And for f2p players, new content this year was Roarmulus Twins aaaaaaaand that is it. Even if you take the "new" price of Shadow Keys, it isn't worth it.

Oh, and "butchered Arcade", Mission Mode. With a new boss that doesn't even have a dungeon (why the hell isn't the Statuary a dungeon instead of having 2 Clockwork levels before? Potential misused again). And that Candlestick level in Arcade... or Mission Mode...

Accesory-wise, we can buy 3 basic eyes, 2 heights and maedates from Auction House, woo. Excitement. Lots. And changing our color, don't forget.

I could care about PvP, but I am a PvE player btw. : P

Back to grinding Vanaduke I go~ *Insert going to mine typical song*

That thread was mine ^_^ Thanks OOO!

http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/50483

You guys are trolling yourselves X( I'm just waiting for everyone to settle pettle about the whole ordeal over nothing sensible.

And instead of mispelling my name just call me Hex.

i cant wait to fight the max shock, max stun, and max pierce resist skolvers. Gona be... so.... epic..... ZZZZzzzzz

Rage or not, those of us here will still be on SK later.

Is that all you focused on?

There are things that occur behind the update. Advantages that you should be aware of.

Upon logging in, I anticipated the energy price drop due to the crownsinks, and sold all my CE. I plan to rebuy once it hits "bottom".

Your endgame was ruined because people who weren't willing to spend thousands could achieve it too?

i spent 150 dollars. about 75 on both of us. this misconception that spending real life money is the only way to make crowns in game is absurd.

i have a spreadsheet showing how i made over 10m crowns last october (since then i stopped keeping the spreadsheet).

Its like thinking an in-real-life millionaire made their money by working 50million hours at mcdonalds.

Honestly, this update is the only way I would EVER attempt rolling any UVs in the first place, and I think it's how the system should have worked from day one. (Not that I've ever had nearly enough money to try rolling a UV in the first place, but still.) The idea of getting a very good UV on a certain weapon, and then almost guaranteeing that it'll be thrown away if you want to add another one, is pretty darn absurd, at least in my book. I might have rolled for one UV before this, but forget two or three...that's a fool's errand. I won't criticize anyone who dumped a lot of money into the old system, since hey, it's their money, but it's certainly something I never would have done. This new mechanic makes much more sense, and I might wind up using it myself someday.

And for the people who did throw tons of money at the old system, I can feel a bit sorry for you, but at the end of the day...that was your choice to do so. You knew that that system relied heavily on chance, and you rolled the dice with it. The thing is, you did gain a significant advantage by doing so: you presumably had better weapons than almost anyone else in the game, over the course of several months. But the thing is, pretty much every MMO-style game in history has wound up changing certain mechanics over the course of the game, often for the benefit of newer players. There was never any guarantee that the UV system wouldn't be tweaked in the future, and by the same token, you didn't pay under the assumption that your weapons would remain the best for the entire lifetime of the game. Enjoy the time you had at the top of the heap, and save up your CE for whatever comes down the pipe next.

Here's a link for you

"i cant wait to fight the max shock, max stun, and max pierce resist skolvers. Gona be... so.... epic..... ZZZZzzzzz" - Blueflood

This made me literally LOL. The good and great LD players don't need uber-gear. As for the bad and mediocre ones, they will still get killed rather easily. When heart pendants came out, it didn't bother me; now that this is out I feel the same. Better gear will not save you if you lack skill. Scratch that, even with skill if you get caught by someone who shield cancels or can outplay you then your precious EQ is worthless.

I'd like to point out that this has almost certainly jammed any potential spikes in CE prices for the next several months.

Given that OOO has to put dev time into making things to distribute as part of bundle deals to keep CE decently priced, they can now (hopefully >.>) work on more levels and lore.

This made me literally LOL. The good and great LD players don't need uber-gear. As for the bad and mediocre ones, they will still get killed rather easily. When heart pendants came out, it didn't bother me; now that this is out I feel the same. Better gear will not save you if you lack skill. Scratch that, even with skill if you get caught by someone who shield cancels or can outplay you then your precious EQ is worthless.

Why is it that every single person attempting to counter this point always brings up the "UVs don't compensate for skill" argument? It's an absurd strawman, because the argument is that at the top level of play between equally skilled players; the one with better UVs has the edge and this isn't debatable. Just because UVs don't make any moron capable of competing at high level Lockdown, doesn't in anyway invalidate the fact that they DO give an edge which once you get closer to the skill ceiling in the game is enough to determine fights in a lot of situations assuming one of the players isn't having an off day or something. It's not about rich players being better than skilled ones, it's about skilled players whom are also rich getting an advantage over equally skilled players whom aren't. Not to mention this also means that bombers are put at an even larger disadvantage than they always have been as now you can feasibly get a Skolver set providing immunity to 2-3 status bombs which more or less shuts down their area denial role.

