Cultural Changes - Proposed Change Examples

[Sharrien]

If it would finally put this crap to rest, then by all means, make the future lvl 85 armor unable to accept a bazu or LB augment. That way the doomsayers won't have to worry about the future and those who have invested significantly in the current set up won't be cheated.

[Nolrog]

danille,

Are you suggesting that level 85 armor should be in 650 HP/Mana range and that 85/85/LB should be T4 SoF raid armor? Let me ask you this question, is Last Blood going to be something that should carry forward through the rest of EQ history? Do you not think that maybe even LB should have life expectancy. Perhaps it should not be able to fit into next generation armor?

Raid armor is already approaching 1K HP. The next expansion will only increase that. So having cultural armor (in the next expansion) at 650 won't be a big deal anymore.

[Woland]

Nolrog,

Point being that with 650 armor you get 85/85/LB that makes 860 armor, equal or better than SoF Tier 4 raid armor.

I think it is safe to say that will not happen. This just points to the fact that Cultural armor as it is now cannot be balanced in the future with existing Seals.

[Catweazel]

Nolrog,

Point being that with 650 armor you get 85/85/LB that makes 860 armor, equal or better than SoF Tier 4 raid armor.

I think it is safe to say that will not happen. This just points to the fact that Cultural armor as it is now cannot be balanced in the future with existing Seals.

I think it is safe to say that forecasting future doom will still be around on forums everywhere.

You have no evidence yet what Level 85 armor will have as stats, what it will take to make it, how rare the components will be, what the success rate on combine will be nor do you have any evidence what level 85 groupable armor will be, whether it will be attunable or no drop and you have no evidence what will comprise the concept of raid armor.

In short it is safe to say that all you have are opinions and forecasts based on those opinions, which actually hold as much value as anyone elses opinions.

My opinion is that 85/85/LB will be as valuable or invaluable in the next expansion as 80/80/Bazu is today - in other words it will be an option for some people who enjoy tradeskilling as one of many routes to upgrade their armor.

[Woland]

Catweazel,

My post is pure speculation. It is meant to show the limitations of what are issues that stand ahead of Cultural armor.

There is a problem with unchecked expectations. This is what Cultural armor as it is today brings on. There seem to be no bounds to what you would like to be possible.

Cultural armor has become game for itself and not another option.

[Catweazel]

Catweazel,

My post is pure speculation. It is meant to show the limitations of what are issues that stand ahead of Cultural armor.

There is a problem with unchecked expectations. This is what Cultural armor as it is today brings on. There seem to be no bounds to what you would like to be possible.

Cultural armor has become game for itself and not another option.

I am not sure who has the unchecked expectations? If Cultural armor was better than anything else in the game, it is feasible that some people might expect that to continue. Of course thats not true - the days of Blue Diamond cultural are not back again. As it stands cultural armor offers an upgrade path to both groupers and raiders. It is powerful but has drawbacks. Cultural armor offers options for varying game styles.

Cultural armor has indeed become a game for itself. On this point we strongly agree. You must share my admiration for the genius behind the design that allows Tradeskills to have become a game unto themselves....fun, challenging, attractive. Cultural armor in SOF has delighted many many people and I assume these people also enjoy the fun and challenge of the game. SOF has breathed new life into EverQuest for many reasons and Cultural Armor and Tradeskills are certainly responsible in some way for that renewed vigour and excitement that many players thought had been lost.

Cultural armor is a game within a game - three resounding cheers for SOE and particularly the Tradeskill rep for introducing fun.

[Woland]

Cultural armor is not a briliant design it is simply bad. If a hot zone was to drop aug that is 200/200, everyone would be camping it. Does not take a genius to create wildly overpowered gear. All it takes is a confused designer with some bad feedback.

[Catweazel]

Cultural armor is not a briliant design it is simply bad. If a hot zone was to drop aug that is 200/200, everyone would be camping it. Does not take a genius to create wildly overpowered gear. All it takes is a confused designer with some bad feedback.

If the cultural armor is "wildly overpowered", I would expect to be hearing amazing stories of conquest throughout Norrath as "wildly overpowered" individuals, groups and raids tore through the lands, destroying monsters far beyond their capability.

Perhaps you can provide some insight where this has occurred? You would think 3 months after cultural armor was available we would be reading actual in game situations that have occurred.....you know stories like Wizards mass beam kiting in Icefall or Warriors shakerpaging in POE or Paladins pulling mass hordes of mobs and healing off them.

If you can provide specific examples of "wildly overpowered" cultural armor wearers destroying the balance of Norrath then perhaps we could discuss them otherwise it just sounds like dramatic exaggerated opinion to me.

