User:Tennessee Ernie Ford/Rants/Wall of Complaints

“

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

— attributed to Rita Mae Brown

Winds of Change is too hard

First reaction to WoC content Meh (not as compelling as WiK) (Re-reviewed since rebalancing)

It's impossible for normal players! What about changing your team? (One user's suggestion)

There's no question that the Winds of Change foes are among the toughest in the game. It's reasonable to expect that reasonable people consider these quests to be required (you need them to feel like you are participating in the current game).

However, if you are having trouble over and over again, don't rant, don't rave, don't break the computer. Stop. And think. Clearly, plenty of people completed the quests successfully, so something must be getting in the way. Among the possibilities:

Have you tried asking for assistance?

There are a number of people out there who like nothing better than helping others (even if some prefer to show off). Try advertising in party search or through your guild. (And hey, if no one in your guild is willing to help, perhaps it's also time to consider a new guild.)

Do you have an appropriate team?

• Standard groups aren't going to get you as far as in Prophecies generally.
  • One user's suggestion for general-use WoC teams
• The new afflicted have stronger and more diverse builds that work better together.
• Can you mitigate the high damage dealers? Can you heal the team quickly?
• The new soul explosions can be devastating. Can you keep your team away from them?

Do you have an appropriate strategy?

Most areas of the game can be handled through brute force; Winds of Change cannot

• Pulling is almost essential for all these quests. A successful pull doesn't simply attract attention, it draws aggro away from dangerous areas.
  • Unsuccessful teams allow their own group to get pulled; don't let yours.
• Separate patrols from main groups.
  • Pay attention to patrol patterns; they aren't random.
  • Pay attention to reinforcement patterns; they aren't random.
• Focus on appropriate targets.
  • This is almost always the healer (who is often an Afflicted Necromancer), but sometimes it's easier to begin by shutting down a damage dealer, which leaves the healer vulnerable.
• Take advantage of the environment:
  • Take advantage of choke points.
  • There advantage of walls and hills; use them to protect your crew and avoid letting them block your own attacks.