Soul Weapons

[Razofgal]

So, i had this idea years ago, and since i believe it will be quite a few years until my gaming company dares to enter the MMO stage, i will just pass it on to this game, whom does seem to become very fantastic.

Soul weapons is an idea where you have a weapon, whom is your characters favorite weapon of all time. It can be extremely well crafted, or you have just used it for so long that you are Very good at using that weapon. This weapon will be your "friend", linked with your soul ( no special soul powers tho, ill explain why i call it soul weapons later on.


( i don't know, so shame on me for not knowing if there is weapon decay in this game)
So, you have this very good weapon, much better than most weapons. So, why will you ever use any other weapon? Well, give the soul weapon a special decay. And a cool repairing quest if it gets broken. No traveling to a normal smith to fix it, that weapon is so special that you will have t find some master smith whom has become an hermit. Find him, he tells you to get the needed parts, and he will repair it, perhaps for some services.

If the weapon cannot be Better than other weapons, perhaps it can scale in power, alongside the character. Or just look extremely much cooler than any other weapon. These are just ideas.

However, the main idea is this:
If there is to be full loot, then ofc the soul weapon can be stolen. Usually, you wont find your items again. But this time, that person stole your soul weapon, your friend trough battle, your lover of war. Your deep connection with that blade lets you "sense" where that person is ( perhaps by a dot on the map whom indicates where he is. ). Then you can either go alone, or gather friends, to hunt him down. But, if he is very mean, he loggs off for a week to annoy you. What then, well, how about saying that the blade will return to you if the thief is offline for more than 48-62 hours. But if he always logs on a bit everyday, then you wont be able to get it.

There i dont have any idea, but if these guys take this idea in any form or shape, i bet they will figure it out.

-Razofgal

[Sava]

Nice idea, but what if i had sword and have given it to my friend to use ? What if after 1 month of fighting with stonemaul i suddenly understood that i want crossbow or sword+shield ? I'm not steady and wanna use different weapons anytime... I don't wanna be binded to anything =).

It looks good on "paper". But it'll be another headache to devs. They already have tons of ideas and need to choose (already choosed) most advantageos of them.

[iannetti67]

Originally Posted by Sava

It looks good on "paper". But it'll be another headache to devs. They already have tons of ideas and need to choose (already choosed) most advantageos of them.

I have to agree that it is a good and interesting idea in theory but probably would be hard to implement given how many times a player will change his weapons.

Originally Posted by Razofgal

Your deep connection with that blade lets you "sense" where that person is ( perhaps by a dot on the map whom indicates where he is. ). Then you can either go alone, or gather friends, to hunt him down

However, you gave me an idea for an advanced divination skill (ex- fortune teller, palm reading). These diviners can use their skill on another player and sense the general location of that player's most recent murderer. I guess it would act as a long range track but not as precise. Perhaps the diviner's sensing skills get stronger and more accurate the closer he becomes to the murderer. It would be cool to have people hiring these diviners to seek revenge and win back some gear.

[Zigkirby]

Item decay. Full Loot. Item destruction.

Wouldn't work very well.

[Thalras Naeblis]

Originally Posted by iannetti67

However, you gave me an idea for an advanced divination skill (ex- fortune teller, palm reading). These diviners can use their skill on another player and sense the general location of that player's most recent murderer. I guess it would act as a long range track but not as precise. Perhaps the diviner's sensing skills get stronger and more accurate the closer he becomes to the murderer. It would be cool to have people hiring these diviners to seek revenge and win back some gear.

Nice. I would love to seek revenge one time and what better way to find the guy then finding a diviner that can track him down for me. Then that would be great to bring a few friends to gang kill him get back my gear and tell my friends to loot the rest.

[1reaver1]

would be cool to be able to "mark" or "bind " to 1 or 2 items of your choice. Lets say you have something you loved and wanted to make sure you could track it. It would be nice to set the item to be tracked if looted.

some people may never use the option or turn it on, someone else may want to link their person to something they own like weapon or armor piece. I could see some feuds springing up if you have 2 people linked to the same item once it got looted.

[Shinzon]

The attachment could form with any regular weapon over time. That means that initialy as you are "Leveling" and switching your equipment all the time, you will not form any bonds with the weapons, but as you start to even out, and you got your equipment, and you start to use it for a prolonged amount of time, you start to form that bond with the weapon. So a regular sword you used for a long time will essentialy get a small boost in it's power compared to how long you have been using it.

