Official Alien Oasis 3: Trials of the Overlord Feedback Thread [Archive]

Justg

10-04-2010, 12:04 PM

It's out folks... please give us your feedback in this thread!

* The "Alien Oasis: Part III" is now available! The Alien Warlord has returned to claim the realm of Alterra and enslave its inhabitants! Only you can defeat him and his cadre of inter-galactic villains...
* Level Cap raised to 50!
* Increased damage for several 2h swords (Longsword, Claymore).
* There is now a 'cloth helmet' appearance for lower-level Enchantress helms.
* Added several new Item Packs! Check out the "Explorer Pack" options for all character classes - featuring a nice collection of weapons, shields, helmets and armor for characters around Level 40. (Item packs include items from Level 40, 41 and 42. These item packs - like the Level 20 "Power Packs" - also have a chance of giving you items with very good stats!)
* New Elixirs have been added to the in-game store! The 'Levelers Liquid' gives you two and a half times the XP per kill. The 'Lucky Lixir' gives you a 35% chance for better loot roll! Also check out the "Dumpster Punch" which mixes the new XP and Luck potions with armor, damage and speed potions... (the "Trash Can Punch" is still available - but it does NOT include the new XP or Luck elixirs).
* The area of Warrior "Stomp" effectiveness at ranks 4 and 5 has been increased. Previously the area effect of 'Stomp' shrank by several meters between ranks 3 and 5 ;|
* On the skills screen, for a skill that is not ranked, display "This skill is not ranked" rather than showing the description of the first rank of a skill.

Arjun

10-04-2010, 12:17 PM

Patching now boss. . . .looks good looks good.

Mala

10-04-2010, 12:39 PM

By any chance did you guys fix Iron Blood?

Kingofhurtz

10-04-2010, 01:44 PM

Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee I'll be on all night!

starjaya

10-04-2010, 01:49 PM

greatttttt,cool

Slush

10-04-2010, 01:57 PM

Omg!!, going on now

Trollpackan

10-04-2010, 01:57 PM

Pretty cool! I like the alien "ghosts" as I called them, the black shadows... :)

Still searching for an epic loot though, hope it will come soon... ;)

TheSnowman

10-04-2010, 02:03 PM

My first impressions are good. The pushover mobs of ao2 are no more in ao3 with them taking far longer to kill, this will hopefully bring an end to farming maps at high-speed that plagued ao2. Yet as most people are currently 45, 46 and some pushing to 47 we will have to see whether these maps can be farmed when people achieve level 50 and have far better equipment. The bosses that i have played against on maps 1-4 so far have been tough, especially the mage one on map 2 and so i would assume the maps following these will follow suit and be just as hard. Therefore my initial opinion is positive and i shall return now to the game and try to claim some of those epic new pinks.

Galois

10-04-2010, 02:57 PM

I like it. I played up to the mini dungeon (at which point i lagged out repeatedly, which is to be expected for the expansion being only a few hours old) and have to say that AO3 is significantly more challenging than AO2. I'm looking forward to running through many more times.

kavanah

10-04-2010, 03:25 PM

Dizko

10-04-2010, 04:14 PM

Loving it.

Going pretty slow but thats a good thing.
I really like how boss fights actually take tactics and teamwork.

SpeedWeed

10-04-2010, 04:19 PM

Violentsaint

10-04-2010, 04:23 PM

Ao3 is not casual friendly for sure.

Alot of effort but low return Lvl 47 dreamers dark matter does 2 more base/max damage than its lvl 45 counterpart. Ao3 is basically a gold sink

Items will definitely be impossible for casual players. U basically cant make it thru smoothly in ao3 without burning thru elixirs.

I'm afraid Sts over did it this time.

I appreciate increased difficulty. But ao3 is just crazy Shyt.

this sounds good.... ima have to beg my brother to let me buy plat with his itunes account... or if anyone else has an account i can buy 10 platium on that wouldd be awesome (i already have 11 plat)

devs will probly bannhammer me with that epic alien hammer for asking now XD

setec

10-04-2010, 04:45 PM

Very tough but rewarding game play. However, I'm no longer spending gold on elixirs when I get killed in half a second. Maybe if I was a PL millionaire I could afford it.

Love the color on the floors inside the new maps. Anyone else think of the teal iMac from 98/99?

Chickdigcookies

10-04-2010, 04:56 PM

Slush

10-04-2010, 05:07 PM

its hard...the robot boss is a pain in the ***, and a pally/bear has a better chance to solo it then a full group. i know theres a strategy but its just too complicated.

mobs are tough, drop rates are ok.

over all 5/5

Yea my str bird ended up soloing it after whole team died, but with a attack and defense elixir I did it :D
Anyway, loving ao3. Haven't found any epic loot yet, only a lvl 47 desert dagger of horus. Drop rates are kinda bad considering how tough some of the bosses are ( Mage boss on map 2) I have yet to play through the mini dungeon, so I'll probably go check that out soon. Yes it is hard, and yes leveling up is hard. Graphics and aliens look great. So overall for my first impression I say 8.5/10

Vyvin

10-04-2010, 05:23 PM

This map is the best map I've played I'm already 47 and it's great,
Love the dungeons turning into a space age technology
King mynas is a FROOB!
and the new aliens are uber cool!
/Vyvin

vulgarstrike

10-04-2010, 05:27 PM

AO3 has been perfected. i have no complaints.

Snakespeare

10-04-2010, 05:31 PM

Got a pink the first time through, off of Gurgox. It was just a level 46 version of a level 45 item, but I didn't have the 45, so that's cool.

I'm glad that it's hard. I am glad that people won't be able to farm it to extinction. It seems like it was meant for playing in rather than making a few people rich.

I guess i will be playing it for a while, so I will give better feedback later. Thanks for the hard work! It seems good. I did crash once, but I can't recall what I was doing when it happened.

Spiritualist

10-04-2010, 06:30 PM

Pretty cool! I like the alien "ghosts" as I called them, the black shadows... :)Related: http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?9156-King-Mynas-(Crush-The-Keeper!)&p=91986#post91986

Arterra

10-04-2010, 06:35 PM

http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?9157-All-I-got-was-this-t-shirt
CMON.

Raxie

10-04-2010, 06:48 PM

I LOVE AO3!
the bosses are so hard to kill and right now i'm stuck on the second map, unable to kill the mage boss. this is so great and finally provides a challenge! many people won't farm and rush and actually kill the minions.

