Thread: Star lit Crystal Discussion

Originally Posted by Sapience

Hey guys, we know the original explanation of the Star-lit Crystals wasn't as clear as it could have been, so we'll try to break it down a little better for you.

Star-lit Crystals do not drop from landscape mobs.

Star-lit Crystals can drop from the final encounter in any instance or Skirmish above level 50. In addition, each boss in a raid has a chance to drop crystals. The chance depends on the size and tier of the space. So, for example, a Tier I solo Skirmish has a lower chance of dropping a crystal than the Tower of Orthanc on Tier 2.

Also, each space drops crystals that are appropriate for their level. So you aren't going to come across a lesser crystal in a level 75 space.

There is also a very small chance that any Skirmish Lieutenant will drop a crystal. Again, this chance increases as the size and tier are increased.

For those who want to solo for these you could, as an example, Take a level 75 into a level 50 Skirmish and set it to Tier II to improve your chances of a drop. You'd end up with the lower end crystal as the Skirmish would be underleveled, but you'd still get the same chance increase for doing it on Tier II as you would as if you were on level. If you wanted to set up a level 68 skirmish for your level 75, you'd end up in the right loot band to get the appropriate level for your character. Obviously this all applies to all group sizes and tiers as well.

Finally, they aren't bound (some of you already know this) so you can put them on the AH, trade them, sell them, put them in storage. Whatever you'd like to do.

Hopefully that clears things up a bit.

Yes, because what everybody enjoys doing is grinding low level skirmishes for days and days.

What player problem are these things supposed to be solving? Are you guys seriously sitting around thinking that the LI system wasn't already grindy enough?

Originally Posted by Fipiara

I agree as well, not counting the current LIs crystals going forward will hopefully be earned while players acquire their seals/medallions for gear and relics/ixp/gear drops, etc. It's their introduction this late in the life cycle of the current level cap that makes it feel like another item to grind vs. a bonus to acquire during the while doing everything else.

I'd wager that going forward, they will also help with the difficulty bumps from T1->T2->Challenge. If challenges are designed with FA dps in mind, being able to attempt/complete these encounters will not rely on gear that only comes from chests gated by a raid lock. I'd think that players would be able to increase their dps through another means to complete the encounter and then still have a viable reward/increase after.

To me, I find that the crystals are more about providing incremental increases between the various ages as much as anything else.

I don't think that the introduction of the crystals is the least bit altruistic, unless they never appear in the Store. Assuming that they'll be available in the Store, it really just seems like another way to monetize LIs.

Frankly, the currently beatable Challenges in Orthanc don't require First Age DPS. If a group is failing to beat Lightning, Acid, or Shadow challenge, it's because of something else - lack of leadership, coordination, skill, poor strategy, etc. I have yet to see a raid fight in this game in which a group that is struggling with the fight could get over the hump simply by doing exactly what they've been doing but adding more DPS (yes, even the DPS race fights).

Once Saruman is tweaked in U7, that might be the only fight that requires First Age DPS, and presumably a group that has worked its way through T2 Orthanc will have earned enough First Ages by the time it is seriously attempting that fight.

I tend to think positively in RL, but after nearly two years of watching the development being done under the F2P model it's hard to see things like Star-lit Crystals as anything but an attempt to squeeze more TPs/cash out of people.

Thanks for attempting to clarify drop rates. Can you provide us some solid data on the item's effects on L75 LIs? Doesn't look like too many people have shared the results from the crystals provided by QA

(I see a single result in this thread for 1 crystal on 1 75 LI and it only included data for dps).

Just another nail in the coffin for my interest in playing this train wreck. Adding grind to the most painful grind in the game does not give me any motivation to play. The whole system is a mess and this muddies the water even more. Just imagine explaining the system to someone who knows nothing about it.

