Is Anybody Running the Castle Ravenloft Dungeon?

bolt

I have been trying for 3-weeks now on Dragon International to get one decent completion of Castle Ravenloft. Looking at the activity in the social player listing virtually nobody is running that dungeon on a regular basis, I know my guild isn't. The instances of preference are TONG and CODG in part this is because running CR is perceived as costly in terms of scrolls so that means you have to rely on pug groups most of whom have no scrolls and have not read up on tactics needless to say many die on the horsemen at the gates or take 15 minutes to down the first sister I am sure the game admins have access to stats on dungeon runs that will confirm CR is unpopular compared to other dungeons which is a shame because on the 1 in 3 weeks when by chance I get into a competent group I enjoy running it. However at this rate I will not get enough sunset shards to restore my sunset weapons before the next mod is released. Anyone else having a similar frustrating experience?

One other thing the dungeon queue it put me (a CW) in a group with 2 GWFs another CW and a GF, not a hope in hell of running CR with that combo shouldnt the grouping mechanism be a little more intelligent?

jmiller84

CR still is run plenty. Not as much as ToNG, but still plenty. ToNG/CoDG are the runs of choice because they're quicker to complete, on top of less likely to cost an arm and a leg in scrolls, and in the case of CoDG its got a much higher drop rate for Ultimate Enchanting Stones.

The gear from Crown Seals is really nice, but its not so much better than hunt/drop gear in Barovia that you can't get by without it. And for most classes that gear is only BiS for 1-2 pieces, depending on spec.

Many of the endgame players have already collected enough seals to get the gear they wanted, so runs are fewer and far between. The thing about CR though is that its not a dungeon you necessarily want to pug thru LFG or zone chat. Better to run in guild/alliance or with people you've familiar with on your friends list or private channels.

Hopefully you're able to get in some runs soon.

Last thing, I don't want to sound like "that guy", but are you personally ready for CR? By ready I mean 95%+ crit chance and 100% defenses ignored, damage or buff/debuff spec, Slayer/Ward overloads, etc. If you don't have the necessary stats it only makes it that much harder to complete.

micheal1979

I would agree, most end game are done in CR, minus some sunset shards just because. I have geared 5 characters in seal gear already and have lost much drive to form groups anymore. The dungeon isn't expensive always, but in some groups it sure can. Not enough reward for the sheer amount of bugs present to this day in the dungeon. But, at least we can get in again lol. I don't know but the guild I am a part of runs full guild groups.

namelesshero347

Judging by how often CR comes up when I am in REQ, I'd say quite a lot of people are. But it's mostly 13Ks with some 14/15Ks, and even some 12Ks. Many of them relatively new (legendary vistani weapon set, lack of mythic artifacts, etc).

Sometimes you do get lucky. Last week I got a 18K TR, 17K GWF, and 16K OP from the same guild. And there was also a 14K GWF. I thought I was finally going to complete CR. Of course, it ended up as another epic fail.

The 14K GWF wasn't good with the book and he didn't last long with it. Instead of trying to figure out how to do a better job with the book, he started complaining that a GWF should not be the book user (presumably he wanted the 18K TR to do it?). The others weren't having any of it and left. No second try. Such a shame. Even in the short time the GWF was on the book, the other three got the boss down nearly half way in the shortest time I've ever seen. That was certainly a new way to get screwed by a new player.

bolt

Well either as a UK player I am incredibly unlucky with the times I sign on or those who think CR is run quite often are in an instance I don't have access to. JMill I actually go for 100% crit because most of my buffs\debuffs work off crit so they are up for the maximum time posible. I may not be top of the dps list (although I don't do bad) but I sure as hell boost the dps of the team and have no trouble getting through the CR with a group of people who know what they are doing. I do have a dps loadout that focuses much more on power

mentinmindmaker

I usually can find an occasional successful CR group on my GF.

But CR is the dungeon with the highest demand for IL, scrolls, proper group composition etc. As CWs are not very much in demand for meta groups at the moment, that probably is why the OP is struggling to find a group.

Put hope in the mod 15 CW changes.

dread4moor

jmiller84 said:

CR still is run plenty. Not as much as ToNG, but still plenty. ToNG/CoDG are the runs of choice because they're quicker to complete, on top of less likely to cost an arm and a leg in scrolls, and in the case of CoDG its got a much higher drop rate for Ultimate Enchanting Stones.

The gear from Crown Seals is really nice, but its not so much better than hunt/drop gear in Barovia that you can't get by without it. And for most classes that gear is only BiS for 1-2 pieces, depending on spec.