Protank

10-04-2010, 06:52 PM

Ok just got of work and read this thread. I have terrable 3g & wifi signal at this hotel but about to buy some plat and hopefully try this out. Ill be devistated if i have to wait till friday to play. Morning will be here soon soo gtg Ill post later on my thoughts but i already know by other posts ima love it!

Furrawn

10-04-2010, 08:23 PM

Well, apparently, I'm odd "man" out on this one... For me it's not an epic win... Felt like the same old mesh with a new skin... Bosses are awesome however... But, I didn't get a single pink in three hours... Not that I care since my hubby and best friend both got pinks and they were level 45 w/ bad stats... We only used elixirs on Galactic... I don't expect to have to use elixirs to play... The lag was terrible... Caused us to die and combos to fall flat... For 20P, I expected spacetime to have spent money to update the servers to stop the lag... We were all lagging in game from different locales so it IS the server... I love that it's hard... The bosses are wonderful... But it felt like the same map made difficult with cool graphics and new bosses... I was very excited but it's not different enough for 20P and servers that can't accomodate all the players., IMO...
I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars...

***also...the prisoners are terrific...

krazii

10-04-2010, 08:49 PM

Good job! Dungeons are big and easy to get lost in, but fun. Bosses require tactics to kill, good job. Little disappointed loot mainly has the same names, but minor.

Vyvin

10-04-2010, 09:03 PM

regie831

10-04-2010, 09:23 PM

Ok here is my first feedback about AO3...

On part 5 you have the option of several different portals to go through. However, going through one removes all of your potions. Can you guys please fix it to where it wont do that? 12k wasted stinks =P

Also, everything else is awesome!

yes its an issue for me too, then suddenly a bunch of mobs with those elite aliens waiting for you in the other side of the portal..then BAMM you're dead

Furrawn

10-04-2010, 10:20 PM

The lagg is caused because of skills when everyone slams thier skills it causes massive lagg and sometimes closes the app..
Do not blame the debs for that
although we could use some hi tech equips
/Vyvin

???
It's a game flaw...A big one... That needs to be fixed by the devs...AO3 requires lots of skill use... It's the worst lag so far with a campaign that costs twice as much...

Vyvin

10-04-2010, 10:46 PM

We use the skills more cause we need to kill them cauz there do hard not because we have to although it wold be nice
reduce gfx's on skills.
/Vyvin

Protank

10-04-2010, 10:48 PM

Idk i thought i was going to get huge lag cuz bad connection but it was fine really. Ive only unlocked to map 4 but i had way worse lag with a better conection on the maga maze map when it first came out.. Anyway i like it and it will keep me busy for a while! I havnt landed any new pinks yet either but i didnt play for that long, few hours i think. I think its great like pre nurf swamps only harder.

Cascade

10-04-2010, 11:41 PM

I have played through the first level and it was pretty cool...Had a nice story with a quest and had good graphics. It seems like it is missing something though...I think it is to open spaced with just bad guys...Its not interesting enough atlest the first level. It needs to have other stuff than just big open spaces with bad guys...it needs to have lots of mini-bosses and some more interesting stuff. Please consider this guys i would love to see Level 1 of AO3 have some more interesting stuff more than just big open spaces.

Ellyidol

10-05-2010, 02:35 AM

Just played through the entire campaign (skipped dungeon cause I don't really like them). My thoughts:

1. Fair enough when STS decided to release 2.5x more xp elixir, since it takes longer to kill mobs, and generally their lay out is different. Unlike Ao2 where you can round them up quick and easy, I find Ao3 just not that crowded. Ao2 you get 5-10 mobs easy, in Ao3 you probably get 4-7 depending on how far you go.

2. TOO much pressure on tanks. I just came from running the last level, (Something galaxy boss), where you have to blow the barrels up to get shield down, then bash on it until shield goes back up. 90% of the time I was breaking shield, damaging, and tanking it. I can't blame my teamates cause they just wouldn't live long enough.

3. What would we do without elixirs? All the bosses past level 1 in Ao3 I had to pop a tank elixir. (30% move speed elixir in mage boss), just to be deadeven with the boss. Not to mention how much pots I've spent.

With nos. 2-3, isn't that a bit too much especially on tanks? I mean one, the amount of gold you have to spend for elixirs AND pots. The amount of work you have to do vs bosses, especially mage boss and last boss. Puts too much strain on the tanks IMO.

4. I like it that there is new gameplay, but not to the extent that normal players can't compete. Thats why most of my friends like iPhone games, they're casual (I know PL isn't but to some extent its a game on a phone). Maybe same extent needed to level up, ease up on mobs?

Other than that, still 8/10 for me.

Riccits

10-05-2010, 03:33 AM

the ao3 for me is a little bit too hard in bosses... i did spent so much on elixiers, more than i gained money... so i dunno how players will buy items when you can't farm money...
elixisiers should be made cheaper for such a use...
"normal" players will finish no level, so its only for hardcore players..

Necrobane

10-05-2010, 04:54 AM

I LOVED IT!!! I love the stronger mobs and playing through the campain is fun and you don't level too quickly. Is it just me or is it easier to hold agro as a tank now? meh ao3 has made every class essencial and is bringing back the need for team work we have all been missing. I love the large amount of health of the bosses and the fact that every boss esides the first requires a tank, better with two. I would like to see better loot though or at least higher level loot. on the second bss 3 pieces of thoth 45 dropped. would have much rathered 1 47+ pink. Also i havent seen any easy 50 drops lke ao2, in ao2 there were the super rare drops, but there were also easier to get pi nks that the avergae player could acheive.

PS the lag problem from abilities could maby be fixed by on low graphics the abilities are less detailed...just a thought

10/10 STS!

Ellyidol

10-05-2010, 05:04 AM

@Necro

Everything you said is spot on, but then again you may, or may not, have sufficient amount of disposable coin. For mages, you probably don't need pots much with heal, and thats what tanks are for. Just the exp/luck elixer if ever. Same with birds, and getting damage etc elixers with them would be pointless if you get one shotted quite often thus spending more and more for those elixers. So everything falls under the tanks, tank, damage, (possibly movespeed), exp, and possibly luck elixers, added furthermore to the cost of maintaining pots. =/

Fyrce

10-05-2010, 05:16 AM

I'm still exploring, but after mostly completing the portal thing at top, I think I love it. Pinks drops seem fine; mostly 46-50 stuff of items we aleady know.

