Feedback request: Ashen zone changes

[Elodin]

All,

Some time ago, I removed the connection between Ashen and the zone to the north, which connects to DD and then Dark Fortress. It was a simple change, just removing a set of room connections, and was aimed at reducing the "openness" of west zones and thus encourage more pk and activity.

I'm opening this for feedback now, since I forgot to do so after a month was up and Corath just now reminded me Please post whether you like it or not and why. Also, if you haven't actually played within the zones since the change and do not regularly visit them, please refrain from posting.

[krul]

While it limits regroup options for DS and constricts PK somewhat unnaturally, it does tighten things up and helps PK be more constant in the area. When numbers dwindled to the point that PK rarely passed beyond 2v2, it became very difficult to block things up. You can't hope to block ridge, purple, and also chase. Chasing up woodlands, even when it was clear that DS went that way, would take at least 2 tics, making things more stagnant. Removing the connection fixes that.

The main issue that I see currently with removing woodlands connection is that when DS wants to regroup from ashen/marsh, they are often forced to go hill or barren. Barren can be brutal for LS, and it can also slow PK because there's really nothing between ashen and there. A possible solution/help for this would be to buff DS mob support in marsh (swamp? what is it even called? I forget!), e.g., 2-3 clanned trolloc mobs and 1-2 shiverings. There are several trolloc mobs in that area, but they are fairly spread out, as are the shiverings, so there is no reliable regroup point.

A huge THANK YOU for caring!!

[Arkan]

As far as I can tell,the only real change is that the zones of woodlands, dd, and s of dfort won't be used in pk. Not that they were used much, but they were some. Make the connection 1 room and 1n in woodlands, make it a n/s room (maybe 2-3 of em). That makes that room in ashen a better place to to hit people cause their flees are worse. And just make woodlands smaller.

Basically, to me the biggest issue is that the zones are long. It takes a lot of moves to get anywhere. Puke runs and you have to quaff if you're going to catch him/her, so you always have to make that decision (and have vials on hand) just to keep pk going.

[Mikhan]

+1 to Arkan's suggestions

[Baal]

Those zones aren't good for pk anyway. First off, they're giant squares. Is dfort really used for pk? If so I've never seen it.

One thing I didn't like about this change is the cutoff to the trooper smob. Move this all s of the ashen connection.

If the idea is to bring more pk to the west and dfort, then connect Ashen to Withering Woods in the blight, all w of the western blighted mountains entrance. Maybe change it to a one room exit and or make it more chokey similar to the vial connection. This would make chasing s more feasable for ds, and ls would be more willing to come north. It shouldn't really matter for locates because they're totally messed up in the north anyway.

[krul]

Those zones aren't good for pk anyway. First off, they're giant squares. Is dfort really used for pk? If so I've never seen it.

One thing I didn't like about this change is the cutoff to the trooper smob. Move this all s of the ashen connection.

If the idea is to bring more pk to the west and dfort, then connect Ashen to Withering Woods in the blight, all w of the western blighted mountains entrance. Maybe change it to a one room exit and or make it more chokey similar to the vial connection. This would make chasing s more feasable for ds, and ls would be more willing to come north. It shouldn't really matter for locates because they're totally messed up in the north anyway.

I rarely saw dfort/twisted used even when there was numbers PK, stocks does the job better (LS always has fort) and is way closer.

If you want to link ashen directly to w SH you could change boulder to connect to 1s edge, a door would make it easier to block than woodlands ever was and that'd solve the issue about funneling PK into hill zone. That'd be fun. Could potentially make for some interesting play as LS would have to dismount to chase.

[Mikhan]

Yeah, dfort/twisted zones ARE pretty superfluous. Dfort is only really used to buy vials and sell gear. Disgraced Darkfriend gets hit sometimes, but that's pretty much it. I'd vote for nixing the zones entirely and moving disgraced darkfriend elsewhere!

[Baal]

Yeah, dfort/twisted zones ARE pretty superfluous. Dfort is only really used to buy vials and sell gear. Disgraced Darkfriend gets hit sometimes, but that's pretty much it. I'd vote for nixing the zones entirely and moving disgraced darkfriend elsewhere!

Or that.

Still move troopers, though!

[krul]

I don't know how I feel about twisted being deleted but the nameless football field west of it certainly should be vaporized. That is quite possibly the most terrible and useless zone in the game. Deleting or constrcting too many zones out west isn't something I like though, because then you just start making it like Blight PK. Reasons why this is bad: a) you have to work for kills in western PK, which most don't like/know how to do anymore b) you have to be able to track, which is why rogues have never existed in western pk, c) you'll start to attract the same sort of PKers that you find in bad northern PK.

Back when western PK was very active, there were occasionally northern PKers who'd venture out to all the narrating and try to PK. The rogues (except me I guess) never stuck around because their playstyle just didn't make sense or work out there, and the impatient ones died immediately or left and decided the PK was dumb. Western PK requires strategy / teamwork / effort, northern PK is just a free for all.

[Arkan]

Well, something I hadn't really thought of much until some pk just now is that DS lacks small mobs. Like if I am high beat and puke is high crit, they may run to a wolf, some ancients, or a kandori scout (assuming they do not want to use the ashen patty, stocks, fort, or chachin patties). I can run to bpass and use a dhai, or I can run to the north end of woodlands to 2 shivs that may or may not have other aggros there. There are three shivs in twisted. In both cases, the shivs aren't that good in terms of location. In all cases, it's a lot of moves to run there and maybe run back in half a tic. East Kandor has potential and I should have used it more, but basically it was difficult to really take pk anywhere except to ashen patty, which is too buff for low on low. So there may be need for another shiv load or two placed around.

I don't mind that pukes have more mobs there, it's just the pk was too stagnant since I didn't have enough options of low mob str support. It's not a huge deal, but may be worth considering. There did used to be a lot more shivs available for DS, but they were removed years ago.