Proposal to fix Gear/Loot System Issues @RED
Hey guys had an idea I wanted to share which I think, if implemented, would vastly improve the gear/loot system. So clearly the main issue at present is finishing that epic quest just to get a weapon that's far inferior to the random sword you looted earlier, or finding that smuggler's cache at level 30 just to get more junk as you expected that is in no way comparable to what you already have.
So here's the proposal:
1. Tie in a sliding damage scale with the level requirement of the weapon. As the level requirement increases the base weapon damage range does as well. This sets the foundation of the system. For example, any weapon with Lvl 5 requirement does 24-32 base dmg, lvl 10 weapon 115 -137, lvl 30 weapon 439-507. (These are arbitrary numbers I made up simply for the sake of illustrating the principle).
2. The special bonuses of the weapon are static to that weapon type. For example, any named weapon that increases Bleed chance by +15% and Burning chance +10% will always carry this static special benefit. That benefit is what makes "Blade of the Whatever" special in that only the "Blade of the Whatever" carries this specific combination of special bonuses. So this same weapon at lvl 10 req. has the same bonuses as the lvl 25 req. version but the level 25 req. version would have much higher base damage due to the sliding damage scale based on level req. of the weapon.
3. For any item to be looted from a chest, give it a random chance to set the level requirement for that item to plus or minus 2 levels from the player's current character level. So if I'm a level 18 character and I loot a chest, that chest will contain a weapon or piece of armor with a level req. randomly determined between 16 - 20. The excitement here is that sometimes you get the item and it turns out to be junkish in the sense it's level req is below your current char level (16 or 17 in this instance). On the other hand that same chest could have given a Lvl 19 or 20 req. weapon which would be guaranteed to have a higher base damage than the player's currently equipped weapon based on this system. Likewise, it could turn out to be a lvl 18 piece of gear in which case swapping with what you're currently using would come down to which combination of specific bonuses for that wep/gear piece you prefer as the only determining factor since base damage on all lvl 18 weps is the same.
4. For quests rewards, always have the rewarded piece of gear have a level requirement of exactly one level above the players current level upon completion of the quest. So if I finish Hattori's quest at level 19 the rewarded sword will have a level req. of 20. If I finish that same quest at level 22, that same reward will be the same sword but with a lvl 23 requirement and subsequently higher base damage. This ensures that no matter what, gear received from quests is always better in terms of it's base stats than what the player is currently using. (Although clearly, it may not be as good special bonuses wise or as good as another piece of gear that's sitting in your inventory that has a higher level req. than your current char level)
5. Optionally, this system could also give Hattori the ability to "Rework" or "Temper" a blade. So lets say I get a Lvl 15 req. weapon at level 15 and love its specific special bonuses. By level 18 I still enjoy the special bonuses, but my weapon's base damage is lower than other weapons I'm collecting/looting. What if I could take my favorite weapon to Hattori, and he "Reworks" or Tempers" the weapon to boost it's base level requirement up to my characters current level (raising the weapon's base damage of course). I could then keep using my favorite sword due to it's bonuses and with it's base damage now comparable to other weapons of my level I wouldn't have to ditch it for a higher damage weapon that has crappier special bonuses. Of course reworking or tempering a blade should cost an arm and a leg in gold and special resources so as not to discourage treasure hunting in general.
6. Lastly, sockets could be tied in to either the gear's level req. (Lvl 0 - 9 no sockets, 10 - 19 1 socket, 20 - 29 2 sockets, Lvl 30+ 3 sockets) and/or it's quality with relic items having more sockets than magic items which in turn have more sockets than mastercrafted items for example.
Thoughts?
Hey guys had an idea I wanted to share which I think, if implemented, would vastly improve the gear/loot system. So clearly the main issue at present is finishing that epic quest just to get a weapon that's far inferior to the random sword you looted earlier, or finding that smuggler's cache at level 30 just to get more junk as you expected that is in no way comparable to what you already have.
So here's the proposal:
1. Tie in a sliding damage scale with the level requirement of the weapon. As the level requirement increases the base weapon damage range does as well. This sets the foundation of the system. For example, any weapon with Lvl 5 requirement does 24-32 base dmg, lvl 10 weapon 115 -137, lvl 30 weapon 439-507. (These are arbitrary numbers I made up simply for the sake of illustrating the principle).
2. The special bonuses of the weapon are static to that weapon type. For example, any named weapon that increases Bleed chance by +15% and Burning chance +10% will always carry this static special benefit. That benefit is what makes "Blade of the Whatever" special in that only the "Blade of the Whatever" carries this specific combination of special bonuses. So this same weapon at lvl 10 req. has the same bonuses as the lvl 25 req. version but the level 25 req. version would have much higher base damage due to the sliding damage scale based on level req. of the weapon.
3. For any item to be looted from a chest, give it a random chance to set the level requirement for that item to plus or minus 2 levels from the player's current character level. So if I'm a level 18 character and I loot a chest, that chest will contain a weapon or piece of armor with a level req. randomly determined between 16 - 20. The excitement here is that sometimes you get the item and it turns out to be junkish in the sense it's level req is below your current char level (16 or 17 in this instance). On the other hand that same chest could have given a Lvl 19 or 20 req. weapon which would be guaranteed to have a higher base damage than the player's currently equipped weapon based on this system. Likewise, it could turn out to be a lvl 18 piece of gear in which case swapping with what you're currently using would come down to which combination of specific bonuses for that wep/gear piece you prefer as the only determining factor since base damage on all lvl 18 weps is the same.
4. For quests rewards, always have the rewarded piece of gear have a level requirement of exactly one level above the players current level upon completion of the quest. So if I finish Hattori's quest at level 19 the rewarded sword will have a level req. of 20. If I finish that same quest at level 22, that same reward will be the same sword but with a lvl 23 requirement and subsequently higher base damage. This ensures that no matter what, gear received from quests is always better in terms of it's base stats than what the player is currently using. (Although clearly, it may not be as good special bonuses wise or as good as another piece of gear that's sitting in your inventory that has a higher level req. than your current char level)
5. Optionally, this system could also give Hattori the ability to "Rework" or "Temper" a blade. So lets say I get a Lvl 15 req. weapon at level 15 and love its specific special bonuses. By level 18 I still enjoy the special bonuses, but my weapon's base damage is lower than other weapons I'm collecting/looting. What if I could take my favorite weapon to Hattori, and he "Reworks" or Tempers" the weapon to boost it's base level requirement up to my characters current level (raising the weapon's base damage of course). I could then keep using my favorite sword due to it's bonuses and with it's base damage now comparable to other weapons of my level I wouldn't have to ditch it for a higher damage weapon that has crappier special bonuses. Of course reworking or tempering a blade should cost an arm and a leg in gold and special resources so as not to discourage treasure hunting in general.
6. Lastly, sockets could be tied in to either the gear's level req. (Lvl 0 - 9 no sockets, 10 - 19 1 socket, 20 - 29 2 sockets, Lvl 30+ 3 sockets) and/or it's quality with relic items having more sockets than magic items which in turn have more sockets than mastercrafted items for example.
Thoughts?