Re-Popularize The Hole

[Videri]

I miss the days when there were pickup groups all day every day in The Hole.

It seems like a lot of people bailed on The Hole when it got slightly nerfed, but...did you folks know the ZEM is still the best in the game for the 50-59 range besides Permafrost??

Karnor's Castle is more popular and easier to travel around, but boy is the exp there...incremental at best. If we had multiple groups going in The Hole all the time, it would be easier to manage! Imagine if there were always porters around to port people, LFG people around to group with, and clerics around to rez the dead.

I'm having a really nice Hole group right now!

https://i.imgur.com/e41dSkw.jpeg

So if you like The Hole, post here and help make it popular again!

[shovelquest]

The hole is a great zone, one of those classic ones that unless you go out of your way to really explore it, you will miss it.

[Gloomlord]

I miss the days when there were pickup groups all day every day in The Hole.

It seems like a lot of people bailed on The Hole when it got slightly nerfed, but...did you folks know the ZEM is still the best in the game for the 50-59 range besides Permafrost??

Karnor's Castle is more popular and easier to travel around, but boy is the exp there...incremental at best. If we had multiple groups going in The Hole all the time, it would be easier to manage! Imagine if there were always porters around to port people, LFG people around to group with, and clerics around to rez the dead.

I'm having a really nice Hole group right now!

https://i.imgur.com/e41dSkw.jpeg

So if you like The Hole, post here and help make it popular again!

People are lazy, as I've said before. Some perfectly good dungeons in this game, and everyone just wants to go to the most idiot-proof.

[Salaryman]

RED99

Well well, colour me suprised, pve n00bs are risk averse and wont go to the best dungo ever designed because they might get "stuck", and thats on a server with instant click teleport pots and RMT.

In RED99 the Hole is frequently ventured because we are Brave and have Quests to do there.

Like the Quest I did to get my EPICS SwiftWind and EarthCaller

https://i.imgur.com/5IkUgtt.png

RED99

[Goregasmic]

People are lazy, as I've said before. Some perfectly good dungeons in this game, and everyone just wants to go to the most idiot-proof.

True except for karnor where I find the zone quite hostile if you're level appropriate.

It is sad because sometimes it is fun to group but that leaves some gems open to soloers or duos/trios. The flipside is if you're a rogue or warrior you can't just park in the hole and hope there's a group that comes once every blue moon. People will go where they know the action is and I can't fault them for that.

[Jimjam]

Further to the point of Hole especially causing issues for war/rog, the great thing about Karnors is that there are easy single low blue / high xp green single pulls outside the zone (in DL against the castle walls) that the weaker solo classes (war, maybe rogue) can try to flex their muscles on when a group is unavailable.

Frequently high level druids and enchanters, sometimes shamans too, drop into karnors to donate buffs, making soloing in kc/dl even more safe/feasible. Hole doesn’t get that treatment either.

[Goregasmic]

Yeah and now that I think about it, places like velks/karnor often have accessible clerics so that's nice if you FAFO'ed. I did a couple levels in HS and I had a bunch of corpses expire, it makes you think twice before trying something risky.

That and now that some zones are empty, if you get a seb disco group and no one is doing NG, good luck getting there from ent. With Lguk being mostly empty you aren't getting anywhere either compared to live back when every camp was taken and you could pretty much move around freely. I guess that's why COM is popular and Karnor's/velks too. Easy to get to the main camps.

[Videri]

Right, so part of the point of this thread is to popularize it so that there will be pickup groups and parked-out clerics and what not! I actually parked one there last night.

"People will go where they know the action is..." but we are people!

[shovelquest]

Me: im gonna go to the hole

The hole: Key?

Me:

https://i.imgur.com/hLxpVZB.png

[CrazyPro]

real ones level in DN

[branamil]

The hole is already quite popular. Your mom's, that is.

[CrazyPro]

The hole is already quite popular. Your mom's, that is.

'Twas only a matter of time.

[Jimjam]

The hole is already quite popular. Your mom's, that is.

My 52 sk is parked on blue.

[Gilder]

Me: im gonna go to the hole

The hole: Key?

