Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

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Azensor
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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by Azensor » Sun Sep 12, 2021 9:53 pm

The galeb duhr spawns in the petrified forest might need a looking at, specifically the petrified forest next to the grove.
If you go to the map for the spider writ,early to mid teens, and some of those spawn they can and will slap you and the party to the fugue..gods help you if a lieutenant spawns.

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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by La Villa Strangiato » Mon Sep 13, 2021 11:19 pm

AND ANOTHER THING;

Grimlocks have bizarrely high AB for what they are, and it's genuinely impossible to do alone at level 11-13. (inb4 "you shouldn't be doing writs alone", not everyone's in my level range or wants to do writs with me, is busy, etc.) Naturally not all writs are intended to be easy soloable, but I feel some of the enemies' AB could be toned down, and the sonic trap right in front of where the shaman/storm of vengeance guy spawns is just a slap in the face to an already difficult writ. No matter what's decided to fix it, I feel the balance could be adjusted in some way.
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HowlingShanty
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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by HowlingShanty » Tue Sep 14, 2021 6:40 am

Might be a bit late to this one, but as a returning player here is what I can offer in terms of feedback.

Starting Out In Cordor, Now (September 2021)
While the flat 120 adventure exp rate does feel like a refreshing change that allows you more breathing space to unwind via RP, the increase in writ reward exp kind of took me by surprise. My 'first day' in Cordor always consists of light writs (sewer patrol, archives, and faith courier for the adventuring exp) that always gave a good 500 exp each + adventuring exp, so 1500 exp in total which guarantees me to reach level 4. This time around, however, I got 1500 exp for each writ and then adventuring exp, meaning that with the exp I gained from killing things I was practically launched into almost level 6 right from the start.

I have mixed feelings about this sudden surge in exp points. On one hand, early progress is nice, but on the other it certainly shortens the 'early days' when you're starting out as a character and developing them. In my experience, the 'reach level 30 to RP' has never been a problem for me in the two to three years playing on this server, and in fact my best experiences have always been starting out and meeting another character at a low level who my characters either bond or team up with. This, for me, is what truly is the core of early Arelith RP and how characters connect and feel alive early on (although I will say that I have less end game experience).

I tend to try and remind anyone who I've ever met who's in a rush to level up their character that you only start out a character once, and to enjoy the days when they're a gearless nobody struggling to get those first enchanted items. The fact that each and every level is a struggle is what makes reaching that pinnacle of being level 30 all the more satisfying, and I feel that increasing the reward exp for writs will only make speed runners all the more eager to dive in and grind. I feel that, if the goal was to subvert this idea and get people to RP more early on, then just increasing the adventuring exp ticks, frequently updating people's RPR, and making the early days more challenging will be more effective, since early RP is mostly either teaming up for writ work, the celebrations after, or meeting veteran characters who either recruit or share something with you, even if it's just a round of pickpocketing

Starting Out In Skal, A While Back (July 2021)
So I believe this was the last time that I played in Skal more or less. I am not sure if the experience there has been tripled as well, but in the case of Skal this wouldn't have such a drastic impact. The disparity between writ exp rewards in Skal and Cordor was always quite severe, with the first three writs giving 250exp, 250exp and 500exp, rather than three 500exp ones. All the other writs, as far as I remember, also had these lesser rewards despite the difficulty being the same or, in some cases, greater which in turn made Skal a bit of a 'slow mode' but with access to good gear early on courtesy of all the players that dip into crafting and easy to access resources.

Now, I cannot say whether the lesser exp rewards play a part in this, but it's also worth mentioning that the success rate in Skal to find good early day RP is considerably higher. I feel it can also be attributed to, say, the fact that most characters there are within the same 3-16 level range, and thus there are more common grounds and reasons to RP. There's also the fact that the map is considerably smaller which makes running into people a lot easier, but it's not just myself who's agreed that Skal is possibly the best place to start out and meet new people in order to RP, so I think there's something there.

