New "Shadow Quest"

[Energizeric]

Many players agree that quests in AL are too simple and too easy. So here is an idea for a more interesting quest.....


1) Sometime during the later part of the season (maybe 4-6 weeks before the next expansion), there will be a new elite dungeon map. The entire quest will be done in this elite dungeon. When the next expansion comes, this elite dungeon will disappear forever and so will the quest.

2) The goal will be to defeat the boss on this map while collecting "shadow fragments". In order for the boss to spawn, 95% of the mobs must be killed first. You cannot run past the mobs or else the boss will not spawn.

3) Each time you kill the boss, you receive one "shadow fragment".

4) The boss will also sometimes drop items. 85% of the time you will not get any drop and will just get a "shadow fragment". The other 15% of the time you will get a drop.

The drop table will look like this:

Epic: Shadow Link (10% chance of getting this drop)
Legendary: Shadow Clasp (4% chance of getting this drop)
Mythic: Shadow Gem (0.9% chance of getting this drop)
Arcane: Shadow Ring (0.1% chance of getting this drop)

5) Luck elixirs will work here and you can re-roll to a better item. However, if you do not get a drop, then you cannot get a re-roll, so luck elixirs will NOT improve your chances of getting a drop.

6) The elite mobs in this dungeon will occasionally drop Locked Crates.

7) Shadow Fragments are not inventory items, but are counted in the quest window. Shadow Links, Shadow Clasps, Shadow Gems, and Shadow Rings are inventory items which can be bought/sold/traded.

8) When you reach 100 shadow fragments, you can turn in the quest at the blacksmith in Kelys and he will convert the 100 shadow fragments into a Shadow Amulet Base for a 100k fee. This Shadow Amulet Base cannot be traded.

9) Next, the blacksmith can craft a new level 36 mythic amulet for you called a Shadow Amulet if you have all the required parts. You will need the following parts:

1 Shadow Amulet Base
10 Shadow Links
6 Shadow Clasps
2 Shadow Gems

***An alternative that has been suggested is to allow players who already have an older mythic amulet to be able to exchange that older mythic amulet for a shadow amulet base. So for those players, they can make this exchange instead of running the quest to get the shadow amulet base. Then of course they will still have to acquire the other crafting components in order to craft the Shadow Amulet.***

10) The stats of this new Shadow Amulet will be equally useful for all classes, much the way the mythic ring is.

11) Crafting this amulet will grant the mythic title and banner.

12) This new Shadow Amulet can be bought/sold/traded.

13) The Arcane Shadow Ring (listed in the drop table above) will be a super rare drop, and will be a level 36 Arcane ring. It's stats will be reflective of an arcane item, and like the Shadow Amulet, its stats will be equally useful for all classes.

14) Looting an Arcane Shadow Ring will grant the arcane title and banner.

15) Since this elite dungeon will disappear at the end of the season, all of these items will become discontinued after that time, but those in existence can still be bought/sold/traded.

16) Each player can only do this quest one time, although you can continue farming the dungeon for drops after completing the quest.

17) As this quest will be very time consuming, many players will use elixirs to speed up the runs, including luck elixirs to give a better chance at looting the super rare Arcane Shadow Ring. As such, this will be a good revenue idea for STS.

18) There will NOT be any specific APs (achievement points) associated with this quest. Doing the quest will not be necessary to be on the leaderboards, and will be entirely optional.

[Deadroth]

Energ.. I always loved Your op-desire XD But don't You think that dev will be angry for You for that, You stole their idea XD STG would love new plat spenders... ect.. pepole would kill theirselves for that ring.. Good idea for rich ppl. OFC Luck doesn't know barriers XD

[Valsacar]

A few thoughts...

I think it should be re-doable, so I can keep going and get more to sell. That said, it wouldn't be terrible with how you have it, as the items need to craft it are sellable.

Stats for it, a decent amount of each stat. Then I think it should be +% of dmg/armor/bonusDmg/etc. Making it % based (good, but not too high) will give it staying power, but as we level the stat increase of other items will make these not as attractive.

[Maunyabastian]

Mythics and arcanes can be dropped? I doubt it.
Mythics and arcanes can be crafted? Totally agree, all we need just to collect the materials.
But, I'm thinking about the platinums requirement. If there is no platinum requirement, I'm not certain that STS will accomplish this.
There are many players who waste their platinums to get arcane or mythic items, but when they hear this news they will be disappointed. And stop buying platinum.

[Energizeric]

Mythics and arcanes can be dropped? I doubt it.
Mythics and arcanes can be crafted? Totally agree, all we need just to collect the materials.
But, I'm thinking about the platinums requirement. If there is no platinum requirement, I'm not certain that STS will accomplish this.
There are many players who waste their platinums to get arcane or mythic items, but when they hear this news they will be disappointed. And stop buying platinum.

1) This is a limited time quest, and will be gone after a month, so not a permanent change.

2) Because the quest is so time consuming, and because there is a deadline, players will purchase damage and speed elixirs to try to speed up their runs so they can do the required 100 runs. Remember that elite runs can take 10-15 minutes. That means 4-6 per hour at best. You need 100 in a month, minimum. All those elixirs = plat spent.

