Boss mobs camping mission doors

[_______________Ofbac]

Hello FunCom,

I just need to ask a question about the recent “outdoors area boss hunting” patch that went in recently.

While I understand the logic behind such a change, in that it gives more places to hunt and especially is nice for those that prefer to do hunting outdoors, there has been a major negative side effect.

Namely, many of the new outdoor boss mobs have spawns and wander points on top of many of the mission spots. The end result is that since the patch went in, nearly every time I exit a mission with and want nothing more than to get to an insurance terminal and hold onto my 75% of a level of exp, I generally wind up dead in 30 seconds when I zone out.

I cannot zone back in as the mission is complete and cannot be re-entered.

I cannot outrun the boss mob as it is much faster than I am.

I cannot kill the mob as it is dark read and eats me pretty fast.

I cannot get friends and kill it before the mission since it just respawns an hour later.

There simply is absolutely nothing that we can do about it. It is a forced death waiting to happen regardless of anything that the player can do.

The crux of the matter is that this patch has brought countless, extremely frustrating deaths to players who are forced to lose massive exp every time they get caught.

Like 90% of the population I cannot afford a Yalm so using that to outrun them is not an option. My run sped is maxed and even have on run buffs when I exit team missions and yet I and others still wind up dead.

You need to move the bosses away from mission locations. This is very aggravating for players.

Do you have any idea how defeated and unhappy players are when they spend time getting together and traveling to a mission location to find the mission location camped by a Boss mob and be forced to either give up and travel back to a city to get a new mission or face unconditional death after the mission and thus lose what they have striven for?

In all of AO, I’m one of the happier people. I appreciate the many things in the game that “get it right”. Especially compared to many other games. But this one thing has frustrated me so much in the past week that I am near to canceling my account based on this one single factor.

My last 4 game sessions have ended in misery and a clear state of "I gained nothing from having played today" due to these uncontrollable losses.

Are you aware that even level 20 characters get missions to locations that have level 50+ bosses sitting on them? This can lead to nothing but frustration and a loss of new player enjoyment of the game. At 63, 90% of the mission locations I get are out in the boon docks and half of them seem to be camped by a Boss mob. It's destroying the game enjoyment.

I know that you guys want this game to be fun, so please listen to me and look into this. Give us hope right away or there’s simply no reason to log back in except to give my stuff away to my Org. members.

[______________Eduard]

Me "rise hand" Bump for this!

I will add mine point here, I'm low LVL in AO terms and I don't like bosses surrounding mine individual team mission target too. Same for missions in PvP zones! Please for me is like meet boss meet someone who is superior to me and just kill me for fun because mine mission is in PvP zone. I hate PvP and I will never be part of PvP mad and crazy thing until will be possible to be attacked not by equal person but superior person. In civilized countries is murder threaten as criminal act. I like that murders be avoided here in game too.

Game could not be easy, but please don’t put in players way obstacles like this. These obstacles simply are outside of our possibilities. Just follow your rules like if we don’t get XP when attacking gray mobs then when we are gray to mobs they shouldn’t attack us. It applies to people too.

[____________Meligant]

Shouldn't BOSS MOBs be non-aggro or is just me? Sure would be a quick easy fix.

[Kzak]

Bump for moving boss mobs far enough away from mission entrances that they don't insta-aggro and warp whoever exits the mission to the,.

[_______________Ofbac]

Meligant,

I think that non aggro boss mobs outdoors would be the best fix from a play perspective if it can be done.

Providing outdoor bosses for those that want them should not mean that teams on the way to missions should be set back constantly by delays as members die to random boss mobs they stumble across.

But since the boss mobs are perhaps a duplication of those in missions (from a code perspectiev) it could be problematic to make only the new outdoors bosses non-aggro.

Just speculation

[Anarchin]

Bump for this thread!

On several occations, i have had to "clear the way" with my main to secure my alts' travel to and from mission locations.

[____________Meligant]

Originally posted by Ofbac
Meligant,

I think that non aggro boss mobs outdoors would be the best fix from a play perspective if it can be done.

Providing outdoor bosses for those that want them should not mean that teams on the way to missions should be set back constantly by delays as members die to random boss mobs they stumble across.

