Planes of Prophecy Raid Beta Testing

Gninja · 10-11-2017, 07:11 PM

Most of the raid testing will be done in closed developer led raid tests. That doesn't mean you cannot test raid if you so desire. As time goes on and things get tested, some raid zones will be opened to the general beta public. If you have a full raid force able to devote a full 3 hours to testing content feel free to shoot me a PM here on the forums or in Discord and I can check if any raid testing slots are open for sign up.

In terms of general raid related (NOT ITEMS OR CLASS BALANCE) questions feel free to ask them here and I will answer as much as I can. Some things you will likely ask so I will just answer them now:

Q: Will there be "panic" scripts on PoP raid bosses?
A: Sort of... There will be some checks for overloaded damage incoming to the boss but when these checks are triggered they will not wipe the raid instead the boss may add a buff to themselves or spawn adds that must be killed before the boss can take more damage etc. In other words it should be nowhere near as punishing and way less frustrating with you having to slow your damage down unless the script specifically dictates that you need to.

Q: How many raid zones are there?
A: 5 - But they are mostly pretty large

Q: How many bosses?
A: 49

Q: How difficult will the encounters be?
A: Its a pretty wide range. The beginnings tiers of bosses will likely be relatively easy as compared to most past entry bosses. Difficulty should scale up evenly through each tier... In other words there shouldn't be as big of a gap between tier 3 and tier 4 bosses.

Q: How will progression work?
A: Progression is going to be a little different than most are used to. You will not be able to engage tier 2 bosses until you have defeated all tier 1 bosses and the same for further tiers. That means that each zone will not allow you to complete the entire zone in some cases. For example... If you haven't killed all tier 1 bosses you may be able to fight the first 4 bosses of a zone but when you get to the first tier 2 boss, it will not allow you into their room unless you have defeated all tier 1 bosses. So, you will have to go to a different zone and seek out the tier 1 bosses you have not defeated yet to progress on to tier 2. Most zones have a lot of bosses 8-10 in most cases so you won't need to bounce from zone to zone after every boss.

If you have any further questions feel free to ask but please be respectful and constructive or your post will be removed. If you feel you cannot post constructively then please take it offline and we can talk in private.

See you in PoP!

Gninja · 10-17-2017, 08:47 AM

If your guild would like to help out testing contact Gninja to see if there are any openings in the schedule. We are not looking for individual players to test content at this time but you may be able to ask around to some of the guilds that are testing to see if they have a spot.

10-21-2017, 03:49 AM

Just on progression. Will it be a flag? I.E. once everyone has done all tier 1 bosses once and got the achievement will we then be able to on subsequent clears progress through the zone without having to zone jump? or will it be that the Tier 1's will need to be recleared?

10-21-2017, 02:44 PM

Will you be able to piggy people in like in the EQ1 PoP days?

Like if the vast majority of the raid have killed all the T1, but you bring a new person along next time when you're off to do the T2's, could that 1 person be carried in or will we have to go kill all the T1's again to flag the new person first?

Elinea · 10-21-2017, 05:32 PM

I'm hoping this will be handled like they did in EQ1 after they realized how painful back-flagging was. If a certain percentage of the raid force has killed all T1 bosses, maybe you could let new members of a raid force kill the T2 mob, but not get the achievement for it until they've finished all the T1 bosses? Or is it pointless because you'd have to clear past all the T1's to get to the T2 (like we do for Terris Thule, for example).

Uncle · 10-22-2017, 01:10 AM

glancing over achievements today and rechecked just now your account will need to killed all t2 to get an account item to be able to raid t3 and t4. so yes when you get to t3 everyone will need to be flagged it looks liek and back flagging will have to happen or at least that how ive read the discription of the item Frown

10-22-2017, 02:47 PM

yeah I agree, having to kill back all previous tiers each time you have a new recruit will be painfull. Should have a percentage of the raid enough to go kill next tier.

Because imagine you cleared all tier 1s and someone applied to join your raid, you'd need to reset them all before he/she can join, and you'll be forced to do them just for 1 personn.
Same if some people don't raid everyday and miss some fights and some flags.

it can become painfull real fast. (or if u need to bring a raid alt)

Uncle · 10-22-2017, 04:17 PM

the acheivment items are account wide so alts on another account will have issuses mroe then likely

10-23-2017, 09:03 PM

How hard can it be? Most "top end" guilds can clear all of the experts and T4 in 1 night...

