ToA [DONE] and how would you rate it?

[Arnor]

if they fixed the following, toa would be what it should have been(cept the rvr xpansion^^)

ml3 switch place with ml9 (ml9 is ml3 and ml3 is ml9 for the slow ones(you can thank me later aussie)
artifacts _only_ need the encounter, the item and the leveling. All scrolls ingame are to be screenshotted(one by one) printed on glassfiber paper, and shoved up the collective ass of mythic.
less zerg needed in mls, more skill
do ml's at any time(and get CRED for .10 encounters so you can go back alone(or with a fg or sumt) and do the steps you missed because of whatever. SOOO boring to ld during the one piss-easy step in the raid and then having to do the entire raid again to get cred.
Pre-reqs for entering dungeons still apply. Ml-xp need still apply.
Ability to buy con points on items(irreplacable ones, artis/notrade-questies etc) for bountypoints or sumt.
Ml line access should have been designed with the typical rvr group of that realm in mind. No 4soj groups vs nosoj groups for instance(you get my point i hope)

that is all

 

[chretien]

RvR Main [class]: Paladin
MLs left to do: 3 and up
Artifacts [total in template] / [left to get]: 0/1
Estimated ToA-[done] time: Dunno about 5-6 days /played I guess
Estimated time spent on ToA: Since release.
How would you rate the ToA expansion (1-100%): 90%

RvR Main [class]: Cleric
MLs left to do: 2 and up
Artifacts [total in template] / [left to get]: 1/1
Estimated ToA-[done] time: Dunno about 5-6 days /played I guess
Estimated time spent on ToA: Since release.
How would you rate the ToA expansion (1-100%): 90%

Comments: DAoC needed a shot in the arm. It was too easy to max templates and not enough good places for pve from 40-50. Artifacts and ToA drops mean that you have to sacrifice parts of your 'perfect' template to get the new abilities which is a good thing imo. Master levels are generally fun. Although my mains haven't finished any ML over 2 I've got a lot of steps from the rest done. I also think that making harder to PL a character to 50 so it can dive straight into RvR is a good thing too. When a game gets too easy then people get bored with it, the bar always has to be rising for people to stay interested.

Something I never understood, is the whinge that people don't want to roll new characters cos they can't face 'the grind' of levelling to 50 then doing MLs and exping artifacts all over again. Why do it in that order then? My cleric is 45, by the time he's 50 he will be at least ML7, will have both the artifacts in his template to level 10 and will have had a lot more fun levelling to 50 than my paladin did. It doesn't matter that I only get to play at weekends, I'll get to 50 and be ready to RvR straight away.

 

[Sofus]

RvR Main [class]: Sb
MLs left to do: 0
Artifacts [total in template] / [left to get]: 6/0
Estimated ToA-[done] time: Forever man, since release .
Estimated time "wasted" on ToA: Let's just say TO LONG !
How would you rate the ToA expansion (1-100%): 30
Comment: Artifact exp'ing is the worst shit ever imo but on they other hand it is good aswell cause then you have to spent lots of enegy to make your char very good.

 

[Ajeroth]

RvR Main [class]: Nightshade
MLs left to do: 5, 8, 9, 10
Artifacts [total in template] / [left to get]: 5/3
Finished SoM, got BoS, need Malice/Battler/GSV
Estimated ToA-[done] time: way too much
Estimated time "wasted" on ToA: 7 days, and climbing
How would you rate the ToA expansion (1-100%): 60
Comment: Nightshade coming out of retirement, left 7 months ago to play on alb/pry. Now getting back into the swing of things, and having fun again (in rvr, pve is making me tear my hair out).

RvR Second [class]: Ranger
MLs left to do: 8, 9, 10
Artifacts [total in template] / [left to get]: 6/0
Finished GSV/GS/Mariashas/BoS/Traitors, still doing Fools bow
Estimated ToA-[done] time: silly amounts of my life still to go
Estimated time "wasted" on ToA: Rather not think about it...
How would you rate the ToA expansion (1-100%): 60
Comment: Fairly new ranger (aye, fotm bandwagonning) having played a Hunter previously and enjoying the playstyle, decided to go for it with the Ranger. RvR is fun but way, way, way too much pve for those artifacts. One bubble each at 50 for gsv, gs and mariashas almost made me cry.

TOA looked fun on paper, with challenges in ML steps (failed, most are zergs which frankly suck), Artifact hunting (failed, long respawn timers, some arent guaranteed drops and all except SoM are ridiculous to level), scroll hunting (insanely low drop chance) and 'sideways growth in power'. Aye, right. No effect on RvR at all there.

