Sincraft
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ELTank versus LifeTankXI???
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Ok, I just came back and prior to leaving. I had Eltank and a I believe a couple other things.
Eltank seemed to work for buffing just fine, and I think that's what I used for everyting. Finding random things, and alerting me to things on corpses etc.
But now seems everyone is using LifeTank. I hate it. I'm either way too confused as to why it's 'better' because , as it seems to me, it's just a rough product of something soon to come - that is not as good as ELTANK (but from what I hear, it's better for macroing) I know you can macro with eltank soooo what's the issue?
Is it because ElTank is done for now?
At any rate. I'm WAY too disorganized to be both of these things and still be able to play:
#1 A Mage
#2 A Mage that has to buff himself and organize his spell bars.
I never know what to use and when in PVP. I'm always changing my stuff and REALLY need at least 3 war bars and the next 2 buff other and etc bars...
So - what do YOU use? Is lifetank worth keeping with?
WTF is up with lifetankx buffing system? Says 46 buffs to go, then it goes to like 52 and starts over.
It doesn't save my settings. When I save a profile (assuming that's how you save the settings) it will reload the next time with a profile name I've never heard of or, just completely loads nothin but default.
opinions please? ty
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Migy_AC
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ELTank versus LifeTankXI???
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My thoughts as to why more use lifetank are as follows.. please remember some no longer apply and are only my opinion
1) Lifetank has no restrictions on it, you can hit start and it just goes. Eltank will stop attcking in 5 minutes if there is no keyboard input.
2) Lifetank had an Envoy alarm until very recently. Eltank had one too I think, but its been gone a long long time.
3) For dungeon fellowships lifetank may have a slight edge with buffing. It will cast a few spells every couple minutes, keeping you buffed, Eltank does all the buffing at once when its time.
As for your question about the bugging, it is a little messed I believe, even according to the people currently working on it.
Though I can also tell you that once you start it, only use pause to stop unless your done for the day. Otherwise you will rebuff again.
People have been using lifetank for a long time, not just recently because Eltank is sunsetting.
I think more are now trying it so they can get used to it before Eltank no longer works.
I use ElTank 99% of the time. It is more configurable to my style of play, and includes just about everything else I need, except for DI predictor and alchemy/cooking.
Thinking about it ..
The main reason some prefer lifetank and others prefer eltank is that it was what they first used and got used to.
Again only my opinion though.
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Iggy - You were born on 11/2/1999 8:14:03 PM. 'Idiots are fun.... ......No wonder every village wants one." -Greg House http://live.xbox.com/member/Mindslice http://miniprofile.xfire.com/bg/bg/type/0/mindslice.png
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-Logan_Conrad-
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ELTank versus LifeTankXI???
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No offense but I find this statement a little disturbing (hopefully I'm not the only one):
"At any rate. I'm WAY too disorganized to be both of these things and still be able to play:
#1 A Mage
#2 A Mage that has to buff himself and organize his spell bars."
IMO, You should learn how to play a mage BEFORE trying to figure out a plugin that will play a mage for you. 
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Logan Conrad -MT- 221st Level Combat Archer Kal'Aaron -MT- 183rd Level Deadeye Shadow of Logan -MT- 147th Level Combat Archer "I can't stand pain. It hurts me!" - Daffy Duck AC's Best Resource => http://ac.wikkii.net/wiki/ACC_Wiki_Home
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Tiviee
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Logan you comments are more disturbing than anything else written, you don't seem to list a mage in your player name/levels so probably you don't play a mage too much. The plugins help with a very tiresome character to play. Let Turbine create a 1 touch buff for creature and life as they did for item banes and maybe people would not need plungins as much. Painful joints are not fun from the constant tapping required to play a mage. But as you prefer Melee characters you already know that.
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Sif_al_Taak
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ELTank versus LifeTankXI???
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About the buffing issue...
I have a different kind of view:
Mage = got warmagic
Archer = got bow, xbow or TW spec'd
Melee = got melee weapon spec'd
Life, Creature and Item Schools are not Mage based these days.... Many classes got all 3 schools.
