general ideas / improvements from an experienced player

hi all, i go by the name kyzuma and my main three toons are klyanya, kyzuma, and kyzu

I just wanted to share some general ideas about improvements and such that I think would help even out the server, or just things I would like to see fixed. Some of these ideas might take a lot of work, while some might be simple fixes, and others might be out of the question, but i thought id share anyways.

Before I talk about them i'd like to say thanks to admin, nalfgar, and saint, along with anyone else who has helped to improve this server. Its a lot of work and there is a lot of special and interesting things about this server, so thanks!

1) Self Buffs
Currently some self buffs can be cast while moving, but not all of them. Please change this so all self cast buffs and group buffs can be cast while running. I find it odd that the buffs we actually need to recast (because they are not permanent) are the ones we can not cast while moving. Its more of an annoyance than a huge issue, but if its not too much trouble i'd like this changed.

2) The Basics spell line.
Its nice that new players have this line and that non-custom classes can remove this skill line via that wipe all lines NPC, but I think its lame that the special classes can not. The special classes were created to give people something fun and new to play with right? Especially the blank classes, so why cant we remove this line if we want to? I was told that the line was put there so new people would have some extra help, which is great, but if someone is prepared to switch to a special class i doubt they need this skill line. I suggest that you allow this line to be removed like the non-special classes can. You could put it on the spec line NPC for free for people who want it, and still enable it when people create a fresh character. For an experienced player this spec line is useless and takes up valuable space!

3) The Champion Dungeons (aka Brimstone and its hib / mid equivalent)
I started as an albion on this server and i do love the brim dungeon here. Its a great place for end game diamonds / soul farming. It also offers good gold and a great place to power level someone. I would really love to see the hib and mid versions of this dungeon to be populated as much as the albion one currently is! Its a bit unfair that they arnt the same across all three realms right? Would also be nice to make sure that any/all bosses are found in each realms dungeon as well. And eventually, I would really love to see the entire dungeon filled up with monsters, and maybe add some new bosses to each boss room that is found here. I know that takes some work, mainly the new bosses idea, so i understand if that is not realistic or if it would take a long time.

4) Guild buffs
This is a minor idea, but it seems the guild buffs have been edited here. Currently from what i can tell artifact is at 15%, BP is at 5%, crafting speed is at 50%, PVE exp buff is at 15%, and realm points is at a low 2%. Could we increase the RP one a little bit please? like 5%?

5) Some kind of command to show how many people are on from each realm, or at least a total population count.
I briefly talked to a GM about this in the past, and they made it sound like a ridiculous amount of work, and if that is the case then forget about it lol! But i like to play with people and help out newer ones. It would be nice to make a /online command that shows the amount of people on from each realm, or if that is too hard maybe a total server population that shows how many people are connected currently. I am NOT asking to display exact names, or their locations. More like an output saying "there is currently 10 Hibs, 5 Mids, 2 Albs", or a total pop saying something like "There is currently 17 users connected to the server". I find that the Players number that is displayed on the server page for this server is usually off. Iv seen it say 0 (and yes i refreshed it) and I log in and there is like 6 people on lol.

6) Fix the Script Error pop ups
For people who log different realms often or DC a lot it can be quite annoying to keep the server page open. Every time we click on the server to connect to it like 5 script error pop ups appear which makes it annoying while we are trying to put our login info in to connect. If kept open, this pop up will continue to appear every few minutes. While playing on other servers, iv actually had people tell me they found it odd or annoying enough to keep them from even trying this server. If its an easy fix, or one that would even take an hour or so to do, id consider trying to fix it.

7) A new NPC that restores items to Original Drop stats
What i mean by this is a NPC that would take an item you have added stats to, and remove the added stats from it so its a fresh original version of the item. There are LOTS and LOTS of special items on this server. It can be frustrating to create an item set and add stats to these items so you have a strong template, just to find a new item a few days later that you would like to switch out. Depending on the items stats, this can make us RE-farm all or some of the other items you still plan to use because the stats are not how you like it. As we all know, some of the drops on this server take a long time to get even 1 of, let alone re-farming for a new template, or god forbit re-farming for multiple characters to re-template them all.

