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If anybody feels like responding or maybe pointing me in the right direction, i'd be quite grateful. Some questions in particular i'd like to have answered are:
Instanced zones are a creation from SoE that prevent what is known as "****-blocking" where one guild or group of people can keep taking content and preventing others from seeing it.
In the old days of VT raiding it was common for guilds to race each other for repop times on raid mobs. There was a lot of drama over this as some guilds became nasty and locked others out of content they could have shared.
What happens now,is that instead of one guild zoning into .. for instance .. plane of time and killing everything (so now no other guild can raid there till repop).
Plane of time is instanced. So, once you start the raid, each raid is in its own instance of PoTime and all stand an equal and fair chance of enjoying the content.
This applies to groups and has existed since ldon.
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a) Are mobs based around character's level?
That depends on the expansion. In Ldon the instance starts according to level and your rewards are tailored. For other instanced zones, not so.
The new expansion the instanced zones are tailored for the higher end game but vary in difficulty so the lower end can still play.
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b) Are they meant for soloing?
No, none are to my knowledge. Most require a minimum of 3 people to even start.
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c) How does the exp compare to a normal group?
That varies per instance and release. Ldon has appalling experience for a level 70. But in the new expansions, you can make 5aa an hour in some expansions.
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d) Can groups enter an instanced zone?
They are mainly designed for groups or raids. So yes!
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e) Is there any loot? Is it decent?
Loot varies. They just increased the hps on the new expansions loot table.
click me to see The instances are designed to provide good rewards for groups to complete and to provide the casual gamer a way to upgrade without raiding. The loot will never be as good as raid earnt items and IMHO should never be as good.