Starting Out And Finding Loot
Fortunately, I have far less to say in this regard. I feel that item rewards for writs are redundant but a nice bonus in some instances such as when you get raw silver ores and such, and that the loot that spawns on mobs, in general, has never been too out of whack. Truth be told, I'm not the biggest fan of enchanted belts, boots, gloves being so easy to attain. But, at the same time, it's now become the staple of Arelith to say that the giant rat that my party just killed was so strong and chunky because it had swallowed this particular enchanted item, and that these things are common on an isle with so much concentrated magic. Personally, this is an area that I wouldn't tweak or change too much, especially given the current player economy.

Starting Out, In Summary
I'll say this again: you only start out once. Most of what I've written is a combination of personal experiences and opinions, but I am comfortable in saying that anyone who experiences good RP during the journey to level 30 will not only take their time, but also enable other people at a low level to also find RP and get ideas through this. It's perfectly understandable that the people making the decisions here don't want to create a 'forced' environment, and nobody in their right mind wants that, but challenging content early on is a solid reason for people to reach out with their character to other characters and create RP, even if it's just "hey, I need help dealing with this contract".

I did briefly mention that I have less experience actually being a level 30 character, but I'm definitely aware of the world of possibilities once you reach that point: join or form a faction, get involved with certain locations and events, perfect a trade and open a shop, cause a ruckus, etc... For me, the organic world of Arelith is indeed its beauty and selling point, and the fact that the story potential only gets better after you reach that end game is amazing. That being said, I do think it's important to recognize that both new players and existing ones with new characters will engage more in RP at lower levels if they have reason to. Good adventuring exp ticks help with that, so does the cooldown on writ work and, maybe (just maybe), difficult dungeons past level 5 and challenging writs with smaller rewards, could help with that as well.

After all, if it's going to take a long time to level up, why rush?

Edit: As for bad and good writs in both Skal and Cordor, the only writs I think are absolutely criminal are the "Trouble On The Roads", I think, involving killing an orc lych who is arguably tougher than the Bloodmoon Orcs, yet the writ is classed as a similar or lower level writ for some reason. Always felt like you needed a bigger group or that it was around level 14 or 15 that I felt more apt on taking on this writ with just one or two other people, especially given the spells this guy casts! Also, I think adding displacer beasts to the gnoll region in Skal but keeping the same reward was a bit cruel, but it can be taken until level 15 (I think) so it ends up working out well as a bit of a 'routine' writ, which is a good thing to have. Not every job should be a death trap, but the coin and exp rewards should certainly reflect this if it isn't.

Sombricimos
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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by Sombricimos » Fri Sep 17, 2021 7:56 pm

The writs I'm about to mention are not bad, be it either the reward or the content of the writ, it's more about the level range.

Kholingen writs : There are three of them, and surprisingly enough, none of the writs have the same level range. If I recall correctly, the one with the higher level limit is the easiest one (The chef).
Therefore I would suggest bringing all three writs to the same range, either by upping the two that are objectively more difficult. Or lowering the level of the other.

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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by garrbear758 » Tue Sep 21, 2021 4:38 am

Ignore me. Just need a comment to easily find the feedback post-change.
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Alyxnia
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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by Alyxnia » Thu Sep 23, 2021 11:29 pm

Most of the Shadow Plane writs I've been doing are both incredibly sparse on actual directions and full of serious grammatical errors.

Normally, when I look at a writ, I expect something like "Go to X location, near Y and West of Z". Not:
Image

Another example of poor directions and grammar:

Image

In addition to these issues, the Shadow Woods writ is supremely scuffed, and kills in one area were counting for both. Additionally, I couldn't find the Nightstalker to kill.

The Vhaerun Cult writ in the shadow plane: Took my twice as long as it should have because several areas only spawned 4 enemies on the entire map out of the required 6. In addition, there's a neat little boss dungeon that should probably be tied in?

