Here are the March Update Plans for EverQuest II! [Archive]

Piestro

03-01-2012, 02:44 PM

There are lots of activities and events to participate in this month! And while you’re busy playing, the Dev team is preparing for the Game Update 63: Skyshrine launch. We are already playtesting internally and excited about this release. As we write this, development is wrapping up and we’ll be going to Test server in mid-March, so come and check it out then. You can expect to be getting details on the Skyshrine update fairly soon too. We’ve already got Behind the Scenes videos in preparation to give you a look inside the creation of this game update. <img src="http://www.everquest2.com/images/en/logos/destiny_of_velious/EQII_DOV_Logo_500.png" /> Destiny of Velious Story ContinuesWith Skyshrine in mind, before the update goes live, we will be releasing a new chapter in the Destiny of Velious signature line, continuing the story of the Age’s End saga. DOV Dungeon Timers Reduced to 90 Minutes!Get prepared for the next Game Update and gear up in Destiny of Velious group dungeons -- timers are being reduced from 18 hours to 90 minutes! New Pathing CodeIn exciting code news, new pathing is on Test right now and we're hoping to bring that to Live when it has passed rigorous testing. For those who don’t know, “pathing” is what the monsters and pets use to travel from points A to B in our game. Bye-bye Crit MitThe Critical Mitigation stat removal change that is on Test will be going to live servers this month. This does not apply to the PVP Critical Mitigation stat. <img src="http://www.everquest2.com/images/en/features/cityfestivals/neriak_city_festival.jpg" /> Neriak City Festival and Aether RacesHear ye, hear ye, those of evil inclination! The Neriak City Festival kicks off on March 1 and ends on the 7th. Watch for the Far Seas Trading Company on the city outskirts. <img src="http://www.everquest2.com/images/en/features/articles/brewday10/brewday_logo.png" /> Brewday Festival March 8-19Are you ready? Do you have the fortitude? The stamina? Brewday Festival is finally here and begins on March 8. Enter through the Brewday portal (hard to miss them) and get new quests, recipes, and more! Brewday Festival portals are found in Antonica, Commonlands, Haven, Greater Faydark, Timorous Deep, and Frostfang Sea. <img src="http://www.everquest2.com/content/news/banners/newbanners/moonlight_ench_banner2.jpg" /> Moonlight EnchantmentsMoonlight Enchantments will grace the lands on March 20 for 48 hours of limited items and quests. <img src="http://www.everquest2.com/images/en/features/articles/eq_anniversary/fippy_th.jpg" /> Blast from the Past (literally) with the Chronoportal PhenomenonThe Chronoportal Phenomenon – the EQ Anniversary event that takes you back to ancient times – will be live from March 20 to 28 to celebrate another year with our incredible games. Travel back in time and return with relics of the past if you dare! Did you know….you can buy a Pet Rock from the Marketplace? It’s a petamorph wand. Don’t leave home without it.

EQ2Playa432

03-01-2012, 03:04 PM

Absolutely no news about the 'sick' pvp changes?

Onorem

03-01-2012, 03:09 PM

DoV sig line: It's very nice to see a DoV update.Dungeon Timers: Meh.Pathing/Crit Mit: I was happy they were given adequate time on test instead of being quickly pushed. Hope these changes work out.City Festival/Holiday/Moonlight: Meh. These aren't new things. (Sure, there will be a couple new items for sale and maybe a couple new quests for brewday.)Chronoportal Anniversary: New portals? New loot tables? Or just reactivating from last time?

Leawyn

03-01-2012, 03:15 PM

Dungeon timers changed to 90 mins? Is this a permanent change or temporary? In either case, completely unnecessary. Why make gearing out so ridiculously fast? So that we get bored faster and quit?

Lempo

03-01-2012, 03:17 PM

The x2 timers should have been dropped to 6hrs and the X4 to 36 or 48hrs along with the heroic dungeons this change is of no benefit to the raiding population at all.I really don't see a lot here, outside of the pathing changes and the CM removal isn't even working properly yet on test AFAIK.

vexrm

03-01-2012, 03:34 PM

Piestro, I'm really curious why you posted this and not Holly. I might be bitter and cynical here but...Okay 90% this stuff is already known, mostly fluff, and doesn't really give us anything really oomph worthy. Why are the dungeon timers being changed? Why is the main person not communicating with us and instead making you do it after she said she was? Is she making a different post? One with actual new things instead of brew day and the monthly city festival?

Morrias

03-01-2012, 03:37 PM

So effectively, this month we're getting one hotfix? Nice!

alabama

03-01-2012, 03:39 PM

<cite>vexrm wrote:</cite><blockquote>Okay 90% this stuff is already known, mostly fluff, and doesn't really give us anything really oomph worthy. Is she making a different post? One with actual new things</blockquote> ^this.however this way my favorite part.''Did you know….you can buy a Pet Rock from the Marketplace? It’s a petamorph wand. Don’t leave home without it.''priceless $oe <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/e8a506dc4ad763aca51bec4ca7dc8560.gif" border="0" />

SisterTheresa

03-01-2012, 04:06 PM

<cite>Maewyn@Unrest_old wrote:</cite><blockquote>Dungeon timers changed to 90 mins? Is this a permanent change or temporary? In either case, completely unnecessary. Why make gearing out so ridiculously fast? So that we get bored faster and quit?</blockquote>I have to agree. And even with the lower areas, like Nek Castle, is still 18 hours. Stinks if you go LD in there (which happens a TON) Maybe you know .. give some lower level areas some love too?

Cloudrat

03-01-2012, 04:09 PM

Thanks for a nice look at the month ahead!

Piestro

03-01-2012, 04:10 PM

<cite>vexrm wrote:</cite><blockquote>Piestro, I'm really curious why you posted this and not Holly. I might be bitter and cynical here but...</blockquote>I'm the CRM, not her. My job is to communicate full time, her job is to manage development of EQII. Why would she be posting articles?

Silzin

03-01-2012, 04:14 PM

Are you (the Dev's) about to give a around Date for the Pathing the CM changes?