Besides all that this also makes non-Wolver/Gunslinger/Demo sets entirely worthless. At least before they had an arbitary if neglible edge by having extra status resistances or slightly more defence, now that the gear that provides offensive bonuses can also gain the defensive viability of the otherwise useless defensively-oriented sets there is essentially no use for them at all outside of costume, further contributing to the already ridiculous balancing issues this game suffers from.

Cute subject line you have there; I'll ignore that jab at me and thank you for at least having a composed and thought-out argument. Anyways, let's move on. This will be long, but you should read everything to fully understand my point. I will provide a summary just to make things easier to comprehend.

Summary:

1) Nobody is invincible, even if they were to have triple-max-UV gear. The player with the better skill and strategy will win. The ideal scenario you alluded to doesn't matter.
2) LD is a team game. The team that works better together will win regardless of the circumstances. Having triple-max gear won't save you then.
3) Fighting an opponent that has uber-gear won't change the fact that the same circumstances that can kill them now won't still apply later. All that's changed is the nullification of a simple strategy in the form of exploiting a particular armor's weakness. A GF will still kill someone with max Shadow resistance in 2-3 hits regardless of their other max rez's; an FF or BTB will still kill in 3-6 swings regardless of an opponent's other max rez's. Better teamwork trumps all. You get the point.
4) I agree with your point about bombers getting the shaft. However, they can still do what they do because very few people will gain the ability to run through the haze.
5) There will never be a majority, or even influential minority or players with super-gear who also have the skill to wreak havoc within this game's lifespan.
6) LD is a Skolver/BTB/FF/GF/DA/etc has always dominated game. The use of other gear may very well decrease, but that will be a result of the perceived advantage that switching to the above setup will bring and fear. If people really looked at the situation, they will realize that they don't have to change what they're currently doing.
7) The gear that you claim will be useless will not be completely so outside of LD. So if someone really wants that super equipment to gain an advantage in the depths then so be it. However, the new-found advantage won't save the bad players.
8) I will paraphrase something that Eldibs commonly says and add something to it. Dealing great damage is nice, but that doesn't win games; caps do. If you want to win, work as a team and outcap/outplay the other one.

1 - There isn't a single player in SK that is invincible; everyone has a weakness and that won't change. Even if you were to imagine a scenario where two players had equally-strong internet connection, computer processing power, ability, etc, yet one had the better UVs, then the winner will not necessarily be decided by whomever has the better EQ but rather the person who has the superior strategy.

2- Please correct me if I'm wrong, but there seems to be one important thing that I believe you, and many other people, are overlooking: LD is a team game, not a 1v1 or even a 2v1 one. Ergo, superior teamwork will trump a single player or even two (unless said team is pathetic of course). I don't see many people who can survive getting attacked simultaneously by multiple players. The following combination of people can very well take down a pro, or force one to back down if they coordinate their attacks: at least two decent gunners (or bad gunners who spam Polaris); a decent gunner (or Polaris-spammer) + striker and/or recon; multiple people. You don't even have to go as far as using team-speak to formulate an elaborate plan of attack. All that is required is (1) the will to work together as a team and (2) looking for moments when someone is engaged in a fight so that you can join in and attack simultaneously. Under those conditions, anyone can be killed. You could argue against that by saying that a pro that has uber-gear won't always be alone, and therefore ganging up on one won't always work. This is true, but that point can be countered by the following: it ultimately boils down to whomever has the better strategy and teamwork. Also, uber-gear in a game amongst high-leveled individuals isn't much of a game-changer. To the pros, an enemies acquisition of triple-max-UV gear won't stop them from doing what they already do to win.

3 - Moreover, what difference would it make if someone acquired armor with let's say max pierce/shock/stun resistance? Do you honestly think it's going to make someone more difficult to kill than they already are? Sure, the variety of weapons you can use against said people to exploit former weaknesses lose some effectiveness, but please consider the following. Just how many hits do you think it currently requires to kill someone with max resistance? It doesn't take much. The fact that someone has max resistance to the above three conditions doesn't change the fact that a FF/BTB can kill in 3-6 swings. In fact, people can just carry on using the same single-UV weapons that currently dominate LD. In other words, any additional resistance doesn't really matter. The same logic can be applied to super-UV weapons. In LD, ASI is king and that won't ever change. This means that it doesn't matter if a sword has VH ASI and/or VH CTR + VH DB. In a 1v1, once again the person who gets the first strike, has the higher ASI, and has the superior ability will win. As for people who want to charge attack in order to take advantage of their VH CTR, their advantage isn't really one at all when fighting against smart players. All that is required is to trick the charger into believing that you can be hit, then dodge and move in for the attack once you see them about to release. There are scenarios where a charge-user can have the advantage, but I won't elaborate on it because refuting any points that could be brought up will involve me divulging some of my secrets for how to deal with those players. I would very much like to keep them to myself. As for gunners who may gain a weapon with VH DB, ASI, and CTR, I'm surprised that the majority of people still haven't figured out how to beat them. Sure, it may become more difficult to do so, but they will always retain the same innate weakness that the gunner class has. Please figure that out for yourself.