So Logan is in the discussion
Just my 2 cent.
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Drakier
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I agree with Logan...
You should learn how to play a mage, before using a plugin to play the mage for you.
I liken this to Decal development... you should learn how to program before attempting to use Templates or other code helpers to do it for you. Using the template without knowing what you're doing is asking for trouble and creates a lot of problems for both the developer and the Decal devs later on down the road.
You shouldn't expect to be able to use those types of tools without first knowing how to do it yourself.
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Tiviee
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That is really funny the makers scolding the end-users hahaha
Let all the pure Blue bloods come out of the woodworks, this should be fun.
All the people that have everything for their characters not wanting other people to have that, isn't that pure ac1 double standards.
Even Turbine agrees that decal is useful for their very grinding game. Keep all your opinions to yourself if someone should or should not use a plugins. All you anti-plugin people are hogging these boards and none is interested in your dribbles.
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Drakier
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I think you're misunderstanding the point.
the point is to make sure a player can actually PLAY the character they made without playing aides that play the game FOR THEM. That isn't to say Decal isn't beneficial or shouldn't be used. We're just saying that you should RELY on a plugin like LifeTank or ELTank to play FOR YOU because you don't know how to play the character yourself.
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Maddy_ACEDL
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ELTank versus LifeTankXI???
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<< the point is to make sure a player can actually PLAY the character they made without playing aides that play the game FOR THEM. >>
I agree with that. Even when I started my mage I refused to use certain plugins that I used on other characters for a long time. I knew how to setup my spell bars for buffing and fighting, manage vitals, etc. I actually find fighting a bit more fun doing things myself, makes me focus more on what is going on around me.
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Tiviee
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I don't see the point of making anyone suffer to do it all on their own, what is the point, what is the use.
Not fun = less subscriptions.
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Drakier
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because if you can't play the character WITHOUT Decal, then hwo do you expect to ever really be able to "play" the character? On patch days? When Decal is down for extended time? Unlses you know how to play the character, you are stuck not being able to play.
It's not about the fun like that.. just in general being able to play.
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Tiviee
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Keep your better than thou attitude to yourself. Let people play the game they way they want to not the way you want them to play. If you want to blackmail people with a knife to their throat about decal - you can go to hell - i don't need you or the game - it is just not worth the hassle. Maybe if Turbine realizes this that people want to play and not have hassles more people will sign up.
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Drakier
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wow... overreact much?
I'm not forcing anyone. I'm simply saying people should learn to play a character BEFORE relying on the playing aides to play for them.
That isn't a hard concept.. imagine that.. someone PLAYING the game rather than watching the game play itself. What a novel idea.
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Maddy_ACEDL
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ELTank versus LifeTankXI???
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Kind of like someone learning to fly and wanting to just put the plane on auto-pilot instead of having to bother to learn all those little details.
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Crelic_MT
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ELTank versus LifeTankXI???
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Not to mention, autopilot won't get the plane off the ground either...
Either way, I'd say it's personal preference. Granted they are two completely different plugins, there are a few things that they both do... a few of those may be better than the other. It really depends on your playing style.
-C
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Tiviee
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You can't compare a real life serious situation with a virtual game - that is like picking your nose with a pixel. You don't see tons of new people flocking to the game - and people that do come - sure it is their choice how to play - but why make it harder than it has to be.
After 6 years, it is apparently clear that the game does not work without decal, so pat yourself on the back - why beat yourself up for a job well done. Sure there is an elite minority that play without decal - let them have their joy.
However, in my opinion, Turbine is not going to get people back with their grind attitude. Let people agonize over the manual way of playing - your pure blood - old school nonsense - the people who sit on their high horse with their 10,000 plats and hundreds of bags of salvage and all the rend weapons you need to play with - However, the new people or startups or returns - will not last long if they have to go from nothing to nothing - therefore, plug-ins have a purpose - and be happy we have them.
Show some gratefulness.
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Maddy_ACEDL
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ELTank versus LifeTankXI???
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<< You can't compare a real life serious situation with a virtual game >>
Sure you can, I just did it. Took very little effort to do so.
