Iatronas's page

After playing three evenings thus far in the Alpha, I enjoy the escalations scattered across the realm. I found the hex-based quest concept to be a good one (especially after someone told me to click the arrow in the upper right corner of the screen). I would prefer to see more than two at a time (maybe different ones based on the escalation percentage). However, it feels like there should be some level of reward for completion of an escalation quest.

Some are vastly harder than others. We found some areas obviously meant for higher-than-level-3/4 - the Razmiran Archpriest was nigh invincible to reach due to the Razmiran Adepts even with kite-pulling.

For those who haven't seen them: the whole hex participates in the completion of the quest, but unless you 'zone' in and out of the hex, you can only contribute a small amount (say 5 out of a thirty kill X). After finishing a few minor quests in the hex, Archanjel, Bannis and I killed the Fallen Paladin - a single target for a specific quest (probably meant to be a boss). It wasn't clear if that did anything to the escalation and felt pretty anticlimactic after at least a five minute slugfest. Someone mentioned that each completed quest would give a ~2% drop to the hex's escalation percentage.

I propose that some minor positive impact or feedback loop reward be developed to occur as quests are completed. It could be as simple as:

1. a local banner message to the hex "The Fallen Paladin has been slain, the [faction group] is in disarray!"
2. part of an achievement/requirement for a rareish skill related to the main class type involved in the escalation
3. a temporary buff versus the escalation (e.g. Bandit's Scourge - that gives +5% damage to all skills targeting bandits for thirty minutes)
4. even a temporary debuff of increased agro range for a period of time (e.g. "There they are! They killed Lord Kobuki! Get them!").
5. characters remaining online who contributed to a particular quest when it is completed receives a message / crafting material / mail (good for the kill x and take x supplies type quests).

Nearly any effect would be a positive one and incentivize people to work on them. Randomness and variety to them would be even better.

Thoughts?

PS: Having characters with more than one name makes you unable to be invited to a group which drove my healer nuts (since both Archanjel and I both had two names).

This:

So maybe the best way to sum up Talonguard is we want it to be a settlement that maximizes fun both for its residents, and for new players.

is a good phrase and goal to strive for!

Personally, I definitely prefer more classical armor styles than fantasy (think of how poorly protected those scantily-clad female fighters in only brassieres are).

Many middle-ages warriors covered their battered armor with surcoats to deflect heat off the armor but would also be customized to display their allegiances. This was part of the development of heraldry across Europe. PFO could even merge the attainment of certain in-game achievements or affiliations to open up heraldric options.

Maybe PFO could allow a crafting "palette" where the crafter (or the new owner) can utilize colors and design to customize their gear. I'm not thinking like LOTRO where a single dye is applied to change to a single color, but more of a adding non-functional crests, symbols, or spikes optionally. I would be particularly interested in creating a family crest, company, settlement, or deity's symbol - even if only a surcoat or chest piece is customizable.

I know ... not high yield for the MVP, but might be pretty simple to implement. It would also help with that attachment sensation that keeps people playing a specific character - something any MMO would like.

Here are a few of mine, some are tongue-in-cheek (i.e. read the blogs), but people will ask anyway:

Generic
What makes this game better than other MMO games out there?
Compare and contrast a theme-park MMO vs a sandbox MMO.
What will the cost structure be like (sub vs free-to-play with content purchase vs both options)?
How much will it cost per month to subscribe?
How many character slots per server will be allowed?
How do I get in on the action (donation/Kickstarter/swag)?

Content
What classes and playable races available in Pathfinder will be available in PFO at release?
How players will be allowed in each group (is that what Chartered Company means)??
How well will I be able to solo? How well will I be able to find a group when my friends/guildmates aren't online?
How familiar with Pathfinder / D&D rules will I need to be to play the game?
Will there be just open content, or will it be story-driven?
Explain the point of escalations.
Will quest-based choices affect my alignment / reputation, or will that be solely based upon interactions with other characters?
Will there be "raid"-type content other than PvP battles? How many players will be able to participate at a time?
Explain the relationship between guilds and settlements.

Combat
Will there be an auto-attack button? =)
Will I have a limited spell-book and a mana-bar, or a complete spellbook with a number of casts per in-game "day"?
Will melee types be obligated to specialize in certain weapon classes / types in order to be effective, or will they be able to use any weapon they pick up?
Can we find a way to avoid loot squabbles? (i.e. explain the loot system)

Misc
Explain how threading and PvP looting will work.
Will gold farmers / scripters be "shot" on sight?
Explain the concept of the PC flagging system, both voluntary and involuntary flags.

Reading this thread makes me more and more desire an auto-loot distribution among the party where both gold and items are immediately and randomly split among the party (or raid) when a NPC dies. Have nothing be BoE, except possibly quest-related items. This would make loot as fast as possible (allowing more time to attack/respond to the next thing), there would be no corpse to click, and reduce bickering (that will never be eliminated). Someone might feel it "unfair" to someone who goes LD, but you can always try to win over your party to your plight after you come back.

Keep it simple, have only one looting method, and let the market and player-to-player negotiation the best method for each party's loot distribution. If I'm a sorcerer and a Wis +6 item drops, of course I'd give it to the party priest, unless they already own one. However, I wouldn't be obligated to, I could always sell it or give it to an alt.

If you want to have a method for rogues to pilfer, I suggest that you make it a pickpocket mechanism either from an unaware mob/NPC or from a fellow PC, albeit high-risk and high-reward.

Depending a PUG player to be a "fair arbiter" is not possible.

I love the idea of "core" and "active" alignment, especially if your active alignment affects actual gameplay. In effect, core alignment may get you in the door, but how you've been acting for the past week determines everyone's reaction to you today.

Nonetheless, I think there should be some stratification system and variation for the alignment hits for different leveled NPCs, PCs, and others. Instead of everyone being an all-or-nothing either zero or 500 alignment shift, have sliding scale type situational modifiers (level comparison, active alignment comparison, current actions of both parties, flag status, etc etc). That way the range could be from say 0 - 1000 alignment points for a particular NPC depending on what he was doing.

For example:
1000 evil points for killing him while praying at his diety's altar inside a sanctuary, but 0 evil points for killing him while he's attacking as part of a larger battle/war effort. Maybe 300 points if you kill him accidentally in a drunken tavern brawl fight, 500 for killing him in an alleyway ambush as part of a quest, and 700 for killing him asleep inside his own house as part of a theft.

Of course a situational sliding scale would be more difficult to implement and keep accurate, but it would reduce the aforementioned calculation of "I'll do 18 good quests so I can murder that shopkeeper who is ripping me off."