Umber hulk in the stinger caves

[one day remains]

Now I've encountered this a couple of times across a few characters.

Is the level of this boss not a bit high considering the level range of the area?

The highest AB of a stinger from my observation is 14, the umberhulk has 25 and additionally has both DR and high HP. Just seems a bit over the top for that area.

In my opinion the level range most go to stingers is after bonefields so high single digits and perhaps low teens.

[Gods_Kill_People]

I do find it a bit high, Most of my lvl 15's won't go near it.

[Freyason]

He's not in area you have to go through or to.

Personally I like it for my bard based characters since it's extra xp

[Astral]

People actually walk a whole screen in zig zag for this boss? Its not even on the way to anywhere. Personally I dont care if they put Paush standing there.

[Cerk Evermoore]

He is really hard and stomps groups to death. Not saying that's a bad thing.

[flower]

Id adds feeling to the Ud.

Step aside and face death, if you survived, you learnt.

[TimeAdept]

You can add danger to an area but avoid bad game design while doing it.

[flower]

You can add danger to an area but avoid bad game design while doing it.

It ias not bad design, the hulk is in isolated part of tunnels.

People should learn how to play with dangers around, not to demand nerfs each time there is some difficulty.

[Ork]

A little helping of "OH HELL, RUN!" never hurt anybody.

[MalKalz]

You can add danger to an area but avoid bad game design while doing it.

It ias not bad design, the hulk is in isolated part of tunnels.

People should learn how to play with dangers around, not to demand nerfs each time there is some difficulty.

Take it as:

An adventurer turns a corner and encounters something unexpected around that corner. They have the option to run or fight. And, it depends on what you want to choose. Not all dungeon designs place difficult creatures in a central chamber for you to defeat, claim their head and take a portal out.

There should be challenges along the way.

[susitsu]

this is artificial difficulty based on player ignorance

it has a habit of unexpectedly killing people far too fast and proceeding to rip apart player groups who didn't know what to expect, feels a little silly when you just can't do anything about that

[Ork]

feels a little silly when you just can't do anything about that

I think it'd be useful to have a distance in which AI stop pursuit. That'd be nice. However, the server use to have a philosophy of "When Bad Things Happen" roll with it. I don't think we should abandon that philosophy.

[flower]

this is artificial difficulty based on player ignorance

it has a habit of unexpectedly killing people far too fast and proceeding to rip apart player groups who didn't know what to expect, feels a little silly when you just can't do anything about that

Carry invis potions. Haste potions to flee. Etc etc.

This is far from "can't do anything about that."

Even my silly darkness worked against it (racial ability, wand, Scroll, that mundane item).

[Xanos950]

99% of the place has True Seeing so you wont get far until the hulk catches up through following the stingers that'll chase you, if they don't outright block you at a door. The Umberhulk has Knockdown so... good luck. Also, The mobs + hulk literally camp behind the door to the initial "boss" room. You're going to get ganked the moment you open that door and punished for exploring the place/not knowing better. Unless you're in a group that's tough enough to handle the fight.

So all these "Prepare in advance LUL" comments are sheer borderline ignorance.

[Invader_Nym]

It's bad design.

The only people who can defeat him are people so high-level they'd never bother with the dungeon.

That's bad design.

[caldura firebourne]

So all these "Prepare in advance LUL" comments are sheer borderline ignorance.

I mean, literally one person kinda said that, and hardly with a tone of willful spiteful ignorance

Considering that is one of the dungeons that leads to the surface, I don't think a bit of dangerous encounters is really "that" out of place. Also a little unexpected danger during an xp circle grind isn't a bad thing, even if it comepletely demolishes the party, it gets boring having to group with the players who know every dungeon inside out and backwards and want to follow the most optimal xp/hour route

I wish more dungeons had a little surprise here and there

I'm totally going to suggest random encounters be placed in dungeons when the box has the padlock taken off

[Invader_Nym]

So all these "Prepare in advance LUL" comments are sheer borderline ignorance.