I love it that you really do need a team of high levels to do it; that a low level does not survive long, even in the hallways. When I started at the first level, there were a few level 30s in a few games, but they all disappeared by the end of that level and none were to be found on the other levels. Of course, even level 45-48s have to work really hard in teams. Haven't seen a level 49 yet, in play or on the friends list. Maybe tomorrow ... Team split up tends to lead to death and there's lots of strategy discussions. Love it. Haven't seen people talk this much in awhile. Also love the bombs, though there're some insane birdies out there. LOL.

Really loved the shadow creatures. Didn't think the mage boss was that bad; just lasted and lasted forever and refused to die. LOL.

Haven't seen any amazing loot yet, so still wondering what's new there. Looking forward to pics. Hope there're some, since this IS a new area.

Might take me awhile to get all my chars leveled up, considering the high death rate without tanks. 5 hours into play, the teddies were getting tired. It helps the whole group if there's a good bear. Preferably two. Tank bears really rock this campaign, especially with spears and lances. The hybrid bears didn't seem to be doing as well as the tank bears ... LOL.

Gavry

10-05-2010, 06:05 AM

Honestly, I feel the bosses are just too hard. It's almost impossible to do any of them without the whole group all full of elixer. It just smells of a big gold sink to me right now:(

I like a challenge. But a good group getting killed 15 times straight against Karate Champ is a little stupid!

Hotndots

10-05-2010, 06:50 AM

It was way too laggy and far too difficult. Elixirs are meant for people who want to pay to be top notch. You are still supposed to be able to play if you dont want to or cant buy elixirs but in ao3.. If you dont have them then you cant play. Another thing is hitting the accept rez button but you never even see yourself stand because you are insant dead. Devs should make a 5 second immunity after being rezzed where you cant cause dmg but you can move out of the way. I must have hit rez with insta death 20 times in a row. I played for about two hours and spent 100k in gold. I spent 20p for two hours of game play total because I wont be playing anymore. Thanks for the swamp days and old Fnord. I enjoyed it then but the addiction has long since worn off.

Gavry

10-05-2010, 07:28 AM

Sorry to say my rating right now is 2/10

> Bosses are just madness. 1 hit kills is plain cheating.
> Levels are exactly the same as AO2 with a few different coloured aliens.
> Elixers are a necessity. Which just shows the balance is wrong.
> 20P is a lot for 5 maps.

I feel disappointed :(

Trollpackan

10-05-2010, 08:08 AM

I have now played AO3 for several hours and can only agree with the previous writers. It's too damn hard! Yes, of course we wanted it to be a bit harder to reach 50 and to stop the rush farming, but this is ridiculus! I am not a wealthy player (in game), i had about 350000 which is now down to about 50000. And the only thing i've bought is pots and elixirs... :(

I think that this game needs something new to spice it up, not a new level. It can be guilds, auction house or jobs. Anything so that the player have something else to think about besides leveling and farming. If that were to be included in the 20 plat it would be an ok price after all.

But to sum up AO3:
+ Harder to get to lvl50
+ Great new bosses with special attacks
+ Mobs are harder to kill
- Bosses are just to hard
- So far not enough new content

5/10 from me. Would be a lot higher with some new features, as I wrote above.
+ Some new epic gear

Ellyidol

10-05-2010, 08:10 AM

And difficulty of bosses come into play as well. I've been invited to games (the last boss) where it's just him remaining. It's easy to say tanks only in, bring to barrel, blow up, when shield is down all out fire. Then again just tryin to bring him to the barrel alone is hard enough, plus all out fire usually leads to all barrels going off, more people dying, more elixirs used, and after half an hour maybe? You get pink 46-50 loot which you don't even need. Satisfaction 0 sadly :(

Quew

10-05-2010, 10:04 AM

Ive gotten really addicted to this game but ao3... Not liking it much. Being one-shotted by every boss over and over is just not challenging. What got me hooked were near-deaths where i could survive. So i played to the third map and went back to ao2.

The shadow guys were really cool and like the new colors but nobody likes bosses that one- shot everyone. And the casual aspect seems to be gone. Ao3 seems, well, tedious.

BeardedBear

10-05-2010, 10:06 AM

I agree and disagree with a lot of the critizism I'm reading. Here are a the only 2 points I can play devil's advocate.

1. We all asked for stronger bosses - now the bosses are TOO strong? I myself was ready to quit last night when I was with a party who was incapable of taking out the last boss, or listening to instructions for that matter. Anyway, Banned, Richie, and Rogue saved the day with helping me.

2. The devs need there money - I don't think 20p was overpriced, for the difficulty, unique bosses available, and more things to come. I'm sure they will add new items and tweaks as we go along.

With that said. Here is what I don't like, and the first one has been becoming a trend with the last few campaigns...

1. For the love of GOD, please make some randomized dungeons or something that looks unique for that campaign. The same twists, the same turns, and different colored walls is not fooling anyone.

2. I don't think elixirs should be necessary to defeat a boss, especially with a good group of pros. Tends to be taking away from the players skills, and relying on money to keep them alive. Maybe offer the party one tanking pot per boss, where they can choose what party member gets it? (just a spontaneous thought)

Mala

10-05-2010, 10:12 AM

I was in plenty of decent groups. Having to use elixers to stay alive or kill a boss is just plain ridiculous. The pendelum has swung too far. We want hard bosses but not bosses we need to use elixers to just stay alive.

FluffNStuff

10-05-2010, 10:16 AM

2. I don't think elixirs should be necessary to defeat a boss, especially with a good group of pros. Tends to be taking away from the players skills, and relying on money to keep them alive. Maybe offer the party one tanking pot per boss, where they can choose what party member gets it? (just a spontaneous thought)

My thought on the elixers being needed is that if these boss's were beatable by 45's, they might be too easy for 50's. Perhaps a good team of 50's will not need pots, and we all will be fighting them a lot more as 50's then 45's.

(Also, consider that the 2nd last boss is designed for level 49 players and the last boss is designed for level 50, as the boards should scale.)

BeardedBear

10-05-2010, 10:29 AM

My thought on the elixers being needed is that if these boss's were beatable by 45's, they might be too easy for 50's. Perhaps a good team of 50's will not need pots, and we all will be fighting them a lot more as 50's then 45's.

