I don't mind grouping with people to run the occasional instance but mostly I started Neverwinter because it was ranked #1 for solo play. I've done all the events that get replayed every year so a new module is what gets me playing. The last one could be done complete solo except the new Trial. Not all gear was great, but some of it was pretty good. Previous modules were similar, I didn't feel compelled to always have to group up.
Well this one is different. I solo'd about 20 Dragons so far (and a couple in Dragon Well) but that really isn't useful even with a modifier. I did a few Adult Dragons in random and they were challenging as 1 person was always much lower DPS. So I figured time to try Ancients. Spent a lot of time grinding W.O.D. while in random queue, finally baled. My current guild was pretty barren since the mass exodus of the last year or so. I changed guilds. Seems they already have a core group so I'm thinking about jumping again... Then I realized solo play is pretty much gone. If I want better gear I need Ancients and 4 other people. I need to schedule around 25 minutes with 4 other people several dozen times a week for the next few months if I want to go after most or all the mythic gear.
So I'll wait a couple weeks and see if there are any changes that allow solo play to be productive and cut down on needing a group constantly when I play. If you are in a guild already and have a core group, good for you! Please say how wonderful it is to whomever is left to listen. The average players will NOT be able to random Ancients with their gear and the fact people will give up on multiple wipes. Thus creating the smaller haves vs the have nots. Other MMOs may have you group up for instances/raids 2x or so a week, but solo play is still viable. This game basically became a true multi-player only game. I hear my old Lich King friend is making a return so I may cut my losses...
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The new hunt system is taking a game that is skewed heavily towards solo play (whether everyone agrees with the quality of that play is irrelevant) suddenly got yanked not just into queues but into the realm of private queues due to the level of challenge involved in fighting them.
My wife has a tank. We queued adult with a Tier 1 Easy and a Tier 1 Medium, got a healer to join us randomly...and it was a titanic slog that we almost lost. There are two more tiers of Easy and Medium, and two more ranks of modifiers above both of those. That's staggering levels of difficulty.
And for all the time that went into that hunt, I got a horn. Well, also the middle-finger reward that is a black opal. Don't forget the black opal.
To finish the campaign in 7 weeks (SEVEN. WEEKS.) you need to kill something like 16 dragons a week.
The slog that is one dragon was exhausting. Utterly a waste of time.
I don't know if I have it in me to do this once. This will absolutely be the first campaign that I don't complete on any of my other characters. I love looking at all the checkmarks accumulated, but the streak is broken by this.
Sorry, but that's just BS, based on a mod where you need to group up to hunt those dragons... even with guildmates, some just don't want to run those hunts cuz... they don't want to spend time on something that in 2 or 3 months will become obsolete.
I am sure I can't run ancient though. At least, not running in in cold turkey.
Blood Magic (RELEASED) - NW-DUU2P7HCO
Children of the Fey (RELEASED) - NW-DKSSAPFPF
Buried Under Blacklake (WIP) - NW-DEDV2PAEP
The Redcap Rebels (WIP) - NW-DO23AFHFH
My Foundry playthrough channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Ruskaga/featured
Still I agree, given that in one Dragon Hunt you can easily burn a lot of Greater Stones of Health; even with 10% dmg & resistance.
They really should boost boost Heroic rewards, to encourage people to do them, by dropping even a little Silver from Enemy; even like 125 Rough Astral Diamonds for Minor Heroic's, or 250 R.A.D. for a Major Heroic.
I do the BARE minimum each day for Dragon Hunts, Wings of Dragon's is more appealing, yet Dragon Slayer really isn't that much. Maybe as I continue to raise in item level I'll rethink that, as the 1850 Mystic Armor is appealing, just it's a longer term thing to earn.
There would be Tiamat too, yet they took that out before even 1 day had passed; clearly someone doesn't realize they are going 'over-board' on the difficulty here. *sigh* While most never liked it, it wouldn't be quite so bad if they reduced the damage done by 10-15% across the board. I haven't even unlocked the higher difficulty on any of the Dragon Slayer Campaign.
That's the biggest issue often, enemy hits are not just way too hard, they are significantly heavier damage than they should be, especially given the lockups, roots, slows, and everything else they do! While you barely can control, root, freeze, or do anything, and a good player with Max Item Level might finish in 10-16 minutes, some lower ones can often take up to 30m or slightly longer.
