I am Lloth, Head Builder for Aabahran: The Forsaken Lands. AMA!

[Unknown Criminal]

I'm  probably gonna catch flack for suggesting to just do things 'the easy way'.... but.

Step 1: Grab the 3 most dangerous chars walking the lands.

Step 2: Stat those chars to see which stat (hr, dr, svs, spl lvl, ac) is out of whack.

Step 3: Tone down x gear piece a lot OR tone down multiple x gear pieces a little.

Step 4: Repeat step 1 every two weeks as necessary, chars will be changing up their suits to try and gain x advantage again.

What I see is less than 10 minutes of work every two weeks, then for future reference base new eq off the top sought after eq. 

For OLC keep in mind to spellstrip these chars to get their base while wearing x eq, if skills and spells are throwing your eq balance out of whack inform your coder that x skill or x spell needs to be toned down by x amount. <-another 2 minute jobbie.

And Vwalla! Skills, spells and eq all balanced within 30'days. The next p.o.a should be to boost non played races and classes with new 'something's' that do not involve hr, dr, svs, spl lvl or ac.

 

[Tantangel]

How would toning it down based off those three characters though without throwing everything else out of whack? You'd most likely have to ask those 3 players to come to the test port and then proceed with the same armor but with varying races/classes in order to find your min/max for those pieces to allow proper toning down of items. You have to take into account that what's strong for specific race/classes may not be as strong for other race/classes. This in turn is the reason why certain race/classes aren't played because sometimes even wearing those things as the other races/classes it doesn't benefit them nearly as much anymore. For instance the Adeptus Armor is going to benefit larger melee classes more than say a Gnome Warrior. Toning down armor based off specific race/class combinations wouldn't accurately depict why the armor is too strong. The only solution to that would be overhauling items to only be capable of being worn by specific races/classes IE Boots of Stomping.

An example of a logical toning of armor would be the Ash cloak not being able to be worn by Ferals, and look at the back brace that can't be worn by Invokers or Druids. There are definitely some items out there that could use tweaking, like perhaps some of the items that the Gorgorak has on him and items in the Blissful Falls even more than anywhere else. Though Lloth's style of going about it isn't quite as quick as your suggestion, but it also makes it more accurate in changes that should help balance out more classes/races as well. Not that your method wouldn't work, but by doing so you also risk toning down the lesser played race/class combinations to such a degree that they'd be played even less than before unless they were given boosts to the applicable areas you say to not boost specifically.

Yes armor has a lot to deal with a person winning a fight, but we already know what those pieces tend to be. That isn't really so much the issue though as is the issue of most other armor being  below par to these items and most new armor introduced are far better than the armor introduced at the beginning of the games inception. I don't think the overall idea is to ensure that everything is toned down, but more that there's interest in actually obtaining other things that are similar but different which may help boost the interest in those lesser played races/classes. For instance a set of Merchant armor that we know we can get as we  have played the game for a while is far better than pretty much every other piece we can gain through level 30 including the items introduced in the Hamlet. A newer player wouldn't know this though which creates the uneven playing fields we have where I have suggest there be a MOB who can give them to newer players within the newbie area itself so it doesn't give anyone a leg up on things which improves lower level ranking and becomes more newbie friendly over time. New MOBs could be given extra HP depending on their intended reason for being there to help teach people how to use varying commands as well. Ultimately though it's better to ensure that more thorough testing is done rather than quick testing through specific race/class combos without hurting the classes and races that aren't already played outside of RP reasons only practically at this point.

[Unknown Criminal]

Your waaaay over analyzing things. 

Dont think about who the player is and don't think about pk records, just go by the numbers. 

As an example If a top player (who cares who he is) has 60 svs vs spell AND 60 hr, AND 60 dr as base stats you just need to look at what he is wearing. How I see things is (a max str race should be able to achieve x hr/dr where if mid str races are hitting the roof then max str races like the FG will be waaay OP in that eq set)

There MUST be a ceiling for stats based off the highest stat race, FG for strength and Faerie for dex?  Max hr/dr should be able to be achieved ONLY by FG's while max -ac should ONLY be able to be achieved by faeries. By following that logic only 2 races should be able to break balance, FG's and Faeries. Then when it comes to saves of any type it's a straight up eq or spell combination issue.