Still, I'm giving them 60% for the initial idea, and some of the ML steps which are well done and look good. 40% removed for making it horrible to actually do.

I'll come back when my arti's are decayed, and give it 0% when I cant repair them and all that time spent on them does nothing for me.

Chensin
Serusen

 

[cougar]

casuals

 

[Iskander]

RvR Main [class]: Scout
MLs left to do: ML9 & ML10
Artifacts [total in template] / [left to get]: 6 / 1
Estimated ToA-[done] time: way to much
Estimated time wasted on ToA: way to much
How would you rate the ToA expansion (1-100%): 60%
Comment:

I love the looks of TOA, the scenery is great and some of the new content (artifacts, quests,ML steps) are fun to do. What annoys me is the huge time sink in leveling artifacts / and the stupid ML's (some of them are ok, or even fun, other plain suck).
The difference between people decked out with artifacts / ML abilities and those who have not got it is a bit to big and some of the ML abilities are still to powerfull (BG,FZ,Grapple anyone?)
The ML paths are not well thought out, some ML paths have quite good abilities, others plain suck. The combination of a class and the available ML paths isn't always well chosen, making certain overpowered classes even more uber.

 

[Khefru]

RvR Main [class]: Hero
MLs left to do: 0
Artifacts [total in template] / [left to get]: 6/0
Estimated ToA-[done] time: No idea, but far too long
Estimated time "wasted" on ToA: All of it
How would you rate the ToA expansion (1-100%): 1
Comment: I hated the fact that no matter what rr u are, if u didn't have the required ml you would get refused groups for RvR. I got booted once from a random RvR group for a rr3 VW with BG. How can a ml make a specced defensive tank get replaced for an offensive tank/hybryd for the defensive role????? Increases in range and damage have ruined RvR even more. And arti's have just made the good RvR groups better and the random groups even more of an easy rp farm for them. This shows now by the amount of random groups starting at DL these days (hardly any).

 

[Adari]

RvR Main [class]: Ranjah
MLs left to do: 1
Artifacts [total in template] / [left to get]: 6 / 0
Estimated time spent on ToA: 2 months
How would you rate the ToA expansion (1-100%): 95%
Comment: I love everything about TOA, I like the new abilities, the new lands look brilliant and items/exping isn't so bad at all u QQers.

 

[Gasoline]

RvR Main [class]: Shadowblade
MLs left to do: All except ML1
Artifacts [total in template] / [left to get]: 4/0
Estimated ToA-[done] time:
Estimated time spent on ToA: Apart from the 35 hours I spent camping Band of Stars (not straight...I think someone took the encounter during the night..), a matter of a few hours...
How would you rate the ToA expansion (1-100%): 40%
Comment: They should balance the ML paths...some look, quite frankly, absolute balls...others are overpowered (Nerf FZ!). If they're going to introduce more tradeskills with Catacombs, they should introduce "document forgery" so you don't have to bother with pharming for whatever scroll your after. All artifacts should take no more than 1-2 hours to level in a good group (or solo, like SoM). And FFS Mythic - GET RID OF CRAPPY SPAWN TIMES ON ENCOUNTERS! It's a pain in the ass having to wait for hours upon hours on end to get one arti encounter, which sometimes won't even drop (Band of Stars didn't drop...I ended up buying it when I found one going for 100g ). Prescience Nodes shouldn't be allowed IMO Otherwise, the new graphics are nice, and ultimately, the add-on was a good idea...they just need to get down to nerfing various MLs and characters...

Just my views on the matter...

 

[Bloodaxe_Springskalle]

Comment: Too much repeating PvE, Farming after farming and more farming not to forget farming...
Boys with GF's that doesent play daoc can basically give up now or lose the GF ^^
The Artis where nice addition, the ML's suck becos they take too much time and certain ML abilities unbalancing some classes even more.
Forceful Zephyre and Bodyguard and probably more incredibly silly abilities wich in the hands of a hardcore skilled player means near invincibility (Scouts with FZ for example, Minstrels with FZ, probably some mid/hib ML+Class combo that's pretty annoying aswell.
Brought alot of stuff to the game, some good and alot bad imo.
another PvE addition will kill the game completely unless it's more "random" so the eternal farming will end.
also would removing the possibility to obtain more than one unactivated artifact of same type be of help.. at least removing the b.tches and greedy motherf.ckers possibility to constant farm artis just to sell them.
all in all the ToA update was ok, but the players make it suck AS USUAL ^^

 

[MaditioN]

RvR [class]: Healer
MLs left to do: none (soj)
Artifacts [total in template] / [left to get]: 9/0 (have 11 L10)
Estimated ToA-[done] time: 1-2 months

RvR [class]: Druid
MLs left to do: 9 (perf)
Artifacts [total in template] / [left to get]: 9/1 (have 8 L10)
Estimated ToA-[done] time: 3~ weeks

Estimated time spent on ToA: fair enough time
How would you rate the ToA expansion (1-100%): 50%
Comment: The ML's could be fun sometimes, but long pve moments often ended in long afk's, the artifacts was easy with setgrp/good guildies.