GussJr

03-01-2012, 04:18 PM

<cite>Piestro wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>vexrm wrote:</cite><blockquote>Piestro, I'm really curious why you posted this and not Holly. I might be bitter and cynical here but...</blockquote>I'm the CRM, not her. My job is to communicate full time, her job is to manage development of EQII. Why would she be posting articles?</blockquote>Wow...just...wow. The lack of understanding ya'll have for this community is one of the reason's I am quite happy in my decision to leave EQ2 for good.You may be the CRM, but she is the Producer of this game at present - the community wants to hear 'exciting' news from an 'excited' producer...even if neither of those things exist at the moment. FAKE IT.

Onorem

03-01-2012, 04:20 PM

<cite>GussJr wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>vexrm wrote:</cite><blockquote>Piestro, I'm really curious why you posted this and not Holly. I might be bitter and cynical here but...</blockquote>I'm the CRM, not her. My job is to communicate full time, her job is to manage development of EQII. Why would she be posting articles?</blockquote>Wow...just...wow. The lack of understanding ya'll have for this community is one of the reason's I am quite happy in my decision to leave EQ2 for good.You may be the CRM, but she is the Producer of this game at present - the community wants to hear 'exciting' news from an 'excited' producer...even if neither of those things exist at the moment. FAKE IT.</blockquote>While I do want to hear more details from Windstalker, it's perfectly reasonable for Piestro to make this type of announcement.

Morrias

03-01-2012, 04:21 PM

Peogia

03-01-2012, 04:23 PM

<cite>Piestro wrote:</cite><blockquote>There are lots of activities and events to participate in this month! And while you’re busy playing, the Dev team is preparing for the Game Update 63: Skyshrine launch. We are already playtesting internally and excited about this release. As we write this, development is wrapping up and we’ll be going to Test server in mid-March, so come and check it out then. You can expect to be getting details on the Skyshrine update fairly soon too. We’ve already got Behind the Scenes videos in preparation to give you a look inside the creation of this game update. <img src="http://www.everquest2.com/images/en/logos/destiny_of_velious/EQII_DOV_Logo_500.png" /> Destiny of Velious Story ContinuesWith Skyshrine in mind, before the update goes live, we will be releasing a new chapter in the Destiny of Velious signature line, continuing the story of the Age’s End saga. DOV Dungeon Timers Reduced to 90 Minutes!Get prepared for the next Game Update and gear up in Destiny of Velious group dungeons -- timers are being reduced from 18 hours to 90 minutes! Bye-bye Crit MitThe Critical Mitigation stat removal change that is on Test will be going to live servers this month. This does not apply to the PVP Critical Mitigation stat.</blockquote>Timers reduced is nice but why only DOV and not all instances in game that are not epic<img src="/eq2/images/smilies/0a4d7238daa496a758252d0a2b1a1384.gif" border="0" />Crit Mit, read allot of feedback how this breaks balance, feels like a mega nerf and takes away what we paid for buying DOV and working so hard to gear up for<img src="/eq2/images/smilies/e78feac27fa924c4d0ad6cf5819f3554.gif" border="0" />

Banditman

03-01-2012, 04:26 PM

So, the only actual "news" here is that dungeon timers are going down to 90 minutes and they are putting in a quest?Really?This is what passes for content now?

Morrias

03-01-2012, 04:29 PM

<cite>Onorem wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>GussJr wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>vexrm wrote:</cite><blockquote>Piestro, I'm really curious why you posted this and not Holly. I might be bitter and cynical here but...</blockquote>I'm the CRM, not her. My job is to communicate full time, her job is to manage development of EQII. Why would she be posting articles?</blockquote>Wow...just...wow. The lack of understanding ya'll have for this community is one of the reason's I am quite happy in my decision to leave EQ2 for good.You may be the CRM, but she is the Producer of this game at present - the community wants to hear 'exciting' news from an 'excited' producer...even if neither of those things exist at the moment. FAKE IT.</blockquote>While I do want to hear more details from Windstalker, it's perfectly reasonable for Piestro to make this type of announcement.</blockquote>That is a good point, though usually the Producer posts things like this in a Producers Letter.. >.<

Alaralana

03-01-2012, 04:29 PM

Piestro, Holly can take the time to post meaningless (to most anyway) silly fluff sc articles but not one about the development of the game? Isn't she the producer? What happened to DOV part 2 with all the fixes we were promised last year? Or are they being swept under the rug as it were? I see nothing in this update about soe fixing ANYTHING THATS ACTUALLY BROKEN. You just made up my mind for me. I was reconsidering re-subbing if the march update was anything as we were promised, but since it isn't and the lead person can't be "bothered" to post about WHY it isn't, I won't be. Thank you for your help in that.

Peogia

03-01-2012, 04:29 PM

dawy

03-01-2012, 04:33 PM

Onorem

03-01-2012, 04:36 PM

<cite>Alaralana wrote:</cite><blockquote>Piestro, Holly can take the time to post meaningless (to most anyway) silly fluff sc articles but not one about the development of the game? Isn't she the producer? What happened to DOV part 2 with all the fixes we were promised last year? Or are they being swept under the rug as it were? I see nothing in this update about soe fixing ANYTHING THATS ACTUALLY BROKEN. You just made up my mind for me. I was reconsidering re-subbing if the march update was anything as we were promised, but since it isn't and the lead person can't be "bothered" to post about WHY it isn't, I won't be. Thank you for your help in that.</blockquote>DoV part 2 is (hopefully) coming in April. Is there anything specifically you're thinking of that was promised?You already said yesterday that you'd deleted the game from your system. Seems like your mind was already made up. If you obtained anything worthwhile in the week since you registered, do you think I could have it?

ceester

03-01-2012, 04:41 PM

<cite>Ridolain@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Maewyn@Unrest_old wrote:</cite><blockquote>Dungeon timers changed to 90 mins? Is this a permanent change or temporary? In either case, completely unnecessary. Why make gearing out so ridiculously fast? So that we get bored faster and quit?</blockquote>I have to agree. And even with the lower areas, like Nek Castle, is still 18 hours. Stinks if you go LD in there (which happens a TON) Maybe you know .. give some lower level areas some love too?</blockquote> This ^^^ Nek Castle, the last two times I went in there got LD'd. Sent a petition in for it. CS said, "Sorry you are SOL, we cannot reset timers for old instances you're locked out of. We do know it happens a lot though." Or something similar. They know it happens a lot but won't be able to help me?

