Discussion thread for new blog entry Goblinworks Blog: When the Demon is at Your Door.
Goblin Squad Member
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No surprises in this blog, but very good to hear it fleshed out with more details. The thing I'm looking forward to is the idea that these Escalations have stakes--unlike "dynamic" events (a la RIFT) that have no impact, our choices to these events will be meaningful.
I would very much like to hear more about the possibility of seeding/luring in Escalations as a PvP move. Anything on that you could share?
Ooh, info on Escalation Cycles? HUZZAH!
Escalation Cycle-related quests? Interesting! Will we be able to partake in quests assisting the Cycle?
Very glad to hear the Cycles will be related to location. Does this mean we might even have demonic Cycles up north?
Infected hexes? Does that mean that hex will also start spawning monsters of the same type as the infecter?
Animating the dead? So a goblin Cycle might become mixed with skeletons! Variety, that's awesome!
What happens if PCs don't interact with the Cycle? The script won't advance, but the escalation will continue, right? Howzatwork?
Different attitudes for different groups. This sounds awesome. Looks like you really can 'lose' PFO if you let the diabolists take over everywhere. Pretty darn interesting!
I basically love everything about this blog. Escalation Cycles are awesome, and it looks like the settlement-assisting artifacts are now canon!
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Goblin Squad Member
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Very interesting, consider me intrigued and a little excited.
- In regards to how the stories of Escalation Cycles are advanced, would it be better for the game to make it obvious, or for the process to be a bit nebulous? How much should the players have to figure out?
- Would it be better for the effects of the artifact to be known ahead of time, or for those effects to be somewhat random?
- Will the location of monster hexes ever change? Should they?
- Will the type of mob/EC that comes out of a monster hex ever change? Should it?
- Can the entirety of an EC be thwarted by simply killing enough mobs? Should that be possible?
- Will certain ECs advance and then stagnate, leaving an area of the map permanently monster controlled until something is done about it? (It sounds like it, but that also seems...a little absurd, maybe?)
- Will it be necessary for players to participate in ECs in order to claim "critical" merit badges?
These are the things I wonder about.
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CEO, Goblinworks
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In regards to how the stories of Escalation Cycles are advanced, would it be better for the game to make it obvious, or for the process to be a bit nebulous? How much should the players have to figure out?
Realistically you'll be able to go to a website and read some fan's breakdown of the whole cycle. There won't be much mystery. It seems more important to me that we make the whole escalation experience reasonably fun through gameplay rather than through storytelling.
Will the location of monster hexes ever change? Should they? Will the type of mob/EC that comes out of a monster hex ever change? Should it?
Monster Hexes are a part of the geography of the game space. People will make decisions about where to fight for territory to build Settlements based on the kinds of monster hexes in the area. So I think that it becomes a problem if they arbitrarily change.
On the other hand, it is a part of the design that the world should react to the actions of the players. So that implies that the actions of the players should have an impact on the Monster Hexes. Maybe that means that over time, they slowly morph from one kind of monster to another.
That will be a delicate balancing act to avoid screwing people especially if they build an economic engine off the material drops from that Monster Hex....
Will certain ECs advance and then stagnate, leaving an area of the map permanently monster controlled until something is done about it? (It sounds like it, but that also seems...a little absurd, maybe?)
If left unchecked an Escalation should result in a very dangerous area developing. It may be so dangerous that the nearby Settlements are unable to deal with it on their own and that will tend to degrade them. In a very advanced state, an Escalation might make an area essentially uninhabitable.
I think that's fun. It gives advanced characters something interesting to do with their power besides fight over territory.
Will it be necessary for players to participate in ECs in order to claim "critical" merit badges?[/list]
I suspect "yes". At least for characters following tabletop archetype objectives. But don't quote me.
RyanD
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Goblin Squad Member
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Great Blog. Thank you.
There is a mention of quests related to the ECs. How will the players come to have knowledge of these quests? Will it be NPCs that we interact with in the settlements? That suggests that there will be fixed NPCs in PC settlements? Or will it be postings on the bulletin boards of the local inn/tavern, ala old school D&D?
