Post by beets on Sept 13, 2015 4:36:30 GMT -5
At present the spawn system seems to compensate for groups of players primarily by increasing the number of enemies it throws at them. This coupled with how some NPCs are worth more XP than others (in Wyler, for example, mutants continue to award XP far beyond the point that Lunatics will) makes grouping in dungeons feel kind of adversarial at times. There are many situations where doing what is best for the group's success - like funneling enemies through tight choke points or focusing down the swarms of lower level "trash" creatures worth minimal XP - is not what is best for a player's personal XP progression. A few ideas I had:
a) Keep the spawn system as is, but make it so that every creature in a dungeon awards XP provided you're within that dungeon's skill "band". Example: A Lunatic in Wyler Asylum will award skill XP to a character with 40 Two-Hand the same way a mutant will, but once that character reaches 50 Two-Hand, he/she no longer gains any Two-Hand XP in Wyler Asylum at all. This would probably be the easiest of my suggestions to implement, but wouldn't really address the whole "gotta hit dat mutant; need dat sweet mutant XP" problem (not being accusatory; I'm extremely guilty of this myself at times) unless all the enemies in a dungeon awarded close to the same level of XP, which could really inflate skill gain if the system is throwing tons of "trash" enemies into the meat grinder.
b) Re-balance the spawn system so that player groups spawn smaller, but comparatively more difficult groups of enemies that award more XP. This would keep things a little more manageable, rather than the current system where you can end up fighting 12+ Lunatics at a time. It would also allow for more freedom with how and where to pick engagements, instead of every fight becoming 'block everything in the doorway and pray they don't get out and swarm the backline'. It would help ensure that everybody gets a shot at gaining some XP with their chosen combat skill, whether they're picking off mutants at range or facing off in melee against lunatics.
c) This one would almost certainly require the most work, and I have no idea if it's even possible, but: allow players to tag a 'focus' combat skill, which would then benefit from a more traditional NWN2 shared XP pool that every player in the party is contributing to when they gain combat XP. That way everybody is gaining a least a little something, and situations where you're forced to choose between prioritizing the group or personal XP won't result in your getting completely skunked if you chose the former. I would prefer if armor skills could also be tagged despite being considered Utility. It would help to preemptively address a problem that I think armor progression is going to run into; namely that if things are going well for a group, then the tank should be the only person mitigating large amounts of damage.
I'll make no claims as to my credibility in this department, and I'm sure there are far more elegant solutions than the ones I've thought up. I think it's a problem that needs to be addressed sooner or later, though. I really enjoy EoA's skill system and the freedom it allows, but it can feel kind of wonky in group settings.
a) Keep the spawn system as is, but make it so that every creature in a dungeon awards XP provided you're within that dungeon's skill "band". Example: A Lunatic in Wyler Asylum will award skill XP to a character with 40 Two-Hand the same way a mutant will, but once that character reaches 50 Two-Hand, he/she no longer gains any Two-Hand XP in Wyler Asylum at all. This would probably be the easiest of my suggestions to implement, but wouldn't really address the whole "gotta hit dat mutant; need dat sweet mutant XP" problem (not being accusatory; I'm extremely guilty of this myself at times) unless all the enemies in a dungeon awarded close to the same level of XP, which could really inflate skill gain if the system is throwing tons of "trash" enemies into the meat grinder.
b) Re-balance the spawn system so that player groups spawn smaller, but comparatively more difficult groups of enemies that award more XP. This would keep things a little more manageable, rather than the current system where you can end up fighting 12+ Lunatics at a time. It would also allow for more freedom with how and where to pick engagements, instead of every fight becoming 'block everything in the doorway and pray they don't get out and swarm the backline'. It would help ensure that everybody gets a shot at gaining some XP with their chosen combat skill, whether they're picking off mutants at range or facing off in melee against lunatics.
c) This one would almost certainly require the most work, and I have no idea if it's even possible, but: allow players to tag a 'focus' combat skill, which would then benefit from a more traditional NWN2 shared XP pool that every player in the party is contributing to when they gain combat XP. That way everybody is gaining a least a little something, and situations where you're forced to choose between prioritizing the group or personal XP won't result in your getting completely skunked if you chose the former. I would prefer if armor skills could also be tagged despite being considered Utility. It would help to preemptively address a problem that I think armor progression is going to run into; namely that if things are going well for a group, then the tank should be the only person mitigating large amounts of damage.
I'll make no claims as to my credibility in this department, and I'm sure there are far more elegant solutions than the ones I've thought up. I think it's a problem that needs to be addressed sooner or later, though. I really enjoy EoA's skill system and the freedom it allows, but it can feel kind of wonky in group settings.
