Warlock faction & store

[Delexos]

I have already had the opportunity to speak briefly with GodbeastX regarding a warlock faction and associated store etc.

I also fully realise that the number of warlocks, especially active ones, on the server is small enough to count on one hand, so asking for attention on warlocks is extremely selfish, however as part of the work into making the faction is already done I was hoping to see it move forward if at all possible.

You see I was finally able to speak with Armand and explore the entire of his conversation string today, having finally met the requirements to do so and I did a dance of joy when I discovered what he was hiding from me all this time, and to be honest it hyped me up even more about being a warlock than I already was, hence me now posting here.

I can understand items that have damage reductions to fire and acid being present in a store that can be accessed by anyone (provided they are skilled up enough in certain areas.) Afterall by the very nature of the conversation with Armand, he is offering services to the player as they have convinced him that they are able to assist in his task of ridding the area of demons so you should not have to be an actual warlock to be considered worthy of helping in the task, therefore maybe remove the warlock requirement from those items as they are viewable and buyable by anyone with the right skill.

However as warlocks have an ability to get resistances to fire and acid naturally I would like to suggest that when the warlock faction is finally completed the items be more boosted towards such nessesary things in a warlocks life, like be able to bluff others into thinking you are not a warlock or hiding and moving silently better, desguise as well.

As for offensive items.. I realise it is possible to make a warlock that is designed to get stuck into melee, but a great deal of a warlocks real potential, in my opinion, comes from the ability to use ranged touch attacks, it is as a ranged blaster that I think warlocks shine the most, is it perhaps possible to design items that help boost ranged touch attack?

Taking weapon focus "Ranged Touch attack" and Imroved critical "Ranged Touch attack" helps, but is there some way to further boost this with items at all?

I know there is a huge amount on the devs plates at the moment, prepping for the big server changes that are to come.

But you know what they say....

You have to strike while the iron is hot.

So I was hoping to inspire some action towards finishing the warlock faction, that way I can start farming those banners and become super important and stuff

Thanks for reading and feel free to shoot me down at your leisure.

All the best,
Delexos.

[Dragor]

Can't say I like the idea...someone more motivated to type a rant will surely post why

[Delexos]

If you dont like the idea but cannot be bothered to say why I would kindly ask that you dont bother posting here. Afterall the warlock faction is in the works and has been for a while and I am simply trying to get the project completed.

I would prefer that people did not rant in this thread, this is a suggestion thread not a rant thread, constructive opinions for or against are welcomed but just saying "Bad idea" doesn't do anything constructive.

Cheers,
Delexos.

[Seheren]

I don't completely object to a decent warlock store being made, but I think it should be pretty far down on the list for several reasons. With limited staff, these new stores take some time, effort into such a rare class that is decent on its own just isn't how I would do it. There are many more updates that I think are more important, and classes that need far more help. Not to mention said classes are far more used.

On a personal level I think it would be cool to have a store like that, and I really like the idea of Warlocks and would love to play one, but I think the Dev teams time could be spent on something more important right now.

[wangxiuming]

There is a warlock faction!?

... as one of the few warlock players, I certainly would appreciate a store; it was the darndest thing trying to find equipment for Alyrian. That said, I understand that the warlock population on the server is (intentionally) small so warlocks shouldn't expect to have loads of attention heaped onto them. It's the price we pay for playing a unique class.

As for ranged touch attack - Once you get into the higher levels, upping your attack bonus on your ranged touch attack really isn't useful I feel. Ranged touch attacks make checks against opponents' modified armor class, ignoring almost everything but dodge and dexterity bonuses I believe, meaning it's much easier to hit people (especially people who rely heavily on heavier armor).

Also, at higher levels you get access to Cone and Doom shapes which are AoE effects that don't even bother with AC (reflex saves can negate though). Basically, you'll only have trouble hitting rogues with extremely high dodge/dexterity points.

Improved Critical: Ranged Touch Attack is definitely useful though.

I do think Hide/MS equipment would be a great addition for warlocks though (Alyrian has access to some pretty nice equipment in this regard only because of his current faction); really helps him from spamming "You hear footsteps nearby" messages to everybody around while he's invisible. Anything that ups skills would also be nice, as warlocks have terrible skill abilities.

I conclude this post by reiterating ... there's a warlock faction?!

[roguethree]

Warlocks are a very self-sufficient class, not needing much in the way of gear to be effective, so I feel about a Warlock store how I'd feel about a Favored Soul or Cleric store. That is, I don't think they need anything that augments their abilities; they're already ahead of the curve. They don't deserve to stealth as well as rogues, so I'm opposed to hide/ms gear.