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Goblin Squad Member
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I am worried about what was posted in the blog, specifically this section:
You cannot transfer an add-on to a different account, and you cannot transfer pledge amounts between accounts.
My worry is that those people in the guild and buddy levels were specifically told that they would have to include in their pledge any add ons for ALL of the people, then once it went through you could distribute the add ons to those accounts.
How will we be able to distribute add ons bought for the guild/buddy pledge levels?
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Goblin Squad Member
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Realistically you'll be able to go to a website and read some fan's breakdown of the whole cycle. There won't be much mystery. It seems more important to me that we make the whole escalation experience reasonably fun through gameplay rather than through storytelling.
In regards to how the stories of Escalation Cycles are advanced, would it be better for the game to make it obvious, or for the process to be a bit nebulous? How much should the players have to figure out?
Good point.
Will the location of monster hexes ever change? Should they? Will the type of mob/EC that comes out of a monster hex ever change? Should it? Monster Hexes are a part of the geography of the game space. People will make decisions about where to fight for territory to build Settlements based on the kinds of monster hexes in the area. So I think that it becomes a problem if they arbitrarily change.
On the other hand, it is a part of the design that the world should react to the actions of the players. So that implies that the actions of the players should have an impact on the Monster Hexes. Maybe that means that over time, they slowly morph from one kind of monster to another.
That will be a delicate balancing act to avoid screwing people especially if they build an economic engine off the material drops from that Monster Hex....
But at the same time monster hexes that never change may (perhaps years down the line) make the geography of the game stale and predictable in regards to PvE.
Will certain ECs advance and then stagnate, leaving an area of the map permanently monster controlled until something is done about it? (It sounds like it, but that also seems...a little absurd, maybe?) If left unchecked an Escalation should result in a very dangerous area developing. It may be so dangerous that the nearby Settlements are unable to deal with it on their own and that will tend to degrade them. In a very advanced state, an Escalation might make an area essentially uninhabitable.
I think that's fun. It gives advanced characters something interesting to do with their power besides fight over...
Oh it sounds very fun, my reaction was one of reflex, and now that I've had some time to think about it, the possible scenarios that might evolve out of that could easily become the source of compelling stories outside of PvP.
Thank you for your responses, they have been illuminating.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Will artifacts be permanent? Will the "trophy room" in a long-standing settlement provide even more advantage over upstart rivals, beyond the advantages of more advanced buildings, more time to build defenses, and potentially higher-level settlement members? Or will trophy bonuses be focused on fighting future escalations, and less useful for inter-settlement warfare?
Guild Wars 2 started with a similar system, but it was removed after the devs noticed that it just increased the power gap between the most and least powerful sides of each battle. PFO may not have GW2's incentive to keep all sides of a conflict in balance, but I suspect it would hurt the game if existing settlements had overwhelming advantages over new settlements.
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Goblin Squad Member
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In regards to how the stories of Escalation Cycles are advanced, would it be better for the game to make it obvious, or for the process to be a bit nebulous? How much should the players have to figure out? Realistically you'll be able to go to a website and read some fan's breakdown of the whole cycle. There won't be much mystery. It seems more important to me that we make the whole escalation experience reasonably fun through gameplay rather than through storytelling.
Will the location of monster hexes ever change? Should they? Will the type of mob/EC that comes out of a monster hex ever change? Should it? Monster Hexes are a part of the geography of the game space. People will make decisions about where to fight for territory to build Settlements based on the kinds of monster hexes in the area. So I think that it becomes a problem if they arbitrarily change.
On the other hand, it is a part of the design that the world should react to the actions of the players. So that implies that the actions of the players should have an impact on the Monster Hexes. Maybe that means that over time, they slowly morph from one kind of monster to another.
That will be a delicate balancing act to avoid screwing people especially if they build an economic engine off the material drops from that Monster Hex....
So many Nergasms .... imagine an Escalation that results in monsters spreading out over several hexes, and finally the players smash the 'core' of this invasion ... but there are still clusters of the Escalation 'Mobs' running around in other hexes, building lairs, breeding, building ... depending upon the type of the Mobs involved in the Escalation, and if players really can ally with 'monsters', you might even get PvP as 'Heinous' players ally with the Monsters to encourage their spreading to other Hexes like cancer cells, to be re-recruited at a later date and surround a 'Heroic' Hex....
