Friday with Means - September 11th, 2009 - Video Q&A, Sceenies and Info-Nuggets

[Ebondevil]

QUESTION: in the video you mention the problem of people skipping over zones because the XP is not up to par. How long does it take to tweak a few XP #s? (insert some generic answer about the code being a mess) I still believe ALL the mobs should be brought up to heckler XP level so people actually see more of the game than the brink and the inside of instanced inferno missions. The grind is stale and it sucks, fix it already.

*Sigh* Heckler XP I believe is actually low for the mob level on average, the problem with hecks is they show up too high a level for the area they're in, the XP doesn't need to change, the level of the hecklers does, particularly in Ely, drop the level by about 40 and that should solve quite a bit.

[Flyingengi]

*Sigh* Heckler XP I believe is actually low for the mob level on average, the problem with hecks is they show up too high a level for the area they're in, the XP doesn't need to change, the level of the hecklers does, particularly in Ely, drop the level by about 40 and that should solve quite a bit.

Bump. 180ish mobs in pen give about 3 times as much xp as 180 hecks in ely.

[Regidoc]

*Sigh* Heckler XP I believe is actually low for the mob level on average, the problem with hecks is they show up too high a level for the area they're in, the XP doesn't need to change, the level of the hecklers does, particularly in Ely, drop the level by about 40 and that should solve quite a bit.

Ya, the level range jump from a nasc heck to one in ely (one zone) goes from 80 up to 180, which us huge. Then for all zones after that, there's a marginal increase in the heckler level in comparison to the XP that they provide. Heckler levels could be adjusted so that people will be forced to progress into other zones. Scheol is a nice zone to explore...they just need to work on the pathing for the mobs there

[Lupusceleri]

I still believe ALL the mobs should be brought up to heckler XP level so people actually see more of the game than the brink and the inside of instanced inferno missions.

Buuuuumpbumpbumpbump.

Definitely.

[Tazalanche]

Means, In the videos you mentioned bugs, issues etc... that players have been aware of for a long time but you guys don't know about. This jogged my memories of starting a new character.

When you first arrive at dewbie-isle, windows, stat bars etc... are all open. Any changes made to the GUI at this point are erased when you log in the next time. after your second log out, the GUI settings are saved from then on, unless of course one were to manually reset them.

I know im not alone on this, but just curious if it is a global issue, or just an issue with some people. for me its not a big deal. i normally create a character, log off, log back in and then at this point I adjust my interface as I like it, log off again to save the settings, and log on a third time to continue with the game. but, for a new player to the game, this might seem a little odd and low-budget to have the UI change on the second log in.

I dont recall having this happen when i first started playing 5 years ago, but sometime between then and now I noticed it.


edit: -- not sure if this issue is still around, haven't started a new character recently--

As of the first of this month, it is still around.

I basically do the same routine that you mentioned... create toon, arrive on noob island, log out, log in, talk to Brandon, set GUI preferences/locations/list modes, log out, log in, start quests/killing.

Since I don't have a shade & my keeper is years old, I do not know if it happens for toons starting in SL.

[Mekh]

As of the first of this month, it is still around.

I basically do the same routine that you mentioned... create toon, arrive on noob island, log out, log in, talk to Brandon, set GUI preferences/locations/list modes, log out, log in, start quests/killing.

This...

[JampeSL]

There is a block of players who have never been greeted. And at this late date, are probably unlikely to be. I do not know if it has to do with when they started, or the very large amount of greets that were common at the time. The ins and outs of how that works exactly are a bit over my head and my paygrade.

Might be because of that and I was under impression that greeters are not supposed to "interrupt" the player in certain playfields so maybe they leveled higher and started to hang around areas where greeters don't go. Don't know how accurate that is. When I created this account and first toon on it last week I got a visit from a greeter within an hour. My original account that is right now cancelled never saw a greeter.

[drainbamage]

*Sigh* Heckler XP I believe is actually low for the mob level on average, the problem with hecks is they show up too high a level for the area they're in, the XP doesn't need to change, the level of the hecklers does, particularly in Ely, drop the level by about 40 and that should solve quite a bit.

That won't solve anything, it'll just stretch the grind out even more.

I really like how the one guy says people should be forced to progress to other zones... how about giving them real incentives to do so, instead of just making the mindless, soul-sucking, outdated grind even worse.

[Effrit]

I swear i saw a fawn.

[Dancingrage]

The idea of reworking XP is good, I hope however that RK xp gets a nice reworking too. Beating down super deep red mobs for mad xp gain isn't just a thing that Sloobs do, however, froob teams at TL3 can commonly be found at Mort Crater hunting cyborgs for xp.

I think XP regardless of where you're at (with the exception of the AI stuff) should be evened out a bit, or made so if SL is going to have a higher amount per level of mob, it should be such a small difference as to not matter.

The idea of lowering Ely heckler levels to 120 or so and then tweaking heckler levels from there so Scheol has 160, Ado 200, etc, etc. Then rework the wildlife so it's faster to just whack wildlife than whack rocks.

Then go to RK and bump up RK xp in the statics by a decent amount and crank out a quick static for 100-150 on RK to cover that levelling hole and you're pretty much golden, I think.

[Amosco]

The idea of reworking XP is good, I hope however that RK xp gets a nice reworking too. Beating down super deep red mobs for mad xp gain isn't just a thing that Sloobs do, however, froob teams at TL3 can commonly be found at Mort Crater hunting cyborgs for xp.

