Because I'm not able to stick with one character ... Rok isn't too skilled. But here are his stats:

You are 34 years old and you believe in order and are Balanced.
Str Int Wis Dex Agi Con Cha Wil Voi Per
Great Poor Aver Great Great Good Aver Good Low Aver

Height : 9'0" Weight : 613 lbs Carrying : 655.0(146.4) lbs
Hit Points : 230(230) Fatigue : 85(85) Body armor : 0
Attack : Superb/None Damage : Good/None Defense: Good/None

He's got 6/6 movement and a level zero DR of 55. FYI, he's a barb (of course).

Money is not an issue. Rok has above average armor (some prenerf) and pre-dmg nerf weapons. His bank account easily stays around the 700-1k gold range (not bad for pre-20 character). He can solo hunt the siren, crystal spiders etc with almost zero risk. No biggie. I'm happy. He only takes forever to gain skills :) .

I worry that his low DR will mean that he will take more damage than he already does. Now, like all good barbs, I don't like to hunt with more than one mob in the room. So risk is always curbed that way....

But let's pick a greater moaning spirit as our example low level mob (something a level 15-20 melee can hunt). They tend to hit for about 24 to 40 damage.(i'm guessing). Rok's hunting armor is 13 pt armor. He gets hit on average for 11 to 27 damage. He almost always gets hit on non-parried attacks.

With the upcoming changes, assuming the formula is (current absorb) x 2 = Percent absorbed. Then the damage would range from 17.76 to 29.6 dmg. Both instances show that he will take more damage.

Add a future SP change that will allow for multiple mobs to be blocked (knowing full well that big barb DR won't allow that to occur) that means he will parry less often in ideal hunting environments (one on one). This means he will take more damage over time.

Now, this has more impact on the lower level barbs. These changes will improve the upperlevel hunting areas.

I think an San Inquisitor will hit Rok for up to ... 66 damage. That's a 79pt hit with no armor. With the changes, these mobs will hit for (79 x 0.74 = 58.46). Notice how the upper level mobs will hit for less damage on anybody wearing the heavier armors?

It makes the gap between the lower level economy and the higher level economy wider .. .IMO of course. I also feel that the upcoming SP changes mitigate the reduction in upper-level hunting. IMO, it will impact the low level characters more negatively (i know I'm repeating myself).

I do worry that this will hurt large-race populations in the game because they already have a difficult enough time starting. The change, assuming limited MOB adjustments, means that a diminished large race population will continue to become more scarce. I don't like that. Diversity makes DGate more interesting.

I know the staff are adjusting Mob levels, but there are thousands of mobs to adjust. I do not think they have the time to accurately adjust the mobs in time for the change.

So yes ... I am worried about the effects on game-play. Lower level, large race, hunting and the effects on the endgame economy.

I'm also willing to test the impact if anybody is willing.