SIMPLE HAL TO IMMORTAL when wearing eq or casting spells, X CHAR JUST PEAKED PAST ROOF. Thats a simple auto note to immortal if ... x drow surpasses a FG's hr/dr or if x elf surpasses a faeries ac. 

Eq, skills, spells and classes can be balanced in a day. Rock Paper Scissors type of balance is fine, so is individual class vs class. Just stop looking at the big picture and break things down to the simple facts of why the big picture is so big  

[Tantangel]

Over analyzing is better than blindly changing though based off those circumstances. A FG may hit that peak hit/dam easier than other races, but it doesn't mean that other races shouldn't or can't either by other methods. There's just too many factors that go into it in the long run unfortunately for it to be known how it will affect something immediately. Take for instance the rules of the game. You used to see Psi's and Crusaders pumping up armor for other people before it was made a huge no no in the rules only, and until recently it wasn't in the code not to (for Psi's, I'm not sure if it is the same for Crusader since I've never had one, nor have I ever asked them to beef my wares up either). A lot of the diminishing returns for both AC and hit/dam went into place to help deter such high numbers that would mean instant wins for some people and specific race/class combos. I'm not sure if you were playing at that point in time, but there was a Crusader who had around -900 or -1000AC and they didn't have the DEX of a Faerie. I've also seen other combos that weren't Fire Giants managing to gain over 60 hit/dam. The caps for both were put in just for that reason though which seemed to help others before I came back to play again.

You bring up a valid point with the saves combination and hit/dam dealing with spells and skills combination though. That could probably be looked at in more detail but it's not really an OLC issue either. For instance look at the Bard build and how much hit/dam they gain from their songs. Having had them in my group before with a class I already had 52/48 hit/dam with, it was pumped up a lot more and at first confused the hell out of me because I forgot about how much they affect that. That seems to be more on the coding side of things than anything else though. Even with all of that added force though I still wouldn't be able to easily take out the top characters right now unless it were someone completely unprepared and even then I've had issues before. Tactics play a lot into it more so than the stats themselves often enough. For instance I have been told to use one item over another as it was seen as 'better', but in reality the item I am already wearing has better overall stats in armor, hit/dam, and even giving +defensive skills.

When you state a 'top player (who cares who he is)' those things really do matter whether we realize it or not. Sure the EQ can sometimes sway a persons ability to win over another, but then you're going to want to run tests to see if it holds through completely and not just on a numbers basis. You run it so that they fight someone with different stats and if out of X amount of fights that person wins a majority you don't tweak it, you have someone else try out the same combo. If you can see that the items are still the reason for winning, then you begin your tweaks. You shouldn't blindly tweak without running those basic tests though, otherwise you're toning something down that may not be needed to tone down at all. You're essentially wanting to tone it down based off of how it would be done 12 years ago and because of how much the game itself has been changed and with hard coded tweaks to ensure that power creeps aren't extremely high in one area meaning that hit/dam was made to diminish after a certain point as well as AC. To me your method seems very old school in tweaking things which is fine again, but doesn't seem to take into account anything that has been added or removed. I know you know what you're talking about, but its also a much different game than what we used to play. I used to be at least decent in PK, but with the multiple breaks I've taken and coming back to more experienced players, I can't say that it's going to entirely be the EQ's fault. Sure you can't take someone one who's decked in nothing but mithril like you used to, but that never really seemed plausible in my mind since you see your enemies in video games only gain in strength, so if you were to take them on in just the beginning gear you should be stomped and not the other way around. New skills/spells having been added to it as well have also played towards making it hard to accomplish before even the massive boom of new EQ.

[Unknown Criminal]

Just gonna nudge one rebuttal into your direction that should take care of the rest of the following rebuttals because they are all based on the same thing:

A FG is the strongest race, with that strength a series of vulns are placed on them. Ice vuln, trip vuln, mental vuln and poor mana regen. You are saying that a drow, elf, halfling, half elf or faerie yadda yadda should be able to achieve the same amount of damage output without having to suffer the same penalties...