Also, more general feedback, a lot of the Shadow Plane maps complete lack map pins, which sure I guess its cool its so mysterious but it's a huge PITA to actually navigate when trying to accomplish a writ that demands you go to a specific location.
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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by remnar » Fri Oct 29, 2021 9:56 pm

The Grimlocks and the writ after, Defy the Noisome God, are definitely underleveled in terms of danger to reward. While the Grimlocks writ itself is doable enough even with sonic trap into storm of vengeance cleric, the Defy the Noisome God writ is extremely punishing, with multiple Seers (who cast SoV) dotted through out, many traps, and finally the boss room consists of the Beholder boss and a group of three (3!) seers who can all layer SoV and cast Heal on each other if they get the chance. Aside from the iron weapons the grimlocks drop, there isn't much in the dungeon for loot. The end reward of six thousand XP doesn't seem enough for the trouble.

The main issue, however, is that this quest, Defy the Noisome God, is labeled as a level 13 writ. A much easier, much simpler writ, Dangers of Petrification, is labeled as a level 15 writ.
I would suggest bumping up the quest's labeled recommended level to 15 or higher. This is a real trap of a writ.

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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by MRFTW » Thu Nov 11, 2021 5:21 am

"Terrors of the Skaldark - The Myconids (14)"

3000XP and GP reward.

Definitely not a writ for the unprepared, what with all of the [redacted]. Cursed Myconids and Myconid Guards are -very- potent melee on top of that.

There's no chests in the area, and the loot at the boss consists of one variable vein (zinc when I went) and a phenalope deposit.

with a 3 writ limit and 5 underdark writ zones, all of which offer comparible XP and better loot, if writs weren't so hard to come by on Skal in general, I wouldn't otherwise do this one on most characters. On the plus side, it is quite easy to get to if you know which cave to go in, and it fits in a few nice 3 writ routes you can take with a solo build and some pre-planning.

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Low Hanging Fruitlord
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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by Low Hanging Fruitlord » Wed Dec 08, 2021 3:52 am

I suggest removing all the 20-30 versions of Courier quests. Now that you can do the 10-20 versions all the way up to thirty, the 20-30 duplicates just exist as trap options that don't give you adventure XP.

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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by MRFTW » Thu Dec 30, 2021 4:48 am

Skal again (sorry, I just love it so much):

Patrol the Tundra
500 XP/GP

I don't want to spoiler anything but I felt the risk:reward was on the low side, although it doesn't technically require fighting and doesn't encumber you like courier writs do. There's some nasty beasties on that route!

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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by AstralUniverse » Mon Jan 03, 2022 10:45 am

Shadow Cordor Crypt

It's a lvl 26-30 writ. It's so easy. No dispels, no breaches, no mobs with any special abilities to surprise you as far as I've noticed and I just steamrolled through it. The only real trap there was huge layers of fog trying to melt my graphic card. There's a runic chest at the end and the exp reward was 10k.

In comparison, the mobs inside the Orcland citadel have higher ab ac and hp, have sorcerers who cast mass haste on halberd wilders with 35 ab. There's nothing remotely close to this strength in the shadow cordor's crypt.

In another comparison, I did the Thieves of Dreams writ right after the shadow crypt. Both are lvl 30 max writs in the shadow plane, but the thieves of dreams was MUCH harder. With more surprises, special mobs (designed, not yellow named), mobs with breaches, harder boss, no runic chest and only 8k insta exp reward.

I should also add here I do all the mentioned content alone on a high epic (not 30) pure warlock, invested in blast damage and dex, mostly.
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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by jomonog » Tue Jan 11, 2022 8:04 am

Deep Wells Writs. Its great there are now writs in the Deep Wells as it gives more incentive to go down there. Problem is because they are so vast its very difficult to find where youre supposed to go for the writs. I picked up a writ that requires me to go to the "Cavern of Mist" (note - it is mispelled in the writ description as "caven of mist"). Absolutely no indication of where in the Deep Wells it might be. I spent almost 4 hours in the wells yesterday and then, after giving up and doing 3 other writs today, returned again to spend another 3 hours wandering around. Almost all of the maps in the Deep Wells are just indicated as "Deep Wells" so no idea if I was even going the right way or even ever came close to where I was supposed to be. I revealed pretty much all of the map on at least the main level up top and then ended up almost at the deepest point (I've been there a few times on other characters so I have OOC knowledge how to get to the end bosses but the writ didnt appear to be anywhere near there). In the end I have given up again today and have decided to abandon the writ rather than spend another few hours of fruitless searching for where the writ is even located. I can imagine people with limited time to play would find the experience of trying to find the location of writs in the Wells fairly frustrating. Unless this is intended to be like this as part of the challenge, I'd suggest either giving a few more hints in the writ as to where to go (even stating, for example, it is "on the second layer" or "somewhere east" would be better than nothing) and also possibly naming each map something different that indicates what region of the Deep Wells you are in with clues perhaps in the names as to where to go next.

