Christmas Quest 06/07

[hurin]

Quest will run through using the date command-machine time: Wed Jan 31 21:00:00 2007

This year’s Christmas quest (yes a little late we all know and don’t need to hear any more about it) will be a tad different from previous quests. There will be 3 base items that can be made.

The base items that can be made are as such including the stats.
A weapon (8d1 enchantable no class restrictions)
A necklace (+1dam no class restrictions)
2 diff bracelets (+3dam !MCB the other +2dam MCB only)

How is that much different than previous quests you ask, no not the fact that we did different eq slots, but the fact that those are base items than can be taken and then turned into a class specific item with different stats( your choice of str/int/wis/dex/chr)

So now your initial 3 items turn into
A weapon only useable by one class
A necklace only useable by one class (+1dam +1stat)
A bracelet only useable by one class (+2/3dam +1stat)

Why would I want to take a base item that is useable by all classes and restrict it to only one class?!?! Because that class specific item is much more powerful than the base item and you have a choice of what stat you would prefer depending on how you plan to play the character the item is intended for (and of course what items you have at your disposal).

Okay so here is a quick example of how this works for the necklace or the bracelet (the weapon is a tad bit different)

I first take the required components needed to make either the base necklace or bracelet.
By the way don’t worry, due to the complexity of this quest all keywords and keywords for the specific class item will be explained before hand.
So now I have taken my components and have made a base +dam necklace or +dam bracelet I can keep that item and use it on any class I want or I can combine it with 1 of 5 different items (each item represents a diff +stat) and make a class specific +dam +stat necklace or +dam +stat bracelet.

Okay weapons are a tad bit different.

The base weapon is an enchantable block of ice, so to prevent people from just using bad enchanted weapons to make the rare class specific item we have done this differently. You do not make the base item first and then add the new component to make the class specific item. So for instance. C will stand for component
C1+C2+C3+C4+C5+C6 = base block of ice (useable by all classes)
OR
C1+C2+C3+C4+C5+C6+ a stat component(wish) = class specific weapon with +stat



Okay the quest is also different in the fact that it uses both components loaded by those loveable elves (thanks to Arizhel and Tam for the initial elf design, we have these ones tweaked a bit) but it will also use components dropped by some of our favorite or not so favorite mobs in the mud!! The normal every day mobs in the mud that drop these components will be a surprise!!

Every day mud mob loaded components
a Christmas Wish

These wishes will load on 5 normal mobs in the mud. Each wish will always load in the same place and clues will be given out as to what mobs these are. It is a wish that is used to make a base item into a class specific item with the corresponding stat.

NECKLACES
Base necklace is +1dam and no class restrictions
Construable keyword: bloodnecklace

Class specific necklaces required components
Base necklace (bloodnecklace)
a Christmas Wish (the stat of the wish corresponds to stat transferred to the item)

So of course once you have the base necklace and the right wish (if you want a +1dam +1int necklace you need to use the +int Wish NOT the +str wish) you jump on the class you want to make the new necklace for and then make keyword. I have listed the keywords for each of the necklaces below for each class and the associated stat.

	Mage	Cleric	Warrior	Paladin	Antipaladin	Ninja	Jedi	Sohei	Thief	Ranger	Bard
wish
+chr	scarf1	prayerbeads1	choker1	chivalry1	collar1	wire1	torc1	scarab1	bandana1	hemp1	opera1
+dex	scarf2	prayerbeads2	choker2	chivalry2	collar2	wire2	torc2	scarab2	bandana2	hemp2	opera2
+int	scarf3	prayerbeads3	choker3	chivalry3	collar3	wire3	torc3	scarab3	bandana3	hemp3	opera3
+str	scarf4	prayerbeads4	choker4	chivalry4	collar4	wire4	torc4	scarab4	bandana4	hemp4	opera4
+wis	scarf5	prayerbeads5	choker5	chivalry5	collar5	wire5	torc5	scarab5	bandana5	hemp5	opera5

BRACELETS (two different ones actually, but they do use the same componenets to make either of them)
1st Base bracelet is +3dam !MCB
Construable keyword: reindeer1

2nd base bracelet is +2dam MCB only
constructable keyword: reindeer2

Class specific bracelets required components
Base bracelet (reindeer1 or reindeer2)
a Christmas Wish (the stat of the wish corresponds to stat transferred to the item)

So of course once you have the base bracelet and the right wish (if you want a +dam +int bracelet you need to use the +int Wish NOT the +str wish) you jump on the class you want to make the new bracelet for and then make keyword. I have listed the keywords for each of the bracelet below for each class and the associated stat.