You start out with a simple idea, you get a weapon and a class item (except wardens/hunters that get two weapons) that level up
You get 3 major legacies on ID and 3 more as you level the item from 1-30
At each multiple of 10 you need to reforge the item to get the new legacy
You only have a small chance of getting a major legacy
You also need go get relics, there are 8 tiers of relics which include settings, runes, gems and a crafted relic
Relics can also be melded using other relics and shards
Shards are another currency that is earned by destroying relics using the relic master
Each legacy can be tiered up to 6 using scrolls of empowerment that are purchased using TP, Marks/Seals or on the AH
Increasing a tier decreases the point cost of each tier you put into the legacy
Points are different per age of the item (1,2,3)
You can buy relics in the store
You level your LI using experience runes or by completing some missions or killing mobs
Deconning at multiples of 11 (or 1) increases your relic drop rate on decon
After level 30 you can decon a LI and take a legacy from that item that can be used on a similar LI (level based) but starts at tier 2
Now you add this Star Lit crystal to empower it more
Oh and you can do that multiple times on every level cap increase

This is great. Just the other day I was utterly despondent with the LI system having failed yet another 3 reforges on a First Age and then it hit me, you know what the LI system needs more of? RNG based grind. I mean, atm it is only soul crushing, at best. Good stuff.

Sorry, I am not excited by this "improvement" to the LI system at all. I continue to feel like the original stated intent of LIs as a "weapon that grows with you" is long gone (if it every existed) and all we get now is continued layers of complexity that you must grind for and then throw away at the next level cap increase. Knowing that you are going to eventually toss your favorite "legendary" weapon doesn't really make it feel all that legendary. I would far rather have seen the Star Lit Crystals or some similar system used to allow us to upgrade our LIs to the new level cap. They already had the option of raising the damage of our weapons through titles that boost mastery ratings.

I just don't understand what Star Lit Crystals achieve that couldn't have been remedied using current in game mechanics. More layers of complexity is not necessarily better when you are just picking a different way of reaching the exact same result.

Originally Posted by Lazlo_Hollyfeld

What player problem are these things supposed to be solving?

The obvious problem is that we can only buy each stat tome once per character.

I don't see how people see this as yet another grind. The crystals are earned concurrently when doing instances for IXP/Relics, skraids for jewelry, raids like ToO for gear etc. It's not like you have to earn your other stuff and only THEN will you be able to actually get crystals. Let's be honest, after everyone's current LIs get crystals the chances of crystals being the ONLY thing you have to work on (i.e. you have all your gear/jewelry/empowerment scrolls/first age/etc. and are just waiting on crystals to drop) is about as equal as any other part of your gear.

Personally I see more options as a good thing, the more ways Turbine gives me to improve my character the faster I can get a character to be raid-ready. After that I can just enjoy the raids and other content while slowly building up my characters.

Originally Posted by socom33

The crystals are earned concurrently when doing instances for IXP/Relics, skraids for jewelry, raids like ToO for gear etc. It's not like you have to earn your other stuff and only THEN will you be able to actually get crystals.

This. Right now, I dont need xp, relics, gear drops, all that jazz ( I could use another WSotEK and a couple clasps). Crystals is the only thing. But that's only for this level cap and for my main. If RoR comes out and I do the whole thing of playing (oh sorry, grinding) again, I'll be earning crystals while I earn new gear.

Originally Posted by socom33

I don't see how people see this as yet another grind. The crystals are earned concurrently when doing instances for IXP/Relics, skraids for jewelry, raids like ToO for gear etc. It's not like you have to earn your other stuff and only THEN will you be able to actually get crystals. Let's be honest, after everyone's current LIs get crystals the chances of crystals being the ONLY thing you have to work on (i.e. you have all your gear/jewelry/empowerment scrolls/first age/etc. and are just waiting on crystals to drop) is about as equal as any other part of your gear.

Personally I see more options as a good thing, the more ways Turbine gives me to improve my character the faster I can get a character to be raid-ready. After that I can just enjoy the raids and other content while slowly building up my characters.

I agree as well, not counting the current LIs crystals going forward will hopefully be earned while players acquire their seals/medallions for gear and relics/ixp/gear drops, etc. It's their introduction this late in the life cycle of the current level cap that makes it feel like another item to grind vs. a bonus to acquire during the while doing everything else.