3) Because there is a rare chance to loot an Arcane item, and because the crafting items can be sold, players will buy luck elixirs, which means more plat spent. I think many players (possibly myself included) would run the entire quest all month long with luck elixirs hoping to loot that super expensive Arcane Shadow Ring. Again, this means lots of plat spent.

[Derezzzed]

+1 people will buy elixirs for drops/faster runs, players get what they want being able tO have a mythic/arcane that isn't only attainable by chests, win-win situation to me

[wowdah]

Arcane should be 0.3 percent not 0.1 percent.

[Energizeric]

Arcane should be 0.3 percent not 0.1 percent.

I think 0.1% is plenty. That means that without using luck elixirs, 1 in 1000 runs will drop an Arcane Shadow Ring. Since players doing the quest will do 100 runs minimum to finish the quest (and maybe some more to get all the required crafting materials), that means 1 in 10 players will loot this item.

But many players do use luck elixirs. If you stack luck elixir with leprechaun pendant, you get 40% luck. That means for those players, 40% of the Mythic Shadow Gem drops (0.9%) will be re-rolled to Arcane Shadow Rings. So to do some math here:

0.9 x 40% = 0.36

0.36 (chance for a re-roll to Arcane Shadow Ring) + 0.1 (chance to loot Arcane Shadow Ring without a re-roll) = 0.46% total chance.

That means for players running the whole quest with a simple 4 plat luck elixir while wearing a leprechaun pendant, the chance of looting an Arcane Shadow Ring would be about 1 in 217 runs. Since 100+ runs are required to complete the quest, that means about half of those players would loot the ring.

If anything, the drop rate of the ring is on the high side, much higher than Arcane drop rate should really be. However, because this is a limited time item only available for 1 month, I think it's ok to have the drop rate be on the high side.

But no, most of the players doing this quest should NOT loot the Arcane Ring. All of them who complete the quest will get the Mythic Shadow Amulet. Only a select few should loot the Arcane Shadow Ring. It should be rare enough to be worthy of being Arcane.

[Bless]

Id rather do 1000 elite shuyal runs, sell the chests and buy the arcane with like 10m

I think the quest is too "elite". You have to kill 95% of elite mobs, then an elite boss then you have to redo it 99 times :/

[Energizeric]

Id rather do 1000 elite shuyal runs, sell the chests and buy the arcane with like 10m

I think the quest is too "elite". You have to kill 95% of elite mobs, then an elite boss then you have to redo it 99 times :/

There's a Nordr quest that says you have to kill 20 elite bosses and the reward is only an elite golden chest. At least this one has a good reward.

And like I said, it is not required. There is no achievement specific for this quest, so if you prefer not to do it, you can always buy the amulet (or the ring) from someone else. That's what is so great about it. It's entirely optional. :)

[Bless]

Id rather do 1000 elite shuyal runs, sell the chests and buy the arcane with like 10m

I think the quest is too "elite". You have to kill 95% of elite mobs, then an elite boss then you have to redo it 99 times :/

There's a Nordr quest that says you have to kill 20 elite bosses and the reward is only an elite golden chest. At least this one has a good reward.

And like I said, it is not required. There is no achievement specific for this quest, so if you prefer not to do it, you can always buy the amulet (or the ring) from someone else. That's what is so great about it. It's entirely optional. :) oh, i thought it was ap.

But still, it grants mythic ring, good idea.

[Energizeric]

oh, i thought it was ap.

Since the quest ends up being discontinued after a month, there can't be an AP involved or else players who came to the game later on would never be able to get that AP. So think of it like the ichor quest in PL, where finishing the quest granted a rare elite weapon, and you also had a chance to drop black dragon gear. Similar idea here, but a little more interesting I think.

[Energizeric]

Bump, want more feedback. :)

[Uzii]

Arcane and mythic items droping exactly from a boss...that was asking from the start, when the idea was born! :D

And if u dont drop loot u still gain a shard, u can turn into an amulet! So still rewarding.

I like this idea very much :D

[Drearivev]

If the boss drops a Shadow Gem, do you get the Mythic achievement, title and banner?

Also, pretty much either way, you will get the Mythic achievement sometime if you do go for this quest. So I love this idea.

[Taejo]

Arcane: Shadow Ring (0.1% chance of getting this drop)

I really don't like this. The point of a quest of this caliber is engage in an epic adventure, enjoy the story line, and ultimately be rewarded for your efforts. In most cases, a well-written quest will have decent loot along the way to either use or sell - but not something that is completely better than the quest reward itself. It just makes no sense to design it that way. People will exploit the heck out of this idea, and completely ignore the quest. Remember, there's always going to be players who have dollar signs in their eyes and don't care about actual content. This quest should only reward those who care about the content and are willing to finish the quest in it's entirety for an outstanding reward.


9) Next, the blacksmith can craft a new level 36 mythic amulet for you called a Shadow Amulet if you have all the required parts. You will need the following parts:

1 Shadow Amulet Base
10 Shadow Links
6 Shadow Clasps
2 Shadow Gems

Still pondering this part. I like it, but am also trying to think of ways to include older mythic gear - such as, why not make it 1 Base, 7 Links, 3 Clasps, 1 Gem, 1 Bloodruby of Shuyal? This way, the L31 Bloodruby ring can maintain some monetary value within the economy, make it useful for those who have already been wearing it and want to upgrade later (rather than selling it or twink it), and of course force more crates to be opened (benefits STG). Then again, the whole point of the quest is to start with nothing and end up with something. Taking this into consideration, my idea wouldn't make it a fair quest for those who don't already have the ring.