(Also, consider that the 2nd last boss is designed for level 49 players and the last boss is designed for level 50, as the boards should scale.)

Once I get my l33t lvl 50 str gear, I'll be over all that.

Furrawn

10-05-2010, 10:30 AM

Fluff-
I disagree. A good team should be able to play without elixirs. That's ludicrous if the campaign has levels set to 50 when it's for 45-50. If they want to do that then they need to let us toggle an option for normal or difficult. I didn't pay 20P to have to dump all my gold into health pots (over 400) or elixirs (1) like I had to playing the campaign once yesterday. I LOVE the one- shot kills by bosses... Love that it is hard... But a boss that can only be withstood by tanks and pallys is NOT balanced. We all want teamwork- well, teamwork is difficult when the rest of the team is dead... Add in lag, and it's comic.

Azrael

10-05-2010, 10:34 AM

Dont nerf the bosses, just refine them. Infact Overlord needs more HP, but also needs to do less damage when his shield is down. This combined with ensuring his shield stays down for atleast 12 seconds would emphasize the "get out when his shield is up aspect". I said somewhere else that overlord is the closest thing we have to a raid boss. Dont nerf him.

Just cause there is one mob that people think is hard doesn't meant that one mob cants stay hard to defeat. Honestly if casuals players can beat everything but one boss thats perfectly fair to the players who want to have atleast one boss that is challenging.

Royce

10-05-2010, 10:48 AM

Just some initial notes, as I have been too busy to play a ton yet (am up to level 47.9 :D ). Anyway, awesome job overall. The campaign looks great. The bosses are awesome. I am glad the difficulty was increased, but at least from my initial impressions, I think it may have gone a bit overboard in a couple of areas. It seems armor pots have gone from a fun extra to a necessary tool, and I don't think that should be the way it is. I also love that there are super-powered bosses that take strategy to beat, but the overlord in particular is a bit ridiculous. Int characters can't even be in the same room with him. Even with armor pots and buffed they get 1-shot. That is too much IMO. Can't wait til I can really dig into this thing tomorrow.
Edit: BTW, I agree with Azrael's post above. I just think that it goes too far when Int and even Dex characters can't participate in the boss fight at all.

FluffNStuff

10-05-2010, 10:50 AM

Royce

10-05-2010, 10:54 AM

OK, for this I offer you a challenge. Get a team of Level 1's together, disable experience, and defeat Skeller. It is designed for Levels 1-10.

The difference between levels 1 and 10 in terms of attributes and skills is several hundred percent, a huge change. The difference between 45 and 50 is far more insignificant.

Azrael

10-05-2010, 11:03 AM

OK, for this I offer you a challenge. Get a team of Level 1's together, disable experience, and defeat Skeller. It is designed for Levels 1-10.

Skeller crunch isn't designed for 1-10. There is the skeller crunch found in fathom crypt which is 20-25, and the skeller crunch found in skeller crunch returns which is 30-35.

Unless they stuck a skeller crunch boss inside forest haven...

FluffNStuff

10-05-2010, 11:07 AM

Skeller crunch isn't designed for 1-10. There is the skeller crunch found in fathom crypt which is 20-25, and the skeller crunch found in skeller crunch returns which is 30-35.

Unless they stuck a skeller crunch boss inside forest haven...

Uhh, OK, I s*ck. I meant meathead. Need to go back to basics.

Snakespeare

10-05-2010, 11:11 AM

I don't mind the difficulty. I like it. But I refuse to stand outside the room while the tanks fight. That does not fit my definition of fun. I refuse to buy special potions in order to move to the next level. And what level 50 gear? I have not seen any, and nobody in any party I've joined has gotten any. I have to assume it exists, I saw a screen cap of Boomer with six new items. All the items I have seen have been LAME level 46 or level 48 COPIES of existing level 45 items.

I can solo Meathead with a level 4, so that doesn't work, man. He's easy is you're ranged and you kite him.

Royce

10-05-2010, 11:15 AM

Snake all the level 50 drops I've gotten (nothing new just some Thoth and Isis stuff) dropped on the overlord's map or in the minidungeon.

FluffNStuff

10-05-2010, 11:45 AM

OK, people are talking about needing armor pots for the overloard. Here is some math. Armor pots double your current armor (mine is around 115, 165 iron blood). So an armor pot adds 165 armor to you, or in essence, takes 165 damage off each of his shots. Now consider debuffs. Hellscream + Crushing Blow + weakness + blinding shot + shattering scream = -230 damage . That is a LOT more then the armor pot. Now you need to rotate debuffs on him when his shield is up to keep him neutered, and this is a lot harder then just chugging a pot, but with time and practice, this should work.

Snakespeare

10-05-2010, 11:50 AM

But, how are all the players supposed to use their combos and skills when he one-shots the archers and mages?

araziza

10-05-2010, 12:12 PM

On the whole I am really impressed with the new campaign. I like the difficulty level of the mobs, and the bosses are creative and challenging. I especially like having to use real strategy, like the rings with gurgox. I just have a few comments. I don't like the fact that most of the items have been reused. If the new bosses are going to be this much harder, they should drop new items more of the time. I also think it's redundant to just increase the number of mobs. Just cause I like bigger levels does not mean I have an hour and a half at a time plus to burn attempting to complete a level with 120+ mobs. Remember, Mega Maze had that many, and Mega Maze was supposed to be, well, mega. there is no reason to have so many mobs.

FluffNStuff

10-05-2010, 12:20 PM

Fyrce

10-05-2010, 01:23 PM

Please don't nerf anything yet. I thought the difficulty was high for level 45/46/47s, and a level 48 who tried to solo Overlord, but can we please wait until teams of level 50 run the dungeon before we decide it's too hard? Please? I didn't think the bosses, except maybe Overlord, were that difficult for a good team and that didn't even include any level 49s or 50s and no new gear. So I would like to see level 50s with new gear running it before deciding it needs fixing.

Snakespeare

10-05-2010, 01:29 PM

What new gear?

asommers

10-05-2010, 01:38 PM

All great feedback. However, since the opinions are so varied, we're going to let the dust settle a bit before changing anything.

-ALS

RedRyder

10-05-2010, 02:34 PM

Dizko

10-05-2010, 03:34 PM

No nerfing.

I LOVE, I mean LOVE, the fact that the team has to discuss tactics before running into a bosses room.