I'd wager that going forward, they will also help with the difficulty bumps from T1->T2->Challenge. If challenges are designed with FA dps in mind, being able to attempt/complete these encounters will not rely on gear that only comes from chests gated by a raid lock. I'd think that players would be able to increase their dps through another means to complete the encounter and then still have a viable reward/increase after.

To me, I find that the crystals are more about providing incremental increases between the various ages as much as anything else.

Originally Posted by Lazlo_Hollyfeld

What player problem are these things supposed to be solving?

This is the question that I would like to have answered. Is there something coming up on the horizon that this fits into?

Well, and then of course there's the other question that needs to be answered, how are creeps going to be modified to handle the increase in freep effectiveness?

Originally Posted by Arkue

Please, make this Crystals Purple or Blue. We got 3 from ToO and they didn't appear while distribution the loot, because they are white and first person who had opened the chest got them.

What Boss/Tier did these come from?

Originally Posted by Fipiara

I'd wager that going forward, they will also help with the difficulty bumps from T1->T2->Challenge. If challenges are designed with FA dps in mind, being able to attempt/complete these encounters will not rely on gear that only comes from chests gated by a raid lock. I'd think that players would be able to increase their dps through another means to complete the encounter and then still have a viable reward/increase after.

If they wanted to make encounters easier for everyone, why not just make the encounters easier, rather than making everyone better?

Couldn't they just design challenges with 2nd Age DPS in mind?

Oh, right. You can't add "conveniences" without first introducing inconveniences!

Originally Posted by Sapience

Hey guys, we know the original explanation of the Star-lit Crystals wasn't as clear as it could have been, so we'll try to break it down a little better for you.

Star-lit Crystals do not drop from landscape mobs.

Star-lit Crystals can drop from the final encounter in any instance or Skirmish above level 50. In addition, each boss in a raid has a chance to drop crystals. The chance depends on the size and tier of the space. So, for example, a Tier I solo Skirmish has a lower chance of dropping a crystal than the Tower of Orthanc on Tier 2.

Also, each space drops crystals that are appropriate for their level. So you aren't going to come across a lesser crystal in a level 75 space.

There is also a very small chance that any Skirmish Lieutenant will drop a crystal. Again, this chance increases as the size and tier are increased.

For those who want to solo for these you could, as an example, Take a level 75 into a level 50 Skirmish and set it to Tier II to improve your chances of a drop. You'd end up with the lower end crystal as the Skirmish would be underleveled, but you'd still get the same chance increase for doing it on Tier II as you would as if you were on level. If you wanted to set up a level 68 skirmish for your level 75, you'd end up in the right loot band to get the appropriate level for your character. Obviously this all applies to all group sizes and tiers as well.

Finally, they aren't bound (some of you already know this) so you can put them on the AH, trade them, sell them, put them in storage. Whatever you'd like to do.

Hopefully that clears things up a bit.

Please, make this Crystals Purple or Blue. We got 3 from ToO and they didn't appear while distribution the loot, because they are white and first person who had opened the chest got them.

Originally Posted by Fipiara

I agree as well, not counting the current LIs crystals going forward will hopefully be earned while players acquire their seals/medallions for gear and relics/ixp/gear drops, etc. It's their introduction this late in the life cycle of the current level cap that makes it feel like another item to grind vs. a bonus to acquire during the while doing everything else.

I'd wager that going forward, they will also help with the difficulty bumps from T1->T2->Challenge. If challenges are designed with FA dps in mind, being able to attempt/complete these encounters will not rely on gear that only comes from chests gated by a raid lock. I'd think that players would be able to increase their dps through another means to complete the encounter and then still have a viable reward/increase after.

To me, I find that the crystals are more about providing incremental increases between the various ages as much as anything else.

Perhaps the last 20 months of LOTRO has made me more of a skeptic than I normally am, but I honestly can't see these crystals being anything more than an additional way to monetize the LI system. However, if they never appear in the Store then I'll be wrong.

