-----Original Message-----
From: Azor <
jmaynus@...>
To:
EQ-Clerics@onelist.com <
EQ-Clerics@onelist.com>
Date: Wednesday, July 07, 1999 11:05 AM
Subject: Re: [EQ-Clerics] rez question
>From: "Azor" <jmaynus@...>
>
>I disagree on the moving anyone on lvl 10 and below to another server. How
>would you feel if you were Lvl 10 or below and you had friends say on 12
and
>up, next thing you know you're on another server and they are still on that
>one and you can't group or talk to them anymore? I think only 500
>per-server is too little, I'd say 1,000 to 1,500 is cool I'd take 1,950 to
>2,000 if they'd put in more places for us to go and hunt and give us more
>cool items to loot. I heard the Glowing Crook you get off Lock Jaw can be
a
>pain cause 20+ Wizards kill the steal and get the Crook. Thats something
>else they need to fix, I mean how is it right for me as a Cleric to be
>beating the crap outta something and a powerful Wizard comes along and with
>one blast kills it and gets the exp and the loot? Are Wizards too
powerful,
>seems like it too me, I know a Wizard that on Lvl 12 was doing over 100 dmg
>to things with one cast of a magic spell. I on Lvl 16 get's lucky to do 76
>dmg to somethings with one cast of a spell.
That bit about the 100 pt damage spell is not quite correct. I have played a
Wizard, and at level 12 you get Shock of Lightning, which does damage in the
low 80's. You don't get a 100 pt damage spell until level 16. At levels 14
and 15, clerics can actually do more damage to the undead (although not to
other mobs) than a wizard.
People hate wizards because they can killsteal, but you know, it's like that
old joke: Why do dogs lick their b***s? Answer: because they can.
In Unrest, and other undead dungeons, clerics can killsteal, and a couple,
including the notorious Soulbasher (may Brell curse his name and fizzle his
spells!) do so regularly. We curse wizards because they commit sins...that
we are usually not capable of. But when we are capable, a few clerics will
be succumb to temptation and be killstealers as well.
It's funny. I didn't killsteal as a wizard, but switched characters because
of an impression that no one really wanted a wizard. As a cleric, I have a
new appreciation of wizards. My thing is healing, and having a wizard in my
party can vastly reduce the damage I have to heal, because the mobs get
taken down more quickly. Less downtime, less mana expenditure, safer fights
against tougher mobs -- a better time is had by all. I really appreciate
having a wizard in the party.
The whole killstealing thing is due to a very, very bad design decision by
Verant. I.e., that a group's total damage is ignored in assigning credit for
kills, and if an outside player has done more damage than any *single* group
member, then he gets credit for the kill. Brad posted a note about this
design decision to the Vault message boards, that was reprinted widely on
the news pages. Verant seemed to feel that if a group's total damage was
counted, then groups would steal from individuals.
Duh! Now we have exactly the opposite problem. And why, in a group-oriented
game, are we catering to the least ethical, most unsocial, nastiest solo
players?
I ran into a guy -- yes, a wizard -- named Odisius, in Unrest on Fennin Ro
the other night, who was soloing and killstealing from groups. He said he
had no real interest in playing the game, but was only trying to level to 20
so he could sell the character/account on eBay.
This is the kind of person the current damage-assignment algorithm benfits.
Aaaccckkk! This is dumb, and make the game frustrating for those who really
want to play and enjoy it.
I am going to send Verant some screenshots of Odisius sceaming obscenities,
and describe his behavior, along with a plea to rethink the kill-assignment
algorithm. Everyone should email Verant with the same request, talk it up on
the message boards and newsgroups, and maybe Verant change the code and end
this whole killstealing debacle.
== Gilead, 19th level dwarven cleric on Fennin Ro