We all wanted harder fights and this is it. Bosses should NEVER be solo'able and not even killable by 2 people, maybe even three.
A boss with a name like 'GALATIC OVERLORD' should be a really tough fight requiring a combination of Tanks, Healers and Damage classes along with a whole lots of teamwork and tactics.

Some people see it as too hard but think about it, we are all slowly making our way towards 50 with crap gear in comparison to what we will have later on. Of course it's not meant to be easy.

Snakespeare

10-05-2010, 04:04 PM

I'm not asking for a nerf.

But items dropping that are level 44?!?! C'mon.

Dizko

10-05-2010, 04:06 PM

I'm not asking for a nerf.

But items dropping that are level 44?!?! C'mon.

Mmm yea, thats not as fun.

Snakespeare

10-05-2010, 04:28 PM

It's an error, I am certain.

Furrawn

10-05-2010, 04:31 PM

Uhh, OK, I s*ck. I meant meathead. Need to go back to basics.

This is not hard... I've killed Meathead alone in a game by myself as a lvl 4 or 5 when I got to him doing quests...With a bear, it's easy with no pots... What does this have to do with AO3? I never suggested nerfing AO3. I think it needs to be refined as Azrael said. It is NOT balanced when all the team can't be in the same room as a boss. I also think that elixirs should not HAVE to be used ever. I always considered elixirs to be cheating (just for me- I like the challenge) but I HAD to use an elixir yesterday.

I also maintain that reusing the same old mesh/map w different colors and bosses was not right at a 20P cost...and they need to upgrade the server...

The loot that does drop is mostly the same tired old stuff. Frankly, I don't care about them creating great loot later. This campaign cost twice as much- there should be plenty of fantastic items (even if the drops are rare) now...

I'm sorry. If you charge me twice as much, then my expectations are going to be greater.

jonboy

10-05-2010, 04:45 PM

Don't change anything yet, till we see people running the maps at 50 with lvl 50 gear, not uber but decent and they start providing feedback

Snakespeare

10-05-2010, 05:28 PM

Other people say that, too, jonboy. But ... what new gear? I don't see any level 50 gear. I got a pink. It was level 46. I get drops and they are lower than items from AO2. There's something wrong here.

Yes, I did see the list that is in Trader's Market, but look at the only bow. It's level 50. It does 35 more hp. And it has a Speed of 1.6. What?! My scarab bow speed is 1.0. How is that going to help me? I bet the DPS is even lower.

I'm an archer. It appears this new campaign is only for Bears.

RedRyder

10-05-2010, 05:30 PM

Other people say that, too, jonboy. But ... what new gear? I don't see any level 50 gear. I got a pink. It was level 46. I get drops and they are lower than items from AO2. There's something wrong here.

play some more. level up and stop whining (no offence) and they will come. ive gotten amazing drops while just focusing on leveling my guys

Snakespeare

10-05-2010, 05:32 PM

Wait, you did not see my edits.

RedRyder

10-05-2010, 05:35 PM

i see now. but with time, more will appear im sure. and im also sure the devs will change the stats of the bow in one point or another as theyve done with 2h's etc.
i have admitted tho that mages and archers get the shorter end of the stick, also why ive changed my mage to pally halfway through ao2, but im sure that will all change

Snakespeare

10-05-2010, 05:37 PM

Well, I'm no quitter. :-)

I will stick it out. But I have just never ever seen items drop that are lower than the level of the maps. Level 44? These have to be errors.

RedRyder

10-05-2010, 05:42 PM

Well, I'm no quitter. :-)

I will stick it out. But I have just never ever seen items drop that are lower than the level of the maps. Level 44? These have to be errors.

never seen a 44 but i do have some 45's from it, like a thoth plate for example. the rest were lv 48-50 versions to blasters helms and plates

like my sniper blaster and mynas isis helm

Ellyidol

10-05-2010, 06:37 PM

Not to put down bird and mage classes, or put them to blame, but like I said on previous posts Ao3 puts a lot of strain on tanks. If you wanna level up fast, xp elixir. Tank bosses (even a bit of mobbing), tank elixir. If your going to be the only one alive during boss fights, damage elixir. Since your getting all these elixirs you might even opt to get the trash can punch or the premium mix. NOT to mention the amount spent on pots.

Then again I'm NOT putting down or blaming the other two classes. I've tried it with my bird and really theres only so much you can do. If dev's are able to fix the fact that birds and mages are able to help significantly, it should also significantly reduce the strain on tanks, make the level quite easier to do, and eventually everything else will follow.

MasterGT

10-05-2010, 06:41 PM

been farming none stop :) its awesome nice work

Furrawn

10-05-2010, 11:50 PM

Have played more. I have two pinks now. They have the same names as loot in AO2 except the stats are bad. Why?

Devs... You promised epic and new...

You used to make entirely NEW environments with entirely NEW bosses and entirely NEW loot like Lost and The Swamps. Now for twice the cost, you have given me a recycled map with new colors and space doors, new bosses, and mostly recycled loot. For 20P NOTHING should have been recognizable. Nothing. What took 3 months???

Also, it just cost me 15K to play. I don't sell my pinks. I've played to get my 300K that is already disappearing. Elixirs are expensive and I should not HAVE to buy them to play. If you think I just play poorly, ask Twinktastical- he played with me As Instinctive through the 5th lvl and killing the Overlord. He'll say if I play badly since I'm probably not his favorite person:) Though it took a long time since we didn't manage to get Overlord by a barrel...

I have three lvl 45 characters. I don't have the gold to level them all to 50. I'm not about to HAVE to do money runs on balefort just to play a campaign that I had to pay twice as much for that already has let me down in terms of its lack of newness.

I don't advocate nerfing... I don't know what the answer is... But I'm not playing AO3 anymore until I can play without pouring endless gold into it.

I apologize if I sound angry. I'm not. I'm disappointed and really frustrated because I've realized that I can't afford to level all my 45 characters to 50... and that's just not acceptable:(

Royce

10-05-2010, 11:57 PM

But I have just never ever seen items drop that are lower than the level of the maps. Level 44? These have to be errors.

Yeah, I got a bunch of level 44 and 45 drops, mostly trash stuff, but I also thought it was strange.

Dizko

10-06-2010, 12:32 AM

Once you get into farming you find the drop rate is actually very generous. Got loads of 50 gear after farming an hour. Seen a few rift pieces and 5 kite shields.