*sigh*
The GOOD PART: Is in que and you can party up with people...que last forever
: New gear to farm
The BAD PART : Most annoying combat and not fun to play ...who thought that getting kicked and disrupted is fun..when challenging content means to be kicked and disrupted all the time..
I don't think i will play this content for long time..i doubt i will get all the gear..and i hope in future content mods...you give up on this annoying pushing and disrupting shiit..not fun at all
However, you did those hundreds times and you probably didn't even see that anymore. Your muscle memory allowed you to avoid those without even thinking.
Well, after you do this hundreds times, you probably will not see those too.
> Did the dragons before this event also kick and disrupt?
> However, you did those hundreds times and you probably didn't even see that anymore. Your muscle memory allowed you to avoid those without even thinking.
> Well, after you do this hundreds times, you probably will not see those too.
Have you played the ancient hunts, the majority of their attacks have no noticeable animations/warnings that they are either going to eat you or fill the arena with instant death rings for the dps, some are avoidable but the majority are not, the attacks are also random there is few things that can be predicted, and they are relentless regardless of being enraged or not or having modifiers on or not. They have taken the old dragons gave them some new attacks and dosed them with steroids.
The dragons in their current state are not something muscle memory or learning mechanics is going to make much difference, once you go into that arena you are their chew toy till the dps can eventually kill it, or it randomly decides to just stand still for 10mins which it practically never does, if they don't get killed by unpredictable and in many cases unavoidable attacks. And if your an average tank and your healer is stunned or too far away or busy reviving or healing the dps when an ancient dragon eats you RIP your pretty much dead and if you do survive every possibility it will just pick you straight back up before you even have the opportunity to pop a stone and chomp dead.
The adults are manageable the ancients are on steroids and it's totally ridiculous how much they rag doll you and eat you consecutively and they hit way too hard.
That's the biggest issue often, enemy hits are not just way too hard, they are significantly heavier damage than they should be, especially given the lockups, roots, slows, and everything else they do!
Yea that's what I meant above, you'll need 20-25% Damage boost verses Dragon's & the same with Slayer & Protection Ward's from Dragon Potions, also the 10% Rare Guild Ward's; and even consider the Claw of Behamut & Scales of Behamut from Dragonborn Pack just to have HOPE.
It's better to start at a new release reducing damage by 10-15%, yet say this is only for 1 weeks to learn new mechanic's and allow people to learn. Then in 1-2 weeks evaluate results and increase damage by 5%, 10%, 15% based on results they observe. Wish they'd do that more often!
> My reply:
> That's the biggest issue often, enemy hits are not just way too hard, they are significantly heavier damage than they should be, especially given the lockups, roots, slows, and everything else they do!
>
> Yea that's what I meant above, you'll need 20-25% Damage boost verses Dragon's & the same with Slayer & Protection Ward's from Dragon Potions, also the 10% Rare Guild Ward's; and even consider the Claw of Behamut & Scales of Behamut from Dragonborn Pack just to have HOPE.
>
> It's better to start at a new release reducing damage by 10-15%, yet say this is only for 1 weeks to learn new mechanic's and allow people to learn. Then in 1-2 weeks evaluate results and increase damage by 5%, 10%, 15% based on results they observe. Wish they'd do that more often!
That's not a bad idea, and sounds better than just throwing bosses on steroids at us
The exception is the black dragon. That one is a freaking nightmare.
I am having fun, even dying so much, but do think the required IL is severely understated.
You want in a 20 you have to have 65+ item level among others.
So it will remain this way or more likely get worse as the experience players get what gear they need and stop playing.
Most groups that have struggled that I went in with, played 3 hard/expert modifiers, even if showed it was the black dragon on the side. Also people taking alts through now, without knowing class all the way. And scrolls. If you're going to play modifiers, take at least a few scrolls. VIP is a good source of trade bars, and 200 bars gets 25 scrolls. I'm not saying you have to instantly use one, but if a run fails, its usually because someone is in fire, acid, etc and can't be picked up without someone else dying. And they let timer run out and are out rest of fight. But if you want mythic gear guaranteed, it should be halfway hard. How many people wasted 100's of hours in avernus making a T3 lure, with friends that helped, and didn't get the ribcage? A lot.