Improved Reward Cycle (a suggestion)

Hello Groovy Cats,

Yes, how can I say this - The loot system is terrible & I'm glad the Devs & Richard noticed, finally.
But the fix I feel should also include some of the following:

1. Make some artifacts able to be FURTHER CRAFTED, now I know some will feel that this may produce OP items, not if approached correctly.

a) Require appropriate skill level (Blacksmithing, Carpentry, Tailoring) to be at least 110 to be able to do this.
b) Require artifact essence for every attempt (or what ever you wish to call it, but it needs to come from salvaged ARTIFACTS or RARE drops off bosses)
c) Each Artifact can only be Enchanted & Masterwork once, further enhancement would "Account Bind" the item.

2. Include in loot table MAGICAL BLANKS, let me explain.
Any existing craftable weapon or armor but enhanced slightly & all containing 10 - 30 extra durability.
AND :

a) + 2 - 5 to any stat
b) + 2 - 5 to any attunment
c) + 5 -10 to any resistance
d) - 2% - 5% fizzle chance
e) + ? to any other modifier.
(Avoidance, Dodge, Crti Chance or Crit Dmg Multipier)
f) + ? to a newly created modifier The Dev team or Richard himself could come up with.
g) "Peerless Item" property, this would mean the item was made perfectly & is easier to work with during Enchanting or Mssterworking.
+ 10% -20% success rate during Ench or Mstrwkg, Also this would need to roll with an additional 30 durability as MAYBE we would actually see some x4 or possibly x5 Enhanced items

I don't think this would take away from crafters, as I am one myself, & yet it would give everybody ALOT to chase for. )

 

Even though I agree loot sucks and your creativity is valid it is almost exactly what has been stated from about release 5 -

The game is going to stagnate - sorry but when player reach end game - and they ARE - farming dragons / Phoenixs / Trolls / . . . . . and just getting different things is not going to make the game enjoyable. Players will just farm the "new" items into commonality and then you have to rinse and repeat.

Take a look at why players played and still play UO - They could go there to any number of things (prob do a diffent thing every day for a week and never repeat) and get items that lead to further adventures / Taming to obtain the "Perfect" pet / Fishing for the Largest Fish / Yeah there where the Slithers and such . . . . / Go adventure in any variety of dungeons / or oyu could go harvest to make items / and much more.

Now look at what we have here - Grind to get exp - gain skills - so you can obtain a level to Solo Torc / Skeletal Dragon / Monkies / to go out die again and have to grind more.

Sorry but crafting is near impossible and really what is the point - I have had the same armor since day 3 and still am doing fine with it.

Rewards for achieving a harder level are "shrugs and sighs" True I could craft and enchant only to WASTE 95% of my resource which = my time and break items to get the one chance to get a GREAT item that is Supreme but ???

The Story line will only entertain for a short time - ??

Sorry but there needs to be much more put into the random things that will keep players entertained.

And a true offset to the insane skill imbalance that leaves some players that can make up almost a mill exp in an hour and farm the tier 20 critters and those of us who play for an hour and get 100k exp and have to find 2 - 4 friends to take in higher tier creature.

The continual addition of critters and items is not what will make the game what those of us who are backing the project stick around, they know it but are caught behind the ball trying to appease players and using the top tier players as examples.

Please keep pushing for improvements but the core of the game is the key not the pixel crack.

Again not disagreeing with you - add more varieties of loot and improve them BUT - - -

 

Weins201, YOU are not being intellectually honest here. UO has been out for 20 years, lol. This for 1.
When you say you have been wearing the same armor since you started, tell us you have given up & never bothered to find a good guild or learn yourself about crafting & the game. There is NO end game in here, you keep going on character development, but again you have not experienced proper guidance nor did you want to put in some honest work.
The crafting is hard & requires patience and perseverance, apparently something you have not heard about.
The game has a fantastic foundation to be great, it's not for everyone & definitely not for console kings
It still needs work, we know that , changes & updates are comming so please don't Bad Mouth the game as your perspective is VERY limited, VERY.

 

I have to agree with Mangar,

On the topic of crafting with artifacts, there is one now. You have to take Artifact rings to make a chain then 2 chains to make a powerful mage Artifact. This type of thing should be continued with the other forms of combat. Maybe several artifact weapons combine to make a powerful neck artifact for swords, and one for bows, etc... I think that salvaging artifacts would also help out with lots of them running around. The higher the Artifact level the more Artifact dust you get to use in crafting a better artifact etc....

His point in number two is like the gem slotting in many other games. It could add a bit more variance to the things we craft. As well as give the non crafters something else to hunt down.


Weins201 I must disagree with your point of view.

I question your armor statement.
First, if you are using the same armor from day three I have to guess that you are not a high level. Armor degrades with use and you have to pay in COTOs after a while to keep it going. Each payment doubles the number needed so after a short time you would be paying through the nose to keep it. Unless you are not pushing that hard and there for not leveling much.
Second, I notice a significant difference between lower crafted gear and upper crafted gear. Those that want to have a less upsetting time with the xp grind need to gear up.