reindeer1 !MCB bracelet table

	Warrior	Ranger	Paladin	Antipaladin	Ninja	Jedi	Sohei	Thief
wish
+chr	warriorwish1	rangerwish1	paladinwish1	antipaladinwish1	ninjawish1	jediwish1	soheiwish1	thiefwish1
+dex	warriorwish2	rangerwish2	paladinwish2	antipaladinwish2	ninjawish2	jediwish2	soheiwish2	thiefwish2
+int	warriorwish3	rangerwish3	paladinwish3	antipaladinwish3	ninjawish3	jediwish3	soheiwish3	thiefwish3
+str	warriorwish4	rangerwish4	paladinwish4	antipaladinwish4	ninjawish4	jediwish4	soheiwish4	thiefwish4
+wis	warriorwish5	rangerwish5	paladinwish5	antipaladinwish5	ninjawish5	jediwish5	soheiwish5	thiefwish5

reindeer2 MCB only table

	Cleric	Mage	Bard
wish
+chr	clericwish1	magewish1	bardwish1
+dex	clericwish2	magewish2	bardwish2
+int	clericwish3	magewish3	bardwish3
+str	clericwish4	magewish4	bardwish4
+wis	clericwish5	magewish5	bardwish5

WEAPONS
Okay once again weapons are a tad bit different.

The base weapon is an enchantable block of ice, so to prevent people from just using bad enchanted weapons to make the rare class specific item we have done this differently. You do not make the base item first and then add the new component to make the class specific item. So for instance. C will stand for component
C1+C2+C3+C4+C5+C6 = base iceblock (useable by all classes)
OR
C1+C2+C3+C4+C5+C6+ a stat component(wish) = class specific weapon with +stat

Base weapon is 8d1 enchantable and no class restrictions
Construable keyword: iceblock

Class specific weapon required components
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
C6
a Christmas Wish (the stat of the wish corresponds to stat transferred to the item)

The class specific items are not the same as the base weapon is, they are totally different and quite unique for the class that would use them. They require no enchanting and come ready to use!!!

Wish	Mage	Cleric	Warrior	Paladin	Antipaladin	Ninja	Jedi	Sohei	Thief	Ranger	Bard
+cha	tetsubo1	hammer1	broadsword1	waraxe1	icyaxe1	Wakizishi1	saber1	athame1	shiv1	kama1	bassoon1
+dex	tetsubo2	hammer2	broadsword2	waraxe2	icyaxe2	Wakizishi2	saber2	athame2	shiv2	kama2	bassoon2
+int	tetsubo3	hammer3	broadsword3	waraxe3	icyaxe3	Wakizishi3	saber3	athame3	shiv3	kama3	bassoon3
+str	tetsubo4	hammer4	broadsword4	waraxe4	icyaxe4	Wakizishi4	saber4	athame4	shiv4	kama4	bassoon4
+wis	tetsubo5	hammer5	broadsword5	waraxe5	icyaxe5	Wakizishi5	saber5	athame5	shiv5	kama5	bassoon5

[/td]
[/table]

SURPRISES
There are a few other surprises that I won’t go into detail about here. I will say that all 5 wishes can be made into a Christmas miracle but that’s all that will be said about that one.

Have fun, sorry for the delay and from both labrat and me we would like to thank you for playing and thank both Ciara and Kailyn for all of the help in this quest. This quest took 198 items, countless constructible files to be done and endless fixing and tweaking and wouldn’t of even came close to being run-able if it wasn’t for the countless hours and dedication Ciara and Kailyn put forth.
Quest will run through using the date command-machine time: Wed Jan 31 21:00:00 2007

[Tarbal]

I would like to send out a thanks to everyone who participated in the quest. I hope that you all had fun. There were several (at least 2) DT's (sorry Air, Elixir) and several items made. I have not received a full rundown on what was made yet, that may get posted later, along with all the items that we designed for this quest. There was almost 170 items available for construction, i dont think more that 10-15 were actually made.

If you have any comments or suggestions (I know, less complex next time) I would love to hear them. I may just tell you to go blow Puff, but i would still like to hear what you have to say.

Thanks again to all the runners.

And a VERY special thank you goes to Kailyn and Ciara. I cannot count the number of hours those two dedicated to getting this quest up and running. Without their work, this quest would not have happened. And i think that my death counter has nearly doubled just from the godslays that i received while implementing all of the items.

And thanks to Hurin, once again we paired up to run a quest (we do that WAY too much) that I hope was ingenuitive and interesting. I appreciate his ideas and all the help and advice he gave me while trying to write the items for the quest.

Once again, everyone, if you see Kailyn or Ciara, tell them thanks. They deserve it!

Mike (labrat)

[Pioneer]

First off, thanks for taking time to make the quest and thanks to Ciara and Kailyn for untangling and making the quest work.

Now as far as suggestion goes, here's my take on the quest: the only thing I would have preferred would have been if Santa dropped wishes instead of those 5 crazy mobs, and the miracles being a whole separate quest.

The other thing I never understood is why things are always so hard to make, quests are supposed to have people running have fun, I don't know about others but it wasn't until the 9th day into the quest that I was able to make my first item and the first week I was running 8-12 hours per day!

When theme quests were first introduced, items made from quests were clearly superior to normal in game gear, but more and more the trend is to tone quest items down, if things continue in the same vein quest gear will end up being the same as stuff you can get already.

