The End of EFU:M and the Start of EFU:R Feedback

[TheTurboNerd]

I have to express a different opinion. Visually and thematically the new module is spectacular. The quests and systems are also amazing. Sanctuary is great, the underdark is great, etc etc. I even like being able to buy some supplies instead of having to hunt them down.

However!

I don't necessarily like the new lower level/lower supply paradigm. I don't play games to roleplay as johnny commonfolk, the unimportant bloke who can't get anything done - there's a limit to what an army of level 6's can do. I simply feel as if the focus on lower levels has reached a point where it is becoming harmful to the server. HARDER is not BETTER.

That being said I don't think it's a huge issue, at the same time. Getting to level 5 was simple enough, and by the looks of it there are opportunities to quest hard and level/loot up. It can be very hard to explore however when almost any random spawn can murder you in two rounds. I do find however I have less interest in playing these days.

[Howlando]

Have you actually tried? Low level groups are going out all the time, into the Underdark - the Machine - the Lowerdark -  everywhere (small example). I'm talking small groups of level 5-7 PCs that aren't min-maxed, aren't just staying in invis. When I see them I try to spice, run a little adventure, something small. I think this is an EFU golden age of exploration.

Level range is also not much different from former chapters, it's just taking a bit more time to get to 8-9 (although PCs are already arriving).

[Jasede]

One of the nice parts of the setting change (and this happens every time we do it, so I hope there's another one in the pipes for the Grand Finale!) is that people once again band up and explore, even if it's dangerous. I can log on and join a small band of travelers and have fun; I like it. It's very P&P.

I play EfU to forget about real life and it's still delightfully good at that. If only I had more time, eh?

[PlayaCharacter]

Things I love about the new setting:

• The balance.
• Safety Cloaks. So perfect to set the tone for the Spellguard.
• The illusion and the shield. What an amazing concept.
• The loss of certain gods. I never realized how much that would matter.
• The balance.
• The desperate feeling of survival. Ymph never really had that.
• The design and layout of the House of Heroes. It rivals the Rock Bottom in terms of encouraging role play.
• The new quests. They really showcase the design talent of the DM team.
• Did I mention the balance?
• Set items. I may never use a set, but I'm glad they exist.
• The recent trend of flavorful DM spice which does not necessarily lead to a loot pile. The server feels more alive than I've ever known.
• Lower is back. Fuck yes.
• Lightstones. I mean, this is just plain cool.
• All the DMs. I mean all of you. You are doing God's work.
• The balance.

[Ommadawn]

Thanks for putting it into words far better than I ever could, Playa.

[redo]

I think Harder is more important and better. Why we play efu? Because we love RP i think, no because we want play on this server with WoW style and MMORPG style, but RP is the important thing.

For me is Sanctuary Harder then Mistlocke, but why? Because Mistlocke we played two years? We forgot to times, when we have start in Mistlocke. When players will know quests, and a lot of other things in Sanctuary, it will be easy, but now, Sanctuary is new "concept", what we dont know a lot. ( i know Sanctuary is not new, it was in chapter 1 )

[Ladocicea]

I feel Lower and its surrounding areas are empty to the point of feeling unfinished. I know it's not supposed to be as lively as it was back in original Sanctuary but I think it could stand to be a lot more alive than it is. I should mention that I'm not particularly interested in hearing/discussing plot/setting rationalisations for this absence of content, as no matter how devastated somewhere is from gas attacks, chosen, whatever, you can always find a way of reflecting this by adding or altering content, rather than wiping content away and making somewhere dead and uninteresting.

I think there should be far more desperados, resident monster tribes that have moved in to the now vacant premises/architecture, and so on to interact with, and more things to do e.g. low level fetch and carry quests for new PCs so you can start a PC in Lower and keep them there the entire time. Virtually all of the interiors to Lower are now locked off or are broken transitions, and the exteriors have just been wiped of anything interesting. I think it disincentivises people to make outsider PCs and instead of having an almost 50/50 (maybe 60/40, even so I'm willing to bet someone will disagree with this) split, it's more like 90/10 in favour of Upper. It's not good as it doesn't drive serverwide conflict and PC antagonism.

One of the strongest aspects of original EFU was this antagonism between Upper and Lower, as you immediately had a built in conflict ready to be explored the moment you set foot in the server. I am actually finding it quite hard to care about the dynamics of Upper at the moment as it feels like it's settling into the homogenous rut that other PWs find themselves in, where all PCs just gather in the same town square and do nothing. By focusing so much on Upper we've lost a massive amount of what made EFU such a compelling place to play.