8 ) A soul item refunder
People like to try out different specs and play styles. It would be nice to be able to trade our current soul weapons/items for new ones in the event that we switch specs or even armor types. Could to a full refund npc, or even a half refund npc so we get something back for our old soul items.

9) Glowing dreaded seals
I have a few of these but i cant find anyone to turn these items into for RP. I have been told by some people that there is NO NPC to take these items currently, and others say there are some. I have tried the NPC's found inside border keeps and the ones inside the main cities. If there is an NPC, or one will be added, are there any places that these items drop or are farmed from? Maybe add them to big bosses like legion or give keep lords a low chance to drop them? Might spark more frontiers action *wink wink*

10) Darkness Falls monsters still add through the floor from other levels
I'v only seen this a few times recently while running a lower level person down in df, monsters from the loop (like nightmares and spiders) can agro them. Also rocots can aggro people while they are IN the loop level itself.

11) Legion drops
I know this has been an on going and frustrating issue that has been looked into and fixed many many times, but legions loot is currently bugged again. I figured i should mention it since someone will probably post about it someplace. From my understanding the loot was changed to be a constant set amount of souls with some spec lines and procs that should drop. I was told it was around 8 to 12 souls per kill which is reasonable based of how hard legion is to kill and the amount of time it can take. Iv killed him a handful of times recently and hes dropping 3 souls. If this isn't a bug and this is intentional then please ignore this

12) Add a little more content to the SI EPIC dungeons.
On live these dungeons were known as the hardest places and were home to the strongest bosses in the game for the majority of its lifespan. Even after the dragons were re-done these SI bosses were still usually considered stronger. Would be great to add in some content to these places. Maybe toughen up the monsters and let them drop low amounts of RP, or toughen up the bosses and add some existing or new item drops from them. Even adding a few lesser bosses that can drop 1 or 2 souls each would be a nice touch to give players more options and places to hunt. Im talking about Galladoria, Sear Cidi, and Tuscaren Glacier

13) Add A NPC who changes the item look
By this i mean an NPC who can make ur sword look like another, or ur chest armor to look like a different one. This would allow people to look how they want to and i think most of us would really love this. Not trying to offend anyone but some of the items that i am stuck using (because i think they are the best) look horrid, or dont match up well with other items I am wearing. I have already talked to a GM about this and was told NO WAY! because of fear that people would abuse this. They said people might make plate armor look like cloth or make a sword look like a thrust weapon and such. But honestly, on this server, i dont think that is a huge issue as long as the item isn't changed to something stupid (like changing a shield to look like a boat lol). Think about it, on this server a shield tank can cast like a mage. A healer can start beating on u with melee styles, and a caster can turn around and buff and heal people like it was a cleric. People can do w/e they want with the correct spec line and points. I personally wouldn't be offended or surprised or scream BUG/BAN if i saw a cloth wearing troll whip out a 2hander and start styling on me, or if a fully plate wearing elf started casting nukes on me. It makes no sense for people to get mad about that kinda stuff here because of how the server is set up and how spec lines are added.

14) Add warnings by the soul for skill points npc AND the special class trainers in DF
I have been told its best to respec all your skill points and to reset your realm points before you switch your class to a special one, but there is currently NO warning by these npcs. I have also been told to do the same when you add spec points to your character when you turn in souls. I am not sure how important it is to do these things, but i was told its a best practice idea so maybe add a warning monster over / near these NPCS to warn new people about it? just like the one in the starter town that warns you before you remove all ur current spec lines.

