Slow is an extremely powerful spell. And I think mugwort is an extremely powerful herb to be so readily available. There has always been an herb that does the same thing and it's subject to a repopulation timer.
It's counterpart, haste, has two unique items that can grant its effect (that I know of), one worn and one consumable. That is balanced. Everyone having access to several hours of slow during PK is a problem. It's perhaps not displayed on many of the PK logs here, but if you search pastebin you'll come across just how abused mugwort is.
I vote we get rid of it and let people horde the pre-existing consumable/rare/uniques.
Because I've noticed it makes no difference really. If you can afford the dex penalty and increased movement cost (which also comes with increased move regen), then I really don't see any reason not to use it. I even prefer it when battlemages slow my warriors down. Take that 300 hp regen per tick. It's much more detrimental to a melee to haste it (long term haste) than to slow it.
I dont have hard evidence, like logs, but in my past experience I noticed taking more melee hits per round on average when slowed vs not slowed. It would be an easy experiment to produce yourself. I am almost certain it is true, just like when hasted you not only benefit from more melee output but you also defend better. (I also have no hard evidence, just past experience)
It can make you take more hits via reducing DEX and therefore reducing your parry ability (IIRC, parry is affected by DEX).
For haste, I meant usable (not consumable) - the rod. And I forgot about the cabal shield.
There used to be several logs on pastebin showing people using mugwort....not sure if they get cycled out over time. When you combine slow with a certain RP Edge, healing is on par or better than ogres. And that's fine, it should be. It just shouldn't be so easy to not only buy, but then kill the mob who sells it.
I agree Manual Labor, but if Foxx is sporting a -700 AC he would never notice the lower defense. I reiterate a statement from another thread, -700 to -900 AC can not be good.
I've had around -700 ac before on a mage type character. It is noticeably good against heavy melee. Frankly -400 just doesnt cut it these days against decked warriors/rangers. I personally think all eq should get nerfed across the board. What initially attracted me to FL, oh so long ago, was the un-inflated numbers. A lot of muds have av 80+ dam weapons and 10k hp characters, hundreds of hit/dam etc... FL was cool because you could not get ridiculous stats so every eq choice was meaningful. Slowly but surely a combination of deteriorating playerbase and increased player knowledge led to more and more individuals sporting "god suits". In a game where small number changes matter this has really changed the pk dynamic. I firmly believe that the game is less about tactical combat and more about equipment and of course raw speed. This is why when you combine a really fast and experienced player with a god suit they will just crush 95% of the pbase and only really have competitive pk against another player of similar speed, experience, and deckedness. It has become an elitist game that discourages and drives away new players.
That being said I see the staff has made a lot of cool changes that makes it more fun for the players who love this game but are not in the upper echelon, but in my opinion some of the fixes are just bandade solutions. A prime example is the boost you can apply for that will make you more viable in PK against the top players. I would personally never ask for this because it is embarassing to say "hey I just cant compete on their level but I dont wanna lose every fight so gimme a handicap" Sure it bridges the gap a little but the vet will still win in the end and the recipient of the boost will not benefit in the long run.
Kind of an off topic rant but w/e it was on my mind.
This is why when you combine a really fast and experienced player with a god suit they will just crush 95% of the pbase and only really have competitive pk against another player of similar speed, experience, and deckedness. It has become an elitist game that discourages and drives away new players.
In many ways this has always been the nature of the game. High stakes play against overpowering enemies gives us that adrenaline rush that you just can't reproduce short of a bar fight. My very first character on Abandoned Realms was brought down into a sewer system by Crypticant's dark knight, then murdered in cold blood under the pretense of friendship. It was a tough lesson, but not unlike real life, where the planned and the predatory can stake out an advantage when necessary.
When FL started, there was wild imbalance, often worse than we have now, but the game is always changing.
In almost all cases, your perception of the enemies will be greater than their actual capabilities. I remember slaying my first vampire with a minotaur holding a power staff. It was liberating.
Player speed is a critical factor as is game knowledge. Very few players can sustain a streak, and even the best pkers will have trouble with those few.
You'll find your niche. We have multiple lives, blue pk status, lockers, and IC friends to make the game more immersive even after death. Everyone is playing for fun. I think your assessment of mugwort is perhaps symbolic to what is percieved as an unfair advantage in other areas. In my opinion the game is more newbie friendly than ever. Even The Kid was taking names.
On a broader level, in some ways we must always strive for imperfect balance. You want to be able to achieve power, while still maintaining a sense of danger. Too much balance and we get grey porridge.