[Howlando]

Lower is a bit of a clean slate at the moment, and there are definitely plans afoot to develop it (along with PC initiative). It is true that it could nevertheless use more content now; but it's not terrible and there seems to be lots of PCs who are hanging out down there more often than not. But it is true it is somewhat "unfinished," those DMs that were active in the end of the EFU:M plot as well as building this chapter simply are limited in terms of what we can do with our energy/time.

Interesting ideas for content that can be added to Lower that don't just precisely mimic old stuff would be welcome.

[Blue41]

While I don't agree with everything you're saying Ladocicea, (there's quite a bit of conflict built-in among the factions of Upper that I've noticed, but haven't really been pushed by PC's IMO) I would agree with a lot of it. It was definitely nostalgia that drove me to playing a Lower-based concept right off, and while it made sense for just about everything to be blown to hell, it was rather depressing to see transitions that could exist remain broken. Doors that can be picked led to nowhere, secret tunnels to old hideouts remain behind locked doors, rubble blocks off some of the main draws in the sewer, etc. I remembered feeling a little guilty early on- I could see how much work had been put into Upper Sanctuary and other parts of the server, and it felt like I was spitting on that by playing in one of the more barren sections.

That said, as Lower stands at the moment, it's the PC's that will draw attention to the district as a whole, rather than the attractions. There were times where half the server would be chilling in the Crone after I made a sending, and we would need to push people out of a quest group from having too many. But it was a group concept intended for Lower, and now I get the feeling that any solo PC's trying to work a fringe concept will burn themselves out in boredom- either waiting to interact with others in one of the two places to spawn, or clashing with quest groups sweeping through Lower.

I've heard that Lower will almost certainly grow, and I suppose that means we should be patient- but in the meantime, I kind of get the sense that yes, you shouldn't be mucking about in Lower too much 'until it's ready.'

[Heavyfog]

Come to Lower, we'd love to kill entertain you...

[Howlando]

Oh no, by all means enjoy Lower! I'll try to spruce things up a bit; but as I said fresh ideas for cool new content would be very welcome. Although a little patience for your exhausted if devoted builder-team is a nice thing to pair it with :)

[AirCanada]

I must say as a returning player I very much enjoy the increased interaction/DM spicing that I'm seeing between the players and the DMs in game.  They aren't always huge undertakings that lead to many deaths and lots of loot.  Many are smaller, shorter scenes that are actually a lot of fun to be a part of and really keep things interesting.

Kudos to you all!  It's actually keeping my interest very high and I look forward to logging in as frequently as possible.

[PlayaCharacter]

I'd like to add a point about Lower, to echo and amplify what ShadowCharlatan said.

Lower Sanctuary is and always has been a player canvas. Outside of the House of Light, the Tigereyes, and more recently the Seekers, the DM-led factions pretty much stay out. As far as the DM team is concerned, the biggest empty hole I see in Lower is the dearth of quest content. While it is true that Lower is presently a difficult place to start a PC, it is also simultaneously the easiest place to finish one, and I'm not talking about PvP.

The upper (Upper?) limits of success within the shield are conditioned by the DM factions themselves. You simply will not ever achieve a high level of arcane mastery in Upper Sanctuary without the Spellguard eventually crawling up your ass and co-opting whatever it is you're doing. You will not ever attain more power of force than either the Watchers or the Warders without one or both of them coming along to take you down a notch. Those factions rule supreme in Upper Sanctuary and short of mobilizing the entire playerbase against them there is nothing you can ever do to change that.

Put simply, you can't beat 'em. Eventually you will have to join 'em. Perhaps not as an official member, but you're going to end up working for them one way or another.

Lower, on the other hand, is where Aleczumberzeil te Esoterotept eventually learned to walk the planes. Lower is where Montezzi established a base of power so large and imposing that even the DM factions of Upper were forced to negotiate with him. Lower is where the Seekers went when they finally decided they'd had enough of Sanctuary's shit, taking the entire Frederick Bresely plotline with them. Lower is the launching pad from where Uncle Worn achieved Bresley's dream and escaped from the Underdark.

If you want to make a long-term character that will shake the foundations of the setting, make true change, and most importantly, do it on your own terms, Lower Sanctuary is where it's going to happen. The best way to do that is to start out now, establishing a strong presence there before anyone else, slowly building your power base, and carefully managing your resources. By the time the DM team comes along with some new content that draws in fresh PCs, you will already be poised to either rule or lead them as you see fit.