I know we have more raid named in PoP, and the fights will probably take longer than 30 seconds initially, but really you're gonna have to reset the zones and clear them at some point anyways right? Why not bring a new recruit or 2 every week to get them flagged?

10-23-2017, 09:57 PM

thanks for clarification with alts Smile

and making it 75% of raid force

Gninja · 10-23-2017, 10:02 PM

We still need to make sure the 75% thing works, its not something easy to do. But, I will worry about that.

10-24-2017, 01:25 AM

Flagging once for every toon on the account is awesome. good enhancement there.

Gninja · 10-24-2017, 08:01 AM

We have it currently set to 75% of the raid needs to have the flag to engage the boss in the next tier. However, if the person does not have the flag they might get more damage incoming to them during those fights. So yes, you can carry a player or 3 to get them flagged but it won't be as easy.

To answer the other question. Once you have unlocked the tiers you will be able to clear the zone in one setting without having to hop to another zone. You only need to do that until you get the appropriate flags.

One more thing. When you unlock a tier on your character it unlocks for all characters on your account. We will not be putting in any way to flag other accounts you own.

Hope that clears it up.

10-24-2017, 08:49 AM

backflagging killed eq1 in PoP for a lot of raiders - it was a nightmare and myself (was a guild leader of top ranked guild) and a lot of people I played with quit at that time from burnout. Account flagging will help - though if we take a new recruit through a keyed fight successfully will they still be a liability until fully flagged or will the higher tier success effectively flag them for the previous tier?
Towards the end of expansions folk quit or leave to further advanced guilds in a midrange guild, and flagging could make it so that larger guilds will only recruit from mid tier guilds if flagging is to restrictive. If mid tier guilds basically become keyed player factories for more hard core or advanced guilds they will die.

10-24-2017, 11:40 AM

I agree 100%, off topic your signature is HUGE

knine · 10-25-2017, 06:52 AM

Are you going to allow solo players to jump into any raids with you before the end of beta? If not then I really don't think the beta reward should go to live for raids, especially if it's only limited to guilds that you're having test content. I get it, testing needs to be done and you would like full guilds there. Last xpac hurt a lot of guilds including my own and I would love to test raid content, especially with the change to get beta test items for live as well Smile

just my two cents.

Gninja · 10-25-2017, 05:49 PM

There may be some pickup style raids toward the end of beta otherwise its more focused testing.

10-29-2017, 12:33 AM

I could talk to our raid leader and see if he would be willing to come over and test. Never would get them all to level to 110 so a boost would be required.

Gninja · 10-29-2017, 01:04 AM

Boosts would be provided as would gear.

10-30-2017, 12:08 AM

I would love to participate in any raid related quality assurance activities.

10-30-2017, 09:03 PM

I would love to thank you very much Gninja for taking a few of the guys and testing some heroic zones. They very much enjoyed it and had a blast. Maybe Mithril will get some more healers and try to raid in a couple of weeks. Happy hunting to you Gninja. and again thank you. would love to try again on 11/10 or 11/17. Thanks again for all that u do. Its amazing.

10-31-2017, 02:12 AM

In Beta I am in Mithril.

When/if Mithril gets the opportunity I will be there.

On another note; currently completing my degree in Software Development so any opportunity to provide Q/A would be mutually beneficial.
Tons of experience which date back to eq1 beta days. As well as a host of other titles in every genre including productivity.

I'm always either on or at PC working on SDLC and exploring VR/AR coding concepts. The board is on alert Smile

Gninja · 10-31-2017, 08:20 AM

If you have a full raid force and would like to test a specific day let me know and I can check if schedule allows.

11-13-2017, 12:38 PM

if there would be some raids were you can sign up solo it would be great, since sadly not to many guildies playing the beta yet and it is furthermore impossible to get a raidforce together. Could bring an inqui ;-)

Gninja · 11-13-2017, 06:28 PM

I will see if I can setup a pick up raid toward end of beta but time is short.

