You shouldn't fix what isn't broken. The combat system wasn't broken and nothing you say can justify the total hackjob this rework actually is.
Glaringly obvious issues with balance? sure, but balance issues between the classes have been there since the dawn of the MMORPG and no amount of whacks with a nerf bat that at this point is embedded with nails, glass shards and barbed wire will fix that. I can agree that certain stats needed to be capped. that Bonding Runestones were quite honestly, a waste of a game asset, so on and so forth - but did it really need a total overhaul?
That being said, the game even after a patch is virtually unplayable. You dumbed down the mobs so make them easier to kill but decided to ignore the aspect of combat which is HOW HARD THEY HIT. Trash mobs such as Narzugons and Cambions in Avernus was a pita to solo but it was still doable without dying. Now it's you're killed in 3 hits.
Epic Demogorgon takes 3x as long. Ballad of Baphomet weekly takes 3x as long despite the fact most toons are 20 levels higher than Maze Engine at this rate.
Like, is there any thought and consideration put into this other than 'HAMSTER around and find out?' because i'm not seeing any.
Sunshine SaltmineIs only game, why you have to be so buttmad?
TWO MORE THINGS. It wasnt enough to see mobs having increased stats compared to what players do have but...seriously they dont give as much xp as they did, and also the loot drops have been reduced as well.
So no point on grinding mobs anymore?
Also I wonder if increasing the difficult level was something done on purpose to make the game more challenging for both hardcore players and casual players??
> @"arailem#1581" said: You shouldn't fix what isn't broken. The combat system wasn't broken and nothing you say can justify the total hackjob this rework actually is. ->AGREE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Glaringly obvious issues with balance? sure, but balance issues between the classes have been there since the dawn of the MMORPG and no amount of whacks with a nerf bat that at this point is embedded with nails, glass shards and barbed wire will fix that. I can agree that certain stats needed to be capped. that Bonding Runestones were quite honestly, a waste of a game asset, so on and so forth - but did it really need a total overhaul? -->GOOD POINT ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That being said, the game even after a patch is virtually unplayable. You dumbed down the mobs so make them easier to kill but decided to ignore the aspect of combat which is HOW HARD THEY HIT. Trash mobs such as Narzugons and Cambions in Avernus was a pita to solo but it was still doable without dying. Now it's you're killed in 3 hits. -->GOOD POINT AGAIN
I'm not a game designer, so I'm probably missing something, but tying stat percentages to item level doesn't seem to be a great way to go. It has the interesting effect of making you weaker when you improve. I upgraded two mounts to mythic status with the overall effect of making my percentages worse. This makes no sense. I get where you're going with making scaling easier, but maybe instead of matching stats with item level to determine percentages, just have items, enchantments, runestones, companions, boons, and mounts grant a flat percentage bonus. If the only thing that matters is the overall percentage and the goal is (at least partially) to make the system easier for new players to learn, this seems far easier than the current whack-a-mole system where adding an enchantment to improve your power barely gets you anything because your item level increases.
If you were trying to force group play, it might be wise to mention that was your intent.
If your intent, as it would appear, is to have every area scale to the player's level, why bother having levels for the different areas at all, and why shouldn't a low level be able to do high level areas with that logic? And by doing so, a player can never level up to make an area easier respectively to their level, never making it solo-able.
If in fact that was your intent, you removed the incentive to progress or level up. You might want to think twice about the changes you've made.
queue Groups which require a mix of classes stand less chance of success because they simply dont have enough dmg.
we took 5 DPS classes through Castle Never NO tank, No Healer NO PROBLEM
had we taken a tank and healer, the loss of DPS would have been problematic. i dont believe the new combat system was designed to sideline tanks and healers, but if its easier to succeed without them then thats effectively what you have done
i would like to add a quote from a team mate: 'using 5 scrolls of life in a Dungeon, to reach the end chest and get 1 scroll of life as the chest reward for completion -SUX'
queue Groups which require a mix of classes stand less chance of success because they simply dont have enough dmg.
we took 5 DPS classes through Castle Never NO tank, No Healer NO PROBLEM
had we taken a tank and healer, the loss of DPS would have been problematic. i dont believe the new combat system was designed to sideline tanks and healers, but if its easier to succeed without them then thats effectively what you have done
i would like to add a quote from a team mate: 'using 5 scrolls of life in a Dungeon, to reach the end chest and get 1 scroll of life as the chest reward for completion -SUX'
So we're effectively playing Star Trek Online, all about dps....Cryptic!?