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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by Irongron » Fri Jan 14, 2022 6:37 pm

I addressed some of the outstanding above.

Will look at more in next days.

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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by Aren » Tue Jan 25, 2022 11:28 am

Just some overarching thoughts:

Currently there is quite the discrepancy between the amount of available writs in the UD compared to the surface. Especially at higher levels. There is also a significant discrepancy in difficulty between the higher level writs, when looking at surface vs underdark - as in, the surface writs in general are much more forgiving.
Unless you want to put in some serious grinding efforts, the underdark levelling experience is much slower and tedious than the surface equivalent.

Additionally, and I don’t know if this has been addressed, there are some writs which are available to both the underdark and the surface (killing the giant matriarch for example) - in which the reward for said writ is much higher for surface characters than it is for underdark characters.

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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by Irongron » Tue Jan 25, 2022 11:51 am

Aren wrote:
Tue Jan 25, 2022 11:28 am
Just some overarching thoughts:

Currently there is quite the discrepancy between the amount of available writs in the UD compared to the surface. Especially at higher levels. There is also a significant discrepancy in difficulty between the higher level writs, when looking at surface vs underdark - as in, the surface writs in general are much more forgiving.
Unless you want to put in some serious grinding efforts, the underdark levelling experience is much slower and tedious than the surface equivalent.

Additionally, and I don’t know if this has been addressed, there are some writs which are available to both the underdark and the surface (killing the giant matriarch for example) - in which the reward for said writ is much higher for surface characters than it is for underdark characters.
I will try to find the matriarch writ.

On the broader topic, I streamed the creation of a large new UD dungeon, and plan on making about a dozen more, with a writ giver NPC based at the Trade Post, which will also serve writs to the areas around the Crystal Caves.

I did plan on having all of this live a lot sooner, but RL took an unexpected turn. In a few days I'm moving across the country, but once settled will get back to it.

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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by Aren » Tue Jan 25, 2022 3:24 pm

Irongron wrote:
Tue Jan 25, 2022 11:51 am
Aren wrote:
Tue Jan 25, 2022 11:28 am
Just some overarching thoughts:

Currently there is quite the discrepancy between the amount of available writs in the UD compared to the surface. Especially at higher levels. There is also a significant discrepancy in difficulty between the higher level writs, when looking at surface vs underdark - as in, the surface writs in general are much more forgiving.
Unless you want to put in some serious grinding efforts, the underdark levelling experience is much slower and tedious than the surface equivalent.

Additionally, and I don’t know if this has been addressed, there are some writs which are available to both the underdark and the surface (killing the giant matriarch for example) - in which the reward for said writ is much higher for surface characters than it is for underdark characters.
I will try to find the matriarch writ.

On the broader topic, I streamed the creation of a large new UD dungeon, and plan on making about a dozen more, with a writ giver NPC based at the Trade Post, which will also serve writs to the areas around the Crystal Caves.

I did plan on having all of this live a lot sooner, but RL took an unexpected turn. In a few days I'm moving across the country, but once settled will get back to it.
Appreciate the feedback Irongron.

I was aware of the large UD dungeon in the making, but I had no idea of the time frame. I merely wanted to chime in with some overarching feedback, as I have been levelling on the surface for a while and recently came back to the UD.

And do not stress on my account, with the whole dungeon thing. Real life comes first - and contrary to popular belief - Arelith is just a game. I hope you settle in, in your new place.