<< After 6 years, it is apparently clear that the game does not work without decal>>
You must have that ultra-special version of AC, mine works great without Decal, fewer crashes even without it.
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Drakier
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you're still missing the point.
it's not about playing without Decal. I didn't say that at all.. far from it actually. I just said.. learn to PLAY the character before getting a plugin to do it for you.
I didn't say you couldn't use ELTank or any other plugins.. simply learn HOW to play a mage without it. It will make you a better player overall, and can accomodate for situations when Decal isn't around.
Nothing funnier than watching a buffbot baby n00b who can't play without macros sit there and attempt to fumble around with the keys and spells in a dungeon as they're about to die. I can do something about it because I know how to play my character... they can't!
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Tiviee
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Apologize for my rudeness, I got carried away.
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Drakier
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That's very big of you.
*bows*
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Migy_AC
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ELTank versus LifeTankXI???
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<<simply learn HOW to play a mage without it. It will make you a better player overall, and can accomodate for situations when Decal isn't around. >>
I am a big propenent of Eltank, and I 100% agree with this statement.
My stepson played AC for 2 years off and on, the first few months I made him learn how to play the game. First a few weeks without even buffbots, then with buffbots. After he was good at playing his melee, I set up decal and a few proggies on the computer he used.
It was actually a good thing he learned that way, he was able to play ToD soon as it came out. He hated to manual buff, so he'd bane his sheild and weapons, and keep his back to the wall, oldschool style. He didn't have much problem at all.
There are lots of plugins that make AC easier, and more fun to play. But you need to know the basics of playing a character type first.
As Drak said "I didn't say you couldn't use ELTank or any other plugins.. simply learn HOW to play a mage without it. It will make you a better player overall, and can accomodate for situations when Decal isn't around."
I couldn't agree more.
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Iggy - You were born on 11/2/1999 8:14:03 PM. 'Idiots are fun.... ......No wonder every village wants one." -Greg House http://live.xbox.com/member/Mindslice http://miniprofile.xfire.com/bg/bg/type/0/mindslice.png
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-Logan_Conrad-
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ELTank versus LifeTankXI???
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There isn't enough room in the signature block to list all of my characters.
I happen to have a 86th level Battle mage. He doesn't get much playing time as I prefer archers/melees, but every once in a while he dusts himself off to see the world. I know how to play a mage (though not very well), but you probably wouldn't want me as a support mage.
All 3 of my archers are 3 school and I have their spelltabs set up for buffing ease. 
Along with a 76th level 3 school Tank spear character and a 107th level 3 school UA trade mule.
I don't know the pros/cons between ELTank vs LifeTankXI as that I've never used either one.
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Logan Conrad -MT- 221st Level Combat Archer Kal'Aaron -MT- 183rd Level Deadeye Shadow of Logan -MT- 147th Level Combat Archer "I can't stand pain. It hurts me!" - Daffy Duck AC's Best Resource => http://ac.wikkii.net/wiki/ACC_Wiki_Home
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Tiviee
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Everyone who reads this post now knows who are the princes and queens and elite of ac -gives me goosebumps to see such perfection and blue-bloods in gamers.
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Migy_AC
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Oh Oh oh.. wait, so which one am i? ;P
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Iggy - You were born on 11/2/1999 8:14:03 PM. 'Idiots are fun.... ......No wonder every village wants one." -Greg House http://live.xbox.com/member/Mindslice http://miniprofile.xfire.com/bg/bg/type/0/mindslice.png
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Maddy_ACEDL
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<< Everyone who reads this post now knows who are the princes and queens and elite of ac -gives me goosebumps to see such perfection and blue-bloods in gamers. >>
Or I chalk it up to some people being smart enough to figure out how to do things without a plugin.
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Tiviee
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No way to prove it but I bet ac would have been dead 2-3 years ago without decal - just too much a drag to play the mage the PURE way.
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Duri_Gallant
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I do just fine with my level 180 mage and no decal help.
The trick to playing a mage is having your spellbar organized and knowing how to play from your keyboard instead of using the mouse.
