Sometimes I wonder if Verant even reads the messages players send in. I
think every player in EQ knows that mobs higher level than you have a better
chance at resisting spell/song effects compared to mobs lower level than
you. No where in Jason's letter did he mention his tests were against
higher level mobs. At least he did say the testing department is checking
it out.
Galtin of E'ci (crossing his fingers that the testing department is not as
bad as we think it is)
> From: "JasonF" <JasonF@...>
>
> Yesterday I wrote an email to Geoffrey Zatkin regarding Lullaby and Pixie
> Strike and received a brief reply. I'll post the Arch Mage's replay
> first,
> since I know it's what everyone wants to see. My email to him follows.
>
> Sidebar:
> Zatkin's computer date is at least one day ahead, as I received the email
> from him on Friday (10.12.99) morning after having sent my mail on
> Thursday
> (9.12.99) afternoon. The time is likely correct at 9:32pm as I had
> checked
> my email as late as 7:00pm on Thursday.
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Geoffrey Z. [mailto:gzatkin@...]
> > Sent: Saturday, December 11, 1999 9:32 PM
> > To: JasonF
> > Subject: Re: Thank You & Bard Songs
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > I have our testing department checking this out.
> >
> > Be aware, however, that higher level creatures save
> > better against these spells then lower level ones do.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Geoffrey C. Zatkin
> > Arch-Mage of Norrath
> > _______________________________________________________
> > Game Designer: Verant Interactive
> >
>
>
> Mr. Zatkin,
>
> Thank you for a wonderful game. As a 35 year old professional programmer
> myself, I have a very good idea of what it takes to design and complete an
> effort as massive as EverQuest. Verant has done an outstanding job.
>
> Is there someone at Verant in Testing/QA/QC that would be more appropriate
> to send email to regarding testing the subtleties of Bard songs?
>
> Jason Farque'
>
> --------
>
> In recent email communications between you and another Bardic player, you
> indicated that there have been no changes to the level 15 Bard song
> "Kelin's
> Lucid Lullaby". As a 37th level Bard with a great deal of experience with
> this song I can assure you that its behavior has changed. The change in
> the
> song has been felt by Bards at all levels, it's not merely my personal
> perception of the song's having changed for me over time. In fact the
> same
> behavioral changes have effected the level 28 song "Crission's Pixie
> Strike". The changes feel unintentional, as the success/resist messages
> that we receive no longer correctly correspond to mob behavior as they
> used
> to.
>
> I explain the behavior of Pixie Strike first as it's easier to explain and
> to test. Lullaby's behavior is the same, except for a radius and multiple
> mobs:
>
> PIXIE STRIKE:
> Very often if you attempt to mesmerize a mob with Pixie Strike you will
> receive a blue "eyes glaze over" message indicating a success, and yet the
> mob will attack in its next round as though it resisted. Repeatedly
> successfully Pixie Striking a mob will increase the chances of the song
> "taking hold". After some 3-5 successful Pixie Strikes, the mob will in
> fact be mezzed. After a single successful mez, mob behavior begins to
> correctly correspond to the success/resist messages that you receive. One
> way to test this song would be to buff yourself to level 30 or so and
> attempt to mez a blue mob in Runnyeye, Sol A or Unrest.
>
> LULLABY:
> Using Lullaby against very low level mobs such as can be found in newbie
> zones or BlackBurrow this song will successfully "nod" many or all mobs in
> its radius. A very large percentage of those mobs will attack in their
> next
> round despite zero resist messages. Iteratively applying this song to the
> same mobs yields increasingly "correct" results. In other words if I play
> the song for 8 mobs, all 8 might "nod" without resist messages but 5 will,
> in their next round, turn to me and deliver attacks as though they
> resisted.
> The next pulse of the song might "nod" all mobs again, but only 3 will
> deliver attacks in their next round, etc. Using this song as we did
> before
> it changed (similarly to the way an Enchanter might use Mesmerization) is
> impossible, as the Bard is placed high on the aggro list of the unoccupied
> mobs, and yet they are not "mezzed" despite success messages. This new
> behavior of lullaby generally leads to swift death at the hands of
> multiple
> mobs, so very few of the highly competent bards that I know and converse
> with in-game and via the "eqbards" email list at onelist.com even attempt
> to
> use this song any longer. One way to test this song would be to buff
> yourself to level 25 or so and play it for the green mobs in Kerra Isle or
> Blackburrow.
>
> Thank you sincerely for your time and the great game. If I can be of
> further assistance please let me know.
>
> Jason A. Farque'
> jasonf@...
>
>