15) Even out the BP farming spots, or at least the high lvl ones.
This is an older idea/complaint but if you guys really want all the special add-ons you have done to be equal across all three realms this might be something to consider. I love the alb boar camp, its a localized area that holds a large population of red con (to lvl 50) highly aggressive monsters. Its a great place to farm BP, gold, and power level people, along with being a good test location for a new character. Sadly, the hib and mid versions of this camp hasn't gotten the same love. Mids has a large population, but its VERY spread out, the monsters might also con orange but im not 100% sure. Hibs also has a good population, but it too has a large area to run through (at least its smaller than mids ) and last time i was there they were all orange. As for total monster count, im not sure which realms is highest or if there is a huge difference. Would be nice to re-touch these so they have the same amount of monsters, same level, and a similar total area for where they are placed. Also, they seem to bug out and most of the camps turn neutral, its an odd bug but it happens, usually when there has not been a restart for a few days.

As i stated earlier, I understand this server has already had a huge amount of work done on it, and I thank all those who have worked on it. These are just suggestions from a veteran LIVE daoc player and a veteran Realm of Darkness player. I have no idea how much work it would take to add/edit the ideas I have presented here, so if its a silly amount of work then forget about it but if there are some ideas here that you guys like and wouldn't mind changing over the next few months i am sure the server would enjoy it, i know i would.

If anyone else knows of other bugs or has other good suggestions feel free to post them here!
Also if you like one of my ideas or really hate it please let me know and why, but please be professional and lets keep calm about our opinions

jeeez Ky, im trying to read all this lol but man oh man u gots alot to say.

1: i like this idea. would be nice to be able to cast Wither Strike, Barkshell, Accursed Misery and Diabolic Gate on the run.
2: i do not belive the 3 most powerful classes on this server should have the basics line removed <ie: Crusader, Death Mage, Marauder>. that line takes up just enough icon slots to keep u from adding too much to a blank slate. imho i would not remove it from them. and it can be removed from classes like Templar, Beast Master, Corrupter and the other no-blank classes.
3:i am currently working on these as ive told u. was no need to put this in the post. Mordred and Maidens have already been placed along with Nergal in every co5 dungeon.
6: yes this is very annoying and ill ask nalf about this.
7: Great idea! ill speak with nalf about this one too!
8: atm i say i would not do this. the thing is...souls are easy now. not everything should be refundable imo.
9: ive found no refunder for these.
10:ill see if we can drop aggro range on the mobs. ill need to figure out which ones are doing it and which room they are coming from...ofc this is if im allowed to do this.
11: will look into it again
12: nalf has planes for these area's. i cant touch them. the new addins will be in SI i believe.
13: i dont like model changes unless its something we do as a reward or a super rare
14: ill ask
15: already made an effort on this. i dont think area of camp needs changed but ill count all of albs boars and then ill make the same amount of mobs on mid/hibs

I feel like there is a lot of valuable points made in this post for this server going forward. I really enjoyed the quality of life ideas that have posted here since I am a Realm of Darkness noob.

I can personally show where the adding through the floor is happening in DF because it has actually shaped how I navigate characters lower than level 45 within the dungeon. I have died many times to the random nightmare sprinting through the ground to pack my lunch.

As much as I have played this server, one thing I have noticed is that it has great potential for a theme yet seems to lack one. I am uncertain if there ever was more info on this but I feel like a story has taken place yet it is unwritten. Hear me out...

Okay, Realm of Darkness so far has been Darkness Falls leveling extravaganza for me. As soon as I can kill successfully in there, I quickly make it my home. With that being said, what if you just made the theme that the evil within Darkness Falls can no longer be contained and is seeping out into the world. I have already been exposed to the CL5 dungeon on hib just recently and it is packed with DF mobs.

I would take that opportunity to populate some of the ends of the main world dungeons with custom bosses themed for Darkness Falls. Maybe even just rework the mobs in the lower parts or the dungeons completely. I know it is a lot of work, but it at least carries an idea for the name of the server and the point of play.

You could even go further to explain the adding of skills to classes/custom classes. Since the evil spreading throughout the realms was so great, the hero's of the time were forced to expand their knowledge and skills to previously unheard of levels. If the evil were to ever be dealt with, these new champions must reach new heights of power.

These are just some ideas coming from a new player. I really like what all has been done here and the potential is clearly there to have something super unique to draw a wide variety of daoc players.

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