Will certain ECs advance and then stagnate, leaving an area of the map permanently monster controlled until something is done about it? (It sounds like it, but that also seems...a little absurd, maybe?) If left unchecked an Escalation should result in a very dangerous area developing. It may be so dangerous that the nearby Settlements are unable to deal with it on their own and that will tend to degrade them. In a very advanced state, an Escalation might make an area essentially uninhabitable.
I think that's fun. It gives advanced characters something interesting to do with their power besides fight over...
Words cannot describe how happy this makes me ...
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Goblin Squad Member
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Huh, Maybe my assassination skills can come in handy for PvE and not just PvP. It will be very interesting to see how they do this. Will they let a Heroic Group Hire me on, maybe not fully trusting me of course ;), and let me assassinate the Goblin Chief. This giving the group of "heroes" an advantage vs the rest of the goblins escalation?
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Goblin Squad Member
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Actually, an interesting Escalation would be a powerful Green Dragon in charge of a large tribe of Hobgoblins and ruling over a scattered handful of miserable Human/Halfling farms, and maybe a village, with 2 or 3 hexes under it's control.
This 'Original Escalation' provides an easy 'in' for people who've never had anything other than the grind of previous MMOs, with the composition of the forces the PCs face ranging from trained animals, Hobgoblin strikes forces, Half-Green Dragon Hobgoblin 'Lieutenants' and maybe even the spawn of the Dragon itself.
Assuming we can either push the Dragon out and liberate the farms and village, we're likely unable to KILL said Dragon, and it can be a recurring theme in the game, a 'world boss' that will never respawn, that is actively working against you, whose forces are organized, martially inclined and talented fighters.
And that's assuming a faction (glares at the Hellknights) doesn't try to strike up an Alliance with it ....
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Goblin Squad Member
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Well, 'Feuds' are one thing, but fighting each other to the death while the rest of the Hex rallies to fight off the Escalation (g$+ d!+mit I have a H-song playing in my head when I hear that word, G@+ D$@N YOU INTERNET!) is pretty much a social Darwin Award right there.
"So, where were you when we were fighting for our lives against the Fiendish Pixies mounted on Half-Black Dragon Half-Demon Owlbears?"
"Oh, man, I was totally tea-bagging Doucheadin!"
".... with the Hex burning down around you?"
"Yeah. He sniped that last patch of blueberries off me man! Priorities!"
".... Yeah, look, I don't know how to say this .... but you're not getting any of the loot from that fight."
".... awwwww man ...."
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Goblin Squad Member
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Huh, Maybe my assassination skills can come in handy for PvE and not just PvP. It will be very interesting to see how they do this. Will they let a Heroic Group Hire me on, maybe not fully trusting me of course ;), and let me assassinate the Goblin Chief. This giving the group of "heroes" an advantage vs the rest of the goblins escalation?
I was considering the same thing..... That would be awesome if there was some sort of mechanic there like that.
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CEO, Goblinworks
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My worry is that those people in the guild and buddy levels were specifically told that they would have to include in their pledge any add ons for ALL of the people, then once it went through you could distribute the add ons to those accounts.
We'll figure it out before Early Enrollment begins.
Will the location of monster hexes ever change? Should they?
Will the type of mob/EC that comes out of a monster hex ever change? Should it?
Monster Hexes are a part of the geography of the game space. People will make decisions about where to fight for territory to build Settlements based on the kinds of monster hexes in the area. So I think that it becomes a problem if they arbitrarily change.
On the other hand, it is a part of the design that the world should react to the actions of the players. So that implies that the actions of the players should have an impact on the Monster Hexes. Maybe that means that over time, they slowly morph from one kind of monster to another. That will be a delicate balancing act to avoid screwing people especially if they build an economic engine off the material drops from that Monster Hex....