But since the boss mobs are perhaps a duplication of those in missions (from a code perspectiev) it could be problematic to make only the new outdoors bosses non-aggro.

Just speculation

Very true. But I like throwing a challenge at the Devs every 3rd post or so.

My own negative comments aside about the Devs abilities, I would hope they could make this change so that the new outdoor super boss mobs act more like NPCs. Least it opens up some sort of RP ability to use them in quests

[________________Miir]

Like 90% of the population I cannot afford a Yalm


LOL, coffee shot out my nose when I read that.



The crux of the matter is that this patch has brought countless, extremely frustrating deaths to players who are forced to lose massive exp every time they get caught.

Those players must be pretty stupid if they complete a mission knowing they are going to die when they leave. Nobody is forcing you to do missions with bosses in the vicinity.


My last 4 game sessions have ended in misery and a clear state of "I gained nothing from having played today" due to these uncontrollable losses.

This has happened to you FOUR times, yet you contimue to put yourself in a situation that will lead to frustration?

Here's a few tips.
- Take missions in locaions you are familiar with
- Upload mission coords and check the map before you accept the misison from the terminal
- Get a runspeed buff and scout out areas that you are unfamiliar with
- If you are getting undesirable mission locations, try mission terms in a different location



Shouldn't BOSS MOBs be non-aggro or is just me? Sure would be a quick easy fix.

That would make pulling from camps totally impossible. It would necessitate the need for a crat with AE calm or an extremely competent NT/Tarder. Camp mobs are aggro and social, they can be pulled using awareness and LOS aggro. If they were made non aggro, the only way to pull from the camp would be to attack one. This would, in turn, cause the entire camp to aggro.

[_______________Ofbac]

> Those players must be pretty stupid if they
> complete a mission knowing they are going to die when
> they leave. Nobody is forcing you to do missions
> with bosses in the vicinity.

Well, aftr you travel for 10 minutes ot get somwhere and the boss mobs aggros as you approach, you choices are zone in or die. So once inside, you try to make the best of it.

I think that you taking a cheap shot at players for not giving up every time they see a boss in the same county is a little uncalled for.


> This has happened to you FOUR times, yet you contimue
> to put yourself in a situation that will lead to frustration?

Gee, let me see. Yeah. Mission booths give the missions. Not like there's a slider switch that says "Boss-Camped on one side and not-boss camped" on the other. So what, we're supposed to give up on missions now?


> Here's a few tips.
> - Take missions in locaions you are familiar with
> - Upload mission coords and check the map before
> you accept the misison from the terminal
> - Get a runspeed buff and scout out areas that you
> are unfamiliar with
> - If you are getting undesirable mission locations,
> try mission terms in a different location

Ok, now you are just being patronizing and it's beneath you.

Yes, everyone and their brother knows to check mission locations. But sorry, I missed the memo that listed exactly every mission door in VW or ND and eveywhere else that as updated that has a boss mob camped on it now. Can you forward me a copy since you seem to have gotten it?


> If they were made non aggro, the only way to pull from
> the camp would be to attack one. This would, in turn,
> cause the entire camp to aggro.

And it's better to penalize the people who have no interest in hunting them and just want to get their team to the mission without getting ganked? I think your perspective is a tad skewed. Introducing mobs in the outdoors should be a bonus for those seeking to hunt outdoors, not a penalty to those wanting to do some missions.

Sorry if I come off harsh, but your tone of "well if you have a problem, you must be stupid" tone is a bit irksome.

[________________Miir]

Well, aftr you travel for 10 minutes ot get somwhere and the boss mobs aggros as you approach, you choices are zone in or die. So once inside, you try to make the best of it.

Knowing that you stand a good chance of getting killed when you leave the mission isn't 'making the best of it'... it's downright foolish.


Yes, everyone and their brother knows to check mission locations. But sorry, I missed the memo that listed exactly every mission door in VW or ND and eveywhere else that as updated that has a boss mob camped on it now.

