Level 14 is now open, and need feedback on all the encounters, plots, finding bugs, errors etc. Stuff like 'the monsters are way too easy or too hard' and game balancing issues.

Stuff like that. I have been running through the level now for 4 days with a few builds, and its HARD. So I may need to lower the stats if it's hard for you all--too hard for level 14. (can't run out of max stats by the time we hit level 20 of EFU).

Reply here when I open the level, and let me know what builds you ran it with--since I can't possibly run the levels with every build, and type. [img]smile.gif[/img]

BTW, I have been secretly been working on other levels at the same time--this is why it's taken longer than normal. [img]smile.gif[/img] Surprises will be revealed soon! :D

Thanks guys! Sorry again for the delay. Holidays did delay it as well.. no biggie.. I'm sure you were busy too. ;)

Now that all the holiday stuff is done, I'll be able to crank out a new level of Undermountain every week or so, and non Undermountain levels less than a week! (I already have 9 huge maps in 50% complete as of now, so you're going to be busy soon.) hehe...

[ 12-30-2006, 07:16 PM: Message edited by: Ziroc ]

Bump! We're now live! Level 14 is now open, and full of some of the toughest battles as well as the strongest weapons!

Off to the races...

I have excluded the good prisoners, and the henchmen, as well as the 'final' main leader. The Commander is 2nd in charge. ;)
Also, Been watching you play, I'm bumping up some stats too.

I also have 3 other bad guys coming in to join the cyric lineup, as well as making more respawns. Timing is off a wee bit.
There is a lot more to see once I add back the other things. (Plot stuff). Hope you like it!

Let me know what you thought though!! :D

[ 12-30-2006, 10:06 PM: Message edited by: Ziroc ]

Loved it :D

I believe Rob and myself were the first inside [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

The area looked good - and diffrent, characters tough but not unbeatable, awesome treasure! I was a level 34 character though i survived, with the help of RTB, I would reccomend not entering solo unless you are a very high level (which is the way it should be) Good work Z

will go back and check on it some more [img]graemlins/petard.gif[/img]

There is a problem with the Commander's door. It seems you can only open it from outside the room, it won't open from inside, and we were lucky to have the fourth member of our party not with us the second time we went back there. I wouldn't bump a lot of stats on the baddies based on the archer I had in there tonight either. Her unbuffed ab is 74, so she pretty much hits what she aims at, mostly. If I'm testing a new level, I want to live... [img]graemlins/heee.gif[/img]
Other than the door, nothing bad to say. Nice level, well laid out, but could use a map pin for the door back to lvl 13.

Okay, I will now admit that Level Fourteen is the NEW hardest level inside of the Undermountain. Tested it out with my 40th level cleric and had my insides handed to me slow roasted on a blackflame longsword with fava beans. There are a lot of rather interesting items down there for the intrepid explorer, but I implore anyone going down there to go IN A PARTY. It is not for the timid, the treacherous, or the tormented.

Spoilers ahead.
You have been warned.
Trust me, this will spoil you.
And it will warn you.
Because you need to be warned.
Or your spoiling remains will warm the boots of those who serve the darkness...
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Told ya.

Been booted twice because of my computer not handling things well, but that was only on Level Thirteen. Level Fourteen worked as smoothly as any other level I have played on so far. There were a few wierd moments, such as the Ogres pausing and posing, but this has happened on other levels (mainly Level Seven with the Trolls.) Aside from that, all the enemies reacted as they should - with swiftness and hostility.

The Assassins I got a brief preview of some time ago, but I never saw them to their true effectiveness before. Seeing them run at you with that longhand style is disturbing. Finding out you can't hit them because you planned out your build wrong is scary. Learning swiftly that you are fighting them with bare hands because RUST MONSTERS ATE YOUR MACE is downright aggravating. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting them at all. Thank goodness for having a terrifying amount of Rings Of Harm available.

I met up with a party who had already cleared the way - or so they stated. The creatures there respawn, so moving slowly is not in your best interests. Going in a party is highly advised if you go down there storming like Norman. It's a shame that the bard Javan has on top wasn't with them when they first entered the Black Doors or it might have been a completely different experience. I haven't faced anything quite like that since I first ran through the completed ruins of the dwarven keep inside of Level Thirteen. There was one major difference though: inside the ruins, Mass Heal is your best friend. You don't get spells like that for the living that will work inside of Level Fourteen.

