Mixing Modifiers

[trollson]

Mixing Modifiers

 

I have been thinking about the problem of giving advanced characters something to provide a challenge for their high level skills, without needing to keep introducting lots of new items to create as the top skill levels increase.

 

High level artifacts: One solution could be to introduce a few very-high level artifacts (for example, the crowns could fall into this category), at large recommended levels -- say 50, 100, 150, 200...

 

Accessibility: In the current game even the top crafters would be wasting their time trying to create an artifact with a difficulty of 100, so we need a way to make these challenges accessible.

 

Mixing Modifiers: A solution would be to add 'mixing modifiers' into the game. These would be additional ingredients which could be added to any recipe, in any quantity, to modify the chance of success (and possibly other aspects). Initially we would need an ingredient which increased the character's effective level for that mixing.

 

So, a level-60 Crafter could attempt to make a level-100 crown by adding 40 'level boosting' ingredients, giving an even chance.

 

Ah but: So what is to stop every man and their dog getting 100 levels worth of booster and churning out crowns?

 

Okay, possible approaches to limit abuse:

1. Relative boost: Bonuses are proportional not absolute; so rather than +1 level, a modifying item may give you +5% to your skill.
   
2. Exotic: Modifiers are rare items in their own right, exotic drops or harvesting finds.
   
3. Diminishing Returns: Diminishing returns for stacking lots of one modifier; for example, the bonus could be proportional to the square-root of the quantity. Such ingredients could be alchemical products themselves, and the character is limited in the number they can carry.
   

Extensions: Modifiers could affect other aspects of the production, in both directions and in varied combination. Some modifiers may trade difficulty for food cost, experience for difficulty, reduce the chance of losing the ingredients, increase the chance to produce an enhanced or modifiable item, etc...

Edited March 20, 2006 by trollson

[Aislinn]

I like the idea except for the word "recommended".

 

There have to be some things ingame that ONLY the higher levels can achieve. Otherwise there is no goal, there is no reason to push on, if sooner rather than later, every player can do this or wear this or have this.

[Torg]

I like the idea except for the word "recommended".

 

There have to be some things ingame that ONLY the higher levels can achieve. Otherwise there is no goal, there is no reason to push on, if sooner rather than later, every player can do this or wear this or have this.

Except that this is how the current system works. You can try to make anything given the research and nexus. There is a very, very slim possibility that you can make Tit Chain with Manu 0. Magic is the only thing that has forced (required) levels (except the level 0 items), everything else is just recommended with decreasing chance of failure as you get higher in XP.

[Soldus]

keyword: CURRENT system.

 

We had required levels before and most players that were around then want them back.