Right, after the patch, level 64 warden. IL from levelling, questing and using dropped enchantments, just under 10k. Made it through Rothe Valley to the dragon area this time, still had to pay attention but no harm in that. Just about managed to clear out one group of dragon cultists, got jumped by another, no chance whatsoever.
You know what? I'm done. You end-game players might be able to gear up and have enough sunk-cost fallacy built up to hang around, but nobody new is going to suck this up,not to mention the appalling morass of stats that make no intuitive sense.
And seriously, what the hell do trinkets on a stable full of unused mounts have to do with how well I fight?
I think it's fair to say that (probably) most people would be cool with the changes if they could get through the lower level content with some challenge but not get wiped all the time - that's on all classes.
I remember taking my first levelling characters (DC & CW) into IWD for the 1st time. My toons barely qualified for the zone and every fight was a hard one. It taught me better mechanics, appropriate use of skills and a real appreciation for stats, boons and builds.
I'm all for challenging content but it seems like (from comments) enemy npc strength and survivability is scaled somewhat too high for players levelling toons in level-appropriate zones - I'm on xbox so can't really say, I don't know if there's a degree of 'players could face-tank groups before, so why can't they now' regardless of class or playstyle (implying that they haven't learned the old lessons of pulling/positioning/targeting the right enemies in a group 1st) or if it really is just too hard.
I think one issue that hasn't been mentioned yet is the change in the effectiveness of Defence. It has been dropped from a max of 90% effectiveness to a max of 50%. That's huge and quite possibly the source of the survivability issues.
Please Do Not Feed The Trolls
Xael De Armadeon: DC
Xane De Armadeon: CW
Zen De Armadeon: OP
Zohar De Armadeon: TR
Chrion De Armadeon: SW
Gosti Big Belly: GWF
Barney McRustbucket: GF
Lt. Thackeray: HR
Lucius De Armadeon: BD
I see a lot of people talking about low level, and I agree, with them low level should be easy and difficulty should slowely increases as you progress, but, There is a big base of high level player, those who actually are playing for a long time, those who probably would need the most attention/rewards, it really feels like those players are completely forgoten once again. Completely maxed out people are dying to eveything, cant do any trial/dongeon without an elite team, which is extremely hard to find. playing as a tank is absolutly no fun, you barely can tank anything. You just lost another personne financing you. Hope you'll make the game playable and fun again.
from more play testing yesterday with my 50768 il ranger seems in avernus even against elite mobs there is almost no change enter undermountain first set of mobs killed me ran an experianced party in lomm was doable (we died lots took forever but doable) ran lower level dungeon failed ran tiamat failed ran svordborg was rough but completed all of which shows me scaling is completely broken so now instead of having the whole of neverwinter to play in i have avernus and ummmmmmmmmm avernus
Changes were so bad that noone wanted to test them. So hey, lets force players to be testers. If majority of players complain, then who the hell benefits from these changes? You guys lose players, players lose stats and stuff they were grinding for past months/years. Scorpions on Trobriand fight are waaaay too overpowered
TIL - 52K, DMG 2367. can solo the +ape in valenhaas no problem dockmaster in avernus dies in 3-4 hits can solo Castle Never , 25 minute run.
yet, Merchant Princes Folly, i die in 2 shots to a trash mob Batiri, which in turn seems to require 20+ hits to kill, when its not fully healing itself.
now im not going to rant or complain, i would just like to invite the entire development team to jump into the live server, random queue for MPF, and THEN tell me its all working as intended.
planning more updates for 'next week' is not helping right now. people are giving up and quitting the game today.
