patch 1.61A

[Malison]

Hmm, the stat cap seems interesting though.  Supposedly, every point over the cap = 1/25 of a point.  So while echoic can get 500 points more strength than before, the effective str she would have would be only +20 more points of str.  Not to mention, how the hell can you get +500 to any stat?

Of course, the buffbots do see and advantage..slightly.  the extra stat bonus from buffs is RealmLevel * 2.  Again using echoic as an example, she could get 200 extra str from a buff, MAX, which would yield an effective str of +8.

The whole system seems pointless actually.  

[Zutroy]

It never does state exactly that 1 point over cap = 1/25th real point. All it says is: 'If bonus stats from items go over (character level)*1.5, every 25 stat points provide a stat bonus.' Now what that means exactly is up for debate; it could mean it only counts it every 25 points but you get the full 25 point stat bonus. It could even mean you get the bonus to your weaponskill, defense, or speed every 25 points. For example, quickness gives you a .1 second reduction every 10 levels above 60. Maybe above your cap it would require 25 points to attain the same .1 second reduction (so each point of quick over cap would be: 10/25ths of a real point).

Luun's findings with the buffbot show that the diminishing returns on buffs aren't that steep though. He nearly doubled his weaponskill and gained 700 hits. The desparity between buffed and unbuffed people just got a whole lot larger; you'll see SB's with 2000+ hits doing zerker-like damage.

[Malison]

Zutroy, that sounds more sane.  In my case, under 250, I get about 1 pt extra dot dmg per 10 intelligence.  250 is assumed to be my stat cap.  Now, if i should go over 250, I'll get 1 pt of dot dmg for every 25 points of intelligence.

so..if i had a 500 intelligence, my dots could do 10 more dmg a tick. yipee.

[Siddhartha]

Why do they put crap like this in the game? Has anyone been clamoring for this?

I honestly think that Mythic is trying to make the class and character specs more complicated so that it makes it easier to say "Your class isn't gimped, rather, your character is ill-specced." Or maybe the developers are moving this way to escape accountability.

It is hard to devine the real reason. One can be sure though that the real reason for this patch is neither need nor desire from players.

Boggles the mind.

Siddhartha, Albion, Scout
-- Can I come back yet?

[Lifesbane]

they must have left out the part of the notes where they fixed scouts...and coincidentally, they must also have forgotten to put that code into the patch...

...yea thats it, a simple mistake is all

[Sodom]

Basically, you get "a bonus" for every 25 points you're above the 300 point stat cap. However, thanks to Mythic's developer-speak, we still have no quantifiable value associated with this "bonus."  Does going from 300 to 325 in a stat have the same statistical benefit as going from 299 to 300? And what does this bonus entail for each of the different stats? How much does one "bonus" point in Dex (for example) really get me?

From the Herald:
"Hitpoint cap changes: the new hitpoint cap from items is (character level)*4 + (realm level)*2"

This is actually intelligible - the whole 25 points/"bonus" doesn't even look to figure into it.

Sodom is R3L6, which would be 26 realm levels, so his new HP cap from items should be (50*4) + (26*2), or 252, 52 more hp than the old 200 flat cap.

Echoic, at R10L10, has a HP cap of 400 hp from items.

Even with the new capping code, +power is still pretty useless, giving a R10L10 cabalist with capped +pow the ability to cast his lvl 40 single-target DOT an extra two (2!) times. This is at a cost of 140 imbue points, or 4 99% qual pieces of AF51 cloth. (Note:Focus bonuses not calculated )

If these two stats are anything to judge, overcapping a stat provides a "bonus" with a value equivalent to the ability to take 2 extra hits from a lvl 50 in melee, or the ability cast 2 extra lvl 50 spells before emptying your power pool. If that's accurate, then overcapping 1 or 2 of your core stats might be viable if your character is a one-trick pony - until you realize that with current SCing, you can't overcap more than one stat (at R10L10).

So unless Mythic starts coding more utility 40+ (as per the 30 dex/str ring in their example) accessory drops into the game, it's utterly unlikely you'll be able to overcap more than 1 stat without leaving huge holes in your other stats.

