Adun

I haven't really been in game much for the last few weeks. I duo now and again and sometimes sit afk while doing something else on the other computer... but last night I grouped with some folks working on the prismatics (the first realy group I've been in for a while) and had a chance to experience some of the latest game changes. I'm sad to say I miss one major change that affected healers. Cures.

All of the single target cures were removed and we were left with one "cure all". It not only cures all ailments (except for curses which I haven't seen yet), but it cures them all at once. If you have 2 poisons and an arcane, just hit "cure" and they all go away.

I'm all in favor of making the game more playable... but this seems like it's going too far. Having individual cures required the player to think about what needed to be cured... and having to choose which cure to cast first required the player to understand something about the ailment to be cured. If you knew you were dealing with a mob that could cast Debilitate, for example, then Cure Trauma HAD to take precedence because the next hit would likely kill whoever had Debilitate on them. Now... I suppose you can just mash the "Cure" button and hope for the best.

Don't get me wrong, pushing buttons is hardly a "challenge" (even the individual cure buttons)... really very little in this game requires real honest to god "thought", but that was a little thing I could do well (as a healer) and be proud of. I actually put some effort into reacting quickly when cures were needed.

*sighs*

So where do we go next? A single "fix the bad thing" button that determines what you need and does it? PLayer 1 needs to be cured, and healed for 1k health, player 2 needs a res, player 3 needs to be unstifled and player 4 has a tree branch lodged in his nose. No worries... I'll just click the "fix everything" button... after all, I'm a healer. If I'm out of range, the "fix everything" button will either teleport me or the target closer (which ever is most convenient) so they can be remedied.

I know the sky's not falling or anything and really, it's not a big deal. These thoughts were brought into sharp relief last night when we attempted to raid Maiden's Gulch and discovered it was a heroic encounter. I know why it was made heroic... but knowing doesn't really offer any consolation to me as I witness the long, drawn out death (watering down) of a game that I really enjoy.

I have slept (thanks Phirra ) but still, I ramble.

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Karel

Let's not forget that now Vyrdrais is heroic~. =p

Kaladryn

I heard some interesting news:

With the next update, all CA's and spells for all classes will be reduced to one "Do" button. All spell and CA icons will be changed to "Do" and everyone will have the Master II choice for "Do."

With the new "Do" button, all players will merely need to press one button when they want their characters to act, and the game will automatically determine what is the most logical course of action, be it combat, conversation, roleplay, etc.

Raiders should not be concerned, as tough raid encounters will require the occasional pressing of the arrow buttons to move their characters to strategic locations during the fight. These will be very complex actions, potentially requiring the pressing of two buttons within an astonishing 3 seconds of one another.

Roleplayers foresee problems, as they assume the game cannot anticipate emote actions for complex roleplay situations. SoE plans to remedy this by completely removing roleplay from the game, in order to prevent potential negative interaction among its clientele. In fact, basic chat will be reduced to common statements such as "Inc," "LFG," "FTW," and the necessary "WTB Cyb0rz."

Rumors state that the ultimate goal is to have the game automatically play its clients' characters to relieve them of the stress and difficulty of actually performing actions that require thought; this way, clients can log in and simply watch their characters adventure in the world of Norrath. This genius course of action will essentially eliminate botting and the use of 3rd-party software and exploits.

Of course, should anyone get bored, clients are encouraged to purchase expansion packs for the Legends of Norrath customizable card game and play while their characters adventure.

Naeca

Lol. Haha.

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Will

The problem, Adun, is that EQ2's devs think WoW has 10 million subscribers because of its game play. For them, making EQ2 retardedly simplistic isn't a matter of "too much" but "enough," as in "When will EQ2 be enough like WoW that we'll have 10 billion subs as well?"

But WoW doesn't have 10 trillion subscribers because of its game play or graphics or the commercials or any of that shit. WoW has 10 quadrillion subscribers because it has "Warcraft" in the title, as in Warcraft and Warcraft 2. (And Warcraft 3? I was never really into the whole RTS scene.)

EQ2 should have taken a niche marketing strategy and catered to, say, hardcore raiders. Instead they decided to be everything to everyone and ended up being nothing to anyone. And now they're in panic mode, trying to mimic WoW in an effort to become relevant again.

So. . .

Dear SOE,
Grow a pair and stop aping WoW. Pick a niche and fill it. Thanks!

Ok, I'm going to bed.

stivan

Nice post Kaladryn... that sums up the future of eq2 pretty well

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"The optomist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; the pessimist fears this is true."
-James Branch Cabell

Valarye

I didn't much care for the 'easy' button being brought in for cures, either. I thought it was kinda challenging to try and cure everyone in a group and keep them healed and keep mobs debuffed. Now it's all shit and not just the cure change: The whole game. Might be time for some CoD4 and M and M5 until Star Trek Online pops out. Lemme know if you want my stuff...

Valarye

Tristen

Im sure many dont like the cure all button,its alright its not that bad.
If you really are leaveing valarye im sure plent would take your stull even i would

Adun

Yeah, well said. Kind of makes you wonder who's driving the SOE short bus. It should be employees who play (and in theory) like the game, but sadly I'm sure it's marketing and bean counters.

You're right, on it's own it's not really that bad but when all the other changes are taken into consideration it just reinforces the trend that everything should be easier.

Personally though, regarding the "Do" button, I'm going to hold out for the new and improved "Win" button. Like Do, Win takes all the ambiguity out of the game (learning the class, exploring the zones, etc.) and simply allows you to win. Hit that button and you Win. There's a fan fair coming up, right? Somebody jot that down and make sure to pass it to a dev.

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Jalathan

that is a large portion of the reason I wound up walking away from the game Adun, the game was just made so 'easy' that it got boring. There was no risk, no danger, no penalities, no anything that made accomplishing something worth it.

I once thought this game alot of fun, evident by the fact I played it for nearly 3 years! But in the last year, it really began going down hill, from the revamps of the lowbie zones (CL, Ant and NF) to the complete bust that was the last expansion. There was a reason I didn't play wow, I hated the game. Now EQ2 has joined that crowd as well, there is no love left in the game for me. The only thing about the game that has any care for me is the people who played it.

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Paladin of Antonia Bayle