With that said, yes playing a mage is the most difficult character to play. A mage can be the most frustrating and most rewarding at the same time.
~Duri
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Drakier
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I agree that mages are the hardest to purely play. That also is balanced by the fact that they are one of the most powerful classes.
If you want a powerful character, then that is a mage, but along with that comes the difficulty of playing that mage. Before Decal and macros, it was a lot more difficult and there were less mages overall. Then with the advent of mage plugins, we got an influx of mages who didn't know how to play a mage. It's always been that way.
Look at other MMOs on the market today... every single one of them that has powerful mage classes are a bit difficult to play.. DDO, WoW, etc.. playing a mage takes work. It's rewarding because of the pure power a mage has, but the tradeoff is it takes skill and practice.
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Masked_Jackal
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come on now how hard is it to realy play a mage........ push pause walk away! 8)
j/k mages are a pain in the butt
mage all month , melee for patchday
1 i'm lazy and 2 well i guess i don't need a 2 since 1 covers it all
it's all good either way, i played most of my toons to high lvl without macroing "old school" high lvl
but once i found eltank , life was grand. able to do more than one thing at a time ingame.
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Maddy_ACEDL
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I remember those days, too difficult for many to play a mage, let alone just learn the spells. Once split pea came along I remember a plus to trading a mage accoutn was if it came with a split pea file. Then Arcane Knowledge came out, and combat macros, mages were easy "to play" after that.
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kinslayer271
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<< You can't compare a real life serious situation with a virtual game >>
>>Sure you can, I just did it. Took very little effort to do so.<<
Mabey if you stepped away from your computer you would know that is not true.
>>I remember those days, too difficult for many to play a mage, let alone just learn the spells. Once split pea came along I remember a plus to trading a mage accoutn was if it came with a split pea file. Then Arcane Knowledge came out, and combat macros, mages were easy "to play" after that.<<
You seriouly think a mage was hard to play? Gawd no wonder you say crap like you did above.
>>Once split pea came along I remember a plus to trading a mage accoutn was if it came with a split pea file<<
IF you knew anything all you had to enter was your zone name to figure out your taper combo. No way you could log in without knowing so.
All it comes down to is people are soiled and lazy now.^ I mean jesus someone said this game was hard to play. LOL
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Drakier
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kinslayer: did you play a mage in opening retail?
your comments lead me to believe no... considering anyone who actually played a mage in opening retail knew how difficult it was to first FIND spels, and secondly to use them effectively in combat situations.
it WAS hard playing a mage. it's not so hard anymore, but that is due to all the add-ons and other things.
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Maddy_ACEDL
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<< Mabey if you stepped away from your computer you would know that is not true.>>
The majority of my time is spent away from the computer, thank you very little.
<< You seriouly think a mage was hard to play? Gawd no wonder you say crap like you did above. >>
Compared to playing a melee or an archer, yes a mage was more difficult. Just for starters, for a non-magic attack you could hit auto-attack and just watch for when you needed to heal or re-gain stamina. For a mage you had to start your attack each time and not only watch health and stamina, but also mana. Then add in having to learn the spells through research, etc. Not to mention keeping track of your buffs that all tended to expire at different times due to the spell economy ( I used an egg timer to help track time left), fewer spell bars back then, etc.
<< IF you knew anything all you had to enter was your zone name to figure out your taper combo.>>
With Arcane Knowledge yes, but Split Pea was out long before Arcane Knowledge and it just helped with figuring out your taper rotations. Learn spells, plug in the tapers you need for those spells, and it would help you in learning other spells. So instead of having to try 144 taper combinations you might only need to try 20.
<< I mean jesus someone said this game was hard to play. LOL >>
The game was more difficult at one time, but with knowledge gained and changes to the game things are easier now.
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Seighin
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Can Lifetank be used to set up as a buff bot?
Seighin
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Shriva_al-Destroyer
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No buffbot in Lifetank.. that and tinking is the only thing it doean't have that eltank does.
Just takes getting used to the diffrent setup then they basicly run the same.
