It is funny how Gaute always talks about balancing a player’s intelligence and a mobs intelligence. What is his solution? Increase ac and hp to ridicules amounts. Now my question to Gaute is: have you actually experienced a mob with these stats with a character of the AO world?
The problem is that everything is revolved around group play, which is the reason solo play is completely impossible for certain classes, if not most. When a player cannot find a group they either have an option to keep looking, socialize with friends, PvP, or do solo missions. When a player decides to do solo missions they either have the option to run it or fight it through. If they chose to fight it through this is where they encounter a lot of problems.
I have to say that the balance between player and mob is out of sync. I’ll explain why I say this is true. First off mobs have hp that are about 10 times the amount of a player. This may differ with doctors and enforcers. Secondly, their armor class is so high that any attack you roll out on them average minimum to medium damage. At lvl 155 using my best nuke I average about 1000-1200 dmg on veteran human mobs. The next problem is while mobs can resist, parry, and receive min damage, the player doesn’t. I have yet to resist anything what a mob executes on me. I have over 600 nano resist and it feels like I have zero. Traders always drain hp, always drain nano points, and always drain ac. Never have I ever been able to resist any of these. I am always rooted, snarled, and doted. Now the new pain is mobs that DD for 1700-2200 damage. Yesterday, I faced a veteran functionary (yellow to me) who kept hitting me with 1700 to 2200 dmg. While mobs are able to take this type of damage I cannot. While mobs are able to resist this type of damage I cannot. While my nukes average minimum damage it is not so when I am hit with the same type of nuke. While mobs can regenerate hp I cannot.
Another problem is recovering from all of this. Zoning is probably the only tactic that helps most players survive. So what do the developers decide? Increase hp regeneration. As if to say, tough it out or else. Excuse me for being rude, but are you crazy? Do you actually expect a nanomage NT to stand toe to toe with an enforcer? We have to zone no matter how much we try. There is no other choice. Punishing us for using this tactic is inexcusable. You make nano and health kits expensive enough, why make it even more expensive? Why is it expensive? Well because I spend about 20 to 30 kits on a mob because they take too long to kill.
Here is a list of things that the developers need to look into.
Solo Missions: This should be based on the player and what he/she is capable of handling. Realistically, there is no profession that can do it all. A computer specialist specializes in computers not food. A chef specializes in food not computers. This concept should be applied to solo missions. Missions given to you should be breed and class related.
Team Missions: This should resemble what exists today. Mobs should have insane hp and ac because it is a group effort and a solo mob should be able to take on 6 players.
Nano Resist: Is it possible to resist anything? Nano resist should calculate how long a program last on you. How often you are able to actually resist a program and how much damage is dished out on you. As of today none of these are true no matter how high your nano resist is. I figured a nano mage of the NT art would be able to resist most nano programs to make up for their lack of hp.
Please reconsider how difficult you have made it for solo play.