Alaralana

03-01-2012, 04:42 PM

This is when i registered THIS account for the forums, it is much older than the date here suggests. Yes, we were promised that the itemizations would be fixed for starters, recipes would be fixed to once again include items that were removed "by accident". Along with more "bug fixes". This was per a post from SJ that was on the EQ2X forums that have since been wiped clean since everyone is using the same forums now. Bad of me to not have copied them down so I could back up what I am saying. We were told then that the above fixes would be done by feb 1st. if I remember correctly. I was hoping against hope since I do love the game that we would get something meaningful.*edited for spelling and grammar

Onorem

03-01-2012, 04:53 PM

<cite>Alaralana wrote:</cite><blockquote>This is when i registered THIS account for the forums, it is much older than the date here suggests. Yes, we were promised that the itemizations would be fixed for starters, recipes would be fixed to once again include items that were removed "by accident". Along with more "bug fixes". This was per a post from SJ that was on the EQ2X forums that have since been wiped clean since everyone is using the same forums now. Bad of me to not have copied them down so I could back up what I am saying. We were told then that the above fixes would be done by feb 1st. if I remember correctly. I was hoping against hope since I do love the game that we would get something meaningful.*edited for spelling and grammar</blockquote>I did read the eq2x forums occasionally. Don't recall that particular post, but no reason to doubt it was made. I very much doubt that SJ actually "promised" anything though...especially if he actually tacked a finish date to it. I'm sure he carefully worded the post to make it appear like a promise to anyone without a doctorate in reading between the lines.I do agree it would be nice to see those things finished, but I wouldn't hope to see work on any of that start up again until after the expansion, and the first round of expansion fixes, and a hand-waving at more expansion fixes, and an exciting announcement about a new feature that they're working on before they get back...it's just so busy and exciting.

Rosss

03-01-2012, 04:57 PM

<cite>Piestro wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>vexrm wrote:</cite><blockquote>Piestro, I'm really curious why you posted this and not Holly. I might be bitter and cynical here but...</blockquote>I'm the CRM, not her. My job is to communicate full time, her job is to manage development of EQII. Why would she be posting articles?</blockquote>Maybe the fact that she aludes to it being a producers letter and her posting it...<a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=515561">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...topic_id=515561</a>which incidently is why it is called the "producers letter" not "Piestro's announcments of really nothing"

Marawin

03-01-2012, 05:02 PM

I am very disappointed in the content of this update. In particular in reference to the crit mit changes. When Holly stated"To answer a few of you here, the March Update plans post will come tomorrow, March 1. It answers several of the substantive questions asked."I had hoped we would be getting some real feedback on what is happening here. Since the initial crit mit change was dropped on test there has not been a single red text response to the many concerns raised. SJ's post implied this was all gonna happen fast and when the problems appeared on test, I was personally glad to see it did not get dumped to live. But, since then, a whole month has gone by. A real update is needed. Is inate crit chance from mobs being removed? is reitemization of DOV gear taking place or not? etc etc. There are a ton of questions in the testing forum and not one of them has been addressed. We need a more substantive answer than a vague statement than it will happen some time in the month of march...which could be 31 March - 60 days after his annoucement.

Alaralana

03-01-2012, 05:12 PM

Ah well, true enough Ono. Probably read something like "we are looking forward to getting around to possbly fixing some bugs in Gu such and such." And of course us gullible types believed rhetoric. Of course, the "gullible" blinders are off now. And looking at everything through critical eyes. Sadly.

Anestacia

03-01-2012, 05:19 PM

Are there new zones/content/rewards for this years Chronoportals event? Please dont say it's an exact copy from last years.

SOE-MOD-02

03-01-2012, 05:22 PM

This post has moved: <a href="/eq2/posts/preList.m?topic_id=499962&post_id=5726765" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">/eq2/posts/preList.m?topic_id=49996...post_id=5726765</a> Let's stay on topic and keep it constructive please.

vexrm

03-01-2012, 05:41 PM

<cite>Piestro wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>vexrm wrote:</cite><blockquote>Piestro, I'm really curious why you posted this and not Holly. I might be bitter and cynical here but...</blockquote>I'm the CRM, not her. My job is to communicate full time, her job is to manage development of EQII. Why would she be posting articles?</blockquote>I agree. You are the CRM. You should be posting an article of this magnitude. We are both in agreement. However, as has been pointed out by others she alluded she would be posting exciting news. This was in response to us having a look down the road and new features that are ready now or will soon be on test. This post didn't cover the promise I saw in her response. That's why the disappointment. A producers letter, a look ahead, a few juicy morsals for the new GU.... Well anything other then "Look! Brewday and city fests and crit mit which has been talked to death forever!"

Alaralana

03-01-2012, 05:44 PM

Not anymore it's F2P now. And maybe we are griping because, despite, the recent events we wanted the game we have played for years to actually get better. We want the producer to speak to us as she said she would, but then again re-reading her post, she said she would post about small day to day things not the stuff we all mostly care about. That is why I at least am still posting today. I was truly, hoping, that some things would get fixed.

SOE-MOD-02

03-01-2012, 05:57 PM

Back on track now please. Thank you!

Yimway

03-01-2012, 06:00 PM

Where's the beef? (content)Where's an update on all the things that are botched with DoV so far?

Alaralana

03-01-2012, 06:04 PM

Just a quick note: Piestro, we are not attacking you nor the fact that you posted. We are wondering where the producer is and why she hasn't told us anything about the direction she plans on taking the game. We are wondering where the actual game content is as opposed to fluff stuff. I don't envy you your job, not one bit.

Vinyard

03-01-2012, 06:05 PM

<cite>Atan@Unrest wrote:</cite><blockquote>Where's the beef? (content)Where's an update on all the things that are botched with DoV so far?</blockquote>Nothing new here. Typical post that basically reads"Keep looking forward for MORE information!"and when we get that info, it will say something along the lines of "Look to the next one for MORE info!"Seems to be the trend nowadays. I was really looking forward for some real game-loving info.

