Shattered Kingdoms

This is the skin of Radi Kenga, a tiny dragonscale armor, weighing
approximately 1 lbs. Protection is superior vs. Pierce, superior vs. Bash
and superior vs. Slash. It is of near god-like quality and is worth
approximately 0 silver. It bears an enhancement endowment to slightly
increase armor protection. It bears an masterwork endowment to slightly
increase combat endurance. It bears an masterwork endowment to slightly
increase armor protection. It bears an masterwork endowment to slightly
increase fortitude. It bears an masterwork endowment to slightly increase
willpower. It bears an masterwork endowment to slightly increase reflex.

What update changed it to masterwork endowments? Also, where in the helpfiles does it say that certain races get bonuses to skinning or forging.

Code Update 12/7/2015

As for help files, I'm actually not sure if they were updated or not.

Monster saves are still ridiculously high.

GM NPCs of all races, powerful or otherwise, are still too resistant to spell effects. The tweak downward for REs is only somewhat noticeable. I think both could do with further adjustment.

Perhaps if the staff could explain the incidents which led to buffing powerful races, we could better understand why it was changed. No offense, but I really don't remember there being much complaint regarding dragons etc. End game content seems to kinda funnel required classes to be either tank, melee or healer. Again, if we knew the reasons, I think people would be less inclined to disagree with the modification to saves.

An idea to change the creation questions to picking your newbie class. It could be a much shorter set of questions probably about four, with both IC and OOC information of how the classes play. Can be split up into aggression vs defense. Help others vs being helped. Research for yourself vs absorb from others. Then a final one to basically tell the newbie what class they will be playing. It is something that was a lot more common back in the day but I dont think it has aged poorly and if done well it would hopefully get people playing the class that would suit them best for their first play though of SK.

Have you given the new process a try? I think it is pretty good now as it is. Not sure if your recommendation comes from a perspective of trying the new way or just an alternative to the old way.

There has been more endgame PvE activity in the last two months maybe than the entire previous year, and it has involved lots of different classes (some classes have been absent for alignment reasons). This included a run on Ephialtis, for which there is a log posted at the logs forum here, where a group defied all conventional wisdom and common sense and took him on with no mercenary or barbarian. It's impressive to me that all of this PvE has transpired at least partially in December, which is always the worst month of the year for SK in terms of login numbers.

The answer to your broader question is that PvE has to be balanced on a continuum somewhere between total cakewalk and unplayably difficult. Monster saves are a component of this. Should a sorcerer be able to consistently one-shot blue Fytrysks? It's not really fun for anyone else in the party when that's the case; they start to wonder why they're even there typing in their circle stabs or kicks or bashes or damage spells or whatever else. This just creates a different funnel of classes that get taken along on PvE trips.

So, that's the impetus: to make PvE fun and challenging, but not absurdly difficult. Seeing the level of effort vs. success that players across all sorts of classes have been achieving in PvE lately, it looks like people are having fun beating endgame content and that it hasn't been too easy or too difficult. Some of those players may have some specific ideas about all of this.

There are other components to consider besides just monster saves, of course. If one or two classes are left out in the cold, it could be a matter of making adjustments to their spells or skills.

Uh, not really. Watching every other class be able to do something makes mashes go, why? The group that made those runs consists mainly of the two most melee oriented canals. The only reason those trips were possible is the return of syn and some of the oldest most versed players in the game. I was quite annoyed when my shamans spells became useless pass the spire and am now even more annoyed my mage is useless Eben on the main continent.

You can justify these changes however you want, but when you have some of the best players in the best canals and you compare then to the average player, it's much like comparing a race between a Honda civic and a bugatti.

Quite frankly I got my TV back and the Xbox is more worth the time.

What you posted is not a series of factual statements. If you found spells like heal, sanctuary, identify, spirit horde, and spirit aura, or the many potions you could have crafted by brewing them, to be useless beyond the spire, I guess you're welcome to that opinion, but I have to disagree. If you think dispel is useless in endgame boss conflicts, again, you are entitled to that opinion. If you think etherealform, charm person, full strength GM haste and giant strength, or even the humble magic missile are utterly useless in PvE, that, again, is something you're entitled to believe. If you think PCs in the same cabal that your shaman was in haven't had PvE success, you'd simply be incorrect. I have seen multiple shamans and sorcerers from lots of different cabals beating endgame content for a long time. IIRC the Turtle Club was a PvE powerhouse and their tank was a sprite shaman. Over the years we've had priest/bard PvE dyanmos as well as a sorcerer/priest duo that did tons of PvE content without even having a tank or melee character around to help them half the time. None of these were played by Syn, and they also weren't in a "melee cabal."

If you want to provide some meaningful feedback with what you think the experience of your mage should be in PvE vs. what it really is, please do so. But it will help for you to avoid hyperbole, unhelpful comments like "monster saves are still ridiculously high," and nonfactual statements like you made the last time you were complaining about saves.

I also don't know what the "average" player is or if you think the biggest PvE challenges should be achievable by said average player or maybe two or three of said average players working together, but there again, we may have some disagreements. The biggest PvE challenges are meant to serve as a challenge for a group of players, generally with at least one or two vets to lead them. Are you under the impression your shaman or sorcerer should just be able to go anywhere and do anything solo? The game isn't designed that way. Group play with a variety of classes has always been a core mechanic of SK.