And like I said, it is not required. There is no achievement specific for this quest, so if you prefer not to do it, you can always buy the amulet (or the ring) from someone else. That's what is so great about it. It's entirely optional. :)

Well, it's not really optional in the sense that most end-gamers desire the best available gear and will do whatever it takes to obtain it. So for a good amount of players in AL, this will be "required" in a logical sense.

[Energizeric]

That's not a terrible idea to use the old mythic ring. Maybe there should be 2 crafting options, one that requires the base, and the other where the old mythic ring can be substituted for the base. Then you will still need the crafting items which of course you can buy from other players.

Also, you seem to have noticed that I included more of each crafting item in the recipe than would seem to drop during 100 runs based on the odds I stated. That is because many players will be using luck/re-roll elixirs, so more of the rare crafting items are likely to drop than would if nobody were using elixirs. If there are more crafting items than are needed by players to craft, then those items will become worthless. So I made more of them required just for that reason. However, if your idea of using the old mythic ring to craft a new one is given as an option, then that itself would be a reason to need more crafting items, so maybe those numbers would not need to be boosted.

Sorry if my last paragraph is very confusing to understand, but if you read it a few times and look at my original post above, I think you will understand what I'm saying.

[Taejo]

I edited my post while you were writing yours ;) Added some feedback for you.

[Drearivev]

I really don't like this. The point of a quest of this caliber is engage in an epic adventure, enjoy the story line, and ultimately be rewarded for your efforts. In most cases, a well-written quest will have decent loot along the way to either use or sell - but not something that is completely better than the quest reward itself. It just makes no sense to design it that way. People will exploit the heck out of this idea, and completely ignore the quest. Remember, there's always going to be players who have dollar signs in their eyes and don't care about actual content. This quest should only reward those who care about the content and are willing to finish the quest in it's entirety for an outstanding reward.

Concerning this, I was thinking that if the loot that you could possibly obtain is better than the entire quest's reward, then for really "elite" players that really want to be the best, they would have to collect X more Shadow fragments and some more Shadow Links, Clasps, and Gem(s) to upgrade the Shadow Amulet into an Arcane rarity Amulet. That way, it wouldn't be possible to just get the Arcane item as a drop. Also, upgrading the Mythic Amulet into an Arcane Amulet would grant you the Arcane achievement if you don't have it already.

[Taejo]

Concerning this, I was thinking that if the loot that you could possibly obtain is better than the entire quest's reward, then for really "elite" players that really want to be the best, they would have to collect X more Shadow fragments and some more Shadow Links, Clasps, and Gem(s) to upgrade the Shadow Amulet into an Arcane rarity Amulet. That way, it wouldn't be possible to just get the Arcane item as a drop. Also, upgrading the Mythic Amulet into an Arcane Amulet would grant you the Arcane achievement if you don't have it already.

Agreed. To piggy back on this, maybe design the quest so that the Arcane version would require the L31 Bloodruby ring + double the components (so 1/20/12/4) and leave the Mythic version to just collecting the normal list of components.

[Energizeric]

Guys, if any of you played PL then you will remember the ichor quest. What made the ichor quest fun was that while doing the quest for this elite weapon, you had a chance to get black dragon gear as drops, and as we all know those today are the most valuable items that exist in PL. What made this quest interesting was:

1) The only way to get the elite weapon was to do the quest.

2) The only way to get the black dragon helm & armor was to farm the dungeon.

3) You could do both #1 & #2 at the same time. So you were guaranteed to get the elite weapon, and had a chance to get black dragon helm & armor.

4) Both the elite weapon and black dragon gear were discontinued after the quest ended and the new expansion was released, so even more incentive to work to get items that would be rare and would become discontinued.

What made the ichor quest NOT good in my opinion:

5) The elite weapon could not be sold, and it was not the best weapon available at the time, but was instead about equal to some other weapons. It should have been the best, and you should have had the option to sell it if you wanted to.

6) A common complaint was when you beat the boss, you only had a CHANCE to get an ichor each time. It was not guaranteed. I think this was a bad idea. I think each time you beat the boss you should have gotten one. If they wanted to make the quest longer, they could have increased the number of ichors required.


So I have taken some of the items I think were good ideas from the ichor quest and have implemented them here. At the same time, I have fixed some of the items from the ichor quest I think were bad ideas. So that is how I came up with this idea. It is very similar, but I think having been through this already in another STS game, we know which things players liked and we know which they did not like. So STS can get it right this time.

[Taejo]

Guys, if any of you played PL then you will remember the ichor quest. What made the ichor quest fun was that while doing the quest for this elite weapon, you had a chance to get black dragon gear as drops, and as we all know those today are the most valuable items that exist in PL. What made this quest interesting was:

1) The only way to get the elite weapon was to do the quest.

2) The only way to get the black dragon helm & armor was to farm the dungeon.

3) You could do both #1 & #2 at the same time. So you were guaranteed to get the elite weapon, and had a chance to get black dragon helm & armor.

4) Both the elite weapon and black dragon gear were discontinued after the quest ended and the new expansion was released, so even more incentive to work to get items that would be rare and would become discontinued.