A roof is put into play for one reason, controlable balance. If you know where the roof is then you always know who should or shouldn't be hitting it, but if drows should be able to hit the same damage output as a FG then what is the point of being a FG??? 

 

[Lloth]

That method of balancing is not effective. 3 best is very subjective, anyway. Only changing what they wear every few weeks leaves 90% of what's out there untouched. This isn't just a nerf to a few items, but an overhaul of the weaker items too. Doing even just that method you are suggesting would still end up taking longer. It's not really easier, either. It just takes the work and spreads it out over a longer period of time. 

[Tantangel]

FG also have huge perks to damage output that no other races can really take advantage of which allows for some of their insane damage at times as well. A FG wielding fire weapons is arguable the best Warrior or Berserker. If a Drow matches that output something is wrong with the current situation since it's not going to be possible, even as a BLM who can switch the DEX and STR stat and when Halflings could be one they wouldn't even have the same hit/dam. The difference though is that BLM have weight restrictions you don't have as a FG. The vulns aren't really there to balance out the stats though, they're there to balance out the overall perks of the race in general as is the case with every other race in the game too. Look at the other two giant races. They don't gain a ice vuln, they maintain the same vulns as the FG where only Storm Giants have the vuln of wood which sucks for other reasons like the ability to gain milk in high volumes.

Reasons for the vulns: They're big without flight which means low DEX and add in the giant size it makes sense they have a trip vuln. They're not exactly known for their intelligence either which further makes sense of them having a vulnerability to mental spells. They're made of fire though which makes sense they get a perk to using fiery weapons, and it makes sense that they also have a vuln to ice because they're Fire Giants after all. The poor mana regen is in part due to a few things. Low INT/WIS causes this, as well as the fact that melee in general don't typically regen mana quickly anyways. Compare it to a race with high INT/WIS like a Faerie. They regen like a champ with their mana regardless of class. Then look at both of their regen rates for HP too. HP on a Fire Giant always goes up much more quickly than a Faerie. This is all assuming though that they don't have any +managain/+healthgain items that could possibly boost either stat into going up faster than the others.

Obviously due to STR those races with a much lower STR stat than a Giant wont hit the same levels of hit/dam. That's just a logical thought process. But if you were to factor in vuln weapons against a FG then you may have the outcome that the Giant loses because of it. For instance when two Giant Warriors face where one is a Storm Giant and the other is a Fire Giant, the outcome would be that the FG would be the loser in many of the outcomes depending on weapon selection and skill of the player. There's too many factors you can't take into account in such instances that doesn't even equate to just their armor either. Although your methods would work, I don't think they would work as well today as they would have worked 12+ years ago. Especially when you take into account that nothing was really worked on in some terms of toning down as they were primarily class fixes rather than armor fixes.

[aaa]

3 hours ago, Tantangel said:

FG also have huge perks to damage output that no other races can really take advantage of which allows for some of their insane damage at times as well. A FG wielding fire weapons is arguable the best Warrior or Berserker. If a Drow matches that output something is wrong with the current situation since it's not going to be possible

I have a log of a fire giant berserker with nexus fire weapons hitting me for the same damage as a less than 20 str ninja. 

[Tantangel]

As in Kotrag? There's a lot of contextual things where that can happen and can depend more on hit/dam as well as vuln weapons. And if you're Good and the Ninja is Neutral, you can cut the damage down from the FG but not the Ninja by using protection. You have to factor in those issues as well rather than just looking at it from two different characters you're being slammed on that aren't the same path. Now if both are Evil, the Ninja has fired weapons so you're looking at added attacks that can benefit him as well. Both have third attack, and if the FG raged only means they'll get a nice boost to hit/dam but it doesn't mean they're still going to be stronger either. Was it also before diminishing returns was made to not affect a Berserker not as much?

[Magick]

I have to agree with Tantangel here.  Foxx isn't exactly a baseline player.  Put a ninja into the hands of your average player and you wouldn't see that ninja put out more damage than that Nexus FG.  Also as Tantangel mentioned, other factors might have played a part.  Protection vs evil is a large one.  Equipment layouts.  Other various spells.  And so on.