Me:

https://i.imgur.com/hLxpVZB.png

I shrink pot in, but yeah its the shit not needing a key

[Rygar]

I approve of this thread.

So many under utilized spots, such a massive dungeon.

I particularly liked the library, no one ever there and can crawl down then back up for respawns.

Golem Tower crazy good.

Pretty sure that place can literally accommodate 100 people with zero issues.

[cd288]

Yeah and now that I think about it, places like velks/karnor often have accessible clerics so that's nice if you FAFO'ed. I did a couple levels in HS and I had a bunch of corpses expire, it makes you think twice before trying something risky.

That and now that some zones are empty, if you get a seb disco group and no one is doing NG, good luck getting there from ent. With Lguk being mostly empty you aren't getting anywhere either compared to live back when every camp was taken and you could pretty much move around freely. I guess that's why COM is popular and Karnor's/velks too. Easy to get to the main camps.

I mean any functional group can clear to the entrance area to pick you up.

But yeah not in the Hole unless you've got some COTH

[kjs86z2]

naw just sit in KC half afk from 52-60

[zelld52]

Yes please stay in KC. It’s fantastic how all the good, fun, challenging and high ZEM zones are empty- gives my group and I the run of basically any place that isn’t Velks or KC

[WarpathEQ]

Yes please stay in KC. It’s fantastic how all the good, fun, challenging and high ZEM zones are empty- gives my group and I the run of basically any place that isn’t Velks or KC

This ^

Its really the fault of the people leveling. I refused to sit in that shit hole KC and grind for 8 hours for 1 yellow bub on a rogue. It wasn't really hard to have way better options. As pointed out tons of great places to exp that are just wide open.

/w all LFG 50 60
/w all 50 60
Send tells to people on a class that is helpful and invite them to your desired zone. When you meet good players that are also on the same grind, /friend them. It doesn't take more than a couple days to have a deep roster of people that will come join you for virtually anything (because nothing is shittier exp than KC at that level range that I've found).

Chardok CE always had an exp group grinding when I was levling my rogue, not because I would log in and people would be there, because I would log in, 100% of the time the camp would be empty, I would fire off some tells and boom start getting a duo or trio going, start clearing in from entrance, more people start showing up and all of a sudden that same 8 hour grind yields more than double the exp (even with some time wasted gather folks).

[Jimjam]

Eight hour grind :D

[kjs86z2]

good trios are the best, especially when its a funky comp that ends up working

best XP rate I ever saw was my 57 rogue (epic / fungi), 58 bard (epic), 57 monk (epic / fungi / beads)

I was constantly backstabbing for about 3 hours straight in the hole....granted the bard and monk were on voice comms and skilled

damn good times

[Goregasmic]

good trios are the best, especially when its a funky comp that ends up working

best XP rate I ever saw was my 57 rogue (epic / fungi), 58 bard (epic), 57 monk (epic / fungi / beads)

I was constantly backstabbing for about 3 hours straight in the hole....granted the bard and monk were on voice comms and skilled

damn good times

Geared monks are insane though. When I partner with one on my chanter its basically haste/slow/pet and they just chew through everything with no downtime to a point where I'm scrambling for mana before the monk even needs to bandage. And when I can get my hands on a rogue pet...

[spoil]

A very good solo enchanter in the right zone can average about 0.75 mobs per minute. I doubt any duo or trio is beating that for exp.

But I get that playing in a group of insanely twinked melee classes can be more fun.

[Jimjam]

That's nothing, a warrior can kill two just over green mobs in just over 3 minutes, then take a 10 minute smoke break before doing it again!

[Reiwa]

The hole is already quite popular. Your mom's, that is.

Overturn Lawrence v. Texas to re-popularize The Hole on the main server.

[wuanahto]

id rather have some older dungeons back
lguk, solb, etc.
and all kunark zones are brutalized being 80-90
and mistmoore is still in shambles

the hole was fun for 10-13 years but im ready to go back

[kjs86z2]

A very good solo enchanter in the right zone can average about 0.75 mobs per minute. I doubt any duo or trio is beating that for exp.

But I get that playing in a group of insanely twinked melee classes can be more fun.