And people PLEASE - You do not NEED to buy elixirs. It is very possible to get through the levels with a little thought and teamwork.

Secondly - Even if you DID need to buy elixiers with your gold, why would that be such a bad thing? You buy health potions right? Why don't you complain about that?

But again. Elixirs are not needed.

I see parties of two str birds and a mage run into the Overlords room and then complain when they get owned. :/

Furrawn

10-06-2010, 12:55 AM

Dizko

10-06-2010, 01:05 AM

I'm not talking about farming, I'm just talking about killing the boss to get through the level.

I'm not saying AO3 is perfect. But it's the closest thing to come out so far to the perfect level, and with everyone complaining I'm afraid that it will be nerfed and we will have another walk through hack n slash.

Furrawn

10-06-2010, 01:22 AM

Most of the folks I know who have enough money to play and level their chars to 50 are farmers...

As a paladin, the cost to fight, survive, and take care of my team was over 40K between yesterday and today.
I bought a campaign that I can't afford to play.

Like I said, maybe I just need to stop playing... I'm one of the few who seems unhappy. Most of you on the forums are saying how perfect AO3 is... If you all think AO3 is perfect, then the problem is mine... I should accept that and stop playing.

Necrobane

10-06-2010, 02:55 AM

Necrobane

10-06-2010, 02:58 AM

Also, I love the fact that other classes are important now, a mages rez is reallly important, and without at LEAST one archer in you group you'll be there for hours trying to get the boss down :D

icantgetkills

10-06-2010, 03:29 AM

I disagree with most things. Mages-birds 1 shotted by overlord with tank pots and manashield dizko u like it bcuz TANKS SURVIVE and ur a str bird so u live.. Even my pally gets own I like azreals idea on the overlord more hp less damage doesn't 1 shot I want to be able to participate in killing the overlord.....

Price i like worth 20p and The looks of the pvp maps that's watt we should be playing on that type of scenery havnt checked it out yet guys go check it out looks awesome that's what we should be playing on..

Weapons all I'm getting is plasma swords lvl 50 with +8 dps.... Compared to my lvl 45 1 really! Like 1 more m/s crit or more damage ! And I killed king of mynas over 50 times getting 10 pinks the rest green and purples with 1-2 worthy pinks nothing new like rift or anything

As a not as wealthy player I agree I need to use elixirs to stay alive... And nightmare and weakness I swear don't work on overlord he still manages to 1 shot me..

5/10 -5 for bosses and loot variety and difficulty I cant join in on overlord fail.. Other bosses I don't mind

I'll rate 6-

maneut

10-06-2010, 08:59 AM

Congrats.. AO3 is hard..but it brought back some part of me that I thought was dead... It brought back memories of the good old days of gaming.. Bravo STS :) Good job... Haha.. I finally got to tank like a tank and strangers actually came together and think as one unit when we fight the boss :) (even if it took us forever, but we didn't give up, we talk, we think, we try and try again... until.. we win..)

It's very Hard.. but hell it's way more fun then endless mindless farming.. it's way more rewarding.. and I'm not talking about the loot.. I'm talking about the GOOD feeling you get when you finally kill that bloody fat boss ;)

Bravo, Bravo! STS way to go!! :)

jonboy

10-06-2010, 09:08 AM

Yea have to agree, in another *cough* major non-mobile mmo it was VERY common to use heaps of pots/elixers (thanks dumbledore) when running a dungeon when your a little low for the req. lvl or undergeared.

WORKING AS INTENDED PPL (and yea I'm shouting)

Furrawn

10-06-2010, 10:12 AM

Nooooo dont stop...lol ill buy your potions for you! You just gotta take boss's in certain ways so only the tanks have to use pots. dw after a little while people will start figuring it all out and it will become fun for you again :D

Thanks, Necro...
You say that because you're my friend:) But, it isn't your responsibility to keep me in potions. The failure is mine. And Furrawn often tanks:(

Jon-
I have the best gear... And I may not be 50, but 46 is level-appropriate. I can't afford to get to 50. I also refuse to just stay on the boring easy levels. Let's be honest- they look like AO2 and aren't much fun. The fun levels begin at the 5th level. I paid 20P and expect to be able to play the levels now. I don't mind dying... But the cost is ridiculous... I paid twice as much for a campaign I cannot play. I don't need lessons in how to play... It's so unbalanced towards mages and birds that I go through health pots like candy trying to keep my team alive...

Based on the past two days, I'd go through 400 to 500K to reach lvl 50 on one char. I have 200K and two other 45 chars. It would be more cost-effective to buy elixirs for all difficult spots but that feels like cheating to me. Why are elixirs needed now? So I'll spend more plat when I run out of gold for the campaign that cost me twice as much money already? What was wrong with hard that required teamwork & skill? How many of you had to use an elixir? It is NOT a return to the swamp days. In the swamps, if you had strategy and a good team then it was difficult and fun and we made gold when we played which is how it should be... AO3 is made for extremely hardcore players with over a million in gold...

I'm neither of those things. I play daily sometimes for hours... I hit 45 the first night AO2 was out... But I don't play anywhere near as many games as farmers do... I don't sell items either so I only have gold that I make playing...

I'm unwilling to have other players help me out because if I need help and they don't then clearly I've become an epic fail at the game...

gsimonds

10-06-2010, 10:50 AM

For 20 platinum, I feel like we got bent over for AO3. It has a very recycled feel to it. There are some nice pieces of loot, but its mainly the same, and the difference between the 45 version and the 50 version sucks. My 45 Mynas Isis helm is exactly the same as the 50 version, except for ONE lousy armor point.

After joining a LOT of fail groups, I will revisit the thought that there should be a heroic mode. Make an easier mode of the dungeons for leveling 45-50, and have it drop all the recycled 50 version of gear, but up the stats slightly. Heroic mode could be an option for players who have reached level 50, and these dungeons would drop the new gear, but make sure and bump all those stats slightly as well, so that nothing in normal mode would be better than heroic mode.

I managed to beat "This Ends Now" by getting into a pre-made group of friends that had an open slot. Since then, no group I've joined has gotten close to beating Overlord. People give up too soon, and groups usually fall apart. This is not fun for me. I was kicked out of a group because I was unwilling to use a tank elixir. I fear that the current system will cause many players to quit the game.

