Proposal for change to Raid Target Repops

[Striiker]

Time for a break from the R-Class drama machine..

I thought I would run something past the raiding guilds for consideration. I am not sure if this has been proposed previously in this format so I thought I'd give it a go. I did send this via PM to the GM's and server admins but never heard back which may be indicative of the chances of this being implemented but it's worthy of some discussion among the raiding guilds.

I feel that a single, simple solution exists to many complex problems which have arisen due to the tactics which have evolved to increase chances of kills by some guilds (yes, Taken is among them).

Problems:
- Poop-socking in various forms (wasted time)
- Variance
- CoTH ducking
- Tracking (wasted time)
- etc.

Solution:
Remove weekly timed spawns of raid targets and replace with weekly “Earthquake” style random spawns.

- Leave current rotation model intact. C, R, FFA. This minimizes changes to the server and policy. Disable timed model and enable a randomized earthquake style timer.
- Bag limits in effect as with any standard re-pop.
- Propose 1 weekly re-pop plus a minimum of 2, maximum of 4 additional earthquake re-pops per month (previously planned by Rogean during the initial C,R,FFA planning efforts).
- Raid targets on 3 day timers randomly spawned an additional time each week plus perhaps 1 extra per month to equal a standard 3 day spawn cycle over a given month. A custom emote would be used to inform the server that the target has spawned such as:

Dracoliche = A distant rattle of giant bones fills the air from a fearful place
Maestro = The Organ of the Damned begins to play a dirge sending a chill through your body.
Trakanon = The great undead dragon roams once again oozing poison.

In addition to effectively solving all of the existing problems associated with the current timed weekly+ variance model..
- More guilds have a chance at targets (FFA and bag-limited ones).
- Mobilization skills become relevant.
- More guilds may consider a move to Class-C.
- Freed up time away from tracking and poop-socking means more players spending meaningful time playing the game.

This is far closer to a “classic” feel than the current model of timed repops with variance etc.

Summary: So, what I am proposing is to get rid of the weekly timed respawns of raid targets (presently time of death +7 days +/- 12 hours) and instead replace it with a weekly Earthquake style re-pop. Leave all current policies in place (bag limits, C, R, FFA, etc). Provisions for targets on a 3 day timer with a global emote. This greatly simplifies the raid scene and gives more a chance for a successful encounter.

From Taken's perspective, this will net us fewer targets per cycle so this is not a manipulation for our benefit. Discuss!

[bktroost]

When you say a custom emote to inform the server, you are referring to a server wide message across all zones?

If a raid target was for sure going to spawn after 3 days at a random time every week from Sunday to Sunday then would that make most Saturday nights the night of the living poop sock? You know that hes going to pop in the next few hours and so the raid sits in force waiting at the end of that window... This does remove the need to have a tracker online, which is ideal, but I think poopsocking will live on. Fortunately, it would mean most poopsocking would occur at the end of the week, every week.

[Striiker]

I am proposing a server wide emote for 3 day spawned mobs.

As for socking to the end of the week, there will be possibilities for this to happen of course but there are some simple solutions Which I am sure can be worked out. I would say don't set the weekly part as hard coded but have some flexibility sort of like varience. Having the 2 - 4 additional random repops will throw off any wouldbe socking efforts as nobody would know if the pop was a weekly one or a random one. There are additional ways to address this but I think you get the general idea.

This would solve much of what sucks the life and fun out of competing for these targets and would address issues which frustrates the server staff. This would also work well with Velious.

[bktroost]

I think it's a fantastic idea and certainly more in line with what I remember being classic EQ. Of course, we would need see a GM give it some credence.

[Argh]

Posting as The A-Team's proxy as the raid discussion roster has yet to be updated.


The A-Team strongly supports any system that leads to less poopsocking/camping of alts and more mobilization. Rumbles are a great start; we would also love to see:

Some sort of anti-camped alt code, e.g. porting all members of raid guilds to a random firepot exit point
20 minute warning before rumbles so people don't have to abandon their families/jobs at a moment's notice (also classic; remember we are trying to emulate Verant's patches)
Rumble chance per tick (no window = no poopsocking) that is proportional to population so we get more rumbles in US time when more people are playing and fewer in Asian timezones when no one is playing (Euro time would be about the same)


None of this is particularly classic from a mechanics standpoint, but logging in, choosing targets, mobilizing, and getting as many kills as possible before they are all gone feels about a million times more classic than sitting in KC waiting for Venril Sathir to spawn.

[Striiker]

The changes I suggested are simple to implement via modifications to the existing timer mechanism (I believe). This would be a significant improvement to the server's overall raid scene and would solve a lot of what causes friction currently (and therefore fewer disputes). It's simple for someone to suggest that the guilds should just work this or that out but it's unrealistic. The last thing which caused a major improvement to the server's raiding environment was the creation and implementation of the C, R, FFA mechanism and rules. Removing the timed spawns and replacing them with earthquake simulated server resets PLUS adding 2-4 additional resets per month would resolve the last few problematic areas which still exist. This would tie in nicely with Velious. Having Velious in place with this kind of reset and raiding mechanism would be great fun as guilds prioritize targets and attempt to maximize their return on efforts so this would not be wasted implementation time.

This would greatly help additional guilds get reasonable opportunities at defeating content and would put an end to the wasted time and efforts around tracking and socking. This means more people are actually playing the game, adventuring and having fun. Barber shops around the world would rejoice as business booms with the sudden spike in the shaving of dense beards from necks.