Games Neverwinter

[Hawkwind]

Quite enjoying this game, the Epic dungeons, especially tier 2, are a challenge. I am currently trying all the normal level dungeons solo on my GWF with 11.8k gear score. I did stump up some cash for zen to get the Ancient Weapon set but that was more because I could not be bothered to wait and do the dungeon 20 x to get it. Cleared the mindflayer one without a death. Gonna try the others on Sunday.

The 20 v 20 PVP is quite fun on TR and GWF although frustrating as hell on CW. Damn TR's just zap you down too damn quick from range or stun lock you from stealth. I can't moan about the perma stealth versions as that what my TR is. Found a decent guild (The Assaulters) who have been running me through the end game material.

Great drop in game and will do perfectly whilst Camelot is being built

 

[Poag]

Got back into this a bit over the weekend. Playing my rogue on Beholder. Much fun with the Rimhound, onto the Chasm!

 

[Hawkwind]

So got GF to 60 and pretty well kitted out over 12k GS. Amazed how cheap the armor was on AH, most pieces were below 20K, 1 piece at 120K. Considering its T2 gear (Stalwark's) and only about a week of casual ply to get it from dailies etc. Been doing some CN runs on DC so had some decent rings. The sword was 30k AD from AH Shield was cheap as well but can't remember the price. Basic aim was to achieve the first build shown below. I will then use the char to farm and get the PvP set.

http://nw-forum.perfectworld.com/sh...Build-(GF)-for-End-Game-PvE-(and-PvP)-content

At 55 up the GF kinda takes off with damage and I'm pleased with the hybrid spec I'm using. Quite regularly out damage GWF's in Skirmishes and have topped some dungeons out damaging some poorly played TR's. Rotation on Encounters has been Frontline Surge - Lunging Strike - Knee breaker. Switch in Knights Valor which is awesome on boss fights when you get the multiple add swarms at 75%, 50% and 25%.

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

Interesting, I've played GF to 40 and find it quite the worst class I've seen in any MMO. DC, CW, TR and GWF are excellent and play well (played DC, CW and TR to 60, GWF is 52). Will still play GF to 60 but mostly making levels on it by crafting and breaking it out when needed for dungeons.

 

[Hawkwind]

As GF the Dungeon/Skirmish queues were amazing compared to TR and CW. Even during the recent Orc event I was getting in within 30 secs. When PvE questing my rotation is usually Frontline Surge followed by Lunging Strike and usually Bulls Rush (Available at 50) which is so much fun. Punting bigger mobs off cliffs etc.

Have to agree on the tank comment Roo, mobility wise GF is poor. The Shield and slow step is annoying but can be ineffective against end boss aoe etc.

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

Aye, if they change the mobility issues and tweak the Guard mechanic, the GF will instantly become a better class. For example, the green/anytime ability (can't remember what its called off top of my head) that allows you to charge to a mob has a very short range. Increase the range on that and suddenly you've got potentially the best intercept ability in any game.

 

[Hawkwind]

Aye, if they change the mobility issues and tweak the Guard mechanic, the GF will instantly become a better class. For example, the green/anytime ability (can't remember what its called off top of my head) that allows you to charge to a mob has a very short range. Increase the range on that and suddenly you've got potentially the best intercept ability in any game.

Threatening rush, sometimes use it but the Tide Of Iron debuff is just too good so doesn't usually leave my bar. In PvP it comes more into play as a gap closer. The other mechanic Crushing Surge is so slow it becomes pointless, the heal is also too small to be used seriously. Waste of points.

 

[Ctuchik]

Yeah, the heal is utterly useless and i hate myself for wasting 3 points on it. It's also dependent on the damage YOU do so it's to fucking random as well. It would have been fine if it healed based on damage received.

 

[Hawkwind]

So GWF has been nerfed to the point of being useless in end game with possible exception of PvP. GF has been buffed somewhat, the damage is up and really enjoying playing it now.

The new Sharander zone is interesting - unlocking the the castle in 5 hours on 3 chars (DC, TR and GF). The repeatable daily quests in the fields map are great for leveling up new companions etc.

 

[Ctuchik]

GF taunt more reliable on multiple mobs now?

 

[Hawkwind]

GF taunt more reliable on multiple mobs now?

