..I've come to the conclusion this game doesn't have enough lvl 50 rares. Seems a few people have hoarded the items and there's next to nothing left. Every place I've checked is empty. Even the crap rares.
We should increase number of medium rares and get rid of god suits.
Losing pk over and over due to huge gear gaps sucks. Lightening spear and sharp glaive don't do much for taking down the tribunal god suits
In the log of Ardeliech vs Grush Ardel was terribly outgeared, and facing a tough combo for his to fight, yet he came out with a win. I have seen a trend in alot of your suggestion posts Sandbox, you seem to have alot more trouble in handling gear, yet your not making any skill suggestions. This really seems to put out an "I iz n33dinz geres plz." vibe. I suggest you try pking in only that "crap" as you put it. Once you can rely on how well you do in crap, then you should consider the big ****, otherwise your going to end up with a bunch of chars at 50 who have lost 1-10 lives, have no gear, and you won't play them anymore.
I agree there needs to be an equipment/gear change. I very much agree life insurance should be removed (I was actually pro-life insurance before..).
As far as "I can't compete because I don't have god gear" is a bit over the edge. I've PK'd with **** gear, and got decked over night because of it. I've also lost all my gear over night for being overconfident. Guess it depends on what class you play, too. I don't play many EQ dependent classes (except maybe bmgs..).
Honestly I think I PK better in crap anyway.
You do tend to pk better in crap because you have to play smarter rather than rely on your gear. I've been contemplating remming and saccing on my current just for that reason.
In the log of Ardeliech vs Grush Ardel was terribly outgeared' date=' and facing a tough combo for his to fight, yet he came out with a win. [/quote']
Fact is, EQ matters a WHOLE lot. Monks are apparently not as much of an EQ dependent class so using that fight as an example probably isn't the best.
If EQ isn't so important why have +spell lvl pieces of eq out there? Or other certain pieces that certain classes gain a definite advantage with?
Oh and forget about the TON of threads in which people say, don't want to be bashlocked? Just get -400AC.
I think there is a point you get to in this game where the only way your char is going to be more competitive is with EQ.
Anyone who says that the current eq situation isnt a problem is possibly one of those who are hoarding the rares, logging on the bare minimum hours to hold onto them and hiding out when they are on. Or what about someone who would purposely hold onto a piece of eq that they don't even use just to keep a competitor from gaining it?
You do tend to pk better in crap because you have to play smarter rather than rely on your gear. I've been contemplating remming and saccing on my current just for that reason.
Please do 
Does EQ matter? Yes, absolutely, it does. It matters a few shades more than I'd like to to, in fact, and I'd be happy to see some of the higher-end rares removed from the game. I'd also love to see life insurance gone, and I'd love to see consumable dependence go down a fair bit.
But there are a couple of things to keep in mind when discussing how powerful eq is. First, there's been a long-running project to update and rebalance pretty much every piece of eq in the game, and many of the gear objections that currently exist may not be applicable when this project is completed anyways, so try to be a bit patient. Running FL is not the job of the IMMs - it is their choice, their pleasure, and something they do when they aren't working their REAL jobs or dealing with other aspects of their real lives. Every bit of player bitching and moaning about how some aspect of the game isn't exactly how they want it to be is a bit of flak that the IMMs are catching about how they apparently aren't working hard enough - despite not being paid or getting any sort of reward for their efforts (beyond game-related pride/pleasure). Cut them some slack, be patient, and don't whine about things not being done quickly enough.
Second, I cannot think of a single occasion in my entire history of FL playing where someone having better eq was the sole factor that caused my death. Every death I've ever taken in this game (beyond the very rare lowbie death to bashlock) was due to me screwing up somehow - either I didn't run well, or I didn't flee soon enough, or I didn't prep well enough, etc. The primary benefit of good eq is that it compensates for weaknesses and mitigates the damage your mistakes cause... but it won't get the kill for you (there are certain exceptions to this with the very, VERY high end eq - but that stuff I'd be happy to see gone anyways ). I can recall a good number of fights where I didn't win because of the opponent's eq being a lot better than mine and protecting him from his screw ups - but not winning and dying are two very different outcomes. If you go into a fight against someone who is way better equipped than you and you survive, that's not something to complain about - that's something to be proud of.
Why do people keep whining about EQ? Rare EQ is RARE. If it was available to everyone it wouldn't be rare. It is not supposed to be easily obtainable. It is not supposed to be there.
That being said, the cabal outfit gear provides a perfectly balanced suit. The immortals have done outstanding job in creating that suit.
What annoys me more is people who can NOT pk well and keep complain about gear, thinking that they lose only because of gear. This is NOT the reason for your losses, so please, stop being like a baby in a candy shop. Learn to PK in lesser gear first.
Just my two cents.
[edit]
Does EQ matter? Yes' date=' absolutely, it does. It matters a few shades more than I'd like to to, in fact, and I'd be happy to see some of the higher-end rares removed from the game. I'd also love to see life insurance gone, and I'd love to see consumable dependence go down a fair bit.[/quote']
Pali? Seriously? Why don't we just make a stock class, no EQ, no consumables, no cabals. Would be fun, wouldn't it? If you take away all the cool stuff from FL, why the hell would I still want to play it?