[AbyssalMage]

If the cultural armor is "wildly overpowered", I would expect to be hearing amazing stories of conquest throughout Norrath as "wildly overpowered" individuals, groups and raids tore through the lands, destroying monsters far beyond their capability.

Perhaps you can provide some insight where this has occurred? You would think 3 months after cultural armor was available we would be reading actual in game situations that have occurred.....you know stories like Wizards mass beam kiting in Icefall or Warriors shakerpaging in POE or Paladins pulling mass hordes of mobs and healing off them.

If you can provide specific examples of "wildly overpowered" cultural armor wearers destroying the balance of Norrath then perhaps we could discuss them otherwise it just sounds like dramatic exaggerated opinion to me.

All I have to say is AMEN . It's about time someone poked a HUGE hole in the myth that cultural is superior to current content. Now back to something that matters....

[Aldier]

Cultural armor is not a briliant design it is simply bad. If a hot zone was to drop aug that is 200/200, everyone would be camping it. Does not take a genius to create wildly overpowered gear. All it takes is a confused designer with some bad feedback.

I think the idea of built up armor is a great idea.

I think the problem was that the initial pieces of the system (up to LB) were not necessarily designed with a full understanding of where the mudflation of gear stats was going to go.

Yes, I would expect armor from one expansion to be better than the previous expansion group -> group and raid -> raid. However, the problem that existed here is that there was a HUGE jump in power of gear, both group and raid, between TBS and SOF and that the LB augs were admittedly slightly overpowered for their time. Group gear in TBS was just under 300 hp/mana if I recall. Group gear in SoF is 500 hp/mana. How can you expect a 200 hp/mana increase in GROUP gear to not also have a similar increase in crafted group gear as well as a large increase in raid gear.

The idea of interchangable parts is a good one. The idea that the item I have had could still be useful today if I upgrade PART of the item and not the ENTIRE item. My Elaborate bracer with an Eminent symbol and a Last Blood aug was solid raid gear for its time. Now it is weak, it is on par with Tier 3 SoF group gear. By just upgrading the base armor part or just the symbol I can improve the quality of the item over time. I can still get use from the item with an improved symbol while I hunt for a way to improve the base armor portion. I can continue to raid (where the LB aug comes in) and as I progress I can upgrade to a stronger seal to improve the focus and the stats without having to completely scrap the whole piece I had been working on.

A similar concept of allowing you to keep some parts while upgrading another facet of the item is the revamp to jewelry. You buy the gems once and you upgrade the metal that they are in over time.

[Zolina]

I'm very grateful for the SoF cultural armor. I'm nearly maxed in AAs now, and I've never been able to get a group to kill any druadic (ranger/druid) core dropper, so it's been the only way to upgrade my visible armor slots.

[danille]

The changes that were made to 8 pieces of cultural armor are wonderful. With 22 total slots available, it is brilliant that a non-elite raider can have some really good gear in 8 of them.

[Zacatac]

If you can provide specific examples of "wildly overpowered" cultural armor wearers destroying the balance of Norrath then perhaps we could discuss them otherwise it just sounds like dramatic exaggerated opinion to me.

My guild just started DPoB recently. Level 80 and cultural gear do very little when you are learning events.
It took us 6 tries to beat Sendaii for the first time. We wiped on Vule twice before we figured out the clicking. We went into DPoB and wiped on ZiT (4th spawn) and left with no loot for our first night. We went back, beat him and then wiped on Redfang.

My 3 pieces of 80/80/Bazu do nothing but add a few hp/mana. Does that matter if I die repeatedly from a DT curse on ZiT? Will it make much difference if a raid mob starts hitting me for 6k a hit? Will it help the other 40 people in the raid learn their roles faster in these complex fights?

No, no, and no.

[Zolina]

Save Redfang for last Zac, after you get blockers from the other three minis. The folks kiting the adds need to get the snare removed.

Sisters takes some practice, but after the hailers get the hang of things, it's not too tough. The tough part with Hatchet is avoiding the AoE deathtouch, manage that and he's beatable too. We haven't beaten Redfang yet, it's a little too crazy for us at the moment.

[Abazagaroth]

Save Redfang for last Zac, after you get blockers from the other three minis. The folks kiting the adds need to get the snare removed.

Sisters takes some practice, but after the hailers get the hang of things, it's not too tough. The tough part with Hatchet is avoiding the AoE deathtouch, manage that and he's beatable too. We haven't beaten Redfang yet, it's a little too crazy for us at the moment.

Pointless to kite them now, even on a guild just entering DPoB. Tanking them can ultimately take less healing sometimes, less prone to RNG and backstab spikes, and you can make paladins do it and have them all heal each other with group heals and relieve the healing requirements from the priests.