Kryvak

03-01-2012, 06:16 PM

I really think 90 minutes for zone reset timers is WAY too short. With that amount of time, people could just switch between running ToT and EoW all day or any other 2 zones and never have to do any of the other zones. 4 to 6 hours would be a much better and more reasonable timer.P.S. I think reducing the timers is great, it's entirely possible to run all the zones you need loot from in one day and have nothing left to do, however 90 minutes is excessively overcompensating.

Lempo

03-01-2012, 06:20 PM

<cite>Kryvak@Everfrost wrote:</cite><blockquote>I really think 90 minutes for zone reset timers is WAY too short. With that amount of time, people could just switch between running ToT and EoW all day or any other 2 zones and never have to do any of the other zones. 4 to 6 hours would be a much better and more reasonable timer.</blockquote>Yeah you got a point, but you know by now they are never ones to make small tweaks until they get to a sweet spot when one swift swing of a sledgehammer will get it there or overshoot it by a mile.

Rosss

03-01-2012, 06:20 PM

I posted this over on Holly's happy leap year post but felt it was very appropriate to repost here. Since really the reasons people are upset has everything to do with the utter lack of anything of substance in the march update plans....So Holly,How about answering these questions:What is the status of Critical Mitigation on test? Are you running into dificulties with the changes? What are the dificulties? How are you overcoming them?Do you plan on revisiting itemization at all? If you do what ideas do you have that may put it back on a more reasonable track.How much new content do you intend to release (this year)? What are your timelines and vision for new content updates? Of that new content what are the ratio's of raid vs. heroic vs. solo?What is the status of PVP fixes?When are we going to get to use our own characters in player made dungeons?What is your vision for the comming year in eq2?I have left tons out but I can say without hesitation that you would have been much better served by addressing the above stated questions.

Shotneedle

03-01-2012, 06:30 PM

So does the Skyshrine portion of the sig quest come before or after Plane of War?We zoned into Plane of War and some of us were offered a new fallen swords quest (the reward was worse for killing Rallos Zek than doing the 3 heroic drunder zones, but whatever).

Lempo

03-01-2012, 06:42 PM

<cite>Buffrat@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote>So does the Skyshrine portion of the sig quest come before or after Plane of War?We zoned into Plane of War and some of us were offered a new fallen swords quest (the reward was worse for killing Rallos Zek than doing the 3 heroic drunder zones, but whatever).</blockquote>This is definately something substantive that could use a comment and some elaboration as to how it happened and what will be done to fix it.If you care enough to take action soon enough maybe it can be fixed before someone completes the quest.

CoLD MeTaL

03-01-2012, 07:23 PM

<cite>Piestro wrote:</cite><blockquote>...DOV Dungeon Timers Reduced to 90 Minutes!Get prepared for the next Game Update and gear up in Destiny of Velious group dungeons -- timers are being reduced from 18 hours to 90 minutes!...</blockquote>Why not all heroic zones, including low level ones?

-Karofin-

03-01-2012, 07:39 PM

I am pretty disappointed regarding the content of this change, or more accuratelt eh lack of it. It is such a shame to see the game die. If you look at my accounts Piestro and Windstalker you will see I cancelled them both. I wanted you to see this so you know this is why they were cancelled. The poor communication and engagement of the community and the whole P7 debacle, but mostly the last 6 months of poor SOE behaviour are the reasons. I used to crave to read these producers letters as they had superb content and gave a buzz feeling. This one is pretty empty. Now you can delete my post, and you can ignore my feedback, but as a player who joined at launch, and has only just quit the game, I hope you will take the comment on board. I wish you nothing but the best, but I simply cannot support you any more, either financially, or in response to the recent issues.

Elskidor

03-01-2012, 07:40 PM

<cite>Alaralana wrote:</cite><blockquote> I don't envy you your job, not one bit.</blockquote>With the bitter angry mob that remains after the constant eq2 and soe screw-ups, me either...not a single bit. I gotta wonder if he's clicking his shoes and saying "There's no place like home" in hopes of being back with the much less bitter crowd of EQ1. It would be nice to know what are new producer is doing and thinking, but so far she seems more elusive than SJ.

Skycaster

03-01-2012, 07:50 PM

I Don't Envy her job either.It seems like a total lack of new content. Some of the fluffy additions and the new homes and stuff are nice; but how much of this stuff can you keep pushing out? We need new zones to explore, Big stuff , Big Lands, Big Ideas.It feels like EQ2 has about 4 people running the whole show and 3 of them are Managers.You need help and some fresh thoughts.I will also play out my time left this month and will be gone after that , until a nice fat expansion comes out.Looking forward to a fresh game. Can anybody at Sony tell us when EQ Next will be out?

Piestro

03-01-2012, 08:12 PM

<cite>Morrias@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Onorem wrote:</cite>That is a good point, though usually the Producer posts things like this in a Producers Letter.. >.<</blockquote>Depends on the game and the producer. For some games the CRM posts Producer's Letters (which are a bit more formal than a Monthly Update Plan) on the Producer's behalf. Because these articles are published on the web it's easier for me to post the forum version as well.<cite>Morrias@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote>Because every other Producer in the history of the game aside from SJ and her has posted on the forums consistently.</blockquote>Interesting, totally depends on the individual is my response. I've always seen SJ as a pretty active poster for a producer (and now executive producer). I may even have teased him on occasion about it.A change at producer level is always a big change in personality, I have every faith that you'll come to appreciate the current version as you get to know her and appreciate her for who she is. Expectations built by previous Producers will fall by the wayside as you get to know her and future Producers will partially be judged based on her performance as well. And the wheel on the bus will go round and round.

Neiloch

03-01-2012, 08:33 PM

I love that crit mit is being removed, even though I already got all the crit mit I need. Really should have never been put in, imo.I don't see any problems with the dungeon timers being lowered that much. At most what we are going to see is places getting ran twice a day instead of once except for the rare occasions where people run heroic dungeons for about 6 hours a day straight.Seems like the next phase of Velious is going to be bigger than we think. Almost an entire tier itself, heroic and raid, and they are trying to get everyone up to par before it releases by fast tracking people through heroic content. While also making raiding more viable for more people (thus raid equipment more accessible) by getting rid of crit mit.

