I think it would be cool if group's were affected by the role playing aspect. Like you can't have ranger's grouping with vampires for example because they are hated or a Paladin with a Deathknight. It seems on a lot of muds people become friends and just group with them no matter what characters. I think it would be fun to have the role playing inserted more and I think this could help.

Also, I believe it would allow people to play each character differently and keep from people getting upset with: oh you killed me with that character so I'm gonna log on my big guy and kill you. It's more of I killed you because we are sworn enemies and thats how you play the game.

However, I realize the need every once in a while where a group of opposing classes/races might need to group and maybe something can be worked in to accomodate this as well. But I think overall it would be cool if you didn't see an deathknight, lich, ranger, enoch cleric all working together because according to each's characteristics this shouldn't really be happening.

People are going to be shocked when I say this, but here it is: While I prefer a roleplaying environment, and would like us to work toward promoting that as much as possible, it's just not going to cement until we get a much larger playerbase. Then you can have your roleplayers/non-roleplayers all hanging out together. Right now the majority of people do not care about it. Some do, and we always encourage it. However, at this time, I do not think it wise to limit, for example, who can hang out with who.

Eventually, however, that very likely will be the case. It used to be that way a long time ago.

Kelif wrote:

I think it would be cool if group's were affected by the role playing aspect. Like you can't have ranger's grouping with vampires for example because they are hated or a Paladin with a Deathknight. It seems on a lot of muds people become friends and just group with them no matter what characters. I think it would be fun to have the role playing inserted more and I think this could help. Also, I believe it would allow people to play each character differently and keep from people getting upset with: oh you killed me with that character so I'm gonna log on my big guy and kill you. It's more of I killed you because we are sworn enemies and thats how you play the game. However, I realize the need every once in a while where a group of opposing classes/races might need to group and maybe something can be worked in to accomodate this as well. But I think overall it would be cool if you didn't see an deathknight, lich, ranger, enoch cleric all working together because according to each's characteristics this shouldn't really be happening.

i dont know who the hell this is but he is dead fucking on.

Actually, I liked that.

If it were made so that Paladins and Death Knights could never share xp, and same for their cleric counterparts. But then give them bonuses if they're grouping with a follower of the same faith. Similar to how the pack bonus works for Wolves, where based on class there's bonuses and penalties.

It would even be fun if Paladins and DKs couldn't follow each other. It may even add a new level to Pking, since it's common to do that.

Chuckle. First thing I did with my level 1 DK was to kill Blink's new paly .

advan wrote:

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You were talking about types of classes and the archetypes they fill.

I would make 3 different classification.

Damage Dumps - The class thrives on doing as much damage as soon as possible quickly to reduce the amount of attacks thrown back at them. They usually have to be very careful since they lack the hit points and armor needed to survive more than few hits and often times one big hit.

Sustained Damage Dealers - These guys are sturdy and can take a few hits, and instead of doing most of their damage up front, they deal it out over time. Even though the concept of allowing yourself to be hit seems counterintuitive, the real benefit is being sturdy enough to stand up to opponents who can do a good amount of damage like enemy casters and back stabbers as well as being able to test out mobs and perms without being afraid of being one shotted.

Stunners - These are the real meat and potatoes of Realms. Every class has the ability to dip into this, but the best of course are Fighters, Lichs, and Mages. The simple concept is to remove your opponent from combat, thereby decreasing your odds of being hit to zero. This has been the strongest, and is still the strongest, way to play in Realms. Usually combat is initiated with as much damage up front as possible, then the target is stunned, bashed, circled while it's finished off.

Now, here's what will really blow your mind. None of these archetypes are exclusive to any particular class. You can be any class and use any one of these, or more likely a mix of two or three, but the difficulty of play may change. For instance, a Cleric can go high strength then hit and cast as a damage dump, repeatedly stun and hit, or go heavy con/pie and tank their opponents by healing themselves.

What makes classes good at accumulating wealth are the low maintenance ones. Stunner don't need much since they usually rely on casting, then damage dumps because they really only need a good weapon, then the damage over time guys who require full gear to reduce the damage they take. Even though Werewolves and Monks probably fall into that category they're also fairly easy to use to accumulate some wealth.

I do think leveling can get pricey, but most of that was fixed way back when you releveled and didn't have to pay again. But honestly, any quests we need to do are more fun than anything in my opinion. I'd rather travel to some silly spot with cool stuff to look at solving a quest than grind it out to make more money to level up.

One of the main goals of 2.50 is to remove the 'stunning' mentality that is so ingrained into mordor type muds. I like the idea of some occasional stunning but I really want to get rid of the reliance on it.

For fighters I'd like to move them to more of a tanking damage, and slowly dealing it out. I really want to remove their mana (vigs) and work in focus as a replacement that will allow for some special skills. They'd be focused mainly on tanking, avoiding damage, and keeping large groups of monsters off the mages blasting them in the back. I've put this on the back burner as we refurbish the combat system (that came in 2.40) and now the magic system (coming in 2.50).

I'd like something similiar for monks/assassins etc (removal of mp, addition of adrenalin/something similar) and work on putting in more burst damage for them. In order for all of this to work we of course need to encourage groups which is why group exp and some other enhancements have been added for grouping.


We'll also be working in non-combat experience in the future with crafting, and other non combat skills. I'm in the process of relocating right now but expect to see some more stuff added soon. The new quest system is 98% done and just needs to be debugged once I get a place and a computer setup. The new quest system won't replace the old quests, but all new quests will be put in using the new system.

We'll be looking into balance more once 2.50 is finished and will take a look at armor durability, and make sure things are balanced, then move forward with fighter adjustments and go from there.

-Bane

Sounds great Bane.

I think the game could use some debuffing abilities to help balance things for non casting classes. Say, instead of something as powerful and stunning the mob, you could grant an ability where the mob attacks a bit slower or hits for a bit less.

For instance, give fighters an ablility called 'taunt' or something. Where it could do no damage, but causes the mob to lower it's guard making it easier to hit. It's alright while soling, but great in a group.

My idea was to make cold spells slow targets, and then you use a different realm to blast them. Still not as nice as stunning for 16 seconds though. :P

For groups with enemy members:

1) You can't not give them exp, because they are gonna learn something from the kill.

2) You can't not let them group, because if you wanna follow your enemy around, why not? You could even kill them easier.

3) What you can do is not give group experience bonus.