Cere Harkens
Cerulean Systems
16
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Posted - 2013.10.27 17:35:00 -
[1] - Quote
One of the most consistent complaints on the forum is how high-level gear, particularly prototype gear, creates imbalance. Part of the counter-argument to that complaint is that once a player has obtained prototype skills, there's little reason to equip anything else beyond financial considerations.
There should be incentives to use a wider range of equipment, and not treat Dust's choices as strictly linear. I propose having equipment be inversely related to the probability of obtaining salvage loot. The higher level the equipment, the lower the odds of getting salvage.
For the sake of argument (the numbers are just examples):
Militia gear: 0.4% per piece
Standard gear: 0.3% per piece
Advanced gear: 0.2% per piece
Prototype gear 0.1% per piece
Higher-level dropsuits would also need to have a built-in penalty to prevent someone from filling a prototype logi suit with militia gear, but that is fine-tuning. Alternately, the system could just be related to dropsuit level without being cumulative with equipment.
Either way, the principle of the system would be the higher your gear, the lower your chances of getting salvage after battles. Or looked at the other way, the lower your gear the higher your odds of getting salvage.
Dust already has some of the foundations of its system in its beta design, as can be seen here:
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/12/11/dust-514-war-and-profit/
For those who don't want to deal with the link, here is the relevant text:
Quote:Salvage is your final reward for battles fought. How you currently receive salvage is straightforward: Everyone who participates in a battle receives an equal opportunity to receive items from a single master loot table, regardless of their performance. This system is temporary, and serves as a stepping stone towards final implementation, which should prove far more robust and enjoyable.
Once complete, the full system will allow players to influence the quality and quantity of the salvage they receive. Play in a battle with more players and more destruction, and there will more to salvage, and victory earns you the lionGÇÖs share of the spoils. Equip modules that assist you in finding better salvage, and you will become much more likely to receive higher quality items, such as the rare Officer-tier weapons. Quality and type of salvage will also potentially differ based upon the planet you fight on, with rare gear most likely found on nullsec planets.
The line "Equip modules that assist you in finding better salvage" demonstrates the idea that gear itself can influence the probability of loot. Modules would also effectively lower the overall gear on a suit, replacing a damage mod for a salvage mod, for example. That suit becomes less powerful, but more likely to find salvage.
However, if we simply connect salvage probability to gear level, it also helps newer players catch up to veterans without the need for specialized modules, which would be biased toward veterans if they were skill-based. |
Cere Harkens
Cerulean Systems
16
|
Posted - 2013.10.27 18:09:00 -
[2] - Quote
Cenex Langly wrote:I can't figure out why you would want to penalize someone from getting loot just because they've been skilled into better equipment. You're taking the reward away from the reward.
I think of it more as giving a bonus to those with lower gear than penalizing those with higher gear. There should always be a minimum probability of getting salvage, and that can stay the same as it is now.
What I'm suggesting is making gear more of a choice. As it is now, there's little reason to use anything else besides prototype once a player is skilled into it.
I think its safe to say that everyone wants to loot good stuff. It's also safe to say that most players like to use gear to gain a battlefield advantage. What I'm proposing is making it a matter of choice. A player can choose to protostomp and still have a chance at salvage, or he can take it down a notch and increase his chance of salvage.
Create a system that rewards players' choices. Prototype rewards with power. Lower gear rewards with more salvage. |