Novusod

03-01-2012, 09:22 PM

<cite>Banditman wrote:</cite><blockquote>So, the only actual "news" here is that dungeon timers are going down to 90 minutes and they are putting in a quest?Really?This is what passes for content now?</blockquote>That "quest" will most likely lead to the mythical cloak now that guilds are getting into the plane of war. If you complete that quest in a month I will be suprised. This is actually very big news if you have been following the main DoV storyline.

Vinyard

03-01-2012, 09:49 PM

<cite>Piestro wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Morrias@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Onorem wrote:</cite>That is a good point, though usually the Producer posts things like this in a Producers Letter.. >.<</blockquote>Depends on the game and the producer. For some games the CRM posts Producer's Letters (which are a bit more formal than a Monthly Update Plan) on the Producer's behalf. Because these articles are published on the web it's easier for me to post the forum version as well.<cite>Morrias@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote>Because every other Producer in the history of the game aside from SJ and her has posted on the forums consistently.</blockquote>Interesting, totally depends on the individual is my response. I've always seen SJ as a pretty active poster for a producer (and now executive producer). I may even have teased him on occasion about it.A change at producer level is always a big change in personality, I have every faith that you'll come to appreciate the current version as you get to know her and appreciate her for who she is. Expectations built by previous Producers will fall by the wayside as you get to know her and future Producers will partially be judged based on her performance as well. And the wheel on the bus will go round and round.</blockquote>So, if I'm reading this right.Windstalker is just here for a short period of time? We already know she isn't going to stay on board?That's not healthy for the game. EverQuest II has had too many producers as it is, each with their own "vision". The game has suffered because of this.

CoLD MeTaL

03-01-2012, 09:52 PM

9 0minute timers will NOT increase grouping, just SLR.You guys need to play your own game.

Brigh

03-01-2012, 10:19 PM

<cite>Vinyard@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Morrias@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Onorem wrote:</cite>That is a good point, though usually the Producer posts things like this in a Producers Letter.. >.<</blockquote>Depends on the game and the producer. For some games the CRM posts Producer's Letters (which are a bit more formal than a Monthly Update Plan) on the Producer's behalf. Because these articles are published on the web it's easier for me to post the forum version as well.<cite>Morrias@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote>Because every other Producer in the history of the game aside from SJ and her has posted on the forums consistently.</blockquote>Interesting, totally depends on the individual is my response. I've always seen SJ as a pretty active poster for a producer (and now executive producer). I may even have teased him on occasion about it.A change at producer level is always a big change in personality, I have every faith that you'll come to appreciate the current version as you get to know her and appreciate her for who she is. Expectations built by previous Producers will fall by the wayside as you get to know her and future Producers will partially be judged based on her performance as well. And the wheel on the bus will go round and round.</blockquote>So, if I'm reading this right.Windstalker is just here for a short period of time? We already know she isn't going to stay on board?That's not healthy for the game. EverQuest II has had too many producers as it is, each with their own "vision". The game has suffered because of this.</blockquote>How you read "short period of time" into what was said is beyond me.

isest

03-01-2012, 10:23 PM

<cite>Brigh wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Vinyard@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Morrias@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Onorem wrote:</cite>That is a good point, though usually the Producer posts things like this in a Producers Letter.. >.<</blockquote>Depends on the game and the producer. For some games the CRM posts Producer's Letters (which are a bit more formal than a Monthly Update Plan) on the Producer's behalf. Because these articles are published on the web it's easier for me to post the forum version as well.<cite>Morrias@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote>Because every other Producer in the history of the game aside from SJ and her has posted on the forums consistently.</blockquote>Interesting, totally depends on the individual is my response. I've always seen SJ as a pretty active poster for a producer (and now executive producer). I may even have teased him on occasion about it.A change at producer level is always a big change in personality, I have every faith that you'll come to appreciate the current version as you get to know her and appreciate her for who she is. Expectations built by previous Producers will fall by the wayside as you get to know her and future Producers will partially be judged based on her performance as well. And the wheel on the bus will go round and round.</blockquote>So, if I'm reading this right.Windstalker is just here for a short period of time? We already know she isn't going to stay on board?That's not healthy for the game. EverQuest II has had too many producers as it is, each with their own "vision". The game has suffered because of this.</blockquote>How you read "short period of time" into what was said is beyond me.</blockquote>Because that is the way it read, it almost sounded like they got somebody else waiting in the wings. The word future, and performance.

Windstalker

03-01-2012, 11:19 PM

Couple of clarifying notes...Hotfixes will continue weekly and the details will be made available as usual with those. We plan on going to Test with Game Update content (Wednesday, March 14) and we will release more details beyond "Dragons, dragons, and more dragons!" on March 13. I am in the process of preparing details to release weekly after the announcement. We are also expecting to run another poll this month to dig a little deeper into what we learned with the last one (and it will be international).The team -- while still submitting bug fixes and content tweaks daily -- is focusing the majority of time on the Game Update.Holly "Windstalker" LongdaleProud ProducerEverQuest II

Illmarr

03-01-2012, 11:38 PM

I admit I got fooled. Instead of reading as a lawyer I read as a layman and was fooled into assuming that Windstalker would be making the promised update post. You'd think after so many years I and everyone else would learn to read any post as legalese rather than conversational English and look for the loophole verbage.That said I'm not offended that the main boss left the posting of PR to the PR flack (CRM). And in the final analysis it doesn't matter where "News" comes from, what matters is the content of the "News" And the reaction that comes to mind is "Words are wind"

Onorem

03-02-2012, 12:31 AM

Mohee

03-02-2012, 12:43 AM

Can you add "Finally fix and finish itemization" ?Fix graphical issues with the white wisps replacing particles, house items, spells, and quest npc icons above their head?Fix scout pets for conjurors?Either nerf Beastlords or bring all other 24 classes more in line with their power?Fix dungeon finder and the slew of bugs and problem within?Fix game stability, less crashes, stuck zoning, and memory leaks/problems?Fix balancing of tank classes?Updates epics for all the other 24 classes to be on par with the new extremely overpowered beastlord epics?Any of these would be nice really...