[Unknown Criminal]

Dress anyone in X gear set and anyone is able to obtain X damage amounts, it doest matter who the player is. There IS a damage cap where the ONLY race class that should be able to hit it is a FG berserker or (spoiler) an ogre. By saying because x drow is being played by x player so they should be hitting the same max's is redundant. 

The best players have actual chasing skills OR access to skill/spells thst enhance their chasing skills. They have actual fleeing skills OR access to skills/spells that enhance their fleeing skills. Same with damage output, if x vet knows about + spell level eq while x noobie doesnt ofcourse x vet is going to outdamage x noobie. Its ALL numbers, you either know where to get them or you dont.

So in closing if X player knows how to get a drows damage numbers higher than a FG then x equipment needs to be put in check, OR x skills/spells that are putting them over the thresh.

But hey i might be wrong, if the imms want every race/class achieving FG zerk damage output because 'its only fair'..  its their game

[aaa]

Someone throws a mighty haymaker at your jaws.
Someone's punch hits you.
You feel less sick.
You feel less protected.
You slowly float to the ground.
The dense cushion of air around you dissipates.
Your skin feels soft again.

Towenaar: [===|===|---|---]
<403/915hp 729/1174m 512/539mv> D 21time 603cps  
flee

Someone blocks a scythe's slice with his weapon.
Someone parries a scythe's slash.
Someone blocks a something's magic with his weapon.
Someone blocks your attack with his weapon.
Someone's flesh is seared by the flaming something.
Your flaming bite scratches someone.
Something digs into someone's body.
Your wrath hits someone.
Someone's flame maims you! 
You parry someone's attack.
Someone's poisoned bite injures someone.

---------------------------------------

Someone parries a scythe's slice.
Your scythe's slash devastates someone!
Someone dodges something's crush.
Your shocking bite misses someone.
You parry someone's attack.
Someone's poisoned bite decimates you!
Someone's poisoned bite MUTILATES you!
Someone's form blurs with speed!
Sharp pain explodes in your torso!
Someone's strike wounds you.
Someone's poisoned bite maims you!
Someone's poisoned bite devastates you!
You sure are BLEEDING!
Someone's tsuki strike wounds you.
You sure are BLEEDING!

 

Same character, same level of ac.

[Magick]

And you do realize that the difference between 20 and 25 STR is only +8/+8 hit/dam, right?  The what, up to 20% bonus to damage from being a fire giant wielding fire weapons if they're running 30/30 won't compare to anyone running 60/60 vs the same opponent.  Or if you had sanctuary active in the first fight and not the second, though given the nouns, that's not likely the case here.  Point is, your excerpt is anecdotal at best without more information.  Information that might be better taken to prayer, might I add.  If FG/Ogre zerks should be the top damage dealers in the game, post the Imms the outfits of you, the FG and the ninja as well as the spell effects at the time so they can do what they want with that information.

[Tantangel]

You also have to look at all the other rounds involved.  A snippet isn't anything to me unless it's the entire log, to which it isn't a very good representation of showing the damage differential in it. We don't know what you're wearing from the log which means you could be wearing an item that gives you protection from evil that we can't see and something that would only require you to quaff a potion for it and then wear the item afterwards just in case he does manage to knock it off as a spell. You can't reduce the damage from the neutral at all though trying to do the same thing.

As for the statement of no one should be hitting the levels FG or Ogres do, well take into consideration that if a FG is completely decked out with as much hit/dam as Kotrag had on, both can use bows, and the FG is using fire weapons, yeah, he may be hitting for a lot more damage than most other people. But you also have to realize that even if both are equally armored, it will mostly come straight down to the skill of the player themselves. What a person wears at that point doesn't even matter in any capacity outside of the fact that they'll have different armor ratings. FG has a DEX of 16. A Feral has a DEX of 24. Even if they're wearing the same thing the FG armor is going to be significantly less than the Feral's will, and add in the fact that Athletic perk gives +hit/dam, possible boost to AC through other spells, add in frenzy and enlarge and your Feral is probably going to rock the FG pretty hard. Why? Skill. Skill may not necessarily be through tactics, but the overall affect of preparation, a level head, and the knowledge of your opponent. If skill had nothing to do with characters, we'd see newbies rocking even Kotrag because of luck. That's just logical thought process for me though. Sure the FG has a high hit/dam, but the armor of the Feral race will be significantly higher than that of the FG giving the Feral an edge even though their vuln is to fire.