11-15-2017, 02:15 PM

That would be really nice Smile

11-15-2017, 11:41 PM

Oh I would like in on the pickup raid as well if one gets going. Would be nice to see the raids.

11-17-2017, 09:53 AM

Do you have any time already in Mind since there is neither a possibility to really test a RAID since it is hard to get people for it if there is ntohing to gain nor there is any option to get the RAID reward by yourself?!

Gninja · 11-20-2017, 12:32 AM

Honestly, when looking for testers I am looking for folks who want to help fix bugs not someone who just wants an achievement. Having said that once all the bosses get tested I will try to do a pickup style raid or two likely next weekend sometime and I will give out beta reward but that still does not mean everyone will get the opportunity to join. Time is limited unfortunately.

Taiyla · 11-22-2017, 03:57 PM

In Beta we had to get flagged in order to run the first raid zone. Will you need to be flagged by running heroic zones before you can access the raid zones?

10-21-2017, 05:32 PM	#5
Elinea Member Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 0	Tajar said: ↑ “Will you be able to piggy people in like in the EQ1 PoP days? Like if the vast majority of the raid have killed all the T1, but you bring a new person along next time when you're off to do the T2's, could that 1 person be carried in or will we have to go kill all the T1's again to flag the new person first?” I'm hoping this will be handled like they did in EQ1 after they realized how painful back-flagging was. If a certain percentage of the raid force has killed all T1 bosses, maybe you could let new members of a raid force kill the T2 mob, but not get the achievement for it until they've finished all the T1 bosses? Or is it pointless because you'd have to clear past all the T1's to get to the T2 (like we do for Terris Thule, for example).

10-22-2017, 04:17 PM	#8
Uncle Active Member Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 0	Earar said: ↑ “yeah I agree, having to kill back all previous tiers each time you have a new recruit will be painfull. Should have a percentage of the raid enough to go kill next tier. Because imagine you cleared all tier 1s and someone applied to join your raid, you'd need to reset them all before he/she can join, and you'll be forced to do them just for 1 personn. Same if some people don't raid everyday and miss some fights and some flags. it can become painfull real fast. (or if u need to bring a raid alt)” the acheivment items are account wide so alts on another account will have issuses mroe then likely

10-23-2017, 09:57 PM	#10
Earar Well-Known Member Posts: n/a	thanks for clarification with alts and making it 75% of raid force

10-24-2017, 11:40 AM	#15
Arkmarux Member Posts: n/a	Ellimist said: ↑ “Flagging once for every toon on the account is awesome. good enhancement there.” I agree 100%, off topic your signature is HUGE

10-25-2017, 06:52 AM	#16
knine Member Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 0	Gninja said: ↑ “If your guild would like to help out testing contact Gninja to see if there are any openings in the schedule. We are not looking for individual players to test content at this time but you may be able to ask around to some of the guilds that are testing to see if they have a spot.” Are you going to allow solo players to jump into any raids with you before the end of beta? If not then I really don't think the beta reward should go to live for raids, especially if it's only limited to guilds that you're having test content. I get it, testing needs to be done and you would like full guilds there. Last xpac hurt a lot of guilds including my own and I would love to test raid content, especially with the change to get beta test items for live as well just my two cents.

