putzboy78Member, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 1,950Arc User
Anyone save the comments from the mod 6 announcement which basically said sorry for replacing the artifact gear again so quickly. It's necessary to fix the power creep, but we can feel confident that our Mod 6 gear will remain BIS for a long time?
I know i heard it from PW, because everyone was raging then about the RP grind because Mod 6 was introducing our 3rd BIS artifacts in the last year.
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silverkeltMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 4,235Arc User
You cant really release a mod without a upgrade on something..
which is why releasing mods ever 3 months is ridiculous.
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theycallmetomuMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 1,861Arc User
Eh, I don't agree with that 100%. You can have incremental sideways increases while still adding new content. I kind of get the sense that's where Strongholds is going.
I don't really feel like the Strongholds new gear is that much better than the existing gear. It's not until Underdark that I expect we'll see some serious gear inflation.
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drkbodhiMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 2,378Arc User
Anyone save the comments from the mod 6 announcement which basically said sorry for replacing the artifact gear again so quickly. It's necessary to fix the power creep, but we can feel confident that our Mod 6 gear will remain BIS for a long time?
I know i heard it from PW, because everyone was raging then about the RP grind because Mod 6 was introducing our 3rd BIS artifacts in the last year.
I've looked, and I can't find promises that suchnsuch gear will remain "BiS". I find promises that suchnsuch gear will remain viable, which is a key difference.
Heck, I have item level 2800 or so, and I can't do IWD!
Huh?
I can do IWD and my TR has a 2.3 iL.
It so happens that I know his character's name, so I snooped his gear. Fairly similar numbers to my CW, who is now reasonably comfortable soloing in IWD, but the Gateway view of mine shows at least 7k more hitpoints, which would actually be greater in-game. That may be the main issue.
Heck, I have item level 2800 or so, and I can't do IWD!
Huh?
I can do IWD and my TR has a 2.3 iL.
Because iLevel is just as overrated, wrongfully relied upon, and overhyped just as much and badly as "Armor Class" was. There are a lot of other variables at play with regard to your ability to play particular content, not the least of which in Mod 6 is your HP and Armor Pen, neither of which are actually part of you "iLevel" directly.
Of course it also relies a lot of gear and a bunch of other stuff (and yes: hate to say it, but play-style and ability is a large part). I was sitting around inspecting people while waiting for a dragon once (I usually don;t bother) and I was seeing people with epic purple gear they obviously worked hard for (new stuff, not the old stuff) and yet my iLevel is still 30% higher than theirs - and I've never, ever touched foot in any skirmish or dungeon, or IWD or WoD with that toon.
And I'm rolling around all *all blues* and I mean everything. Even my freebie Artifact main and off hands are still green (yeah, very painful slog to improve that).
Here's the thing: GEAR is maybe only 25% of your overall playability. The rest is coming from the other stuff, like which enchantments and companions you're rocking and what their ranks are, which artifacts you have, hell: which shirt and pants your toon is wearing. Then after all that: how well your play-style is actually working against specific content.
For me: I don't put a lot of stock into my gear the way the "I've been wronged!" crowd does. Yes I care about it, yes I'm trying to get better stuff and whatnot - But when I'm seeing I have 30% better iLevel, 60% more HP, 75% more ArmPen and defense and blah, blah while wearing all blues junk compared to their high-end purples and epic artifacts and such... Hell, I'm not even trying to be that 'good' stats-wise and it's just happening without any conscious effort on my part.
As to what the O/P eludes to: if you don't try too hard to be BiS as FaP (Best in Slot as Fast as Possible) then there is absolutely no heartburn when it all goes down in flames because there's newer, better stuff just released. when I see people griping about that on that subject for that reason: I pop more popcorn and get comfortable for a genuinely entertaining read.
theycallmetomuMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 1,861Arc User
edited July 2015
I use a legendary Ioun Stone of Allure. But I'm a control wizard, and my current build is all about dropping Icy Terrain around myself, which is, suffice it to say, grossly impractical against ranged attackers. Without a tank to hold aggro, all the control in the world won't save me from the raw damage that's coming my way
Well, okay, infinite control obviously would, but I digress. Though even that wouldn't work against control immune enemies.
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beckylunaticMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 14,231Arc User
I use a legendary Ioun Stone of Allure. But I'm a control wizard, and my current build is all about dropping Icy Terrain around myself, which is, suffice it to say, grossly impractical against ranged attackers. Without a tank to hold aggro, all the control in the world won't save me from the raw damage that's coming my way
Well, okay, infinite control obviously would, but I digress. Though even that wouldn't work against control immune enemies.