Do you not make note of dangerous mission locations?
Do you not take down the coords of missions with bosses outside?
I have a little notepad of missions and loactions and where they can be pulled from. Perhpas you should do the same. From exploring zones, I have come to learn which locations are too dangerous and which locations are not. I also have a list of mission locations which stand a good chance of giving me small and/or large mission layouts.


And it's better to penalize the people who have no interest in hunting them and just want to get their team to the mission without getting ganked?

Nobody is forcing you to take misisons in dangerous locations.


Sorry if I come off harsh, but your tone of "well if you have a problem, you must be stupid" tone is a bit irksome.

Some people will whine about anything.



Maybe Funcom should just remove all mobs from all outdoor zones because people might actually die travelling to or from a mission.
Maybe all mobs should be non-aggro so players don't have to fight if they don't want to.
Maybe Funcom should remove all risk from the game because some players might get upset if they die.

[_______________Ofbac]

Miir,

Well, obviously the rest of us aren't quite as **** as you are. No, I (like the rest of the playing populace except you and four other obsessive compulsives) do not write down the location of a mission door on a blacklist when we see a boss mob near it and screen every future mission request against it.

The mere fact that this is what you concider to be absolutely normal and anything else is foolish is more of a statement that any beratement you can attempt to give anyone else.

Not to mention the fact that the game does not give you mission door coordinates. You can get those through clicksaver but not through AO itself. Ya know, there are people who do not use clicksaver each and every time we get a mission. I guess that makes us foolish as well. Shame on us for trying to actually play the game.

> Nobody is forcing you to take misisons in dangerous locations.

When the dangerous location are 30 to 50% of the common mission doors that get handed out by the terminals, it's pretty much a factor not in your control.

Oh wait, it's probbaly in your control. You have your magic notepad of missinsthat you studiously scan down the list every time before going becaue that's your idea of fun.

Fun. You know, enjoying a game. It's what this is supposed to be about.

What I simply cannot understand, being as that I'm stupid and foolish, is why you have decided to champion leaving bos mobs spawned on and camping mission doors? Why is it that you see moving them off to the side a little as such a terrible thing? I find that odd. So you enjoy the thought of having your team disrupted on the way to a QL 30 mission when a QL 50 boss eats half of your team? Sure I can see why you would want the mobs out there to hunt them... but why is it that you think that they have to be killing the younger players an order for you to be happy.

Let me guess... You have plenty of level 100 + and 150+ characters and love running from boss mod to boss mob killing them and don't really have any understanding of what I'm talking about at all.

[Mercatura]

You can upload a mission to the world map before you take it. Right click the icon before you accept it. I do this when pulling BS missions, and avoid the team's groans and newb jokes when one is waaaaaaaaay outside home

Log off AO and download a good world map too. (dovves, fixergrid, etc) Grab a nice GUI while you're at it.

Using the world map, you can check to see whether a mission is near whompa/grid etc, and safe to some degree or another. Some general knowledge of zones helps too. (ask your guild...or join one) For example, theres a wide range of lower levels you can get missions to Lush Hills Resort/Waylon Carmicheal's(?) Home and its incredibly safe. (for omnis anyway, the OP Juggernaut down the road doesn't like clanners hehe)

Nothing obsessive compulsive about using ingame tools. I hate post-it notes.

The mission system has been in need of an overhaul for awhile now, don't hold your breath for any big changes soon. (ql range, lev10 players getting missions in deathville, etc)

[____________Intrepid]

Yeah i noticed this problem as well. find it very aggravating. I don't see why these outdoor camps also have to be right where all the mission doors are.

[Ashuras]

Instead of getting angry at Miir, why don't u guys take it as good advice ?

Honestly, u might not want to write those stuff down, but it's a good idea to remember what are the dangerous locations and stay away from them.

Repeating the same mistake 4 times .... hmm.... U really can't blame FC for u not learning the lesson after the 1st one or two times.

And like someone else said... when u rush into the mission... knowing there is a big bad boss outside... U know u will get killed when u come so. So why are u still doing that mission for XP ? It makes sense if u are doing it for the item reward, etc. but for XP ??? Damm strange decision IMO.

[_______________Ofbac]

The part that is not getting through is that Yes, we do check mission locations. I'm guessing that everyone does.

