AC

[Anduin]

I think it's terrible as it is. WAY too much emphasis. I agree before it didn't have enough, but now it's just ridiculous. Exping without a sanc doesn't work once you're 30+, and for people who prefer to do stuff solo who aren't a cleric: it sucks even more. I think the only reason it needed to be changed in the first place is the relatively new abundance of zones that give easy exp for those who are 40+. Thus making level 50 easier than ever before to achieve. I think we just have to look at some of the level 50's to realize this. Maybe removing or editing some of those zones (*cough* Wintermeet and especially Plantation come immediately to mind but I'm sure there are others) would be a better solution than the ac changes as they stand now. So I guess this shoulda been titled AC and zones? Who knows, who cares. You guys get the idea(s) :)

[Tynian]

I guess no one else has feelings about this one way or another... ;)

[Anathema]

I guess no one else has feelings about this one way or another... ;)


I actually agree with Anduin. Mobs that con perfect match for me routinely take me down to half of my hps (or more). I am wearing pretty much ac7 or better in every slot, xp with shield and armor spells on me and am decently eq (max dex also). At this point I basically cannot xp without a heavy metal wearer and if I didnt have a health, likely couldnt xp at all. I am not sure why more people havent added to this forum, but xping is a real problem for a shaman, even with decent ac. And no, this isnt whining. I am dealing with the situation, but I think looking into it might be worthwhile.

Now, if rushing attack landed more often id probably be in better shape, but maybe that is for a different thread.

Shuger

[Tynian]

AC does deserve another look. It's not clear to me that AC is the problem, though. Do metal heads have that much better a time of it?

[Solaron]

AC does deserve another look. It's not clear to me that AC is the problem, though. Do metal heads have that much better a time of it?

Metal wearers who sacrifice stats or who manage to find uber-high ac gear with good stats fare much better, yes. Divinely armored or above does wonders for XPing.

Still, leather wearers have access to DS and elven chain, which has a higher ac than most metal out there these days... it's just not magical.

That said, I'm not sure what options to take. Metal wearers deserve the advantage of the higher ac, but since there's such an emphasis placed on killing for experience for levels, the non-metal wearing classes (especially shamans and bards) could use a tweak or two. But how to do it without negating AC AND without making everyone "the same"? There's something to be said for striving for too much balance, I think.

[morgaine]

Yes, I am invincibly armorerd. I like it. It has taken me my whole character life to come up with the eq set to be invincibly armorered, and for this I still make sacrifices. I wear a no affects shield, an an ac 18 15 hp on head. I wear an ac bonus wwp...and luckily found good bracers. If people think that My ac makes it to easy for me to level, I would be happy to have an exp partner. Find a tank... Its important to have zones like wintermeet and plantation, maybe get stone skin/shield/armor potions (which do pop) If you have issues with your ac. Maybe try finding some imp invis items or utilize group exp as it should be.
thats my oppinion, let ac stand where it is.
-morgaine

[Sarai]

There's a tricky balance as pointed out by Morgaine. Wearing an ac21 no affects shield, or an ac18 helm isn't exactly an option for nonmetal wearers tho. You need to wear enough dmg to put the mob down quickly before it has a chance to pummel you, but you need some protection as well.

Once a nonmetal wearer reaches a certain level, somewhere around effective 30, it's extremely difficult to xp without a tank. It's not just the insane ac available to clerics, it's sanc and heal as well.

I'd like to see ac tweaked a little maybe, but I can usually find a tank. It is much better xping with the new regen code as well. Plus mages and shaman get lower tnl's so maybe it's all even in the end.

[Anathema]

Maybe its not the ac, but rather how hard the mobs hit at the high levels. I really dont know what it is. All I do know is that with armor, shield, a ds onbody, major health and ac7+ I typically cannot attack perfect matches without fear of getting crushed unless I use all of my mana and rift the crap out of it. I typically can only xp on easy kills even those get big hits on me that stop the xp after a short while.

Im also not sure about the lower xp tnl. My last two levels of shaman have been like 33-35k (levels 25-26). Maybe that is low for those levels but it doesnt feel like it when you can only kill things that give about 40+ xp.

Yes you can do really well with a tank, but it sucks playing a game where you have to sit around and wait for a tank to log on. I spend more time sitting in safe not because of pkers but waiting for a tank to log on... not the most fun.

I know people worked hard to find nice ac, but getting to a decent ac rating for a cleric or warrior isnt that hard. Divine is hard, but I dont think we are saying you need that high a rating to xp.

Again, I dont want to make this shaman specific, but I have suggested some changes that might even the playingfield, such as doubling cloak or other beneficial spells for shamans.

Anyway, not sure if all this makes sense, but I figured Id shoot something off.

[Anduin]

I hardly hit mobs worth exping on at all and they hit me more frequently, just as hard/harder, and have tons more hp. Exping alone is almost pointless.

[Arella]

Metal wearers who sacrifice stats or who manage to find uber-high ac gear with good stats fare much better, yes.

Leather wearers who sacrifice stats can have a decent armor status, maybe not divinly armored. Also DS and elven chain does come with stats.

I personally don't think anything needs to be changed with it, especially not since every thug can wear some metals. Everyone who isn't a complete newbie knew if they would be allowed to wear metal or not when they started their class. People have sacrificed wearing metal in a cleric/ranger combo because they decided that the ranger skills were more valuable than the metal. Yes, cleric in all their metalic glory with sanc/heal are great for xping, but they get the higher tnls to make up for it. Those who have multiclassed to thief have the advantage of backstab which makes xping go faster but they don't get metal...balance.

I vote that AC be left alone and encourage group xping. Nearly every following has at least two people around the same size that could group.

[Solaron]

Leather wearers who sacrifice stats can have a decent armor status, maybe not divinely armored. Also DS and elven chain does come with stats.

"not divinely armored"

Correct. That's my point. Thanks.

[Tynian]

Obviously, not being able to waer metal armor is supposed to be a disadvantage. Whether it is too much of a disadvantage could be debated either way, but I can't look at that right now, given that game mechanics are in flux. Combat-related variables like this are also very difficult to "balance," since there are so many things that influence combat, and since everyone's enough different that it's difficult to compare between any given two characters.

[Anonymous Mammal]

Obviously, not being able to waer metal armor is supposed to be a disadvantage. Whether it is too much of a disadvantage could be debated either way, but I can't look at that right now, given that game mechanics are in flux. Combat-related variables like this are also very difficult to "balance," since there are so many things that influence combat, and since everyone's enough different that it's difficult to compare between any given two characters.This really is something I can full-heartedly totally agree with.

[Tay]

*In Kehrindreks voice*
Just Be a Warric!