New mobs for solo players are not for Swashbucklers..

[Suri]

<DIV>Well, I can say I am extremely dissapointed in the patch that went in today. Atleast as far as my swashbuckler is concerned. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As of yesterday, my lvl 25 swashbuckler could barely solo anything that gave more than 1/8th a percent of experience. TS blues were fairly dificult if my HOs had even a small twitch. I read in the notes that new creatures for solo players have been added. I was extremely happy and rushed out to see them in TS. I get there and see a bunch of new scarecrows, bears and undead. All with no arrows or one arrow. This makes me happy because I knew as of yesterday I could solo a dbl up green undead farmer. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So I pick an enraged bear cub, or something similar in name, and attack it. It is green con with a single up arrow. Should be easy. NOPE! The thing tears through me like I was completely naked. Now I don't have the best equipment for my level, but I have the complete armorquest set of armor and decent jewelery. My new Ac, with the new calculations is over 2K. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>This was supose to be a creature sutable for a solo charecter and it rips me apart. Right after I died, I came back for my shard to see a level 23 paladin soloing the same bear with little problems. I was enraged!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Now I know different classes fit in under different situations. Some are better soloers than others. This is all good, but there is a serious problem when I even get crushed by some grey mobs when I am soloing. Swashbuckler's are definitly better in a group, but need to have a way to solo atleast a bit. If not, why did they give us an attack that has to be done while facing the front of the creature? Something needs to be done. Hell atleast put it back the way it was so I can solo my greens again. Wasn't the best experience, but when you can't find a group, it is better than nothing. </DIV>

[rioi]

Of course, it's because SoE hates all other classes besides fighters.....Time to make a fighter pretty much as no other class can solo anymore....mages by far the worst....and now scouts (who used to be fairly decent) are now as bad as they are since dodge is worthless and our AC is worthless.At lvl 50 I have the same AC as a guardian/monk at lvl 50....yet I take dmg (cause i don't dodge anymore) and they don't. CRAP CRAP AND MORE CRAP!In other words, our AGI has become INT of mages.....aka our power pool....AC no matter how high doesn't matter anymore. We've become pure crap dmg that is worthless in the face of fighters.Oh well....the game is heading for disaster anyways.

[Hat]

i also agree that swashbucklers are not for solo'ing. i attempted to solo some greys to finish a quest and had to run from it. it was grey to me and hitting me for 350'ish almost everytime. i dodge nothing.

[Syrano]

<blockquote><hr>Oh well....the game is heading for disaster anyways.<hr></blockquote>When you quit be sure to post a nice big flaming post about how much the game sucks, how big of a loser we all are playing it and, most importantly, get one more gibe in about my level. I'd feel left out of any goodbye notice from you if you didn't flame good old Syrano one last time!

[CastleFre]

I'm enjoying this feud between you two guys.I think I'm on Syrano's side at moment.Especially after the comment about the game heading into disaster!That's a bit melodramatic. I think the game is constantly improving.We should all personally voice our concerns to CSR that we're unhappy about the AGI thing, or whatever your beef is.They welcome the feedback and I'm sure if they see that most people are unhappy they may change it back.Or un-nerf it. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />Anyway, play nice now chaps.

[Draigo]

<DIV>hehhehe  the  Duelist  comes to mind  and yeap Syrano dost  have a mightier pen <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>ahhh well guess I just wait  for the patch to fix the patch to fix the patch to fix the Agi nerf for now. Or a DPS/poison fix</DIV>

[chem24]

could the problem with your soloing be your selection of mob? I have had trouble soloing bears since about level 14 or 15, they just hit too hard. Try to fight more Humaniod mobs, they seem to be the easiest for our class. Every class is not going to be able to kill the same way, a paladin might see us solo something he had trouble with and think the same thing...if a little swashbuckler can kill that why cant I?! You just have to be selective about what you kill.We are not useless soloers. I started working on AQ5 solo yesterday. The first part, the settlers were green and blue to me so they were no problem. The next step was the crabs, I only had a chance to kill one but it was yellow to me and I killed it with about 40% health left. Soloing is possible, just a little more challenging.

[Havok2a]

Hmm I solo yellows still that are 2 lvls above me with ease.

