Mod 16 is out of the frame, a disaster!!

craft

Hi,
I have 3 lvl 70 characters that I have played since 7 months back, and have concentrated solely on my Guardian fighter and I have done most main quests before Mod 16.
She survived really good in most solo zones/dungeons and was enjoying grinding and upgrading, but then came Mod 16.

I logged on after the big change of the game to Mod 16, and was greeted with a total makeover of my character and all bags full of stuff from all my companions, and to my horror I had to rearrange everything on my character, some things I did not even understand the use of.
Everything I had done for her for months was wiped out.
I decided to test her out in some lvl 70 zones and realized that she was owned in some and took lots of beating in others, zones I had done with ease earlier.

Now I'm wondering how she is to survive the new Undermountain quests! Mod 16 is just a big disaster for me and I believe for a lot of other players.

My question is: Why nerf my character, downgrade her to nearly unplayable?

Do I have to spend a lot of money on new gear to be able to survive in Undremountain, not going to happen, I'll not spend a single dollar on this game after this.

Now I'm really considering to put this game on ice and go over to some other mmo, this is not fun anymore.
Thank you.

tassedethe13

You will survive in undermountain. In other zones you will collapse. Don't ask about logic.

craft

Lol, we'll see about that, have not been there yet. But regarding the logic well is there any....?

tassedethe13

The logic is the following "Your level is >= 70 ? You can't do the things you were used to because we nerf too hard your stats, but you can still go on our new campaign and do lvl 80 content when you reach this level"

adinosii

The thing is...the 70->80 content is fine, as is everyone playing in a "level-appropriate" zone.

Some of the downscaling zones are just broken (you get downscaled but not the mobs....something I reported 6 weeks ago) and others have isolated mobs or bosses that are just way too hard.

Still other downscaling areas are playable (with a good build), but the problem there is that many players are so used to easy content they cannot handle the difficulty.

So, it's not just a single problem, but in general, yes...the downscaling design is bad, the implementation is flawed and testing was inadequate.

quickfoot

What grinds my gears about the downscaling, is having arm pen cap in lvl 80 zones (60-66k if I understand correctly) and then when I load into tong, I have 38k, well below the needed arm pen cap to do full damage, similar with accuracy. AND, this is with my old lvl 70 gear, Manalord's gear and r14's.

I don't see why they need to scale level 70 gear in level 70 zones, makes no sense to me. If they didn't, it would make it a lot easier to balance stats for those zones, and for new players to get RL gear with seals and go on playing old level 70 content to catch up and reduce the gap between new or casual players and "end gamers".

They want to scale content fine, but maybe only scale gear that >X lvl the zone is for.

plasticbat

Can a level 80 be okay in level 70 zone?
Can a level 80 be okay in level 71, 72, ..., 79 zone?

I probably will have level 80 before I step foot to Undermountain. That is why I ask.

quickfoot

I was saying this to my guild, new players playing through old campaigns are going to reach level 80 before completing them. Even once they reach level 71 they will start to be scaled and suddenly for no apparent reason, all their stats are cut in half and everything is much harder, possibly not possible in some cases. I'll test this later on, but that's just my guess from leveling my main and getting scaled down in lvl 70 zones/dungeons.

kemnimtarkas

plasticbat said:

Can a level 80 be okay in level 70 zone?
Can a level 80 be okay in level 71, 72, ..., 79 zone?

I probably will have level 80 before I step foot to Undermountain. That is why I ask.

I leveled up an HR in Undermountain - it wasn't too bad. There are a couple of boss fights that are challenging, but if your new build is more well rounded (not just DPS stats) and you are comfortable hitting and running you'll be fine.

I will note that I spent a LOT of gold moving enchants over, as I kept getting new gear as I Ieveled up, and had to replace pretty much everything but jewelry and weapons about every 2 levels.

And the stats on the new gear, which is mostly green - is so much better than any level 70 gear you will want to keep swapping as you go.

plasticbat

kemnimtarkas said:

plasticbat said:

Can a level 80 be okay in level 70 zone?
Can a level 80 be okay in level 71, 72, ..., 79 zone?

I probably will have level 80 before I step foot to Undermountain. That is why I ask.

I leveled up an HR in Undermountain - it wasn't too bad. There are a couple of boss fights that are challenging, but if your new build is more well rounded (not just DPS stats) and you are comfortable hitting and running you'll be fine.