Celline-Layonaire

03-02-2012, 12:52 AM

So much drama over Piestro posting instead of Windstalker. What happened anyway?I mean, this thread is about 'March update plan', not 'Producer's letter'

Hamervelder

03-02-2012, 01:58 AM

<cite>GussJr wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>vexrm wrote:</cite><blockquote>Piestro, I'm really curious why you posted this and not Holly. I might be bitter and cynical here but...</blockquote>I'm the CRM, not her. My job is to communicate full time, her job is to manage development of EQII. Why would she be posting articles?</blockquote>Wow...just...wow. The lack of understanding ya'll have for this community is one of the reason's I am quite happy in my decision to leave EQ2 for good.You may be the CRM, but she is the Producer of this game at present - the community wants to hear 'exciting' news from an 'excited' producer...even if neither of those things exist at the moment. FAKE IT.</blockquote>I'm no SOE apologist by any means, but your post takes SOE to task for no good reason. Piestro is absolutely correct. It's his job to communicate with us, not Holly's. Her job is to steer the game. He's doing exactly what he's supposed to be doing, and she, presumably, is doing what she is supposed to be doing. Do you want the producer to produce, or do you want her to spend time posting on the forums?

kempfm

03-02-2012, 04:09 AM

Any plans for double xp weekends in march ? <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" />thxthx

Faeward

03-02-2012, 05:47 AM

Well this descended rather quickly in to pointless babble and petty arguing...Piestro made a good post, and confirmed a lot of the things we were hoping for this month, and also gave some new information on top of that.You guys should be happy! There is still growth ahead and great developer support for EQ2.

Avacii

03-02-2012, 06:52 AM

I'm not bothered who posts information so long as some is posted.What information I'd like to see though is:- Fixing Drop rates in Drunder - it is heavily biased towards Fighters and Scouts and has been awaiting feedback since mid-September.- Fix Mythical Updates for non-Beastlords. It is ridiculous that Beastlords have to kill a last-tier named as part of a quest (guaranteed update!) and the other 24 classes have next to no hope of ever getting their Mythical, then have to bid DKP for it!

Banditman

03-02-2012, 10:57 AM

<cite>Inglip@Nagafen wrote:</cite><blockquote>Piestro made a good post, and confirmed a lot of the things we were hoping for this month, and also gave some new information on top of that.You guys should be happy! There is still growth ahead and great developer support for EQ2.</blockquote>No, actually, he didn't.We were told the day before this post that we'd be hearing news on "substantive issues" yesterday. We were delivered another PR message about things we already knew, with two very minor additions of information.Certainly nothing SUBSTANTIVE.There are most assuredly numerous issues of substance that the community is concerned about, in some cases which we were told were being addressed, yet remain in a communications black hole.Just off the top of my head, knowing I am missing as many as I am listing:<ul><li>Itemization - still an unmitigated disaster since DoV launch</li><li>Mythicals - part and parcel to itemization, but even more noteable. drop rate and aquisition balance.</li><li>Beastlord balance - we all knew they would be OP, but complete radio silence isn't helpful</li><li>Drunder drop rates - again, part of itemization, but zone specific</li></ul>These are just major substantive issues, there are many, many more minor issues that could go on for pages and pages.Perhaps substantive means something different in San Diego, I'm not sure.

Soul_Dreamer

03-02-2012, 11:18 AM

<cite>Avacii@Splitpaw wrote:</cite><blockquote>I'm not bothered who posts information so long as some is posted.What information I'd like to see though is:- Fixing Drop rates in Drunder - it is heavily biased towards Fighters and Scouts and has been awaiting feedback since mid-September.- Fix Mythical Updates for non-Beastlords. It is ridiculous that Beastlords have to kill a last-tier named as part of a quest (guaranteed update!) and the other 24 classes have next to no hope of ever getting their Mythical, then have to bid DKP for it!</blockquote>These are the most important things I'd like to know as well.Add - DoV itemisation and Beastlord balance to the list as a lot of others want.To put the mythicals in perspective, a handful have dropped to date after months of kills where as any beastlord in a guild able to kill Statue, or any beastlord able to pay for the update (Because it IS already being sold) can get a pair.. It's not even just 1 myth like every other class had from their quest but a sodding pair!

vexrm

03-02-2012, 11:27 AM

<cite>Celline-Layonaire wrote:</cite><blockquote>So much drama over Piestro posting instead of Windstalker. What happened anyway?I mean, this thread is about 'March update plan', not 'Producer's letter'</blockquote>I'm not really angry who posted the info. It's... well read the post above me but add in Euro players, basic state of the game, and "Hi, I'm your new producer and this is the direction I'm going...".Instead we got told about:New Quest. Minor and new. Perfectly fine for what we were expecting. However, minor. Also needs some clarification.Dungeon Timers Reduced. Unsure why they are making this change, but whatever. Important to have here.So that's two things that are a update for us. The rest?New Pathing - been working on it for about two years it seems. Every time they try to release it it's broken again. They are saying nothing more then "It's on test, again."Crit Mit - The origional announcement from smokejumper had more detail. This doesn't adress any of the concerns or add anything new. City Festival - These have been happening monthly for quite some time.Brewfest - Yeap. We know it's coming. In game calendar. Watching events.Moonlight - Been happening monthly for a bit now.Blast from the Past - Nice to see it's coming back. Nothing here is new, has an update, or substatial info. It's the over promise and under deliver philosphy here. Only they will tell you they didn't promise anything. I'm sorry, but this isn't what I expected at all. I'm disappointed. I was hoping they would actually address any of the issues. I was hoping they would give actual info. This is a fine post. This is a good post for the community manager to make. This is not the post I was expecting. Though, in hindsight, it was the one I should have expected. Please, continue the radio silence SOE. I love having an example on how not to communicate with your customers.

SOE-MOD-08

03-02-2012, 11:28 AM

This post has moved: <a href="/eq2/posts/preList.m?topic_id=500098&post_id=5727106" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">/eq2/posts/preList.m?topic_id=50009...post_id=5727106</a> Trolling.