Bring bags for the looting. Bring LOTS of bags for the looting. By the time you leave that level (if not in small digestable chunks), you should have enough to purchase anything you want - including a war elephant. (I want one of those, damnit!) No, you do not face a war elephant inside of this level. If you did, you'd feel better for being squashed so freakin' flat. No, most of your opponents are the same size as yourself, so don't think that they can't run after your ass when you are fleeing for your life. As well, the equipment they have on them may inspire you to create new builds - or revisit old ones. I know it did for me.

SPOILER

regarding the monster MZW mentions I can't believe i fell for it :eek: I have been trawling dungeons for about 25 freekin years and I fell for it ...doh the shame :(

You must keep this monster there or make it random Ziroc (i did come across it in another area today) anything that engages the brain and punishes dumb ass behaviour is good stuff Z! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

One other detail, the prisoner was hostile to me from when I first entered, even though I didn't AoE him with anything. Perhaps it was because I couldn't bluff worth beans?

I was told by a Drow darksinger to talk to their militiaman. Unfortunately I had already killed him. I'm sure he came at me as a hostile but I was under a bit of pressure at the time so I'm not really sure if there is a problem here. Need to run through again to be sure.

Level 14 is certainly interesting/difficult/dangerous/lucrative and I barely scratched the surface. I ran it solo with a level 40 character and I wouldn't want to see it pitched at a greater level of difficulty.

I did log in again this afternoon. There are usually one or two tanks about but this was the first time I've seen a whole Armoured Division on one level.

I actually knew about that, and opened it for ya the first time round. (Was shadowing ya to see how fights went)

I came to find that the LOK Tileset has some walkmesh issues in the actuall tileset. (Door issues mainly).

I will have to change that, or remove that door maybe.


Was wondering why you were hostile to the Kuo-Toa prisoner. Did you strike a drow on level 13? I guess the faction isn't local. Will fix that too. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Ah, that was it. K.. will have to give that guard a seperate faction. cool.. was worried there.

Hehe, alright, I'll leave the stats alone. I'll keep a watch on the fighting and such.

The DAMN ogre models! Freezing and acting like they got their ROCKS for brains.. no animations for using a crossbow? lol... crazy.. DLA Made that model, I thought it would be flawless. I'll check into what that deal is... very odd.

[ 12-31-2006, 06:57 PM: Message edited by: Ziroc ]

I am not worried about the ogres not having animations for crossbows as long as they work smoothly enough. Things like that can be overlooked in the larger picture. And from what I saw, nobody was complaining about being shot from an ogre's hand after we found out what they were hiding up their underarms. (Eww...) I am more worried about those Cyrist Assassins. Maybe when I use a combat-trained character on them I'll have a better idea as to if they are too strong or just strong enough.

By the way, check your e-mail Ziroc. Two sends from me - one with a file, one without. Both of them should be tagged with [ IronWorksForum ] on them. Despite the name, there are no actual [ sets ] within the file itself. That I will be working on during this coming week. (Damn, I really need to get myself a new keyboard...)

Awesome, yeah, I will soon re-add the 'other' bad guys tonight. Then work on sprinkling in your items! [img]smile.gif[/img]

Some areas of Lvl 14 that looked empty will have the new baddies there--and the goblins in the jail cell were stand ins. Nearly every cell will have an NPC to speak with.

Killing almost any of these npc's will change your alignment, so be careful. Being good will too, and grant good XP.

...er, *looks around innocently* I almost never start riots on lvl 13...

We found another glitchy door today, by the alternate route to 15. I don't want to spoil it too much for anyone, but it's a bedroom on the main map for 14, with a stone in it. That stone is completely safe since, even though the door wasn't locked, we couldn't open it to get to it.

Enjoying the additions so far, Ziroc.