It seems contrary to the goal of 'player affect the world' if no matter what you do, X type monsters (or enemy NPCs) will always return to spawn from the certain hex. On the issue of the monster hex itself being fixed (so that, even if the monster type changes, FOR SOME REASON all these different kinds of monsters/enemy NPCs seem to keep spawning from just that one hex that you can never settle yourself), I don't know if having 'mutable'/changing location Monster Hex Spawn Points is really that disruptive... I mean, unless a Settlement is spending big resources that don't see short-term results (in the scope of 1 Monster Escalation or so), then they will already see results from that 1 escalation, if it stops after that, then that's that. Perhaps that's partially an issue of expectations, if Monster Hexes aren't announced to be permanent, then nobody is disappointed when they are not.
Also, does this mean that there cannot be monster escalations happening from within settlement's/ developed wilderness hexes? Monsters coming out of forgotten dungeons or vile sewers seems an interesting trope that is ignored if escalations can't happen from player-controlled hexes...?
If left unchecked an Escalation should result in a very dangerous area developing. It may be so dangerous that the nearby Settlements are unable to deal with it on their own and that will tend to degrade them. In a very advanced state, an Escalation might make an area essentially uninhabitable.Will certain ECs advance and then stagnate, leaving an area of the map permanently monster controlled until something is done about it? (It sounds like it, but that also seems...a little absurd, maybe?)
It sounds like a highly escalated Monster event would probably have conquered several hexes around the original hex... Is that accurate? It seems like it would make sense for such Monster groups to 'settle' the adjacent hexes and build forts, etc... Which, if the escalation reaches that point, might mean you will need to conquer those hexes first before striking the original 'Monster Hex'.
From the sound of things, it sounds like many groups will WANT 'their' Monster Hexes to escalate in order that they can conquer them and gain the Artifact from the advanced escalation stage. Or will the 'plot' advancement itself enable things like new Monster/NPC types and the Artifact WITHOUT the Monsters actually getting out of control, beyond the 1 Hex? (if they are kept 'checked').
If imagining very advanced monster escalations, it seems reasonable for them to be functioning as 'nations' with multiple settlements. In fact, outside of the escalation system per se, if the game map is expanded within the River Kingdoms, it would make sense to encounter existing nations... If expanding to the East, there would be the piratical domain of the Black Marquis between the existing area and the more wild Loric Fells with rich resources but over-run by monsters. I could see a split dynamic, between those groups wanting to fight/conquer the Black Marquis lands immediately, and those who can manage to travel thru his lands to reach the Loric Fells and establish settlements there while fighting off monsters and trying to get trade-goods back and forth between Loric Fells and their original settlments (or trade with the Black Marquis). Likewise, in the Northerly direction, instead of just random perpetually re-spawning monster hexes from which spew Numerian Barbarians, those barbarians can be seen as the forward forces of Numeria (or various sub-nations of), which move south and establish their own settlement hexes wherever they can (usually in the northern reaches of the map).
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Goblin Squad Member
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As said I think the key really is the gameplay. The story and flavor and trophies or artefacts are all interesting side dishes. But the main: Hordes of well organised and purpose driven nasties if left unchecked sweeping down from the foothills like one of Ghengis Khan's invasions on settled/civilized lands would be truly earth-shattering.
If left unchecked an Escalation should result in a very dangerous area developing. It may be so dangerous that the nearby Settlements are unable to deal with it on their own and that will tend to degrade them. In a very advanced state, an Escalation might make an area essentially uninhabitable.
The metaphor of "infection" (epidemiology studies anyone?) really shows promise particularly for players to seed adjacent hexes or the Monster Hex ramp up production of the mobs/motivations. The variety of options to seed/promote hexes is also interesting activity for players to "pve".
The variety of formats of escalations is also really key imo:
Some escalations like the barbarian raid will effectively "march" across the map; some will reach a defensible limit and fort up; some will keep trying to expand indefinitely and attempt to overrun the entire map. Some escalations will burn out on their own, and simply leave if no one defeats them. Others will continue indefinitely until someone puts them down.
Ideally the best laid plans of settlements can be thrown into disarray and the idea that mobs can indirectly sow seeds of disunity; as well as severely test adventurers if building up in strength eg creating HIGH PvE Challenge.
