SOE killing the solo player?

VisionQuest · 09-16-2005, 02:20 AM

As an aspiring mystic at level 38, I was wanting to take advantage of the double experience this week to get my mystic leveled by doing Harclave. Pre-combat changes I could get through the very difficult with a few mobs I had to avoid to get to the ark, but was able to do it. Now I can barely do the normal level. I just started going through Harclave again today on normal, and ran into a mob that healed itself and gained power to boot while i was struggling to keep ward and my HO's as frequent as the recast timer would allow, but the mob healed itself and regen'ed power too much for me to match it. It was an even level con, no arrows, just one of the mobs to get thru to get to the ark, called something Pariah.

Granted this is a Massive Multiplayer game, where grouping is in part, name of the game, if it wasn't it would be a standard game like Baldurs Gate. But having a tag next to my name for a few hours, gets pretty lonely sitting at, say a dock zone in point, so why not throw LFG on and go solo through something that will give some pretty decent xp (I know Harclave has been hit with the nerf bat so many times, its become the nerf bat, but it is better xp than killing turtles on the beach in Enchanted Lands). But no more, I am having difficulty solo'ing whether it's Harclave or Enchanted Lands or Zek. Bottom line is don't solo?

I'm sorry I can't accept that. Mystics got a bad reputation as a back-up healer and not a main-don't-need-another-healer healer, which I did manage a group pretty well without another healer pre-combat changes. Now, we mystics aren't looked upon as a pick-up healer for an xp group, so we sit, looking on as groups run off to do great and better things with their time and double xp, than sit on a beach or plod through harclave.

It's pretty frustrating that the solo play has to suffer for these changes, they suffered heavily in EQ1, but wait this is not EQ1, but it's slowly going that way, wouldn't you agree?

Zamba · 09-16-2005, 07:48 AM

would you say that the white mobs were close to an even match for you?

what sort of gear do you have? I generally didn't buy anything but cheap upgrades until I hit 45 because it seemed a bit of a waste to spend heaps on equipment and spells that would need upgrading in a couple of weeks- months.

Eepop · 09-16-2005, 08:32 PM

One of the main problems is you are basing this entirely on harclave...which isn't neccesarily absolutely tweaked to be right with the combat changes. Lots of things are done differently in the splitpaw expansion, so not everything is going to work just right. How do you fare against white/yellow solo mobs in places like Rivervale or Feerott? How upgraded are your spells? your gear? Have you examined all your spells and found what the new versions do? You can't assume anything. Have you tried new tactics other than what you were doing before the revamp? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Don't mean to barrage you with questions, but any of those things could cause you problems. I tested extensively as a 39 mystic on beta, and now as a 41 mystic on live. And my soloing ability has gone up significantly once I did all the above.

Eepop · 09-16-2005, 11:49 PM

A post by a dev saying there is something wrong with Harclave... Saavedra Speaks

Ildarus · 09-17-2005, 12:16 AM

Eepop wrote:
A post by a dev saying there is something wrong with Harclave...
Saavedra Speaks

My 2cp. For myself, I can solo just fine post revamp. It just takes to [expletive ninja'd by Faarbot] long to take a mob down. And I am not talking a white or a yellow. I am talking a blue mob. That is not what I call fun. I use my HO's and my debuffs and it is just taking to long. I group quite a bit but I like to solo once in awhile to when I don't want to mess with a group because of time constraints and the amount of time invested to make a kill is not worth it. I am only for grouping now with my Mystic and I will be playing my Monk otherwise.

VisionQuest · 09-17-2005, 12:22 AM

My gear is pretty decent, I have 154 wis for a barbarian at level 38 I think is pretty good. And with buffs I had more power than a warlock Level 40, I grouped with last night. And all my spells that I can use are all at adept 1, except for for heal which I choose the training on and got it to Master II. So, since I have posted I did group up in Enchanted Lands and was the main and only healer in that group all night, and did quite well actually, but still Ward seems only viable to stop the pouding on the tank long enough for the recast timer on the heal to refresh. So I was only casting 4 to 5 spells all night (Ancestral Ward, Spiritual Healing, Wards of Shadow, Spirits Salve, and maybe a slow or 2 if I was able too).

And before the group I did fight some yellow and white solo mobs and still had a hard time, i.e. getting interrupted (no parry anymore) , but the xp was terrible, and if this week has "double" xp then I shudder to think what the "normal" xp is like now.

Also, I would like to thank you for posting that about the Harclave. It just really frustrated me, cause I really wanted to take the opportunity to get some levels on me before I had to leave for Iraq...again. And my wife plays and is at level 49 and we just can't group up together anymore, well she could mentor, but that would be taking away from her experiencing the game.