I don't think it's anything quite as altruistic as trying to make raid content easier. If it is, it's a misguided attempt to do so, because I can't think of a single group that I've ever been a part of that was struggling with a particular encounter in which the solution was "more DPS". Generally, a group that is failing to beat content is doing so because of a mixture of poor strategy, ineffective leadership, lack of skill or organization, or any number of things - but not because of low DPS.

Even the DPS races in Orthanc and OD require a good strategy far more than they require good DPS. The only pure "DPS your face off and don't worry about anything else" fight that I can think of is the Turtle.

Put another way, if groups are thinking that increasing their DPS through acquiring Crystals is going to get them over the hump in whatever fight(s) they happen to be struggling with, I think they'll discover that they're about as right as the guys who think that buying new golf clubs will make them better golfers.

Originally Posted by Lestache

I don't think it's anything quite as altruistic as trying to make raid content easier. If it is, it's a misguided attempt to do so, because I can't think of a single group that I've ever been a part of that was struggling with a particular encounter in whichem better golfers.

You mean the DPS race that is ToO T2 Acid and T2 Shadow?

Originally Posted by Lestache

Perhaps the last 20 months of LOTRO has made me more of a skeptic than I normally am, but I honestly can't see these crystals being anything more than an additional way to monetize the LI system. However, if they never appear in the Store then I'll be wrong.

I don't think it's anything quite as altruistic as trying to make raid content easier. If it is, it's a misguided attempt to do so, because I can't think of a single group that I've ever been a part of that was struggling with a particular encounter in which the solution was "more DPS". Generally, a group that is failing to beat content is doing so because of a mixture of poor strategy, ineffective leadership, lack of skill or organization, or any number of things - but not because of low DPS.

Even the DPS races in Orthanc and OD require a good strategy far more than they require good DPS. The only pure "DPS your face off and don't worry about anything else" fight that I can think of is the Turtle.

Put another way, if groups are thinking that increasing their DPS through acquiring Crystals is going to get them over the hump in whatever fight(s) they happen to be struggling with, I think they'll discover that they're about as right as the guys who think that buying new golf clubs will make them better golfers.

.

I think it's less about people increasing their DPS/healing and then beating an instance or wing, and more about increasing accessibility while still having stringent DPS/healing requirements in fights. Right now Turbine is stuck with 3 distinct levels of DPS and thus they need to make content which has more lax requirements. Case in point: ToO t2 Butok, Saruman, Fire and Frost all need a good amount of first age DPS and healing. This leaves acid and lightning to have more lax requirements to allow for players to farm first ages in order to even get a chance at those fights. That seems like a boring system which in turn is an easy way to lose players.

A similar argument can be made for 3 and 6 mans. They are trivially easy after a few t2 runs because 2nd ages drop there, so they are made to be possible with 3rd ages. This leaves them rather bland and boring after a few runs, with challenges only increasing the healing needed in most cases.

With these crystals I expect of Turbine that they do the following:
Make t1 3/6 balanced for 3rd ages
Make t2 3/6 man challenges balanced for 2nd ages and 3rd ages + crystals
Make t2c 3/6 man challenges balanced for 2nd ages + crystals and First ages + 0 crystals

Make t1 raids balanced for 2nd ages or 3rd ages + crystals
Make t2 raids balanced for 2nd ages + crystals and first ages
Make t2c raids balanced for first ages + crystals

This should increase the difficulty and thus (hopefully) enjoyment of the wide variety of instances while simultaneously increasing the number of instances or raid wings accessible to anyone stuck with a certain age of weapon.

Now whether Turbine actually does this is beyond me, but given the drop rate of these crystals on bullroarer I don't expect they will be making a whole lot of money off of anyone with these. Sure they'll make some but if it was a pure money grab it sure is a poorly designed one, which leads me to believe it's not.

I give up on these discussions.

Turbine is going to do what Turbine wants to do, and they'll hide behind "rare drops", "transitives" and "conveniences" to do it, just like they ignore the fact that their main source of communication - their website, blogs, wiki and forums - are broken by simply slapping a "Beta" tag on them.

