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Should there be an option to make a Minion?
No I am not taking about the animation minions. I mean a NPC you can craft into you image and skills. They would work as your pet in a way, and help you go out and do different jobs. If you go into a party, they would fill that last slot, if your short a man. but go away if you have a full crew. If your out gathering in the wilds, they will be your bodyguard.
Where has this been done before? In SWToR, they have something like this now, but in AoC I say use it and expand on it a bit more. You should have the option to make a few, but only can use one or maybe two at a time. And by making meaning hiring or even gaining a friendship with the NPC. After which you can equip them as needed, and they will gain skills over time just like you.
Also, you should have a risk factor of losing one, but the higher their ranking, the harder it will be to take them out. Maybe the personality of the NPC might also clash with yours over time, and they just quit and leave you. Of you don't keep them happy, and they leave, so it's not just death you have to worry about.
What do you guys think?
Comments
Well, it somehow sounds interesting, but I think the absolute focus of AoC lies on the community. And to substitute a Player (member of the community) with an NPC pet... Well I don't know, sounds like the most opposite thing you could do. ^^ Why would you farm yourself or work with others together, if you have a crew of 2 minions to do stuff for you? Why would you look for a group in a tavern or just anywhere if you could just "summon" your minions. Why play a pet class, if everybody has fighting pets?
Maybe interesting for a lot of games but I think its the total opposite of what AoC is planning to do.
I know we have mule mounts for long journeys but the banker would be a pop in npc. Maybe the way you get the npc is by a rare quest from a certain ode.
@Granthor do you thik that could work?
No need to interact with community if you have a 1-2 man bodyguard system. Although, you might be able to hire NPC guards to do this for you anyways. Ashes seems to be based on "you can do it alone, you might miss a bunch of stuff."
As for the summoned banker idea, I think that would be a huge no. It would eliminate the risk of venturing far from home and collecting mounds of resources since you wouldn't have to travel back home to drop it all off. The PvP crowd would likely be against this, one of the main arguments for PKvGreen is to gather resources.
I think you will be able to hire stewards for your freehold or man your shop. You can hire guards to guard your caravan. So maybe Ashes will have a buy personal guard option. If they do, imo, it would be bad-form to let them do anything but sell stuff for you and guard your assets.
's comment with @Azathoth
's comment would make a good system. E.g. designing the barkeeper of your tavern. Its an NPC thats nothing special at all but it will look like you want and so it will be special to you. Would be cool if you could name your staff too.
But as said above. They could only be shop keepers or guards or other guys that are passive.
Now that you say it, that is the case ;p
I was watching that very anime over the weekend, and where I got the idea from. But again something like it is being used in SWToR too, on a lesser scale.
Also be cool do make your own NPC for your shop/ cavan too
See this is the issue I was thinking about, based on what happened to me in other games. Your in a QUE, and your waiting for people to start a quest, sometimes it takes time, and a lot of us don't have all night to wait to do a dungeon run, or whatever. I am all for guilds and helping others, but there is only so many slots you can fill in a night, someone will be the odd person out. So why not has this minion system, don't mean it will replace what a real person can do, just a filler from when you need that extra helping hand. Just my idea, doesn't mean it will happen, just hoping it will.
The idea of mercenaries like in EQ2 that you hire to group with and perform a class function, I don't think will make it into to the game as the developers want people to form relationships and community with other real players.
Having hand-made NPC's to venture with you into a dungeon seems broken. There will be many other things to do than just dungeon content. If your guild doesn't accommodate your play times or style jump to another guild. Make friends with others in your node of citizenship that are on line when you are, they will likely also need help filling dungeon quotas.
Also, just as a reminder, there is no party finder planned. Just message boards.
I love RPG games that allow me to make my own entire party and venture forth, but those are single player games, imo, for a reason.
I would love to make a few battle buttlers for my freehold. Annnd we can provide costumes for our awsome npc.
decorative NPCs I guess you could call them, won't attack unless attacked first. but it would make your freeholds be something more than an ampty building when the PC isn't around if you have NPC one doing some gardening, another is chopping some wood, another one just looking out from a window, go inside and the NPC shopkeeper asks you what you want to buy and displays a limited about of player created items/or drops they don't want that you could buy. like an upgraded vendor mule. give them a few set conversation routines so the player can interact with them when they come home.
after all a lot of people like to mess around decorating their houses in all the MMOs I've played. NPC "servants" would be a nice addition to them (I mean if i'm off fighting for days someone needs to keep the house clean when I get back)