And thanks guys for not flaming :smileyvery-happy:

-Koal

Eepop · 09-17-2005, 01:01 AM

I think 38 may be a sour spot in the leveling curve for mystics (and likely all priests)...I dont remember the exact levels of the lower level spells, but: We get a new single target ward at 40 and a new arch heal at 43...which by the 14ish level rule means the old ones are like level 26 and 29...so at 38, the two big "healing" tools we have are about 9 & 12 levels old...and probably showing thier age. As a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel...the 39 spell, Mourning Soul, is a large DPS decrease (22% at adept 3) that I find very helpful at 42 where I am at now.

Jarvahl · 09-17-2005, 01:57 AM

After my initial shock of the changes, and realization that there was no way I was handling green heroic mobs solo again, I took a day off of my 30 Barbarian Mystic then went at it soloing. I found that even though I did not have maul or blessed weapon, and the ward does less points of warding, I was able to solo fine. As part of my level upgrades, I took the master 2 for wailing haze. It slows for 20% and cuts down melee damage. I soloed multiple greens and 2 blues at a time no problem. I went to Zek and soloed some lvl 30 mobs no problem. I have not taken on any yellows yet, but will try sometime soon.

I can say the master 2 slow is awesome. The damage of blue and green mobs seems less. White mob did ok against me but I still kicked it. Debuffs now do seem very important compared to before so use them all when in doubt. It does take me just a little bit longer to kill a mob, but just a little.

Again this is against solo mobs with no up or down arrows. I also found you REALLY have to pay attention to the arrows now and color. I was wacking green mobs while I was harvesting and was wondering why it was taking me much longer to wack a skellie. I finally noticed it was a one-up arrow.

I haven't tried a solo instance yet.

Message Edited by Jarvahl on 09-16-2005 04:58 PM

BALTO · 09-26-2005, 12:57 PM

well from my experience an taken notes on other class' solo abilities the shammu's have it hard...were close to the bottom of the list of class' that can take a same lvl ^^ heroic mob atm, with decent upgrades on us, compared to the tohers i have whatched an chatted with about what upgrades they have.

09-16-2005, 02:20 AM	#1
VisionQuest Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 2	As an aspiring mystic at level 38, I was wanting to take advantage of the double experience this week to get my mystic leveled by doing Harclave. Pre-combat changes I could get through the very difficult with a few mobs I had to avoid to get to the ark, but was able to do it. Now I can barely do the normal level. I just started going through Harclave again today on normal, and ran into a mob that healed itself and gained power to boot while i was struggling to keep ward and my HO's as frequent as the recast timer would allow, but the mob healed itself and regen'ed power too much for me to match it. It was an even level con, no arrows, just one of the mobs to get thru to get to the ark, called something Pariah. Granted this is a Massive Multiplayer game, where grouping is in part, name of the game, if it wasn't it would be a standard game like Baldurs Gate. But having a tag next to my name for a few hours, gets pretty lonely sitting at, say a dock zone in point, so why not throw LFG on and go solo through something that will give some pretty decent xp (I know Harclave has been hit with the nerf bat so many times, its become the nerf bat, but it is better xp than killing turtles on the beach in Enchanted Lands). But no more, I am having difficulty solo'ing whether it's Harclave or Enchanted Lands or Zek. Bottom line is don't solo? I'm sorry I can't accept that. Mystics got a bad reputation as a back-up healer and not a main-don't-need-another-healer healer, which I did manage a group pretty well without another healer pre-combat changes. Now, we mystics aren't looked upon as a pick-up healer for an xp group, so we sit, looking on as groups run off to do great and better things with their time and double xp, than sit on a beach or plod through harclave. It's pretty frustrating that the solo play has to suffer for these changes, they suffered heavily in EQ1, but wait this is not EQ1, but it's slowly going that way, wouldn't you agree? __________________

09-16-2005, 07:48 AM	#2
Zamba Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Newcastle- Australia Posts: 9	would you say that the white mobs were close to an even match for you? what sort of gear do you have? I generally didn't buy anything but cheap upgrades until I hit 45 because it seemed a bit of a waste to spend heaps on equipment and spells that would need upgrading in a couple of weeks- months. __________________ Kasol Kae from Memento Mori Dwarf Mystic of Nagena

09-16-2005, 08:32 PM	#3
Eepop Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 704	One of the main problems is you are basing this entirely on harclave...which isn't neccesarily absolutely tweaked to be right with the combat changes. Lots of things are done differently in the splitpaw expansion, so not everything is going to work just right. How do you fare against white/yellow solo mobs in places like Rivervale or Feerott? How upgraded are your spells? your gear? Have you examined all your spells and found what the new versions do? You can't assume anything. Have you tried new tactics other than what you were doing before the revamp? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Don't mean to barrage you with questions, but any of those things could cause you problems. I tested extensively as a 39 mystic on beta, and now as a 41 mystic on live. And my soloing ability has gone up significantly once I did all the above. __________________