It took me a bit to learn how to survive again, and my CW isn't at an equipment level where I can tackle anything more than a small HE alone, but Need for Mead and Biggrin are doable whereas at first I got killed... lots. I was using a Priestess of Sehanine Moonbow but have switched back to the old Cat (still blue).
I believe our playtimes tend to overlap. If you wouldn't object to teaming up sometime, we could at least observe each other for the sake of pointers.
What works for me is high control and high AP gain, to be able to alternate freezes and stuns and keep things mostly locked down. I'd also say the heal option on the 4th boons from DR and Shar is now mandatory where it used to be laughable. Makes a big difference on all my characters.
(I also recommend buying yourself a few stacks of Lliira's Fare while it's cheap. It's nice.)
The truth is, as indicated in early posts, is that the speed of new gear getting cranked out. For those interested in Artifact gear, there is an endless cycle of horrendous grind to obtain the materials to level them. Then, wham, they are rendered obsolete (pre-mod 6 artigear) or quickly replaced by better (mod 6 to 7) within a few months.
Sure, every MMO goes about introducing more gear over time. However, the difference tends to be specific stats, or exclusive/rare appearances/skins. A lot of other MMOs work off of appearance as the motivator, or a higher valued stat, as the incentive to pursue new gear. Some even provide the baseline top gear relatively easily through story quests, karma or token systems, and even purchasable via in-game standard currencies and rely on appearance and maybe an extra power/gem/enchantment slot to motivate players to upgrade.
The pacing of gear upgrades between launch and mod 4 or 5 was adequate, not ideal, but workable. I'm not a PvPer, so I did not find as much of a difference between T2 and the T2.5 gears other than overload slots. Artigear was avoidable and not game ending if you did not have it. That mod 6 drop where all previous equipment and gear suddenly became completely worthless? That was a crime, one of the single worst experiences I've ever had in nearly 20+ years of online gaming. I tell everyone I know, everyone who reports to me, and just about everyone I report to how badly Cryptic has performed. Heck, I had an opportunity to mention the debacle - allegorically - to Ash Carter, the Secretary of Defense.
Cryptic needs to remove this fast-paced, planned obsolescence, eliminate the Refining slog fest, and address the many, many other issues that our fellow players have expressed.
theycallmetomuMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 1,861Arc User
edited July 2015
I have a massive stack of squash. I can do Biggrin, but I can't do any of the HEs at all, and I have to watch out when there's more than one giant, since dealing with two control immune targets at once is extremely difficult.
Also, the thing about Arti-gear is that it does NOT become obsolete. It becomes refinement fuel for your new art-gear. You can't say that about old T1 gear when you upgraded to T2 way back in the earlier modules.
Again, the problem is that if you really want to get close to where you were in terms of refining, you have to wait for x2 RP weekends.
You spend your actual orange weapon and get a purple one with about the same stats as your old one. It's like increasing the level cap without increasing it. No loss but a possible gain.
BiS in PvE is a bit overrated, as a good part of the content can be played with non-BiS, as long as the builds are good and the players know what they are doing.
In PvP that may be a thing. But if you are only here for PvP, I have bad news for you...
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plasticbatMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 12,460Arc User
You spend your actual orange weapon and get a purple one with about the same stats as your old one. It's like increasing the level cap without increasing it. No loss but a possible gain.
BiS in PvE is a bit overrated, as a good part of the content can be played with non-BiS, as long as the builds are good and the players know what they are doing.
In PvP that may be a thing. But if you are only here for PvP, I have bad news for you...
There is a loss. e.g. purple becomes blue regardless if it is a fresh purple or a purple + 20 level. The +20 levels is lost.
*** The game can read your mind. If you want it, you won't get it. If you don't expect to get it, you will. ***
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ironzerg79Member, Neverwinter Moderator, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 4,942Arc User
As to what the O/P eludes to: if you don't try too hard to be BiS as FaP (Best in Slot as Fast as Possible) then there is absolutely no heartburn when it all goes down in flames because there's newer, better stuff just released. when I see people griping about that on that subject for that reason: I pop more popcorn and get comfortable for a genuinely entertaining read.
Haha! Ok, I have my new favorite phrase.
BIS FAPpers...Don't be a Fapper, just play the game and enjoy it
Seems the second page of this thread derailed a bit... but whatever.
