I have a window where i can write like a champ. I can’t spell a bloody thing but the werds just flow out of me. Unfortunately for me that time is about 5 mins after i crawl into bed while my brain tries to do anything but relax around the pain in my head until i finally pass out for whatever sleep i can muster. For some strange reason i feel it is trying to escape the pain and get my body to sleep regardless of the throbbing electric fire that is my skull 24/7. The real crime is i only remember about 20% of those werds unless i get up and make notes. Even so nothing ever seems as good in the morning as it does at midnight. Think it has to do more with werd choice, what i can spell vs what is in my thesaurus.
Anyway something was bothering me giving my brain a target to claw at both last night and most of today. And it is DDo related for a change. Oh, i am talking about the changes to grouping levels for quests.
I get it we don’t want to allow 19s in to epic quests because epics get out just too much xp for the heroic xp curve to handle. Which is bull shit! That is a rant best left for a DDoCtH or a While we are Playing, but if a 19 can handle him/herself in an epic quest THEN FUCKING LET THEM! If 99% of new content is built for 20+ level questing then let people play that content. Now if you want to impose party member penalties because someone is 3+ levels higher then the 19 then that is fine. Adding a minim level to the quests was just LAZY CODING. I can think of 3 better ways to keep heroic players out of epic content with out imposing level minims. Again another show.
I bring this up because this has burned me a few times in the last couple of weeks. Right now i am on a bit of a DDo break/TR tear… Can one both be on a break and on a tear? I am not playing much during the week as i am mostly focused on eTRing Samius but i am not really loving the epic levels solo like i was when i was able to catch people in the evenings. I don’t really love the idea of heroic TRing anyone as i feel that the current endgame is sewed towards ranged dps and Samius is all ready filling that role better then most. So while play anyone else?
So anyway some time in the last week i went to jump into one of the new quests with Tobril and the ladies but i was too low level to join them. No worries i will just do X, i need to go and do it anyway. In that case it was the “farm chores” but it has been quest Y or restocking or flagging or whatever. But i spent some time in the week and Saturday crossing into level 25 what i thought was the lowest minim level for doing the newer content so as to be a helper. Turns out that 26 is the minim level. Grrrr!
Could i swap and jump to someone like Butterz? Sure but i would have been more of a hindrance then a help. Not that bards aren’t great and lots of fun but again the end game favors ranged dps. Her idea of ranged is Dwarven Thrower. Are you a giant? Sweet take extra damage. No? Sweet take extra damage. If only 2d6 was sweet damage… And my arty is also rocking out at about level 25. So no help there either.
No i really thing this minim level is lazy and is a quick fix for what was an exploit that just should be the rule of law. If a heroic could complete an epic they deserve the xps.
There is one other thing that has been eating at me while we are on the topic of epic xps. Why if we now have these stupid minim level nonsense is there a penalty for having someone 3+ levels over you anymore? Why do you have both? Either the watermark is here (minim level) or here (someone 3 levels highter then you) not both? Again i would point to sloppy juggling to fix a perceived exploit. But hey even i can’t ride a dead horse.
Am i alone in this? Comments.
<3s
Samius Gurobo 
I too am most creative as I drift toward sleep. I think it’s actually fairly common in that that’s the time when you are most open to suggestion and ideas, and are creatively a half-step into dreamland, where there are few rules. Back when I played a lot of music, most of my best ideas came to me when I was nearing sleep, and I learned to write it down.
I typically always come up with creative ideas in places where I don’t have a chance to write down my thoughts; in middle of working out in the gym, on a long drive, just before bed, etc. And just as you say, those thoughts I do remember are never as clear or organized as my original creative inspiration..oh well, lol.
I agree that being locked out of quests because of a lower level restriction hurts. I would like the experience penalty from grouping with higher level characters would solve that problem. When you think about it, a level 18 or 19 character can play the Inspired Quarter on elite which makes them a level 20 quest. Well, how does that differ from doing the House P Carnival Epic String or Sentinel of Stormreach Chain on Epic Normal?
Also, the experience penalty for grouping with characters more than three levels higher than your character in epics hinders the ability for grouping in that range. I wish that could be looked into.