>NPCs will never be given the ability to bind. This would kill "Binding for
>donations at gates", and the sale of binds. Verant does not want to do
>this (In fact in the Policies and Procedures manual for Guides it forbids
>Guides from binding players because it would 'damage the economy of players
>selling binds'). NPCs binding would lower caster's value to the
>non-casters in Norrath and eliminate a point of player interaction, Verant
>doesn't want that either. I've got a 14th level Enchanter and I bind for
>free all the time even though I could use the cash. Why? Because I like
>that feeling I get when some 10th level player say "Hey, thanks a lot!!"
>when I turn down his 2gp that he's trying to donate. NPCs binding would
>eliminate that four thousands of players.
I get bound over a dozen times a week. I have never paid for one, nor have
I ever been asked to. I don't honestly believe this to be a valid reason
why NPCs could not sell binds. Say for instance the NPC binds for 5 or
10pp... players could still underbid. Those like you who just want to help
people and feel good still could. Having said that, I hear people all the
time auctioning free binds. While this occurs, those selling binds will
find little, if any, business.
>Bind anywhere? Never happen. In fact, I think the casters are probably
>lucky to have gotten that ability, as it's potentially quite unbalancing
>when fighting uber-mobs like dragons. "Yeah, I lost a level dying 14 times
>while fighting Vox, but I would just spawn, mem my spells and nuke until I
>got killed." This is precicely why Ressurection effects have been made so
>horrendous. Probably casters being able to bind anywhere was to offset how
>fragile they are should the group get overrun by mobs. The casters are the
>least likely to make it to the zone alive in a bad situation.
I must respectfully disagree. In my experience, casters die less than other
group members due to their ability to evac in times of crisis. Gate is a
phenomenally potent spell. I think casters' ability to bind themselves in
cities is unbalanced, and unfair to all other classes. I think that
casters' ability to bind themselves in non-city zones is a bad joke. I have
been hunting lately in the Ocean of Tears - an excellent example of how
unbalanced this policy is. My cleric and enchanter friends simply bind
themselves to Errolisi, while I must return from Freeport, wait for the
boat, and (hopefully) I will be back within 30 minutes or so.
>Also, there absolutely HAS to be a serious penalty for dying; it's a very
>important part of the game. Many people make the "game fun" or the "I can
>only play two hours a week" argument, but when you consider the impact that
>binding anywhere would have on group dynamics and strategy, you quickly see
>that it works best the way that it is. Verant has decided that getting to
>your corpse, in addition to the experience lost is what that penalty is.
>When there is a penalty for dying you coordinate your actions and fight
>with more strategy. Verant (and I) want this VERY much. Conversely, if
>there were little or no penalty for dying, sloppy unbalanced groups would
>just go into a place like Mistmoore with little or no regard of how the
>zone works. They'd just pull the castle and beat on stuff until everything
>was dead with the minor annoyance of having to loot their corpses. I
>wouldn't be addicted to that game.
There must be a penalty, and there is, over and above the need to run to
one's corpse: experience loss. I don't know about you, but it is seriously
distressing to me when I die a few times (argh!) and lose a weeks' work.
Moreover, the ability to bind in cities (or to pay NPCs for the same) would
do nothing to negate the difficulty and duration of these runs to recover
corpses. If I die in a non-city zone I will still be forced to run the same
distance to my body whether I was bound by myself, an NPC, or a caster.
>I have never had the problems that you describe getting a bind. Getting
>bound in Erudin can be tough, as that continent is currently underutilized.
> There are only two types out there now. Newbie Erudite players that are
>trying to get up to level 4 or 6 or so before going to Qeynos where the
>real action is, and higher level Druid types running out to Kerra Isle for
>a questing reason that I won't disclose here. However, since nothing is
>really going on out there I never really need a bind out there. Paineel is
>due to open in the next few weeks. It is a higher level zone built off of
>Tox Forrest. Erudin is likely to get a lot busier soon, and when it does
>Kerra Isle will also probably start being used for its intended purpose (a
>teens level zone) instead of just having 6 high level druids in it. I
>would personally never sit for two hours waiting for a bind. I'd continue
>to solicit binds if people didn't show up within five or ten minutes. 11pm
>Mountain? I routinely play until 3am Central and I never have problems
>getting binds in the major cities.
I am truly happy that you never have this problem. I play on E'ci, one of
the oldest and most crowded servers. Last night, for example, I arrived in
Qeynos, supposedly the Trading Hub of Antonica (so we are told), at midnight
PST. Searching through both city zones, I found not one person who could
cast bind (nobody was anonymous, so I was able to easily ascertain that
nobody could help me). This has happened to me on numerous occasions in the
past, sometimes in Qeynos and Rivervale, quite often (more than 50% of the
time) in Kaladim and Halas, and every time (8 visits to date) in Erudin. In
fact, I have longed to explore Odus for several months now, and have only
given it a cursory examination because I can never find anyone capable of
binding me there. No casters over 14th level, and often I am the only
person in Erudin or one of 2 or 3. I also am hopeful that the new zones
(coming in a few months) will add some vitality to Odus' straggling
popluation, but these do nothing to address either my existing inability to
even explore there nor the fact that many other cities share the same
problem.
I travel frequently, and quite enjoy it. I want to have the freedom to go
to any city in the world and be bound, even if I am the only one there. I
would prefer it if bards were able to bind, as I feel we are not
substantially different in our design from druids, shamans, and clerics, but
I would be satisfied if NPCs could bind me. The current state of affairs is
ridiculous, clearly offering casters a level of security and convenience no
other class can match.
Aloro Silvertongue (E'ci)