Todays Update, XP bonus for solo and small groupsFollow

I went home for lunch today to check out the rumor of increased xp bonus for solo and small groups.

Here is what I noticed.

Last night I spent time soloing on the beach of the Enchanted Lands, killing Salt Snappers. They are level 31 and 32 and con orange and red to me, respecively as a 27 ShadowKnight. Last night I was getting about a quarter of a percent each kill. It's a little slow, but I can kill 1 turtle every 3 minutes, the kill usually takes about 2 minutes, and I wait for my power and buffs to get ready in between kills. So 3 minutes on the dot. Doing this just by the numbers provided, I can get a level in 20 hours, not counting the 1% xp per 'turtle killing quest' I get (repeatable) from a halfling at the dock.

When I logged on over lunch today, the same turtles now give me half of a percent XP. That is double what I was getting before. So now, technically, I can finish off a level in half the time it took before. Still a daunting task, but not near as bad as before.

If someone were doing several quests while killing the mobs needed for those quests I am sure it could be cut down even further.

To conclude, what my findings indicate, is that killing orange and red mobs solo, for maybe 4 hours a day will get you 1 level ever 2.5 gaming session.

Results may varry, but to me that sounds pretty comparable to grouping xp.

P.S. - I think my numbers are about right, but I don't feel like breaking out a calculator atm, so if they aren't - too bad. =)

I won't be able to play until friday or so... :(

Anyway, I thought someone posted a link to the Producer's Letter. Some good changes "... in the pipe. Five by five."

Only things they should address are problems encountered by the crafters.

Ooohh... what's that? A spark of hope, I see? ^^

Edited, Wed Jan 26 15:23:08 2005 by ArcosKojin

My thoughts EXACTLY, EG!! In fact, I used almost those exact words when I read the article and told my wife about it. I played EQ1 since release, but she's just now getting into the franchise with EQ2. I told her "you have no idea what a massive departure from Sony's philosophy this represents."

Great news, all in all.

Yeah, Russo, it's kinda scary to me... almost like I've suddenly been shunted off into an alternate reality - Sony actually sounding like they CARE about us.....???!!!



Frong - good idea. I often hunt greens, too. I used to see skill increases fighting grays, though - not that I wanna waste my time doing that - but if they haven't fixed that it is an option (unlike hte other game). GL!


Oh, one thing to keep in mind trying to gauge how your exp has increased or not - vitality (is that what they call it?). How you have an exp bonus for a while - that refreshes every so often... anyway, I dunno how to take that into acct. Just check and see if your apparent exp bonus is still high after an hour or two of grinding (compared to the first 20 min) - thx!

Edited, Wed Jan 26 17:42:05 2005 by EvilGnomes

The letter is a new relatively departure for SoE but is very much in the tone of the "Summit" they held for EQ1. Lots of lip-service and very little delivery.

I think they are mending their attitude since they see it as damaging the revenue stream. Only time will tell if they are mending their implementation.

As someone who solos or duos a lot of the time this does not address my issues.

I am glad to see it confirmed in a backhand way that drops are group-size dependent. That seems grossly unfair. If we kill the same mob and get exp then why are we not entitled to the same (if not better) loot than if it is zerged by a full group? How nice of him to say we will now get a bit better chance of top loot (but groups loot will get even better).

The closure of so much content to solo and duo players is more of an issue. That does not seem to be addressed except that new dungeon instances will be made available for us - presumably with watered-down loot tables since we are failing to conform to their vision. I still will not be able to visit all the zones I have done access quests for and cannot enter.

The comment:-

presumably means that just as Groupx2 mobs don't give loot to more than 2 groups then these new mobs will be "solo only" or some such. I can't see this being a great cure for the soloers complaints. More likely it will just be complained about by groups and very likely killed by them to clear the spawn. It will be especially problematic if they are KoS mobs.

The thing I think you are failing to see is that group mobs are HARDER so they must offer a greater reward or why would anyone bother to go after them if they could get loot that is essentially the same by soloing? They offer greater rewards to those who wish to take them.



