Is any outdoor xp worth our time planned for the future?

[_______________wefix]

Ok, I was intentionally trying to get your attention by saying "force". What I really would like is some way to encourage activities other than leveling, sometimes. However, it seems impossible when they become obsessed with leveling.

Also, I have started a few alts and I can tell you it is just as fun to play at low level, maybe even more fun. True you get new nanos and equipment when you level, but you also get harder mobs, so nothing really changes at all.

[deatheyes]

You might not know this, but there are places to hunt outdoors from level 1 to 170 that are worthwile depending where it is and how you approach it. I'm talkin xp here, and lots of it.

Take for instance last nite. A friend and I took a couple 90's twinks out and built a team to hunt outdoors. We took them to 10-3. In 3 hours, I remember 3 deaths. We were getting 15k for slimebathers, 30k for oozelurkers, and 60k+ for biledrinkers. We almost took a marsh warden. The atmosphere out there is unbelieveabe compared to missions.

The Biledrinkers are ~level 180ish, and can be a source of XP for levels 100-180. Higher level teams just need to kill lots of them and faster. They are approx. veteran xp, maybe a little lower. If you use your strategy right you can make the xp flow in faster than missions (think good tanking + area nukers). Guaranteed.

Last week we had 35ish twinks in Galway county. Hit up the manteze. Insane xp for the level and it was fun. Actually getting to walk around, and root and shoot... etc.

Oh and if you are concerned about loot, both of these hunting expeditions turned up multiple bracers, notum frags/chips, instruction discs. People went home very happy.

I agree there needs to be more places to hunt. I'm damn glad there is somethin out there, and that I can actually convince people to get some fresh air sometimes.

Heh, I remember when hunting was more popular. Then we figured out how to pull missions for 20k (before team missions). The xp was rockin, the save was close. I regret showin people how to do it and I'm determined to get them back outside.

Anywho. That's my bordem rant while I wait for the servers to come back up. If anyone ever wants to hunt outside at any level look me up.


-Deatheyes.

[Blackwing]

a) you have to be of a very select level range for a certain spot to benefit you. if you are to low you suck if you are to high the xp sucks.

b) most of them are out in the wields requiring the team to have transportation or patience.

c) all of them require a very very good - dare i say close to perfect team to work.
you need a tank. you need at least one rooter. you need a doctor and preferably a secondary healer as well. one of the fighters should be a decent puller. all characters should be reasonably equipped (armor, implant, weapon and nano wise) and reasonably competent with their chosen role.

d) all people must be well off so they do not worry about getting only crap loot. a nt or doc out hunting burns cash. alot of cash. that is not feasible if its your only char.

a+b+c +d = hella hard to find in pick up teams.


i agree that i am bored to tears from missions but hunting is in no way comparable to a juicy team mission. since i like to see my little people grow i have to do alot of killing and as little dying as possible. thus its missions missions missions....

[_____________Nalissa]

Originally posted by wefix
Ok, I was intentionally trying to get your attention by saying "force". What I really would like is some way to encourage activities other than leveling, sometimes. However, it seems impossible when they become obsessed with leveling.

Also, I have started a few alts and I can tell you it is just as fun to play at low level, maybe even more fun. True you get new nanos and equipment when you level, but you also get harder mobs, so nothing really changes at all.

It's because the essence of the challenge lies in the leveling.

Making an alt is easy and definately more fun. What is difficult is forcing yourself to level even though it is painfully slow and boring. Not saying it's a good thing. At some point players will often look at the game and think "All this effort isn't really worth anything, in the real world". But on the other hand the ones who have made it to 200 can sit back and relax, and think they have done the job well. Because that is what leveling is. A job and a chore.

The essence of challenge is that it has to be difficult and painful to be worthwhile. That is what drives many players to keep at it even though it isn't fun at all. If it was easy and fun there would be no feeling of accomplishment.

In any case, i'm with you for the most part. Taking it easy is definately more enjoyable. However, relaxing gets boring fairly fast. There is a balance to be struck here, and with some players that balance is different than with others.

[secondkenlon]

Originally posted by Blackwing
b) most of them are out in the wields requiring the team to have transportation or patience.

Love me my fixer grid, yes, yes I do. And there are plenty of decent hunting places closer to civilization now, with the revamping the whompas have undergone.

c) all of them require a very very good - dare i say close to perfect team to work.
you need a tank. you need at least one rooter. you need a doctor and preferably a secondary healer as well. one of the fighters should be a decent puller. all characters should be reasonably equipped (armor, implant, weapon and nano wise) and reasonably competent with their chosen role.