What made the ichor quest NOT good in my opinion:

5) The elite weapon could not be sold, and it was not the best weapon available at the time, but was instead about equal to some other weapons. It should have been the best, and you should have had the option to sell it if you wanted to.

6) A common complaint was when you beat the boss, you only had a CHANCE to get an ichor each time. It was not guaranteed. I think this was a bad idea. I think each time you beat the boss you should have gotten one. If they wanted to make the quest longer, they could have increased the number of ichors required.


So I have taken some of the items I think were good ideas from the ichor quest and have implemented them here. At the same time, I have fixed some of the items from the ichor quest I think were bad ideas. So that is how I came up with this idea. It is very similar, but I think having been through this already in another STS game, we know which things players liked and we know which they did not like. So STS can get it right this time.

Yes, looting the Black Dragon gear made sense because they are armor pieces whereas the quest reward is a weapon - and all the gear that you acquire compliments each other as sort of a set. However, you mentioned that the quest reward is a mythic ring, but the rare drop is also a ring (arcane). To me, this just makes us choose which one we want more; and obviously if I looted the arcane ring the only motivation to finish the quest is to sell the mythic ring later. I guess in some people's mind that is a double win situation, and positive outcome. Me personally, I'd rather have the chance at two pieces of wearable jewelry that compliment each other, like the Ichor quest. It just seems odd to have two of the same type of item coming from the same quest line. So maybe this would be a good opportunity to introduce an arcane necklace instead (as the ultra rare drop.

[Drearivev]

Agreed. To piggy back on this, maybe design the quest so that the Arcane version would require the L31 Bloodruby ring + double the components (so 1/20/12/4) and leave the Mythic version to just collecting the normal list of components.
Hint hint, I said Amulet :)

[Energizeric]

Yes, looting the Black Dragon gear made sense because they are armor pieces whereas the quest reward is a weapon - and all the gear that you acquire compliments each other as sort of a set. However, you mentioned that the quest reward is a mythic ring, but the rare drop is also a ring (arcane). To me, this just makes us choose which one we want more; and obviously if I looted the arcane ring the only motivation to finish the quest is to sell the mythic ring later. I guess in some people's mind that is a double win situation, and positive outcome. Me personally, I'd rather have the chance at two pieces of wearable jewelry that compliment each other, like the Ichor quest. It just seems odd to have two of the same type of item coming from the same quest line. So maybe this would be a good opportunity to introduce an arcane necklace instead (as the ultra rare drop.

Nope, look again at my original post. The quest reward is a mythic shadow amulet, while the rare drop is an arcane shadow ring. So they actually both complement each other very well.

Those two jewelry items along with the upgraded mythic armor/helm, and an arcane or mythic weapon would make the ultimate set.

[Taejo]

Nope, look again at my original post. The quest reward is a mythic shadow amulet, while the rare drop is an arcane shadow ring. So they actually both complement each other very well.

Those two jewelry items along with the upgraded mythic armor/helm, and an arcane or mythic weapon would make the ultimate set.

Haha. Oops. I wasted a lot of time typing then :dejection:

[Joncheese]

Hi Guys,

Just want to start off by saying Thx to Energezric for this idea. This game IMO is in desperate need of something that end gamers and serious 'Elite Runners' can get their teeth stuck into. I completely agree that this quest should be in depth, time consuming and hard. I also support the idea of having the chance of arcane items dropping throughout the dungeon, but would emphasise on them being EXTREMELY RARE, as no doubt they will be farmed just like everything else in this game. Thats a good thing for everyone though, as STS will make their money on loot elixirs, and we will have something else on the 'want' list.

What i will say however is that if we are going to be able to use a previous mythic item as a base for the Shadow Amulet, why not make it the Lunar pendant or Doom or something like that. IMO the mythic ring is still a good ring, i still use mine and i for one would be gutted if i knew i could use it as a base for the amulet. Why? Because i spent time and money getting it, and if i don't get the Arcane ring i would have to go and buy another one, and they are still fetching 3.6 million in cs. Also is the mythic ring not lvl 31? If so then it has only been out for one expansion, so why not use something that has been out since 26 (like the mythic armor and helm). Plus as this is an amulet surely u should use an amulet as a base?

My only idea towards the possible design of these new items would be as follows:

- Shadow amulet glows Purple around ur neck.

- Shadow Amulet would show a black mist flowing round the player (similar to the mist that we all die in in Shuyal), maybe bats flying round you? Something that incorporates Shuyal and
just looks really cool and different, but is not too difficult for the Devs to achieve. Just a simple rotating animation.

- Arcane ring should emit a purple glow.

- Possibility for one of/both items to proc in some way. Maybe a black cloud that forms over the user giving them increased dmg for 'x' seconds, or the ability to terrify (using a shadow of
of a bat that flies out from you or something) like that of Samael.

My knowledge of creating MMO's and how things work behind the scenes are extremely limited, so forgive me if you read the above and think that im being completely unrealistic. These are just some little touches that i would add.

I cannot emphasise enough how much I LOVE THIS IDEA. Its brilliant. Devs please think about this, and all you players out there get behind it. There is no reason why something like this cant be done without affecting the economy of AL and whilst boosting all of our interests. I for one would be counting down the days until it happened.

