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Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
To soul bound or not to soul bound?
granthor
Member
I have played both types of games, one where you didn't have anything soul bounded to you, and if you died you had to return to your body to claim everything you were carrying. Also, I played games where you didn't lose anything, you died you kept everything on your body.
With both systems, your items did wear out over time of use, and you could have them repaired.
Now IMO nothing in AoC should be soul bounded to you, you die you should run the risk of losing it all. Now I also understand some people don't have that risk, so I would add why not add enchantments to you items that last for a set amount of time if you die you don't lose the items you have insured with the said spell. This spell crafted by players in the game of course, and it's time limit set by how good the caster is with their craft.
I have this understanding that you can only repair items so many times in the game, so why make it soul bound if after so much time it's unless? That brings up another point, why not have special places in the game, where you can remake any items that lose their DURABILITY after so many uses. I am sure people with legendary items would love to keep them in top shape, so if you have items rated at zero after you have used them a long time, traveling to a special place in the game, where crafters can remake them to 100%, or maybe have it a learned special skill only the top level crafters can do after they find the special scrolls. Get an idea.
The hole soul bound items have its use, but I feel you need some risk vs reward in the game, if you know you can lose your stuff without taking steps to protect it, then that mistake should fall on the players' heads, and not be a system placed on the game world automatically. One where you can't lose your best stuff, but what's the point if you have top gear if you wear it out, which will keep you from using it we going to wear it out to zero.
Just tossing out some food for thought on the topic. What do you guys think?
With both systems, your items did wear out over time of use, and you could have them repaired.
Now IMO nothing in AoC should be soul bounded to you, you die you should run the risk of losing it all. Now I also understand some people don't have that risk, so I would add why not add enchantments to you items that last for a set amount of time if you die you don't lose the items you have insured with the said spell. This spell crafted by players in the game of course, and it's time limit set by how good the caster is with their craft.
I have this understanding that you can only repair items so many times in the game, so why make it soul bound if after so much time it's unless? That brings up another point, why not have special places in the game, where you can remake any items that lose their DURABILITY after so many uses. I am sure people with legendary items would love to keep them in top shape, so if you have items rated at zero after you have used them a long time, traveling to a special place in the game, where crafters can remake them to 100%, or maybe have it a learned special skill only the top level crafters can do after they find the special scrolls. Get an idea.
The hole soul bound items have its use, but I feel you need some risk vs reward in the game, if you know you can lose your stuff without taking steps to protect it, then that mistake should fall on the players' heads, and not be a system placed on the game world automatically. One where you can't lose your best stuff, but what's the point if you have top gear if you wear it out, which will keep you from using it we going to wear it out to zero.
Just tossing out some food for thought on the topic. What do you guys think?
0
Comments
The only time you will drop weapons, armor, gear, etc is when you are corrupted and you die.
When you die in PvP you will drop a percentage of your gatherables (including things you gather with the artisan classes and things you loot off mobs like wolf pelts/deer antlers, etc)
If you die as a combatant you drop 50% as much as if you die as a non-combatant.
When I think soulbound items I don't really look at it as you being unable to lose them, but moreso unable to trade them with other players.
That's fair, but if you run into a very rare item, but it's soul bound, and you can't use it. Why can't we have an option to sell it on the open market? It's something I ran into a few times on other games.
Since we know that crafting will be the primary source of gear, trading it on the market (when it's a drop) would kind of defeat the purpose
"Power creep is a balance issue... When it comes to gear progression specifically, the idea is to create an open market that is not heavily dependent on soulbound items; and having many item sinks and gold sinks within that economy that allows for the potential degradation and loss of assets within that closed economy; and not introduce items from the marketplace that companies put in from a pay-to-win perspective or from a pay-to-convenience perspective that undermines the economy that players have built. That is a huge mistake that companies have made in the past and that lends to the imbalancing of what designers maybe have actually balanced well."
Items will also degrade with use and wont be able to repair after a specific amount of repairs. The amount of repairs will depend on the rarity of the items, with legendaries being indestructable.
^ This situation won't happen.
If you are trying to set it up where players will drop armor/weapons/gear when they die when they aren't corrupted, then sorry my friend but Steven pretty much has set in stone the game isn't full loot drop.
That would be one of those changes that if they changed it now, would put the community into an uproar.
This feels like just another post of "I want other peoples stuff by killing them" in disguise, which in my opinion is stupid and there is not a single game out there were it works.
Also I don't know a single game were soul bound is used to prevent items from dropping, it's always used so you can't resell it. Curious were that thought comes from.
I can be a life devouring nightmare. - Grisu#1819
Of course as it's an RPG and not MMORPG the item can be unlocked again in our game, something which if implemented in an MMORPG probably should not be doable.
That kind of Soulbound item I'd not mind at all. You have to put some of your experience gained into it to unlock it (possibly being able to unlock additional levels with more Experience costs), and you can still lose it via Corruption drop or after it's durability is gone, though as a Magical item it could be a bit, or a lot, sturdier than normal items, having magic to reinforce it.
The other kind, basically only meant to "lock" an item to a specific character, I don't like, never have.
The type of drop I am talking about, are the ones you gain from a Dungeon boss or world boss, and anything that takes a good fight to beat when you're out on adventures. Crafted items will still be something that drives the markets, but to gain that special drop is still something people love to get.
I remember back when I played UO, not only did you run the risk of players looting your dead body, but the NPC monsters would loot an item from your body too. It was hardcore but still had it's level of heart-pumping pull out your hair level of risk. I understand people don't want that level of risk, but at the same time IMO we still need some level of risk in the game. Even if it's a little risk, vs none at all.
I am mixing games over my years of playing. UO was the game I played where you could lose everything not in the bank or in your home locked away. Be it a player or monster, if it was on your body, it could be looted.
WoW is another game I have played, and mainly you lost nothing when you died in that game, you also gain both soul bound and non-soul bound items, A lot of times you gained an item as a drop that was bound to you, and if you couldn't use it oh well. Your only option was to sell it to the NPC vendors. There were times I would have loved to sell these items on the auction and gain a few million in gold vs the few 100 from NPCs.
If that is the risk you require, I am sure they are games that are designed to be full loot. So the UO comparison might fit better there.
There is risk. If I dont want to PvP and I choose to gather, I risk being engaged in PvP and losing my gather-ables. I know that is only if I lose, and I don't plan on losing, but it does happen.
If I decide I want to be a merchant and make bank by running a caravan. There is risk. That is part of the game.
I would consider both of these Some level of risk. Hopefully you can enjoy that level of risk too. I don't see why Ashes would have to implement more risk.
If I want to have a castle, there is risk.
If I want a freehold, there is risk if my parent node experiences a siege.
If I am exploring, there is risk of unwanted PvP (not non-consensual, but thats a different thread).
I don't consider adding full loot or increasing the supposed amount of possible loot after PvP or PvE death increasing risk. To me that changes the game to a different type of game where the risk would be different.
For me, your point was odd. Sorry.
World dungeon and raidbosses will mainly drop ressources to craft those items. Thats a big point of Ashes in the first place.
High end gear comes mainly from crafting, not the other way around.
So in combination that every item can be lost through death and neglectance i dont see the worries.
I can be a life devouring nightmare. - Grisu#1819