Mid-Low Level Ranked Dungeons & Insta-Kill Spells

[Selveem]

Any chance that in medium and lower ranked dungeons these spells can be removed?

I was fighting in Ascarle for 2 days straight as a level 44 character trying to find a way on this MUD to get exp. The result of this was I finally got to 3/4ths a level from 'almost half-way to next level.'

I was accompanied by another high level character and we delved a bit further. This expedition resulted in the loss of all the experience I accrued destroyed by a single spell cast within 2 rounds by a mob in the area.

I remember this thing happened as well in the Westgate Carnival and I believe this was fixed, but I was hoping that these sort of areas may be reviewed to avoid this sort of thing.

Perhaps I'm alone, but I can't see us expecting medium and low level characters always being prepared for instantaneous death.

[Lathlain]

I would say it depends very much on the circumstances.

For instance, level 44 in FK equates to level 17 and a bit in D&D terms - which is a high enough level, in my opinion, to be worrying about protection spells when fighting an enemy wizard. Low to medium level would be the 10-35 range. That said however, if the spell is fired by a passing kobold mage who just happens to be a higher level than it should realistically be, I agree that you're less likely to have stood still beforehand and prepared for the occasion.

My advice would be to keep an eye on these circumstances, and consider reporting any unexpectedly harmful mobs in the bug forum. If a mob has been coded as being far too high level for the module, or possibly even the wrong class (if a thiefy NPC suddenly disintegrates you, that's a problem!), then we'd greatly appreciate hearing all about it. If you're squaring off against the archmage ruler of the ogre warband though, you can expect to explode at any moment during the fight if you've not stopped to think about the most rational approach beforehand.

Just remember that adventuring isn't supposed to be a safe or predictable experience. Wizards and clerics -are- powerful, by merit of what they are, and should be well prepared for in all cases. To address your other point though, we are aware of the lack of suitable adventure modules/areas, and are currently working on expanding the stock of places for people to go. Watch this space!

[Selveem]

I think I might not have been clear, but _I_ was level 44 in a mid-level area. The mob itself is set for a mid-level ranked dungeon.

[Lathlain]

In which case consider posting a detailed bug report (including the name of the mob, the name of your character and the spell cast if possible), because it sounds as though you've found an overpowered mob!

[Selveem]

Ah, okay. Will do; thanks!

[Atraos]

You should try being a drow in the under dark. Pretty much every wizard down here fire's death spells at you if you look at them the wrong way. Perhaps on a similar thread, because of hardly any drow players being around maybe some of the harder creatures could do with down grading a little to allow for solo adventuring?

[Selveem]

Thanks for the heads up, Atraos.

Quite honestly, I've only made one Drow; ever. He was deleted somehow likely because I never played him (there were never any Drow around!).

But, if you recall the exact mobs, please report them just like I did that evil "Sinar'an" witch who cost me over 2/3rds the experience to level 45 (that I'm still salty about after getting revenge thrice! *cough cough*)!

Though, if you wanna send me a PM too with tips on staying alive in a changing FK, I'm all about that too. *grins*

[Nysan]

I seem to recall a similar discussion regarding bandits and 'phantasmal killer'... maybe thats just me. Anyways, yep the best you can hope for is bug report the problematic mob to be sure its functionally normally.

As for surviving in an ever changing FK... Gilain's top 5 tips for a long and healthy life:

1. If you have not been to an area in a while, assume the mobs have been changed... its likely true.

2. Bring a buddy to anything above "low-level" dungeons. Even simple changes can knock you on your backside in mid or high level areas. Might sound like a hassle, but so is death.

3. Know someone on-line. If the who list is a spam of "unknowns", who will you talk to if you die in Maos?

4. Never undervalue potions. Even a priest runs out of spells, from time to time, a quick quaff can be the difference between life and a long wait. A few platinum for a potion is often cheaper than NPC's raise dead anyways.

5. And finally... there is no shame in supplicate recall.

Enjoy,

[Brar]

My top 5 tips is:

1 - Make everyone thinks you are low level and protect you (being a level 50 under the care of a level 10 new player is just plain fun...)

2 - Get a Fighter to take hits for you

3 - Get a Paladin to take hits for you

4 - Get a Priest to heal above rules 2 and 3

5 - If one of the 3 rules above drops under 50%health, sneak and hide is your best friend.

[Eltsac]

Another survival hint :

It's not because you know an area by heart than you won't meet an unexpected strong creature that has followed a fleeing NPC.
Always look in a room before entering and be ready to any (bad?) surprise

*knows of some ranger ambushed by a bush* *cough* *whistles innocently*

El.

[Kallias]

Fighters only have a good fort save.

If the spell that was cast is either reflex (unlikely save or die) or will (likely), I would consider it normal happenstance. Even if it was a fort save spell, a natural 1 is usually considered automatic failure unless you go on the +10/-10 rules. So even on a fort save spell it isn't that unreasonable of an instance (5%).

I'd chalk it up to poor luck, or average luck, considering which save was applicable.

[Raona]

In which case consider posting a detailed bug report (including the name of the mob, the name of your character and the spell cast if possible), because it sounds as though you've found an overpowered mob!

I just want to warn folks that bug reports of this type will not be made generally visible, because they inevitably give away quest and area ("IC") information. However, bug reports along these lines are regularly made (including one about the wizard in question here) and looked into. It's the way to get something like this fixed, though the area designer may not always agree that a given mobile is under or over-powered, and the end result may in some cases be no change.