People always go after those who they know they'll win against. They seldom go after people they are unsure about, and even before they do that they prepare all the same. Armor isn't necessarily the only thing that plays into it like you seem to think. Yeah it gives people their base hit/dam without adding any modifiers to it, but once you start adding those modifiers it becomes more about who's better than what someone is wearing. Equal armor means it will most likely come out in the favor of the better skills, and if you've got equal skills, it comes down to luck. Sure there are items out there that need to be modified and lessened, but there are a whole lot more that would need to be boosted first. You also have to take into account that a FG Zerk defenses suck ass at best against better opponents, especially ones who have a high DEX.

[Lloth]

All of this is just conjecture and speculation, as there is no log. We can't see the damage type, or if it is Tsuki Strike, the stalk percentage, or any of the other variables involved. So what we're left with is two sides without a full understanding of everything involved, or only sharing/discussing the parts that support their respective sides. Not a conducive manner to discuss balance. This is why we require logs in prayer forum when players post complaints. Logs let us view things objectively. 

If we're going to derail the AMA with something, please ensure that it is a verifiable, facts driven discussion. 

[aaa]

Full log vs FG zerk.

-----------------

<925/925hp 871/1129m 465/469mv> D 1time 303cps
c flash
You create a bright flash of light.
Kotrag yells 'Die! Towenaar, you sorcerous dog!'
Kotrag avoids the glare.

<925/925hp 841/1129m 465/469mv> D 1time 303cps
Kotrag fills the room with a cloud of dust.
You are blinded!
You yell 'Help! someone just threw dust in my eyes!'
You sense your blades fade into reality and begin to rotate quickly.

Something bobs in the air as it heads towards someone.
You fade into existence.
Someone parries a scythe's slice.
Someone parries a scythe's slash.
Something's crush LACERATES someone!
Someone parries your attack.

<925/925hp 841/1129m 465/469mv> D 1time 303cps
Someone parries a scythe's slice.
Someone blocks a scythe's slash with his weapon.
Someone parries a something's crush.
Someone blocks your attack with his weapon.
Something's poisoned bite wounds someone.
Someone's poisoned bite devastates someone!
Someone's poisoned bite mauls someone.
Someone's poisoned bite decimates someone!
Someone's tsuki strike devastates someone!
Someone's poison scratches someone.
Someone's poison scratches someone.

<925/925hp 841/1129m 465/469mv> D 1time 303cps
flee
Something settles down and returns to you.
You flee from combat!
You can't see a thing!
Someone throws his something and hits you with a few of them.
Someone's throw MANGLES you!

<841/925hp 841/1129m 463/469mv> D 1time 303cps
Someone rides in.

<841/925hp 841/1129m 463/469mv> D 1time 303cps
You yell 'Help! I am being attacked by someone!'
You sense your blades fade into reality and begin to rotate quickly.

Something bobs in the air as it heads towards someone.
Something's poisoned bite MUTILATES you!
Someone swings wildly and misses you by a mile.
You parry someone's attack.
Your Terra shield deflects the attack.
You parry someone's attack.
Someone's form blurs with speed!
Someone's strike misses you.
Something deflects someone's attack.
Your Terra shield deflects the attack.
Someone's tsuki strike wounds you.
Someone throws his something and hits you with a few of them.
Someone's throw MANGLES you!

Towenaar: [===|===|===|---]
<702/925hp 841/1129m 463/469mv> D 1time 303cps
n
where
No way! You are still fighting!

Towenaar: [===|===|===|---]
<702/925hp 841/1129m 463/469mv> D 1time 303cps You can't see a thing!

Towenaar: [===|===|===|---]
<702/925hp 841/1129m 463/469mv> D 1time 303cps
c flash
You create a bright flash of light.
Someone avoids the glare.
someone cannot be attacked this way.

