Raiding is an important part of gameplay for many and is a part of every MMO. Roger "Patherpanchali" Uzun designs the raids for EQII and Brett "Timetravelling" Scheinert often works with him on these. Timetravelling was kind enough to sit down and give us an overview of the new raids coming with Sentinel's Fate.

How many -

We have three instances launching with Sentinel’s Fate: Lair of the Dragon Queen; Perah'Celsis' Abominable Laboratory; and The Palace of Roehn Theer. Each of these has multiple encounters, and a challenge mode for one or more encounters within the zone. This should allow a large amount of replayability as players initially work their way through the instances and then can return later and work to defeat the challenge-mode versions of the fights within.

In addition, there are three contested raid mobs (and several more x2) encounters that will be available at launch. Each of the four-group encounters also has a normal and challenge mode.

Finally, there will also be a large two-group raid instance based in The Vigilant that takes players throughout the large, deadly ship.

Difficulty –

For x4 content players will discover the Lair of the Dragon Queen first, then Perah'Celsis' Abominable Laboratory, and finally The Palace of Roehn Theer. The relative difficulties progress in a similar pattern. One thing that is relatively new is that they are all built in a manner similar to Miragul’s Planar Shard—the normal mode encounters are challenging and offer internal progression. However, the challenge-mode versions within all zones are a step above and offer players a truly difficult foe!

Gear –

There were numerous balance issues in both TSO and RoK that came up again and again:

  • Unique set bonuses were often so desirable, that players often worked very hard to avoid having to break the bonuses when upgrading to a later set
  • With 24 classes and 24 sets, loot tables had a tendency to often be…unkind

In The Sentinel’s Fate we are addressing these issues by moving away from class-specific sets. Many of the sets will fulfill a role/playstyle—such as a plate-wearing tank, or a leather-wearing healer—instead of being the Berserker or Fury set. However, we certainly did not want to cause players to lose the unique focus effects and set bonuses received from their gear.

For that, we have created a new system of adornments based upon color. Gear in Sentinel’s Fate can be created to allow more than one adornment upon each item. Almost all items will have a ‘white’ adornment slot that will allow players to continue to apply adornments normally as on live. In addition, raid armor will receive an additional ‘red’ adornment slot that is restricted to raid-level adornments. These adornments can be either powerful generic effects (such as dps-enhancing stats or critical mitigation) or a number of class-specific adornment effects. For example, the Berserker might—in some bizarre Kiara-run-world—receive an adornment that causes them to spawn Rabid Bunny pets whenever their Berserk effect is activated.

These changes should help to reduce the often extremely wide range of loot on any particular encounter while additionally providing players with even more ways to tailor their characters to their playstyle and spec.

Favorite Part –

I’m wildly biased, so how can I answer anything other than Roehn Theer himself. The models, the room the fight takes place in, the flow and … complications present therein … we’re pretty sure you’ve never seen anything like this fight before. A top-sekret hint:  Watch your step. =)