 

[vintervargen]

aiming for ml8 on all chars.

druid - ml's done, 9 lvl10 artis, 6 in template
ranger - ml5 bg steps + ml8 left, 4 lvl10 artis, 2 left
champ - ml5 + 7 left, 1 lvl10 artifact, 3 lvl7
animist - ml's done, 3 lvl10 artis, 2 left.

time spent - since toa was released except ~1 month of rvr? Oo

 

[Clipse]

I think I prolly got record for ML's. Ml1-10 in 3 weeks.

and btw, killed Eramai about 10 times, still got no Cloudsong

ah and I've got a huge problem, My tartaros is at 53% durability

 

[xxManiacxx]

RvR Main [class]: Skald, SB
MLs left to do: ML 3-10 on SB | ML10 on Skald
Artifacts [total in template] / [left to get]: SB 9/0 | Skald 4/0
Estimated ToA-[done] time: countless hours
Estimated time spent on ToA: More countless hours
How would you rate the ToA expansion (1-100%): 10%
Comment: I hate PvE. I don´t play this game for PvE. If the expansion was for the PvE players I wouldn´t mind it at all but being forced to spend hundreds of hours doing something you really dislike is not they way to keep ppl playing. Although I went trough it because I wanted to RvR, and to be able to compete in RvR u need to spend countless hours in ToA.

 

[Aussie]

ToA made me velly rich
and GSV arti sux

 

[Calo]

I think I prolly got record for ML's. Ml1-10 in 3 weeks.

and btw, killed Eramai about 10 times, still got no Cloudsong

ah and I've got a huge problem, My tartaros is at 53% durability

not really as mids entered it way before u but we just didnt had a petspam, and i think hibs were faster to but dunno

 

[Aussie]

not really as mids entered it way before u but we just didnt had a petspam, and i think hibs were faster to but dunno

does it matter who was leading at what point? Albs won race to ML10.
Albs were #1 to ml7 where they got stuck a full week, we got behind Mids killed phoenix first but it was only 1 week after albs got ML10 they did their first ML10 raid . The 8 hours one which made Creep cry when it failed

 

[Amadon]

TOA is utter shit, -100% or worse.
I'd rather play vs pre-nerf Zerkers and Savages.
I've made a lot of money from TOA but so what? Arti levelling is a retarded idea, scrolls are even more retarded, low drop rates on mobs with rare spawns is almost inconceivably retarded, and 99% of the ML trials are beyond inconceivably retarded. Spawn rates on arti mobs is stupidly low (eremai, danos etc).
TOA tried to address design flaws introduced in various stages of the game - the fucking moronic interrupt system (bodyguard), the high level of resists (resist piercing, making it hard/impossible to get the needed toa bonuses and cap resists), the unhealable damage from an assist train (grapple). Of course all of these fixes are half arsed band-aid fixes which don't address the real issues but cover them up somewhat while introducing even worse issues. TOA also increased dps across the board far too much, making fights last much shorter in unbalanced fights, although some balanced fights can last much longer now with FoP, which is also a half arsed band-aid fix to the high power consumption/low power regen rate.
Biggest pile of shit to hit this game imo, and because of TOA, Mythic won't address the real problems because they can't undo their half arsed band-aid fixes.

 

[Gordonax]

casuals

Gee Cougar, you're soo l33t, may I touch the hem of your garment? Then I will be cured of my casualness forever!!

 

[illu]

Hmmm ToA.

I think the ML's, even though being a huge timesink and almost causing me and my gf to split, were worth it (just). The new zones, the boats, and the underwater stuff was all fun and seeing those large ML bosses was all cool. And the excitement of the /random 1000, when most of the time you roll crap - but just occasionally, you fluke a 960+ roll :>

The new armours, the new drops, the Artifacts were all great ideas, the game's life-span has been given more time, simply due to the time it takes
to get the ML's, the Artifacts and their scrolls and XPing the Artifacts.

But, I think I've mentioned somewhere before, I think most people play this game for the RvR element of it, and not everyone has endless time to play it, so why not once an Artifact is activated, let the items level up at say Battler rate while playing RvR? I'd be quite happy for it to take maybe 500k RPs to get all the artifacts to level 10, or maybe have an auto-level function whereby every month your Artifact ding 1 level - if you haven't already made it ding yourself, so that at least the casual gamer could have level 10 items within 10 months at the most.