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Certainly a game event of a migration of masses of mobs that disrupts several or more settlements as low frequency event would also be interesting and random.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Im loving the ideas this blog is bringing to mind. I really like the possibility that escalations could become so entrenched (even to the point of forming monster settlements) as to require a 'coalition' to beat it back down into submission. This, along with the stated importance of PVE, should hopefully get the point across that the wilds are indeed dangerous with or without players running around.
I hope that in order to disrupt/defeat an escalation it requires a bit more effort than just killing a moderate number of the monsters in question. Something that would either require a large number of players, an extended amount of effort and/or some completion of specific objectives.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Im loving the ideas this blog is bringing to mind. I really like the possibility that escalations could become so entrenched (even to the point of forming monster settlements) as to require a 'coalition' to beat it back down into submission. This, along with the stated importance of PVE, should hopefully get the point across that the wilds are indeed dangerous with or without players running around.
I hope that in order to disrupt/defeat an escalation it requires a bit more effort than just killing a moderate number of the monsters in question. Something that would either require a large number of players, an extended amount of effort and/or some completion of specific objectives.
I agree that it would be a fascinating turn of events to have kept your close perimeter pretty clear only to learn that two hexes away the ogre camp you ignored had turned into an enormous ogre settlement with large armies preparing to lay siege to your own settlement! Guess we had all better set up territorial patrols rather early to get a handle on what's going on around us!
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And this makes people who don't WANT to PvP important, as they'll be the trail-blazers, the scouts and the diplomats who find out these things while the PvPers run around stampeding each other's villagers and [redacted] the livestock.
And since it seems (according to the Blogs) there may be Item Decay, as well as necessities only a flourishing settlement can provide, the PvPers will be encouraged to go kick these Escalations down and take the shinies before their conflicts can take place.
Just one thing ... a true Escalation should not just 'spring up' overnight. We're talking a week or two Real Time that we start to see hints, then another week or two Real Time that we see the effects start to push into our view, and then a week or two Real Time after that that REALLY grabs us by the ear and goes "HEY! LINK! " and we're dealing with a full-blown Escalation-based invasion into the nearest Hexes, likely our own.
Nothing quite like a pitched PvP battle getting disrupted by a sneak-attack by Drow Slavers with Troglodyte Slave-Soldiers charging with their Masters' whips cracking at their backs.
I guess I'm still not clear on the 'specialness' of the Monster Hex.
If the escalation means the monsters (/enemy NPCs) will expand to assault other hexes (and control them, probably at least some types of monsters/enemies building structures on them... ala 'forting up') then the 'Monster Hex' itself just seems less 'special'... If the 'Monster Nation' has multiple settlements, then some assault that 'took out' the Monster Hex shouldn't really overly affect the entire 'Monster Nation' (and that seems fine to me), so what then is so special about this Monster Hex?
I guess I just don't see the value in having a set Monster Hex that everybody will know of and 'game' around, i.e. who is in best position to 'farm' it (or who is least likely to face it directly, from the other angle), with any relevant PC groups KNOWING the exact hex they should 'keep an eye on'. I would rather that early stages of monster escalations would be less distinguishable from average non-escalation monster spawns, and Settlements would need to collectively piece together the info to realize an escalation is happening, and what they want to do about it. If there is to be recurring barbarian invasions from the north, why restrict to ALWAYS just starting in a few specific hexes, why not have the whole northern perimiter of the map be possible points of entry? Something more random (not necessarily truly random, it could take into account settlements/nation sizes, etc by some algorhythm) just seems more appealing IMHO... Of course, that algorhythms could change over time, or it could just be left to GW's 'hand picking' hexes for as long as that works.
And this makes people who don't WANT to PvP important, as they'll be the trail-blazers, the scouts and the diplomats who find out these things...
Well, if those roles are important, then somebody will be motivated to try and gank you 8-D. I don't think it will really be viable to exclude PVP from your game experience in PVO, even if your character focus may not be on seeking out PVP conflicts/wars, it will still exist for you to deal with.
