Unique node identity and reputation

neuroguy

One of the coolest qualities about a pre-built world like Skyrim was the identity and reputation of cities in the world. Depending on what you were interested in engaging with or mastering, you kind of knew where you needed to go. If you wanted to be a thief, a good place to start/learn was Riften. If you wanted to be a mage you should go to the college of Winterhold. I think there is a way to motivate players to visit specific nodes (the actual settlement/town/city) and not just their ZOI for some biome-specific resources. To be clear, I think the node identity (divine vs scientific vs ...) and node levels already do this a bit but what I propose would help it along by providing increased motivation to seek out certain locations and build node reputations that are server specific which in turn creates player investment and attachment (or conflict).

I think this can be done by having recipes for certain craftable items or certain augments be available in certain nodes but not all. These recipes, for example a weapon type not craftable by default (e.g. spears) would not be 'better' that other weapons, just different enabling different play-styles. Or some nature related augment that could be applied to a pre-determined skill for each archetype. So how would the game determine which nodes have these recipes or augments available? I can see 2 ways:

1. Guilds can contribute to their local node by providing resources like metal ore/bars that will earn the guild some reputation/gold/w.e, but certain deliveries will unlock some crafting recipe. So for example if you deliver 2000 iron bars to your node, on top of the guild receiving its reward, the node's master crafter will make blueprints for spears that any player could travel to the node to learn. The word would spread and those interested would have a reason to seek out this node to expand their crafting recipe book. Now, multiple nodes can have this recipe depending on what quests local guilds complete so it won't be one-of-a-kind unique to that node but still would provide some identity to these nodes and may spur allegiances or rivalries between players and nodes. Although some method needs to exist so that not every single node will have the same recipes nor should a single node have access to all recipes, perhaps having node type determine what recipes are available or having the delivery quests only have some % chance to unlock recipes for the node.

2. The reliquary system that we still know relatively little about could provide relics earned by local guilds for killing some world bosses. For example if a certain dungeon boss is defeated, he may have a low drop rate on a relic that can be handed in to a node's reliquary or a world boss could drop it and this relic, if visited by any player could teach them an augment for one of their skills (not randomly so the information can spread and a reputation can be built). This can even be for some archetypes and not all but would give some reason for some players to visit. Again, this would not necessarily be one-of-a-kind unique as other bosses may drop this relic but would provide some identity not just for the node, but some reputation for the guild/player(s) that found the relic.

The information about such node specific recipes and/or augments would then be spread by the player-base and by design of the game will be server specific. These recipes and augments would be ~equal in power to default available items and augments (horizontal progression only) so it does not give an edge to anyone (therefore nobody is punished for not going to get that recipe), but gates and locks some content behind server and node progression that can be exciting to unlock. All this requires is to reduce the original pool of default available recipes/augments and lock some of it behind such events that will be spread between nodes in some manner. I for one would love to see someone holding a spear when I've never seen one before and being directed to node XYZ by the wielder to learn the recipe or to find a traveling merchant selling wears that I've never seen before because it was recently unlocked and crafted in another continent. Let me know what you guys think!

tautau

I think we will end up with nodes haveing reputations which will draw particular types of players to them, but it is player generated rather than defined by the programmers.

Certain nodes will draw merchants, others will draw warriors, others draw healers to them, and so forth based on type of node. But, even more interesting, will be the player created attractions. For example, each religion will have different augments for healers. Different nodes will have different level of temples of different religions, so if you fight the undead, you will want to go to a certain place to augment your weapon and have your healer learn holy skills. A different node, perhaps a commercial one, will have the residences of the best two or three crafters on the server because this is where people bring the best materials for those crafters. Yet another node, this one on the coast, will be the place with the master ship builders, fishing outfitters and maritime support markets.

I really like the idea of a world that evolves through the actions of the players with every server unique. By 2030 we will see imitations of AoC because this will be the norm, the new standard of gaming.