Towenaar: [===|===|===|---]
<702/925hp 811/1129m 463/469mv> D 1time 303cps
Someone parries a scythe's slice.
Someone parries a scythe's slash.
Someone parries a something's crush.
Something takes a vicious swipe at someone's legs!
His feet aren't on the ground.
Someone dodges your attack.
Your Terra shield deflects the attack.
Someone swings wildly and misses you by a mile.
You parry someone's attack.
Someone's poisoned bite mauls you.
Someone swings wildly and misses you by a mile.
Someone's tsuki strike injures you.

Towenaar: [===|===|===|---]
<662/925hp 811/1129m 463/469mv> D 1time 303cps
Someone gets something from something.

Towenaar: [===|===|===|---]
<662/925hp 811/1129m 463/469mv> D 1time 303cps
flee
10 seconds to tick.
Something settles down and returns to you.
You flee from combat!
You can't see a thing!
Someone throws his something and hits you with a couple of them.
Someone's throw LACERATES you!

<616/925hp 811/1129m 461/469mv> D 1time 303cps
Someone rides in.

<616/925hp 811/1129m 461/469mv> D 1time 303cps
s

You yell 'Help! I am being attacked by someone!'
You sense your blades fade into reality and begin to rotate quickly.

Something bobs in the air as it heads towards someone.
Something's poisoned bite MUTILATES you!
Your Terra shield deflects the attack.
Someone's poisoned bite mauls you.
You parry someone's attack.
You parry someone's attack.
Someone's poisoned bite devastates you!
Someone's tsuki strike grazes you.
Someone throws his something and hits you with none of them.
Someone's throw misses you.

Towenaar: [===|===|=--|---]
<513/925hp 811/1129m 461/469mv> D 1time 303cps No way! You are still fighting!

Towenaar: [===|===|=--|---]
<513/925hp 811/1129m 461/469mv> D 1time 303cps
s
No way! You are still fighting!

Towenaar: [===|===|=--|---]
<513/925hp 811/1129m 461/469mv> D 1time 303cps
c flash
You create a bright flash of light.
Someone avoids the glare.

Towenaar: [===|===|=--|---]
<513/925hp 781/1129m 461/469mv> D 1time 303cps
Someone blocks a scythe's slice with his weapon.
Someone parries a scythe's slash.
Someone parries a something's crush.
Something takes a vicious swipe at someone's legs!
His feet aren't on the ground.
Someone dodges your attack.
Someone's poisoned bite devastates you!
Someone's poisoned bite misses you.
You parry someone's attack.
Someone swings wildly and misses you by a mile.
Someone's poisoned bite decimates you!
Someone's tsuki strike grazes you.

Towenaar: [===|===|---|---]
<448/925hp 781/1129m 461/469mv> D 1time 303cps
Someone utters the words, 'agsplnuahz'.

Towenaar: [===|===|---|---]
<459/925hp 780/1129m 469/469mv> D 2time 303cps
c disp

Your scythe's slice decimates someone!
Someone blocks a scythe's slash with his weapon.
Someone parries a something's crush.
Your shocking bite misses someone.
You feel poison coursing through your veins.
Something's poisoned bite LACERATES you!
Someone swings wildly and misses you by a mile.
Something deflects someone's attack.
Someone swings wildly and misses you by a mile.
Someone's poisoned bite mauls you.
Someone's tsuki strike injures you.

Towenaar: [===|==-|---|---]
<376/925hp 780/1129m 469/469mv> D 2time 303cps You failed.

Towenaar: [===|==-|---|---]
<376/925hp 765/1129m 469/469mv> D 2time 303cps
flee

Someone utters the words, 'agsplnuahz'.

Towenaar: [===|==-|---|---]
<376/925hp 765/1129m 469/469mv> D 2time 303cps
Someone parries a scythe's slice.
Your scythe's slash devastates someone!
Someone dodges something's crush.
Your shocking bite misses someone.
You parry someone's attack.
Someone's poisoned bite decimates you!
Someone's poisoned bite MUTILATES you!
Someone's form blurs with speed!
Sharp pain explodes in your torso!
Someone's strike wounds you.
Someone's poisoned bite maims you!
Someone's poisoned bite devastates you!
You sure are BLEEDING!
Someone's tsuki strike wounds you.
You sure are BLEEDING!