I mean, literally one person kinda said that, and hardly with a tone of willful spiteful ignorance

Considering that is one of the dungeons that leads to the surface, I don't think a bit of dangerous encounters is really "that" out of place. Also a little unexpected danger during an xp circle grind isn't a bad thing, even if it comepletely demolishes the party, it gets boring having to group with the players who know every dungeon inside out and backwards and want to follow the most optimal xp/hour route

I wish more dungeons had a little surprise here and there

I'm totally going to suggest random encounters be placed in dungeons when the box has the padlock taken off

In my opinion we need to stop trying to analyze these problems abstractly, and start analyzing them realistically.

The reality is that this is a monster that will basically be avoided by everyone. Lowbies will avoid it because they don't want to get maimed to death by it, and high-level guys will avoid it because it's deep the heart of a lowbie dungeon, where they'll never go.

I don't see the benefit to placing a creature in the module only to see it largely avoided by all of the server's players. That seems to me really puzzling. We can conjure up all sorts of abstract philosophies to justify it, but at the end of the day it's by and large wasted module space. IMO.

[caldura firebourne]

In your opinion

Some of us have different and yet equally valid opinions as well, stating it repeatedly doesn't generally make an opinion more valid

But if this kind of boss wasn't a 100% of the time there situation, that only popped up say 10% of the time would it still be wasted space or would it add depth to the server?

[Cortex]

It's not even in the route of the grind there, it's just a trap for newbs. If it even had a chance of spawning anywhere else in the dungeon, it'd be a nuisance and just force people to go back. Not really fun.

[flower]

99% of the place has True Seeing so you wont get far until the hulk catches up through following the stingers that'll chase you, if they don't outright block you at a door. The Umberhulk has Knockdown so... good luck. Also, The mobs + hulk literally camp behind the door to the initial "boss" room. You're going to get ganked the moment you open that door and punished for exploring the place/not knowing better. Unless you're in a group that's tough enough to handle the fight.

So all these "Prepare in advance LUL" comments are sheer borderline ignorance.

Isnt true seeing already nerfed?

[Xanos950]

Isnt true seeing already nerfed?

Only the spell + totem was nerfed. Stingers have permanent True Seeing.

[Seekeepeek]

A suggestion could be to place some kinda permanent fixture outside the room that offers warning to leave the hulk to it's slumber.

[MalKalz]

Eh. Not something that needs to be done.

[Dr_Hazard89]

Isnt true seeing already nerfed?

Only the spell + totem was nerfed. Stingers have permanent True Seeing.

Nerf NPCs!

[Durvayas]

So all these "Prepare in advance LUL" comments are sheer borderline ignorance.

I mean, literally one person kinda said that, and hardly with a tone of willful spiteful ignorance

Considering that is one of the dungeons that leads to the surface, I don't think a bit of dangerous encounters is really "that" out of place. Also a little unexpected danger during an xp circle grind isn't a bad thing, even if it comepletely demolishes the party, it gets boring having to group with the players who know every dungeon inside out and backwards and want to follow the most optimal xp/hour route

I wish more dungeons had a little surprise here and there

I'm totally going to suggest random encounters be placed in dungeons when the box has the padlock taken off

In my opinion we need to stop trying to analyze these problems abstractly, and start analyzing them realistically.

The reality is that this is a monster that will basically be avoided by everyone. Lowbies will avoid it because they don't want to get maimed to death by it, and high-level guys will avoid it because it's deep the heart of a lowbie dungeon, where they'll never go.

I don't see the benefit to placing a creature in the module only to see it largely avoided by all of the server's players. That seems to me really puzzling. We can conjure up all sorts of abstract philosophies to justify it, but at the end of the day it's by and large wasted module space. IMO.

Solution: Add a writ only available to lower level PCs specifically to get them to hunt and kill it.