[DIS] Party NPC: What should it suggest?
Posted: 01 Nov 2009, 12:22
I'm wanting to script an NPC that gives advice on forming a party. Fighting in the graveyard now, there seems to be the typical tank formations with some thought into defending healers and wizards, but not much. In fact, very often players will charge into the graveyard, gain aggro from a mob of undead, then pull that mob on unsuspecting characters. Without any forethought into combat strategy, I feel a lot of the advantages that people could use with how the game currently operates are lost. Some players may have a group they do communicate with, but it seems more often, this is not the case. Here are some things it might discuss:
Party roles:
Party Leader - The party leader, often a warrior, may not be the most powerful, but they "admin" the party chat, proposing the strategy of the party, saying things like "advance" (move forward) "slow" (move forward slowly to avoid drawing too much aggro), "charge" (move forward quickly), "scout" (archers forward only), "run" (retreat) as well as give direction "slow right" "charge up" "run left". The party leader typically doesn't scout or heal and stays with the warrior tank.
Healer - Heals the party. When every character participating in a raid is in the same party, it is far easier for the healer to know who needs help and when. Their role is to watch the party's hit points and make sure no player dies. Certain emocons or saying "heal" can help communicate as well. I recommend "sick face" (alt+1) to request a heal real quick.
War Mage - Master of war magic, this mage tends to drop lightning bolts that are crucial to a strong offensive. Because they strike everytime, war mages can draw aggro against a monster, which can threaten their often poor defense. A war mage needs to rely on warriors to defend them while they drop a strong offensive against their foes.
Archer - Good for scouting ahead and pulling monsters towards the party. Their moderate armor protects them against strikes which might threaten a war mage and keeping distance helps them control a mob if they pull too many monsters. Archers are good at running a mob around the party, letting the warriors pull a few from the mob while protecting the party from being overwhelmed. If the party is forced to retreat, archers can help reduce the mob to a reasonable level while the party regroups to challenge it. When the line can't be held, archers can keep the party in the area without suffering significant casualties. A shock face (alt+2) could be a request for the archer to prepare themselves to pull a mob that has grown out of hand and it can be a tell that a retreat may happen soon.
Warrior - The tank of a party, several are often needed to keep the monster's aggro so the monster doesn't strike other characters, since their defense is typically the highest. They protect the war mage, the healer and archers while holding ground against a mob. This prevents the party from retreating. Retreating often draws even more monsters onto the party and creates survival problems for the healer and war mage. A devil face (alt+5) could be a call for a strong offensive (use potions).
Joining parties:
Characters can announce their power level to join an appropriate party in a public place, but parties shouldn't need to share exp or items necessarily. The main purpose of the party is to communicate strategy as a group over long distances and to keep track of who is injured.
However, sharing exp is great, especially with high damage dealing warriors and war mages who might put healers and archers at an exp disadvantage. Sharing items is also great, but often such trust doesn't seem to occur in the game. Sharing items is often best by keeping track of who grabbed what and who is "next" to grab a drop. By not being stingy, players can create trust among each other and deepen the strategic advantage their party can create.
The time a party raid should last could be discussed before hand. Asking for a 15 minute to an hour long commitment on a raid and sticking to that commitment can help keep party cohesion. Having set areas to meet after a retreat or to gather fallen members (like "the gargoyle" near the front of the cemetary) can keep the party from dissolving underneath a strong mob swarm.
I'd like to have a discussion on this and expand or shrink this where appropriate, so I can prepare it for an NPC script.
Party roles:
Party Leader - The party leader, often a warrior, may not be the most powerful, but they "admin" the party chat, proposing the strategy of the party, saying things like "advance" (move forward) "slow" (move forward slowly to avoid drawing too much aggro), "charge" (move forward quickly), "scout" (archers forward only), "run" (retreat) as well as give direction "slow right" "charge up" "run left". The party leader typically doesn't scout or heal and stays with the warrior tank.
Healer - Heals the party. When every character participating in a raid is in the same party, it is far easier for the healer to know who needs help and when. Their role is to watch the party's hit points and make sure no player dies. Certain emocons or saying "heal" can help communicate as well. I recommend "sick face" (alt+1) to request a heal real quick.
War Mage - Master of war magic, this mage tends to drop lightning bolts that are crucial to a strong offensive. Because they strike everytime, war mages can draw aggro against a monster, which can threaten their often poor defense. A war mage needs to rely on warriors to defend them while they drop a strong offensive against their foes.
Archer - Good for scouting ahead and pulling monsters towards the party. Their moderate armor protects them against strikes which might threaten a war mage and keeping distance helps them control a mob if they pull too many monsters. Archers are good at running a mob around the party, letting the warriors pull a few from the mob while protecting the party from being overwhelmed. If the party is forced to retreat, archers can help reduce the mob to a reasonable level while the party regroups to challenge it. When the line can't be held, archers can keep the party in the area without suffering significant casualties. A shock face (alt+2) could be a request for the archer to prepare themselves to pull a mob that has grown out of hand and it can be a tell that a retreat may happen soon.
Warrior - The tank of a party, several are often needed to keep the monster's aggro so the monster doesn't strike other characters, since their defense is typically the highest. They protect the war mage, the healer and archers while holding ground against a mob. This prevents the party from retreating. Retreating often draws even more monsters onto the party and creates survival problems for the healer and war mage. A devil face (alt+5) could be a call for a strong offensive (use potions).
Joining parties:
Characters can announce their power level to join an appropriate party in a public place, but parties shouldn't need to share exp or items necessarily. The main purpose of the party is to communicate strategy as a group over long distances and to keep track of who is injured.
However, sharing exp is great, especially with high damage dealing warriors and war mages who might put healers and archers at an exp disadvantage. Sharing items is also great, but often such trust doesn't seem to occur in the game. Sharing items is often best by keeping track of who grabbed what and who is "next" to grab a drop. By not being stingy, players can create trust among each other and deepen the strategic advantage their party can create.
The time a party raid should last could be discussed before hand. Asking for a 15 minute to an hour long commitment on a raid and sticking to that commitment can help keep party cohesion. Having set areas to meet after a retreat or to gather fallen members (like "the gargoyle" near the front of the cemetary) can keep the party from dissolving underneath a strong mob swarm.
I'd like to have a discussion on this and expand or shrink this where appropriate, so I can prepare it for an NPC script.