Can someone, a Dev, knowledgeable player, explain to me why Port has pooled exp?

I'm genuinely baffled. My long held understanding (or rather assumption given this recent change) must have been wrong. Here it is anyway..

I play SOTA in large part due to the concept of the Avatar: A single character, my online alter ego whose actions and consequences are bound to him throughout his virtual life journey. His alignment is the sum of his virtues and failings, his success in battle and other challenges are a result of my skills, and his.
Should he wish to fight an entirely different challenge today than yesterday, I change his armour and weapons and he relies on a different set of skills which he has had to learn alongside the ones he employed yesterday. He is versatile, adaptable, and my unitary hero and companion through the world of Novia. My Avatar.

Now if I was perverse and wanted to play another character as well, one who may have different views, different principles, maybe a backstabber, pickpocket or evil bully, then I would own a different account. After all, ones alignment is shared and always has been per account. My single character could not be both petty and cruel and heroic and virtuous in an immersion sense, nor in the game mechanics.


I also believed that Port and particularly RG were determined to maintain the notion of the Avatar, almost at all costs. Now, billed as a minor tweak, the Avatar as I assumed it was is no more. What we have since this release is the ability to create multiple alts (clones?) on tbe same account sharing tbe skill pool generated by their fellow clones.

This is just a matter of taste, neither right nor wrong in my eyes, but now much like many other MMOs, your investment in time and the repercussions of your choices is not into your online hero it is potentially dissipated accross multiple, somewhat diluted 'gaming characters'

 

Only if you create an "alt" on your account, and since you're happy with the char you already have - then simply don't create an alt.
Right ?

As for why Port did this, I'm guessing they were responding to player requests for it to be so.

 

I’ve no real issues with this, people already take alts into Ut and power level them there. This is a world where people cap out in 15 mins and afk for 45 so they can rinse and repeat.

 

So um, do alts share attenuation?
Or are we going to see people buying up character slots so they can make 4m an hour now?

I was thinking about why in the world would I want pooled XP on my account, and that was the first thing I came up with, so I'm sure its occurred to others. I can see no other reason/benefit to do so.

 

I imagine this change plays into Richard's notion that all your alts are still YOU.. As he had talked about many times. Personally, as an RPer.. I find the notion extremely RP unfriendly.. but whatever. Just like shared reputation and last name.. now extending to xp and gold. But why stop there? Why not share skills too now?

I don't particularly care that much on the whole.. but I still find that I am glad that all my characters are on separate accounts (mainly to avoid the shared name).

 

Alts on the same account do NOT share names.

 

Nor can alts on the same account - virtues are shared

 

What irritates me is when I log in with one and the governorship of the Factorium changes to them.

 

Had always heard they would share last name.

 

I don't like this. I wish there was a way to give us a choice!!

 

That was basically abandoned when they got rid of the last name feature. https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/f...kstarter-stretch-goals-and-other-items.97389/

 

Huh.. ok. Had wondered but.. obviously never had much cause to pay attention to that. lol

 

There is, create an alt on a whole new account. Its free..

 

I dunno bout alts, my guess is the same as Frost's. People like alts and this encourages sticking to a single account rather than having multiple accounts.

As for the subject of why do we have pooled XP, i do remember when they first implemented it and why. XP pool was only supposed to be the mechanism that assures you MUST go out and do things at some point or other, and not just stand in town on day 1 macroing all your skills up like in UO.

 

Not sure about if that's a response to player requests but what I know is that the idea iself is from LB himself and is really really really old. Years old.

 

We dont play characters we play an Avatar, a representaition of ourselves in Novia. Having a second Avatar is still you, just a new skin suit. At least that is my understanding.

So anything you do reflects on you and what ever Avatar you are playing

 

You can play an Avatar.. *I* play characters. "Avatars" is what they want you to play, that is the philosophy they're working under, but I will play the way I want to play. If I want to play myself I'll step away from the computer and go outside. The vast majority of us.. if suddenly thrown into a real New Britannia and unable to return.. would NOT go out adventuring unless it was in a desperate search to get the heck back home.

 

Don't play an alt. The choice is yours.

 

I like it. I can start a true crafter that never needs to leave home or get a fighting skill

 

Indeed you can, and you can create a combat avatar to do all of your gathering, skinning and harvesting.

You can then transfer your crafting mats from your combat dude to your crafter dude. At this point you can then apply all of your crafting exp to your crafter and of course, all of your adventure exp to your other character. Exactly the same as I currently do with my single Avatar.

You can make a cup of tea while you load your crafter or adventurer whilst I go out with my Avatar and fight, gather or do whatever I wish having pressed a hot key to set his equipment and skills to the tasks at hand.