LEAST favorite DDO quests

[Derpykat5]

Doug's thread on the favorite quests is starting to pick up steam, so I thought I would be a shameless ripoff copycat and make a place to gripe about your LEAST favorite quests: quests that are a pain to run every time.

for me, it wold have to be The Crucible (Ruins of Gianthold).
The challenge factor in combat is more annoying than fun (ha ha! im on the wall! you cant hit me! now die to my comet!), a fair amount of puzzles are mainly trial and error (the fake floor challenge comes to mind), but the ones that are not are excruciatingly difficult, to the point where a second player is basically REQUIRED for certain things, even if you have a hireling/homunculus. The timed runewheel puzzle is my least favorite part, you have thirty seconds to get three runewheels in opposite corners of a room (that you have to parkour across) to the correct positions. So much of this quest is banging your head against unfairly difficult puzzles (the agility challenge, which, without a speed boost, requires NEAR PERFECTION to beat) with luck being a fairly prominent factor for the whole quest (instinct horn challenge).

[Doug]

Originally posted by derpykat5:

Doug's thread on the favorite quests is starting to pick up steam, so I thought I would be a shameless ripoff copycat and make a place to gripe about your LEAST favorite quests: quests that are a pain to run every time.

for me, it wold have to be The Crucible (Ruins of Gianthold).
The challenge factor in combat is more annoying than fun (ha ha! im on the wall! you cant hit me! now die to my comet!), a fair amount of puzzles are mainly trial and error (the fake floor challenge comes to mind), but the ones that are not are excruciatingly difficult, to the point where a second player is basically REQUIRED for certain things, even if you have a hireling/homunculus. The timed runewheel puzzle is my least favorite part, you have thirty seconds to get three runewheels in opposite corners of a room (that you have to parkour across) to the correct positions. So much of this quest is banging your head against unfairly difficult puzzles (the agility challenge, which, without a speed boost, requires NEAR PERFECTION to beat) with luck being a fairly prominent factor for the whole quest (instinct horn challenge).

Lol. Have I mentioned that DDO is intended to be a cooperative game, not soloed?

As it happens, you CAN solo The Crucible, if you have DDoor and a hire (and high Reflex, a ton of HP, and/or self-healing).

Don't kill the mobs on the walls. Worse things happen if you do. Just suck it up till you get up there (and when you do, Freedom of Movement is really helpful).

If you do the 'Optional' conversational objectives before entering the crucible, several things get easier, one of which is that the falling floor is already fallen when you get there.

There's plenty of time to do the runewheels once you get decent at wall-running.

High Reflex saves are a must for at least one person in this quest. The agility challenge is a breeze if your reflex is high enough to simply ignore the spinning blades. Similarly, if you don't have a low enough Wisdom to get a usable hint from the lectern in the Test of Instinct, with a high enough reflex you can simply open doors randomly until you get the Horn.

The swim can be done without high Reflex by taking advantage of healing hire behavior: Hires don't drown and you can teleport one to you to heal you as needed (which they can do underwater, even though you can't). And if you have a friend, there's a spot at the SW corner of the water loop where there's a valve they can repeatedly turn to turn off the propellers pushing the water around, which makes the swim quite a bit easier.

I actually quite enjoy this quest. But I love the ones that aren't brain-dead easy and the ones that work best with cooperation. And the XP is incredible. Also, this was one of the first quests to reward investment in social skills (Bluff, Diplomacy, & Intimidate).

[Doug]

Personally, I hate all the boring, cookie-cutter quests with nothing to set them apart. Some are that way just because they're low-level (Arachnophobia), and some just feel like there was no spark when they made them (Black Loch). Luckily, DDO's been blessed over the years with creative Devs who have made an effort to make quests that are unique, and most of them are. But it's inevitable that tropes and gimmicks get reused with as many years and quests as they've made. It's actually amazing how unique each quest feels, even so.

