The newest patch and its implications

[Aamer Khan]

So far everyone seems to be having a great time with the new patch.

Componant drops are definitely better. New hoard items should make all our dragon buddies very happy. Trinkets with very interesting effects and possible beneficial buffs are a blast. And they even figured out a way to put money on mobs that would normally not have any, in the form of pouches, wallets and money bags. And if that were not enough, they even upped the bulk of the t4 anf t5 vaults. Well done Devs!

But... what will this mean for the future?

First off, those that adventure will now have more opportunity to get money just from hunting. Comps becoming more plentiful, will mean that more players will have teched armors and cargo gear. Even expert forms will become so common that everyone will have what they need.

Now some will stop me right there and say, "Prices will fall through the floor! I'll never make anymore money off auctions! This will RUIN the game!" ( Yikes! ) Is any of that true?

Well, prices will fall as items become more common, that part is true. Auctions of expert forms will fade away to be replaced by selling componants, trinkets, and even the wallets. The adventurers will have a chance to interact with crafters better than before. We all will be better equipped, and even be able to explore using the wards and resists, since the componant costs will also be lower.

All of this points to the future. Unless I'm a completely blind moron, ( no cheap shots here please, your much to cool for that ) there is a reason we are being given a chance to become well equipped. The WA will be returning with a vengence! What do we want? WAR ( to quote PJ ) When do we want it? NOW! How will we prepare? ... well, by using to the full, the opportunities we have now of course. [;)]

So, enjoy what we have received! Gather up all your resources and crafting talents. Prepare yourself for what will come next. There are clouds forming on the horizon... and they are most evil in color...

[Vlisson]

my personal opinion about this expert forms is: after some month all expert crafter will have the forms they need

now they will have it in weeks

more trophies: hurra, i hate trophy hunts, and i hate to buy at the vielo ^^

the new rare loot will rock!!!!

[Seikojin]

:o Despite the patch there are those who will choose to complain. I am sorry they feel that the game isn't perfect or made prefect with each patch, or directly repairs the issues any given person may encounter.

But beyond that I really like what has been done so far and I cant wait for the upcomming changes to come in. If there is a WA war comming, I'll be glad to fight in it.

[Kulamata]

I agree Aamer. We know sieges are being planned; and we know that our Dragon comrades face major trials soon. We also know that the WA are driven to learn their evil skills more quickly than the Gifted, as they desperately try to counter the effects of such Gifted skills as teched armor and jewelry. So the Dragonsmust accumulate great hoard to armor themselves with the confidence that great hoard brings. And the Gifted must avail themselves of the finest in armor and weapons.

[Mordoth]

I really like the changes with this patch. I think it was great! However, I am primarily an adventurer, and I understand some crafters will probably be upset by the greater availability of techs and comps, etc.

But I see this as a great stimulus to the economy, not a death blow. Sure, the days of getting 100s for a dye tech form (the new ones) or even 5g for a Tier V tech (it happened on Order) will likely be gone, but humble adventureres like myself will be able to buy items from crafters since they won't be as expensive. There will be more things to buy and sell since they won't be as rare.

Also, as an adventurer, I love all the nifty stuff we find while hunting. It isn't allsuper-awesome stuff all the time, but it's just really neat stuff. I made a modest amount of coin while hunting, which was really nice as well. Also, getting some of the new loot stuff while hunting keeps things interesting and gives a feeling of accomplishment.

Oh!! And not to mention there were more people logged on last night as a result of the awesome patch than I have seen in a quite a while!

[Vahrokh]

The thing about the game being ruined if stuff drops more often is just a misplaced belief.

Letting everything in the hands of a little elite is. And makes "all the others" feel pissy and bitter.

The correct way to tie people to the game is introducing new and newer items, even "stupid" ones but people will spit their souls to be able to have them.

[kengar]

Not sure I'd call it optimism, but there was definitely something in the air last night. People pulling out their old dragons to find out how the changes affect them and to hunt comps to tech their breezes. Everyone linking new and different loot into various chat windows. People that normally sit and chat or craft were actually out hunting, often even the solo players were joining groups. Basically, a generally higher level of enjoyment and interaction.

