Skills and Class stuff.
Posted: 31 Aug 2006, 06:59
Well... I take it there might be some dispute on this... but either way, I think this is a nice system. First off, I'll mention the system we're using now (which will almost certainly be changed in the new server), and what I think of similar systems.
As it is right now, in RO and like-such games, you earn points at a level up, which you can use to "buy" skills. That is just plain silly! You cannot buy skills. You learn them. How do you teach yourself a new skill out in the wilderness by "using" points? Quite silly isn't it?
I was thinking, and came up with this system, which in addition to being more realistic, is also far more flexible.
The general idea is... you never buy skills or class changes. You earn them. You start out as an unarmed traveller with only the clothes on your back. I can tell you a story about how you got to The Mana World, but I'd like to keep this on-topic for right now.
How my system works is, you start out with no money, and go around using your fists to lay waste on random low-level monsters nearby. Once you get enough money, you can buy a "base weapon." Theoretically, you could have an infinite amount of these weapons, but for the sake of this suggestion, I'll say that there are 6.
Each are different from eachother. Some are short-range, some are long-range. Some are swords, bow, axes, whips, spears, etc. Anyways, let's say the player wants to become a soldier. Soldiers use swords. Thus, if you want to become a soldier, you must buy a sword.
Now that you have a nice shiny sword... what the heck do you do? You go out and kill monsters of course! After lots of killing, you will become more proficient with your particular weapon, indicated by a weapon point. The more weapon points you have, the stronger your attack becomes, for instance... more weapon points on a dagger will increase your chances for a critical attack. More weapon points on a bow will increase your accuracy. Etc. etc. This concerns the stat/level-up system too, which I won't go into right now.
Anyways, so you gain a weapon point.. but it's not enough. So you kill some more monsters. Aha! But now you have TWO weapon points! And now you have SO much training, that you are finally able to become a soldier! So what do you do? You head over to an old retired warrior in Tulimshar and pay him to tutor you. He rants on for 50 hours about old battles and such... and after giving a test to show off your sword skills, he awards you with the title of soldier!
Naturally you would want to gain some skills... but you can't. Why? Because you have to earn them. Darn. Anyways, moving on.... My idea involves weapons too. Rather than having weapons JUST control classes... why not have them control skills as well? Taking a small hint from FFTA, we could use a weapon-skill system. Basically, almost all weapons will have a skill attached to them. This is based on the oriental idea of "ki," and that something you touch (like a sword) will have another person's "ki" in it.
Based on this principle, various weapons have different skills attached to it. Thus, a Katana would teach you something like "The Warrior's Cry" which will increase your strength temporarily at the cost of MP. But how do you get these abilities? You spend hours killing MORE monsters of course! Whenever you use a weapon for a while, it gains a weapon point (also mentioned earlier). Once that particular weapon's points are high enough, you will learn a new skill! One weapon could have lots of skills attached to it, but I would suggest 1-3.
Another idea to consider would be rare items. Do we make them have a super-rare skill... or a random skill? I think it would be very interesting if rare items had a random skill attached to it. It would also make that rare sword even RARER if it had an incredibly powerful skill along with it. In addition, it would encourage people to play even MORE in order to gain a DUPLICATE weapon.... with a better skill. Sound interesting?
This also brings up the subject of rare items... Using my system, there are two kinds of rare items: rare items, and normal items with LOTS of weapon points on them. Thus, a weapon with lots of weapon points attached to it will be more valuable than a brand new one...
Another idea to consider is weapons that wear out if you use them too much. Thus, the two balance out. Let's say each weapon has a certain point, that once you reach it, the weapon breaks. So... you need to decide: Should I use this weapon more, making it even MORE valuable... or just sell it now, and not risk breaking it? It adds another more dynamic, nice side to the game. It also ties in with AHarrison's idea that those who takes bigger risks get more gain. This also brings up the subject of "unbreakable weapons." Some rare weapons will be breakable, and some will be unbreakable. Those that are unbreakable would naturally be worth a lot more than those that are not. Just some food for thought...