As always if i've missed anything please tell me, i always miss something :)

[Energizeric]

What i will say however is that if we are going to be able to use a previous mythic item as a base for the Shadow Amulet, why not make it the Lunar pendant or Doom or something like that.

Good point! I missed that completely. Taejo had gotten confused and thought it was a mythic ring being rewarded, so that's why he suggested possibly using the mythic ring as a base. But yes, it should be the amulet. I can see two positive effects of this idea:

1) It will give some value to the current mythic amulets we all have, as it will allow you to use them as a base for crafting the shadow amulet.

2) It will encourage some players to just farm for the extra crafting items, even after they have crafted their shadow amulet. Since there will be enough players who would rather not run the quest and instead just craft using their mythic amulet as the base, there will be a need for more of the crafting items and they will hold premium values. (for anyone who has played PL, perhaps crafting this shadow amulet will be like the glyph/demonlord crafting was -- the crafting items will be scarce and very sought after, which is a good thing!)


And yes, it would be nice if both the arcane ring and the mythic amulet each had some kind of unique visual effect. I'm sure STG will come up with something nice for that as they always do. "Smoke" effects were very popular in PL, so maybe that is something we can introduce here.

[Joncheese]

Good point! I missed that completely. Taejo had gotten confused and thought it was a mythic ring being rewarded, so that's why he suggested possibly using the mythic ring as a base. But yes, it should be the amulet. I can see two positive effects of this idea:

1) It will give some value to the current mythic amulets we all have, as it will allow you to use them as a base for crafting the shadow amulet.

2) It will encourage some players to just farm for the extra crafting items, even after they have crafted their shadow amulet. Since there will be enough players who would rather not run the quest and instead just craft using their mythic amulet as the base, there will be a need for more of the crafting items and they will hold premium values. (for anyone who has played PL, perhaps crafting this shadow amulet will be like the glyph/demonlord crafting was -- the crafting items will be scarce and very sought after, which is a good thing!)


And yes, it would be nice if both the arcane ring and the mythic amulet each had some kind of unique visual effect. I'm sure STG will come up with something nice for that as they always do. "Smoke" effects were very popular in PL, so maybe that is something we can introduce here.

Exactly mate! I think it would be a great idea to incorporate the older amulets. Their prices have dropped significantly since the expansion and it would give the AL economy a much needed boost. Also would that mean that each amulet would hold different specs? What i mean by that is, i use a Lunar Pendant, Killingsworth (warrior) uses the doom amulet.... Would they hold different specs? Or is it going to be a 'one size fits all' amulet. Does what im saying make sense?

[Energizeric]

Actually, I was thinking there would be one single shadow amulet for all classes. It would have class neutral stats like the mythic ring, so that all classes can use it.

[Joncheese]

Actually, I was thinking there would be one single shadow amulet for all classes. It would have class neutral stats like the mythic ring, so that all classes can use it.

Makes things alot simpler, good idea.

[Deadroth]

Great! As i said i am glad of that You don't put words on wind Energ! You started to polish up that diamond! I am curious that Your awesome suggestion wid that quest will be accepted by Dev. However it would move the al economy. More Peeps would at last start to regularly use cs, than screaming their offers in chat, and ofc STS team would make money on elixirs.
I think now it is very good suggestion. Waiting for future improvements, which will be added for sure i see XD :)

PS. In case of ring. I would love to see glowing effect, but i would make it a bit bigger than other rings like troll necro or blood, and ofc purple :)

______
Dead

[Taejo]

Taejo had gotten confused and thought it was a mythic ring being rewarded

Yeah yeah... it happens a lot in my old age :) Sorry for the confusion!

[Drearivev]

Hi Guys,

Just want to start off by saying Thx to Energezric for this idea. This game IMO is in desperate need of something that end gamers and serious 'Elite Runners' can get their teeth stuck into. I completely agree that this quest should be in depth, time consuming and hard. I also support the idea of having the chance of arcane items dropping throughout the dungeon, but would emphasise on them being EXTREMELY RARE, as no doubt they will be farmed just like everything else in this game. Thats a good thing for everyone though, as STS will make their money on loot elixirs, and we will have something else on the 'want' list.

What i will say however is that if we are going to be able to use a previous mythic item as a base for the Shadow Amulet, why not make it the Lunar pendant or Doom or something like that. IMO the mythic ring is still a good ring, i still use mine and i for one would be gutted if i knew i could use it as a base for the amulet. Why? Because i spent time and money getting it, and if i don't get the Arcane ring i would have to go and buy another one, and they are still fetching 3.6 million in cs. Also is the mythic ring not lvl 31? If so then it has only been out for one expansion, so why not use something that has been out since 26 (like the mythic armor and helm). Plus as this is an amulet surely u should use an amulet as a base?

My only idea towards the possible design of these new items would be as follows:

- Shadow amulet glows Purple around ur neck.

- Shadow Amulet would show a black mist flowing round the player (similar to the mist that we all die in in Shuyal), maybe bats flying round you? Something that incorporates Shuyal and
just looks really cool and different, but is not too difficult for the Devs to achieve. Just a simple rotating animation.

- Arcane ring should emit a purple glow.

- Possibility for one of/both items to proc in some way. Maybe a black cloud that forms over the user giving them increased dmg for 'x' seconds, or the ability to terrify (using a shadow of
of a bat that flies out from you or something) like that of Samael.