This combat overhaul has been an absolute DISASTER, nobody wanted this! It killed off solo play and it killed off the effectiveness to kill things for low and mid level players. New players are suffering because of this and those are the people that will keep your game from dying.
I went into Tiamat just after the changes and the clerics didn't spawn on the first round. they still don't spawn on the first round but if you have to do a second round you can't defend the clerics as you need, you have to get the dragon heads the first time or you will not clear, the clerics go up and down like yo-yo's. Did anyone even test the dungeons before the changes?
I have a level 44 archer. Last week all was OK. I had no companion equipment and a couple insignias on a horse. Two days ago all went to hell. Died instantly. So Ive been reading the threads. OK now my companion has 3 pieces of equipment purchased just under 20k AD each. Ive played the game long enough i am throwing some money in - no problem. It was suggested that one should purchase some cheap companion equipment. No such thing any more. The last ive checked the lowest priced piece of companion equipment is 23k AD. Not a problem for those that have played long enough to acquire AD or have credit cards. This game is not classifies as play to win, but has now become pay to play as you cannot survive without companion gear. Not a problem for me I have a credit card, its just that now the game has changed and its classification should be change from free to play to pay to play. So how does a kid that has been playing for a month or so in get about 70k AD worth of gear without a credit card, or the poorer crowd of people that this is a free game. Thank you for the orange stone I was able to put in my companion equipment. But what about those without credit cards that cant afford to put that orange stone in. Whoever is running the show please throw a bunch of cheap companion gear in for the newbies. After I put my 3 pieces of companion gear on almost all my stats went up 50%. The game is no longer easy, and I will now decide if I wish to struggle to accept the new level of difficulty. I will play using potions, but if I see the only way I can progress is by buying those stones that give me 100% healing that I have to buy from the zen market then I will have to reevaluate if I will remain here. I feel bad for all the kids without credit cards, that have invested a lot of time into this game. I guess they could use the workshop to make and sell stuff to buy companion equipment at high prices, but ive noticed that the gear i am making isnt selling well right now. This weekend sales are down 80%. Its like covid hit neverwinter, and all sales are down. Im not asking to make the game as easy as before, I just ask that you consider the kids that play and dont have credit cards to buy stuff. Please make something available in companion gear so they can survive and continue to play in PVE. I know professionals are able to make it through challenging areas, but newbies are not as skilled. I did not know companion gear made such a difference till now. Hopefully this can be clarified to nubies. I hope we can all continue to have fun playing this wonderful game. I hope it remains free to play and is just pay for conveniences, rather than essentials. All the best to all, as we try to wait out this storm of a new normal in Neverwinter.
This game is gearing towards party playing, what about all the solo players that dont like party playing you have changed this game so much that it is now unplayable for a lot of solo players. Has it all come down to money? this game used to be fun to play. NO MORE
This game is gearing towards party playing, what about all the solo players that dont like party playing you have changed this game so much that it is now unplayable for a lot of solo players. Has it all come down to money? this game used to be fun to play. NO MORE
Key Features Completely Free-to-Play You don’t have to pay to adventure in Faerûn. All playable content from level 1 to level cap is completely free to experience!
that is cryptics own description of the game.
2 things to point out though, it can read as 'free-to-play UNTIL level 80' and now if you try playing free from 1-80....well that white quality companion, and the 'free gear' that drops is going to make the entire experience gruelling..it drives people to pay. has it all come down to money? - of course.
No NO NO no no no. You did some of changes today but still - DONT FORCE people to group in everything. I still CANT level up. I made 6 levels since yesterday, now I am 53 Warden but ITS HELL inside. No pleasure of game experience only challenge. Besides ranged classes are totaly doomed because I constantly fight with at least two groups of mobs. Pain pain pain all the time. I consumed 30 injury boxes and drunk IDK 50 health potions. From level 65 mobs was hard for my main even before mod20 but still doable. Now? I dont want to know. Why you even do it? First Zenimax ruined ESO major way so I quit. Now YOU ruined this game. What? WHY? You are not right and have no rights to do this. And EVERYBODY points at BDO its pay to win. Pathetic because It by far only game still functional. Same as WOW. You are not right. Hope I never get back. you can keep my premium.