Zabjade

03-02-2012, 11:36 AM

I'm hoping that we are going to get to see more of overland Velious with this update, like the Cobalt Scar or the Western Wastes or the rest of the Waking Lands?If it's just a dungeon or group zone I'll find it disappointing.

Chronus1

03-02-2012, 01:31 PM

A new chapter in the signature line... There is already a new one just by the entrance inside pow that requires you killing rallos as it is that gives some reasonably ok charms. People are months away from killing rallos and already we have the next chapter which nobody will be able to see or do.Also the 90 minute timer thing will be amazing, I'm going to make an slr marathon group that will just constantly do both eow em + hm and tot and then rest on a bed of plat, thanks for this change. Hey, maybe we can even make the mounts drop =O

Jrel

03-02-2012, 03:48 PM

<cite>Windstalker wrote:</cite><blockquote>Couple of clarifying notes...Hotfixes will continue weekly and the details will be made available as usual with those. We plan on going to Test with Game Update content (Wednesday, March 14) and we will release more details beyond "Dragons, dragons, and more dragons!" on March 13. I am in the process of preparing details to release weekly after the announcement. We are also expecting to run another poll this month to dig a little deeper into what we learned with the last one (and it will be international).The team -- while still submitting bug fixes and content tweaks daily -- is focusing the majority of time on the Game Update.Holly "Windstalker" LongdaleProud ProducerEverQuest II</blockquote>Well, hopefully the poll allows us to check more than one answer for each question. For #1 and #3 on the first poll, I would have checked more than one because I don't just do one thing mostly when I log in to play. I do about 3-4 things equally. Also, allow us to add a comment or extra option because one of the questions (the chat channel one) didn't even have an answer that applied to my server.

GrunEQ

03-02-2012, 04:15 PM

I was reading that the EQs console game is being shut down effective March 29th and that starting on the 16th they are moving people over with gold accounts. Wonder why that didn't make some of the What's happening in March?

Cyliena

03-02-2012, 04:58 PM

<cite>GrunEQ wrote:</cite><blockquote>I was reading that the EQs console game is being shut down effective March 29th and that starting on the 16th they are moving people over with gold accounts. Wonder why that didn't make some of the What's happening in March?</blockquote>Because that has nothing to do with updates in March in EQ2.

Yimway

03-02-2012, 05:16 PM

<cite>Cyliena wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>GrunEQ wrote:</cite><blockquote>I was reading that the EQs console game is being shut down effective March 29th and that starting on the 16th they are moving people over with gold accounts. Wonder why that didn't make some of the What's happening in March?</blockquote>Because that has nothing to do with updates in March in EQ2.</blockquote>Unless I misunderstood him, he says people from the console game are getting moved to EQ2 as gold accounts. That does seem to be significant.

Necrotherian

03-02-2012, 05:47 PM

<cite>Atan@Unrest wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Cyliena wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>GrunEQ wrote:</cite><blockquote>I was reading that the EQs console game is being shut down effective March 29th and that starting on the 16th they are moving people over with gold accounts. Wonder why that didn't make some of the What's happening in March?</blockquote>Because that has nothing to do with updates in March in EQ2.</blockquote>Unless I misunderstood him, he says people from the console game are getting moved to EQ2 as gold accounts. That does seem to be significant.</blockquote>From the <a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eqoa/posts/list.m?topic_id=115600014244" target="_blank">EverQuest Online Adventures CLOSURE ANNOUNCEMENT FAQ</a>:<li>Will you be granting current subscribers to EverQuest Online Adventures any additional benefits? <ul><li>As a gift to current subscribers we will be granting 3 months Gold Membership in both EverQuest and EverQuest II. These Gold memberships will start on Friday, March 16, 2012.</li></ul></li><li>What will happen if I already have an EverQuest or EverQuest II Gold Membership, or SOE All Access subscription? <ul><li>Those who already have an EQ or EQII Gold Membership will have 3 months of free time added to their account at the end of their current billing cycle. Those with All Access with get 3 months of free All Access time added on to their current plan.</li></ul></li>

Yimway

03-02-2012, 06:22 PM

Yeah, that sounds like significant EQ2 news, as rare as new blood is <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

twlghtsprkl1

03-02-2012, 06:25 PM

so with the removal of Crit mit, what will happen to our adornments? do we get reimbursed for the velium shards spent on those or do we just get screwed for our time and efforts put into getting those?

Banditman

03-02-2012, 06:31 PM

Mohee

03-02-2012, 10:04 PM

I bet 90% or more of the people playing EQ Online Adventures on the PS2 don't want to play EQ2 or even care about PC EQ games. EQOA is a pretty solid game with very, very few bugs or issues. Why would they want to move to EQ2? lolseems kind of like a slap in the face to them...I think a majority of them play console games for a reason.

KNINE

03-02-2012, 10:47 PM

<cite>twlghtsprkl1 wrote:</cite><blockquote>so with the removal of Crit mit, what will happen to our adornments? do we get reimbursed for the velium shards spent on those or do we just get screwed for our time and efforts put into getting those?</blockquote>Time and effort to get 10 shards/10 plat (6 for 60) comon.. lets really complain about something worthwhile.. DOV has been out a while.. even if u casual raid as I do.. you should have aquired tons of blue shards..can farm PR like most people for plat.. run quests.. 60 plat to get really isn't that hard..again lets complain about something worthwhile.. like to truely fix pathing in the game.. they say its gonna be fixed but I doubt it..MA not being a shared stats on mystic pets..even though they are supposed to have shared stats.. upgrading mythicals to be current like beastlords (yea i know cloaks coming out, but that doesn't fix now).. just small things and you're complaining about something that takes you most likely one week.. wow probably took you more effort to type the post then it would to get a blue shard and some plat.

Wirewhisker

03-03-2012, 06:23 AM

<cite>CoLD MeTaL wrote:</cite><blockquote>9 0minute timers will NOT increase grouping, just SLR.You guys need to play your own game.</blockquote>This, and then some.