Nope. All you really need is sufficient healing (doc or adv, maybe a MA or MP for mitigation) and a decent puller. All else is optional.

Don't have a calmer? Ghetto mez with roots.
Don't have a tank? Pull carefully and off-tank adds on any pets you have. (Though a good enough doc can turn a NT into a tank, it's still nerve-wracking.)
Don't have either? Go hunt things that are of slightly lower level and just pull faster. There are plenty of boss camps that are suitable for this.

And how is requiring some basic competence and teamwork a bad thing? I find that it's very good at teaching people how to play their profession, and I take new people out to borgs all the time. It's quite a neat thing to watch ranged-weapon users realize that they don't have to run up to the mob to hit them.

d) all people must be well off so they do not worry about getting only crap loot. a nt or doc out hunting burns cash. alot of cash. that is not feasible if its your only char.

CDS. Notum bits, tradeskill items (gems, etc). Monster parts (QL 200 blood plasma, which you can make from QL 150 parts, sells for 50K a pop).

a+b+c +d = hella hard to find in pick up teams.

Nope, not really. Just don't expect to say, "Level XXX $PROFESSION, looking for hunt team!" and find one. Make a team. You'll find most people are willing to try, and will have fun once you get going.

i agree that i am bored to tears from missions but hunting is in no way comparable to a juicy team mission. since i like to see my little people grow i have to do alot of killing and as little dying as possible. thus its missions missions missions....

Hey, if you want to fall asleep in front of the keyboard, you do that.
I'll have way more fun and *still* only die once in a blue moon, because I've learned how to hunt effectively.

[Xaielao]

"Make missions the thing you do for money and tokens, and make the outdoors the place for xp."


This is EXACTLY how it was in the early days. NOBODY did missions for xp because the xp wasn't nearlly as good as a good group hunting outdoors. We missioned for cash and tokens. If you ask me, Team Missions ruined 1/2 this game. They made leveling and getting creds increadibly easy. INCREADIBLY EASY. With a doc, at lvl80, in a good team (org mates) I've flown through 170 missions with amazing ease, leveling 3-4 times a mission. If you ask me, you should NEVER be able to level more then once a mission, let alone 4 times.

Back in the old days there were enough monsters around to make leveling dangeous but fun. Exilerating. AO is fricking boring now, because leveling is so damn easy with team missions.

If you ask me, the gameplay in many parts was way better when AO was yung, then it is now. Funcom did so much to slow down leveling that somehow they inadvertantly quadrupled it's speed. It was common back in the old days that the most gungho power-levelers could hit 50th lvl in 3-4 weeks, lvl100 in a couple months. Hell it took 6 months before we had someone that was lvl200 and she worked her ass off, a true powerleveler she was.

Now, I know poeple who have played for less then 2 months and are lvl150. I even know someone who is like lvl154 and she just joined the game 2 months and 1/2 months ago. I've always been a slow leveler, after a year and a half playing AO, I don't have a character over 100, but trust me, on my main Xaielao I've rerolled him twice. Once when RK2 came out, and once again when I came back to AO last fall and all my friends were on rk1. But I leveled Xaielao more in the last 4 months, then I have since day1... I have 31 days played. My friend who's 154? I think (if I remember right) it was 13 or 14 days played.

Considering how slow leveling is in every other MMORPG game, and how in AO after lvl100 it's all downhill when it should be uphill, thats way way to fast.

[____________Alantria]

I suppose I got my answer with the new guild towers placed in some of the remaining good hunting spots

[speed15412]

I’m seeing quite a bit of support for hunting on these boards at the moment. What I’m not seeing is hunting in the game, although I know a lot of us are.

I have an idea that might help and shouldn’t be too hard to implement (famous last words.)

At the moment, in game, we have seeking team channels and they do help you find a team. However, due to the current game trend of team mission play, if you use these channels you will most likely end up in a team mission. So I simple suggest that instead of this 1 channel we could have 2, seeking mission team and seeking hunting team. Then everyone can choose which cannels to listen to and broadcast on, whatever suits their mood, play style and requirements.

What do you think of this, is it worth making enough noise in FCs direction for them to take this idea onboard? I am of course open to any suggestions but lets try not to ask for too much.

[deefour]

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