Towenaar: [===|---|---|---]
<208/925hp 765/1129m 469/469mv> D 2time 303cps Something settles down and returns to you.
You flee from combat!
You can't see a thing!
Someone throws his something and hits you with none of them.
Someone's throw misses you.

<208/925hp 765/1129m 467/469mv> D 2time 303cps
s
s
You can't see a thing!

<208/925hp 765/1129m 465/469mv> D 2time 303cps You can't see a thing!

<208/925hp 765/1129m 463/469mv> D 2time 303cps
c word
The Gods have forsaken you.

<208/925hp 730/1129m 463/469mv> D 2time 303cps
Someone rides in.

<208/925hp 730/1129m 463/469mv> D 2time 303cps
s

You yell 'Help! I am being attacked by someone!'
You sense your blades fade into reality and begin to rotate quickly.

Something bobs in the air as it heads towards someone.
Something's poisoned bite LACERATES you!
You sure are BLEEDING!
You parry someone's attack.
Someone's form blurs with speed!
Sharp pain explodes in your leg!
Someone's strike injures you.
You sure are BLEEDING!
Someone swings wildly and misses you by a mile.
Someone's poisoned bite maims you!
You sure are BLEEDING!
Someone swings wildly and misses you by a mile.
Someone swings wildly and misses you by a mile.
Someone's tsuki strike wounds you.
You sure are BLEEDING!
Someone throws his something and hits you with none of them.
Someone's throw misses you.

Towenaar: [==-|---|---|---]
<94/925hp 730/1129m 432/469mv> D 2time 303cps No way! You are still fighting!
Someone parries a scythe's slice.
Someone blocks a scythe's slash with his weapon.
Someone blocks a something's crush with his weapon.
Someone blocks a something's crush with his weapon.
Someone blocks your attack with his weapon.
Someone's poisoned bite devastates you!
You sure are BLEEDING!
Someone swings wildly and misses you by a mile.
Someone swings wildly and misses you by a mile.
Someone's throat cut scratches you.
You sure are BLEEDING!
With a deft slice someone gores your throat!
Someone's poisoned bite devastates you!
You sure are BLEEDING!
Someone swings wildly and misses you by a mile.
Someone's tsuki strike injures you.
You sure are BLEEDING!

Towenaar: [=--|---|---|---]
<15/925hp 730/1129m 432/469mv> D 2time 303cps
c sharp
You create a mass of metal shards and sends them hurling!
Your sharpmetal LACERATES someone!

Towenaar: [=--|---|---|---]
<15/925hp 722/1129m 432/469mv> D 2time 303cps
Someone's blood loss scratches you.
You sure are BLEEDING!
Someone dodges scythe's slice.
Someone blocks a scythe's slash with his weapon.
Someone blocks a something's crush with his weapon.
Someone parries a something's crush.
Someone dodges your attack.
Something's poisoned bite LACERATES you!
You have been mortally wounded!!
You manage to completely halt your bleeding.
You are too hurt to do anything for a while.

If anything, the full logs prove my point even more.

[Lloth]

You made a TON of mistakes against Veri (which you admitted). 

You stuck around blind against Kotrag. If you notice, most of his damage came from throw hitting your vuln. Better to eat one throw trying to flee than several throws trying to fight blind with poor dancing weapons. 

I do think that BMGs need something. They are being looked at.

None of that being an OLC thing.

[Tantangel]

There's a thread in the other player made subforum about BMGs if you haven't already seen it. I caught a glimpse of it, but never went to read it through completely and maybe you could contribute to it if you haven't already. Also the suggestions made on the ideas thread about them had some good points as well like the suggestion change to rust. The logs you provide aren't great indicators though as to help your case any. It seems like the damage noun for Kotrag may have been the Ninja only weapon from Avalon which was changed to be the following:

Object 'scorpion Ninjato' is type weapon, material iron.
Extra flags: magic noremove burnproof.
Weight is 3, value is 3, level is 35.
Weapon type is two-handed sword.
Damage is 6d9 (average 30).
Affects assassinate by 1.
Affects hitroll by 4.
Affects shadow arts by 2.
Affects throw by 2.
Affects blindness dust by 2.
Affects push by 2.
Affects envenom by 2.
Affects poison smoke by 2.
Affects study by 2.
Affects stalk by 2.
Affects grapple by 2.
You have a feeling only a ninja can use it.
Rare item.