10-11-2017, 07:11 PM	#1
Gninja Developer Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 0	Most of the raid testing will be done in closed developer led raid tests. That doesn't mean you cannot test raid if you so desire. As time goes on and things get tested, some raid zones will be opened to the general beta public. If you have a full raid force able to devote a full 3 hours to testing content feel free to shoot me a PM here on the forums or in Discord and I can check if any raid testing slots are open for sign up. In terms of general raid related (NOT ITEMS OR CLASS BALANCE) questions feel free to ask them here and I will answer as much as I can. Some things you will likely ask so I will just answer them now: Q: Will there be "panic" scripts on PoP raid bosses? A: Sort of... There will be some checks for overloaded damage incoming to the boss but when these checks are triggered they will not wipe the raid instead the boss may add a buff to themselves or spawn adds that must be killed before the boss can take more damage etc. In other words it should be nowhere near as punishing and way less frustrating with you having to slow your damage down unless the script specifically dictates that you need to. Q: How many raid zones are there? A: 5 - But they are mostly pretty large Q: How many bosses? A: 49 Q: How difficult will the encounters be? A: Its a pretty wide range. The beginnings tiers of bosses will likely be relatively easy as compared to most past entry bosses. Difficulty should scale up evenly through each tier... In other words there shouldn't be as big of a gap between tier 3 and tier 4 bosses. Q: How will progression work? A: Progression is going to be a little different than most are used to. You will not be able to engage tier 2 bosses until you have defeated all tier 1 bosses and the same for further tiers. That means that each zone will not allow you to complete the entire zone in some cases. For example... If you haven't killed all tier 1 bosses you may be able to fight the first 4 bosses of a zone but when you get to the first tier 2 boss, it will not allow you into their room unless you have defeated all tier 1 bosses. So, you will have to go to a different zone and seek out the tier 1 bosses you have not defeated yet to progress on to tier 2. Most zones have a lot of bosses 8-10 in most cases so you won't need to bounce from zone to zone after every boss. If you have any further questions feel free to ask but please be respectful and constructive or your post will be removed. If you feel you cannot post constructively then please take it offline and we can talk in private. See you in PoP!

10-17-2017, 08:47 AM	#2
Gninja Developer Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 0	If your guild would like to help out testing contact Gninja to see if there are any openings in the schedule. We are not looking for individual players to test content at this time but you may be able to ask around to some of the guilds that are testing to see if they have a spot.

10-21-2017, 03:49 AM	#3
Ellimist Active Member Posts: n/a	Just on progression. Will it be a flag? I.E. once everyone has done all tier 1 bosses once and got the achievement will we then be able to on subsequent clears progress through the zone without having to zone jump? or will it be that the Tier 1's will need to be recleared?

10-21-2017, 02:44 PM	#4
Tajar Active Member Posts: n/a	Will you be able to piggy people in like in the EQ1 PoP days? Like if the vast majority of the raid have killed all the T1, but you bring a new person along next time when you're off to do the T2's, could that 1 person be carried in or will we have to go kill all the T1's again to flag the new person first?

10-22-2017, 01:10 AM	#6
Uncle Active Member Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 0	glancing over achievements today and rechecked just now your account will need to killed all t2 to get an account item to be able to raid t3 and t4. so yes when you get to t3 everyone will need to be flagged it looks liek and back flagging will have to happen or at least that how ive read the discription of the item

10-22-2017, 02:47 PM	#7
Earar Well-Known Member Posts: n/a	yeah I agree, having to kill back all previous tiers each time you have a new recruit will be painfull. Should have a percentage of the raid enough to go kill next tier. Because imagine you cleared all tier 1s and someone applied to join your raid, you'd need to reset them all before he/she can join, and you'll be forced to do them just for 1 personn. Same if some people don't raid everyday and miss some fights and some flags. it can become painfull real fast. (or if u need to bring a raid alt)

10-23-2017, 09:03 PM	#9
Nero New Member Posts: n/a	How hard can it be? Most "top end" guilds can clear all of the experts and T4 in 1 night... I know we have more raid named in PoP, and the fights will probably take longer than 30 seconds initially, but really you're gonna have to reset the zones and clear them at some point anyways right? Why not bring a new recruit or 2 every week to get them flagged?

10-23-2017, 10:02 PM	#11
Gninja Developer Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 0	We still need to make sure the 75% thing works, its not something easy to do. But, I will worry about that.

10-24-2017, 01:25 AM	#12
Ellimist Active Member Posts: n/a	Flagging once for every toon on the account is awesome. good enhancement there.

10-24-2017, 08:01 AM	#13
Gninja Developer Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 0	We have it currently set to 75% of the raid needs to have the flag to engage the boss in the next tier. However, if the person does not have the flag they might get more damage incoming to them during those fights. So yes, you can carry a player or 3 to get them flagged but it won't be as easy. To answer the other question. Once you have unlocked the tiers you will be able to clear the zone in one setting without having to hop to another zone. You only need to do that until you get the appropriate flags. One more thing. When you unlock a tier on your character it unlocks for all characters on your account. We will not be putting in any way to flag other accounts you own. Hope that clears it up.