Finally there was the whole load on death issue... maybe an answer to the code needing grouped people for any chance of load would be to have the item(s) load in a container held or worn by the mob, that way you'll still need to kill the mob to see if he loaded anything.

So all in all, if you didn't have access to wishes, the best you could hope for was fbones without the -1 hr or rainbow charms that's ml-20 instead of 15 or bbracer that's ml-20 instead of 25, a +1 dam necklace that's a little better or little worse than 1dam necklaces already in game, or a Staff of Many Parts with unknown ml (since I didn't make one)... overall a little disappointing.

But for some reason I'm sure the items were intended to be made with wishes and in that light the items become more appealing, but again, if you didn't have access you're basically SOoL...

So I suppose what I'm saying is the concept was right, but the execution was a little flawed...

Pio.

[Maranta]

First of all my immense thanks and congratulations to Tarbal, Hurin, Kailyn and Ciara for a truly amazing and innovative quest that has set a new standard for creativity and gore! Now that its over, a good portion of the players can resume sleeping at night without dreaming of decapitated reindeer or a rampaging Santa carrying a whiskey bottle. Not to mention getting normal hours of sleep and cutting back on the caffeine a bit, yours truly included.

As for feedback, I'll try to keep it unbiased as I did come out with a very pleasurable stack of items. Breaking away from the usual cuteness and warmth was a nice change for some, and a nightmare for a few... you know who you are.

Having such a wide variety of customizations was pure genius and my hat.. err helmet goes off to you. However for the vast majority, just getting the parts to a basic bracelet took days for some and a week+ for many others. The bracelets themselves well it depends how you look at them. I believe the sore point is the minlevel. Pioneer already pointed out the details so I feel no need to repeat them. Bards got the most benefit in a sense as the 2dam bracelet is 5 levels lower than bbracers. For those who customized a bracelet, the minlevel is even further increased up to 24. Unless you own a gang of thieves or clerics, its gonna be awfully hard to swap the customs around and power level with them...

The necklaces were ideal simply as they were. As some players(and quite a few imms) might be unaware, most damage neckwear comes with a physical handicap eg. torns/holeys/torques/paragons or is severely limited in alignment eg. ils/sharks or in the case of Evil players, simply does not exist aside from the extremely new pagoda necklace.

Santa should have been dropping the "rare" and "control" pieces from the beginning, just at a very low rate. The wishes were a very impressive idea for boosting the plain items but I believe far too much emphasis was placed on limiting the completed custom items and how much players could use them. The Wish Mobs were fairly easy to kill though Stilicho wielding that consular axe made for a truly enjoyable fight. I liked the fact they required groups to kill and load instead of some mage with an army of eq'd pets and a lot of gates.

In summary: Amazing quest, simply amazing! Next time, worry far less about the game "balance" and more about the fun factors.
The prizes were superb but too restricted(lower mls on customs would have made a big difference)and most of the items including the wishes were hard as hell to get.

a handful of coppers, keep the change
-Maranta

[Tarbal]

thanks for the comments! i knew that you 2 would be the first to comment for some reason.

[Maranta]

So anyone wanna finally reveal the stats on that Christmas Miracle or some of the unconstructed weapons? Would be really cool to know especially since it was nearly a year ago!

[Tarbal]

well....i dont know about posting the stats of all the weapon, they may get used again.....but here is the list of weapons from last years quest.....

Mage- an icy tetsubo
Cleric- an ice hammer
Jedi- a lightsaber with a frozen, icy blade
Paladin - an axe of war with an icy, frozen blade
Antipaladin a frozen, icy war-axe
Ninja- an icy wakizashi
Sohei- an icy athame
Thief – an icy shiv ((yeah....you like that...dont ya?))
Warrior- the Frozen Broadsword
Bard – an ice bassoon
Ranger - an icy kama

all the weapons would have been +stat (depending on which wish was used to make it)

The Miracle was a cute little holdable....and could have been used as a trade in for...well....something else....that is all i got to say about that.....

Anymore question?

[Maranta]

Oooo cool. Wish I had gotten to make more weapons.

Oh well, they sound wicked enough. Thanks for tellin what you could.

[Tarbal]

out of curiosity, did anyone keep any of the wishes, or were they all used to upgrade other items? after all, they WERE 4 dam holdables (if i remember correctly)

[Tarbal]

since santa was killed (repeatedly) last year, i wonder who the North Pole has hired on as a replacement. Any ideas or thoughts?

[Maranta]

My wishes sure as hell weren't 4dam holdables, lol. If they were, I'd have kept one.

As for Santa, no clue. I've heard from a few people that there IS a quest being planned though.

[Tarbal]

my bad....i think that we had originally planned on making them 4dam, but we changed it during implementation (something about balance or something...i dont know)

on another note, are we the only 2 who consistantly post on here anymore? Where the hell is everyone?

[Maranta]

Everyone waits for the game to not come up then they log on here and kick the dead horses.

Lack of answers is probably the reason. Only a couple admins even read the boards, the rest only show up when someone challenges a policy.