[Lut]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <P> <HR> chem24 wrote:<BR>could the problem with your soloing be your selection of mob? I have had trouble soloing bears since about level 14 or 15, they just hit too hard. Try to fight more Humaniod mobs, they seem to be the easiest for our class. Every class is not going to be able to kill the same way, a paladin might see us solo something he had trouble with and think the same thing...if a little swashbuckler can kill that why cant I?! You just have to be selective about what you kill.<BR> <HR>  </P> <P>This is true. Some mobs are harder for some classes. I have trouble with bears alot. But have found other mobs that seem to work out for me. Though I will admit since latest patch I seem to take 20%+ more dmg from any encounter higher than green solo..</P></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>

[Erasm]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> rioisk wrote:<BR>Of course, it's because SoE hates all other classes besides fighters.....<BR><BR>Time to make a fighter pretty much as no other class can solo anymore....mages by far the worst....and now scouts (who used to be fairly decent) are now as bad as they are since dodge is worthless and our AC is worthless.<BR><BR>At lvl 50 I have the same AC as a guardian/monk at lvl 50....yet I take dmg (cause i don't dodge anymore) and they don't. CRAP CRAP AND MORE CRAP!<BR><BR>In other words, our AGI has become INT of mages.....aka our power pool....AC no matter how high doesn't matter anymore. We've become pure crap dmg that is worthless in the face of fighters.<BR><BR>Oh well....the game is heading for disaster anyways.<BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV>*hands riosk a tissue*</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Fighters dont have it that good. My illusionist solos better than fighter type ( any of em) 4 levels higher than me. My illusionist makes 30-35% per hour with NO quests being completed with ease. Toss in a few adds, and all it means is I dont have to chase after them to start the next fight. And my wifes conjuror solos with ease as well ( though not very fast in the killing). Sorcerer types tear up solo mobs, but in groups they kinda fall behind IMO ( this was the reply to the thread above... the rest is a reply to the thread as a whole). </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>*STOP* trying to kill group mobs. Solo mobs give way better exp/hr solo than killing groups now ( if you are solo). IF you are solo... fight solo mobs. If you are in a group, fight groups mobs. The solo exp boost was huge. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>But as my swashbuckler, a white solo mob gives me decent exp, but pretty bad downtime. And I cant kill the new mobs at all. I have great gear ( not the best uber gear, but a full set of rare armor and everythign else is pretty much top notch). Riosk hit the nail on the head when saying we just get hit alot. We do. Alot. We just flat out dont dodge much at all now. In all fairness, most fighters ( ones that built up high agi) were affected alot too. Brawler types have had enough other bonuses ( to put them on par with high agi builds of other fighters) that they havent been affected *too much*. Swashbucklers have the opposite problem mages have. Mages OWN solo. But DPS in a group is done better by a skilled and well equipped scout ( on average.. a good wizzy or warlock does fine or better than us, there are jsut so many factors to consider that a generalized comment doesnt apply all the time). Swashys suck ( compared to others) solo but do great in a group ( im not talking late 40 balancing here... thats [Removed for Content] for 90% of the classes... im talking about the REST of the game). </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>We definately need a boost in the solo area. White solo mobs cause me PAIN. IMO they should have nerfed the bard buffs, not the agi comparison as a whole. They fixed the problem, but caused more than they fixed. </DIV>

[Lonw]

This morning's patch notes<blockquote>*** Gameplay *** - The advanced solo/small group encounters introduced into Nektulos Forest, Thundering Steppes, and Enchanted Lands were more difficult than intended and have been adjusted. They should now present a reasonable challenge for well-equipped soloers and small groups of two or three players. Treasure drops have been adjusted accordingly. These encounters are indicated in the target window as solo, but can be distinguished from normal solo encounters by the NPC's name. For example, "an enraged dragoon soldier" would be more challenging than "a dragoon soldier."- Many armor appearances and tints that were set incorrectly in yesterday's update have been corrected.- Gown of the Spurned, Dragon Fastened Robe, and Exquisitely Stitched Robe should now have correct appearances.- All gowns should now appear as robes instead of tunics.- Players who die inside one of the new instanced dungeons in Orcish Wastes, the Enchanted Lands, or Thundering Steppes can reclaim their shards at the docks by right-clicking on the torch.– The Screaming Mace will now be visible to players, allowing them to complete their heritage quest.- Unscathed Gnoll bones can now be found in Thundering Steppes.- Stiletto and the Lightbringer Wisp will now drop their heritage quest-related items on their corpses.- NPC merchants no longer have any interest in purchasing your pets.===========================MoorgardEverQuest II Community Guy </blockquote>I will never cease to be amazed that this is the same company that managed EQ1, in which things that were broken were never fixed unless someone, somewhere managed to find a way to turn it to his advantage. Then the Nerf SWAT were dispatched post haste with strict instructions to over-react as much as possible.