Crafting is not "near impossible."
Granted the % chance of failure needs to be changed to match reality or other adjustments made, but as far as crafting goes good gear can and is being made. Once must put in the time and resources to skill up enough to make good stuff. This devotion is good as it keeps good items in the rare. If crafting good items were easy most people would just craft there own stuff and the crafters would be left to dry as in many games.

regarding the "insane skill imbalance"
All I can say here is look at the level of these players and how many game hours they have put in. I can not run around many of the places yet as I get by butt handed to me. I can not complain, as I have not put in the massive hours of play these people have. If you play more you can and will get better. The adventure level and skill points placed in the correct locations make all the difference.

 

SotA isnt released yet so it hasnt been out for 1 year ^^
I may not completely agree with weins statement but SotA should look more to UO because its 20 years old and a better concept so far. my 2 cents.

 

I admire your forward thinking here. Sure ppl will look at that and say, "whoa, slow down there", yet if any one is in a position to offer fresh ideas for the evolution of the crafting system it is the few players that have dedicated the amount of time that @Mangar has.

 

I didn't take it as he was bad mouthing the game. Loot does suck as he and many say. I appreciate loot ideas I truly believe we need everyone to post loot ideas, but we don't have to agree with them totally. We read them and agree or not. My first thought about artifacts is they need to stay rare and not craftable. Loot variety shouldn't be so hard, yet for some reason most changes and fixes for this game become a major challenge and get the argument about balance, economy and tech issues.

My ideas are for sometimes finding:
puzzle pieces, pet eggs, parts of treasure maps, clues,
-poisoned or cursed items needing you to search out a cure,
-things/weapons with for example 1-3 charges things that cause further exploration of the game and fun. Sometimes you find something placeable like a painting, sash, etc.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Loot ideas are important from all of us.

 

Armour bought on the online stone do not lose maximum durability and cannot be looted from other players. I'm practically adventurer level 60 now and I'm currently using the Viking set and I'm not noticing much of a difference in combat performance compared to the best armour I can buy from public vendors.

The way I see it, armour can make things easier but they're certainly not needed.

As for "bothering" to find a good guild... "Proper guidance"? Is that seriously a requirement to play and enjoy the game, you think? That is a pathetic argument on so many levels.

There's NOTHING ELSE TO DO beyond the grind. Who cares about making it less "upsetting"?

I'm with @Weins201 on this one. It's an interesting idea but it doesn't really solve anything. Ask yourself this: "why does the loot rewards suck?" And then ask yourself: "does what I propose address the issue?" and "does it address the issue for everyone or just a select few?"

We might just disagree on the "why" is sucks; that's why it's important to ask that question first.

 

I will try and not lose my top over this -

First off I have been playing the game since #1 - I was a crafter who was even given resources to test out each and E V E R Y piece of equipment that could be made with each type of materials.

EACH AND EVERY PIECE IN EACH DIFFERENT MATERIAL AND POSTED RESULTS

If a person knows crafting when the game hit persistence - IT WAS ME!!! Now after persistence I just stopped because the changes made where so drastic that actually crafting like was what we tested in not anything like what we have now.

Crafting now is a Joke - sorry but there is no reward for crafting stuff unless you are crafting using items from some of the Top Tier Critters - THOSE ARE THE ONLY ITEM WIRTH ANYTHING.

There IS and "END GAME" it is not like killing Diablo and wala the game is done but once you can kill almost everything at will and the risk is minmal that IS END GAME.

There ARE players who can do anything they want anywhere they want and as a result the developers have been scrambling to actually F I X Skills, and the failed concept of soft caps. Decay DO NOT work as planned or intended.

If you had any idea who I actually am or how I actually support the game. I would not be blowing you out of the water.

If you ever reply to my like this again or even try and reply to this without an I am sorry you can just put me on ignore.

If you grow p and delete your post I will delete mine but do not even bother replying I do not care anymore. Enjoy the koolaid.

 

I'm with you here. It's just not worth the expense and hassle for good crafted gear. I'm currently using pledge and add-on gear.

I'm just curious, when you finish all the quests in other MMOs, what is there to do?

 

i think all that's needed is double the loot drops, but triple item decay: gives more loot reward, gives better craft econ, makes the game less static.

Or better, increase the loot drops by even more than double, and add some kind of cap to prevent farming. That way the wealth becomes less concentrated instead of more.

The best change that could be made though, IMO, would be to change it so that party loot is not punished linearly. maybe some kind of logarithmic regression like XP or even keeping parity with solo looting because honestly why not.

Really it's social play which is the main thing that making this game worthwhile, but the mechanics don't encourage it at all.

I don't even do quests in MMOs. the endgame is the fun part. pvp scenarios, scaling pve difficulty on group encounters, best-in-slot items which take a lot of time, specialization, and coordination to attain. There's a huge difference between the "grind" of killing a boss on the hardest difficulty with a group that takes 2 hours of attempts, but you know there is a reasonable probability of getting the specific item you need, and the absolute grind of killing the same dragon alone over and over again in hopes that you might get the item you need, but will probably get a Ring of Luck, Greater.

 

I've never really gotten that far in most MMOs because I PvP.