It's strong at pretty much all levels and overall a decent sword. But there are also better weapons out there to use for him as well. The autothrows you ate pretty much quickened your death. I'd suggest curing your blindness because you don't want to fight anyone blind even if you have blind fighting. There's no real bonus for doing so, which really hurt you in the Kotrag fight. I noticed you were cursed or at least in a place you couldn't recall from, why not teleport once you unblinded? Sure you risk the chance to end up in a worse situation, but you also have a chance to end up somewhere you can easily survive and quit from.

[aaa]

@Lloth 

Are there any gaps in equipment that you're aware? For example I feel like rings have a bit of a gap for melee at least and quite often I'm stuck with level 15 rings until level 50 and beyond depending on if the rare rings are in.

[Lloth]

The common rings are still very good. Earrings are in a worse spot. It's a shame to see a unique slot squandered.

[Tantangel]

You should check out some of the shop rings that you can buy for a high price. Sure some are noremove and nouncurse, but they're still quite nice. You have to weigh out whether or not you're willing to dedicate them to those spots though for the trade off of knowing that you may not necessarily find something to replace it with since the rings that are rare/unique are seldom about or being squandered by others who probably don't need them. I typically prefer the ornate rings for long periods of time since they're common and offer pretty good advantages over most of the other rings.

Earrings aren't all that bad either though, but I wouldn't mind more +HP focused ones that could be worn, but the introduction to the Emerald Earring is quite nice depending on how you're wanting to look at it.

Object 'gaia earring emerald !2421!' is type jewelry, material emerald.
Extra flags: none.
Weight is 2, value is 10, level is 50.
Affects hitgain by 10.
Affects managain by 10.
Affects ac by -10.
This item is spellforged with: calm.
Rare item.

or compared to the Gasteride's earring that was changed sometime within the last year or so:

Object 'gasteride earrings earring' is type jewelry, material unknown.
Extra flags: glow evil magic antineutral.
Weight is 0.2, value is 7, level is 44.
Affects hitroll by 4.
Rare item.

Though there could definitely be a few made for mid levels that are nice overall that aren't rare and isn't already in existence like the werewolf's tooth for melee classes. One thing that doesn't quite make sense to me is a socket:

Object 'chipped diamond' is type socket, material diamond.
Extra flags: none.
Weight is 1, value is 3, level is 15.
Weapon only socket.
Affects mace by 2.
Affects sword by 2.
Rare item.

A weapon socket that affects mace and sword seems like it's a complete waste in some regards. Considering the interesting aspect of it, if it were to remain a weapon only socket giving it a bleed affect would almost be preferable than the current stats, but that's my opinion. How far have you gotten so far on looking at overall armors that are already in the game in terms of at least boosting them? Obviously you've got a lot on your plate currently, so I don't expect it to be a large portion of the game or even more than maybe an area, but I am curious.

[Lloth]

Bump! 

 

Moar kweshuns pl0x

[Magick]

Was the answer to my wand/staves question embedded in the "I'm looking at all the items in game" response?

[Lloth]

On 11/21/2017 at 8:27 PM, Magick said:

There's currently what, a half dozen each of wands and staves used regularly, including the glimmering?  What are your thoughts to adding a few more higher leveled (40+) items around like the Wand of Wind and Wand of Frozen Mercury?  What balance issues would you foresee if a L45 wand of magic missile were added, or L40 wand of sear?

 

Certain spells, like magic missile, we have to be careful with. I am on board with adding better offensive wands and staves. However, that is a dangerous road towards powercreep, if we go the route of higher level spells, especially advanced ones. 

 

I would be okay with adding staves for calm, scrolls for any 1-round-lag afflictive spell, and wands for better support spells *may be one or two afflictive) but we should keep the formula of the arguably best spells being put on scrolls (1 time use), with staves and wands getting a better variety, but lower level or affect.

 

But yes, wands/staves/scrolls are also being looked at.

 

I meant It when I said ALL items in the game.

[aaa]

Why is there such a difference in power between the mage and melee RP necklaces? The melee one is best in slot by far where as the mage one is situational.