[Erasm]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Lonwen wrote:<BR><BR><BR>I will never cease to be amazed that this is the same company that managed EQ1, in which things that were broken were never fixed unless someone, somewhere managed to find a way to turn it to his advantage. Then the Nerf SWAT were dispatched post haste with strict instructions to over-react as much as possible.<BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <DIV>Technically its not. The eq2 team doesnt deal with eqlive ( except the ones that play there). The people who made EQ1 went on to make WoW, which is why i find it hilarious when people say they are going to WoW because the same stuff from EQ1 is happening in EQ2. At least, thats my understanding of it <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I think the only problem ( and its not all bad) is that they tend to do things 1 at a time, for a single balance issue, which translates into imbalance in the other direction. That way, they can isolate the imbalances/bugs and get it fixed. Its bad, because noone likes an uncompensated nerf ( taking away Arcane chalice without the replacements being put in). And its good because in the long run, its balanced better and faster ( now the new HOs seem pretty well balanced and if you know what you are doing, arcane chalice has been replaced). </DIV>

[Laccy]

<DIV>To those swashies claiming not to be having problems soloing since the 2/2 patch, perhaps they could detail the exact mob they are soloing (name & zone/area) so that the people who are having problems could maybe give them a try, if not for the sake of comparison, then for the sake of their sanity! <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I think it's safe to say that different mobs have different attack and defense vulnerabilities, maybe through this information a list of which mobs are pierce/slash resistant or unable to hit hard against medium armour could be compiled.</DIV>

[UD_De]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <P>I'm a 24 Swashbuckler and I almost exclusively solo. I have not yet had a problem.</P> <P>First of all the new mobs didnt take away any of the old mobs from what I can tell so if you can't solo the new mobs then stick to what you were soloing before.</P> <P>Second, at 24 at had no trouble at all soloing an enraged grass beetle, an enraged animated scarecrow, and an enraged undead farmer. I was expecting more of a fight than I got to be honest. Then again at 24 I don't have too much trouble soloing level 26 mobs provided I soften them up a bit frst with some arrows. But I did no kiting of the enraged and straight up tanked each of them (after my initial strangling shot) and lost at most 2 bubbles of health.</P> <P>I am equipped fairly well. Every slot of armor except my shoulders is player made pristine carbonite armor. I have an orage player made bow, store bought carbon arrows, and I use tier 4 alchemy poisons. My only weakness might be my weapons which both finally turned blue on me at 24.</P> <P>When I get a chance I'll try some of the other enraged animals.</P></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Havok2a]

Well for me, pretty much any solo con mob in EL, Zek and RV I can solo without any problem what so ever as long as is yellow or lower. I can squeak by with an oranges if i get some good rolls of the dice.

[Grimme]

<DIV>Have to give a nod to the 'bears pwn me' post, they are just beefy. If I have a choice between bear or wolf with same con, I always take the wolf.</DIV>

[RocketSho]

<DIV>Yea, so whats up with this? I too was happy to hear about new solo monsters... and bummed when a blue con got me down to 1% before I somehow managed to clobber it, all while using HOs like mad. Very dissapointing.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I love my swashbuckler. Every game I play I'm some sort of "Thief"... This is the first time that Ive seen that we've been so underpowered! I feel almost useless!</DIV> <DIV>Even in groups its hard to keep up with other classes! I feel more like a tag along in groups, hardly a contributer. I want to beleive this is something that will be looked into? We're supposed to deal more damage than what we are currently dealing... I think maybe it has something to do with bugged abilities... But even more so, simply the class. I would love to see this class looked into and given at the very least, a little more power..? Something to compensate for the trouble we all seem to be having...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The least I can say is that I'm bummed out. I love soloing... but that seems to be impossible now... :smileysad:</DIV>

[dreadfa]

<DIV>22 swash here, the scarecrows and skellies in TS die just fine for me (long as i remember to have street smarts and fiddy's fancy encore up before the fight starts),  Scarecrows can be a little scary (white cons) but unless i get spammed with swindlers luck on my HOs i'm usually ok</DIV>

[Akher]