Removing Uber EQ and toning consumables does not equal making everyone a stock race/class. FL has trememndous replayability already. The classes are also IMO balanced with each other without taking EQ, Cabals, and Consumables into consideration. What many people are complaining about are the "drastic" situations where a combination of all 3 mentioned unbalancers are combined to create insurmountable odds.
I wonder how those people got their God suits. I wonder how many times they HAVE been full looted, and probably on every death. I wonder how many times they've gotten those God suits back. The answer is easy, be better and kill them. 
I know I've been on both ends. CPs aren't forever.
In the log of Ardeliech vs Grush Ardel was terribly outgeared' date=' and facing a tough combo for his to fight, yet he came out with a win. I have seen a trend in alot of your suggestion posts Sandbox, you seem to have alot more trouble in handling gear, yet your not making any skill suggestions. This really seems to put out an "I iz n33dinz geres plz." vibe. I suggest you try pking in only that "crap" as you put it. Once you can rely on how well you do in crap, then you should consider the big ****, otherwise your going to end up with a bunch of chars at 50 who have lost 1-10 lives, have no gear, and you won't play them anymore.[/quote']
i've actually made a ton of skills sugguestions, maybe i make a lot of gear posts because there is a huge problem.
If you are enormously outgeared then be very patient. Things will come in eventually. Or other things will come about and you will be better prepared and ready to capitalize on your opponents mistake when they make it. Being over eager in FL will most often lead to being over-dead and over-nude. Pali said it somewhere lately, there is no shame in saving your life if they are incredibly better prepared than you are. Add a rare every few days to your eq and just do a 'check' on your target. Keep doing this until they become overconfident and you are stable enough to take them out on that. Then enjoy being a badass until someone does the same to you 
Pali? Seriously? Why don't we just make a stock class' date=' no EQ, no consumables, no cabals. Would be fun, wouldn't it? If you take away all the cool stuff from FL, why the hell would I still want to play it?[/quote']
sigh If you're going to use "Seriously?" as an objection to something someone is saying, it helps to give a serious response rather than a completely ridiculous one. Are you saying that you're 100% satisfied with the current balance of equipment/consumables? If your answer to that is anything but a yes, you are not disagreeing with anything I said.
My position regarding eq/consumables is one I actually see as increasing the relative worth of having different classes and races - the less we can use equipment or consumables to compensate for abilities that the class does not have innately, the greater the worth of every skill specific to a class. If every class is capable through eq of lots of self-healing, then the value of having curative spells as a class ability goes down - likewise for having level 50 sanctuary, area-affect spells, and pretty much every other effect in the game that can currently be replicated easily by anyone through eq or consumables. Making it so that fewer abilities can be accessed by fewer combos makes it MORE worthwhile to play those different combos, and means GREATER variety of battles and battle tactics. It's about doing more with less.
hell, I think half the fun is watching people burn through the consumables they spent hours and hours getting. they do go by so very fast.
Removing Uber EQ and toning consumables does not equal making everyone a stock race/class. FL has trememndous replayability already. The classes are also IMO balanced with each other without taking EQ' date=' Cabals, and Consumables into consideration. What many people are complaining about are the "drastic" situations where a combination of all 3 mentioned unbalancers are combined to create insurmountable odds.[/quote']
Trememndous replayability? I could argue that. But lets say it is so. Still there are other ways to fix the issue you pointed out i.e. the extreme combination of the three factors (EQ, consumables, cabal position).
Lets be honest - right now it is consumables that make the game MORE like just having stock classes without any variability. Right now a smart player can have just about every buff, plus the ability to heal, plus the ability to shadow form etc... regardless of the class they choose. Consumables are great for some things, other things should really have been left alone - but thats not for this thread and has been beaten to death elsewhere.
As regards gear issues? This is the same issue that comes up every now and then. between moderate tier, lockers, cabal outfit etc I think we currently have it the best we have done in a looong time regarding getting and keeping at a playable level of equip.
I have to agree with Pali on the High-end eq though. One piece may or may not make or break a fight. A full set however could pretty much make a good pker superb. Yes eq can cover mistakes, but there are offensive pieces out there as well as those which can negates some class and race weaknesses. These can be fight altering in my opinion.
Of course, and that's why they exist.
If I may say this, I have had these God Suits, and been handed my arse by better pkers while wearing them. Yes, EQ makes a difference. No EQ will not win the fight all by itself.
As for the original post. I am kind of with sandbox. I would like to see a few more high end rares. Not to be confused with raising the rare limit. It is my personal belief that it would be better for our world if there were some NEW rares on the Uber Mobs. Truthfully, I would like to see more class specific rares. Then the awesome warrior, mage, vamp, ect, would not have all the greatest stuff. It would be much easier if his enemies had access to high end gear that the (insert PK Monster here) could not wear anyway.
But Croyvern..... What?!
So it requires some thought, some coding, and some changes. For starters we revamp a few of the Stock areas that have been on the back burner for quite some time. Add in a few new Uber Mobs in these areas. And Bam! Spice it up.