This would give a nice flaviour to PvP; if someone finaly managed to steal your "Soul Bound" sword. This would allow you to get more personal with your items even in a full loot enviornment.

[SkirmCard]

Originally Posted by Shinzon

The attachment could form with any regular weapon over time. That means that initialy as you are "Leveling" and switching your equipment all the time, you will not form any bonds with the weapons, but as you start to even out, and you got your equipment, and you start to use it for a prolonged amount of time, you start to form that bond with the weapon. So a regular sword you used for a long time will essentialy get a small boost in it's power compared to how long you have been using it.

This would give a nice flaviour to PvP; if someone finaly managed to steal your "Soul Bound" sword. This would allow you to get more personal with your items even in a full loot enviornment.

I think that is a very interesting idea. The weapon you have a bond with might even get a name change with part of your name in the weapon title (Skirm's Slayer, or something much, much less lame). When someone does take it from you, that would make for quite a trophy.

I also like the idea of the person being able to track the person who took your weapon (only for a limited time to allow for a small possibility to get it back). And if you do end up losing it forever, well then maybe you should have fought better. It would just be time to start developing a bond with a new weapon.

[Shinzon]

I think that is a very interesting idea. The weapon you have a bond with might even get a name change with part of your name in the weapon title (Skirm's Slayer, or something much, much less lame). When someone does take it from you, that would make for quite a trophy.

Certainly would make for a better trophy then a useless head, this actualy angers the player who lost the item, because not only was it his favorite weapon, but now the enemy is using it.

[Fyrburn]

The idea sounds good, but losing it could be too much of a headache for the player. I mean, I'd love a weapon with my name on it and power other normal weapons don't have, but the system works both ways, so you might find yourself on the wrong end of a power leveller with some rediculously unbalanced weapon.

What about weaponless classes such as mages? Do they get a special soul spell?
The whole idea has roots too deep in single player RPGs where losing something so unique can be cancelled via a saved game, whereas in an MMO losing a weapon you'veput 400 hours into getting stronger can be reason enough for certain people to quit outright.

Perhaps a system of binding where it's a regular silver sword to anyone but the original owner would both keep its awesomeness, but soften the blow of losing it.

Remember that ganking is just as, if not more common than standard PvP in most games when people go AFK.


Your game crashes and leaves you logged in?
You have to quickly get up and do something?
You hear a family member shout for help in your house?

There are many reasons where priorities take over and you'll leave your PC right at what you were doing only to return and find some ass hat just got a cheap kill off you and stole all your loot while you're nowhere near the PC.

Then there's other issues like backstabbing when you're busy fighting mobs or other players. Not only does the coward get a free kill from you, inconvenience you, but gets rewarded with a unique, epic weapon for his troubles?

[ccoa]

Originally Posted by Fyrburn

The idea sounds good, but losing it could be too much of a headache for the player. I mean, I'd love a weapon with my name on it and power other normal weapons don't have, but the system works both ways, so you might find yourself on the wrong end of a power leveller with some rediculously unbalanced weapon.

What about weaponless classes such as mages? Do they get a special soul spell?
The whole idea has roots too deep in single player RPGs where losing something so unique can be cancelled via a saved game, whereas in an MMO losing a weapon you'veput 400 hours into getting stronger can be reason enough for certain people to quit outright.

Perhaps a system of binding where it's a regular silver sword to anyone but the original owner would both keep its awesomeness, but soften the blow of losing it.

Remember that ganking is just as, if not more common than standard PvP in most games when people go AFK.


Your game crashes and leaves you logged in?
You have to quickly get up and do something?
You hear a family member shout for help in your house?

There are many reasons where priorities take over and you'll leave your PC right at what you were doing only to return and find some ass hat just got a cheap kill offall y you and stole our loot while you're nowhere near the PC.

Then there's other issues like backstabbing when you're busy fighting mobs or other players. Not only does the coward get a free kill from you, inconvenience you, but gets rewarded with a unique, epic weapon for his troubles?

Well full loot PvP wouldn't exactly promote mass killing. People would be cautious as to who or how they kill someone. Besides it just adds to the realism of the game if you were so naive as to not survey your surroundings before you rush into kill a mob that's too bad for you.

Besides, perhaps a simple /afk command that prevents you from being looted when killed could be implemented. And to stop abuse it could require no combat moves to have been cast in the last 10 or 15 seconds or any movement of the mouse or key stroke would break it.