The little touch from the Yawning Portal was humorous and frightful at the same time. Which of course leads me to believe that Misty is going to have her own plotline by the end of the year which will need to be solved. Even if that isn't the case, a few more "professional patron assistants" scattered through the Yawning Portal above and the various inns and taverns to follow would be nice.

Now, as for more on Level Fourteen, I have been lucky enough to get access to some of the numerous items presented there. I have to say I really love the designs for some of them. I jus wish they would glow... *sighs* Not sure if we are allowed to spoil the surprise for others in terms of the items themselves, but I know that one of them would do well with a blue/purple aura, and another would look awesome with an orange/yellow aura. Not sure if it's possible given the designs of the items themselves, but it would be a nice touch.

The ogres are not freezing as often any more. This is good for the module because they seem more natural now. This is bad because I am now realizing how hard they can hit ME. Ugh. Reminds me as to why people refused to face Mike Tyson in his heyday. Come to think of striking and damage, what kind of AB is recommended for Level Fourteen at the moment? Currently, I think I can hit one of the numerous Cyricists, and the Rust Monsters, and of course the ogres. I haven't gotten any of my truly combat worthy characters down there yet, but I have to plan ahead as at least two of my character concepts need to be scrapped and overhauled. (Posted in another thread already.)

Muhahah! Yeah, I thought it would be a totally shocking opening to the level, and IF someone lost their weapon, what would they do? dig for a new one in their inventory, and that increases the tension factor. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Totally evil. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Will check that other door Rob--damn tileset. I guess I need to make a patch in the future for that- I didn't make that tileset, LOK did I believe. It's sad that many of the door areas have bad clipping and walkmesh issues.

Cool. I'll tell ya', all things considered, it's great. Lvl 14 is getting a lot of attention.

But those rust monsters are a real bummer. They've eaten 3 of my axes so far and really annoy me - I've taken to hiding my axe and beating them with bare fists until they're all dead before grabbing my axe again.

Definitely a party level, it can be done solo (as I discovered when I went *shopping* but it is hard and (so far) requires dying a few times :D - or using Imp. Invis. a lot and sneaking around.

And some of those toys you can find in there are soooooooo nice [img]graemlins/cool.gif[/img] , it's worth the effort just to get them. And now I'm having to think about new builds just to deal with lvl 14.

Only one question, I managed to talk to the prisoner and let him loose but didn't notice how I benefited from it as he promptly legged it out of there at speed. Did I miss something?

I took another look at that door last night, and it looks like it's too big for the doorway? Is that even possible? Note to the naysayers about ranged weapons, I have yet to lose any equipment to Wellard's new found buddies...

The next project through there for me is reviving my Dragon series of chars, to see how they fare. I fully expect Dragon Priestess to do well indeed.

She has done well so far. I'd love to see what other Dragon-based characters you intend on sending down there. What I am really hoping to see is someone get an overwhelming critical on one of those Cyrist Assassins. They really get my goat, my throat, and mess up my coat. In short, they need a beating that my current characters (which have made it down there so far) just can't seem to issue to them.

The only sad thing I have seen down there is that one gigantic greatsword which had to be made as a Greatsword*2. Such a shame, but I fully intend on giving it to my rebuilt drow battlehunter Elthorion Kinslayer. I may have to remake Gaki Nodachi as well to improve his two-handed greatsword goodness. I haven't brought that character down there yet, but I should soon. Along with the rest of my characters I have sitting on shelves growing dust...

[ 01-02-2007, 09:48 AM: Message edited by: Mozenwrathe ]

You should have recieved 4000-ish XP, and *now* you get a +5 to 'good' alignment as well.

Make sure you talk to all the non-hostile prisoners. SOME are monster slaves though, and will attack you even though they are locked up.

I updated level 14 a bit this morning, so check it out around 11am EST. That's when it'll be back online. (adding more stuff right now) [img]smile.gif[/img] .

I managed to get into the room with the stuck door last night... [img]graemlins/heee.gif[/img] I made that priestess in there really mad at me for breaking in to her bedroom, but...

Well, shizzle. New bad guys, more treasure to loot. Now I MUST go update the hak so I can play.......

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooo............ The freakin' rust monsters ate Sanura's Valas' hammer and Drow shield of the Ages!