4 - Bombers will have a harder time, that is a possibility that I can agree with you on. A person with the appropriate max-UV will be able to run through the most useful haze bombs and melee them. However, just how many people do you think will have the ability to do that? The vast majority of players will still be unable to run through haze - bombers have only lost an iota of their usefulness. Besides, the good players already have the setups or knowledge of how to beat bombers; the introduction of triple-UV gear won't change the fact that bombers can still be killed using the same methods. Lastly, I will once again mention that LD is a team game. The team that fails to protect it's bomber and also fight in the vicinity of the bomb's protection is a poor one.

5 - Since you brought up the topic of fallacious thinking, let me point this out. It seems to me that people are assuming that all of a sudden, or at some point in the foreseeable future, there will be a noticeably amount of players with this uber-gear who are also skilled enough to make the most of it. The reasoning seems to be as follows: OOO makes it possible for UV's to be locked >> A mass of people will jump at this opportunity and start creating or buying super equipment >> These players will become unstoppable, or at least nearly so, making it futile to fight against them >> the game dies. This is the "Slippery Slope" fallacy, and in this scenario will never come to pass. Someone mentioned the cost of creating super gear somewhere, and the amount is astronomical even considering the ideal scenario (getting a new max after each lock/roll). Now consider the overwhelming amount of F2P players who do not know how to make profit efficiently; do you think that they will ever be able to afford punching their gear in even the most ideal circumstance? As for the worst case scenarios, do you think that the majority of rich players will be rich enough or have the will to create their ideal equipment? Furthermore, do you actually believe that gear sold in AH will be in any ways affordable? I'll play Devil's advocate here and assume that OOO could run special promotions or offer uber-gear in AH at some point, making it possible for some people to get said equipment. Even if that came to be, the points I've made so far make counter any argument that could be brought up that springs from that line of thought. Lastly, I'd like to think that most pros won't bother trying to upgrade their current gear because they realize that it isn't nearly worth the slight advantage they would gain.

6 - LD was and forever shall be a game dominated by the currently-abused gear and UV's. Keeping everything I've said so far in mind, the introduction of super gear won't change that fact for the worse. No changes have to be made by anyone really. Players like Terrurumi will still pwn with their unusual setups.

7- The gear outside of the sets you've mentioned will not become useless. In fact, their value when it comes to being used in the depths will increase.

8 - No elaboration is needed for the summary provided above.

That's all. I'm really sleepy and I hope that what I wrote made sense to you. Off to bed now. If you offer a rebuttal and I do not respond in a timely manner, please forgive. I'm not on here that often.

pawn had his heart broken by OOO and a few people are doing the usual whining bout LD without actually addressing LD issues.

tl;dr is:

lock uvs feature is "good" for the people that hunt for single max uvs. Now they will hunt for double and triple max uvs.
Bad is not enough to describe it for people that have _already_ hunted for multiple uvs.

It will affect lockdown, mostly when the ground is even. Otherwise the advantage is not extreme so if there's already marked difference in skill/ping, there won't be change.

There you go.

Now as analysis:

Cost of first max uv: bazaar price, ragecraft price, 20k punch price, lets go with bazaar price since you can handpick the uv you want there.

Cost of second max uv: bazaar price later on, for now it wil be mostly 75k cr punch price. Youll roll like when you rolled for one uv, only this time you are spending 375% of the original price. Assuming the bazaar price comes from this (actually comes from ragecrafting for some items), then the second uv costs 3.75 times the cost of the uv had it been a "first" uv. However, the probabilities are slightly better since you can no longer get the uv you are locking. In the case of swords, there were 8 options, now 7, so lets factor by 7/8 -> 3.28125 times the price of single max uv.

Cost of third max uv: 225k punch price, adding this uv will be the same as 11.25 times the price of a first uv. However we have to remove two options from the pool, so factor by 6/8 -> 8.4375 times the price of single uv.

So a triple max uv item costs around 12.71875x the value of a single max uv on swords. Armor/shield and bombs would be somewhat different. Of course this is on average, but different uvs have different values due to being more popular or not, and some items do not actually need three max uvs (status bombs).

Going by the averages, if you already have about 13 max uvs in your inventory, you could have a similar triple maxed item instead. Remember it has to be similar, so if you have 13 VH Damage vs lame family swords, you could have one sword with three VH uvs vs lame families instead, not a CTR VH ASI VH vs good family VH ;P

Any smart person would start with the most expensive uv as first uv so that if they get a decent second/third uv, but is not what they want they may sell to someone else and try again. That means "best" uvs keep their price if they are already incredibly expensive, or raise a bit if they were somewhat low. Sucky uvs drop even more.

If you cant afford a max uv you cant afford any of this; if you can afford 4-5 max uvs, you can afford a 2max uv item; if you can afford 13 max uvs you can afford a triple max uv item.