Yes, the Enforced Threat works very well. In tough end game boss fights I always have Knights Valor as well it's a superb tank/threat lvl ability. It basically intercepts half the dmg to party members within range. The damage intercepted counts double on the mobs threat count. Combination of Knights Valor and the Enforced Threat I can hold the mobs pretty well.

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

Module 2 went live yesterday. I've still to investigate much of it.

The ranger class is ace, at least at low level. Mine is 18. Split Shot is such a simply marvelous game mechanic. However it is likely to get nerfed. I hope when they do nerf it, they just reduce the damage and not anything like cooldown or such.

Artifacts are in. Think DAoC ToA. Yep, they went there.

Big change to runes. You can now remove them for a small amount of gold. That's the only good news (and genuinely it is good news for anyone that is upgrading epic gear to the next tier). The rest is all bad. They've made a rather more complicated interface for combining lower into higher level runes and you now need a reagent. The interface is a clusterfuck of appalling choices. Previously a couple of clicks and you were through a tedious bit of meta. Now there's lots of clicking and drag/dropping and fucking around. Its a 2-step process, refine then upgrade. Also, if you don't have a reagent at the time you refine, you end up with a rune which is neither fish nor fowl and non-stackable. One of the reasons the interface is so dreadful for me is that on 5 Lvl60s I generate quite a lot of low level runes per day and combining them was always one of the more tedious parts of the game. But at least it went painlessly enough - I'd just leave it a few days and have a run on them. Now its going to be painful beyond belief and the pressure on bagspace is crazy.

Cryptic are taking the piss out of bag space now. They are seriously squeezing people to spend money with their design choices. Stuff like this rockets the game from Free To Play to Irritate To Pay.

I've not checked out the new Lvl60 zones yet but there were mentions on guildchat last night of mucho grindage.

No new leveling content though Blacklake and Tower districts have been streamlined a bit and are better now.

Some companions have had improvements and now give a passive buff to their owner, for example, cleric pets now give a regen buff which scales as you upgrade it. Wolf pets give you a chance to interrupt once they are upgraded to rank 4 (purple), and so on. Some companions suspiciously not mentioned in the list e.g. Acolyte of Kelemvor amongst others. Not had enough time to evaluate this change.

The second paragon path is in for each class. At a glance tbh I can't see much difference. As far as I can tell its only a few different spells/abilities and nothing earth shattering. I had expected something a bit more juicy tbh but I can't say how it plays out yet. Started respeccing my main (cleric) last night but not finished it and not had a chance to play him in a group yet with the new abilities.

The team that worked on the Ranger did a fantastic job. It feels fresh, new and fun to play. The rest of the stuff I've seen so far is rehashes of other MMOs so take that as you will. The aforementioned rune changes are diabolical and I cannot pour enough hate on this.

*Still* no account bank.

 

[Hawkwind]

Got my HR to 42 last night - I also opened a few of the new rusty boxes as I had some keys from trading. Managed to get an Epic Bow that levels in power as you level. It is quite simply awesome - one shot multiple trash mobs with split arrow. Really enjoying the character and play style. The DPS using split arrow in Skirmish and Dungeons is amazing. Coming top every time. I did the Wolf Den on Monday morning with a 60 GWF helping (not fully T2 geared) but out DPS'd him by around 300k with 2.7 mill.

Real fun class. If your on send me a pm I have some Lillend heal companions. Will give a couple away for anyone on FH that wants one.

Various chars @Steve_DXB

Java Beanz - Marricus - Hawkwind

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

Oh I won't turn one of those down if you have spare, cheers

All my toons @stercogburn, oddly enough

Did Phantasmal Fortress for the first time last night. Single player 'lair'. Wonderful feel, some fun mechanics on some of the mobs and last encounter is good fun. Also its not too long with millions of trash to spoil your evening which I see as an important part of daily quest design.

 

[Hawkwind]

oooh, not tried that, will give it ago tonight.

I will post a lillend to you when I get home from work in a couple hours

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

Another bad thing about runes btw. The various Leadership tasks often produce runes that are in an upgrade state even though they have no refinements within them. This means a lot of crap gets dropped into your bags that won't stack. So if you're doing Leadership tasks for AD and you get chests, make sure you have *lots* of space in your bags before opening a lot of chests. There's good things in module 2 but someone at Cryptic needs shooting for the rune management stuff.