[Doug]

Aside from the simply boring quests, my next least favorites are any quests that involve shepherding one or more vulnerable NPCs (e.g. The Rescue & Escort the Expedition in Threnal). The worst example of this genre used to be The Library of Threnal (and it got skipped a lot) until they made keeping Coyle alive optional instead of mandatory.

Mind you, if you are VIP or own the pack, the Threnal chains are worth doing if only for the Mantle of the Worldshaper chain end reward. Combined with a Voice of the Master from Delera's (and 5 Greater Tokens of the Twelve), it produces The Master's Gift, a colorless augment that's the only way to get a 5% Enhancement bonus to XP starting at L1. (https://ddowiki.com/page/The_Master%27s_Gift )

[NavFamG]

Originally posted by Doug:

Aside from the simply boring quests, my next least favorites are any quests that involve shepherding one or more vulnerable NPCs

I'm pretty sure escort quests are the most hated in ANY game. Lord knows LotRO has some that are just maddening!

[Derpykat5]

I don't have TROUBLE doing the crucible, I just hate doing it. Sometimes group play is not an option. I just tanked all the traps in the agility and endurance, and my friend was lucky enough to get the correct door the first time when we played it together. Most of my hate is just bad memories, but especially if you cannot do the diplomacy stuff, this quest is still a pain.

[Derpykat5]

crucible was not as bad the second time around (solo). The instinct hallway is still annoying, looked up a helpful tip for the runewheels, and I actually noticed the hints in the tome of wisdom this time. all that combined made for a smoother second run, but I still feel it goes on a little long for the reward. If the instinct hallway was less tedious it would be better, but I did have the initial experience spoiled by not knowing how to do it.

[Soap]

Tomb of the Tormented

This is the Necropolis 3 quest where you have to guide rats through a maze below the floor. I actually like the premise of the player getting to use a monster to achieve a goal. However, it's very poorly executed.

If you don't have a way to damage the carcass eaters, disable traps, or you mess up just once, this quest becomes a nightmare of re-doing things. It's too difficult to see down into the maze and it's too easy to get disoriented. It's also not any more fun in a party, because having more than one person guide the rats can cause problems. So, everyone else is basically just standing around and pressing one or two buttons every 3 min or whatever to knock a zombie back down. Make sure you bring food or another game to play while piking this one if you are in a party, because there's nothing else to do.

It had a novelty factor the first time I saw it, but every time after I've felt tormented.

[Derpykat5]

apart from that, Madstone Crater would have to be another dreaded quest.
The majority of the quest is protecting three seers during three seperate three minute-long rituals, where the seers can't die, but EVERY TIME THEY DROP BELOW HALF HEALTH THE TIMER RESETS. why is that so bad? because the enemies don't go away. You have to kill them as fast as they come to prevent damage, and especially in the third ritual there are some enemies that cannot be targeted until they move into position. Nearly every enemy in the third ritual can't be targeted until they reach their firing poition. This basically means the first attempt at the ritual is a bust since they all get 1-3 attacks on the seer before you can grab aggro. That said, after you grab aggro, it is very easy to keep it, with the only wild card being the minotaurs, but If I position my iron defender along the path he can keep them busy. It is frusturating when you are seconds away and then the timer resets because the stupid archers could not be killed.
The boss fight against the skeleton enchanter is more annoying than frusturating. You walk all the way up the spire, only for him to throw you off it with telekenisis, and due to what I believe is a glitch in feather falling, fly all the way across the map, to the area with the second crystal. Fortunately, I can quickly throw down a flame turret before I go flying, and that actually can kill him. You still have to hike back up to the spire to get the loot though.

