Node Discussion Alpha 2

kadimir

So admittedly, this is the first time I'm taking a crack at this game, so far - it seems like there is an issue with the incentive structure for improving a node, which is also likely compounded by limited playtime.

From what I understand, upgrading a node competes directly with working towards individual player power. The result is obvious if you're familiar with shopping cart theory/litmus. Working against player's individual interest causes a 2 fold issue;

1:) you're spending time/energy/resources/manpower NOT advancing your character power while someone else is.
2:) those same people who instead chose to invest in their character will be both more powerful AND have the important benefits that the players who worked towards the node unlocked.

Obvious factors:
Leveling itself is a significant time sink, and Artistan leveling is also a massive time sink - these two things combined with very limited play time mean that if you didn't focus on the bare essentials you're falling behind.

Gathering nodes themselves kind of gate crafting, as currently I've only managed to gather 7 pieces of copper - while 90% of the nodes for mining encountered are ungatherable - meaning gathering the materials to even make the tools to work on higher level crafting/gathering is massively gated, reducing the incentive to work towards stations that won't see much use.

There is incentive for guilds to sandbag progress, if they can control the farming spots that drop gear and there's no way to craft it - they will be able to use the dropped gear to monopolize player power when crafting is not a viable alternative.


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My solution(Those who give feedback without providing a solution are just as whining)
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Advancement in nodes provides a skill tree like advancement for perks. Put a bunch of work into a node? Unlock the gathering speed you wanted, or extra drops/ect.

Advancement in nodes being one of the more efficient was to gain EXP/Gold. This not only reduces the viability of botting, but also makes it so that there is a direct incentive to tackle different objectives instead of trying to just lock down the same farm spots.

Potentially having special titles/perks for top node contributors weekly might be an interesting concept, but there should be no reason why a random non-guilded player shouldnt feel like countributing to their node as their primary drive. This is exactly what would encourage healthy sandbox engagement.


But alas, I'm a player of less than 1 full weekend, played plenty of the games this game takes inspiration from - but feel free to educate me if I'm out of my depth on this.

Azherae

What you say is mostly correct, but the solution is likely to lead to alt/botting in a specific way that we don't know if Intrepid wants to address or has a plan for.

I believe Steven has recently said that when they ask for feedback these days, they're no longer really looking for solutions, they want to find those themselves. (I'm not telling you this because I agree with that or think you shouldn't have given one)

In this case, the problem is fairly obvious, but perhaps the solution is complex relative to some of their other goals, so we'll end up waiting to see what they come up with, or if they tone down/remove the conflicting point altogether (needing to do a lot of non-self progression to raise the node amenities) or add Node Currency rewards to more stuff.