Asherons Call: Q&A with Orion

Orion_Turbine in response to MANY questions regarding the "Monsters of Extreme Variety" Diary.

1. Beau, I can guarantee you that you'd be pleased as punch with how the mage would have fared.
2. With care and technique in hunting, it is possible to net that much. But you will need to pick your fights and be very careful. Of course hunting with a group or just another buddy out there will be even better. (4millions XP/hour)

Sol, I am a bit higher in Bow cost, but then again I don't have that much in the way of minors/majors. By level 90 you would normally have the minors you wanted. Platinums still drop the same loot and are actually worth a little more experience. Then again they are tougher on the whole. (Mages, take a deep breath, they got easier for you.) I am really encouraged by the testing. I was really nervous about today, with all of the posts about Bloodletters and Predators at the top of the month. The tweaks that I've made seem to have brought them more in line with what I was looking for.

Dragonsbreath, The character is 100% by the allowed experience in the game. Nothing is above what a character can have. Notice that I didn't specify how far into 90 I was? I was closer to 91, in fact very close, within 10 million.

[b]dugfromthearth[/b] asks (paraphrased): How is it you die so much as a low-level melee?
Orion_Turbine: You know that bloodlust you get when you see a creature that is displayed at about 5 times your level under current conditions. It's like that. Taking on groups of level 14-16's when you are level 6 is not wise. That is when I died. I was doing very well against those same creatures when they were solo but once they ganged up on me it was very tough. Again I point to subpar store bought equipment AL 50, examine my stats. The majority of the deaths that I abtained were at Newb level when I had 20 points of health. That means one lucky shot from a banderling and poof it's back to the lifestone. Out in the wild blue of Low level hunting I died twice. Both times to Gold Wasps who just caught me in a chain cast and a failed heal. Nothing more. Things have not changed much at all for melees.

Trai asks: Some legacy issues that need work:
1. dispell gems being hands down superior in all aspects to cast dispells in which the requisite composites are MUCH harder to acquire.
2. invuln/impreg loot gen items being impossible to acquire for archers.
3. Mi Krau-Li's jitte remaining unperfected.
4. Mace and Axe still being the only weapons which have no animation that allows the user to stick to fleeing opponents.
Orion_Turbine: 1) Dispel Gems: It is true that they are more potent. Then again they are a liquid form of spell removal. A limited supply makes them far more useless then their castable counterparts. I do agree that the components for the spells are difficult to find and the removal of positive spells is never something that you relish, however it is a trade-off for always being able to cast a dispel in the field regardless of whether you have a gem or not. This is unlikely to change in the immediate future.
2) Impreg/Invuln on Armor: It's a tough question with no real easy answer. While adding these spells to other loot armor pieces is not impossible it is highly improbable. Hence the reason for quest helms with the spells.
3) Mi-Krau Li: Hang in there.
4) Axe and Mace sticky: I'm not fit to answer this question because it is certainly more a tech/art question. My stab in the dark would be a slower animation that allows for breaking sticky.

[b<NaySayer</b] asks: Can we have confirmation that the Virindi Collector is alive and well?
Orion: As ML was not touched I can say that he is spawning as rarely as he ever has.

Xeo asks: Is the Tumerok Overlord intended to be spawnng out in the open? Not just any Tumerok Overlord, but the actual one in the quest dungeon. He drops his non drop Overlord's Key, Overlord Sword, and kite shield.
Orion: He's been doing that for a while, in Dryreach. That version of the Overlord was not supposed to be out and about and he has been replaced with an equally dastardly counterpart.

SameBito asks: What does "hunting at your level break" mean exactly? What are the level breaks as the Live Teams sees them? A lvl 102 archer hunting the Drudge Bloodletters, is that above the level break or within the archers level range? Is the level break +/- 5 levels?
Orion@Turbine: Hunting at your level break implies hunting in the areas that are suggested with the new map. These are guidelines, not hard lines. If you are the adventurous sort who is buffed to the gills then you can probably jump a level break to see how you fair against the next rank up just don't be surprised when you get smacked down by something that can and will own you. As a level 102 archer you are hunting in the right spot when you hunt those Bloodletters. Mind you they are very tough as things should be when you get higher up, and right now they still have a problem in that they don't give the right amount of xp. But yes on the whole that is within the level break. As for what a level break really is, I won't categorize it. I think one of the best things that our community has shown is that there really is no way to define what a level break is. We can give guidelines and warn players of lower level that they may die in these areas. But through knowing the terrain and the game and how to play around the skills of the creatures you can survive above your level. Plus with the help of allegiance members you can certainly surive well above your level. As far as solo, find where you are comfortable and hunt there, that is your level break.