I think the reality is, people complaining about the new MH/OH artifact weapon set (which are the "new artifacts" in M7) must have missed the whole artifact salvage feature. With that vendor, you never start from 0 unless you just want too. You can't keep both your artifacts of course, but depending on where you current artifact is, you could potentially get a straight across trade.
In particularly, if you have already gotten your MH or OH to legendary, you can effectively trade it for the new one at legendary. So -- especially if you've spent tons of RP to upgrade, you have nothing to complain about.
Now... if you've been trying an have only made it to, say, lvl 50... then... well, you're in a jam. If you salvage your weapon, you'll end up with the new one at lvl 35.... not so good. You're probably better off upgrading your current one first, then salvaging it and getting the new one. BUT if you're only a couple levels up into your current quality tier, it's not really a great loss.
Either way, it gives you a choice and an upgrade path OTHER than starting with a brand new artifact.
The root of the problem. Combine that with Zen Store/Wondrous Bazaar scalper prices and you have a sure fire recipe for failure.
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theycallmetomuMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 1,861Arc User
Honestly, the Stronghold weapons don't appeal to me, as I'm more of a solo player to begin with.
The Neverwinter wiki has some weird previews for elementally themed Controller Wizard artifact weapons, which look much nicer, but I haven't been able to confirm their existence at all. Drowned Orb plz.
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rickcase276Member, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 1,404Arc User
Those were shown briefly in Strongholds, but then the vendor disappeared. They are basically part of their new way to get artifact weapons, i.e. sacrificing one to put into a better new one, at the same ilevel. Now whether the vendor will be on the stronghold map on somewhere in PE is anyone's guess.
Comments
I know i heard it from PW, because everyone was raging then about the RP grind because Mod 6 was introducing our 3rd BIS artifacts in the last year.
which is why releasing mods ever 3 months is ridiculous.
I don't really feel like the Strongholds new gear is that much better than the existing gear. It's not until Underdark that I expect we'll see some serious gear inflation.
Huh?
I can do IWD and my TR has a 2.3 iL.
I've looked, and I can't find promises that suchnsuch gear will remain "BiS". I find promises that suchnsuch gear will remain viable, which is a key difference.
Neverwinter Census 2017
All posts pending disapproval by Cecilia
It so happens that I know his character's name, so I snooped his gear. Fairly similar numbers to my CW, who is now reasonably comfortable soloing in IWD, but the Gateway view of mine shows at least 7k more hitpoints, which would actually be greater in-game. That may be the main issue.
Neverwinter Census 2017
All posts pending disapproval by Cecilia
They will be increasing the number (by a large amount) of seals you will be able to gain from Bosses, semi-bosses, and chests.
Because iLevel is just as overrated, wrongfully relied upon, and overhyped just as much and badly as "Armor Class" was. There are a lot of other variables at play with regard to your ability to play particular content, not the least of which in Mod 6 is your HP and Armor Pen, neither of which are actually part of you "iLevel" directly.
Of course it also relies a lot of gear and a bunch of other stuff (and yes: hate to say it, but play-style and ability is a large part). I was sitting around inspecting people while waiting for a dragon once (I usually don;t bother) and I was seeing people with epic purple gear they obviously worked hard for (new stuff, not the old stuff) and yet my iLevel is still 30% higher than theirs - and I've never, ever touched foot in any skirmish or dungeon, or IWD or WoD with that toon.
And I'm rolling around all *all blues* and I mean everything. Even my freebie Artifact main and off hands are still green (yeah, very painful slog to improve that).
Here's the thing: GEAR is maybe only 25% of your overall playability. The rest is coming from the other stuff, like which enchantments and companions you're rocking and what their ranks are, which artifacts you have, hell: which shirt and pants your toon is wearing. Then after all that: how well your play-style is actually working against specific content.
For me: I don't put a lot of stock into my gear the way the "I've been wronged!" crowd does. Yes I care about it, yes I'm trying to get better stuff and whatnot - But when I'm seeing I have 30% better iLevel, 60% more HP, 75% more ArmPen and defense and blah, blah while wearing all blues junk compared to their high-end purples and epic artifacts and such... Hell, I'm not even trying to be that 'good' stats-wise and it's just happening without any conscious effort on my part.
As to what the O/P eludes to: if you don't try too hard to be BiS as FaP (Best in Slot as Fast as Possible) then there is absolutely no heartburn when it all goes down in flames because there's newer, better stuff just released. when I see people griping about that on that subject for that reason: I pop more popcorn and get comfortable for a genuinely entertaining read.
