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You can download the game launcher here and we encourage you to join us on our for the most up to date testing news.
Alpha Two Realms are now unlocked for Phase II testing!
For our initial launch, testing will begin on Friday, December 20, 2024, at 10 AM Pacific and continue uninterrupted until Monday, January 6, 2025, at 10 AM Pacific. After January 6th, weβll transition to a schedule of five-day-per-week access for the remainder of Phase II.
You can download the game launcher here and we encourage you to join us on our for the most up to date testing news.
A change for the Bounty Hunter idea.
Diamaht
Member, Braver of Worlds, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
I love the idea of a profession that benefits from hunting PKers. It's fantastic for both the PK'er and the BH.
The only suggestion I would have, would be to not make PKer info live data on the map. It makes things a bit to easy the BH. I would suggest a "last known location" mark on the map. If a corrupted player goes within visible range of a player or npc/npc structure his location mark will update. Doing this will tell BHs where to go, and it would make it feel a lot more like a man hunt (see Tommy Lee Jones in "The Fugitive"). BHs really should have to do at least some work to get their mark.
You could even implement tracking skills that would allow a BH to go to the last known location then execute the skills and it would give them non-exact information about what direction to take to keep tracking the target. This adds skill and tension to the hunt, it also is far more satisfying in the end than a "run to here dot".
The only suggestion I would have, would be to not make PKer info live data on the map. It makes things a bit to easy the BH. I would suggest a "last known location" mark on the map. If a corrupted player goes within visible range of a player or npc/npc structure his location mark will update. Doing this will tell BHs where to go, and it would make it feel a lot more like a man hunt (see Tommy Lee Jones in "The Fugitive"). BHs really should have to do at least some work to get their mark.
You could even implement tracking skills that would allow a BH to go to the last known location then execute the skills and it would give them non-exact information about what direction to take to keep tracking the target. This adds skill and tension to the hunt, it also is far more satisfying in the end than a "run to here dot".
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Comments
But I agree, would like it to be more of a cool system instead of just 'check map'..
So, rather than it being a case of the map gets players close and the it is up to the bounty hunter, it is the other way around where the bounty hunter has to get close, and then the map helps out.
Oh, that's way cooler than what I thought it was. Thanks.
Depends upon how close, a red dot on the map is fine for VERY close. However, a red dot within the entire sphere of influence of the node would be way too much.
You don't want it to become a system like CONCORD in Eve. If it is structured as a swift and severe punishment system for attacking players then why have it really?
It comes down to intent, if you want there to be open world pvp (and I don't mean caravans, that is more of a structured pvp) then it needs to be set up as a legitimate game play system that adds content for the BH and PK both.
If it is simply structured as punishment then it will just be a drama mechanic.
It won't be anything like that at all.
I'm not sure if it is still the plan, but there was an idea to make an increase in this range one of the perks of bounty hunter progression. Except they don't.
They don't want to take the option away from people, but they also don't really want people to take that option.
Even Guild Wars will be objectives based. There won't be many large scale battles in the open world unless Guild Objectives are placed there. In fact, Guild Wars will be civil affairs. Most Guild Wars won't have a massed gank fest of levelling players.
Edit: Guild wars won't be part of the flagging system though so I am hopeful some large scale battles will happen in Open World.
Me too, if it's just a flag and dot mechanic that could be a missed opportunity IMO.
If theres a benefit to BHs and not PKers the interaction will probably be a rare one.
However, if its too beneficial for both parties that could be abused. In fact. I think Steven might want to look at how possibly the BH system could be abused under the current model they have now. See Runescape's broke Bounty Hunter system. If it's possible for BH person A to have Pker B get deeply corrupted by killing Mutual Friend C, Then A kill B, get reward, rotate and repeat, that could be potentially bad if BH rewards are too beneficial.
There are 2 things to encourage it. What the person you kill might drop and to annoy.