A character who refused to engage in PVP would be pretty marginal, although maybe that COULD be accepted if such characters paid a 'tax' used to buy mercenaries to fight in their stead, or combat consumables for their allies. If a merchant character is more useful making money for a Settlement during a war, rather than fighting themself, why not? :-) The vast majority of characters seem likely to be both combat-effective and have some non-combat role, but if some are especially effective out of combat, e.g. in trade, it may be a good idea to keep them engaged in that to economically support the Settlement while most members go out to combat and abandon their normal economic activities.
Things like Scout, Diplomat, will probably be marginalized to some extent by out-of-game methods covering their role, or even in-game methods, communication covers Diplomacy without any in-game specific role. Scouts are pretty much just people reporting on what they see in an area, so you might as well just do that via Alts who are of different Settlements, and can be making money trading, etc, while 'scouting' thru territory and reporting the info back to the Settlement. Not that wouldn't be glad to see, or don't expect some for of in-game manifestation of these, perhaps Diplomacy thru some sort of Settlement Building allowing for management of allies' cooperative resources, etc.
And since it seems (according to the Blogs) there may be Item Decay, as well as necessities only a flourishing settlement can provide, the PvPers will be encouraged to go kick these Escalations down and take the shinies before their conflicts can take place.
Again, I don't see a strong divider between PVP/PVE, Monster Escalations don't seem like they offer a fundamentally different threat vs. some Player Settlement trying to take over Hexes. And while a certain perspective may be motivated to suppress the Escalations ASAP, there is apparently valuable Artifact items gained from the end stages, so many groups may be motivated to 'manage' the escalation but allow it to continue until they can 'harvest' the Artifact at the end. And that is besides Player groups who simply might want to aid the Monster/NPC Escalations, either for kicks or as a tactic against other groups.
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Goblin Squad Member
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@ Quandary well, there will always be gankers, and you'll never be excluded form PvP. Bandits and Player Killers will always be a threat, but small, tight-knit teams of PvEers will be difficult for the casual bastard to handle.
Just because you don't go looking for PvP 24/7 doesn't mean it's not going to jump out at you on a regular basis.
To your points about the 'Monster Hex', consider that, unlike the Players who are driven by hundreds of different and conflicting drives, the Monster Hex will have only a few drives, and be relatively cohesive in it's drives.
Expand. Kill. Loot and Plunder. Repeat.
And that's just a 'basic' Monster Hex.
Player Conflicts can be brought to a table if it drags on too long, neutral parties sitting down and helping the warring factions declare a cease-fire or a treaty. You can't do that with Goblins, NPC Bandits or a Dragon-spawned army.
A Monster Hex NEEDS to be jumped on, because if there isn't constant pressure to at least keep them within their Hex, they WILL expand out, building fortresses or bunkers or nests, or sending Raiding Parties to take out our Farms and Satellite Settlements, slowing down our economy and speeding up theirs with the loot from the raiders.
I'd argue that a Monster Hex that has intelligent foes in charge would be even more dangerous than a Hex full of hostile PvPers, because there is next to no chance of negotiations or cease-fires. They're not interested in trade or partnerships, they are interested in slash-and-burn expansion and turning you all into food or slaves.
Do you risk it and push on with your conflict, hoping to catch your rivals off-guard in just the right moment to take over their Hex and resources, then turn your forces to the Monster Hex 'Escalation' Event and hope your newly deepened pockets will be enough to hire mercenaries to stem the tide, or do you sign a cease-fire treaty with your rivals and turn to this new enemy, knowing full well that the treaty is only valid until one side or the other decides they can make a sneak attack and succeed.
Ironicly, the 'final stages' of an Escalation where the PvPers have joined forces to push back the Escalation Monsters is the most dangerous, not due to the increasingly stronger NPCs they must fight, but because former rivals are now mingling side-by-side, and the supply lines and Hexes are stretched for resources and man-power ...
How far is the trust gained from fighting a mutual enemy going to last when there are people agitating for using the Escalation as a distraction to finish their original fight ...