Currently, the Item Level of a particular piece of gear determines what the total amount stats can be on said gear. This is split between Combined Rating (amount added to all stats) and Specific Stats. It appears that this calculation is a static multiplier. In a world where stats percentages are tied to total item level, this proves to be troublesome since it becomes exponentially difficult to increase stats as your total item level increases.
This was my point. That's what my whack-a-mole comment was about. In the previous incarnation we had a cap of 50% for most stats. Now the cap is 90%, but they're still treating the 50% cap as if it was some magical number that makes you overpowered. It's that 51% - 90% that is now the goal because monsters are being built to deal with that 90% cap. To my mind, hitting that 50% cap shouldn't be difficult. The real challenge should be in getting to 90%. Before the change all of my stats except awareness were around that 50%. Now only power get there purely through stats provided by gear, boons, and comps and mounts.
BUUUT here's an other point. There is ONE thing I really like in this update. REALLY. This is Dragons will not get ONE-Shotted by some of these "funny" (would name it differently but that could ban me) over-maxxed "players" without any other player can even land a single shot on that Dragon. Ebon Downs was such a case. Last week on one day I had to get four times into the encounter to finally get a shot landed. Really. This is good now, it takes 10+ seconds now there, and anyone can have a shot. And it scales also down, as I could kill him with two or three "lower levelers" in some minute too! So this is good now. Sorry, but THIS HAD to be said.
This I agree with. Many times the dragon went down in 2 seconds before some folks who had been waiting for minutes could get a shot off. It rarely happened to me, but I've seen it and it is discouraging.
I think I will like the new system just fine once the kinks are out of it and the scaling is fixed. There are packs of lower level trash that hit harder than bosses at level. I do like making even lower content at least a little more challenging -- there's really no challenge, and not much fun, in one-shotting everything on your way through a dungeon or a questing zone. I *want* those zones to be a little more challenging, and I welcome that. But it feels like there are level 60-70 areas where trash is hitting harder and killing decently geared Level 80 players than in the level 80 areas themselves. And while I think it's good to scale so that there is more of a challenge in the lower level zones and dungeons than there was before this rollout, they shouldn't be as hard (or harder) than content closer to end-game. After all, the rewards are lesser and a higher level player will certainly get no gear upgrades out of it.
Right now it's pretty painful to play in many places -- a lot like after the Mod 16 fiasco. But hopefully once the scaling is fixed and appropriate -- lower level content tougher than before, but not massively tough for someone with (say) a 30K IL -- I think it will be fine. But yeah, there's a lot of work to be done on that.
The real problem with dragon encounters was missile vs melee attacks. Characters with high power missile or magical attacks can easily kill the first 2 dragons (Neverdeath Graveyard and Ebon Downs), before the dragon has landed which means melee only characters are SOL and doing any damage. The fix for this should be the encounter does not start until the dragon has landed.....not by making all the mobs and dragons tougher to the point that a non lvl80 nearly god like character cannot even get to the area to fight the dragon in the first place.
To give you an idea of what my experience is, try playing a lvl 15 character n a level 30 zone area. You cannot do enough damage and if that goblin farts you die. If you are melee based, hurled axes, knives and arrows kill you in 1-2 shots before you can even think to close the distance. This new patch has sucked all the fun right out of this game.
I am the very definition of a casual player. I could not tell you anything about the technical aspects of playing, like percentages or stats. I am not elite and never will be. I can't handle the change, it's too hard for players like me. I can't complain, I don't contribute much money. I just thought I would give you the prospective of a casual player.
Just ran Cloak Tower with a 30K level 80 tank. We finished it, but wiped on the last boss a couple times. The boss himself is not that bad. The adds are beyond insane.
