Since the new drachma eq has gone in, I have observed my ac/weapon damage mode change to exist of almost entirely non regular eq... that is 3x40 and drachma eq. That's not a bad thing... I play a lot, I am rebirth and have sourced a lot of drachma... it's come about by a greater investment in sloth than most players are prepared to make. I like the new drachma eq, and I purchased a crap load of it, with plans to buy more.
However there is a downside... and that is the value of forges in the game has been eroded. Forging better eq is one of the pillars of the game, and I think it's value to the game should be protected.
It is sometimes said, by some, that most equipment in the game is useless (Not true in reality). The idea of forges was that the useless can become useful. Now that a lot of forges are now also "useless" (sic)... perhaps the plight of forges needs to be reviewed.
I have noticed in my time at sloth that we have gone through phases of forges being better than drachma eq and then drachma eq being better than forges. We know it's a balance but it's difficult to maintain.
There is a key problem with eq systems, in that essentially players only ever need the best piece of equipment. This is why avatar shop and rebirth shop are technically better ideas as the rewards don't become limited with the restrictions of worn eq or slots. This is why clasps and sockets essentially opened up new pathways which injected a lot of life into this game.
In a boring but technically more efficient world, there would be no eq at all, players would just be awarded attribute points to their character as they progress through the game. However that idea limits player specialization and creativity that the eq system provides.
The reason for this post is just to point out there should be some future focus awarded to ideas of making the old forges useful. We do it already... where lesser forges become greater forges, and greater forges become used in the new drachma forges (Very Good Idea!)... Greater forges could be used in drachma quests of the style of devil skins perhaps.
In any case, just something to think about. I sense we need to protect the value of forges through making these items useful again, even if they are just traded away for some reward. How things exist at the moment, my advice to new players would be to do all quests, rebirth as quick as possible, don't bother with forges. However what type of player does this create? This is not the type of player we want, who hasn't been "enriched" by the struggle to level an artifact or now somewhat defunct forges.
Signed,
http://slothmudeq.tk/?forge=on&noquest=on