[Shinobi Kitten]

chain? probably threnal. theres other chains i'm not the biggest fan of, but threnal i usually avoid entirely after getting a mantle of the worldshaper. as far as quests are concerned, i absolutely despise coalescence chamber on another whole level. i skip it unless i need to flag for shroud. Crucible you'd have an easier time with with a party - its a bit difficult to solo for someone who hasnt been playing the game for ages. also, don't forget to ignore the archers when you are in the maze. once someone starts killing the archers, casters come and cast sleet storm to fxck up your world. as far as madstone crater is concerned, if you have a caster who has blur and invis you can use both on the seer. enemies will still run to the seer, of course, but can help. also, aoes. stuff like the dancey ball dont work b/c madstone rage but firewall, acid rain, circle of death, etc all work on the mobs. talso, ive only been thrown once from the end fight of madstone in 7 years of playing lol so no idea why it happens to you so much thats odd lol

[Doug]

Originally posted by derpykat5:

The majority of the quest is protecting three seers during three seperate three minute-long rituals, where the seers can't die, but EVERY TIME THEY DROP BELOW HALF HEALTH THE TIMER RESETS. why is that so bad? because the enemies don't go away. You have to kill them as fast as they come to prevent damage, and especially in the third ritual there are some enemies that cannot be targeted until they move into position. Nearly every enemy in the third ritual can't be targeted until they reach their firing poition. This basically means the first attempt at the ritual is a bust since they all get 1-3 attacks on the seer before you can grab aggro. That said, after you grab aggro, it is very easy to keep it, with the only wild card being the minotaurs, but If I position my iron defender along the path he can keep them busy. It is frusturating when you are seconds away and then the timer resets because the stupid archers could not be killed.

Don't kill the mobs up top. Just hit each of them once to grab aggro, then hide behind the rock at the top of the ramp. They'll ignore the seer and fire all their missles and spells at you.. forever. You could probably jump down at this point and help kill the minotaurs at the bottom, but I've never actually tried that.

[Doug]

Originally posted by derpykat5:

crucible was not as bad the second time around (solo). The instinct hallway is still annoying, looked up a helpful tip for the runewheels, and I actually noticed the hints in the tome of wisdom this time. all that combined made for a smoother second run, but I still feel it goes on a little long for the reward. If the instinct hallway was less tedious it would be better, but I did have the initial experience spoiled by not knowing how to do it.

Frankly, the part I hate about Crucible is that most of the party has to stand around and twiddle their thumbs while one person makes the swim.

[Diogenes]

memoirs of an illusory larcener

I just hate it.

I don't hate all the killing, but I HATE the fact that there are no rest shrines.

It's either A: A poorly thought out quest, or B: Designed specifically just to make free to play players think about becoming VIP members, because it's one of the F2P quests that absolutely suck.

If it is to get people to think about going VIP, it is a terrible way of doing business, and would actually serve to put more F2P players off going VIP, than it would attract.

The developers really need to re-design that quest to incorporate at least 1 rest shrine. I don't see how a caster can really get through that questm especially not at the quests level.

For a F2P quest, it really is poor.

[Soap]

Originally posted by Diogenes:

memoirs of an illusory larcener

I just hate it.

I don't hate all the killing, but I HATE the fact that there are no rest shrines.

It's either A: A poorly thought out quest, or B: Designed specifically just to make free to play players think about becoming VIP members, because it's one of the F2P quests that absolutely suck.

If it is to get people to think about going VIP, it is a terrible way of doing business, and would actually serve to put more F2P players off going VIP, than it would attract.

The developers really need to re-design that quest to incorporate at least 1 rest shrine. I don't see how a caster can really get through that questm especially not at the quests level.

For a F2P quest, it really is poor.

I'd be perfectly happy if Baudry Cartamon decided to purchase the property and demolish it.
Then again, maybe the Twelve could get the ground to swallow it. Plant some nice flowers there. If the Kobolds ever invade, they can just have that. I would crash an airship into it if I could. I don't care if my character suffers a perma death. Worth it.

[Doug]

Originally posted by Diogenes:

memoirs of an illusory larcener

I just hate it.

I don't hate all the killing, but I HATE the fact that there are no rest shrines.

It's either A: A poorly thought out quest, or B: Designed specifically just to make free to play players think about becoming VIP members, because it's one of the F2P quests that absolutely suck.

If it is to get people to think about going VIP, it is a terrible way of doing business, and would actually serve to put more F2P players off going VIP, than it would attract.