My knowledge of creating MMO's and how things work behind the scenes are extremely limited, so forgive me if you read the above and think that im being completely unrealistic. These are just some little touches that i would add.

I cannot emphasise enough how much I LOVE THIS IDEA. Its brilliant. Devs please think about this, and all you players out there get behind it. There is no reason why something like this cant be done without affecting the economy of AL and whilst boosting all of our interests. I for one would be counting down the days until it happened.

As always if i've missed anything please tell me, i always miss something :)
Only weapons proc. If rings/amulets proc, they should've done that from the start.
And another thing, those who have never got their hands on a Mythic and probably never will (like me) would probably never get one. The only way I see myself getting a Mythic amulet or Arcane ring is from this type of thing. Now, if the current Mythic amulets would be upgraded into the Shadow Amulet, then I see myself never owning that. If it could be how Ener put it before (gather all ingredients, craft it into Shadow Amulet base), that is the only way I see myself getting this item. So people who don't have gold or plat could actually get this Shadow amulet. The way Jon put it just seems like "the rich get better, the poor stay poor".

No offence intended, but that is the point of view from someone who doesn't have any Mythics :)

[Energizeric]

Only weapons proc. If rings/amulets proc, they should've done that from the start.
And another thing, those who have never got their hands on a Mythic and probably never will (like me) would probably never get one. The only way I see myself getting a Mythic amulet or Arcane ring is from this type of thing. Now, if the current Mythic amulets would be upgraded into the Shadow Amulet, then I see myself never owning that. If it could be how Ener put it before (gather all ingredients, craft it into Shadow Amulet base), that is the only way I see myself getting this item. So people who don't have gold or plat could actually get this Shadow amulet. The way Jon put it just seems like "the rich get better, the poor stay poor".

No offence intended, but that is the point of view from someone who doesn't have any Mythics :)

I think his idea was that you could do it either way. You could either run the quest to build the shadow amulet base, or you could use a mythic amulet as your base if you have one.

[Joncheese]

I think his idea was that you could do it either way. You could either run the quest to build the shadow amulet base, or you could use a mythic amulet as your base if you have one.

Exactly ;)

[Psykopathic28]

I did read and I actually really enjoyed the concept. Imagine instead of being 100 of each it was more like 250 and you had 1 for a ring 1 for an amulet and 1 for a sword or whichever weapon for each respective class.

Example :

Amulet, gem shards 177/250
Ring, gem shards 250/250
Weapon, ???? 78/250

For each you would also have to gather some metal for the base of the item

Example:
Ring, gold ore 12/15
Amulet , silver ore 25/25
Weapon, mythic steel 32/75

The 1st components would be gathered and taken to the smith at Nordr and he would be paid for his services.
The base components taken to an enchanter in Shuyal

Here's where a really big change I thought would be cool,
For each item sts would have the base stats; str,intel,dex,damage,dps (these would all show immediately upon the smith completing his work. Then for your final stat the enchanter would give you a choice or 2 amongst a variety of options.

Examples being :
5% crit
5% move speed
+3% damage
+75 armor
+200 health
3% mana regen
3% health regen
Applies poison damage on attack
10% chance to freeze target on attack
5% chance to reflect 25% damage when attacked

You could choose any 2 of a list of say 10. The items all would still be tradable and you can still only complete each quest one time.
After the season ends the items would then become discontinued and new bosses would come making drops for new items. The items would still be tradable and you could still only do the quest once. Talk about a way to incorporate gear variety right?
Since each of the 3 items have 2 components needed the new expansion would always require giving attention to each of the 6 new bosses to obtain the items. You would still have helm and armor and pets in crates.

I feel you really are into something and with a few tweaks, possibly ones I mentioned and possibly ones I didn't, along with some I'm sure sts will need to make to gain revenue this could be a huge exciting concept possibly incorporated into new expansions. It would create a balance from advantages gained by spending and advantages received from pure hard work.

You could even go a step further to make each separate item it's own quest each season also. This would contradict the discontinued items idea but there are many routes you could take this and make it awesome and fun.

I think maybe to be a lil more clear on the components. Say for example the quests were incorporated in shuyal, the 250 piece components would be in quest form. You would get them each from a different boss in a different map. The smaller components would be pinks that drop from another boss and are tradable. Sizes chosen because of size of item.
Example
Shadow plains defeat boss 85% chance of getting a Ring, gem shard 15% chance getting a helmet
Forest breach - 25chance mythic steel. ___% chance locked crate ___% chance etc sorc
Forest if shades - 85% chance getting Amulet, gem shard 15% chance at pink armor
Undim fields - 25% chance gold ore etc etc
Shuyal tower - inan hesh 85% chance ???? Etc etc ashral heart 25% chance silver ore etc etc

Also giving inan hesh like a .05% chance to reroll a mythic charm that gives 5% damage and 25 armor for being in your inventory.

Something along those lines, you get the idea.