I'm not predicting doom and gloom for the economy. Heck, Elnath farming has done more to drive down the prices of expert forms than this change possibly could. As is, I've been buying expert forms since pre-merge, and I'm finally getting CLOSE to having all the expert spells. I've got a long way to go on scales. If anything, the increase in component drops may actually fuel a component market, something I look forward to.

[Vlisson]

its only the time which got shortened till all have all forms they want

its like lvl 100

hey 6 month after the first lvl 100 50% of the players are lvl 100 too

so i dont see any negative about the new drop rate

i would prefer the normal rate but its ok too

[Fireclaw]

I think the patch is a big improvement.

One of Horizons' biggest problems is the lack of real loot drops. In a game such as this it is critical that loot drop sufficiently often and of sufficient quality to keep players engaged - to give them a reason to hunt. This is FAR more important than preserving the existing economy. Done properly, a new and healthy economy should emerge.

Previously, this reason really didn't exist, because your chances of getting decent loot in the form of techs, forms, comps was very low (unless you abused the mobs on Elnath). Now, the loot drops are significantly better and should give a much greater percentage of the playerbase a chance at decent loot and a reason to play.

That said, the current loot system is certainly not perfect, possibly not even good yet... but it is a step in the right direction. Its very nice to actually see more forms/techs and hoard loot drop.

However, I have yet to see any useable equipment drop since the patch. Can anyone confirm that the blighted items are actually worth using now? How about other new useable items? The new trinkets sound nice, but I hear they only last for 2 minutes. I doubt if players are really going to be motivated to go hunting just to seek items that only give 2 minute buffs.

The previous attempt at blighted loot failed in my opinion because 95% of the time the blighted item had negative mods on it that made it inferior to crafted equipment - especially considering that the blighted equipment degraded.

Hopefully Tulga will eventually get the loot system right (I still don't think its there yet). Of Horizons' major problems, fixing the loot system should be the easiest since it mainly involves database changes - while fixing the fps of the graphics client is probably beyond the developer's present capability.

[refuse]

However, I have yet to see any useable equipment drop since the patch. Can anyone confirm that the blighted items are actually worth using now? How about other new useable items? The new trinkets sound nice, but I hear they only last for 2 minutes. I doubt if players are really going to be motivated to go hunting just to seek items that only give 2 minute buffs.

Actually they are 10 minutes. (the ones I tried)

Perhaps the time is tier based, or based on how good a buff/debuff you got!

Though random.

But as a dragon (was playing my dragon last night) it was all good. (No bad buffs for me last night).

The two memorable ones.
200% damage from spells for 10 minutes.
200% damage from (I think) attacks for 10 minutes.

Ooh, it was 10 minutes of hard fighting to take advantage.

A friend used one and got 1/2 damage for 10 minutes.

But there is a way to make the bad go away. ;)

[cattoy]

I like the vault increases (assuming you'd completed more than one of the vault quests)

[Trust]

Cant say I'm real thrilled about Lightning Arrows doing Nature dmg. Seem to be doing less, may be observer error. Other than that I'm having a ball.

[PJ]

sort of depends on the mob, nature damage is pretty effective, especially versus WA mobs.

[Korial]

sort of depends on the mob, nature damage is pretty effective, especially versus WA mobs.

Nature damage is very good against WA mobs, the Lightning Arrow change should make ELARs and RNGRs much more effective against those damned undead.

However, what damage type would an archer do if they had Lightning Arrows active, AND say Flame Attack active? Nature, or Flame?

[Korial]

Heh [:)]

[Trust]

I guess it's 6 in one half dozen in the other...I noticed a dramaticdecrease when hunting Mithril Golems last night. Marble and Gem seem to be unchanged. Will have to test on more mobs tonight. have a thread started in the Archer forum so to not further hijack this one. Would like feedback from Rangers & El ARs and their observations please.