It seems like the lower the "level" of the dungeon, the more ridiculously scaled up the trash is. Higher level dungeons feel easier than lower level ones like Cloak Tower or Cragmire.
single dot shaman in Chult have as many hp as a tier 1 boss. Fights are harder now but not unmanageable. It did require a change of strategy though. To take advantage of combat awareness properly while soloing I started using smoke bomb on my TR from stealth. My combat summoned companion (Chultan Tiger) does pretty well. Its nice to use him again. Certainly, it cost me enough Zen. If I swap out for my Deep Crow aug companion I don't see much difference in total dps. I almost constantly do solo play. But I do RDQ and RSQ at least once each day. Those fights are harder; probably due to the scaling changes. But again, it needed a change in tactics more than anything else.
Tried to level a paladin and i have 1 word -- Boring --, well extremly boring tbh, and bare in mind i had a couple of compainions/mounts/enchants equipped.
lvl 23 so far and i noticed:
- 98% of the fighting comps are useless at low level, they do 0 dmg (well most of them are useless as active in general no matter what level you are) even with rank 15 indoms and warlord's inspiration.
- bosses are easier to kill than random mobs.
- 15k item level for a leveling dungeon is way to much..
- Did a cloak tower witth randoms, 1st - mobs hit way to hard, 2nd - 15 mins into the run, we weren't even at the 2nd boss due to the lack of dps, so i left.
Not even gonna talk about my experience in dungeons at lvl 80 because that would get my post deleted like the other ones i left in the preview section
EDIT:currently lvl 25 and it seems something is wrong with smite and agro/agro radius
Comments
Glaringly obvious issues with balance? sure, but balance issues between the classes have been there since the dawn of the MMORPG and no amount of whacks with a nerf bat that at this point is embedded with nails, glass shards and barbed wire will fix that. I can agree that certain stats needed to be capped. that Bonding Runestones were quite honestly, a waste of a game asset, so on and so forth - but did it really need a total overhaul?
That being said, the game even after a patch is virtually unplayable. You dumbed down the mobs so make them easier to kill but decided to ignore the aspect of combat which is HOW HARD THEY HIT. Trash mobs such as Narzugons and Cambions in Avernus was a pita to solo but it was still doable without dying. Now it's you're killed in 3 hits.
Epic Demogorgon takes 3x as long. Ballad of Baphomet weekly takes 3x as long despite the fact most toons are 20 levels higher than Maze Engine at this rate.
Like, is there any thought and consideration put into this other than 'HAMSTER around and find out?' because i'm not seeing any.
So no point on grinding mobs anymore?
Also I wonder if increasing the difficult level was something done on purpose to make the game more challenging for both hardcore players and casual players??
You shouldn't fix what isn't broken. The combat system wasn't broken and nothing you say can justify the total hackjob this rework actually is.
->AGREE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Glaringly obvious issues with balance? sure, but balance issues between the classes have been there since the dawn of the MMORPG and no amount of whacks with a nerf bat that at this point is embedded with nails, glass shards and barbed wire will fix that. I can agree that certain stats needed to be capped. that Bonding Runestones were quite honestly, a waste of a game asset, so on and so forth - but did it really need a total overhaul?
-->GOOD POINT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That being said, the game even after a patch is virtually unplayable. You dumbed down the mobs so make them easier to kill but decided to ignore the aspect of combat which is HOW HARD THEY HIT. Trash mobs such as Narzugons and Cambions in Avernus was a pita to solo but it was still doable without dying. Now it's you're killed in 3 hits.
-->GOOD POINT AGAIN
If your intent, as it would appear, is to have every area scale to the player's level, why bother having levels for the different areas at all, and why shouldn't a low level be able to do high level areas with that logic? And by doing so, a player can never level up to make an area easier respectively to their level, never making it solo-able.
If in fact that was your intent, you removed the incentive to progress or level up. You might want to think twice about the changes you've made.
we took 5 DPS classes through Castle Never
NO tank, No Healer
NO PROBLEM
had we taken a tank and healer, the loss of DPS would have been problematic.
i dont believe the new combat system was designed to sideline tanks and healers, but if its easier to succeed without them then thats effectively what you have done
i would like to add a quote from a team mate:
'using 5 scrolls of life in a Dungeon, to reach the end chest and get 1 scroll of life as the chest reward for completion -SUX'
You know what? I'm done. You end-game players might be able to gear up and have enough sunk-cost fallacy built up to hang around, but nobody new is going to suck this up,not to mention the appalling morass of stats that make no intuitive sense.