Vengeance is mine, sayeth the dwarf!

Take a bow! no not a bow a bow, with arrows!


Garnet I feel your pain! [img]graemlins/heee.gif[/img]

And to think that we all warned you about the rust monsters...you have now joined the elite group of people who had their weapons eaten by them (myself included :D ). Just remember that saying 'Vengeance is mine..' is all well and good but the right weapons are actually mightier than the pen.

I, too, feel that pain [img]smile.gif[/img]

Z, it's a sneaky trick, because it doesn't matter how high level a character is, the wee beasties still eat yur stuff.

So is there any chance of a mimic stealing my armour vis-à-vis that nasty little one I vaguely remember from one of the official expansions - I can say now, I won't be happy :mad:

use the rule of A-B-C when going down to Level Fourteen, chaps:

Always
Bring
Caches.

That's right good people: have spares ready. With all the other creatures and such down there dropping weapons, snag one (or a few) of theirs before testing our lovely friends down there. Considering there ARE rust monsters on Level One (who may or may not be getting improved thanks to this), we should have been a little more alert previously. The fact these little rugworms are consuming a lot of our hard fought (or deftly stolen) items injures our pride - and then our bodies get injured as the Cyrists move in for the kill.

Easy for you to say, but I'm running around with an axe that isn't on the server anymore.

1) send me the information, and I'll include it in a submission to Ziroc. I may also create an alternative version of it, depending on the weapon. still, I think I know which axe you are refering to and I actually have two other characters who still possess the original.

2) when I mean carry spares, for unique and hard to find weapons carry something just about as good with you to open up new levels with first. I have an original version of the Drow Shield Of Ages, and that would be impossible to find again. so I have at least two other "just about as good" shields I can easily find to start off a level with in case of Disarm or rust monster. as well, you know how much of a packrat I am. I normally will find something about as powerful along the way and use that first if I'm not sure my character will still have it at the end of the day. and yes, I have lost more items to Disarm than those rust monsters.

3) if it IS the axe that I'm thinking of, I've always liked that axe. it just seemed to look RIGHT in the hands of my characters - even the elves.

Wellard and RtB went along with Sanura last night and retrieved another shield and hammer. BUT she now carries an extra (inferior) hammer and shield, armor and helm, as well as having equipped a bow she's been lugging around for who-knows-why.

Found out that lvl 14 Undermountain is not really for the solo adventurer, even if said adventurer is a slightly psychotic lvl 30 dwarven fighter.

Have to admit, though, it was rather fun going back in (after judicious retreat and stripping nice armor off) nekkid and beating those rust monsters into submission with my bare fists ;) . If only the elementalists had demurred, I might have gotten somewhere (silly welps followed me all the way back to the lvl 13 merchant!).

So far the rust monsters have left my maces alone. I thought they might only go for edged weapons

If they can eat a Valas Warhammer then I am worried.

Then you should be afraid ... very afraid! That weapon was eaten before my very eyes [img]graemlins/heee.gif[/img]

In truth, the very first weapon that I know they got was a Valas War Hammer...Isn't that right, Wellard..... [img]graemlins/heee.gif[/img]

It's like "do I kill the threat of the rust monsters taking my weapon and letting the other hostiles attack me freely" or "do I go after the hostiles and end up punching everything".

[img]smile.gif[/img]

Hmmm, cross posted, however, there is no conundrum for me. I kill the rust monsters first, with ranged weapons, and trust my ac to protect me. While I have met unfortunate ends on Lvl 14 (it's amazing how much that reads like Area 51), it's never been at the entrance, so far.

At last I got the mighty Jaros as a henchman.

He made level 14 a lot easier until we met a Cleric who insisted on targeting me with his Harm spells even when I was using Jaros as a shield.

Jaros' list of feats is to die for (Dev Crit in 4 weapons and all those immunities!!) or at least to have a few Cyric worshippers die for.

Pity that he has a soft spot for the Drow. Slash'em took him up to level 13 yesterday and all Jaros did was watch.

that would make sense if Slash'em did the usual killing of drow guards - they're not actively aggressive until we attack them so Jaros won't see them as an enemy at any point