Anyways... there's my two cents. Personally, I like this system... but I'll leave it up to you guys to decide.
As it is right now, in RO and like-such games, you earn points at a level up, which you can use to "buy" skills. That is just plain silly! You cannot buy skills. You learn them. How do you teach yourself a new skill out in the wilderness by "using" points? Quite silly isn't it?
I was thinking, and came up with this system, which in addition to being more realistic, is also far more flexible.
The general idea is... you never buy skills or class changes. You earn them. You start out as an unarmed traveller with only the clothes on your back. I can tell you a story about how you got to The Mana World, but I'd like to keep this on-topic for right now.
How my system works is, you start out with no money, and go around using your fists to lay waste on random low-level monsters nearby. Once you get enough money, you can buy a "base weapon." Theoretically, you could have an infinite amount of these weapons, but for the sake of this suggestion, I'll say that there are 6.
Each are different from eachother. Some are short-range, some are long-range. Some are swords, bow, axes, whips, spears, etc. Anyways, let's say the player wants to become a soldier. Soldiers use swords. Thus, if you want to become a soldier, you must buy a sword.
Now that you have a nice shiny sword... what the heck do you do? You go out and kill monsters of course! After lots of killing, you will become more proficient with your particular weapon, indicated by a weapon point. The more weapon points you have, the stronger your attack becomes, for instance... more weapon points on a dagger will increase your chances for a critical attack. More weapon points on a bow will increase your accuracy. Etc. etc. This concerns the stat/level-up system too, which I won't go into right now.
Anyways, so you gain a weapon point.. but it's not enough. So you kill some more monsters. Aha! But now you have TWO weapon points! And now you have SO much training, that you are finally able to become a soldier! So what do you do? You head over to an old retired warrior in Tulimshar and pay him to tutor you. He rants on for 50 hours about old battles and such... and after giving a test to show off your sword skills, he awards you with the title of soldier!
Naturally you would want to gain some skills... but you can't. Why? Because you have to earn them. Darn. Anyways, moving on.... My idea involves weapons too. Rather than having weapons JUST control classes... why not have them control skills as well? Taking a small hint from FFTA, we could use a weapon-skill system. Basically, almost all weapons will have a skill attached to them. This is based on the oriental idea of "ki," and that something you touch (like a sword) will have another person's "ki" in it.
Based on this principle, various weapons have different skills attached to it. Thus, a Katana would teach you something like "The Warrior's Cry" which will increase your strength temporarily at the cost of MP. But how do you get these abilities? You spend hours killing MORE monsters of course! Whenever you use a weapon for a while, it gains a weapon point (also mentioned earlier). Once that particular weapon's points are high enough, you will learn a new skill! One weapon could have lots of skills attached to it, but I would suggest 1-3.
Another idea to consider would be rare items. Do we make them have a super-rare skill... or a random skill? I think it would be very interesting if rare items had a random skill attached to it. It would also make that rare sword even RARER if it had an incredibly powerful skill along with it. In addition, it would encourage people to play even MORE in order to gain a DUPLICATE weapon.... with a better skill. Sound interesting?
This also brings up the subject of rare items... Using my system, there are two kinds of rare items: rare items, and normal items with LOTS of weapon points on them. Thus, a weapon with lots of weapon points attached to it will be more valuable than a brand new one...
Another idea to consider is weapons that wear out if you use them too much. Thus, the two balance out. Let's say each weapon has a certain point, that once you reach it, the weapon breaks. So... you need to decide: Should I use this weapon more, making it even MORE valuable... or just sell it now, and not risk breaking it? It adds another more dynamic, nice side to the game. It also ties in with AHarrison's idea that those who takes bigger risks get more gain. This also brings up the subject of "unbreakable weapons." Some rare weapons will be breakable, and some will be unbreakable. Those that are unbreakable would naturally be worth a lot more than those that are not. Just some food for thought...
Anyways... there's my two cents. Personally, I like this system... but I'll leave it up to you guys to decide.