First of all. This isn't a dis to anyone. Both recent mummies have been fun and rather entertaining and I have nothing against either of them.

However.

The process for mummy has become such a by the books affair. Get 200 - 300 hours, get some kills, maybe get leader, max out right spells get your items, which at this point is pretty easy for any vet. Take your shot.

I know there's still a chance for failure, but being so by the numbers feels wrong for such a high power level. I know this is just my opinion and others will disagree. That's fine. It just feels, to me, like the becoming process for that power level wasn't meant to be so refined and by the numbers.

In years past, there were more numbers which meant FAR more enemies for a necromancer. Which made the process far more risky and difficult. With lower numbers, the process is basically by the books.

In my opinion there should be IMM involvement in the process. RP style. Similar, but not nearly as difficult, as Lich. That's just my opinion.

Your list of the process isn't entirely accurate (though most go for all the above to be safe). I dabbled in this many times before I was successful and even with doing everything "right" I only had a 60% chance on Aztezul.

We've seen some extremely long lived necromancers get to 80-90% base chance but even with them factored in there's still more people failing than succeeding.

Not to mention getting the items is often a nightmare. I've seen some of the best PVE players fail miserably to find a third/fourth item. I've seen some of the same players identify their item and never have a group strong enough to get it. Do you know how many items live deep in Yzekon, for example? It's more than a few.

The reason there's no liches is the imms don't have the time to spend. Lumping mummies into pile is just going to ruin another class that was already badly hindered by the edge point changes imo.

Yes, gathering items might not exactly be exactly "easy", and yes you still have a chance to fail.

However.

I never said that becoming a mummy was "easy". I said it was refined down to a pretty standard process, and I don't believe becoming should be a step by step affair.

And your suggestion that adding RP to the mummy process or changing it a bit to be less formulaic would "ruin the class".. I know its popular on the internet to be very dramatic and over-the-top. But I hardly think it would "ruin the class" to have a couple of changes.

Still, you do make *some* good points and I'm glad to have a different opinion.

If anything shaking up the formula might force those of us who have at least become familiar with it to figure it out again. Though, I'm not sure how many times I'm willing to waste 200+ hours to do that. That was my point about ruining the class. I think if it gets any harder than it already is you'll end up with no one playing mummies except the same one or two people (and it's probably already like that now).

One thing that might make sense is to have a multiplier or check based on how many other mummies exist at the time. I'd also encourage the imms to find a way to make Lich quests more readily available. Nothing manages the mummy population like a strong Lich.

Well, a strong lich and any villager with landslide and/or calming.

I hadn't thought of a multiplier based on how many mummies are around. I guess that would be something. But really, my issue isn't with mummies. I do pretty well against them, usually.

My issue is the formulaic process. It just seems... Standard or by the books. I see necros doing "the process" a lot, and it lacks something. Like it's a math problem rather than an interesting deep dive into very strong and powerful dark magic. Which isn't the worst, exactly, but I think we should always look for ways to improve.

And to your first point about people just figuring it out again. That's why I suggested adding a RP aspect. So it wouldn't be a pretty set formula. I'm not saying you have to RP like you would for a Lich. But rather making decent RP a factor. Or RP'ing with an IMM a few times to "pass" the mummy exam, if you will. (It wouldn't be an actual exam. More of a determination by the IMM doing the RP'ing as to whether they "deserve" the quest or whatever.)

To speak on your thoughts on Lich. Lichdom is a much more time consuming and IMM involved process then what I'm thinking of for Mummy. (As I am to understand it based on IMM comments from the past) I'm thinking just a couple of good RP sessions or maybe a small RP quest. Nothing big. But something to make becoming more... Interesting or less formulaic.

Lastly, I'm really not sure this suggestion would necessarily make for less mummies. A little bit of RP with with an IMM or a relatively small quest doesn't sound too ridiculous. To me, anyways.

My understanding years ago from Scarabaeus is that imms can increase the base chance if they are so inclined. So that may already exist.

And it may explain some base chances like Saam's 90.

Its a built in part of the class, and you think we should add a layer to for the sake of forcing someone to RP more if I am gathering it right?

Its one of the only things in the game that even when you do it 100% correctly you can still lose hundreds of hours of investment.

There are other classes that get a comparable power level with substantially less investment of time and effort and also without a risk of losing their character.

There is already a quest involved with becoming a mummy, gating a quest behind another quest is just unnecessary. Honestly, if we did anything to change the mummy quest then we would probably have to consider removing the failure chance from it.

Your first sentence is a little frustrating coming from an IMM. "Forcing" someone to RP is a very interesting way to look at a RP conversation. I have a lot of fun RP'ing, so I guess I just don't see it as a bad thing.

Your second sentence makes a good bit of sense and is a solid point. Losing 200 hours of a char isn't very pleasant.

Your third sentence leaves me with a question. What do you consider "comparable" power. A crimson scourge that lasts for like 12 hours and takes like 15 heals to cure or more. The throwing body parts that can hit for ANNIHILATES or harder and bypasses spellbane. 5 zombies, a ghoul that does that ghoulish touch thing a surprising amount of the time, that can reduce even decent tanks to rubble in a few rounds (not including paladins and high dex chars). Around 1300-1500 hps. Power word kill. Sleep. And more that I can't really think of. The only thing of comparable strength, in my humble opinion, are certain paladin builds. A very well prepped invoker who knows EXACTLY what to do, and doesn't get slept. And maybe a few VERY specific warrior builds, that you're still going to need to survive some strong spells with. And I'm sure I'm missing something that you or someone else will be more than happy to point out. I didn't include the obvious Lich or super charged A-P because those are very rare. Your definition of "comparable power" is different than mine. But we're all entitles to our opinion, and I don't agree with it, but whatever.

Your fourth sentence or point about a quest within a quest was a suggestion. I don't have all the answers, and I'm ok with that. I also suggested a few RP sessions or maybe just snooping to see what they're RP is all about. I know IMM time is valuable, but a few snoops to check RP or a couple of RP conversations can't be all that time-consuming. Your point about removing the failure chance if you made a couple of changes seems a bit much. Maybe making the chances better, but removing it (again in my humble opinion) would take out the dangerous dark magic aspect of it. But you're the IMM and you can do whatever you want.

To conclude. I know the idea of any change is usually met with contempt and ire. But I'm just sharing a few opinions and thoughts on improving the game. I'm not interested in being "right" or winning an argument.

As I've grown and improved at this game. I've come to appreciate the RP aspect a lot more. And the mummy quest seems too by the numbers or mathematical for such great and dark power. I like the idea of adding RP to the equation. It's your sandbox. Do what you want.

If any of this came off aggressive or mean, I did not intend it that way.

I think if you look at it in the absolute simplest form of able to kill the average player, there are a ton of things that fall into the comparable power pool. Assassin, ranger, pretty much any warrior with a lagging spec, almost all Battle berserkers.

The thing about mummies, and necros in general, is they are more dangerous to lower skill players than to higher skill players. Sleep certainly comes closer to an "I win" button regardless of player skill but there are also a lot of crafty ways to mitigate it.

I was thinking of builds that could challenge a mummy solo. You're saying if you wanna kill a bunch of people, you could just make a human assassin. I get it now.

I would like to point out that the age boost to mummies is something that is very appealing to those of us who like to age die chars.

NT