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Goblin Squad Member
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@Quandary:
Digging back to the previous related blog: "OVER THE HILL AND FAR AWAY"
The calculations we roughly did for hexes (ref: Kakafika): Based on the new size/number of sub-hexes within the original 256:
1792 total hexes
179 settlement hexes (1:10)
1075 wilderness hexes (6/10)
537 (rem.) wilderness, monster and some npc-hexes
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I know Ryan still describes 256 hexes in the latest podcast, so these numbers are more appropriate for ratios/proportions.
Possible of that rem. /3 = 179 hexes which matches the 1:10 settlement suitable hexes so there could be a 1:1 of Monster hexes to settlement hexes at a maximum I'd guess. Perhaps less than this number, maybe a 1:2; 90 Monster hexes for another random stab...
Now according to Stephen Cheney:
2) Yes. In a lot of ways, they're another lever to balance desirability of an area. A spot with access to more hexes that aren't immediately adjacent to a settlement hex may also have more monster hexes and thus be more dangerous.
[...]
Also, to answer Nihimon's question earlier, the minimum distance between two settlements is two wilderness hexes in between them. Each settlement has six adjacent hexes that don't directly overlap the six next to another settlement.
So it appears Monster hexes will vary in terms of non-uniform distribution and possibly in terms of "pain-in-the-assness"?!
It does seem more interesting if variables of where they trigger and so on can be included to create more chaotic and unexpected Escalation origins.
I think it's already been posted in the Blog or here that characters/settlements will have 'social standing' with various NPC groups/Monster groups (presumably including Escalations), and if they do what is needed to have good standing then those groups will not attack them, etc.
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Also: It'd be interesting to hear about any relationship between Escalations and Dungeons/Instances.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I had a question that I wanted to pose. Will humanoid creatures have the option to use "bandit" tactics or will all NPCs have 1 goal, attack and kill PC's they encounter? I think it would be interesting if a band of bandit elves or humans were to stop a caravan and SAD it.
Also, will all monster hexes at the start of EE, will there be some delay for these escalations, or will they all potentially start on day 1, which could lead to some of the deeper hexes being "over run" before Pcs make it out that far. I think that would be interesting, but could also be dangerous, depending on how they advance compared to PC advancement.
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Goblin Squad Member
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People will make decisions about where to fight for territory to build Settlements based on the kinds of monster hexes in the area. So I think that it becomes a problem if they arbitrarily change.People like me... Now, where are those Undead :)
Tut, Nihimon. We wizards don't become concerned about lowly Undead. The question for us wizards is....where are those gods? ;)
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Goblin Squad Member
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I think it's already been posted in the Blog or here that characters/settlements will have 'social standing' with various NPC groups/Monster groups (presumably including Escalations), and if they do what is needed to have good standing then those groups will not attack them, etc.
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Also: It'd be interesting to hear about any relationship between Escalations and Dungeons/Instances.
That's interesting, if a settlement comprises players interested in more PvE activities and reduce the risk of PvP, then choosing a settlement hex either close to allies and/or further away from other settlements ie more monster hexes, they might want to then additionally fight the incompatible alignment monster hexes and promote the compatible ones - to the point of seeding them as a buffer around their settlement even?
Also wondering how dungeon spawning and types will be influenced if an escalation takes over a hex?
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Will mass combat play into escalations/quests?
Say, a bunch of settlements (or one well-developed one) don't want to deal with the barbarian/demonic horde cycle as it rampages it's way through productive areas. So they rally as many PC's as they can and march on the infected hexes, systematically wiping out resistance and, if there is one, destroying a monster fort with siege engines. Would that be a planned or possible solution?
It would potentially give career soldiers something to do in PvE.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Will mass combat play into escalations/quests?
Say, a bunch of settlements (or one well-developed one) don't want to deal with the barbarian/demonic horde cycle as it rampages it's way through productive areas. So they rally as many PC's as they can and march on the infected hexes, systematically wiping out resistance and, if there is one, destroying a monster fort with siege engines. Would that be a planned or possible solution?
It would potentially give career soldiers something to do in PvE.
That will hopefully be necessary as it will encourage the "mass cooperation" that GW seems to want.
Will ECs be allowed to build to that level or will hunger PC parties swarm the areas like locusts? Will settlements find themselves "protecting" EC hexes to allow them to mature into more lucrative threats?