[scrappayeti]

I have highly enjoyed EfU:4 so far, I think a sterling job has been done by the DM team. Most of the neat things have been recognised already, like the glorious plot unfold and the mega nostalgic rush of being eaten in the dark. So I’ll just point out a few special things I really like, and one thing I miss from EfU:3, just because I am an old sourpuss at heart.

I like the pure polish of the new setting. I know that the template was already there, but I was just gobsmacked at how much there was to do in the Underdark right out of the gate. Newly revamped factions, politics, quests, new explorable QAs etcetera etcetera. So much appreciation for how much work was put in silently behind the scenes. Its like some crazy out-of-control surprise after work office party; where you look around in a drunken haze at three AM, and see two half naked hookers and a midget clown sniffing coke off a baby petting rhino, and just think, “do they really like Bob that much?”

I also really like the all the moving parts that players get to tinker with without needing DMs. The baublium meter, the new multi-piece armour sets, the climbing mini-games, the fishing, that spoiler I cannot spoil, oh, and actually that other spoiler, now I come to think of it. Anyhow, there seem to be lots of non-RP things to do without needing to lean on the DMs, and I rate that highly.  

I love that when I finally crawled over the line and was rewarded with a rather sterling piece of DM loot, it was really well designed. It was thematic, useful in an odd way, power level nuanced, but by far and away best of all, it didn’t have “//do not use unless you are PLAYER X” written across the top. I nearly swooned. If this is a trend, not a mistake, it is one I am all for. Nothing seems less fair to me than DM loot that you had to fight against in PvP, but cannot wear as the victor. The problem of looting PvE downed players is mostly resolved, so I would love to see an end to “//do not use” markers on every second item. It only gives loot character if it’s been around the block a few times.[FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"] The Eternal McGuffinator of Roland Hammerelbow[/FONT] [FONT="Verdana"]Hannah Widehip[/FONT] [FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Grishmook the Bloated[/FONT] Jimmy Quickfingers is a great name for a weapon, imo.

Now for my gripe.

I miss H’bala!

She was awesome. She rates as one of my favourite fictional villains of all time. Up there with Hannibal Lector, Darth Vader and The Wicked Witch of the West. She was unique, logical in her evil motivations, deeply entrenched within a wider narrative flow, and every single time you logged onto the server she would fuck your shit up, without fail.

And that last point is what I miss most about her. One of the hard things about roleplaying in Faerun is we not only have nine alignments and seven races (without app) but also fifty plus gods to choose from; not to mention how ever many different national/cultural origins. When you are averaging 15ish players on the server at any given time, there’s a statistical probability that you will have no two players seeing eye to eye on morality, ascetics or what makes a good, tasty brunch.

But H’bala was a really unifying presence. You knew who the enemy was, and sure, that guy over there may burn gnomes by reflex; think baby skin is good in autumnal colours; and pack watercress sandwiches for the mid-quest brunch; but goddamn it, he didn’t just wither your arm until the pustules popped and leaked putrescence down your new shirt, so he was suddenly alright in your book! Together, unlikely allies, you went off hand in hand and got rofflestomped by some Flesh Gardeners, because everyone knows those guys had it coming.  

Of course now we have the Dread Empire (whose PR department really must have come back from a long lunch when they chose the name). We know the Dread Empire are burning our cherished ones and enslaving our homes in a really bad, bad, terrible, bad way on the surface. But all the puppy cerebro-spinal fluid draining and other horrors seems very far away and don’t seem to be having any kind of impact on the server at the moment (spoiler alert: this will change later on).  

I really feel a void where our collective distrust used to funnel away from each other and towards H’bala. I like Mad Marge, for example, but she is far from the archetypal nemesis villain whose face we can all agree we would rather punch in the face than one’s fellow PC. There was a weird camaraderie when Crow and Stag went shoulder to shoulder to take turns getting slapped around by a bunch of druids milliputtyed together, because when shit got real, everyone knew who the real enemy was.  

So I hope that as the story unfolds, the Dark Empire gains a figure head of some sort. One worthy to be cut out and stuck on dart boards across the city. And I hope that the Dark Empire finds some equally annoying middle ground between being irrelevant and just outright killing us that the withering so skilfully filled in EfU:3, just to constantly remind us they are there, and not very nice.

The withering and H’bala were very clever unifying forces that made that incarnation of EfU:3 significantly more enjoyable for me than the previous, may these wisdoms not be forgot!

[Doc-Holiday]

Please don't encourage our untimely demise through impressive displays of DM horror-craft.