Wood Elven Diplomacy Dead in the Water?

[Aria]

Well, isn't this just a kick in the pants.

Perhaps not everyone is as into the Diplomacy sphere of Vanguard as I am, and thus this little ... change has gone overlooked. There's also the chance that pure pride has kept others from shouting, "What in the hells were you thinking?!" when they got to this point in the Diplomacy quests. Yes, I know .. hurry up and get to the point.

The quest in question is The Trial of the Glade, a step in the 'Hey, you might just be our future Warden of the Day!' Wood Elf Diplomacy quest line. The problem? Every NPC you are sent to talk to has a full deck of no-cost 2 influence cards. These cards must recycle fast, for 20 talks out of 20 they managed to play a card every turn without breaking a sweat. The result? No hope for the PC, whatsoever.

I can assure everyone here that this wasn't always the case. In the Beta I finished every low-end Wood Elf Diplomacy quest available with relish. I found these suitably challenging and entertaining. Now ... Let's just say that my love for this sphere of the game has been brutally pummeled.

Did anyone else run into this roadblock?

[Phandora]

I have had similar trouble with the Raki line. In Beta I enjoyed running around completing the diplomacy quest up to the first horse.

But lately I feel like pulling my hair out, I'm all for increased difficulty but COME ON... when you only have 7 cards to choose from it becomes near impossible to win on many parley's.
Even after they reported "fixing" the unbeatable NPC's there are a few that seem to have been missed.

Also on the halfling line, (I forget the city name, game to new) Sheriff Treton locks up and won't continue his side guest, which is essential to continue.

I'm sure they will work it all out.

[tad10]

I still haven't found a parly I can't win after a second try -- and I know what kind of expression the guy is generating.

What Raki dip parleys are you talking about in particular?

[tad10]

Can't edit -- but wanted to add that I have been lucky with a few cards cycling fast when I needed them. So if you're close on a parly (say you lose by 2) consider using the same deck. There is some luck with the cycling.

[Aria]

I was lent a helping hand by a friend of mine (Sending you lots of gratitude, Lunarfrost!), and together we discovered a solution for the 'Fast and Furious' decks that the Trial of the Glade NPCs are now sporting. It IS possible to defeat them, it just takes a combination of careful planning and a huge dose of luck, though admittedly some of their decks are easier than others.

I can understand wanting to weed out the less dedicated diplomats with these difficult quests, but I still think that they need some fine tuning. Having to do a parley over 10 times just so that eventually I get a lucky refresh rate for my cards is a headache that no one should have to go through.

If anyone needs help with the starting Wood Elf Diplomacy line, feel free to send my bard, Maisali, a tell. I'll help as best I can.

[Aria]

Ahem ... just an addendum to the above. Maisali is on the Hilsbury server.

[Zach]

One in the dwarven line too, although it may just be me. I understand how to beat him, just don't have the correct cards (aka the quest rewards I chose were bad). I might just start a new character and send him all my diplomacy cards.

[Swayde]

I was able to finish the entire Wood Elf line to get my mount and my husband finished the Raki line.

Several of the parlays we had to repeat a few times in order to win. Patience and persistance do pay off though. The NPC's are beatable =)