Many of the endgame players have already collected enough seals to get the gear they wanted, so runs are fewer and far between. The thing about CR though is that its not a dungeon you necessarily want to pug thru LFG or zone chat. Better to run in guild/alliance or with people you've familiar with on your friends list or private channels.

Hopefully you're able to get in some runs soon.

Last thing, I don't want to sound like "that guy", but are you personally ready for CR? By ready I mean 95%+ crit chance and 100% defenses ignored, damage or buff/debuff spec, Slayer/Ward overloads, etc. If you don't have the necessary stats it only makes it that much harder to complete.

I agree.
People aren't spamming LFG for CR runs due to equal or better/faster rewards from running multiple CODG or ToNG in the same time as running 1 CR. I already have whatever Crown Seal gear I want on all alts, so why run it for loot?

I actually enjoy CR (now that the frakkin bugs are mostly fixed... Cryptic) and run it for fun once or twice per day.
But do not run it frequently for the reasons @jmiller84 described: rewards and return on investment of time.

bolt

Yeah Dread, I enjoy running it too just cant seems to find a competent group. Most of the crown armour set would not be considered BIS for my build but I would like to get the weapons sorted, guess I will just have to keep trying. Thanks to all who replied it was interesting and it appears that whilst some people/classes have little trouble finding groups a significant number do for a variety of reasons. As this has been the case with virtually every new dungeon released I guess I shouldnt be surprised

callumf

howardb55 said:

However at this rate I will not get enough sunset shards to restore my sunset weapons before the next mod is released.

From my perspective there just isn't the will to put in a lot of time and effort into a dungeon where the rewards and benefits are short lived and trivial upgrades which will be wiped away in a few weeks time.

adinosii

Well, I have managed to get a few runs (as an "almost 18K DC"), but I need more - the Barovian gear is pretty much BiS for my DO DC build, and I really want the seals. After I have that....nah - there is no point in running CR. as the reward/effort ratio is much lower than for ToNG or CoDG.

For now, though....yea, I am usually looking for CR runs (as Tanya@adinosii)

namelesshero347

I lucked out again and ended up in a group with three well-geared players from the same guild. And a 15K CW. While 15K looked kind of impressive, nothing screamed "carry" louder than having an Angel of Protection for pet. Indeed the CW turned out to be a carry, trailing far behind the tank in dps even as SS CW. He didn't even try for the book. I gave him half a minute before my DC went for the book. I thought we were done at that point. Yet somehow we (mostly the three guild people) still defeated the first boss (all three sisters). The second boss was where the dead weight proved to be too much. Oh well.

I've seen this CW a few times. I'm pretty sure he has been the source of my grief getting CR in REQ so many times in recent weeks. So annoying when I see the same players when REQ puts me in CR.

callumf

namelesshero347 said:

I lucked out again and ended up in a group with three well-geared players from the same guild. And a 15K CW. While 15K looked kind of impressive, nothing screamed "carry" louder than having an Angel of Protection for pet. Indeed the CW turned out to be a carry, trailing far behind the tank in dps even as SS CW. He didn't even try for the book. I gave him half a minute before my DC went for the book. I thought we were done at that point. Yet somehow we (mostly the three guild people) still defeated the first boss (all three sisters). The second boss was where the dead weight proved to be too much. Oh well.

I've seen this CW a few times. I'm pretty sure he has been the source of my grief getting CR in REQ so many times in recent weeks. So annoying when I see the same players when REQ puts me in CR.

Slightly off topic but I have been seeing the same players in a few things recently, DR obviously, but also in RIQ especially. And even Barovia. And sometimes even levelling dungeons!

So does this mean that there ARE less players running REQ and RAQ and RIQ?

I think it does

namelesshero347

callumf#9018 said:

Slightly off topic but I have been seeing the same players in a few things recently, DR obviously, but also in RIQ especially. And even Barovia. And sometimes even levelling dungeons!

So does this mean that there ARE less players running REQ and RAQ and RIQ?

I think it does

RIQ is probably a coincidence. A capable tank/heal can carry the group in any RIQ, it is usually one and done.

For RAQ/REQ, this can happen for tanks/heals willing to take the penalty during slow times. Say some new DPS queues for CR/mSP. You don't see a viable group and leave. The group eventually breaks up and the DPS requeues for CR/mSP. 30 minutes later, you go back into REQ/RAQ and pops immediately and you get the same instance with the same DPS. Tank and heals are the bottleneck. Each time one of them takes a penalty, they are out for 30 minutes and the DPS needs to requeue and wait for another rare tank/heal.