09-16-2005, 11:49 PM	#4
Eepop Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 704	A post by a dev saying there is something wrong with Harclave... Saavedra Speaks __________________

09-17-2005, 12:16 AM	#5
Ildarus Loremaster Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: MPLS, MN Posts: 221	Eepop wrote: A post by a dev saying there is something wrong with Harclave... Saavedra Speaks My 2cp. For myself, I can solo just fine post revamp. It just takes to [expletive ninja'd by Faarbot] long to take a mob down. And I am not talking a white or a yellow. I am talking a blue mob. That is not what I call fun. I use my HO's and my debuffs and it is just taking to long. I group quite a bit but I like to solo once in awhile to when I don't want to mess with a group because of time constraints and the amount of time invested to make a kill is not worth it. I am only for grouping now with my Mystic and I will be playing my Monk otherwise. __________________ Lord Sarron-Level 80 Swashbuckler Serpaw-Level 74 Berserker Simbarth-Level 22 Shadowknight/76 Alchemist

09-17-2005, 12:22 AM	#6
VisionQuest Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 2	My gear is pretty decent, I have 154 wis for a barbarian at level 38 I think is pretty good. And with buffs I had more power than a warlock Level 40, I grouped with last night. And all my spells that I can use are all at adept 1, except for for heal which I choose the training on and got it to Master II. So, since I have posted I did group up in Enchanted Lands and was the main and only healer in that group all night, and did quite well actually, but still Ward seems only viable to stop the pouding on the tank long enough for the recast timer on the heal to refresh. So I was only casting 4 to 5 spells all night (Ancestral Ward, Spiritual Healing, Wards of Shadow, Spirits Salve, and maybe a slow or 2 if I was able too). And before the group I did fight some yellow and white solo mobs and still had a hard time, i.e. getting interrupted (no parry anymore) , but the xp was terrible, and if this week has "double" xp then I shudder to think what the "normal" xp is like now. Also, I would like to thank you for posting that about the Harclave. It just really frustrated me, cause I really wanted to take the opportunity to get some levels on me before I had to leave for Iraq...again. And my wife plays and is at level 49 and we just can't group up together anymore, well she could mentor, but that would be taking away from her experiencing the game. And thanks guys for not flaming :smileyvery-happy: -Koal __________________

09-17-2005, 01:01 AM	#7
Eepop Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 704	I think 38 may be a sour spot in the leveling curve for mystics (and likely all priests)...I dont remember the exact levels of the lower level spells, but: We get a new single target ward at 40 and a new arch heal at 43...which by the 14ish level rule means the old ones are like level 26 and 29...so at 38, the two big "healing" tools we have are about 9 & 12 levels old...and probably showing thier age. As a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel...the 39 spell, Mourning Soul, is a large DPS decrease (22% at adept 3) that I find very helpful at 42 where I am at now. __________________

09-17-2005, 01:57 AM	#8
Jarvahl Loremaster Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 11	After my initial shock of the changes, and realization that there was no way I was handling green heroic mobs solo again, I took a day off of my 30 Barbarian Mystic then went at it soloing. I found that even though I did not have maul or blessed weapon, and the ward does less points of warding, I was able to solo fine. As part of my level upgrades, I took the master 2 for wailing haze. It slows for 20% and cuts down melee damage. I soloed multiple greens and 2 blues at a time no problem. I went to Zek and soloed some lvl 30 mobs no problem. I have not taken on any yellows yet, but will try sometime soon. I can say the master 2 slow is awesome. The damage of blue and green mobs seems less. White mob did ok against me but I still kicked it. Debuffs now do seem very important compared to before so use them all when in doubt. It does take me just a little bit longer to kill a mob, but just a little. Again this is against solo mobs with no up or down arrows. I also found you REALLY have to pay attention to the arrows now and color. I was wacking green mobs while I was harvesting and was wondering why it was taking me much longer to wack a skellie. I finally noticed it was a one-up arrow. I haven't tried a solo instance yet. Message Edited by Jarvahl on 09-16-2005 04:58 PM __________________ Jorakol 69 Iksar Shadowknight Jorakkal 63 Ogre Berserker

09-26-2005, 12:57 PM	#9
BALTO Loremaster Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 65	well from my experience an taken notes on other class' solo abilities the shammu's have it hard...were close to the bottom of the list of class' that can take a same lvl ^^ heroic mob atm, with decent upgrades on us, compared to the tohers i have whatched an chatted with about what upgrades they have.