I also like the idea about possibly using the prior rings and amulets to infuse into the new 1's. This could be done in place of the 2nd component or perhaps used as alchemical pieces to power up the helm / armor by paying the smith 100k to infuse the metal from the jewelry to the blade / sword / staff then do another extensive quest for the alchemist to infuse the arcane energy from the jewels to put another buff on the armor / helm respectively. ( choices again such as above)

Any kind of change to really mix things up and add as much variety as possible I think will be great for the community. Even you merchants will get more of a challenge by having to price so many variations of each of the items. Some might say too complicated but when has simple ever been that fun? You people who disagree with that statement can go play Tetris or something. lols

Tell me what you think Ener

[Energizeric]

I like some of your ideas Psyk.

First I'll address your ideas that I do NOT like:

I'm not sure if I like the idea of new weapons, as we already have both mythic and arcane weapons. It seems to me the areas to improve are rings and amulets, and that's why my quest idea has both a ring (as a drop) and an amulet (as the crafted item).

Many players have already pointed out that some of the new legendary rings and amulets are better in certain respects to the mythic ones, so this is an area where a new mythic (or arcane) item will be welcomed. Mythic & Arcane weapons are already the best, so coming out with new ones is just a way of having us chase our tales. If I already have the best weapon, why would I want to get a new one? That's just keeping me busy for the sake of keeping me busy. I think most players would NOT like this idea.

I don't like the idea of these items dropping in the regular elite shuyal dungeons. Why? For this new quest idea to be implemented, STG has to agree that this will not hurt their plat revenue. Offering both an arcane and a mythic item in ways other than locked crates will cost them some plat sales, so they have to make up those sales in other ways. By having a separate dungeon just for this quest, players will know exactly what drops there, and will be encouraged to run the dungeon with luck elixirs so they can increase their chance of getting a good drop. Imagine getting an arcane ring as a drop. How much will it be worth? 10m? 20m maybe? Some insane amount that is way higher than any other drop anyone has ever gotten in AL.

Having a specific dungeon that only drops these limited time items will also encourage players to use other elixirs to speed up their runs. Remember that this quest disappears after the season ends, so the more runs you get, the more chances you have at getting these rare drops. Imagine the night before the quest is discontinued... How much are the crafting items going for then? Probably insane amounts as everyone rushes to try to craft that final amulet before it's too late! If you were to mix this loot up with the regular elite shuyal loot that drops in the elite shuyal dungeons, then I think nobody is going to get too excited about it, at least not enough to run constantly with elixirs.

Now for the idea that I REALLY LIKE!.... I like the idea that you can choose from different stats to customize your amulet. I'm thinking there could be 3 or 4 different stats, and you can choose any two that you like. Or maybe STS should just make a few different amulets (similar to how they did with the archon rings) and let us choose which one we want to craft, and maybe each one could have a slightly different recipe as far as which crafting components are needed. Maybe they all need the shadow amulet base, but some need more links, clasps or gems than others. That would certainly make it more interesting. It all depends on how complicated they want to make it. I gave a very simple version in my first post, but of course I'm sure STG will alter it somewhat..... that is if they are open to the idea at all. I guess we will find out!

[Psykopathic28]

Just an FYI I didn't wanna the idea incorporated to shuyal with gear that's already flooded on market. I just used shuyal as an example for the layout. Idea actually was to incorporate that sort of loot table similar to what you suggested but in elite maps of new expansion with completely new pinks to compliment things. I simply used your idea to also bring attention to all maps in a new expansion instead of only like 2 most profitable.

I left out the arcane ring out of the equation because I didn't see any chance of it being granted hence it's replacement with the mythic charm. The new weapons also were just to fill the last maps.

[Soundlesskill]

Hmm... But it would be a bit of a bummer for thosr who spent millions to get the arcane achievement, just to find out later it can be looted by killing mobs

[Joncheese]

Hmm... But it would be a bit of a bummer for thosr who spent millions to get the arcane achievement, just to find out later it can be looted by killing mobs

I think the idea is that this achievement is going to be pretty hard, worthy of an arcane achievement IMO. And i think (correct me if im wrong ener) it is going to be aimed at the slightly more hardcore gamer rather than the casual one due to its in depth questline. The aim is to increase Plat sales for STS whilst giving us end gamers something to get stuck into. Its also going to be slightly easier for those that are geared (the ones who have saved millions already) to achieve, just as it is easier for us to run elite maps.

Im a big supporter of this idea, i cant stress that enough. It will inject some much needed variety and challenge into what is already a great game and that should be embraced by all, if not for this reason then at least that of the predicted economy boost that it will provide.

[Joncheese]

Now for the idea that I REALLY LIKE!.... I like the idea that you can choose from different stats to customize your amulet. I'm thinking there could be 3 or 4 different stats, and you can choose any two that you like. Or maybe STS should just make a few different amulets (similar to how they did with the archon rings) and let us choose which one we want to craft, and maybe each one could have a slightly different recipe as far as which crafting components are needed. Maybe they all need the shadow amulet base, but some need more links, clasps or gems than others. That would certainly make it more interesting. It all depends on how complicated they want to make it. I gave a very simple version in my first post, but of course I'm sure STG will alter it somewhat..... that is if they are open to the idea at all. I guess we will find out!

Ener will these items be trade able? Im presuming they wont be. If this is the case then is there a need to be able to choose which Shadow amulet that you make? Maybe a better idea would be to have the amulet automatically crafted to suit the wearer/crafter who completes the quest, making it stuck to you once you have completed the final stage. This would definitely mean that sales of the older myth amulets would go up.