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Bn_Kleenex
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1. 2 - 3 years ago, Lifetank/El Tank were not as prevalent as they are now. Majority of people actually PLAYED ac
2. Months after TOD came out, Decal was not even working. Per your argument, AC should be dead now.
3. Anyone who says mage is hard to play better be in Special classes, or have physical issues with their fingers. Mage is the easiest to play in AC with or withour Decal lol. Hell if you want hard, try having to switch to wand then to bow as a Battle Archer for every 3 - 5 mob groups for hours on end... and that's when Battle Archers were just Bow/Life spec'd, not the triple/quad specs you have now. Yes you only need to click on melees, but gawd, without anyone Imp'ing for you, you're swinging your ass off for minutes at a time per (Xpworthy) mobs. I remember hunting solo (middle of the night usually) in Citade, and I can go pee right after I start on a Lugian, and expect it to be still alive when I come back... OMG I just realized... I WAS UCMING!
Mage are only hard to play at low levels... but not really  ugh I remember being a wall kisser in luggie tower in Qala, or the Walls in Dires (thru drunk madman) draining and harming mobs to death, and buffing with lvl 3s My later mages played in Grendaline Consulate throwing lvl 1 war spells like there's no tomorrow... and only half of them landing
And yes, I had to learn spells the hardway too. Hell, didn't have much of a choice my patron was only lvl 24
Edit: Ok that was totally off topic, but I just found some of the responces here just plain silly
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Drakier
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wand/bow switching was easy. That only required a single keypress, then you could press 1 more key to auto-attack and go watch TV or whatever (in the past). That was no big deal.
In opening Retail (Nov 1999) playing a mage was one of the most difficult classes to play. Archers and Melee's had their auto-attacks, and it only mattered watchign your health and knowing when to run.
Mages took a LOT more concentration and dedication. They were difficult to get spells for, difficult to know how to use the spells, and which spells to use... know which to buff and when to buff... as Maddy said, being a mage was very difficult as opposed to a melee or archer class. I'm not talking about the 3 schoolers that have been playing since around 2001 or so... that was "recent" compared to the old school "mages" which were pretty pure mage.
Back in opening Retail (Nov 1999), the only magic most melee/archer classes had was Item. Some occasionally had Life, but no one besides mages really had Creature and especially not War.
We've become jaded to how easy it is now, but back when AC opened, it was a lot more difficult. And it's not exactly nice to say that people who had difficulties should be in "Special" classes, or have a physical disability. If you didn't have issues, then either you didn't play a pure mage, or you are extra talented, because those mages back then were difficult.. especially solo.
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Bn_Kleenex
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"We've become jaded to how easy it is now, but back when AC opened, it was a lot more difficult. And it's not exactly nice to say that people who had difficulties should be in "Special" classes, or have a physical disability. If you didn't have issues, then either you didn't play a pure mage, or you are extra talented, because those mages back then were difficult.. especially solo.
"
Sorry to disappoint, but somewher in my other post, I meant to say I started playing about Dec 1999  about a month after retail. So unless Turbine changed everything in 1 month... Admittedly took me forever to have any basis of comparison lol, but trust me, mages were easy. Yes, on a one on one fight, it can be dicy sometimes, but over all... You remember when you attack a grievver for 1 point of damage? Or a V Exec for ZERO damage? That's assuming you're a melee of course. And wtf is a pure mage? Did you add that in to make a specific case? Im talking about mage in general, thank you very much. Now if your specific mage was tough, o well. but don't go from general mage to a "pure mage" what ever that is. And no, I'm not trying to call out to my "extra talents". And I stand by what I said. Of the three main classes, mage was easiest. Melee and Archers can be easier at beginning (this is still true today), but we're not really talking about the road to level 15 so you can enter the Citadel are we?
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Drakier
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Umm.. there were no Grievvers or V Execs for a few years after AC launched.
