Druids

[Valius]

I think there should be an actual quest, not just walking to... that location... it's far too easy.

But the same with Chivalry and Bushido.

They really aren't professions in the way that a man wielding a sword is a profession. They are actual dedications, life-style choices one could say - and they really shouldn't be easy.

If you look at other games, if there's some form of job change that is powerful, it requires the completion of quite a complicated task usually. I mean, I'm not saying it to be spiteful to new players or anything like that - but if I was actually in UO and I was entrusting my life to some noble Paladin, I'd want to know he EARNT that title, and didn't just buy a book like the guy from Kung Fu Hustle.

What I think would be really cool would be having to join chivalry, bushido or druidism from a student level. You could start with a couple of basic techniques, and as you progress you are awarded more and more powerful spells or moves. This is in a bid to stop a player being shown where the Druid staff is and where to buy the scrolls or the spell books or what-ever that they really need to be a part of that class.

[Rhatoqtrax]

Nice suggestions Valius, but I fear that'd be a crapload of work to create quests and redesign the skills.

Oh, and about "showing where the staff is"... I think the problems already start with player vendors selling druid scrolls. No druid would ever do so, and other than druids shouldnt be able to loot those and e.g. get heavily burnt while trying to pick them up.

Yet, a (minor) hint on where druids live to ever get started would be great. Though, RP wise I found it okay to ask a druid about the place, afterall they live rather secluded and don't put their magic place into the daily news.

[Illithid]

The quest for paladins would be great. Since paladin books come already filled, it'd be easy just to remove it from vendors and make it a quest reward And paladin quest should not be about running around the continent, but to clarify to players that a role of a paladin needs extreme commitment. I do not mean that quest should be harder, but it should just signify the role of a paladin. But a possibility of harder quest (since they don't have to collect the spells) still needs to be thought. I can give in my two cents if admins like this idea.

As for druids (since this topic really is about them) I did confuse those "two places". I think quest isn't hard at all, and one look in stratics/UOAM and you already know where it is. But as you said, there is a room for confusion, and while it was not specified what you really needed to do there, I spent quite a while walking and talking. I was almost going to give up but then my friend hinted me about the possibility of the other place, and then it came clear to me.

[Cearbhalyn]

hehe, boy has this thread became a tangent .......Perhaps it should be moved to the general discussion area instead of a professional area.

Past that.... I would agree the first spot was much harder to find, I remember well when it was changed over, and why it was changed over. I also remember going right to this place it is now. However, I can also say that I have heard some people complain about the difficulty of even finding the druid grove, let alone where it sends you to afterwards. Many have had problems finding the afterwards as well, so I dont know how much it needs changed. AS Illithid was about to give up, a hint was given, so is it too easy, or simply that so many know about it, that even if you only hint to friends and guild mates, that means about everyone now?

As to making things harder, first Off I did play on a shard one time for a breif bit that the owner felt that if someone even accomplished a quest it was too easy and made it harder. It seemed like if anyone got anything done, it was made harder. It sucked, point blank on that part. Dont get me wrong, there are times that things are too easy and do need to be made harder, but you must balance that with player satisfaction as well. I know from my experiance that you can force players away by constantly making it harder and harder simply becuase you think that someone having something is too much. As to paladin books...first off...if you start a paladin you start with the book, so you would have to do more then remove it from vendors. Second, if you make it a quest and make it to hard, you will discourage the casual player....and before you say thats a cool idea.....think....what gives a full time player the right to say part time players cant do something? I cant complain too much about the paly idea, except that it should not be a huge drawnout massive thing.

As to Valius and the job change thing...UO has always and hopefully will always be very easy to change skills...and thats what a job is. Even just going out and buying the book does not give skill any more then going out and buying a spell book gives magery, or buying a shovel gives mining. You must in all skill work the skill up, and that is proving yourself in a job title. So even if Joe Schmoe walks into luna, and buys a book, as well as 33 skill... he is NOT going to be a paladin, any more then a 33 skill miner is a miner.....Yes they are what they claim to be, but they are sure not at their potential, nor even close.

Anyway just my opinions .....and i think this really does fit the general thread not here since it is now devolved to talking about paladins, as well as still halfway including druids to stay near topic....and quest, improvements to paladins not druids...... The thread is professionals , and even the discussion on druids was general not professional.....a professional discussion would be talking about druids and how to improve them, or problems with them...like good tactics for hunting x critter....or perhaps places to hunt for spells....etc....The orginal thread was INFO about the druid quest....