And seriously, what the hell do trinkets on a stable full of unused mounts have to do with how well I fight?
removedI remember taking my first levelling characters (DC & CW) into IWD for the 1st time. My toons barely qualified for the zone and every fight was a hard one. It taught me better mechanics, appropriate use of skills and a real appreciation for stats, boons and builds.
I'm all for challenging content but it seems like (from comments) enemy npc strength and survivability is scaled somewhat too high for players levelling toons in level-appropriate zones - I'm on xbox so can't really say, I don't know if there's a degree of 'players could face-tank groups before, so why can't they now' regardless of class or playstyle (implying that they haven't learned the old lessons of pulling/positioning/targeting the right enemies in a group 1st) or if it really is just too hard.
I think one issue that hasn't been mentioned yet is the change in the effectiveness of Defence. It has been dropped from a max of 90% effectiveness to a max of 50%. That's huge and quite possibly the source of the survivability issues.
Xael De Armadeon: DC
Xane De Armadeon: CW
Zen De Armadeon: OP
Zohar De Armadeon: TR
Chrion De Armadeon: SW
Gosti Big Belly: GWF
Barney McRustbucket: GF
Lt. Thackeray: HR
Lucius De Armadeon: BD
Member of Casual Dailies - XBox
enter undermountain first set of mobs killed me
ran an experianced party in lomm was doable (we died lots took forever but doable) ran lower level dungeon failed
ran tiamat failed ran svordborg was rough but completed
all of which shows me scaling is completely broken
so now instead of having the whole of neverwinter to play in i have avernus and ummmmmmmmmm avernus
If majority of players complain, then who the hell benefits from these changes? You guys lose players, players lose stats and stuff they were grinding for past months/years.
Scorpions on Trobriand fight are waaaay too overpowered
can solo the +ape in valenhaas no problem
dockmaster in avernus dies in 3-4 hits
can solo Castle Never , 25 minute run.
yet,
Merchant Princes Folly, i die in 2 shots to a trash mob Batiri, which in turn seems to require 20+ hits to kill, when its not fully healing itself.
now im not going to rant or complain, i would just like to invite the entire development team to jump into the live server, random queue for MPF, and THEN tell me its all working as intended.
planning more updates for 'next week' is not helping right now. people are giving up and quitting the game today.
you have changed this game so much that it is now unplayable for a lot of solo players.
Has it all come down to money? this game used to be fun to play. NO MORE
Completely Free-to-Play
You don’t have to pay to adventure in Faerûn. All playable content from level 1 to level cap is completely free to experience!
that is cryptics own description of the game.
2 things to point out though, it can read as 'free-to-play UNTIL level 80'
and now if you try playing free from 1-80....well that white quality companion, and the 'free gear' that drops is going to make the entire experience gruelling..it drives people to pay.
has it all come down to money? - of course.
To give you an idea of what my experience is, try playing a lvl 15 character n a level 30 zone area. You cannot do enough damage and if that goblin farts you die. If you are melee based, hurled axes, knives and arrows kill you in 1-2 shots before you can even think to close the distance. This new patch has sucked all the fun right out of this game.
It seems like the lower the "level" of the dungeon, the more ridiculously scaled up the trash is. Higher level dungeons feel easier than lower level ones like Cloak Tower or Cragmire.
lvl 23 so far and i noticed:
- 98% of the fighting comps are useless at low level, they do 0 dmg (well most of them are useless as active in general no matter what level you are) even with rank 15 indoms and warlord's inspiration.
- bosses are easier to kill than random mobs.
- 15k item level for a leveling dungeon is way to much..
- Did a cloak tower witth randoms, 1st - mobs hit way to hard, 2nd - 15 mins into the run, we weren't even at the 2nd boss due to the lack of dps, so i left.
Not even gonna talk about my experience in dungeons at lvl 80 because that would get my post deleted like the other ones i left in the preview section
EDIT:currently lvl 25 and it seems something is wrong with smite and agro/agro radius