I wouldn't object to them having access to the +3 armor, +2 dodge, +2 deflection AC items just about every other faction has access to, though. I'm assuming the in-progress Warlock faction is the Disciples of Asmodeus; perhaps +2 armor that becomes +4 v. demons, other anti-demon accoutrements.

[Dragor]

If you dont like the idea but cannot be bothered to say why I would kindly ask that you dont bother posting here. Afterall the warlock faction is in the works and has been for a while and I am simply trying to get the project completed.

I would prefer that people did not rant in this thread, this is a suggestion thread not a rant thread, constructive opinions for or against are welcomed but just saying "Bad idea" doesn't do anything constructive.

Cheers,
Delexos.

EDIT: I'm sorry, I came off as an ass there...I hope you can excuse that...I have a cold and I was tired (quite miserable actually)

Very well,

Point: I can count the active warlock players on one hand. (Which one I can count them on can be left to the imagination.)

Point: I do not see the point in adding another faction that is limited to a severely restricted class. I once suggested that the Thayan faction either be removed or opened up since at the time there was 0 active chars for that faction. I got a maybe on the Thayan Knight class...

Point: Any dev time spent maintaining/developing a faction that could wind up like another Thayan enclave could be better spent on other things such as fixing the join quests to existing factions or doing something to revitalize factions we already have. (*opinion)

Point: What do warlocks really need? +2/3 CHA? They get so many advantages already and they dont have cast/day issues.

Thats all I can think of right now...

EDIT: my views on Sundren's factions as a whole can be seen here: http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=15636

[Doubtful]

While the Followers are useful for plot hooks and store use, I really don't see the need for them to be developed into a full blown faction.

As mentioned, the number if active warlocks is kept deliberately low. Our current crop is probably the largest it's been and won't get any larger. Of that number 1 of them might be suitable for membership. A whole faction to cater to a single player? Even the Enclave has a larger player base than that.

There are far, far better things to focus on.

[Torgar]

I can think of one very good reason for them to finish the store/faction if they've already started: So they can start on the next one for a class that also needs it. If it's already in the works, I say let it get finished. I think it'd be cool. A small handful of people who win RPoTM roll warlocks, and it's really not a big deal to me if they also get something cool, like some mini faction or a cool them-only store to give them some real flare. All the warlocks don't have anything unifying about them. Some are evil, some good, and almost none of them join factions, because most of the factions just don't make enough sense for the player to join them IC.

Heck, I say remove the Corps de Grace, and replace the server space THAT empty faction is taking up with the warlock faction stuff. I'm pretty sure none of us will miss it, although we will keep the fond memories we have of it close to our hearts.

But yea, I'm totally supporting Delexos in his wish to see it finalized. 100% behind you, man.

[Kaizen]

I'm with R3 in that ... warlocks are crazy powerful already. They don't need a class store at all.

I took the Disciples store to be a 'generalist warlock' store for the very, very, very few warlocks that are around. I can think of ... five warlocks, including myself, you (delexos), lothoir's Richard Darkholme, korani11's chick and Waxyninaldsjneumn's one. three of those five, to my knowledge, aren't active. The rest of the warlocks I know of are on the DM/DEV team (lolblackteifling).

As for a Warlock faction ... well, it'd be neat to see that go in but, I don't think the player base (And thus, attention) would get far unless it was (and it probably would) be directly tied in with the Black Hand.

Some are evil, some good, and almost none of them join factions, because most of the factions just don't make enough sense for the player to join them IC.

Sadly, Torgar, you must be evil if you are a Warlock on this server. Not even Chaotic Neutral. It's evil or choose an ECL race.

[wangxiuming]

Waxyninaldsjneumn's one

I assume that's me. Thank you for spelling my name in ways I didn't even know existed before.



As for stores, I'm perfectly fine with what we have now. And as my warlock already has a faction, I doubt he'll be experiencing any potential faction (if it exists or not) or its respective stores any time soon anyway. Still, if it's in the works already ... I'm not going to say no. heh.

[Dave Fritz]

Point: I do not see the point in adding another faction that is limited to a severely restricted class.(snip)

Point: Any dev time spent maintaining/developing a faction that could wind up like another Thayan enclave could be better spent on other things such as fixing the join quests to existing factions or doing something to revitalize factions we already have. (*opinion)

Thanks, Dragor. Both points are quite important, IMHO. Especially in times of low server population, concentrating on what's already here makes more sense than adding new stuff.