Whatever works, I guess. Or...doesn't work in this case.

(P.S. I made this post at 10:59 PM, not 6:56 PM)

Where are the Monster player equivalent of Crystals ?

We also desire more DPS

Anyone tried running Survival: Barrow Downs T2 on Bullroarer to see how many of these crystals drop?

Originally Posted by Arkue

Please, make this Crystals Purple or Blue. We got 3 from ToO and they didn't appear while distribution the loot, because they are white and first person who had opened the chest got them.

What boss/tier did these come from?

The way I see it, for players who might not have the option of getting 2nd ages/1st ages, crystals will somewhat extend the life of their LIs, while allowing them to increase their dps. If you are a player who isn't likely to get a 2nd age until the components can be bartered for (maybe you don't like raiding, have no time or don't have enough raid-oriented friends to raid with), you can use crystals to make your 3rd age the equivalent of an unmodified 2nd age. Likewise for 2nd ages. You upgrade your 2nd age and don't feel you are gimped by not being able to get a 1st age.

Even for people for whom a 1st age is a possibility, the crystals may increase options and there might be some LIs you decide not replace. Because the drop rates on worn symbols were so low initially for ToO (and maybe we were cursed), we ran ToO T2 raids successfully for about 2-3 months and still only had 4 players with 1st ages, so it might have made sense to improve a good second age until you got a first age. I made a healing bag with my first worn symbol of the elder king, but had this been an option, I think I would have just upgraded my 2nd age bag and kept it, and used the symbol for a 1st age rune-stone instead.

You'll still need to replace the LIs eventually, but it might help those who feel they don't have access to the higher dps LIs.

I just see this as another grind to the already biggest grind in game. After doing a little testing with the crystals tonight on BR I really wonder if it's even worth it for DPS classes. For DPS classes with 1st age weapons the crystals do almost nothing.

I compared a 1st age bow to a 2nd age bow.

2nd age bow dps (no crystals): 137.9 DPS, 215- 392 dmg
2nd age bow dps w/ 3 crystals: 148.2 DPS, 231-421 dmg
An increase of 10.3 DPS.

1st age bow dps (no crystals): 149.7 DPS, 234-425 dmg
1st age bow dps w/ 3 crystals: 152.0 DPS, 237-431 dmg
An increase of 2.3 DPS.

Why is the increase in DPS almost 5x more for a 2nd age item over a 1st age item?

Originally Posted by atbuff_06

I just see this as another grind to the already biggest grind in game. After doing a little testing with the crystals tonight on BR I really wonder if it's even worth it for DPS classes. For DPS classes with 1st age weapons the crystals do almost nothing.

I compared a 1st age bow to a 2nd age bow.

2nd age bow dps (no crystals): 137.9 DPS, 215- 392 dmg
2nd age bow dps w/ 3 crystals: 148.2 DPS, 231-421 dmg
An increase of 10.3 DPS.

1st age bow dps (no crystals): 149.7 DPS, 234-425 dmg
1st age bow dps w/ 3 crystals: 152.0 DPS, 237-431 dmg
An increase of 2.3 DPS.

Why is the increase in DPS almost 5x more for a 2nd age item over a 1st age item?

I noticed that as well. My thinking is that the crystals were MEANT to be used on SA and 3A items. Some people just get unlucky with symbols. Lord knows I lost 99% of free rolls for WSOC in all the skraids, foundries, etc I did. I only got a second SA symbol when they went to the skirmish camp. Even as a raider, I don't always get the best stuff, and this would make me more viable in raids alongside my counterparts

This would make the gap between first and second ages so small one wonders what the point of T2 Orthanc is.

Originally Posted by umrebel

This would make the gap between first and second ages so small one wonders what the point of T2 Orthanc is.

It means a FA gives you more points to play around with than a SA, so the legacies will (generally) be better on a FA, provided you don't get shafted with majors.

It also means that you don't need to grind out T2 HMs for FA symbols if you've got a near perfect SA LI....

Like if you're a captain with a 5 major SA emblem, you don't need to dump it for a FA that will (most likely) be inferior to the SA.