The advice to look at mission locatiosn first is simply a moot point since everyone does that.

The point is that looking at the misison location on the map, even the downloadable maps, does NOT indicate boss mob locations (nor would anyoen expect them to).

The advice given is to check locations first. Yeah, well unless one has all of the new boss mob locations all listed out and happens to check them against each and every mission they ever play, it's simply bogus advice. (which is really silly given that we're playing a computer game and any info or notes we need to take should be in the computer, not scrawled on a pad that gets shuffled around the desk).

We're not really interested in hearing the same "look at the map" advice over and over because it does not help this problem whatsoever.

Why is it so aggrevatingly difficult to get yall to understand that having boss mobs camping mission doors that are used by people 20 and 30 levels under the boss is just terribly frustrating to the users and serves no purpose. Move them a ways off or stop issuing that door for those levels. What's so controversial about this?

And yes, the advice being given is totally bogus. I meant it. So a person (or team) shows up, finds their mission door and heads in. How are they to know that there' a boss mob spawning above them at the entrance that was killed by a passing high level team minutes beforehand. I could count out a few dozen ways in which this is just bad policy for the players, but I was kinda hoping that everyone could see it for themselves.

[Snuble]

This is not exactly a new "problem". There has always been red stuff at some mission doors. For some reason I learnt to stay away from those mission locations. The oldest example must be TK camp...

Apart from that, give them a break Miir.

[_____________Gegemon]

Strange discussion.
It was stated by FC a million times that tough way to mission coords is intended.
Nothing new here at all.
With minimum creativity it is possible to find locations of terminal/mission entry that ensure 100% safe and fast route.
Big advice to use smbdy's brains better and not start whining at first difficulty.
For my early levels running accross Rubi-Ka was major fun. It was fun to die near mission locations as well.
When you get bored with it - just pick mission coords near grids/wompas, like Rome Blue (available from Rome till lvl 60 appr.), Lush Resort (from ent till lvl 60 appr., later from Clon**** or Broken Shores wompa), 20k or eye camp (different locations depending on lvl). Sorry OMNI locations - do not know the clan ones.
Beleive me it is really easy.

[________________Miir]

And yes, the advice being given is totally bogus. I meant it. So a person (or team) shows up, finds their mission door and heads in. How are they to know that there' a boss mob spawning above them at the entrance that was killed by a passing high level team minutes beforehand.

Dynacamps are marked with very distinct items on the ground......buckets, corpses, totems, etc.

[_______________Ofbac]

Snublefot,

Actually the frustration is with the new boss mobs, not the general mobs camping some mission doors. The normal mobs might be red to a given player, but the nw outdoor bosses added are what is proving to be inordinately aggrevating.

As for Miir,

Yes, you are right. You are always right. You are the god of AO. Everyone playing is a Yalm-toting high level character that fears no mob and never dies and never has any troubles. The rest of us are unworthy snots that are complete idiots who have less than 24 hours a day to play a game and should shut up and let the fine, quality folks like you play in peace.

Never seen anyone so intent on defending bad design in my life, but hey, everyone has to have a hobby.

[________________Miir]

What exactly is your problem, Ofbac?

People are offering tips and advice to help your situation but you choose to ignore them and attack.


Look, it's pretty easy to avoid dyna-camps near mission entrances, you just have to make a little bit of an effort.

But if you're not willing to make an effort, then you are destined to be frustrated.


There has to be a modicum of Risk vs Reward in the game. If you could avoid all risk, AO would be awfully dull.


Everyone playing is a Yalm-toting high level character that fears no mob and never dies and never has any troubles

Yalmahas are common. Everyone over 100 has one. The majority of AO players has a level 100+ character. Credits are incredibly easy to get which makes getting a plane fairly easy.

I fear Enforcer Boss mobs that crit me for 1.6k. I fear bosses in dynacamps that yank me out of the sky and proceed to rip me a new ********. I fear pulling a camp and aggroing 12 mobs.

Every player has troubles. There are different ways to handle problems you encounter. You choose to piss and moan about your problems, whereas I use any tool I can get my hands on to avoid putting myself in such a situation repeatedly.





Who is enjoyng the game more?
You or me?