You're right, but there's only a handful of people left playing that can pilot a level 57/58 enchanter well enough over a long 3 hour stint that would beat the rogue / bard / monk trio I was in.

And as you mentioned, I guarantee the three of us were having way more fun.

[Duik]

I still cant believe in 2000 a static group of 6 thought we were slaying it with just 3-6 spawns (depending on players in zone) in LGuk for 3-4 hrs. No wonder a wiz was welcome back then.
Our equipe was a bit sucky (compared to the average p99er now) but still. So relaxed for most of it.

Some classes were just meta booted into oblivion. Pity.

[cd288]

A very good solo enchanter in the right zone can average about 0.75 mobs per minute. I doubt any duo or trio is beating that for exp.

But I get that playing in a group of insanely twinked melee classes can be more fun.

What zone and strategy are you getting this rate from?

[kjs86z2]

What zone and strategy are you getting this rate from?

yeah kind of an odd "out the ass" number imo

id still rather sit back, relax, and chill with 1 hasted / weaponized / kitted pet with a cleric CHing it as it tears through a zone

[Goregasmic]

yeah kind of an odd "out the ass" number imo

id still rather sit back, relax, and chill with 1 hasted / weaponized / kitted pet with a cleric CHing it as it tears through a zone

Hasted weaponized pet shreds. In a kunark zone I can believe it. I tried it at frenzy but the spiders have too much hp, there's not enough of them and respawn timer is too long for it to justify the xp penalty. In places like HS where it is mostly empty it could work especially with a healer duo but even with like a monk sidekick it works. Haste+weapon is a sword of damocles hanging over your head though, without a healer when charm breaks it is pretty much catching a falling knife if you aren't used to it.

I'm not sure what's the name of the technique where you send a charmed pet into a pack of mobs and then root everything, kill pet when it gets low, recharm something and repeat until everything is dead... but so far that's the fastest way I've found to exp solo. Faster than taking the 50% exp hit on a uber pet but more work. If you can TOT it has minimal downtime.

[kjs86z2]

I'm not sure what's the name of the technique where you send a charmed pet into a pack of mobs and then root everything, kill pet when it gets low, recharm something and repeat until everything is dead... but so far that's the fastest way I've found to exp solo. Faster than taking the 50% exp hit on a uber pet but more work. If you can TOT it has minimal downtime.

yeah that works great in HS because you're using the mob harm touches to do your bidding

my favorite setup was swarmcaller + tome of the eternal, adamantite bands, rusty spiked pads, and tola robe on a bok or krup knight in sebilis....just an absolute lawnmower of death and dont even have to cast slows

cleric stun backup was rather important on those breaks

solo i never weaponized unless i had to kill a named

[spoil]

I'm not sure what's the name of the technique

Reverse charming.

[Jimjam]

Reverse charming.

Mrahcing.

[Goregasmic]

my favorite setup was swarmcaller + tome of the eternal, adamantite bands, rusty spiked pads, and tola robe on a bok or krup knight in sebilis....just an absolute lawnmower of death and dont even have to cast slows

cleric stun backup was rather important on those breaks

solo i never weaponized unless i had to kill a named

Yeah seen a dude run the same setup with a cleric but he had staff of undead legion instead of swarmcaller. That thing ripped. I'm not sure what's the NPC DW hit rate. Usually I just dump a wonderous rapidity on them, bit more mana intensive than a torch but less inventory management. Probably about the same DPS and it works on non-humanoids.



I read some necros say they like KC basement solo better than HS and with my play times I can't really afford the HS wings general fuckery so I figured I'd give the VKR camp a go on my 58 chanter.

There was already a group there so I figured I'd buff them and leave but they invited me. Bah why not, I told myself, I'm already here. The monk was pulling 4-8mobs per pull and pulling nonstop, stayed a little over an hour and got 10% exp. By any metric that's pretty good. I'll maintain that LCY/RCY usually sucks but basement can be decent if your group is not asleep at the wheel. As the chanter it was a lot of work but I didn't mind, I don't group much so it was nice to practice heavy crowd control but if you like to semi-afk YMMV.

[Jimjam]

I think repopularising is working. The other day there were zero players in KC.

[Zuranthium]

Nice to see Videri successful in getting his hole filled.