Originally Posted by atbuff_06

I just see this as another grind to the already biggest grind in game. After doing a little testing with the crystals tonight on BR I really wonder if it's even worth it for DPS classes. For DPS classes with 1st age weapons the crystals do almost nothing.

I compared a 1st age bow to a 2nd age bow.

2nd age bow dps (no crystals): 137.9 DPS, 215- 392 dmg
2nd age bow dps w/ 3 crystals: 148.2 DPS, 231-421 dmg
An increase of 10.3 DPS.

1st age bow dps (no crystals): 149.7 DPS, 234-425 dmg
1st age bow dps w/ 3 crystals: 152.0 DPS, 237-431 dmg
An increase of 2.3 DPS.

Why is the increase in DPS almost 5x more for a 2nd age item over a 1st age item?

Could you add a 3rd age bow to this as well, so we could see the DPS increase there?

Originally Posted by atbuff_06

Why is the increase in DPS almost 5x more for a 2nd age item over a 1st age item?

The scale of First Age DPS between min and max rank (e.g. 145 > 149 dps) is so small compared to the scale of Second Ages. The crystals use this same scale, so it's a smaller increase for First Ages.

That said, I figure it's all about that balance. Having much more DPS than current First Ages would likely make a fair amount of content trivial. I won't even touch on PvMP.

I agree with the point that these are more meant for people with Third/Second Ages. First Agers are still "the" thing to get, and the crystals are a small upgrade, but an upgrade nonetheless.

I like the idea of crystals, but

Originally Posted by atbuff_06

I just see this as another grind to the already biggest grind in game. After doing a little testing with the crystals tonight on BR I really wonder if it's even worth it for DPS classes. For DPS classes with 1st age weapons the crystals do almost nothing.

I compared a 1st age bow to a 2nd age bow.

2nd age bow dps (no crystals): 137.9 DPS, 215- 392 dmg
2nd age bow dps w/ 3 crystals: 148.2 DPS, 231-421 dmg
An increase of 10.3 DPS.

1st age bow dps (no crystals): 149.7 DPS, 234-425 dmg
1st age bow dps w/ 3 crystals: 152.0 DPS, 237-431 dmg
An increase of 2.3 DPS.

Why is the increase in DPS almost 5x more for a 2nd age item over a 1st age item?

This I do not like. Turbine, make sure 3 crystals gives a bigger increase to FA's than that. Compared to the SA, its pretty sorry.

A question on a somewhat related note:

If the star crystals can be added in-game and provide an increase to base DPS - why not add some of the older relics/runes into the melding panel which may have a smaller impact? (i.e. Profound Rune of Action, Adamant Gem of Dreams, Adamant Gem of the Moon, etc.)

Originally Posted by umrebel

This would make the gap between first and second ages so small one wonders what the point of T2 Orthanc is.

I agree that this 1.5% increase in DPS with 3 crystals on a FA is pretty pathetic. However, I wonder if the step up in DPS is related to both the AGE as well as the item level RELATIVE to the current level CAP (or perhaps your character's level)?

For instance, (assuming I did the math correctly) for an SA, we have:
*Each crystal increases DPS by 4.5% for a level 65 SA.
*Each crystal increases DPS by 2.5% for a level 75 SA.

So why the discrepency? What happens when the level cap is raised with Riders of Rohan? Will the miniscule 1.5% increase in DPS on a level 75 FA start ramping up as your character's level increases? So when you hit level 80, would those 3 crystals on your level 75 FA added more like 7% to DPS?

We won't know until the level cap is raised, I guess, and I know I am grasping at straws here to try and figure out what use the crystals are to people with FAs. If it did ramp up, maybe it would allow you to keep your level 75 FA until you hit 85 and still be somewhat competitive DPS-wise. (Then, once you hit 85, the grind begins again.....).

With the current system (assuming no ramp up when level cap increases), it means that a level 75 SA with crystals might be close to a level 85 SA with no crystals. So some with "perfect" SAs might not bother upgrading their LIs when Riders comes out. Whereas, those with FAs would definitely want to upgrade their LIs to level 85.