I think XP regardless of where you're at (with the exception of the AI stuff) should be evened out a bit, or made so if SL is going to have a higher amount per level of mob, it should be such a small difference as to not matter.

The idea of lowering Ely heckler levels to 120 or so and then tweaking heckler levels from there so Scheol has 160, Ado 200, etc, etc. Then rework the wildlife so it's faster to just whack wildlife than whack rocks.

Then go to RK and bump up RK xp in the statics by a decent amount and crank out a quick static for 100-150 on RK to cover that levelling hole and you're pretty much golden, I think.

The problem with lowering SL XP, or bringing it closer to RK levels, is that beating a SL mob is so much harder than beating a similar level RK mob. That said, I do think they should increase the XP on RK mobs a bit, so that people are more willing to level on RK until they hit 200+.

[Tyfowler]

132nd!

[bungerman]

*Sigh* Heckler XP I believe is actually low for the mob level on average, the problem with hecks is they show up too high a level for the area they're in, the XP doesn't need to change, the level of the hecklers does, particularly in Ely, drop the level by about 40 and that should solve quite a bit.

how exactly will that fix anything? if they drop those heck levels in ely then people will just move to the next area where the XP is good, just as Means mentioned. Why don't people kill Schoel hecks? Well if they implemented your plan they would, except now they would skip the ely ones.

[Keldros]

Hecks aren't supposed to be XP-farms. They're supposed to be DEATH, DEATH!

[Psyloche]

On Elysium, Scheol and Hecklers: Several years ago i asked, when i was in ely with Psy: why dont anyone go to Scheol and level on hecklers there?

The answer ppl in my Org had was, they was bugged. The Scheol brink area got a bad layout, who supposedly makes it hard to pull them without killing the team in a bad pull. Problem is i have not even found people willing to test it, so i have not had a chance to try killing Scheol hecklers even.

And on new players: Means are right. Ive tried to get RL friends into the game, they comes, sees, runs to left or something, dies, tries to find shop, dont find exit, and is lost without assistance of a game Veteran. The newbie ICC area is a bit strangely made, and the game got a steep learning curve for new players, even quite good gamers too.
And about helping new players, ive even had a marriage proposal once when i was helping a new player find his way around Old Athen. I imagine the greeters must have a lot of odd reactions when they meet new players.

[Worldofalts]

On Elysium, Scheol and Hecklers: Several years ago i asked, when i was in ely with Psy: why dont anyone go to Scheol and level on hecklers there?

The answer ppl in my Org had was, they was bugged. The Scheol brink area got a bad layout, who supposedly makes it hard to pull them without killing the team in a bad pull. Problem is i have not even found people willing to test it, so i have not had a chance to try killing Scheol hecklers even.

--snip--

About Sheol Hecks, I've actually fought them myself in a team, but only with the help of an OST a few years back, and this was before the whole ost craze started. but even then, team mates died on several occasions due to hecklers losing aggro on the 220 enfo. yeah, they are bugged! plus they are surrounded by other mobs that get in the way and cause problems.

[Technogen]

I did schole hecks while leveling Technogen, its really not that bad in a few spots, we were a team of 130-150s doing them solo which we couldn't do with ado hecks.

I'm still not seeing the reason why people have to rush to 220, making the exp more even would be the best thing for the population as new players don't rush to 220 get bored then quit. If there's more players working to level there will be more teams forming.

So how does letting players rush to 220 help anyone but vet players leveling an alt?

[Ebondevil]

how exactly will that fix anything? if they drop those heck levels in ely then people will just move to the next area where the XP is good, just as Means mentioned. Why don't people kill Schoel hecks? Well if they implemented your plan they would, except now they would skip the ely ones.

Before people hit Ely Hecklers you can find them hunting in various different places, from Crippler cave, to Two Mountains then on to Nascence Hecklers, followed by Elysium Tiigs, a sensible progression in a way that doesn't get boring and repetitive for between 50 and 100 levels worth, lowering Elysium Heckler levels to around the 120-140 mark would still leave them as a viable option, for a while, until the team outgrew them and move on to the next step in the progression, breaking up the dull boring grind of non stop hecklers, yes they'd move on to Scheol and Adonis Hecklers in time, but that leaves a nice gap of mobs between 140 and 180-200 for people to spend time on.

People don't just jump straight to hecklers and grind hecklers non stop till 220, but Elysium hecklers are built in such a way at the moment that it discourages people from moving on from them.

Spread things out a bit and it will help tone down the monotony of constant Heckler grinding.

Though it may also be an idea to instance some of the 'static' dungeons, like Tinker tower, around the Shadowlands to help encourage teams to hunt in them more.

Also, if you bring other Other SL mobs xp to the equivalent of Hecklers, you'll actually be lowering their XP, not raising it, as I said, Heckler XP is low in comparison to other SL mobs of their level.

[heruharoth]

Clearly not to be used like they are being used now...so,

...what was the original purpose of Hecklers when they were put into the game, so highlevel for the areas they were in?

[Moonleg]

Clearly not to be used like they are being used now...so,

...what was the original purpose of Hecklers when they were put into the game, so highlevel for the areas they were in?

Probably to give a sense of, "Holy crap, those are some big evil rocks eating away at the precious Shadowlands! We need to follow the story and stop this!"