A lot of good points have already been brought up in this and the other thread pertaining to the XP changes. But I just want to reiterate that - as presented - it will still significantly impact players who don't already cause dungeon alert in how they play. And I'm not sure an extra quest or 10 will make up the difference in time & XP.
I think the first time bonus promotes playing a variety of quests and should persist. Perhaps a fraction of it could be moved elsewhere. Though I'm not sure putting it toward killing heaps of mobs is ideal. I do think incentivizing us to do so through other means, as well as venturing off the beaten path, is a lot more preferable, to simply moving the XP toward Conquest. So please just scrap that.
I also think the game's play pattern( and balance) has probably gotten stale for a lot of folks(partly why they're inclined to rush to the end). So we could do with a general shaking up of things.
With that in mind - these are my suggestions that aim to slow us down, in a more engaging way:
-Mobs could use a slight HP buff across the board
-Mobs stats probably need rescaling(again). At the very least - they need their spells/abilities to sometimes land on us. Or give them new ones. Right now, we brush off almost everything thrown our way, in terms of CC by mobs(their damage is largely fine as is). And this is without much investment into Saving Throws. It might be unpopular to some - but we should be getting webbed, slept, slowed, paralyzed, stunned, dominated, silenced, etc. a lot more than we do. But not if we build to counteract it, of course. It's D&D. Stuff going wrong breeds memorable moments. This will also promote team play(something sorely lacking in modern DDO).
-Mobs could get a further 5, 10, & 20% HP + Dmg buff, on Dungeon Alert levels Yellow, Orange, and Red respectively
-Players could get a 5, 7, & 10% Restrained, Subtle & Tactful XP bonus respectively, for triggering only up to Yellow, Green, or no Dungeon Alert levels. No bonus for Orange or Red DA
-Revert the recent Reaper mode change that made it easier to heal out-of-combat. It was not necessary. It made the game's difficulty trivial, when that's not what we need. The previous system rewarded preparation and teamwork; while reinforcing the danger of Reaper mode. One of the difficulties of dungeon delving is also that aspect of attrition. So being mindful of our resource usage was also part of the challenge. But that is invalidated now; just like SP has become redundant. That's not a good thing. Perhaps my biggest pet-peeve with it, is that it's also just very inelegant design. There is no clear indicator for when we are/aren't actually ooc. I would much rather know roughly what I'm going to heal myself for, in any given moment, than have it vary wildly like it does currently
-I think we could do with higher base optional XP everywhere. And in addition - a further 5, 10, 15% Diligent, Thorough, & Meticulous XP bonus for completing a set number of optionals within the dungeon
-Along the same lines - I think optionals could do with housing named loot/cosmetic pets, where it makes sense. Like a dragon guarding a gilded cloak, or even an "adopted" kitty, for that matter. Being another source of crafting ingredients, would also be welcome
-Give us more juicy Saga reward options, to counteract players defaulting to only taking the XP from them
-Improve Cannith Crafting and Collectable turn-ins, so that it encourages us to go off the main path to grab em
-Random loot could do with revitalizing once more
-Implement more creative & deadly traps (mainly for Reaper mode and Epic levels+, in terms of the deadly aspect)
-Design more multi-faceted encounters that require specific tasks to be completed before progressing. This allows for segmenting the dungeon better, as well as providing opportune moments for narrative emphasis. Of course, this should be done in moderation
-Add new and better rewards at the Mysterious Remnant vendor. So that we kill stuff for rems
-Add new and better rewards for Monster Manuals. So that we kill stuff even more!
-Bring on some new Champions and Reapers! We are long overdue
-Have the Traveller appear in random locations throughout every dungeon and provide a random boon, if we find and interact with them. The boon could be an XP stone, loot boost, a buff, or a magic item that expires upon exit- like Tesyus
-Have a wee leprechaun fall out of a random killed mob's pocket(once per dungeon), that behaves like a Xachosian eardweller that we need to catch. It can reward an XP stone, loot boost, or a large heap of remnants.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Something else that is long overdue is a revamp to stealth. Since all of this is intertwined - it might be time to revisit it. But it also needs to be done right, and therefore probably deserves its very own thread.
I'll conclude by remarking that DDO will likely be in a much healthier place, when the utility of Wizard spells, the stealthing of a Ninja Spy, and the shenanigans of a Swashbuckler are not just viable - but desirable by parties once more.