[Sodom]

And interesting suggestion on what "bonus" means can be found here, in a post by Medicman_Tristan. The gist of post is that under the current system, every 10 stat points over 50 gives you a 1% gain. After 250, it's every 20 stat points to get a 1% gain. This 1% gain is likely what Mythic is referring to as the "bonus."

Under the old system,
50 str = 0% bonus
250 str = 20% bonus (200/10)
300 str = 22.5% bonus (200/10 + 50/20)
400 str = 22.5% bonus (200/10 + 50/20 + 0)

Under the new system,
50 str = 0% bonus
250 str = 20% bonus (200/10)
300 str = 22.5% bonus (200/10 + 50/20)
400 str = 26.5% bonus (200/10 + 50/20 + 100/25)

The 1% is computed in figuring out your "derived stats" like WeaponSkill, chance to Evade, etc. Of course, we don't know how much weight this "bonus" has in the final hit/dmg calculations, so I expect folks will have to do a bunch of live-testing before anyone can decide whether an extra 4% is worth it.

OT, but I think Mythic needs to "get off the pot" and release their combat mechanic as "OpenSource." Not the code that runs it in the game, but the formulas used. I want somebody to be able to write an app that lets you input your stats and the stats of a dummy opponent (or spell effecting your character), and let you run a batch of a thousand simulations to see how much changing these little numbers affect you in-game.

[Bolldar Bloodaxe]

These changes would seem to add to the abundance of other features which already make it difficult for a realm to make a come back or compete with the other realms if they havent been winning in RvR.

This would seem true on an individual basis also since it gives those who already enjoy significant advantages from high RRs an ever greater advantage. (I think they are too great as they are and dont like being forced to RvR which this seems part of an ongoing campign on Mythics part to do)

As a SCer this would seem to add more uncertainty confusion and cost for everyone.

And most importantly they should be addressing class/realm imbalances not working to exacerbate them or make new ones.

[Sodom]

I don't know: it seems to me that Mythic is trying to give folks more incentive to continue playing characters past 50. It used to be that RvR was something to do with a character once you'd "finished" leveling - now, with RAs and expanded caps, RvR is way to continue "leveling" your character beyond 50.

Of course, they could reinforce this feeling by giving your character more discreet and granular benefits each time you gain a realm level.

I'd like to see them diversify the RAs a bit more; adding more RAs, giving each class more than one unique RA, and making individual RAs cheaper (or giving away more RSPs per realm level). As it is, there is generally one "best" set of RAs to have for a given class - I'd like to see more specialist sets (or kits, or "presitge classes") of RAs developed for each class further allowing a character to be specialized for a specific role.

But that's just me, I'm a roleplaying game nerd, and love brainstorming new systems

[Bolldar Bloodaxe]

Im not a great fan of RvR in any case and wish RAs were gettable in some other fashion, but i see this discouraging people cos it makes it so much harder to compete with those who have been doing it for a long time. That already exists to some extent but some of the more extreme examples quoted seem pretty awful. I think Mythic is all Trolls

[Zutroy]

Hell, I'd be happy if mythic just gave an overall purpose to RvR that didn't involve RPs. Right now you only take keeps for DF (or to farm them for RPs) and relic raids always happen in the early morning when no one from the defending realm is around to participate in them. How about adding something to RvR that involves a little more effort to accomplish?

I'm somewhat depressed that 8 man beat squads are the pinnacle of this game. It doesn't matter who has the relics; all that matters is who's name is in the top 25 RPs listing for the week. We might as well be playing counter-strike.

(Edited by Zutroy at 2:16 am on Mar. 26, 2003)

[Axecleaver]

I agree. I think that the concept of the couriers was really a step in the right direction. It just never caught on.

I'd like to see:

* 16 enter, 8 toons leave: 8 on 8 arena action similar to BGs
* Ways to address population imbalance and how it affect realm balance. Lots of ideas on this on the boards
* New 'missions' in RvR. Protect the VIP, Protect/Defend missions with defined rewards, full contact relay racing (mids would have a huge advantage with their CC and end regen...)

[Lifesbane]

wooo! sign me up for the cross-realm beauty pagent!

[Sodom]

I just wanna be able to load seige weapons with characters as ammo. Is that so freaking hard? I wanna toss tanks into defended keeps! Why should Infils and Minstrels have all the fun?