Lower the difficulty level of the Server

[DaWarBeast]

I think the server difficulty level is nice if you have been playing nwn and efu for years. Unfortunately for the less experienced not so much. I've seen so many groups die just to lack of mechanical know-how that only comes from a lot of unfun deaths.

Some quests such as orcs 1 though fairly easy to conquer for an experienced core of vets would just wipe out any rag tag group that tried to take it on. Though please don't quote a number of times when your rag tag group managed to beat it, because I know it can be done with a random group! Too difficult to be worthwhile though!

Another unfortunate truth is that I really couldn't suggest anything that would improve upon the current system without causing more problems. I doubt anyone else could either.

[lakhena]

I'm mechanically challenged, I'll admit that, so my poor PC dies a lot. I don't mind it (that much), but I would love to see more difficult quests that will accommodate smaller groups without having a barbarian tank. Playing in the late hours (and I'm sure the Euros playing during American mornings can sympathize) and scrambling to get a third for your party who makes IC sense and then having to do the same easy quests again and again is getting rather boring, and although I try to come up with different excuses to do things, eventually I'll run out.
 
I'd love to see more quests, harder ones, that groups of 3 or 4 can do in the lvl 5-7 range. From what I've seen, there's a lack of diverse lvl 6/7 quests that don't require a large group or a massive tank. Maybe I just don't know the server well enough, after having been here a few months, but I'd like to do other things than Jergals, gnolls, harpies, and oozes when I hit my lvl 6 ceiling.
 
Raising the xp rewards would be helpful to encouraging us to quest-train less and rp more, of course, but additional content is also a viable option! Also, in case I haven't said it before, kudos to the builders. I find the dungeons well-designed -- I'm just greedy and want more of them.

[DaWarBeast]

Actually Lakhena you'll find that the harder quests scale quite drastically the more people you bring and thus you're much better NOT going with more than three. Or if you do bring more than three they better all be very useful or the people that count will be massively burdened by the spawns.

Personally I would prefer if quests didn't scale with numbers so that way theres some benefit to bringing more over less (other than you might use a ton more supplies and gain more xp/less physical reward.)

[Ebok]

Warbeast, The dms addressed this point within this post.

Some quests are also harder if played with 3 and become easier with 5 above+ so three manning isn't always a solution.

The Loot tends towards the better end when more people went along as well. At least within a good chunk of the QAs

[Egon the Monkey]

@ Mort.
Rest areas within long quests would be awesome, especially for offense mages and combat bards. It's always a problem on the long ones when you have to buff because it's the only effective way to prepare. It would also remove the problem in a lot of areas of casters always being burned out of spells for the way back post-quest as there's nowhere to rest without enemies in range. I'd like to see rest areas at the end of any quest where you're attacking some sort of camp, just for caster reloads.

[derfo]

I think some of the higher end quests become a nuisance when you bring too many people, though that is usually just sort of the fault of the nature of the quest. While I still definitely think the itemization/level pacing/difficulty of EFU as opposed to EFU:A was better, I think it's pretty easy to make the adjustment (eventually). I think that a significant problem is what can easily be identified as easy or hard and how desirable it is for a person to challenge that.

[Gwydion]

Here's another vote for inserting rest points within and/or near the start/end point of tough quests.  

It's very encouraging to see Mort and the DM staff are open to player feedback like this.

Thanks guys.

[ScottyB]

I agree with derflaro above that some way to tell a "normal" quest like trogs or harpies from a "hard" quest might be nice; maybe even put out a challenge, like Howland's adventurer challenge, but specific to doing hard quests - maybe in ways that are sub-optimal, too (like with four white mages).

I think that when things are going normal - dealing and receiving average damage, making sound decisions - that the difficulty is generally high but manageable. Mistakes should definitely be costly.

The thing about the random element being able to take you out no matter how good you are... well, that's more like the difference between playing poker and playing chess. This game is designed with those crits and saving throws. That's the nature of 3.x D&D.