[Fyrburn]

Originally Posted by ccoa

Well full loot PvP wouldn't exactly promote mass killing. People would be cautious as to who or how they kill someone. Besides it just adds to the realism of the game if you were so naive as to not survey your surroundings before you rush into kill a mob that's too bad for you.

Besides, perhaps a simple /afk command that prevents you from being looted when killed could be implemented. And to stop abuse it could require no combat moves to have been cast in the last 10 or 15 seconds or any movement of the mouse or key stroke would break it.

I guess a simple /afk could make all the difference in some sitations, although studying your surroundings can be a hard card to play if the possibility of invisible stealth players exists.


Mass killing can be a problem in all games, especially if some players make 'anonymous' alt characters with nothing worth losing, for the sole purpose of unfair fights where the loot is good to transfer later into their main.

You'd be amazed at how much trouble certain people will go to in order to bring misery to others.

[1reaver1]

i agree the naming would be cool. Maybe the naming of it would be what bonded it to you...period. I wouldn't want anything i used for a long time to automatically be bonded. (I have underwear i have had longer than my car, doesn't mean o am more bonded to them.)

Once you name it, you could track it. maybe after 100 ingame hours logged the new owner could rename it, if they so wished. another option might be to make the item dotted on the map selectable so if you clicked on it and broke your bond, it wouldn't show up anymore as well. Granted, it may be in your best interest just to say goodbye to your beloved. (i am coming after mine, so beware)

Oh and note: I did see someone say, "what weaponless classes such as mages". Not this mage baby. I go packin 100% of the time. I doubt you will find a mage without a favorite staff, book or other thrinket in a weapon slot. Wouldn't worry about that, we all pack a weapon, even if just for the stats.

[Shinzon]

*Gets a surgions knife out*

The idea sounds good, but losing it could be too much of a headache for the player. I mean, I'd love a weapon with my name on it and power other normal weapons don't have, but the system works both ways, so you might find yourself on the wrong end of a power leveller with some rediculously unbalanced weapon.

The weapon recieves a *slight* boost, nothing overpowered; but something that still makes it worth to "Attune" a weapon. It's supposed to work both ways. A player IS supposed to get pissed off when he looses his attuned weapon, and on the reciever's end it makes for a better trophy to hand on wall compared to a head. Again the weapon doesn't need an insane glowing boost, just something that makes it "Slightly Special".

What about weaponless classes such as mages? Do they get a special soul spell?
The whole idea has roots too deep in single player RPGs where losing something so unique can be cancelled via a saved game, whereas in an MMO losing a weapon you'veput 400 hours into getting stronger can be reason enough for certain people to quit outright.

I suspect mages will still need either a staff; or some sort of a channeling tool in order to be efficient, so that can act as their "Weapon". This is not something people should "Grind For", but a nice little bonus when you picked out your standard equipment and have platoed, so for the most of the game you will never be able to attune because you are swapping weapons for better ones. The idea has roots in Psycology, to attach the player personaly to his items, instead of it being treated as "Random trash loot", in a system where equipment is replaceable it is still a good idea to add something that will make players want to hold on to their weapons, even if that means running away from a fight.

Remember that ganking is just as, if not more common than standard PvP in most games when people go AFK.

In a world where anyone can come behind you and sink an axe in your back; I don't think any reasonable player would attempt to idle outside of a city or a tavern for too long.

Your game crashes and leaves you logged in?
You have to quickly get up and do something?
You hear a family member shout for help in your house?

The server will see that it is not recieving any data from your charachter and logs you out
You press exit, and quickly do something.
You drop everything you are doing and run to help. I don't care how "Phat My Lootz" is at the moment, no game is worth more than a life.

There are many reasons where priorities take over and you'll leave your PC right at what you were doing only to return and find some ass hat just got a cheap kill off you and stole all your loot while you're nowhere near the PC.

Well that would be a concern for all of the gameplay regardless of this topic. IRL always takes priority any way.

Then there's other issues like backstabbing when you're busy fighting mobs or other players. Not only does the coward get a free kill from you, inconvenience you, but gets rewarded with a unique, epic weapon for his troubles?

Why should a rusty dagger all of a sudden become epic because you have been wielding it for a while. Sure it might be better when compared to another "Rusty Dagger", but it still worse than the "Adamantium Ritual Blade".

****

In short; this is a feature that focuses to attach the player to equipment that otherwise might have been eagerly replaced, as well as give the gankers a more formidable trophy and a taunting tool. This seeks to involve the player emotionaly as well as promote player interaction.