Bottom line is it just makes it all that much more convoluted....

Originally Posted by atbuff_06

I just see this as another grind to the already biggest grind in game. After doing a little testing with the crystals tonight on BR I really wonder if it's even worth it for DPS classes. For DPS classes with 1st age weapons the crystals do almost nothing.

I compared a 1st age bow to a 2nd age bow.

2nd age bow dps (no crystals): 137.9 DPS, 215- 392 dmg
2nd age bow dps w/ 3 crystals: 148.2 DPS, 231-421 dmg
An increase of 10.3 DPS.

1st age bow dps (no crystals): 149.7 DPS, 234-425 dmg
1st age bow dps w/ 3 crystals: 152.0 DPS, 237-431 dmg
An increase of 2.3 DPS.

Why is the increase in DPS almost 5x more for a 2nd age item over a 1st age item?

This is looking more like an attempt to close the gap between Tier 2 raiders and everyone else. I suppose this should make it easier to fill out PUG raids and alt raids.

Originally Posted by Lurkerinthemist

This is the question that I would like to have answered. Is there something coming up on the horizon that this fits into?

Well, and then of course there's the other question that needs to be answered, how are creeps going to be modified to handle the increase in freep effectiveness?

My understanding is that it is suppose to support the leveling player (not end game). SO that a level 75 2nd age can help you while you level.

This is why i think its irrelevant. Who support LI grind while leveling? I used my 65 LIs until I was level 75. There is no mid level content and landscape leveling is not difficult.

In addition the increase in dps for end game from what i understand is immaterial...again what's the pt.

Originally Posted by Arkue

Please, make this Crystals Purple or Blue. We got 3 from ToO and they didn't appear while distribution the loot, because they are white and first person who had opened the chest got them.

T1 or T2? 3 in a single chest? Which wing?

Sapience.

Do these crystals modify weapon appearance? If not I'd love to see a minor appearance change as these increase.

Simple question to Sapience or to any other blue-name reading,

What gap were these items desigend to fill? What need are they intended to answer?

Primarily; how does this item improve the gaming experience for an individual player in terms of enjoyment or satisfaction?


This is the sort of question that always gets asked when a new item is conceived of, along, of course, with many others....
What was the answer in this case?

It is a very simple and straight-forward question; will you answer it, or is there no PR-friendly way to do so?

Originally Posted by revoked

The way I see it, for players who might not have the option of getting 2nd ages/1st ages, crystals will somewhat extend the life of their LIs, while allowing them to increase their dps. If you are a player who isn't likely to get a 2nd age until the components can be bartered for (maybe you don't like raiding, have no time or don't have enough raid-oriented friends to raid with), you can use crystals to make your 3rd age the equivalent of an unmodified 2nd age. Likewise for 2nd ages. You upgrade your 2nd age and don't feel you are gimped by not being able to get a 1st age.

Even for people for whom a 1st age is a possibility, the crystals may increase options and there might be some LIs you decide not replace. Because the drop rates on worn symbols were so low initially for ToO (and maybe we were cursed), we ran ToO T2 raids successfully for about 2-3 months and still only had 4 players with 1st ages, so it might have made sense to improve a good second age until you got a first age. I made a healing bag with my first worn symbol of the elder king, but had this been an option, I think I would have just upgraded my 2nd age bag and kept it, and used the symbol for a 1st age rune-stone instead.

You'll still need to replace the LIs eventually, but it might help those who feel they don't have access to the higher dps LIs.

I was going to post this, when I saw Revoked had already done so. It seems to be a way to keep the 1st Age LIs rare and special, while still allowing players who do not have access to acquiring them a way to remain competitive. And from that perspective, I'm okay with this addition to the mini-game we call LIs.

With the store being open on BR, any confirmation on availability and pricing of these items?

Originally Posted by Ellery01

With the store being open on BR, any confirmation on availability and pricing of these items?

Yes they are available. If I recall they should 495TP. (though I may be off on the pricing and it is, of course, subject to change before going live).