The 8th Season of the Hardcore League begins May 17th!

[SiliconScout]

Wow.

Yet another one already? You know you are killing the goose with the golden egg right? I haven't spent a penny on HC in the last 3 seasons because they come out so fast.

Not even Astral Shards, I spend the DDO points I get on the server to buy my AS nest egg and honestly you don't accumulate nearly as many as you did in the first couple of seasons likely because many people are doing similar. This would be a lot nicer as a once per year event.

How long will it run, are we talking weeks or months long?

 

[Phoenicis]

Wow.

Yet another one already? You know you are killing the goose with the golden egg right? I haven't spent a penny on HC in the last 3 seasons because they come out so fast.

Not even Astral Shards, I spend the DDO points I get on the server to buy my AS nest egg and honestly you don't accumulate nearly as many as you did in the first couple of seasons likely because many people are doing similar. This would be a lot nicer as a once per year event.

How long will it run, are we talking weeks or months long?

If recent years are any example, three months this season, then another season around the new year that runs about two months.

 

[Cordovan]

Given the investment of time and the opportunity cost to character progression on live required to reach the higher tier rewards, expect to put very little time and DDO points into this season by me if you're not previewning the rewards at the beginning.

Obviously, it's entirely SSG's perogative, but I'm not investing the time and resources only to find out a few weeks into it that I'm not interested in the rewards. For all we know, aside from a cloak having the next roman numeral on it, the rewards could just be re-hashed from a previous HCL season.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you'll probably be interested in the rewards this season.

 

[Aelonwy]

Given the investment of time and the opportunity cost to character progression on live required to reach the higher tier rewards, expect to put very little time and DDO points into this season by me if you're not previewning the rewards at the beginning.

I'm sure he meant they won't preview the rewards in full until the day season begins. They usually do post a set of images when the season opens.

 

[The Narc]

Given the investment of time and the opportunity cost to character progression on live required to reach the higher tier rewards, expect to put very little time and DDO points into this season by me if you're not previewning the rewards at the beginning.

Obviously, it's entirely SSG's perogative, but I'm not investing the time and resources only to find out a few weeks into it that I'm not interested in the rewards. For all we know, aside from a cloak having the next roman numeral on it, the rewards could just be re-hashed from a previous HCL season.

If they truly invest in something worthwhile grabbing as a reward, I look forward to pounding it out quickly with you Kimbere, I dont want to exert to much energy on hardcore either.

Its gotta be a flying mount or something else that would bring some sort of similar value. I mean the footprints are great for other people in group to follow, and the wings are great when in a group so that everyone knows where the scout/rogue/leader is because you cant miss them as they are huge. What other benefit can they come up with beside a mount that can fly over all the trash mobs to get to a quest super fast with zero agro and zero Danger Alert. Maybe a teleport item that grants all the expansion pack teleport locations that would work too.

 

[Crell_1]

Expect very little to be spoiled by us before we go live this season.

Could you spoil the end-date so we can plan our involvement / pacing appropriately ahead of the start date?

 

[Mr Blue]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you'll probably be interested in the rewards this season.

I don't understand this.

Why would you not boast what the rewards are? The only reason I can think of, is they are not ready yet or you can't get them to work right or something (like the bloody foot prints in season one).

How is it a spoiler to show off rewards?

I have 0 interest in investing weeks of effort just to find out I hate the super secret reward.

 

[Cordovan]

I don't understand this.

Why would you not boast what the rewards are? The only reason I can think of, is they are not ready yet or you can't get them to work right or something (like the bloody foot prints in season one).

How is it a spoiler to show off rewards?

I have 0 interest in investing weeks of effort just to find out I hate the super secret reward.

Because this season's thing is different from things you've done before, and the intention is for players to discover it when the season opens. We can get some of the info you are looking for in time for launch, but that's

Spoiler

not going to spoil anything

 

[The Narc]

I remember some group in the hound season getting near wiped on some video where the hound kept spamming unkillable in the water and they needed to do a fix on the hounds. This season may have some similar mechanic, i dont spend any money on hardcore(atleast not since a ship in hardcore 1, but i vowed not to do that again after the cargo hold nerfs) and i recommend you folks dont spend any money on things like stat tomes until you are all fully aware of any glitchy mechanics that might exist in this new season. I hope the devs get whatever concept they are proposing correct and do proper testing to ensure there is nothing wonky similar to that season. I will likely stick to basic foundation work in the first week until all the dust settles.

 

[Jezus of Thelanis]

Expect very little to be spoiled by us before we go live this season.

This is actually promising. TBH HC is the only thing that I look forward to (other than rehashing old rewards). It reminds me of pen & paper. I like the mystery!