Halo of G4

03-03-2012, 07:51 AM

Making plat in EQ2 is incredibly easy to make back. It doesn't take much effort for me to make about 100-500p on one toon in like 3 hours f I really wanted to. Duo PR, Korsha, MMB, ISoY, or VP. Craft food/drink or arrows, those get eaten up easily. If it wasn't for the 500p i pay a month for 2000sc in auction, i wouldn't be subscribing now until the april update.Now on to the subject:I don't post as much as others do, nor do I address issues as much. But what I do agree is, the announcement is really disappointing. The truth is, SoE is horrible at promoting their products, the f2p update didn't improve it much, and if they want to save what's left of their devoted fans, they need to hype us for the next update. This isn't hyping us. We've been waiting a long time for fresh new content. For most, it's been since last June when we got something. Even at that, going through 3 generic towers (yes, drunder to me is perhaps the ugliest and bland looking environments in this game) over and over is becoming annoying when we're not raiding.Some might include EoW, but how many people have gone through EoW? Hell has any guild on any server gone through PoW for that matter?Look, I do care about this product. I wouldn't have been an on and off subscriber if I wasn't. But please listen EQ2 staff, promote your product, listen to the community, don't put off the forums on the assumption 'they're trolling because they care', and learn to common sense approaches when promoting said game.

Vinyard

03-15-2012, 11:32 AM

So from the test update notes, it says the Dungeon timer going from 18 hours to 90 minutes...is for GU63. Which is scheduled to be released in April. I thought it was going to be part of the March updates? What else is going to be delayed until the GU?

Nrgy

03-15-2012, 02:41 PM

<cite>Vinyard@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote>So from the test update notes, it says the Dungeon timer going from 18 hours to 90 minutes...is for GU63. Which is scheduled to be released in April. I thought it was going to be part of the March updates? What else is going to be delayed until the GU?</blockquote>Just because the timer reduction went into test today does NOT mean that it is tied to GU63. Following that thought process would mean that there would not be any more Tuesday hot fixs until 4/17. It was however, smart for SOE to make certin they new timer was in place on test for the simple reason that from 3/15 thru 4/17 there will be a LOT of people logging into test and running / testing dungeons.

duranvaer

03-16-2012, 09:57 AM

Is there a chance a new Public Quest Raid will be added?

Necrotherian

03-16-2012, 08:32 PM

<cite>duranvaer wrote:</cite><blockquote>Is there a chance a new Public Quest Raid will be added?</blockquote>I hope so. It would make a lot of sense. I can't speak for others (which I know hasn't really stopped a lot of people on the forums), but I know I'm getting pretty bored with the current PQs.I have nothing against the Coldain, but I'm almost to the point of sitting on the sidelines and rooting for the other team. 8D

Regolas

03-18-2012, 07:04 PM

Will the blast from the past be identical to last years or will there be more zones?

SisterTheresa

03-18-2012, 07:46 PM

<cite>Rotherian@Unrest_old wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>duranvaer wrote:</cite><blockquote>Is there a chance a new Public Quest Raid will be added?</blockquote>I hope so. It would make a lot of sense. I can't speak for others (which I know hasn't really stopped a lot of people on the forums), but I know I'm getting pretty bored with the current PQs.I have nothing against the Coldain, but I'm almost to the point of sitting on the sidelines and rooting for the other team. 8D</blockquote>Have you checked out the level 20 one in the Commonlands? Over in the Siege Lands I think it is.

Necrotherian

03-19-2012, 01:23 AM

<cite>Ridolain@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Rotherian@Unrest_old wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>duranvaer wrote:</cite><blockquote>Is there a chance a new Public Quest Raid will be added?</blockquote>I hope so. It would make a lot of sense. I can't speak for others (which I know hasn't really stopped a lot of people on the forums), but I know I'm getting pretty bored with the current PQs.I have nothing against the Coldain, but I'm almost to the point of sitting on the sidelines and rooting for the other team. 8D</blockquote>Have you checked out the level 20 one in the Commonlands? Over in the Siege Lands I think it is.</blockquote>Been there, done that, got the severely outleved "T-shirt". <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/136dd33cba83140c7ce38db096d05aed.gif" border="0" />

Vinyard

03-19-2012, 10:52 AM

There was supposed to be a PQ in EW, but that got scrapped.So, we are here at March 19th. And we still don't have1) CM removal2) Dungeon timers lowered3) Pathing changes.

Necrotherian

03-19-2012, 03:21 PM

<cite>Vinyard@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote>There was supposed to be a PQ in EW, but that got scrapped.So, we are here at March 19th. And we still don't have1) CM removal2) Dungeon timers lowered3) Pathing changes.</blockquote>To be fair, as long as it happens on or before March 31, it's still in March.

Solarax

03-19-2012, 04:13 PM

nothing in the postas has been new. we were told we would be recieving new info.on a side note i would like to see more PQs as i think they are a good idea. there can even be a could difficult ones for raiders ( until they get nerfed )

CoLD MeTaL

03-19-2012, 05:52 PM

critmit is going away tomorrow.<a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=516297">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...topic_id=516297</a>

Solarax

03-19-2012, 06:00 PM

<cite>CoLD MeTaL wrote:</cite><blockquote>critmit is going away tomorrow.<a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=516297">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...topic_id=516297</a></blockquote>yeah we have known that for a long time. nothing NEW has been told to us that we didnt already know

Golbezz

03-19-2012, 06:09 PM

<cite>Soulskar@Splitpaw wrote:</cite><blockquote>nothing in the postas has been new. we were told we would be recieving new info. on a side note i would like to see more PQs as i think they are a good idea. there can even be a could difficult ones for raiders ( until they get nerfed )</blockquote>PQ's are like a welfare gear handout that does way too much damage to the average player's skills. Time would be better spent on either a common use contested dungeon or instances that follow some sort of progression starting from the point of the solo quest gear up to high end instance gear which would then allow players to get into the easiest raid encounters.The whole PQ concept encourages players to ignore strat and win with numbers. It's no surprise many of the players who ran the PQ's with 4+ 24 player raids had trouble with pre-nerf contested kael. I find it quite funny that many players these days ignore SG (while still doing RW) because the raiders aren't there to carry all the slackers thru the SG PQ anymore.