Much Ado About Malephar...

If you're a frequent visitor to the forums, you may have noticed a hot-button topic that's been circulating the last several weeks and has generated a lot of positive and negative viewpoints.  That topic is Malephar.

If you're unaware, Malephar is the newest raid boss that arrived in Fiesta a couple months ago.  He has his own nifty little map accessible through Dark Land.  He's a bit different than Helga though..

	Helga	Malephar	Karen
Respawn Time	24 hours	12 hours	24 hours
Orange Weapon Drop Percentage	100%	< 10%	Unknown, 0%?
Orange Weapon Level Requirement	91	105	118
Minions	Kallaps	Doom Guardians	Tons - Map Wide
	Hell Guardians
	(5 Min Respawn)	(12 Hr Respawn)
Mini Bosses	None	Pirra	Pamelia
		Euryale	Incubus Rock
			Incubus Agole
		(12 Hr Respawn)	(24 Hr Respawn)

(Sorry about the table above moving outside of the posting window.. you have no idea how much that bothers me... )

So what's the big hubbub about Malephar?  According to GMs, they receive a lot of mail concerning this boss and the drama that results from it.  We've seen the drama before when Helga became farmable, but this is a little different.  One reason, he's much easier.  Another reason, the weapons and armors that drop from Malephar and his two Mini Bosses are highly desirable.  Even more so than Hellgaits. 

This is the proposed event:

Lets talk more about the current hot topic, yes, Malephar (he is actually pretty ugly). Some time ago, I started a poll about hosting Malephar raiding events, there were strong opinions from both sides.

I want to actually provide more details and list out the event, reasons why we want to do this now and all the rules.

GM Malephar Beatdown Event Facts

-Events will not affect the current Malephar spawn times in any way

-Guilds will be able to sign-up only once a week to raid Malephar and Harpies

-Only guilds created before 12/15 can participate

-There will be several time slots throughout the week listed

-Guild Masters/Admins have to sign-up with at least 20 people or more on the forums

-Guild Masters/Admins have to list all 20 or more in-game names accurately on the forums

-Players previously listed will not qualify to be a part of other guilds until the following week

-Drop rates will be the same as the regular dungeon

-At event start, GM will summon all 20+ members by name listed on the forums.

-There will be an 30 minute time limit to complete the dungeon

-When time is up, GMs will unsummon(no drops) Malephar and his ladies even if its close to death

-It will be hosted on a map where parties are allowed

Reasons for Event

Unlike Helga, with the current state of Malephar, Orange weapons obtained contribute a significant amount of damage to a single party, so much that there is no way for other parties without Orange weapons to contest in damage. Considering this, other guilds can hardly compete to obtain drops.

In terms of players from Guilds who are currently dominating Malephar. I definitely understand you guys worked very hard and respect that. This event will occur a lot less then the actual amount of times Malephar spawns on each server. With the same drop rate, I don't feel it will affect your guilds status drastically? I may be wrong...

Why not just change Malephar's drop rate, make him spawn more or make him harder? I would love to, but Onson has either refused to make the change or is working on a change, not sure how long that will take. I would like to provide a temporary remedy.

This is not some scheme for monetary reasons, I get tons of PM everyday about how Malephar's drama and feel this is truly a problem for some higher level players so I'm trying to help.

I don't have a ton of time on my hands with nothing to do, I actually have a colossal mountain of things to do, but I feel like this issue is actually important, therefore this event idea.

If there are enough people who are against it, great, I can use my time on other tasks.

If there are enough people that want it, great, other GMs and I would be glad to host.

I do think the idea and the intent of the event is a good one.  Coming from a guild that used to dominate and monopolize Malephar as well as Helga gives me a somewhat unique perspective on this, but I still do think it's a good idea.  It would be nice to see the other guilds get a chance to organize, plan, and probably re-evaluate, an activity that typically builds cohesiveness among guildmembers. If something should drop, Guild Masters then have a good lesson in managing greed, expectations, and dealing with emo guild members that did not receive the drop.  

I think many who already have Malephar weapons feel that their possessions would be devalued by events like this, and to a certain extent yes.  It gives the completely priceless, one-of-a-kind items a competitive market, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.  The drop rate is so low as it is that giving other guilds that normally have no chance to raid and experience successful raiding (or re-evaluating their plans for another attempt), that it would not dramatically swing the balance of power on their respective servers.