Escort Quest Response

[Timlagor]

Can we have a new response option for escort quests: "No you're too stupid to live!"

[Grey]

You can say "yes" and then kill them yourself for xp. There's even an achievement for killing enough of the buggers.

[Avianpilot]

I'd like a 'Come with me if you want to live' option. That's a short way of saying "Follow me. No, don't attack that polar bear. Stay away from those snakes. Don't try to run past me and 'help' me. Stay back, let me deal with the enemies, and I'll clear a path to the portal. You're tired right? Why don't you just rest over there in that safe spot I made -- I'll call you again when it's time to go."

[Grey]

"Yeah, rest over there. No, not on that poison vine! NOOOOOO!!!!"

[Kats]

Maybe they're bleeding to death. And they're poisoned. And Blind. And they ate some mushrooms too. And there's a magical wild infusion just past the portal. And their lover. And 99 virgins. Who will only accept them if they are brave and KILL that polar bear.

So yeah, they can't wait.

Actually, seriously now, this makes no sense. I see monsters have a lot better AI scripts than adventurers. (Maybe that's partly the reason there are more monsters than adventurers?)

[Aquillion]

It's deliberate, though. Escort quests are supposed to be tough, that's why the rewards are so good.

(Though -- I do have to say, my big problem is that they feel so random right now. Sometimes you get the portal right nearby without having to fight anything; sometimes you're attacked by a boss while escorting them. Random quests with such a big reward are irritating.)

The most fun I had with escort quests was with an Archmage who found the Burning Star. Use the Burning Star, detect the portal, use high-level phase door with maxxed magic to send them directly to the portal, done.

(As long as you don't fizzle, anyway. Ha.)

[Zonk]

It's deliberate, though. Escort quests are supposed to be tough, that's why the rewards are so good.

There's 'reasonably tough' and 'unreasonably tough'. I think escort behavior often belongs in the second category(that and the fact they just won't regenerate).
There have been suggestions on how to make escorts smarter/more reasonable without making the quests too easy: http://forums.te4.org/viewtopic.php?f=3 ... ts#p104117

[Sirrocco]

If you just make sure that you're reasonably high level for the location, it's almost trivially easy. The escorts spawn at your level. There are plenty of non-escort dungeons to level up in, too.

[Aquillion]

If you just make sure that you're reasonably high level for the location, it's almost trivially easy. The escorts spawn at your level. There are plenty of non-escort dungeons to level up in, too.

I don't think it's really possible to overlevel past Dreadfall or Reknor, though, and hard to overlevel past Daikara (especially when you're trying to level up for Dreadfall's own escorts!) And there's a strong incentive to do the Old Forest as soon as possible.

[bricks]

Daikara is just bad news for escorts. Chain Lightning, Tactical Nuke Boulder Throwers, Xorns, and perhaps most frightening, Poison Vines.

[shooth]

I got two escorts in Dreadfell this mort as a skeleton. Wheee!

[eronarn]

Daikara is just bad news for escorts. Chain Lightning, Tactical Nuke Boulder Throwers, Xorns, and perhaps most frightening, Poison Vines.

Shimmering Caves is worse if you do it at a reasonable level. Their pathfinding totally breaks in there, too.

[Sirioh]

I think the escort difficulty is overall fine. Usually it requires luck, sometimes you can manage by being tactical (or OP, in the case of archmages).

We've gotten a lot of new starting zones lately, as well. I'd like to see escorts placed in some of them, rather than just the few zones that they can be found in now.

However, I am strongly against escorts appearing in any level with a boss. Maybe Trollmire:3 only, because the troll is pure melee, but definitely not Daikara:5, Diakara:4 (because if you're a TW, that escort is out and out lost - I forget if this has been fixed already), Daikara:anythingwithHazor'kun, OldForest:5.

Failing that (Hazor'kun especially would be hard to plan around), maybe the escort spawns can be made a little more dynamic? Rather than being generated at character creation, split escorts up into tiers and then weigh/base the quality of the escort's rewards on the zone in which you get an escort quest. So, for example, getting an escort in Trollmire or OF:1-4, might only be a sun paladin or warrior. Situationally useful, especially if you're a class working toward those rewards, but not generally powerful. Getting an escort in Daikara:anything, Dreadfell, or OF:5 has a much higher chance of being a 'very useful/powerful' escort, such as an Anorithil (and we all know how sweet it is to get Providence). Or create two separate rewards list for each escort class: low tier escorts have 1 of either stat, or a selection of "useful but not awesome" talents, or an unlockable tree (selection unavailable if you've unlocked the tree already). High tier escorts have 2 of either stat, a selection of "generally considered very useful" talents, or an unlockable tree/bonus mastery of that tree (if you've unlocked it previously).

The idea is simply to moderate the reward with the level of risk/rate of success.

[tiger_eye]

We need more variety of quests: saving princesses and recovering lost and/or stolen swords

I think the escort difficulty is overall fine.

Agreed, and I think DarkGod agrees too (he has aggro'd stats for how many succeed, fail, and are killed by the player).

Usually it requires luck

It sometimes requires luck, but not usually (in my experience). I once saved 9/9 escorts with one of my rogues: ample use of track, trap detection, trap disarm, mobility talents (rush, disengage, movement infusion), etc--and most classes have access to these talents or ones similar (or better). One of my escorts needed to pass Rantha (and a gaggle of giants), another through Wrathroot, and another through Harkor'Zun, so such heroics remain doable even for a lowly rogue.

Scintillating Caves and Heart of the Gloom can be difficult early zones to complete escorts, and Dreadfell is occasionally completely unfair, but, hey, challenges are what make it fun, right?

However, I am strongly against escorts appearing in any level with a boss. Maybe Trollmire:3 only, because the troll is pure melee, but definitely not Daikara:5, Diakara:4 (because if you're a TW, that escort is out and out lost - I forget if this has been fixed already), Daikara:anythingwithHazor'kun, OldForest:5.

Right on: escorts are no longer allowed in Daikara 4 or 5 (as of a couple betas ago, iirc). The only zones in which you can encounter a boss are the beginning zones (Trollmire:3, Scintillating Caves:3, or Norgos' Lair:3), and Old Forest:5. Old Wrathy-root isn't so dangerous, is he? I'd rather have an escort need to go through him than risk getting one in Dreadfell or Reknor.

[Grey]

Aw, no more escorts on Rantha's level? I always felt truly heroic making them survive on that level!