I'm still wondering if we were playing the same game.. because unless you played REALLY easy placed, or power-leveled your way through everything, playing a mage "normally" was difficult. If it wasn't hard for you, then as I said above, congratulations, you must be special.
what I meant by a "pure mage" was a war/life/creature/item mage.. starting with war, then possibly either creature or life, and finally item (or item before life/creature). Depends on the playstyle. A LOT of people back then were "wall-huggers" which I don't consider true mages since they kinda "cheated" their way through levels. a War mage is more what I'm talking about. Usually it was War with Life for the first while, and then either creature or item after depending on personal choice.
Either way, all that's happening now is an argument over who can play what type of character better and is purely a matter of opinion which is highly subjective. In my experiences (and many other peoples') archers and melees are by far the easiest classes to play purely for their auto-fire ability. They take really no brains to play. you attack somethign until either it or you dies. If you get close to death you either heal, potion, or run. Not much thought about it, and not much difficulty. With mages, you had to manage stamina, health, mana, and buffs all while attempting to debuff and shoot a target. Back then, the buff timers and ALL spells were based off the "spell economy" which sucked and made some spells expire 5-10 minutes before other spells of the same level. Of course.. this was also when the highest level spells only lasted abotu 15-20 minutes (also depending on spell economy).
Makes me seriously question if you really played a mage, or played something "like" a mage. If you didn't have to worry about mana, or buffs, or battling creatures, then I'm not sure if you were a mage.. and you were more likely another wall-hugger... out of danger, and really no need to worry about anything.
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David_the_Bear
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For me, playing a mage is more difficult then playing a melee.
And here is why (IMNSHO)-I started out with a dagger char, then swtiched to Xbow at lvl 95, 3 school, speced Xbow, melee D. This guy is now lvl 228 and go just about anywhere and not be touched. Took him into the EO last week, could have gone in there naked, was hardly hit, even when I was playing with the Rippers. I would target (backspace key), hit the delete key to trigger it, and then sit back and watch until the target was dead (3-4 shots), then moved onto the next target. Very easy, took minial effort on my fingers.
I have a lvl 158 Ua guy. I love playing a Ua char. I take him out to Viss, and depending on what I am fighting, I only have to weps buffed, lightning and slash. Same thing with my Xbow, target, hit the delete key and sit back until target is dead. I usually have to drink a stam potion or 2, but thats about it. Some heals every now and then.
My lvl 174 mage. He lives on Caul. My other chars can go to Caul, but the Mage does the best there. I can make about 20 million/hr out there solo. No, it's not the best XP, but I still like it. Anyways, I am digressing. When I target a critter in Caul, I am using either my CS Slash or CS Cold wand. I have to either cold or slash vuln, and 50% of the time, I have to do a Fultility on them. To repeat the spell I just cast, I hit my "end" key (probaby standard setup, not sure). In between spells, I am looking at my mana, stam AND Health. This guy has just about zero melee D, thus he rarely, if EVER, avoids any hits. He is taking melee damage, and in case he does not resist ALL of the war spells the Biakas and Hellions throw at him, add that damage in too. Plus I am refilling my stam and mana tanks as well. My fingers are flying over the keys, and I have become pretty adept at playing this guy. But, I can say, it is a LOT more difficult playing a mage vs a melee char.
Oh, I have ACM'ed before using Tank while out in Caul. I end up taking over because for some reason, I can't train Tank to have my char run when 2 or more Biakas approach
DtB
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Maddy_ACEDL
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I remember back in 1999/2000 that playing a mage was considered to an elite thing to do as it invloved more thinking then the other classes to play. Especially if surrounded by mobs. Toss in Decal and various plugins and that goes out the window. Even a plugin as basic as a smart caster makes playing a mage a level easier. Used to be that archers were considered the easiest to play.
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Asba_2
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I remember meeting a Lv 275 mage on the beaches of Vissidal. We talked about many things and along the way he said "I guess I will have to finally set up spellbars". That kind of comment is beyond telling.
That person has thankfully left lame gaming behind but it speaks to how many more will never if they rely on any TPD's to define the way they AC from day one. Magery in this game is more complex than moving from one xp mole hole to another with 3 different kinds of rending wands and that may well come as a tremendous surprise to all too many.
