power sourceFollow

Here is a good post explaining powersources from Necrotalk.com

Here is a chart from Raidloot.com to show the effects of each orb when it is equipped.

And another link showing what raid events you need to "unlock" the pure powersources. IIRC you can do SoF raid events to also unlock the pures, but I'm not sure of the exact order you need to get them down.

This has been my technique with all the things that were added to the game after OoW/GoD. There's just too much to take in when you return to the game after a long absence. But interestingly, on that note, one of the last webcasts that SOE put out on Youtube they specifically mentioned adding "in-game" tutorials to address just this exact issue - returning players not having a clue how to use powersources, or use shrouds, etc etc. I was genuinely blown away at the work they are going to to make the game friendlier to all of us chronically confused people.

I am always willing to learn. I just added considerable AC to my own warrior by recharging his Power Source. So I will concede that it's worth the effort to learn about their use, especially as you can make the one time "intellectual investment", write it down and then just have to find your notes whenever you need to recharge it. I guess what's frustrating is Sony's EQ developers have a tendency to go "hog wild" with some aspects of the game, making MUCH more complicated than it needs to be. Did they REALLY need to make such an exhausting variety of power sources? Do any other than the couple or 3 that boost AC, HPs and/or Mana ever get used, especially as most of them have NEGATIVE buffs built into them as well.

Consider also the Fellowship campfires. I mean how many groups use anything other than the +HP campfire, yet there has to be over 200 different options. Would anyone really want to buff the entire group's CHA, or turn them all into pumpkin-head illusions? Yeah, I did the latter ONE time for laffs but that was it. In fact, since campfires expire with no warning (meaning after a wipeout you may no longer have a campfire to click back to) and the basic no-buff campfire lasts MUCH longer, these days I only use that one. It costs nothing and the "buff" campfires have suffered from one of the other common problems in EQ: failure to rank up the benefit levels of certain buffs as the game grows and character's stats increase exponentially.

Edited, Jan 19th 2013 6:24pm by Sippin

You cannot recharge a PS. You have to buy a new one.

Well, considering the fact that many people don't have access to Pure powersources (which require raid flags), having a variety of 'translucents' was imperative. Also, for every PS you think is 'useless', someone else will get use from. The reason for a wider variety is choice. The more choices available, the more people can build their characters the way they want to. I mean sure, I think the Air and Decay orbs are useless but I'm sure there's some (misguided) soul who finds them useful.



Most of the time, I use the illusion campfire buffs (especially Fae) since, as you mention, the feature hasn't aged well so the buffs aren't as useful as they might have been years ago. Honestly, when even trash armor has Faerune on the head slot item, who really wants/needs a faerune campfire? Duration doesn't bother me much either since I tend to hunt in the same handful of places (so always have a teleporter or mage bound there).

More choice is never a bad thing. Even if the additional choices are useless to you, if anyone else finds those extra options useful, it's a good thing. The worst thing an MMO can do, in my opinion, is force everyone down the same path, removing any and all semblance of freedom from the gameplay.

This is no different from any other game around EQ's age. If you tried to play Asheron's Call for the first time now, you'd drown in all the stuff you need to know. Same with Anarchy Online (What does 'OE' mean?) and to a lesser extent, DAoC. Heck, EVE is younger than EQ.

The only way to avoid that is to wipe and relaunch the game every 2 years. Any game with a decade or so of content is going to have dozens of systems that weren't further iterated on. New players will find a game that suits their playstyle and desire. Some people want a mindless experience where the game basically drags you to max level, kicking and screaming, whether you like it or not. Other people want a game with depth and history and stuff to do. Some people want a little bit of both extremes. Right now, the amount of things you need to know to function in EQ is really small. Like you allude to, many features have fallen into the abyss of obsolescence so knowing about them is optional (shrouds, for example. PoP flags for another).

Basically, where we are in EQ is the result of EQ's longevity. I don't think that's such a bad thing though.

Powersources might be considered optional for casuals, but they're a must have for the groupers/raiders I know. Mind you I know very few FTP folks.

If you're on Bristle, shoot me a tell (elricvonclief) and I will run another flagging raid for you in a SoF instance. That flags folks for the pure (raid) powersources available in baz. I've done these dozens of times the last year or 2, just need level 75ish.