10-24-2017, 08:49 AM	#14
Andric New Member Posts: n/a	backflagging killed eq1 in PoP for a lot of raiders - it was a nightmare and myself (was a guild leader of top ranked guild) and a lot of people I played with quit at that time from burnout. Account flagging will help - though if we take a new recruit through a keyed fight successfully will they still be a liability until fully flagged or will the higher tier success effectively flag them for the previous tier? Towards the end of expansions folk quit or leave to further advanced guilds in a midrange guild, and flagging could make it so that larger guilds will only recruit from mid tier guilds if flagging is to restrictive. If mid tier guilds basically become keyed player factories for more hard core or advanced guilds they will die.

10-25-2017, 05:49 PM	#17
Gninja Developer Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 0	There may be some pickup style raids toward the end of beta otherwise its more focused testing.

10-29-2017, 12:33 AM	#18
Chedduh New Member Posts: n/a	I could talk to our raid leader and see if he would be willing to come over and test. Never would get them all to level to 110 so a boost would be required.

10-29-2017, 01:04 AM	#19
Gninja Developer Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 0	Boosts would be provided as would gear.

10-30-2017, 12:08 AM	#20
Iscariat New Member Posts: n/a	I would love to participate in any raid related quality assurance activities.

10-30-2017, 09:03 PM	#21
endlesslove New Member Posts: n/a	I would love to thank you very much Gninja for taking a few of the guys and testing some heroic zones. They very much enjoyed it and had a blast. Maybe Mithril will get some more healers and try to raid in a couple of weeks. Happy hunting to you Gninja. and again thank you. would love to try again on 11/10 or 11/17. Thanks again for all that u do. Its amazing.

10-31-2017, 02:12 AM	#22
Iscariat New Member Posts: n/a	Gninja said: ↑ “If you have a full raid force and would like to test a specific day let me know and I can check if schedule allows.” In Beta I am in Mithril. When/if Mithril gets the opportunity I will be there. On another note; currently completing my degree in Software Development so any opportunity to provide Q/A would be mutually beneficial. Tons of experience which date back to eq1 beta days. As well as a host of other titles in every genre including productivity. I'm always either on or at PC working on SDLC and exploring VR/AR coding concepts. The board is on alert

10-31-2017, 08:20 AM	#23
Gninja Developer Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 0	Iscariat said: ↑ “I would love to participate in any raid related quality assurance activities.” If you have a full raid force and would like to test a specific day let me know and I can check if schedule allows.

11-13-2017, 12:38 PM	#24
SteveB New Member Posts: n/a	if there would be some raids were you can sign up solo it would be great, since sadly not to many guildies playing the beta yet and it is furthermore impossible to get a raidforce together. Could bring an inqui ;-)

11-13-2017, 06:28 PM	#25
Gninja Developer Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 0	I will see if I can setup a pick up raid toward end of beta but time is short.

11-15-2017, 02:15 PM	#26
SteveB New Member Posts: n/a	Gninja said: ↑ “I will see if I can setup a pick up raid toward end of beta but time is short.” That would be really nice

11-15-2017, 11:41 PM	#27
Ellimist Active Member Posts: n/a	Oh I would like in on the pickup raid as well if one gets going. Would be nice to see the raids.

11-17-2017, 09:53 AM	#28
SteveB New Member Posts: n/a	Gninja said: ↑ “I will see if I can setup a pick up raid toward end of beta but time is short.” Do you have any time already in Mind since there is neither a possibility to really test a RAID since it is hard to get people for it if there is ntohing to gain nor there is any option to get the RAID reward by yourself?!

11-20-2017, 12:32 AM	#29
Gninja Developer Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 0	Honestly, when looking for testers I am looking for folks who want to help fix bugs not someone who just wants an achievement. Having said that once all the bosses get tested I will try to do a pickup style raid or two likely next weekend sometime and I will give out beta reward but that still does not mean everyone will get the opportunity to join. Time is limited unfortunately.

11-22-2017, 03:57 PM	#30
Taiyla New Member Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 0	In Beta we had to get flagged in order to run the first raid zone. Will you need to be flagged by running heroic zones before you can access the raid zones?