"A few more HP is possibly the difference between an AE one-shotting and being survivable.We really don’t want guilds to “force” their members into slotting for survivability if they are trying to push progression. If the HP difference on the adornments was significantly higher, people would feel the need to stack up on HP adorns, similar to how they feel the need to stack up on crit mit adorns now.
We are trying to make customizing your gear with adornments a viable option while progressing through content. If we make an adornment choice too powerful, then there really isn’t much choice there…especially if what you are “forced” into adorning isn’t what your class is about. Many mages and scouts would really prefer to slot more adornments to increase their DPS, but they are forced into critmit adorns in order to not hinder their guild’s chance of progress. We really don’t want to replace crit mit adorns with hp adorns and have essentially the same problem."
-Omougi | Associate Mechanics Designer | Everquest II
Why can't more developers think like this? Love this direction for EQ2. Post can be found here. And EQ2Wire has more info on the adornment changes as well as the critical mitigation changes.
It's so nice to hear a positive reaction to change from a long-time EQ2 player! I completely agree. The direction of travel for EQ2 (and all the SOE MMOs) has been largely positive in the last eighteen months, despite the usual "two steps forward, one step back" development process, the traditional lack of adequate testing and the terrible hacking issues.
ReplyDeleteI've been playing since launch (before if you want to get technical) and my impression is that the game is in better shape than it's ever been and the people in control of it have a better handle on what they are doing and why they are doing it than at any time since Scott Hartsman left. It's so wearing to hear every change greeted by the peanut gallery of jaded longtime players with derision and contempt.
The changes that are being made stand a good chance of rendering those criticisms irrelevant as the game opens up to new players who don't have the same entrenched opinion about what EQ2 *has* to be, and who don't have years of investment in existing systems and practices.
Long story short, I'm having more fun in EQ2 now than I've ever had, I have more things I want to do after seven years than could have seemed possible after five years, when the whole game was in the doldrums, and EQ2's best days may well lie ahead.
Likewise! The game is in a good spot now and it seems to be going in a good direction. While I'm not playing as avidly as I was, I am excited about the game still.
ReplyDeleteI think sometimes it is good for change to come about (not as much as WoW, lol) to keep the game fresh. Old or hindering mechanics can sometime stagnate a game and all the nostalgia in the world can't stop it from being a bad thing. People get into a groove and don't want change even if it is for the best. I'm glad developers are making changes for the better of the game as a whole!