First to Engage: Exploiting the mechanic?

[SyanideGas]

Originally Posted by Lojik [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

What was the theory behind implementing variance? Was it supposed to solve some problem that existed? (FYI I'm not a part of the sock scene just curious)

Initially it was supposed to get rid of the socking, basically. But that doesn't stop anyone from what ive been noticing.

[Fountree]

Originally Posted by feanan [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Ahh, one of the things I'm most looking forward to, the nerfing of the donals BP.

Never mind that there are 100x more donals bp here unnerfed then there ever was on live.

But hey, remove the compass, that shit is important

lol very true [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Lojik]

Originally Posted by SyanideGas [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Initially it was supposed to get rid of the socking, basically. But that doesn't stop anyone from what ive been noticing.

Well from what I can see it doesn't really seem to be working, but perhaps it provides a more manageable workload for the staff, which is a plus.

[Ele]

Originally Posted by Lojik [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

What was the theory behind implementing variance? Was it supposed to solve some problem that existed? (FYI I'm not a part of the sock scene just curious)

Before variance there was static spawn timers. People would bring their raid forces at the mob 15 minutes before it spawned waiting for the boss and then fight over who actually gets the mob before and after it was killed. The length of time of waiting begin to increase from minutes to hours. During this time there was a first raid with 15 people at the spawn point rule. Who ever got 15 people to sit at a spawn point first would get first shot at the mob, so people would sit 15+ people at a spawn point hours and days in advance in order to claim the mob. GMs added variance to stop that and eventually did away with the 15 person rule in favor of a pure FTE rule, which resulted in pre-camping buffed raids, 24/7/365 trackers, DA/bladstopper/disc instant engages, and poopsocking for random spawning mobs.

Poopsocking paid off when the boss would reach the end of its 36-96 hour window (varies by boss, most are 96 hours) because the boss would pop by the end of the window. Then the GMs "accidently" added extended windows which randomly adds another 0-24 hours to a mob's variance window if it would have spawned in the last 15% of its timer. This extension will keep adding up each time a new spawn time is rolled and the spawn time is in the last 15%. This can result in an average 7 day spawn (5-9 days from last kill due to variance) in extending upwards of 12-14 days total time. This was supposed to be a disincentive for poopsocking, since you could no longer just wait the last couple of hours for an assured spawn.

[Ele]

Originally Posted by feanan [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Ahh, one of the things I'm most looking forward to, the nerfing of the donals BP.

Never mind that there are 100x more donals bp here unnerfed then there ever was on live.

But hey, remove the compass, that shit is important

In due time. Nilbog already has it set to nerf at the appropriate patch.

[quido]

Origin is suggesting a mechanic that ensures bigger poopsocks so his guild can win!

[Fael]

If you look at how long the new variance has been in place, it basically has worked.

Over the last 6-10 months, however long its been, poop socks have only occurred for a month or so max, when competing guilds have made the decision to try to burn themselves out in the fastest possible way.

Perhaps it will take another month for some people to re-learn that poopsocking doesn't pay in the long run.

Dolic

[Hawala]

Originally Posted by feanan [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Ahh, one of the things I'm most looking forward to, the nerfing of the donals BP.

Never mind that there are 100x more donals bp here unnerfed then there ever was on live.

But hey, remove the compass, that shit is important

I agree with this 100%. I too feel too much energy is being spent on removing nameplates from players with a skeleton illusion.

What is classic in the strictest sense of the word may not be desirable or even feasible in 2013. Another example is bard kiting. While it was possible in 1999 high-speed internet was far less prevalent, and it was not really something I ever saw much of until post-Velious because of concurrent technological availability.

Obviously another difference is such complete documentation. People can simply google anything about EQ, and over the last 14 years enough people have usually commented for there to be knowledge readily available.

So, basically you're right. There is a pretty large difference between server behavior in Classic and how players behave, and even how quickly the two interact.

[Aerar]

I do think variance breaks more than it fixes.

If the idea is to give anyone a chance it certainly doesnt accomplish this, as the most hardcore guilds will just poopsock 24/7 and still end up with the mob.

What I would propose is that for the most desireable raid bosses the GMs keep a list and guild must sign up on the list.

I would also suggest that a failed attempt makes that guild have to skip their next turn on the list, this would keep the hardcore guilds somewhat happy as they would presumably fail less.

BUT because there is only ONE server I think an enforced rotation by GMs should be in place and no variance so that;

A: people dont have to poopsock
B: other guilds still get a shot at the top end loot
C: TMO already has their stuff they are just gearing alts so they can share the love until velius comes out, lets face it they will be the only ones taking on velius raid bosses at start because no one else has gear to do it.

Boom, problem solved

[Elderan]

I have a better idea...

As soon as a boss spawns it turns that zoned FFA PVP.

May the best players win... Problem solved.