In the case of WoW, I raided (for myself and others), did open-World PvP, battlegrounds (when that became a thing) and, when world-PvP was dead, I did 2v2 and 5v5 arenas.

ESO and Guilwars(1&2) have a more "established" ending due to how the stories are structured... even that leaves you with plenty of side quests to complete as well as PvP and other challenges to complete (like map completion).

The real answer is that it's really hard to run out because they typically provide you with content every 6 months.

In SotA, after the starter scene, I was scratching my head because I was hitting proverbial walls one after another. Either the dialogue was preventing me from progressing or the difficulty of the area was too high...

... so I grinded hoping to eventually find something interesting to do. You know, find a cool location or maybe unlock the ability to complete a quest or two.

Can't have fun with stealth. Can't steal from NPCs otherwise I'd waste my days sneaking around in cities. I don't craft, I don't play doll house.

I love dungeon crawling, but (because I play a stealth character) I either play in total darkness or with an ugly green-filter.... that's assuming my character is even powerful enough to tackle whatever is inside.

I would PvP but I don't like the current rules of engagement.

So quite literally after the starting scene, I was left hanging...

 

Thank you Halfwitte, and unless you have experienced this, you haven't and thus your ideas here that gear is irrelevant are just incorrect. VERY incorrect.
Just as NOT getting proper guidance on how to level up your skills & which ones & than MOST importantly HOW TO SET UP A PROPER DECK. The last part is super important as this determines over 50% or more of HOW effective you can be, MOST players DO NOT get this correct or even close.

 

If 'most' players cannot figure out the fundamentals of the combat system where does the fault lie and what is the solution? Premade decks won't work well when the skills available are all over the place. How do you teach players how to make a good deck while they are playing the game? I don't know how to do that.

 

Isn't this what every game does? Despite how open a game can claim there will always be an end-game with nothing but the next set of content to look forward too. To claim this is a 'downside' to SoTA you have to acknowledge that it's the same 'downside' all other games face. MMO, Single Player, life itself, whatever. There is always an end-game.

 

I tell them how it works, get them to tell me their skills, help put together a good deck build upon those skills. This gives them a base understanding, and eventually leads to more knowledge and understanding of the deck system so they can start to do it themselves.

 

One on one instruction combined with some forum posts. That's what my guild did back at persistence. I don't see how that scales though. The average player coming in without a guild or mentor doesn't have those resources.

 

OH yes, without anyone to share some knowledge with you, you will have to learn it on your own.

 

I dont think that Doubling loot drops would solve anything.... so instead of 1 slag sword you wanna get 2 slag swords ? Loot needs to be more varied . As for triple item decay ..whats the point if most people run around in indestructible gear ? I have been wearing my Bone armour gear for half a year now if not more and didnt lose a single point of max durability. As other people already posted you can buy gear from the shop that is also Indestructible... If you ask me this kind of stuff in the game ruins the economy... Eventually everyone will be only wearing gear that is indestructible.

Its sad that the game doesnt encourages people to wear crafted gear . Stats on gear dont matter much .... Lately it all seems to be about avoidance ..You got a good avoidance gear you dont need anything else ... you only got 80 strength but you can get easily get to 100 avoid...you can kill anything ... That i think is a serious problem.

As for crafting is EXPENSIVE as hell...and a bit boring ( lacks imagination)

Why cant i craft chest or leg armor or other pieces that gives me + 5 or +10 levels to a skill im using ? Why cant we craft gear that enhances pets abilities...gives them new abilities or makes pets stronger ? You made a piece of gear you dont like salvage it and get a rune or something that you can use to enhance stats on other piece of gear. Why are artifacts stronger then crafted gear ? Why are quest reward items stronger then crafted gear ?

We can go even further every 10 levels after 100 in a skill you get one new amazing passive ability .. like if you get 110 rapid fire you will shoot 1 extra arrow ... or 110 fireball you fire 2 fireballs instead of one... 110 strength you get 10 % to encumberance ... 110 dex ..3 % extra crit .... 150 dex will sum up to 15 % extra crit... 110 to summon or taming and your pet gets a new ability.

Stuff like this will definetly encourage people to increase their stats to as high possible.

If you are a crafter you have to compete with the Game shop which sells players indestructible gear.... you have to compete with the artifacts pouring in the game...you have to compete with the quest reward items..and with other types of indestructible gear in the game like Bone Armor. So unless you can craft what i mentioned previously or something better .....

If you ask me anything in the game that is indestructible only hurts the economy and that includes housing and stuff in the house...there should be some repair costs from time to time... In RL nothing lasts forever.

Rant over....

 

AGAIN, the indestructible Gear you mention here Vrillx is total astetic gear with no stats, meaning any player worth their time would not be caught dead in it. Now if you go to a crafter who can really craft proper gear you would not write such propaganda that gear does not matter, it's rediculis.
Now, I do agree that the Avoidance problem exists, but its getting solved as you'll only be able to use 2 avoidance inc. slills after R46.
As to the rest of your rant, wall done I agree with all of it, great ideas.

Please msg me in game, "Fzol", I'll craft ya a thing or two maybe a real Bronze Bone Chest piece with real stats. )