I would totally disagree-At 27 I was taking on yellow con 'special solo' encounter NPC's, and while challenging, they were very doable if I played my skills right. Yeah, I lost one fight, but won the next 4, so I wouldn't say that they 'aren't' for swashbucklers. These were the fairies that will blind and stun you out near bone lake in Nek - there are some Allurian faires that are 'named solo' - I've also taken on a few bears, including a green con 'named solo' - had no difficulty with it. I find that I can solo anything up to a yellow con Solo mob without undue difficulty. In some cases, I have been able to beat 2 blue, or even 2 white con NPC's (skeletons usually, since that is what I solo most frequently). I have soloed in bear valley in Nek Forest - no problems there.Surius, I took a look at your profile - your helmet and most of your jewelry and belt are in serious need of upgrading. Your agility is a good 10+ points below where it should be for your level, and agility is very important to swashies - we don't absorb damage all that well, we're more about avoiding getting hit at all, which is agility.Get a new hat - steel brigandine or maybe a spindlecog, replace your green/grey con jewelry with some yellow con or better, and get yourself a belt with some stats. Look for +agi items. Then go back and revisit your bear - and make sure that it doesn't say group...I haven't seen any reports nor seen myself any 'special solo' named mob with an ^ arrow yet.

[SmCaudata]

Okay it seems to me that I must be doing something wrong. I am pretty well equiped for my level at 26. I have AQ1-5 (I don't kill cents) but wear a bracer of Thunder. I also have spindlecog's coif, pristine carbonite chestguard, and dwarven workboots. For jewlery I have orange shard bracelets, weathered bone necklace, and playermade prestige gold jewlery. I carry a bloodletter and weighted spatha of battle. With the new AC ratings I have not seen a scout my level with more AC than me (except one who had 2 nice high AGI earrings).I get wasted when I solo. I try to open with a rear or flanking attack of some sort. I have street smarts up before the fight and cast fancy footwork right after it starts. This means I can get another FF in if I cast before the other one wears off. I use HO immediately when it ungrays. I use stun and mez to get flanking position on mobs when they are available. In between this I use any skill available to me. Gouge, undercut, Foil Storm (my best attak most of the time), and Bludgeon.Why do I have such a hard time fighting? The enraged blue lions near gnoll entrance in TS bring to red always. The enraged green grif brings me to half hps. I have no issues with enraged green bears though. Solo normal whites can be very bad. Almost always in orange sometimes I need to run. Forget about yellows. My problem is with taking hits. My hps drop too fast to even think of winning. I tried to pick on a solo yellow something and I was down to half hps before I knocked the first bubble of it.Please, let me know what you sucessful soloers do. Before the Agi nerf I did not have these problems and my agi wasn't even that high. I think it is 95 unbuffed right now. Not the best I have seen, but definately not the worst. My planned upgrades are fishbone and ancient leather earring and shaped velium gridle for its 5 Agi. I was also thinking of getting leafblades because they have more agi and a slower attack speed. These seem like small changes to the major problems I seem to be having.Any advice is appreciated. Note...if I use smugglers talet bug I fair much better. Shanghi hits for 200 every now an then and regularly between 140 and 180. That every 10 sec or so makes fights easy, but I fear that this will be fixed soon so I am trying to fight without this crutch.<p>Message Edited by SmCaudata on <span class=date_text>02-09-2005</span> <span class=time_text>10:13 PM</span>

[Darken_St]

<DIV>I am going to speak my mind on this, though y opinion is based on an alt and therefor a very twinked character.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Mikael is currently lvl 21.9 Wearing full pristine steel  chainmail armor, except for the chest piece which is the Chestguard of the Unbound Spirit, an artifact lvl BP dropped from a raid mob (useable at lvl 20 but with the AC of pristine Feyiron and the stat bonuses pf Pristine Feysteel). I am wearing a full set of player agate/gold geared for scout jewels, and carrying alternately, a pristine steel longsword/pristine fir round shield;  or paired Woven Curibolli Whips; I use t3 Player made Translucent Hateful Indignance, and have all my skills at adept1 or higher, most adept3, and several masters.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I have absolutely 0 trouble with the solo mobs up to and including orange cons. The most problems I have is with fighter types due to the issues with Str bonuses (see notes about livepatch 3, and incoming reduction of str bonus to dmg to understand the imbalance). They just hit for too much. The things I have noticed, with dual wield weapons I destroy the mobs exceedingly fast, with sword and shield I take less dmg but the fight goes on a bit longer, due to deflection bonus. In both cases downtime is not that bad, I'd assume for another player they may be a bit heavier downs.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>WIth Master Shanghai being legitamitely repeated  (ala Eliisi's Swift Sneak, ~, Shanghai Technique) creatures stand little chance before me.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>On a side note, with a shaman I can tank anything up to ^^ Orange (again barring fighter types, too much in their single shots)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> So swashies can handle the new mobs. But I would assume most normally equipped swashes would want to to stick with blue con enraged solos (optimal for xp anyway).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Again just the notes of a very twinked alt.</DIV>