I'm getting a feeling that EfUA is easier than EfU, in terms of survival. Anyone else get that feeling, or is it just me and my invisible mages? I do seem to notice lots of lvl7-8 compared to EfU's lvl 5-7.
If so (or not) do you like it as is? And (dms) is that intended?
Probably you and your invis. I think EfU:A is more difficult. But I haven't played in a few weeks, so things might've toned down during my hiatus.
Or players are adapting.
I'd not say it's too easy. Once night falls, except for the Observatory, every non-newbie quest has fairly tough undead blocking the way, forcing you to buff early, slip past or take a chance fighting them. And with no Watch on the gates, those things can get to the Ziggurat and kill newbies before they get dropped, if they follow someone. And then, there's the Werewolves too.
In fact arguably much of the island is more dangerous for parties to navigate than the UD, since although UD foes were nasty, in general you could spot them. Here we have an island lousy with sneaky goblin assassins, stealthy tigers the size of pickup trucks etc. It's considerably harder for my Ranger to sneak everywhere with impunity. Plus, the ridiculous amount of poisonous foes.
It may be that the UD had more of a "fear factor" than a tropical island, and combined with a lot of quests in and near Sanctuary, there was less exploring. The Island is more intermittently dangerous. Areas like the Docks and Temples, which are a cakewalk at day but hell at night.
The happy, sun-soaked shores of Ymph make people think that this place isn't dangerous, but alas, I've seen some horrible spawns out there.
EfU had a shit-ton of 7-8s toward the end. EfU:A just got to the level stage that EfU had at the end in three months rather than a year (or six months-I really can't remember).
Invising through quests always makes things seem easy until you run across something that can see invis. Then you'll be back begging for something easier.
Spawns such as Shambling Mounds, A group of Nightriser Guards, or a Yellow Musk Creeper, fairly close to a spawn of a Gibbering Mouther can all be deadly, when traveling the Ymphian Wilderness.
Not to mention those Ymphian Werewolves with huge amounts of AB and Damage.
It isn't easier, it is just the players have gotten better.
Considering the amount of times I've died, I'd say that its just right.
Surviving in the wilderness is just as difficult I would say, but many of the quests have become much easier than the Underdark quests in my opinion.
It's just faster to get to QAs, therefore more time to get experience in quests. No problems with that, really. The newer folks have plenty of problems staying alive in the 4-6 range. This is outside of DM quests featuring what I call "TEH DEADLY" and Dan spawning wild orc guerillas to shoot my PC in the butt after losing to DRD in a duel outside the bridge, most likely going "You just got MASSARCED" IRL =(.
Not easier for me. I'm having trouble keeping any char 5th level or above.
EfU:A is considerably more difficult.
Quote from: Caddies;97544EfU:A is considerably more difficult.
What he said. :-/
It might be a little easier on this new server, to stay alive at least.
About the leveling I think it is about the same or harder. I think many monsters give very low XP. On quest completion there is an ok reward usually.
My character is at level 6 now and it feels like a huge distance to the next level hehe.
I'm getting a lot more fugueings than in the UD, but that may be because I played a backliner with about 18-20 AC and the capability to create a ton of useful consumables :D.
One thing I've noticed it a prevalence of different dangers. There is a LOT more poison around here, there are several things that have natural +1 weapons or dispels to rip Blurs off, and plenty of things with KD. Also, the city turns into a dangerous area after dark. On the plus side, no Hook Horrors.
I'd say it's easier to level with the number of good XP quests, but also a lot easier to get killed by a lot of things capable of huge crits, dispels, or other "spikes" of trouble.
I am actually finding quests particulary difficult. I've yet to have one blur potion on my almost lvl 6 char and most of the time I am stealthy while people fight. Also the people who seem to be succeeding at all the quests causing them to be harder makes me cry...
Uhh....the quests get harder??
I think it almost entirely depends on how much DMLove/DMHate(spice)/Consumables you have. I'd actually say EFU:A questing is a much more imbalanced experience, easy for some and tougher for others.
I'd say its about the same difficulty for me.
It depends on what you're asking. Are the quests too easy? Sure, some of them actually are. Is EfU:A too easy? Fuck no, it's way too God damn hard. It's too hard to find a DM*, it's too hard to find a plot, and it's way too damn hard to find a group of like-minded characters.
I can log in to just about any other major server and get a character started ASAP, jump in to a plot, and there it goes. Here, I used to have trouble, but it was always for IG or plot reasons. It was never as bad as it is now. I hate the fact that other servers are picking up disaffected NWN2 players, while my favorite server is losing players.
*This is based on the experience of someone who hasn't devoted much time to play in the last two months. Your actual gameplay experience with EfU:A may be different. Please consult your local DM for personal diagnosis and treatment.
Outside of questing, yes, I agree that things are harder then they were when we had a lot of active and engaged DM's.
I compare the last couple months of Archipelago with Beta in the Underdark. Same kind of tweaks and squeaks that need oil, but the difference seems to be that where as in Beta, there was nearly a 1/1 DM to player ratio, right now, its seems at least like there is a 1 or 2 to the entire server ratio.
It could use some more attention is all I mean by that. The active DM's are doing a great job, but it could use some more. I also know its tough to stay involved in a 4 year old game, for all of us. I just hope this isn't the begining of the end.