I play my class very well, and yet since I have no skilled friends, I am forced to be a 2nd rate player, with my only hopes of getting cool gear being via spending millions of gold. All the while the elite group of players sit back in these forums and claim that everything is fine, so they can gear up and make insane gold by exploiting the majority of people who aren't so lucky. I enjoyed AO2 a lot, because EVERYONE had a shot of finding that diamond in the rough.

Snakespeare

10-06-2010, 11:13 AM

I got my level 50 version of my existing level 45 Scarab Bow of Horus (the level 45 is actually on loan from bmc95uk). Well, it has exactly the same stats except the damage range is increase by 7. So basically, the hits I am doing now will increase by 7, or 14 if I crit. But I am sure it will be my daily-use bow, since the sunblessed bow has a speed of 1.6, has a DPS rating that is 30 LESS than this bow, and people are actually paying half a million for it. Why? To me it is the Hook Staff of level 50 archery weapons. I'll stick with this scarab bow.

Royce

10-06-2010, 11:24 AM

FluffNStuff

10-06-2010, 11:50 AM

Diz-
I am NOT a farmer and I don't want to be a farmer.

Yes, it IS a bad thing. I only bought the elixirs for fighting the overlord. It's a money drain that we should not HAVE to do... It's not a health pot...but having to use the crazy amount of health pots in AO3 is ridiculous too... We should never have to spend more on health & mana pots than what we make playing IF we are good players in a level-appropriate campaign.

If you want the game to just be farmers, then fine...
I guess the farmers will have to buy from each other because most of the non-farmers will be out:( I don't want to farm. I like to play for my gear. If I buy things, they're usually for alt chars..

I love playing with you Diz... You are so much fun... I just happen to have a different take on this...

Maybe I'm like HotnDots... Maybe I should accept that the game isn't for me anymore...

I really really wanted to agree with you Furrawn but I can't. You have been playing for a long time, but I fear the oldies may have short memory. Let's go back to the original swamp days, when Level 35 was the cap and the swamps were HARD, especially for mages.
I was a pure AOE mage at the time, and I loved the swamps, but I was SPAMMING mana pots like crazy because there was no decent mana or health regen equip till you hit level 35. Before I would go into a campaign, every time I would pick up a 100 pack of mana pots for ~1500 gold~. I would blow threw these like crazy and would in no way earn enough gold to replace. So after a while I would have to go back to forest haven and farm gold. Once I hit 35, I was able to get the better equipment, and go back and fight earning gold in the swamps, building up money to finance my next characters trips through.
Now, we pretty much have the same issue again. Our characters do not have the equipment needed to survive in the levels until we get to 50. So we dump ~1500 gold~ into armor pots, and are buying the 100 packs of health pots again, now that the crazy regen that has kept us from needing them is not cutting it. And you mention having 200K in the bank. Did you have anywhere NEAR that amount when you were doing the swamps. (You might have, but I never topped 50K till AO1).
So the point here is that the armor / attack pots should just be considered part of the game like the health and mana. A lot of games have 'wear and tear' on your equipment, so fighting and farming require you to repair them. You can consider this a game tax on playing to keep the amount of money in game from spiraling out of control.
OH, AND DON"T YOU DARE QUIT!!! Would miss you!

Tavore

10-06-2010, 12:05 PM

I was crazy excited for ao3 but my optimistic additude has dropped. For 20p I thought this was going to be this awesome new expirience that had way sweet levels that we have never seen before. Instead we got levels with blue paint splashed everywhere.

I am happy with most bosses like gurgox. The fact that it takes strategy to kill him is awesome. Took my group a long time to kill him. Although i havent been able to kill the overlord yet. But when you need to spend money on elixers to stay alive (which if you are a archer or Mage you probably will still die) it's ridiculous. I consider myself a more hardcore player but I think this is over the top. Those yellow minions are one shotting everyone that isn't a tank. I often join groups that has no tanks and if it does the tank is terrible. Everyone walks in and there's not even a boss and you have 4 people saying Rez. I know it takes strategy and I love that, plan it out. But without a good tank you are screwed. I personally love playing on my archer the most. I don't want to have to ditch him for my tank because my bird can't survive. I have played with good players and it makes a big difference but this is no longer pick up and play for 5 minutes. 5 minutes will get you through one small mob. I like a challenge but this is to much for casual players. I think it needs to be more balanced. I have already spent 40k and I have Only played a few hours. For 20p I thought this was going to be mind blowing but it just seems like splashed paint and a lot of old pinks.

Snakespeare

10-06-2010, 12:37 PM

So the point here is that the armor / attack pots should just be considered part of the game like the health and mana.

Can't agree with this. It has to be possible without the "special" elixirs.

FluffNStuff

10-06-2010, 12:39 PM

Can't agree with this. It has to be possible without the "special" elixirs.

Then the problem might be calling the elixirs special. I would LOVE to see a level 30 mage get through the old swamps (or possibly the new swamps, but no FN gear) using NO ~special~ mana pots. I really think the main problem is that we have all been so over powered for too long and not needing to burn through any gold to get through levels that this has become such an issue.

Snakespeare

10-06-2010, 12:47 PM

I actually play the way Futumsh recommended; I generally stick to one level at a time until I advance to the next. So, in short, I play differently. In Swamps, as in AO3, however, I did have help unlocking the levels at first. But, I'll let you know. I'm pretty sure I can do each map as I advance each level... and NOT use those overpriced elixirs, which I, too, eschew out of sheer pride.

Justg

10-06-2010, 11:02 PM

Fantastic feedback... We are still listening, and watching, and playing. It is obviously controversial and divides the hard-core and the casual, but we'll get it worked out.

Tavore

10-06-2010, 11:11 PM

I have been playing a little more and it seems to be growing on me. Although I have been more focused on leveling and still have yet to fight the overlord. Haven't fought to many bosses recently but have been seeing better groups. I'd like to apologize if anything I said ever seemed harsh or anything. I know you Devs work hard and keep up the great work. :)

Ellyidol

10-07-2010, 12:08 AM

I agree on some level that elixirs can be part of the game IE used normally and no longer "special". Just the problem of where gold comes from then. I find it quite hard to farm gold at times, and I mean pure raw gold, not via rare items and sell.

I love getting some grey-orange weapons which sell for 150-180 gold. I find it weird how lower end rares sell for lower amounts, and how helmets only sell for 30-ish?

