Current thread: Mythic forums > Technical > Unbalanced game play....ruins clans
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| Author | Message |
5/23/2010 5:51:24 AM |
•Haldor Hafdanson III of Dark Cloud, a level 5 barbarian killed by a lesser ghoul.
•Malcolm of Iberia of Dark Cloud, a level 5 gladiator killed by a lesser ghoul.
•Lord Shaft of Dark Cloud, a level 5 gladiator killed by a lesser ghoul.
•Vespasian the bold of Dark Cloud, a level 4 gladiator killed by a lesser ghoul.
yay. 2 months of work GONE in the space of a couple of rounds after comming into contact with a group of 18 ghouls.
I know that it was all me saying "lets try it out" so i did not immediately turn tail and run but.....
Paralzation is VERY unbalancing. no way to shake it off- as in put an extra effort into doing it, no spell to counter it, and no potion to cure it. It has a duration that lasts anywhere from 1 round to 20? If i had a character ability (such as crafting) that had an ability of effect that had such an effect on the game- it would be changed or altered to make it less of a party killer/game changer.
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5/23/2010 5:53:50 AM | I don't know what to say other than - if it is more than a few ghouls - run. Ghouls are now the same way that the little red demons were a couple of months ago- Dont even bother to try and fight them- just run and eat the exp and money loss. |
5/23/2010 6:22:31 AM | also in the list of things that dont help against paralization- items.... |
Legion
5/23/2010 8:39:51 AM | A cure paralysis spell, or resist paralysis, would indeed be helpful. I'll see about adding that in the near future, as body magic. Although a party of 3 gladiators and 1 barbarian such as you had, has no magic at all, so a spell would not help. So a spell would not have aided you, nor would a potion (you cannot act to drink when paralyzed). A ring of protection from paralysis could be a nice addition, although I really have to wonder if anyone would wear one when it has such an extremely limited use. Same thing with a skill. The resist poison skill is the least-chosen skill in the game currently (which will be addressed soon as well).
I spend a lot of time reviewing the log data to keep things balanced, going so far as to write a script that reports on the player kill value (PKV), which is a weighted ratio of kills:deaths for each monster type. At the lesser ghouls level there are 7 monsters, with a PKV ranging from 25 (orc cleric) as the most deadly, to 0 (small earth spirit) as the least deadly. Excluding the small earth spirit, which hasn't been around long enough to record any player kills, the lowest PKV is 6 (huge spider). The lesser ghoul is exactly in the middle (4th of out 7) with a PKV of 14. All those monsters (except the small earth spirit) are within the desired range. The two other monsters at that level that have demonstrated to be more deadly on a per-monster basis are the small black demon (PKV=23) and the goblin shaman (PKV=15). In 5th place the orc veteran (PKV=11) rounds out the group.
The suggestion I give players more than any other is to use the largest party they can assemble. With a group of just 4 characters, I'm honestly not sure how you would have fared against 18 of any of the creatures on that list. I know you may counter that "I would have fled from 18 small black demons" but you could have fled initially from 18 lesser ghouls as well, and both monsters have the ability to render characters unable to flee, particularly when your party is so small. In fact just a moment ago I lost a level 5 fighter (he is on the front page now) to a group of 17 gray demons when he was the only one who failed to flee and got too drained to move.
Losing a favorite group of characters always hurts, and I do appreciate hearing feedback. I think some ways to cure paralysis will be nice, although I do not see that they would have mattered in your unfortunate example. I do pay attention to what is too easy and too hard, and try to make adjustments as needed. One of the challenges of MW is that no party is ever safe, and eventually everyone will die. Building a powerful clan is really difficult since at any moment your top guys can be killed. |
5/23/2010 11:27:30 AM | i'll say it again because the title of the post was indeed harsh (wish we had an edit button) - I know that it was all me saying "lets try it out" so i did not immediately turn tail and run but...
It was a group of 5 - there was one survivor- I totally own up to that it was a "fighter" group- and I am probably one of the few people who play who take a a good look at the game from a nuetral standpoint when it comes to playability and mechanics. So i really do understand that losing a group of people regardless of lvl happens :)
My concern- and i do not know if the PKV scripting takes into account the number of X monster encountered when a player is killed to contribute to a weighted - was to tell people to get the heck out of Dodge when they see more than a few of the ghouls- Personally I have never encountered a group of Ghouls that large- maybe 10 but never 18. Also to express a concern that if there was a part of the game unbalanced that it should be looked at- I had never experienced loss like this- I have lost several higher level people to paralysis- but never a whole group- but then as was in this case- it was my fault- I did not run when I should have -
also, thanks for the in depth explanation about the way the performance of monsters are monitored you dont have to justify what happens, or what changes are made and why- but it is nice that you do- keep on rockin the game! |
5/23/2010 11:31:52 AM | so really- i am disappointed with the loss- but see that it was a combo of a large group and lack of fleeing- I had grown complacent in the last weeks and though they could handle it- THanks for taking the time to give a well reasoned response instead of just saying- too bad :p l8rs |