Should contested Epics even be bothered with?

Manratten · 12-04-2007, 10:20 AM

Now, I realize this is a strange thought on this board, but what the hay.

As for myself, I have yet to kill a constested epic at any point where it was really relevant. Now, I fully realize that some people like to kill them, and generally, when they do, they tend to lock them completely down. The guild(s) will gather in masse, and smoke the dudes as they spawn. Often, they won't wait til their 'normal' play times, they'll get together at off times as necessary, not because it is more fun to kill them at 4am (made that time up), but because they don't want guildx getting a crack at it.

So, in essence, dang few people even kill these things. And, if many guilds have their way, ONLY they will kill them, because it is not enough to just kill it, you have to stop the other guilds from killing it as well.

This to me seems self defeating. If I am coding content for the game, I am looking at satisfying the needs/goals of a bunch of people. Realizing that Contested Epic stuff is likely to be seen by an extremely small few, why waste any resources whatsoever on it? Wouldn't I better be off coding that same kind of encounter, and make it an instance, and likely 10 times (or more) people are going to get use out of it?

Onra · 12-04-2007, 10:22 AM

Because it sets a goal to strive for.

kyros · 12-04-2007, 10:34 AM

there were at least 6 guilds that killed contested in the EoF era on befallen. that involves at least a few hundred subscribers.

just because some guilds don't go after them doesn't mean that they shouldn't still be in the game.

Muraha · 12-04-2007, 10:40 AM

Contested mobs drop, in most cases, the best gear in the game. They provide an added excitement to the game for people who, in most cases, have the instances on farm status and need a new challenge.

Having never killed a contested you would not understand the absolute rush there is when racing to be the first to get there. Knowing the strat is not enough. It is the intense pressure and adrenalin rush thats involved knowing that if you dont get your ass in gear fast and pull you may lose the mob to the other guilds who are forming up like lightening around you. Praying to see the other guilds main tank health drop to 0%. Not to mention what it must be like on PVP (dont play pvp but I would imagine it would be fun)

Then there is the massive lag that comes with having so many people in the one place. That in itself makes it a really tough encounter despite that fact that contested are already some of the toughest encounters in the game.

Contested are not for everybody but they are necessary. True HC players live for contested and in some cases it is the only thing that keeps them playing. They lock them down not only to stop competing guilds taking the gear off them but also because the more pulls the other guilds get the more likely they are to take the mob off them in the future as they get to know it better.

The ideal situation is to learn the encounter and then just keep killing it first pull every time so no-one else can take the gear. It has a knock-on effect if competing guilds get a kill in because they are now stronger and more likely to do it again. It is not really a selfish thing to lockdown mobs. HC raiders like to kill epics. If they dont kill the contested when they pop then somebody else will. The instanced stuff can wait. As for letting someone else "Have a go" that is not the nature of the game. It is "contested". First one to kill it wins

I would suggest you try putting a decent group of 24 raiders together sometime and try to get one of these mobs dead before a HC guild takes it off you. That way you can experience for yourself how much fun it is and you might want to do it again sometime. Maybe not. Its not for everyone but there are a lot who it is for.

LFG · 12-04-2007, 10:47 AM

IMO, a MMO without contested mobs isn't worth playing.

Alesis · 12-04-2007, 10:51 AM

I agree.
So what if 6 guilds got a crack at them? So 144 (not hundreds) people got to see the mob die. That leaves out the other , o I dont know, lets say 3000 people on the server who where logged in and who never even got a chance.
Contested epics are a reason for the super ubers to feel better than you, that is all. Most guilds could care less about gathering at off playtime hours, like the middle of the night(4am), or during work hours, cause this is a game, not a reason for living.
After all, if they cant lock down the contested epics, what is there for them to brag about? We all know the end game zones will be cleared by multiple guilds in about the same time frame as everyone else clears em, so all thats left for the super ubers to do to rise "head and shoulders" above the rest, is camp contesteds, and lock everyone else out from doing them, and to do that, you must be ready to log in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. FUCKS THAT!
I agree with the OP. If you made contesteds instanced, all the sudden you would see regular guilds spending a few nights throwing themselves at those same mobs the super ubers get a monopoly on, and youd see those mobs dieing too. Why? Cause no matter how much people brag about l33t strats and uber skills, the encounter is just scripted. This isnt PvP, there are no surprises, and if you try enough, YOU WILL figure it out.
We cant however, have the guy who plays 15-20 hours a week running around with the same gear the dude who plays 60 hours a week has though, can we? That would just be, well, to much like fairness..... /sarcasm off

TANGARTH · 12-04-2007, 10:53 AM

WITHOUT THEM WE'D ALL QUIT!

Illuminator · 12-04-2007, 10:56 AM

Then let's get rid of them.

Contesteds cause nothing but drama.

TANGARTH · 12-04-2007, 10:58 AM

DRAMA'S GOOD YOU BIG DUMBFUCK

Illuminator · 12-04-2007, 10:59 AM

stfu manpants-smeller