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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by Jan Skorvo » Sat Jun 11, 2022 7:23 pm

It appears courier writs have been lessened in reward, they do not seem worthwhile to complete at all, commensurate to the reward given. Most take more time than a writ filled with combat and give out less of a reward.

On another note, UD experience gains needs to be looked at, the disparity between surface writs and underdark writs will always be there, due to the nature of the underdark. It would probably greatly ease the burden on new players to the Underdark if there was an increase in experience on initial starting writs to help make the leveling process feel less rough. As it currently stands, it is quite difficult to level a character in the Underdark, and I believe a lot of newcomers and old hands are discouraged to create new characters. I also believe the writ situation is somewhat responsible for lack of players in the UD as of late.

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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by Irongron » Sat Jun 11, 2022 7:42 pm

Jan Skorvo wrote:
Sat Jun 11, 2022 7:23 pm
It appears courier writs have been lessened in reward, they do not seem worthwhile to complete at all, commensurate to the reward given. Most take more time than a writ filled with combat and give out less of a reward.

On another note, UD experience gains needs to be looked at, the disparity between surface writs and underdark writs will always be there, due to the nature of the underdark. It would probably greatly ease the burden on new players to the Underdark if there was an increase in experience on initial starting writs to help make the leveling process feel less rough. As it currently stands, it is quite difficult to level a character in the Underdark, and I believe a lot of newcomers and old hands are discouraged to create new characters. I also believe the writ situation is somewhat responsible for lack of players in the UD as of late.
Thanks for the feedback. I've just added something like 8 new UD writs, and individually they generally give higher xp rewards than those on the surface, I also added 2 or 3 new dungeons on the flood plains last year to improve the low level experience there.

Overall I think the UD is well served, and while I will certainly make more UD dungeons in time I definitely won't be increasing the writ XP rewards.

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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by MathAenya » Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:24 pm

How about offering the Minor Award - Lvl 8 start mentioned in another thread for Andunor only?
It would help get new players there for sure

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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by Irongron » Sun Jun 12, 2022 7:07 pm

MathAenya wrote:
Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:24 pm
How about offering the Minor Award - Lvl 8 start mentioned in another thread for Andunor only?
It would help get new players there for sure
This has been totally approved from myself, but our code team is stretched thin right now, so I'm not sure when one will get to it.

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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by Jan Skorvo » Sun Jun 12, 2022 7:37 pm

It appears that most if not all Cordor writs have recieved a reduction in xp rewarded at the end. Are these new writ changes meant to encourage grinding? As the time spent on some of these writs outweighs the reward given.

I have noticed that all courier writs have also had their xp reduced, as well as various other writs, writs that used to give 3000 xp have now had their reward reduced to 2000. I was under the impression that the writ changes have mainly been done to Skal, but it appears that all surface writs have been impacted.

I think surface writs seriously need to be looked at, as it just seems like arbirtrary lessening of rewards without looking at how much time people actually spend doing them.

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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by Jan Skorvo » Mon Jun 13, 2022 12:08 am

A further add on based on the conversation in discord, if your intent is to have people want to visit new areas, lowering writ xp will have the opposite effect. People will only attempt to do the writs that have high innate xp and are easy or accessible for them. Having High writ rewards will incentivize people to visit a place that is difficult because of the higher reward.

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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by mourisson1 » Thu Jun 23, 2022 9:03 pm

Screeching cavern
Cave full of broken teeth

Comparing them to The Mound which is 3k, they are way too more difficult, with enemies there being way stronger, but reward actually 2k each, which is less than much easier mound.
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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by mourisson1 » Mon Jul 04, 2022 7:31 am

Tomb of the last king
Tomb of the first king

2k each is laughable
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Re: Writ Rewards - Need to find the bad ones!

Post by Good Character » Sat Aug 06, 2022 5:46 pm

The Stench of Gibberlings

Requires 10 enemies to be killed in the Scavenger's Nest. That area seems to spawn on average 2 to 3 enemies, but anywhere from 0 to 4. Average luck leads to you taking 24 minutes to do this one part.

Gold/XP should be bumped, or the number required lowered and the gibberlings just being a bit more difficult to deal with so XP per kill can be increased.

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