The developers really need to re-design that quest to incorporate at least 1 rest shrine. I don't see how a caster can really get through that questm especially not at the quests level.

For a F2P quest, it really is poor.

Are you a strictly solo player? Because the quest isn't that hard with a party. Soloing with a caster is always difficult. Indeed, it's been years since I looked at it, but I'm pretty sure that during character creation it mentions the difficulty of soloing with each character class.

[Diogenes]

Originally posted by Doug:

Originally posted by Diogenes:

memoirs of an illusory larcener

I just hate it.

I don't hate all the killing, but I HATE the fact that there are no rest shrines.

It's either A: A poorly thought out quest, or B: Designed specifically just to make free to play players think about becoming VIP members, because it's one of the F2P quests that absolutely suck.

If it is to get people to think about going VIP, it is a terrible way of doing business, and would actually serve to put more F2P players off going VIP, than it would attract.

The developers really need to re-design that quest to incorporate at least 1 rest shrine. I don't see how a caster can really get through that questm especially not at the quests level.

For a F2P quest, it really is poor.

Are you a strictly solo player? Because the quest isn't that hard with a party. Soloing with a caster is always difficult. Indeed, it's been years since I looked at it, but I'm pretty sure that during character creation it mentions the difficulty of soloing with each character class.

Yeah, I am. The problem with that though, is that I am of the mind set, that says that no quest should be made specifically for group play only, other than end game raids being the exception.

The reason I think that is because 1: Not everyone likes to group. 2: I firmly believe that no one should be forced to group to complete a quest, if they don't want to group and 3: Forcing people to group in an MMO is always a bad idea because, what do you do when the player base starts dying? Your left with a load of content that you can't play, because you specifically need a group to play it. Where as, if the quest was soloable, you could carry on playing, right up until the hour came, where the developers decide to turn the servers off, once and for all.

As it is, I don't have any problem completeing that quest with any character other than a caster. As a caster, soloing that quest is damned near impossible, and I just feel that this should not be the case. Any class should be able to solo any quest. The lack of a rest shrine in that quest, makes it virtually impossible. I don't know why they haven't put a rest shrine in that 1 quest specifically, scene as it's the only quest that I know of which doesn't have a rest shrine, but I could quite happily introduce the person who made that decision to my assassin.

On the plus side I guess, I don't have a problem completing the quest with my Warlock, and the dev's are doing to do a caster update next month. That update should include a re-work of 1st through 9th level arcane spells, and a much needed EK update. That is what I am interested in. The much needed EK update. I am half of a mind now to create a 20th level EK specifically for that update.

Spellsword will scale with Spell Power following the update, so that should be interesting, and it should give a nice DPS boost. Considering that I have a Burnscar Sash in my bank, I might use either Fire or Acid Spell Power for Spellsword, depending on whether or not the base effects and DPS of Spellsword stay the same after the update. As it is now, I can get about 725 Fire or Acid Spell Power then, by level 30. Scene as EK's will be focusing on melee, EK's should be able to get through that quest quite comfortably then, scene as spell points will only really be used for self healing and SLA's.

I think that the EK will be a good melee class after the EK pass, especially when combined with the Legendary Dreadnaught ED and, possibly, the harper agent tree. I'm thinking 1 Bladeforged / 1 Artificier / 18 EK Mage. That should make for a decent self healing, trapping, melee dps EK / LD ED class. Combine that with the Morning Lords Scepter from Ravenloft, the Burnscar Sash and the Beacon of Magic Set, and you'll have all the spell power you'll ever need, along with some good, top tier upgrades for bludgeoning weapons, by using the LD epic destiny tree.

The dev's are still leaving Pale Master in the dark though, by the look of it... When are they going to give the PM some love, and change his god aweful SLA's?

Also, Bards are getting a re-work of their songs in next months update. However, the wikipedia's "in development" page, says that the re-work is only focusing on bard songs, and nothing else. That indicates to me, that the iconic which will be released with next years expansion pack, will be a bard class iconic, scene as almost all of the other casters will be updated next month.