I will note that I spent a LOT of gold moving enchants over, as I kept getting new gear as I Ieveled up, and had to replace pretty much everything but jewelry and weapons about every 2 levels.

And the stats on the new gear, which is mostly green - is so much better than any level 70 gear you will want to keep swapping as you go.

What I mean is:

If I am already level 80, will I have problem to play in level 71 area? i.e. Is there any down scaling in level 71 area?

urlord283

As I said before...

"all I know is... in an average skirmish… not advanced, most times it must be abandoned. I have only had 2 successful since the update and both were "bronze". This is broken. "


I hope they fix it.


Snake

mentinmindmaker

It seems to me, at level 80
* Undermountain works fine
* Overland campaign areas work fine (tested Sharandar, WoD)

There are problems related to scaling in many dungeons that needs fixing.

Group dungeons are GROUP content again. No more soloing in those. WAI.

Group content now needs proper group tactics, not running around like uncoordinated cats. WAI.

You need to adapt your playstyle(let the tank do the tanking) and you need to adapt your expectations(Group content is for groups).

But except for the scale-problems in dungeons and some group composition problems in RQs, most stuff seems to work well really. A number of minor bugs here and there, but that is to be expected.

hrakh

Let us not forget that scaling is -in a pretty good place- and thus that must be WAI as well. What seems like a problem to some can easily be explained as intended challenge by others. This outlook has the bonus effect that everything some may find silly or even downright criminally stupid, can be presented as a feature..

I am having flashbacks to the late 90's and early 2000's and hearing the voice of Bill Gates explain to me how happy I should be with all the new Microsoft features..

lilbittypretty1

> @quickfoot#7851 said:
> I was saying this to my guild, new players playing through old campaigns are going to reach level 80 before completing them. Even once they reach level 71 they will start to be scaled and suddenly for no apparent reason, all their stats are cut in half and everything is much harder, possibly not possible in some cases. I'll test this later on, but that's just my guess from leveling my main and getting scaled down in lvl 70 zones/dungeons.

Sadly its happening to new players as well. New player hit 30 and couldnt complete the AI campaign anymore. They quit already. The guild I run on console , we've been pushing people to get their campaigns and such done and to save ad as they wont be able to go back in mod 16 if this isnt fixed.

smokebailey

hrakh said:

Let us not forget that scaling is -in a pretty good place- and thus that must be WAI as well. What seems like a problem to some can easily be explained as intended challenge by others. This outlook has the bonus effect that everything some may find silly or even downright criminally stupid, can be presented as a feature..

I am having flashbacks to the late 90's and early 2000's and hearing the voice of Bill Gates explain to me how happy I should be with all the new Microsoft features..

Ugh, to this DAY, I still wanna push Gates out of a 100th floor window. >_>

Unknown

This content has been removed.

wunom

I'm a player who likes to play solo for lev up.

but in this buid is practically impossible to do without dying a high number of times
So for min, the game is dead.
for players who really like to play in party maybe the game Be playable to the point of being tolerable.

but for those who like to do the quest solo the game is dead

adinosii

wunom#8877 said:

I'm a player who likes to play solo for lev up.
but in this buid is practically impossible to do without dying a high number of times

Hmm...that just doesn't sound right. However, there are a few scenarios that might explain your experience.

1. You are a Paladin.
   
2. You are using something that gives you an XP bonus, which makes you outlevel the area you are in, so you get scaled way, way down. (yes, it is dumb).
   
3. Your build or playstyle is wrong.
   

I do enjoy playing solo, and quite frankly that's what I do 90% of my time. I have been through the 70-80 campaign twice, and I have also (on Preview) played a brand-new, badly-geared character, and I am absolutely not seeing what you described.

What is your class and level, which powers are you using and what are your stats like?

dionchi

I'm wondering how playable the pre-Mod16 content will be even for those playing in a group...

With player stats so seriously decreased and mob and boss stats so seriously enhanced I find my lower level character using many more healing potions and injury kits than I did previously even while in a party, but the gold drops in those areas seem to remain the same...

Consequently I'm spending more gold for healing potions and injury kits, leaving me less gold for changing out enchantment stones when I need to, for purchasing skill kits, enhancement potions and profession supplies not to mention the gold we now have to occasionally spend to actually do professions.