 

[Jezus of Thelanis]

Because this season's thing is different from things you've done before, and the intention is for players to discover it when the season opens. We can get some of the info you are looking for in time for launch, but that's

Spoiler

not going to spoil anything

My guess.. that at the end of each quest's chest is a token (btc or bta) that will be turned in for a reward or rewards of our choosing, similar to the anniversary events. The leaderboard will show the people who accumulate the most tokens. This way like in P&P ALL group members must make it to the end reward chest in order to gain credit for the quest completion and earn their reward token, thus requiring that all members work together to achieve success.

In this manner, it will require teamwork and a balanced team to achieve success - like D&D was originally intended to be played.

 

[seph1roth5]

Rewards were never the issue, it was hounds killing any sort of easygoing playstyle for me. I like being able to afk to go to the bathroom or handle spills at my own pace. I normally pug in HC and the little I tried was way more annoying and frantic in a very bad way.

I know it's way too late to change whatever you guys have planned, but I really hope people can answer the door without worrying about death. The people who want it 50x harder are the super minority (same people that want reaper harder probably) and will be still get all the favor no matter what you guys do, they just don't want anyone else to do it.

 

[Hawk]

Because this season's thing is different from things you've done before, and the intention is for players to discover it when the season opens. We can get some of the info you are looking for in time for launch, but that's

Spoiler

not going to spoil anything

No offense, but this is a really bad way to go about a hardcore season.

Many players who do hardcore like to make groups with their friends, and all of those friends want to know if they should waste their time or not. Some people need to plan their real life time out ahead of time.

This really isn't a fair way to treat players for this type of event. For many, it's going to be a hard pass if there's too many unknowns, and the only ones that lose out is SSG.

 

[Aaabbbcccddd]

I just hope one reward are dragon wings, like the fey wings just in a sweet dragon aesthetic.

I would also like to see the the 5k reward get shifted to 6k, to offset all the new quest releases.

And maybe some level 10 and 1k favor rewards so maybe some really new playes have something to achieve.

 

[canicus]

I for one am very excited that the theme/mechanic of the league is a secret. With the apparent pattern of repeating an old season every other time, it's wonderful to have some mystery. I guess there is no way to please everyone and some people won't like the surprise, but I love it. It's great to have an element of unkown in a game that a lot of us are so familiar with.

 

[TeamScorpioRI]

No offense, but this is a really bad way to go about a hardcore season.

Many players who do hardcore like to make groups with their friends, and all of those friends want to know if they should waste their time or not. Some people need to plan their real life time out ahead of time.

This really isn't a fair way to treat players for this type of event. For many, it's going to be a hard pass if there's too many unknowns, and the only ones that lose out is SSG.

I actually disagree. Not knowing what is coming up and being surprised is what make hardcore season REALLY fun, at least for me. That season with mimics... That first week was just amazing! Some of us like the unknown. Surprises and challenge is what makes things fun. Sure, hounds were a bad implementation, but overall the surprise of Hardcore is half the fun!

 

[Aelonwy]

I can understand leaving the mechanic gimmick of the season a mystery, although I will just wait till the forums is a buzz with news after it begins. And because I am familiar with the way work gets prioritized at SSG I am aware that art/graphics is usually the last part of any update. That is why we don't usually get to see what new armor/weapons look like until the last Lamannia update if then. So IMHO its highly likely that the reason we aren't seeing all the rewards to hype the season is because they aren't ready yet to be viewed.

But again, they usually put out images of the rewards on the day the season opens.

I am probably alone in hoping there is nothing I want from this season. Though I met and played with some great people during HC6, the way it was handled from the start left me with misgivings about their design direction and ability to design for ALL their players.

 

[comfy]

I love surprises! Season 6, after being one of the first to log into the server and forming a full group to complete Heyton's Rest, 5 of us recalled and the 6th suddenly died. They something along the lines of "stupid dog" and then disconnected. We had no idea what happened. That uncertainty and fear created so much suspense, still a very memorable moment to this day. Please let it be a surprise like that!

 

[Hawk]

I actually disagree. Not knowing what is coming up and being surprised is what make hardcore season REALLY fun, at least for me. That season with mimics... That first week was just amazing! Some of us like the unknown. Surprises and challenge is what makes things fun. Sure, hounds were a bad implementation, but overall the surprise of Hardcore is half the fun!

The challenges being a mystery isn't the problem. Not knowing what the end-goal rewards are, is the problem.

 

[MysticDragon___Littlemama]

Because this season's thing is different from things you've done before, and the intention is for players to discover it when the season opens. We can get some of the info you are looking for in time for launch

OK, now you've peaked my interest.. lol..