you from being paralyzed?  -30 mental?

I don't think there is any number of saves that will guarantee you immunity from being paralyzed. No matter how high your saves are, there's always a chance for a spell/affect to land, and no matter how low they are, there's always a chance for it to be saved. That being said, I don't even know if paralysis falls into the mental catergory of spells.

 

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2. Do svs and specific saves still stack?  i.e.  -20 svs and -30 mental, does it equate to -50 saves vs mental?

Yes they do.

 

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3. Does -ac cut damage by a percentage, or by an amount?

I don't know. But if I have to guess, I would say it's a percentage, because otherwise you risk giving invulnerability to characters who face badly dressed opponents.

[Archbishop Monk]

13 hours ago, f0xx said:

 

How can this be a problem when this is the core idea of any role-playing-game out there? Do you know of any such game that doesn't revolve around getting better gear? I will be curious to try it out.

It is not the answer of get better gear that is the problem.  Yes, RP weight your gear as making you either more viable or more efficient at what you do.  What I was saying was no specifics are given on a public scale.  For instance, is -400ac good enough to run against 60/60 hr/dr?  HOW is it good enough?   Will you on average lose 100hp a round as an invoker or would it be closer to 250 a round?  Mind you, I am speaking averages, not cut and dry 'this will occur'.

13 hours ago, f0xx said:

[edit] As for your questions:

 

I don't think there is any number of saves that will guarantee you immunity from being paralyzed. No matter how high your saves are, there's always a chance for a spell/affect to land, and no matter how low they are, there's always a chance for it to be saved. That being said, I don't even know if paralysis falls into the mental catergory of spells.

Let me give a better example.  It has been said that those who are veteran melee know that there is a certain number of hr/dr you can get that pretty much nullifies nullifies caster defenses.  While I know it is also based on class Thac0, I have been both on the giving end and receiving end of said numbers.  Heureush at one point had 66/65 hr/dr and I found I almost NEVER missed Sephahoona (not that I made a dent in him, but at least he didn't block a whole lot).

The point I was making is that with a newer player running around, having to fight against decked opponents, they are more than likely to be thrilled about having 40hr/40dr and wondering why they can't land a hit on anyone.  They could ask the vets, yes.

I am also pointing at a fundamental truth in our gaming experience.  For those of us who remember 1.0, it was vicious and cutthroat.  We were also mostly all noobs and didn't know all the little tricks.  Did we learn the hard way?  Yes!  Was the climate in which we learned more forgiving?  YES, because there were far more 'noobs' like us than there were veteran players.

13 hours ago, f0xx said:

 

Yes they do.

 

I don't know. But if I have to guess, I would say it's a percentage, because otherwise you risk giving invulnerability to characters who face badly dressed opponents.

 

[Kyzarius]

The paralyze question is curious.  I do believe it depends on the method paralysis is being applied.

Cone of force, the illithid racial is mental.  So you have a mental save

While for another method of application you need a certain resistance.

For the type that comes from the arctron, or the whip, i am not sure tbh. My higher ac characters (approx -600) do seem to rarely get hit by the weapon applied kind.   But this is just anecdotal and would need confirmation.

The spell paralyze itself is for reasons specific to psions hard to measure.  It is called a mental spell, yet due to other factors it is nearly or actually is impossible to resist.  On Vibbletick I never missed one. 

[Dale]

I myself feel like rares and unique flags should just be removed.  This game is never going to be balanced when there are three sets of good eq and the three ppl wearing it can't be killed. But adding more eq makes it interesting I guess

[Atticus]

I remember the days where dale would literally give me lessons about what eq to wear. "Hit roll is how you assassinate." 

I think with the new additions to eq from my few years of playing the game has came a very far way in aiding "noob" players such as myself. And as I've stated before if it wasn't for the power houses literally 3 rounding me over the years I wouldn't know how to traverse the areas for high end gear. 

 

@Dale check out the bathhouse man and the "monastery", some good stuff there man. Let alone the new items in the new canyon where you really don't have to worry about the rare flag.

[f0xx]

4 hours ago, Dale said:

I myself feel like rares and unique flags should just be removed.  This game is never going to be balanced when there are three sets of good eq and the three ppl wearing it can't be killed. But adding more eq makes it interesting I guess

EQ is now quite diverse mate, I will have to give it to the IMMs on that one. They've done a great job.

[Fool_Hardy]

Have to agree with f0xx on that,

Generally speaking, most agile characters will (read SHOULD) have -400 AC by thirty.

Replacing a few key items later on to go from -400 to -600.

This does not hold true for low dex characters, but, who wants to play a dumb old giant?

And that's moderation, aka moderate,

-100 to 200 more if you can deck out in rare equipment.

"Waiting on one of the three suits" = False Logic

There really are dozens of combinations available today.

Have fun, hope you are triumphant.

[Dale]

So I won't be waiting three months for a hells fury anymore?

[f0xx]

7 hours ago, Dale said:

So I won't be waiting three months for a hells fury anymore?

That is not what diversity means. 

It means that you can use something else, that has similar properties, and is perhaps stronger in a different way.

[Dale]

I got what you were saying.  I was putting a finer point to what I was saying.  Some things don't have replacements.  

[Chesta6384]

You will still never get the nimbus

[Kyzarius]

The nimbus is good, but its itemization sucks otherwise unless you make up for those stats elsewhere.  

 

[Chesta6384]

Nimbus is kinda obsolete now with all the ways to heal yourself, you are right.    Not even sure there is that one item everyone wants anymore.

[f0xx]

4 hours ago, Dale said:

I got what you were saying.  I was putting a finer point to what I was saying.  Some things don't have replacements.  

What do you mean by that mate?

If the alternative is ALMOST as good, does it really matter?

Yes, you get a warm feeling inside when you finally DO get it, but in a real PK scenario, your tactics are gonna matter much more than whether your polearm is avg 31 or avg 27.

[Kyzarius]

the only in demand stuff nowadays that is really best in slot is +spell level gear for mages. 

 

[Lloth]

Gg, my polearm is only avg 26.

[Dale]

Slaps forehead. I'm give up.

[Mali]

Nimbus is f***** beast, don't let anyone tell you different.

[f0xx]

Nimbus is as beastly as Zoichan's pinky.

[Pali]

And Foxx knows what Zoichan can do with that pinky...

[mya]

6 hours ago, Lloth said:

Gg, my polearm is only avg 26.

The Polearm in the Demon Pit is avg 27. But, its a lot heavier.
The Blissfull falls one is avg 31, but isn't cursed.

[Lloth]

I... was joki... 

 

Thanks, mya! I will look into getting one of those.

 

[aaa]

The +defense items are almost always out of stock. Monks cowl, warbanner. 

Meat kleefer, ancient scepter are two others.