Basically I didn't mind the fact that to give yourself a chance in RvR, you had to get ML's and you have to get Artifacts. That part I could live with. It was the pointless PvE to get 3 scrolls (of which 1 is ALWAYS ridiculously hard to get and needs a FG or is a really really rare drop - or for sale at 10p+ which to most people is a lot of money), and then to add insult to injury, having to spend 20 hours (maddening scalars), 20+hours (Ring of Dances - still not finished), Scarab Vest (30 hours envisaged to go), to get the artifact to lvl 10 is balls. If there was only the equivalent xp option of doing RvR to level them up, that would be great.

And there should be an option for BG's to maybe vote for a player who went LD at the crucial moment, to get the ML step. Say if 90% of the people voted, then LDMonkey could get teh step and not have to repeat the same ML umpteen times. I suppose it could be open to abuse - but there we are.

Anyway rant over.

Oli - Illu

 

[Whatapbaoe]

RvR Main [class]: Wizard
MLs left to do: 8
Artifacts [total in template] / [left to get]: 4 / 1
Estimated ToA-[done] time: 2½ week
Estimated time spent on ToA: 5d /played time
How would you rate the ToA expansion (1-100%): -100%
Comment: ToA Sux0r? Givf Classic daoc back

 

[judas]

RvR Main [class]: Cleric
MLs left to do: 0
Artifacts [total in template] / [left to get]: 7/ 1
Estimated ToA-[done] time: n/a
Estimated time spent on ToA: lots
How would you rate the ToA expansion (1-100%): 50%
Comment: ToA would have been a nice expanision of all arti mobs had 1-2hour max pop and items like jacinas sash were a bit easyer to exp.
(all items should get exp at about 50% of the speed battler gets exp)
allso ml's like ml3 and zZzZzZzZz mls like it should be make allot less time consuming.

 

[Theodoric]

Total shite, what fucked me off more than anything was the fact we had no choice in the matter . Do ToA or be unable to compete.

Im sure all the ppl who love PvE love ToA but for me a big thumbs down.

 

[raid]

RvR Main [class]: berserker
MLs left to do: 0
Artifacts [total in template] / [left to get]: 6/0
Estimated ToA-[done] time: ~6weeks
Estimated time spent on ToA: too much
How would you rate the ToA expansion (1-100%): 10
Comment: toa = teh suck, wanted to be able to play both my chars and maybe try something new too... started toa'ing my cleric, done MLs up to 6 and got most artis too, but its just so damn boring especially second time. and its not just the pve, it made also rvr a lot worse (from both mid and alb pow IMO, hibs prolly love it)

 

[Huntingtons]

I would assume Yussef on alb/excal were the first to be ml10 tbh ml4 after 3 days or so maybe even less..

Class: Druid
ML's to do: need 5-10 (aka 6)
Artis needed: depending on outcome: 2/3 still
Time spend on toa: not alot, but too much :<
Time left: lol, wouldn't know - cba to get arti's farmed etc
Toa Rate: 40%+

nice concept etc, too much hassle gettin it done, too many bugged arti's etc. alot of uneeded junk etc, but good at points

 

[StonyPony]

Boys with GF's that doesent play daoc can basically give up now or lose the GF ^^

There's a tin line in between GF's and Daoc as i have found out recently.

 

[Downanael]

RvR Main [class]: Cleric
MLs left to do: 0
Artifacts [total in template] / [left to get]: 7/ 0
Estimated ToA-[done] time: n/a
Estimated time spent on ToA: lots
How would you rate the ToA expansion (1-100%): 45%
Comment: Way too much pve for my taste,it's huge timesink and not really needed if you ask me. But what can you do since you cant do nothing without it

 

[Yussef]

I'm on Pryd! But the FG I was in was ahead on the English servers for quite a while, but then we needed to wait for more people to catchup So dinged ML10 one day after Alb/Excal people did

 

[Temmie]

RvR Main [class]: Merc
MLs left to do: 0
Artifacts [total in template] / [left to get]: 7 / 0
Estimated ToA-[done] time: Done shortly after first ml10 raid in alb then re-did template and almost done again now
Estimated time spent on ToA: Way too much
How would you rate the ToA expansion (1-100%): less than 15%
Comment: ToA was ok at first, got old fast and took way too much rvr time away, messed up realm balance somewhat and between it and especially NF I'm basically being forced to reroll or quit and thx to artis etc rerolling will take ages :/