 

[Mabs]

they made the healers not-shit yet ?

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

they made the healers not-shit yet ?

Class or pet?

Class has never been shit. Atm mine is hard as nails. Pets have had a buff and healer pet now gives passive regen.

 

[Mabs]

Class or pet?

Class has never been shit. Atm mine is hard as nails. Pets have had a buff and healer pet now gives passive regen.

the cleric class, it was trying to do too many things, never really worked for me as a proper healer

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

the cleric class, it was trying to do too many things, never really worked for me as a proper healer

Ah ok. I always really liked the playstyle.

The playstyle itself hasn't changed much, even with the new paragon path. If you disliked it before, that's not going to change any time soon. I'm still evaluating the new spells, there's not that many. I'm choosing what looks like healing-based spells for main, and things that seem DPS related for my second cleric.

 

[Poag]

Spent some time on a Ranger last night, mates i played with previously said my rogue was OP dps wise.....

Rogue has nothing on this thing, its gonna have some changes soon, if not then theres no point being anything else :/

 

[Hawkwind]

That's why I'm leveling quickly before they smack the nerf hammer down L46 and will make 50 tonight.

I did Pirate King Dungeon and 3 skirmishes yesterday evening. Came top with 2 to 3 times the dps of the other group members.

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

My ranger is 33 now. Last 3 levels mostly from crafting Leadership

 

[Hawkwind]

If you can get the new rusty box weapon - Epic bow with no lvl requirements and its stats change and grow as you level. The DPS is incredible and makes leveling a breeze. Made 50 last night did the Frozen Heart Dungeon (DC, CW, 2 x HR and TR). No one got close to my DPS. Other HR was constantly putting Stag up for buffs rather than DPS. Then when it completed he contacts me and says I'm doing too much DPS and will get the class nerfed. He did not like it when I replied that it should be but only after I get to 60

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

Cheers for the Lilend pet. Using it on my wizzy and slowly levelling it up

Spent a chunk of last night just messing around. Did the Death Forge lair. Bit of a disappointment after Phantasmal Fortress as its pretty generic dead dude territory but the final boss has a couple of fun abilities: he summons adds, which is new. Oh wait...

 

[Hawkwind]

Did two of the lairs in new zone - nothing major new but at least I feel I am progressing quickly on the the HR. two days at 60 and already on countdown for unlocking Malabog and Valindra Tower.

I have a couple of the new epic weapons for CW. Will post one to you this evening.

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

Oh nice cheers. Out of the 3 lairs in Dread Ring, only the Phantasmal Fortress stood out. Death Forge is generic undead crawl and Dread Spire I can barely even remember what was in it and I've done it a few times now

Got my second wizzy to 30 for the crafting slot and parking him for crafting now. Might mess about with the new paragon path on him as I'm told its good fun.

 

[Poag]

DInged up to 40 on my HR last night, almost caught up with my TR now.


Theres something weird in the game where if theres lots of sounds going off at once my framerate plumets. Alot of the zone quests i remember seem to have changed around, different thigns going on/going different ways. But the basic zone progression remains the same. Just some questions i remember are now missing....

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

First two zones (Blackgate and Tower District) have been streamlined, there's fewer quests but I think the overall XP is about the same.

Since module 2 launched I've also noticed crazy issues with framerate at random here and there. Not all the time but often enough that its pretty clear they've goofed something in the graphics.

 

[Hawkwind]

DInged up to 40 on my HR last night, almost caught up with my TR now.


Theres something weird in the game where if theres lots of sounds going off at once my framerate plumets. Alot of the zone quests i remember seem to have changed around, different thigns going on/going different ways. But the basic zone progression remains the same. Just some questions i remember are now missing....

Have seen the same thing - sudden frame rate lag and an explosion of sounds. Thought it maybe my setup which is not standard:
Asus Xonair Sound Card
2 x 780GTX Cards
3 x 24" Monitors in Surround mode running at 5990 by 1080

Lots of quests were changed and some lairs and dungeons encounters also. Some weird shit going on in the queues as well. Leveling up I always queued for the zone dungeon. Several times I entered with a queue PuG at the final boss already dead and the dungeon empty.

What's you in Game Account? Have a an epic dagger you can have, they are awesome for leveling. Plus Lillend Heal Companion to if you need it?