You contradicted yourself in regards to solo content by saying that '[it] does not seem to be addressed except that new dungeon instances will be made available...'. I would call that an attempt to address an issue. They are providing new content for the solo/duo players.

I digress, this isn't a thread about why groups get better loot or what new zones are being implemented. This is a thread about solo players getting better experience.

----

As far as taking vitality into consideration, I thought about that after I had posted this yesterday, so I checked again when I got home. Even after continuously killing red mobs I didn't notice any decrease in experience. Perhaps soloing like that you just don't kill fast enough to use up vitality to an extent where you would notice it.

If there was a decrease in xp gain due to lack of vitality, it was not noticeable, or perhaps I was (with vitality) getting a little OVER a half percent.

I don't think I'm failing to see it. What they said is that groups get a better loot table - from the same mob.

If a duo or solo can take down a hard mob then they should have exactly the same possibility of loot as a group taking that mob.

I understand perfectly that a group taking something that cannot be done with fewer people should have whatever goodies they can have and they have earned them.

What does not make sense is that the duo using greater skill and ability are rewarded less than the full group who are overmatched to the same encounter.

Really there should be no need to have this loot variance mechanism. If a mob can drop certain things then they should be there (or the chance of them) to anyone capable of killing it within the exp range.



Not really although I can see it looks like it. I didn't make myself clear. As a duo I cannot enter a lot of places:-

Vale of Shattering
Gem Cave in Antonica
Hive in CoB
Aqueduct Stores
Lighthouse cellar
Fyremyst
and I'm sure there are equal numbers on the Freeport side and many more I have yet to find on mine.

Even if the mobs inside would be tough it would be nice to have the option. They could very easily have relaxed that limit instead of creating extra instances for soloers and duos like we were some kind of special needs lobby. So yes - they have addressed their perception of the needs of soloers and duos. It will be interesting to see if it is as extensive as the areas we are pointlessly excluded from.

You could be right.

I was reading this section



To mean that the loot was sensitive to the group size.

After all we all know that "group" encounters can be killed by duos and soloers so what would be new if there was not some inherent difference in loot triggered by the group size?

Read another way this looks like a general upping of loot drops - the monty hall route.

This is indeed what I've been looking for. The one thing I complained about EQ2 is the slow down of soloing after lvl 20. I've been playing WoW for the past week because I didn't have time for a full group. Now that they increase xp gain for solo/small group I can come back to the big EQ2 world :)

because easier leveling reduces longevity, EQ2 is built to be played for 5 years not 5 weeks.

If you want easy leveling go play a console game.

One thing that people must understand, is how MMOs work. People keep talking about EQ1 vs. EQ2, and SOE doing this and SOE doing that. The thing is, is that the people who are in charge of EQ2 are not the same people who were in charge of EQ1. The live team is totally different, and from what I understand, does not even share any of the same people.

SOE are the higher ups, and the ones whos logo are on the checks, but honestly, the company as a whole does not make the choices in EQ2, nor any MMO. The development team makes the game, and then, about 2 to 3 weeks after launch, the live team totally takes over, and consists normally of no one who worked on the game.

Producers and Executives write these letters, and put their names on them, but actually (and this seems backwards), they have to run everything by the live team first, and they call the shots. This is really to show a hierarchy in the team.

Fascinating insight, dacypher. And your authority for it is what?


The company is called SoE. It is perfectly valid to use that abbreviation to refer to it as a whole - dev teams, live teams and executives.

SoE already told us that the development and bug-fixing teams are seaprate so no great revelation there. They also told us that the EQ2 and EQ1 teams are separate at all levels.

However your vision of the executives having to run things past the live team sounds like a dev after one too many brews.

If anything SoE has always suffered from people not "running things by" anybody but just announcing them into thin air and then implementing something completely different.

Noooooo! Let me at least get a day or two to benefit before they nerf it! >< *flame flame flame*

:D j/k

Wow, this thread took a 90.

In 6hours and 15minutes, I'll have my first taste of the boost to xp with some hunt quests... mmmm.