DontHateAppreciate

10-07-2010, 05:04 PM

AO3 is challenging and the teamwork aspect is surely a must. I have played and continue to play with some of you in this forum. I leveled my mage to 50 in 24hrs after the game was released. Sleep not required. It was costly but I wanted to level up so fast to actually enjoy the whole campaign. I was in a group of three tanks and an archer that required tremendous healing and reviving with or without pots. I didn't mind it at all. I've never heard so many "ty"(s) in my life. First run took us 4-5 hours and probably an hour was devoted to Overload plus our constant respawning. We were ecstatic. We're done. Now, let's do it again.

However, AO3 is soooooooooooo unfair to favor STR characters. Devs, did you plan AO3 using only your STR characters??? I love being a mage and helping every player in the game. I refuse to stand on the sideline while tanks are doing all the work trying to kill Overlord. With trash can punch, mana shield, and spamming health pots, I couldn't even enter the room to revive nor heal without being killed in less than 5 seconds. I felt so useless as a mage and mostly as a player. Our "best" reward was some crappy higher level AO2 pinks for clearing each level the way it should be played. As a mage, I'm avoiding Overlord until something changes.

Finally... yay...level 50!!! Slept and woke up to play PL again. I was invited to 90% of the game with only tanks/pallys. Where are all my pure mage friends??? Ohhhh, they are all pallys now. :( I was really excited to play the whole campaign again. Go figures... all they wanted to do was Rush!!! Rush!!! Rush!!! "We're farming, join us!!!"

It is truly disappointing that people who rushes just to kill the boss (for the most part) always gets the best gears/rares. This needs to be change completely. In my opinion, people who work harder to clear everything in its path and kill the boss should be rewarded more than rushers. Devs, please... I am begging you to do something about this. Otherwise, players will quickly get bored of this campaign too. As a suggestion, rare drop rates should highly increase if the dungeon is completely cleared and decrease if the only thing killed was the boss.

maneut

10-08-2010, 04:06 AM

As a suggestion, rare drop rates should highly increase if the dungeon is completely cleared and decrease if the only thing killed was the boss.

Hey, that's a GOOD idea :)!

Snakespeare

10-08-2010, 11:35 AM

That idea has been suggested many times. There's probably some reason that haven't taken it. Perhaps they use the same function to randomize and lookup treasure for every boss. There's a separate treasure table for each boss, I'm pretty sure. There's not a separate function for the boss at the end compared to the other "mini-bosses". So, if they did add the percentage cleared calculation to that function, all the mini-bosses would drop utterly useless liquidation fodder.

That's all just guesswork, by the way...

I have been staying in the first two levels, getting XP, and I seem to see more gold the last few days. It's almost like every mummy has a dozen or two gp on it. And with all the liquidation items, I am finding that I do actually earn enough to buy the tanker's ale needed for the Keeper. Plot Holes and The Keeper are unkillable unless you have at least one tank.

I tried to move on to map 3, but it seems I am still too squishy. Everyone else my level (48) is, too. It feels like Frozen Nightmare in there, where you just die and take the walk of shame over and over. Perhaps there is a strategy, but so far, to me, map 3 is an exercise in futility. Nevertheless, it is my next project, so I guess I should start a thread about it.

Xcelerator

10-10-2010, 01:14 PM

im working on alien oasis part I right now, but i hear part III is great. can't wait to start it!

Xjargon

10-11-2010, 08:07 AM

No nerfing.
We all wanted harder fights and this is it. Bosses should NEVER be solo'able and not even killable by 2 people, maybe even three.
A boss with a name like 'GALATIC OVERLORD' should be a really tough fight requiring a combination of Tanks, Healers and Damage classes along with a whole lots of teamwork and tactics.
Some people see it as too hard but think about it, we are all slowly making our way towards 50 with crap gear in comparison to what we will have later on. Of course it's not meant to be easy.

I agree. It is actually not that hard with the correct team.
However the game is definately broken if the overlord can be taken down by a solo bear, with the rest doing nothing.

Hey I want to go in and help, but doing so I will be boot.

My suggestion, the overlord need to be taken down in X minutes, failing so, it will release a nuke and kill even the strongest bear with all the buffs and pots.

Xjargon

10-11-2010, 08:13 AM

Fantastic feedback... We are still listening, and watching, and playing. It is obviously controversial and divides the hard-core and the casual, but we'll get it worked out.

I'm not a game designer, so no solution here. But please please do not make the same mistake like ffxiv and try to cater to both groups.

Kooderna

10-11-2010, 10:13 AM

Wussy, we need a challenge like this quit complaining. Sorry you have to use some thought process and teamwork in AO3 instead of zerg/rush the maps like before. Thx devs, AO3 is just what we needed

gsimonds

10-14-2010, 05:51 PM

It would be nice if the Rift "set bonus" included some mana regen, a very handy stat that is not included on the actual items. It's a shame, getting 4 pieces of Rift has made me poor, and I have to resort to benching my Overlord helm for a Thoth helm to do anything more than auto attack. As a tank, I pay enough in health pots, PLEASE give us mana regen on a 4 piece Rift set bonus!!!!!

Speedwell

11-02-2010, 08:55 PM

very hard campaign but good pinks

Ogediah

11-18-2010, 02:19 AM

I know this is a little late from the release, but I have to say that this map pack is BY FAR the best yet. between this and todays update I am very content.

EricB

11-21-2010, 08:31 PM

Well theses maps are out since a while. After 2 weeks spend on the campaing i finally decided (and has the level) to hit this mysterious desert.

So here's my feedback on Alien Oasis after the re-balance update.
Pros:

- Globally Beautiful, level design in AO 3 is awesome and very unique.
- Mobs and boss looks good. Special mention for black shadows and mynas king.
- Hard and challenging. forcing players to work as a team.
- Great loots, item quality, design, drop rate, everything is cool and balanced to me.
- Pvp maps included, 3v3 and 5v5. Never used them, but that's nice.

Cons:

-No town.
-Not enought quests, i like collecting stuffs, talk to npc for rewards, i miss that, plus the story is good actually, but without more quests to fills it feels kinda empty.
-No oasis, lol. Could seems pointless to notice but, i was expecting to see an oasis inside the pyramid and a better looking water render (as the particule system is awesome.)
-Price, 20p for AO3 is ok, but 10 for A01, hmmm..dunno

(note:The first 2 work for Croc's swamps too.)

By the way, to me its 8/10 for the price it cost right now (40 platiniums!)