Something's gotta' give or there will be a lot of players being incapacitated and spending more time at healing campfires, running with lower level gear because they lack the funds for enchantment removal, passing up skill nodes because they don't have enough coin to buy skill kits, not buying enhancement potions even though they would greatly improve their playing experience and professions... Quandary should a player spend their coin to actually play the game or do professions?

As it appears to me presently it doesn't look like many players are going to be able to do both - at least not to both and do either well.

adinosii

dionchi said:

I'm wondering how playable the pre-Mod16 content will be even for those playing in a group.

Actually, it isn't too bad (and yes, I tried leveling up a low-level alt on Preview, with no help from my main, no guild membership or anything. Apart from a few issues (like Karazov being too tough at the time (it got scaled down a bit), this wasn't too bad.

However.

You have to be really careful not to outlevel the area. Do not play at all during 2xExperience events. Do not use the inscribed garments. Do not use guild XP boon, Do not use XP-granting enchants in utility slots.

If you outlevel the area, you risk being scaled down and your experience will be miserable. (This actually just shows how bad the scaling design is, but that's a separate topic). Punishing people for leveling up....really?

craft

I am now at phase two in Undermountain, at lvl 75 and I'm stuck, can't get to the door because there are 20 really strong mob's that kill me like in 10 sec. So, as dionchi said above, I'm out of healing potions and repair kits. I just had to drop out of this quest and have no idea what to do now.
Went over to an lvl 70 zone, dyed so many times that I dropped out of there to, those zones were ok earlier for my Gf. So this down-scaling is a disaster for me right now.

pitshade

> @adinosii said:
>
> Actually, it isn't too bad (and yes, I tried leveling up a low-level alt on Preview, with no help from my main, no guild membership or anything. Apart from a few issues (like Karazov being too tough at the time (it got scaled down a bit), this wasn't too bad.
>
> However.
>
> You have to be really careful not to outlevel the area. Do not play at all during 2xExperience events. Do not use the inscribed garments. Do not use guild XP boon, Do not use XP-granting enchants in utility slots.
>
> If you outlevel the area, you risk being scaled down and your experience will be miserable. (This actually just shows how bad the scaling design is, but that's a separate topic). Punishing people for leveling up....really?

-----

Are you talking about getting scaled in Leveling zones (Hotenow, Tower District) or campaign zones? You mention Karzov but I haven't been scaled in the zones I've visited while looking for Dragon HEs. Inside the mod 4 zones but outside those, I was level 80.

cdnbison

kemnimtarkas said:

I leveled up an HR in Undermountain - it wasn't too bad. There are a couple of boss fights that are challenging, but if your new build is more well rounded (not just DPS stats) and you are comfortable hitting and running you'll be fine.

I will note that I spent a LOT of gold moving enchants over, as I kept getting new gear as I Ieveled up, and had to replace pretty much everything but jewelry and weapons about every 2 levels.

And the stats on the new gear, which is mostly green - is so much better than any level 70 gear you will want to keep swapping as you go.

Bolded for emphasis - you'll really want to keep your stats as balanced as you can. Ignoring a couple because "LOL! Deeps!" will hurt. Some are really easy to cap on - Armor Penetration, Accuracy, and Critical Strike were all really easy for me to reach. Combat Advantage and Awareness are more difficult, I'm finding, though. Your mileage may vary. I'd recommend going easy on the enchant-swapping for stats. 1k in stats won't make a big difference, but you will be upgrading some gear as you progress.

The scaling is.... I'll just say I'm not a fan, and don't see the logic in the math Cryptic is using. If you start the campaign at 80, you'll generally be ok, with the exception of the zone-ending Expeditions, where you get scaled down. (These occur at the end of each line, and when you complete the expedition, you'll be able to do the campaign task and get a boon point). It makes fights more challenging when you lose a good chunk of your stats simply by walking in...

lantern22

I did the whole campaign with my level 70 gear, didn't bother swapping anything over. Was all pretty easy on fighter. Will see how it goes on DC.

craft

Yes, the 2nd phase of the Expedition is where I am stuck right now, in the middle I think, unable to do it because of either gear, my stats, down-scaling or something else. I just know that I'm killed rather quickly lol.
I am not a expert in anything in this game, but I have survived this far in lvl 70 gear, but now I have no idea what to do about this.
I'm sorry to say it, but I think the Guild I'm in is dead, I get no help there (I'm on Eu timeline).

nightelven

With the skirmishes how are we supposed to make ad's now? Wow getting worse and worse