But there is not rule saying you have to hunt targets alone as a BH. Thinking logically are you not hunting the scum of the world? These people have engaged in crimes so horrendous it changed their very being. Nothing is beyond them. So logically I wouldn't go out as a solo hoping my target is gonna accept my honorable duel. Me and my seven friends are gonna travel together so we can cover more ground and decimate this scum and take their juicy loot.
Things seem a bit skewed towards the PvE crowd, especially knowing there's some instanced content now, meaning they have safe-zones... So the open-world should be more dangerous to compensate for them being invulnerable some of the time.
I'm totally biased though.
Age of Conan had a class specific tracking skill that could show the tracks of a recent player path.. would love to see an extension on your idea with something like that.
As for being on the map.
I think how visible on the map should depend on how large the corruption is. ie mildly corrupt then perhaps the map flags a zone.. and progressivley that area gets smaller the more corrupt the player becomes..
But from L2 days, being corrupt does not always mean that the corrupted player is a stitting duck.. sometimes going after a corrupt player only leads to being killed by them again or their allys
Great stuff!
Didn't bother looking for the quote, but I think it was mentioned the PvP penalty from corruption does not apply when the corrupted are fighting the Bounty Hunter. I could be wrong, but that snippet is stuck in my head for some reason.
You are correct. Corrupted player's combat penalties do not apply when battling bounty hunters.
Cheers for the confirm!
How about adding something opposite to BH? Bandits gangs? Players who progress in gangs would have bonuses such as more loot from attacking caravans etc. and also would be tracked/marked by bounty hunters. So the 2 groups of players would feed each other
I love the idea of BH (a pvp police :P) but I am a little worried that it wont be profitable in most cases.
That's a fair point but the power of friendship isnt just something that the "evil" side has access to. Simply changing the system a little to reward all players who took part in a hunt is probably enough and provides incentive to group up. For example if on death the system takes 50 percent of all materials from your inventory, then takes lets say 20 percent of that is eaten by the resource sink system. Leaving 30 percent to be loot able by your killers. If 4 people took part in the hunt split it 4 ways. If gear drops from that player then simply have people roll for it. If you also consider you need to rank up in your BH profession sharing rewards that way also applies. If a target is worth 100 experience in BH profession just split it four ways. You get more if you go out solo but you also are less likely to succeed and therefore get nothing. You get less going out in a group but are more likely to succeed. Risk VS Reward. Thats what I think anyways.
Edit: There doesn't seem to be any need to boost Corrupted People any further. It's not meant to encourage joy rides, it's meant to deter the populace. With the amount of people backing Corrupted, claiming Corrupted can exploit the system and advocating for rewards for Corrupted People, I think it's safe to say we won't see a shortage of corrupted people.
Double Edit: It would be nice if Bounty Hunter toggles removed your name while active. I say this because reprisals will be all too common. If you are a regular responder, Corrupted Players will learn your tactics, learn your class and learn your name. Not really conducive to a persistent threat which some repeat offenders will pursue if they have a fetish for fighting Bounty Hunters.
I may disagree. Even Steven said in one of his interviews with streamers that "red" players were rarity in Lineage 2, where coruption system was more forgiving. So simply Bounty hunters may end up with nothing to do
especialy if attacking caravans will be outside of corruption/flaging system. Bandints gangs wouldn't be for PKers, only for ppl who want to be "bad guys" but not destroying joy for others
EDIT. or maybe thiefs guild is for that. dunno
I wouldn't mind if no-one goes corrupted. If no-one went corrupted I could be free to live in a Divine Node. I feel though most Bounty Hunters won't be Healers, as such, my Cleric would be very useful to Bounty Hunter Groups and I can accept some slow days.
Edit: I'm hoping beyond hope that my guild doesn't swap from Ashes to New World. I really love Ashes, I really don't like New World. Here's to hope!
if nobody goes corrupted then BH profession doesn't make any sense :<