Well, okay, infinite control obviously would, but I digress. Though even that wouldn't work against control immune enemies.
It took me a bit to learn how to survive again, and my CW isn't at an equipment level where I can tackle anything more than a small HE alone, but Need for Mead and Biggrin are doable whereas at first I got killed... lots. I was using a Priestess of Sehanine Moonbow but have switched back to the old Cat (still blue).
I believe our playtimes tend to overlap. If you wouldn't object to teaming up sometime, we could at least observe each other for the sake of pointers.
What works for me is high control and high AP gain, to be able to alternate freezes and stuns and keep things mostly locked down. I'd also say the heal option on the 4th boons from DR and Shar is now mandatory where it used to be laughable. Makes a big difference on all my characters.
(I also recommend buying yourself a few stacks of Lliira's Fare while it's cheap. It's nice.)
Neverwinter Census 2017
All posts pending disapproval by Cecilia
Sure, every MMO goes about introducing more gear over time. However, the difference tends to be specific stats, or exclusive/rare appearances/skins. A lot of other MMOs work off of appearance as the motivator, or a higher valued stat, as the incentive to pursue new gear. Some even provide the baseline top gear relatively easily through story quests, karma or token systems, and even purchasable via in-game standard currencies and rely on appearance and maybe an extra power/gem/enchantment slot to motivate players to upgrade.
The pacing of gear upgrades between launch and mod 4 or 5 was adequate, not ideal, but workable. I'm not a PvPer, so I did not find as much of a difference between T2 and the T2.5 gears other than overload slots. Artigear was avoidable and not game ending if you did not have it. That mod 6 drop where all previous equipment and gear suddenly became completely worthless? That was a crime, one of the single worst experiences I've ever had in nearly 20+ years of online gaming. I tell everyone I know, everyone who reports to me, and just about everyone I report to how badly Cryptic has performed. Heck, I had an opportunity to mention the debacle - allegorically - to Ash Carter, the Secretary of Defense.
Cryptic needs to remove this fast-paced, planned obsolescence, eliminate the Refining slog fest, and address the many, many other issues that our fellow players have expressed.
glassdoor.com - Cryptic Studios Review
Also, the thing about Arti-gear is that it does NOT become obsolete. It becomes refinement fuel for your new art-gear. You can't say that about old T1 gear when you upgraded to T2 way back in the earlier modules.
Again, the problem is that if you really want to get close to where you were in terms of refining, you have to wait for x2 RP weekends.
BiS in PvE is a bit overrated, as a good part of the content can be played with non-BiS, as long as the builds are good and the players know what they are doing.
In PvP that may be a thing. But if you are only here for PvP, I have bad news for you...
There is a loss. e.g. purple becomes blue regardless if it is a fresh purple or a purple + 20 level. The +20 levels is lost.
Haha! Ok, I have my new favorite phrase.
BIS FAPpers...Don't be a Fapper, just play the game and enjoy it
I think the reality is, people complaining about the new MH/OH artifact weapon set (which are the "new artifacts" in M7) must have missed the whole artifact salvage feature. With that vendor, you never start from 0 unless you just want too. You can't keep both your artifacts of course, but depending on where you current artifact is, you could potentially get a straight across trade.
In particularly, if you have already gotten your MH or OH to legendary, you can effectively trade it for the new one at legendary. So -- especially if you've spent tons of RP to upgrade, you have nothing to complain about.
Now... if you've been trying an have only made it to, say, lvl 50... then... well, you're in a jam. If you salvage your weapon, you'll end up with the new one at lvl 35.... not so good. You're probably better off upgrading your current one first, then salvaging it and getting the new one. BUT if you're only a couple levels up into your current quality tier, it's not really a great loss.
Either way, it gives you a choice and an upgrade path OTHER than starting with a brand new artifact.
Sekhmet@kvetchus_
Guilds: Greycloaks, Blackcloaks, Whitecloaks, Goldcloaks, Browncloaks, Spiritcloaks, Bluecloaks, Silvercloaks, Black Dawn
Tredecim: The Cloak Alliance
The root of the problem. Combine that with Zen Store/Wondrous Bazaar scalper prices and you have a sure fire recipe for failure.
The Neverwinter wiki has some weird previews for elementally themed Controller Wizard artifact weapons, which look much nicer, but I haven't been able to confirm their existence at all. Drowned Orb plz.