[politoed_]

I think it would be cool if rest points were added, they locked a special 'extra' loot chamber or something along those lines.

That way, those that want to push the difficulty level are able to do so, while others who prefer a more 'casual' time can use the aforementioned point to appropriate the challenge to a more desired level. It might even bring up some sort of interesting negotiations amongst party members.

[Caddies]

While I still definitely think the itemization/level pacing/difficulty of EFU as opposed to EFU:A was better

You mean where you could hit L7 in one day no problem, and by day two be on your way to L9 and with a massive belt of wands to boot? No, one of the reasons EFU:A was even conceived in the first place was because the EFU economy was so massively broken.

I don't see why people have a problem with EFU:A's system. L6, a key level for pure BAB classes, is -extremely- easy to get to. You can do a gamut of non-risky quests and hit it very quickly. L7, the key level for multiclasses and casters, likewise is fairly easy to get. When I log on EFUSL as a DM lately, the average level is like 7+. Quite a number of L9s and tonnes of L8s.

I know how good you are at NWN Scrappa. You won't have many problems at all, once you get settled. Hitting L10 and beyond is honestly the only really difficult thing, and thats by design.

[Caddies]

BTW, I am fairly against adding rest areas to any quest other than maybe Coral Cove and Sunken Enclave for obvious reasons. It would be utterly ridiculous for L7+ wizards to be able to rest during a quest. The whole party could have stoneskins and IIs up no problem, and the quest would be broken. Part of the challenge of playing a wizard is holding your spells in reserve for key times.

[politoed_]

I think it's somewhat exaggerated that you could level that fast in EFU as opposed to EFU:A, and while possible, I don't think that changes the consideration that it was still somewhat more desirable in some manners. Regardless, it would be cool to quote entire sentences.

[Gnome on the Strange]

Coral Cove is a bitch though, glad you notice. Playing Ahmed, I found the only way to do it was to prep certain useful buffs, and inform my team to use potions on the rest. Broodhive's pretty bad too. It's the longest "casual" quest. Do remember though, resting also fries whatever buffs you chugged/paid for.

I'm not saying "stick a camp bed halfway through gnolls", but a Flayer dormitory, a bed in one of the Coral Cove outbuildings etc, would seem feasible, as well as campfires at the *end* of Gnolls, Wild orcs, trolls etc, so you can always exit with your wizards and clerics armed up *if* you are smart enough to bring bedrolls.

[Egon the Monkey]

Coral Cove is a bitch though, glad you notice. Playing Ahmed, I found the only way to do it was to prep certain useful buffs, and inform my team to use potions on the rest. Broodhive's pretty bad too. It's the longest "casual" quest and short of a high level caster extending hour/level spells, everything runs out. Do remember though, resting also fries whatever buffs you chugged/paid for.

I'm not saying "stick a camp bed halfway through gnolls", but a Flayer dormitory, a bed in one of the Coral Cove outbuildings etc, would seem feasible, as well as campfires at the *end* of Gnolls, Wild orcs, trolls etc, so you can always exit with your wizards and clerics armed up *if* you are smart enough to bring bedrolls.

I'd say I level a lot faster here than in the UD but that's likely just me being a better player than when I started, and the fact my UD bard wasn't much of a powerquester.

[Drakill Tannan]

BTW, I am fairly against adding rest areas to any quest other than maybe Coral Cove and Sunken Enclave for obvious reasons. It would be utterly ridiculous for L7+ wizards to be able to rest during a quest. The whole party could have stoneskins and IIs up no problem, and the quest would be broken. Part of the challenge of playing a wizard is holding your spells in reserve for key times.

Adding a rest camp on gnolls, a quest that takes 15-40 mins to do, depending on the party, is a bad idea.

Adding a rest camp at, orcs 2, a quest that takes 2-3 hours to do, is even necesary IMO. Mostly, because otherwise wizards are limited to buffs. Trolls is another long quest that could use a resting spot.