PS Try playing a mage without melee d if you ever want to be a real mage in AC. For a publisher all about balance the 41% plus wands make such a stand laughable.
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Virindi-Inquisitor
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I think the difficulty difference between mage and melee/archer is highly dependent on how you started out. My first character was a mage, and that's how I learned to play. Nowadays, I am still much better at mage even though I've played melee as well for almost 6 years. Mage just seems more natural. How DO melees handle the fact that they don't always succeed at healing? How annoying is it to have to use potions, and healing takes you out of combat mode? And, of course, how the heck are you supposed to dodge spell attacks when you are in stickymelee with an enemy?
For me, mage is a lot easier.
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Calita_WE
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I personally use both...depending on which character I am playing.
Generally I play archers and melees and although it lags me like crazy, I prefer El Tank with them.
I created my first playable mage 2 months ago and although El Tank is fine for her too, I really like Lifetank for mages.
I do agree though about you should play without any plug ins first - to get to know how to play your characters. You never know when something could happen and there would be no decal. We went several months without it after TOD came out and it was sad how many people couldn't (or wouldn't) play without it.
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Tiviee
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I have personally met people in the game over the 6 years that have MS or some degenerative disease that could not have played without tank - I personally have joint pain after 6 years of playing and I definately would have quit without the plugins, Turbine better more than pray they do not loose them for their cash cow. Seriously, what would it take for Turbine to pay Elgar or someone else to keep el tank running - Are they really that dumb?
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Maddy_ACEDL
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<< Seriously, what would it take for Turbine to pay Elgar or someone else to keep el tank running >>
Why don't you pay Elgar or someone else? Or use Lifetank?
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Tiviee
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Maddey no one cares about what you say, sorry. LOL
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Drakier
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I disagree....
I'd say that no one cares what YOU have to say.. but that's only my opinion.
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Kriket18
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Calita_WE posted:
I personally use both...depending on which character I am playing.
Generally I play archers and melees and although it lags me like crazy, I prefer El Tank with them.
I created my first playable mage 2 months ago and although El Tank is fine for her too, I really like Lifetank for mages.
I do agree though about you should play without any plug ins first - to get to know how to play your characters. You never know when something could happen and there would be no decal. We went several months without it after TOD came out and it was sad how many people couldn't (or wouldn't) play without it.
I so remember not being able to use decal, i was so lost. hehe I agree it is better to play without plugins first. I should have done it because I was in a real mess when TOD came out. But now i can play both ways with or without decal.
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Maddy_ACEDL
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<< Maddey no one cares about what you say, sorry. LOL >>
Doesn't answer the question. Why don't YOU pay Elgar to keep working on Tank, pay someone else to write such an app, or use Lifetank?
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Father_of_storms
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What I wish they would do is make the spelltabs more plentiful....there are not enough tabs to have debuffs, vulns, selfs, others AND wars to keep them the same all the time. And I agree with Drakier, mages were sooooooo hard back in the day. Using Acid Bolt II on drudges and mossies....not the most effective damage for those. Split pea/Split Bean were definately the best pioneering programs (sure made learning all available spells real easy). If you can't set up your bars to sustain playing AC, you need to stop skipping school..........via the short bus.
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-Foxy-
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relearn how to play mage.
by the time you relearn, you will have asked many users what they use and why.
then you can form your own decisions based on what they have told you.
i know many ppl that use one or the other for a variety of reasons. eltank for the buffbot is one. both have a buff me program, both have looting capabilities. honestly dont know abotu usting tho. i never have used a program for that bc im always afraid i will ust osemthing i dont want to
i think eltank had a buddy system, no idea if life does or not.
both have find it capabilities. both treasure and baddies.
maybe list what it is you want form the programs, and they can tell you by your list which overall would be best and easiest fro you to use.
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Tiviee
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If not pay decal devs - I think Turbine should take over Decal and incorporate all the plugins. Give a letter of recommendation/award for each creator. Maddey maybe pull you thumb out of it before you answer. Did you mom always wipe your nose as a kid to adult that nothing is good enough for you?