Have a good one....Ill stop rambling

[Valeria]

Sounds like a plan to me, delete all the chiv books and bushido books as well as skills from the shard and make a nice hard quest to receive the books and the skill.  This will weed out the non hard core gamers, mainly cause they wont be able to hunt with much luck without their books and skills.  If you think the druid quest is too easy stop giving out hints, and stop asking for hints.  I know it seems as though you are being harsh or rude when you *laugh* at the people that are asking "where is the grove?" or "where is the Druid Staff, I have looked everywhere?", the alternative is to act like a druid and ignore any questions about the quest, its best if they find it on their own.  If they can't find it on their own perhaps they need to re-evaluate what they want to be in life.

Valeria

[Valius]

It's not the intention of my suggestions to completely stop those who aren't 'hard-core' enough - but to make it a challenge. I'm not talking about making it impossible, but just a little more testing then walking to that place and picking up a staff. Perhaps the scrolls and tokens (collect a certain ammount of tokens to hand them in for a chiv/bushido book) could be placed on some mini-bosses who would be perhaps around as tough as a daemon or something. The player's given a quest to hunt one of the monsters and when they do, they get the scroll/token. Just an idea.

But I agree with Caerb (for once  ) we should perhaps move this to the Suggestions area now

[Icemere]

I'm sure SS would disagree with you , he certainly was any of those breeds , He refused point blank to be either, there not 'evil'

[Icemere]

I think there should be an actual quest, not just walking to... that location... it's far too easy.

But the same with Chivalry and Bushido.

They really aren't professions in the way that a man wielding a sword is a profession. They are actual dedications, life-style choices one could say - and they really shouldn't be easy.

If you look at other games, if there's some form of job change that is powerful, it requires the completion of quite a complicated task usually. I mean, I'm not saying it to be spiteful to new players or anything like that - but if I was actually in UO and I was entrusting my life to some noble Paladin, I'd want to know he EARNT that title, and didn't just buy a book like the guy from Kung Fu Hustle.

What I think would be really cool would be having to join chivalry, bushido or druidism from a student level. You could start with a couple of basic techniques, and as you progress you are awarded more and more powerful spells or moves. This is in a bid to stop a player being shown where the Druid staff is and where to buy the scrolls or the spell books or what-ever that they really need to be a part of that class.

Good suggestion, When i join SD/SH I never knew how power the skills or such was as i'd never played UO, So things took a while for me too grasp and skill gains was slow at first as i didnt know really how too raise them , But yeah Sounds good too me =)

[Rhatoqtrax]

I like the idea of increasing level of granted powers after proving yourself worth of them by questing.

Maybe this could be done by increasing the skills cap, e.g. without quest you might get up to 50 skill, a first absolved quest would allow 70, etc. And you'd have to train up your skill to your current maximum to be able to receive the next quest, aka the quest has a skill minimum. Like this you would HAVE TO do the quests one after another.

And I estimate that this is alot easier to integrate into the game than enabling/disabling spells according to your quest status.

[RedWolf]

well i've only been here for 4.5 months, but i decided to try my hand at getting a druid staff with my mage/tamer.  Easy? nope.  granted you take 2 skills at 100 to get ya ahead of the game if you know the skills needed, but you still have to raise one to 100.  Yes, if you have razor you can macro it to death and back in a sitting.  BUT, then you gotta look for the grove and i'll admit it took some help for me to find the grove, then more subtle hints and help to find the proper place for the staff.  Then you need the money to get your regs and book.  All in all this took me about 3 weeks.....2 and a half to train my stats and skills and another half to find the bloody stuff.  So i guesss my question is this.....how is it easy to become a druid without help? granted i see a lot of druids but they dont tell just anyone about their ranks so i feel its all fair and balanced when finding the way.  And it was harder before? good lord, i would not want to have searched for it then.

[Valius]

What was that sound?




Ah I thought so. It's an old can of worms being opened 

[Freyr DArden]

Overall a good discussion with good ideas. I like the quest for Chiv and Bushido especially.

[Forest Rithik]

Mmm wyrms..

[Mina]

 i started on this shard and was blown away by the druids, I hunted for the secret, found it and trained it.  My toon is a fully fledged druid now..but i am still learning how to use the spells properly and more importantly with what skills and when. I never thought the quest to get the staff was simple...my toon, Mina lives as a druid..has a druid style home and is dedicated to the way of the druid. The spells really help with hunting in small groups thru fel, where the beasties are a lil harder. as for paladin / bushida...bah...never liked them skills anyways  hehe