Suggestion: Hide the Numbers!

One of the things I really loved about old UO was the lack of traditional stats on weapons and items. Could something similar be done in SOTA, but, taken even further? In a story driven RPG I find it distasteful whenever any numbers related to game mechanics are directly and non-arbitrarily revealed to the player... IE, a sword of +5 frost damage, you have just gained 2 points of smithing skill, you have 15 HP left, and so on. I like the idea of never knowing exactly what is happening in the game, mechanically... Exactly what your skill in smithing is, exactly how many HP you have, exactly how much damage a hit from a certain weapon just did, or exactly how many HP a potion restores... Not only would this be more realistic and immersive, I think it would foster an element of mystery and discovery.

I recall that on UO freeshards where they used pre-UO:R stats on weapons, which didn't reveal any numbers, that people were still able to figure out the stats of every weapon very accurately by simply sitting in their house, hitting another player, and averaging the damage (based on the target players HP) from hundreds of hits. But theoretically, if NO numbers are revealed to players, something like this shouldn't be possible, right?

 

One of the things I liked about the old MUD I used to play in was the ability to see more information about an item as you leveled. I think there was even an identify spell that revealed it all. I wouldn't mind something like that, perhaps tied to your level in the related skill. So if you're a sword fighter, you would know more about how much damage a particular sword could do, but you might have no clue what that potion was just by looking at it.

 

I personally don't like the idea of not knowing what a specific weapon or items bonuses/penalties are and having to figure them out myself, but I wouldn't mind it if found or purchased magical items needed to be identified via an Item Identification skill, or through a NPC that can identify items. The only reason I mention the possibility of an unidentified magical item being sold by vendors is because it opens up the possibility to let untruthful NPCs and PCs to sell a magical item to you without you knowing what it does even if the vendor says it causes additional fire damage, ice damage, or whatever.

 

I like the idea of an item identification skill. It is in UO, but it is virtually useless. I could see someone proficient in item identification charging a fee to ID a weapon for a someone. I think once an item has been IDed the stats can be seen by anyone, that way vendors can't dupe buyers.

 

There was talk about this early on. The concern is that knowing all the calculations leads to min/maxing and helps with gaming the system. However, I am not sure what direction they will take.

In NWN, the combat log was public and obviously D&D rules were well known. Although things scrolled too fast for me, I had a friend that could not only read it in real time but calculate everything. So our PVP battles were normally a rush into combat where he would calculate our percentage against the opponent and then we will stick with it or he would run. PVE was usually a ranged attacked and then either a rush in or quick retreat.

Although this made us pretty successful, it always seemed like powergaming and did not feel right. I personally would like the calculation kept quiet and no combat longs and hiding of as many numbers as possible. It just doesn't seem right for combat to be stacked towards those with the highest math skills, but that comes from a dyslexic, math-challenged player.

 

It would make it harder, but I think people would still try to get at the underlying stats in other ways - like, average how many hits it takes to kill different monsters.

Personally, I really don't like the idea of keeping numbers hidden. I like to make informed choices, and if I have to play around with different weapons for hours to get a sense of their relative power, choosing a weapon just becomes tedious.

I do like the idea of needing an item ID skill or equivalent, though. One thing to consider is that if all items of a particular type always have the same damage, the info will just end up on a website and there won't be a need for an item ID skill. So, a fair amount of variability in the amount of damage weapons with the same surface-level description have might help keep such a skill useful.

 

That was the way smiths did it before AOS. I would ID the armor and weapons, then charge a fee depending on the repair.

The vendor part is a good idea.

 

Once ID has been used on a item should the stats be shown once or all the time?

And maybe the ID skill tree has like different types of combat moves, weapons, armor, magic etc.
So you could try and learn the ID skills you need the most but would be blind to the rest of them?

 

Originally in the UO Beta there was a traditional AD&D type system with...for example +1 and +2 viking swords.

Even when they implemented power and vanq weapons the mechanic behind it was probably the same. I like the idea of having to ID an item prior to using its full potential and I appreciate a simple item system.

I cant help but think the item system in Skyrim was a complete mess. Keep it simple please.

 

In Mortal Online this often happens but I personally love the issue since it gives us another thing to achievem which is to find the vendor you can trust.
It gives you more "real" taste of life.