Maybe the only tradable items to come out of the quest should be the very rare pink drops and the possible arcane ring?

Just a thought ;)

[Energizeric]

Hmm... But it would be a bit of a bummer for thosr who spent millions to get the arcane achievement, just to find out later it can be looted by killing mobs

The chance to get the arcane ring would be by killing the elite boss at the end of the map, and as per the odds I stated, your chance would be 1 in 1000 runs. So it will be very rare.

Running with a loot elixir would boost your chance to maybe to 1 in 400. How many luck elixirs will you have to buy to run 400 times through an elite dungeon that requires you to kill 95% of the mobs before the boss spawns? This will result in some nice plat sales for STG.

[Energizeric]

Ener will these items be trade able? Im presuming they wont be.

Everything will be tradable, including the crafting items and the crafted ring itself.

Originally I was thinking that each player should only be able to do the quest once, but now I'm thinking maybe players should be allowed to repeat the quest. It will be so time consuming that I can't imagine many doing it more than once, but perhaps it should be allowed.

[Taejo]

Hmm... But it would be a bit of a bummer for thosr who spent millions to get the arcane achievement, just to find out later it can be looted by killing mobs

Sooner or later, all achievements fade out and/or become trivial. Kind of like if you waited to kill Elite Mardrom until you were L36 (yes, some players have). Arcane isn't at this point yet, but it's getting very close. Hammerjaw has become fairly cheap and is now affordable for the middle class players. As time goes by, the original arcane eggs will become cheaper and cheaper, making the arcane achievement an even "buyable" one than it already is. At least Energizeric's idea is solely based on luck, which is what the arcane achievement was originally intended to be anyway - through crates and chests.

[Energizeric]

Yeah, I don't think this quest gives any better chance at getting arcane achievement than you already had with opening locked crates. 1 in 1000 drops is not good odds.

[Drearivev]

Sooner or later, all achievements fade out and/or become trivial. Kind of like if you waited to kill Elite Mardrom until you were L36 (yes, some players have). Arcane isn't at this point yet, but it's getting very close. Hammerjaw has become fairly cheap and is now affordable for the middle class players. As time goes by, the original arcane eggs will become cheaper and cheaper, making the arcane achievement an even "buyable" one than it already is. At least Energizeric's idea is solely based on luck, which is what the arcane achievement was originally intended to be anyway - through crates and chests.
Just to point out, there is no middle class. There's the rich, and the poor. That's really it.

[Taejo]

Just to point out, there is no middle class. There's the rich, and the poor. That's really it.

Disagree. There is a middle class, it's just more than likely a smaller percentage of the total population when compared to upper and lower. I am middle class - not rich enough to buy new things, but not too poor where I can't afford to run elite maps non-stop.

[Drearivev]

Disagree. I am middle class. Not rich enough to buy new things, but not too poor where I can't afford to run elite maps non-stop.
I was thinking in terms of gear :p
Sorry about that. There's middle class people, but no middle class gear imo. Elite pinks are going to get pretty cheap soon. Crate pinks....well, they're always 500-10k gold (unless it's a twink item). Rare and Epic items....those are only for people that are just starting off mainly. We need something in the 100k-1m zone. Something that costs that much, and is also worth that much in terms of stats.

[Taejo]

I was thinking in terms of gear :p
Sorry about that. There's middle class people, but no middle class gear imo. Elite pinks are going to get pretty cheap soon. Crate pinks....well, they're always 500-10k gold (unless it's a twink item). Rare and Epic items....those are only for people that are just starting off mainly. We need something in the 100k-1m zone. Something that costs that much, and is also worth that much in terms of stats.

I would argue to say the Shade armor is focused towards middle class gear, since you get it from normal puzzleboxes and it's stats are not as good as Architect. But yea I agree with you for the most part. We can debate this elsewhere though - let's not derail Energizeric's awesome idea :)

[Energizeric]

The Elite pinks are in the 100k-1m zone. For example, I was looking yesterday and for a sorcerer you can get a nice architect pylon in that range, they start around 100k for the cheapest variety and the best variety was 580k. Or you could go with a Dark Rifle of Brutality which will cost you around 150-200k. The architect armor and helm start around 20-30k for the cheapest variety with the best kind topping out around 200-300k. And a nice ashral amulet is in the 100-400k range. All these items are in that exact 100k-1m range, they have better stats than the crate pinks, but not quite as good as mythic or arcane. Sounds very middle class to me.

[fritzce]

there are many ways to increase sts' revenues, why this? :)

[Sorcerie]

Well done, it's basically the same point i was trying to make with my thread but with a legit and thoroughly explained model to implement.

I gotta say, it's quite good and has almost no real flaws -- my only concern would be that it would be limited to a month.

Hell for all you know, you could try the entire time and still end up with nothing no matter how hard you tried or how many components you bought seeing as how those components will be in such high demand.

So we can end up with a Breezaga or Frosteye situation where people spent plats and did the daily quests everyday but never looted either despite giving it their all. I would hate to have spent all that time, energy, and possibly plat only to end up just a few components shy of reaching my goals and the events end, never mind not getting a ring.

Then there's the possibility of of rich players hoarding components and/or rings to take advantage of poorer players simply because they can (green arlor vanity set for rouges and mages, anyone?). I don't like the sound of that either.