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Tiviee
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There is added value to game so why wouldn't Turbine buy decal, it is my opinion dumb if they don't - people who don't want to run it will turn it off just as they do now.
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Lurcher1
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Tiviee posted:
I have personally met people in the game over the 6 years that have MS or some degenerative disease that could not have played without tank - I personally have joint pain after 6 years of playing and I definately would have quit without the plugins, Turbine better more than pray they do not loose them for their cash cow. Seriously, what would it take for Turbine to pay Elgar or someone else to keep el tank running - Are they really that dumb?
In the beginning, when decal wasn't around, AC was bought and played by people because it was extremely challenging. Buffbots were non-existent, so you either had to find someone to cast level 3,4,5 spells on you or you had to rely on yourself. This created a dilemna, because if you were a melee and had low focus/self, you weren't going to be casting higher level spells for awhile. So many of us had to mix and match our armor so that our armor had various spells on it.
Everyone had to figure out their spells, what tapers to use, how many tapers, powders, scarabs you should have on hand, and you better keep track of all those componets or you'd be in trouble if you suddenly ran out of red tapers.
This game was founded on "grinding". The first few years of AC's existence was nothing but grinding. Not just hunting grinding, but everything else grinding. People liked it Tiviee. People liked the challenge and intrigue of figuring things out, they liked being in control of their characters, liked discovering and being their characters. So I find it hard to believe that you don't agree with the other posters in that someone should learn their character before they start applying decal to their character.
Lastly, decal is one of the reasons why we have low #s in AC right now. This is not decal's fault, but more of Turbine's fault for catering to decal. I know this is the Utilities forum, Im not here to disrespect any plugin makers or decal developers. The fact that decal is so well liked by the current player base is because all those people that didn't like the grind have left. The BSD dungeons and Monkey Island proved to people 4 to 5 years ago that dungeon grinding was going to be the way to level. Valley of Death and Caul briefly dispelled dungeon grinding, but for the most part the last 5 years the main source of experience has been dungeon grinding.
Now if you look at available apartments, cottages, and villas and compare them with how many were available 3 to 5 years ago......hundreds per server are available. You know why? People don't leave a game because another game has come out with better graphics (WoW, EQ2, etc,etc,etc). People leave a game because they have become bored with it. So really, when you look around and see how many people are on your server....its a combination of Turbine and decal. People got bored of grinding. You, as it seems, love macro hunting. But as you can see, all those people that left...they either didn't care for macro hunting or simply were bored with dungeon hunting.
So maybe decal and acming have helped the majority of the current player base, but to say that its God's gift to AC is ridiculous.
Blame should be placed on Turbine for not providing non-grinding content to level your character. They are starting to now. I love the kill quests, trophy items (such as gold fins) worth xp, and etc.
Anyways, that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.
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Tiviee
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Under level 50 players, melee not mage. What kind of challenge is there when a melee can't even hunt something 5 levels above when you play the grind old fashioned way, when you drop the buff bots and decal you do get bored because you say the game is not leveled and fair and you can't hunt anywhere or do any of the quests because you get creamed the second you try.
Then you start thinking what can I do and what content is there and where can you find other players to hunt with and do these 'natural' things and you find out nowhere. Sure you can dump loads of up in arcane and get armor and jewelry to get 6 and 7 buffs but that is definitely 35+, there is nothing really for lower. None has ever written a guide to play in this way. I know the name Sayers say they have but the proof is in the pudding and there is no porridge today.
Sure the level 70+ mages can be self sufficient but no way can a melee do that, I see level 110 still using buff bots. However, if you cry that it is a shame, let that melee get a balanced magic to hunt by self then that same melee is gimped and you can't have the same fun in the game - there is no perfect character (some level 275 will dispute that LOL) melees are penalized in this game and decal gives melee a fighting chance. The game is so imbalance if you make your melee good in magic then he is poor or average in weapon or melee. The game has evolved on many other paths but the use of magic has dragged it down and turned off most people.
Turbine can carry on the same and there will still be diehard fans and addicted people like me playing but new people are a fairy tale waiting to be quested.
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