My newest obstacle to a premium account

[Ogah Powah]

So as I finally ranked up enough to actually be able to spar some people, and I got the SP's coming in faster, I was elated. I could finally train up and I knew this would mean newer, cooler, more fun moves to try out which would lead to newer hunting grounds to explore and enjoy, and the possibility of PvP.

For the first time, I hit the "SP cap". At about 275 SP, I started getting only .02 to .01 per hit, and less than 2-3 SP until I was exhausted.

So I started trying to figure things out, and I was appalled at how long I would have to wait(not train, WAIT) to be able to PvP and try out the cooler hunting grounds. I hit the cap, trained my skills, but I still couldn't hunt beyond the dumps, pits, or the island. It'll take months and months to get a more reasonable offense, any defense at all, and I'd still need to focus a month on Reflexes so that it doesn't take me 5 seconds to punch someone.

So let's say, now I know how to spar, and I max out at that SP in 2 days or so. I can no longer train further, and have 5 days to wait until the next cycle.

It's summer, I have no school, no job yet, rarely sleep, my girlfriend is at work all day, and I love playing.

See where there's a problem?

I understand I could go and explore, or socialize(which is still tough as people sometimes prefer to stick within their circles, and the combination of my late night/early morning playing hours combined with the small playerbase doesn't help). But what if there was a cap on that?

I'd like PvE more, and eventually have a chance at PvP, but it seems like that no matter what the current characters and veterans will always have however many ranks they have ahead of me, and I'll never have a chance against them.

Once again, maybe I'm missing something. I'm still new. But I don't get why there's a cap on something I really enjoy in the game.

[zeldaiscool]

you can eventually compete with them but really would you want to play a game that you have played for 5 years to have a new guy jump in and after a month be as skilled as you ?

[Gorathos II]

FYI, 'pure' PVP in TEC is a bit limited. Beating someone down and taking their gear will net you a lot of jailtime and a reputation as a bandit.

Most PVP is limited to blood spars, Colosseum games, basement brawl matches, etc. ie. it's highly structured.

But if you look hard, you can find it. You don't need to have Ibios-esque stats and ranks to be successful at PvP.. just work well with a team.

Also a little bit of advice.. take it easy with the training. I had a character with a skill in the 7th slot that I gained about 200 ranks in over two months and burned out hard.

[Max Powers]

Start an alt. I play 4 because I have no life.

[Gorathos II]

max powers come home, our babies are asking where their daddy is

[xiaozh]

Kinda of have to agree that the SP cap (well not cap so much as limitation) is a real pain. Whenever I play I new character I get all excited about it and hate that I have to wait. Sure it's a marketing strategy and sure it'd suck even more, as Zelda said, if a newb could kill a character I spent years on, but maybe for newer character, like those w/ less than 200 ranks, could get an extended period of time when they're getting .05-.03 per hit. I've had it happen quite often that I'd get dulled into tossing a character due to the RL time limitations.
As for it being a marketing strategy...well hell everyone who plays now is addicted already. Most it could do is entice a few new folks even if they drop out in the long run.

[NewPatriot]

Stats and ranks are only part of the game. I'd suggest spending the rest of your time making IC contacts, if you don't want to start an alt. That way your character will grow in more ways than numbers on the skillsheet.

[xiaozh]

Any group worth joining expects some skill-wise standing and no one, even if 'accepted' wants to be a dead weight. Advancement in any combat based orgs revolve around participation in the combat that it specializes in: the stables their matches, the guards their patrols ext.

Sure socialization is the primary part of the game but social standing is derived from mechanical backing. Okay that deserves some elaboration probably. I could RP a 'badass' and 'not-take-shit-from-no-one' but w/o mechanical backing, that is the ranks to stand up in a fight, my 'badass' will loose all respect and credibility the first time he gets thrashed.
Naturally we cannot just *give out* ranks or combat bonuses. All things worth having are worth working for. But the cap regulates the reward no matter the committed work. If someone wishes to put in the effort for a skilled, mechanically backed character, amount of effort should be the only determinant. And that amount of effort should be accurately reflected in the rewards. We're not communists afterall.

[Gorathos II]

The best example of ranks not meaning a lot would be Drunser. A close second would be Sinecus.

[xiaozh]

Originally Posted by Gorathos II

The best example of ranks not meaning a lot would be Drunser. A close second would be Sinecus.

Mind explaining to those retards like me who don't know these individuals, how so? I'd like to believe that ranks not meaning alot and if there's rationale to convince me, I will. However being a non-com isn't exactly my idea of a good time, no offense to those who are, just my personal opinion.

[neitz]

I had a char that met Sinecus and had a few dealings with him , his aura was one that told my char not to mess with him , my char wasnt interested in beating on him to see if he had ranks or not .Some chars are played so convincingly that they seem demi-gods wether they are or not , not only that but instead of spending hours training some chars use that time to build connections and stories which in the long run ,one would assume turn out to be much more immersive and rewarding than bashing that white wolf for the 60th time . Ranks dont make the char believeable its the player behind em.
If you walked into an empty forum and a masked man appeared out of nowhere , and suddenly so did 12 hoods , all appearing meanacing yet none attacking you , whilst the masked man asked you to wait , he wasnt going to hurt you just wanted a chat ..what would you think ? A. one false move and i,m dead ? B. these guys gotta have ranks right ? C. i think i,ll try and take em all out ? , .
In reality you still dont know if these guys are a bunch pacifist acrobats that collect butterflies for a living.
Some players actually rp their fights and dont rely on mechanics, or mix both trusting each other to rp the situation aproppriatley

[Tweninger]

Someone walking around with a 150 talent hood is probably smart enough to hide (get away) or hurt you fairly easily.

Every hood that I've ran into has either been decently skilled, -very- elusive, and an overall good role-player.

[NewPatriot]

I play my characters how I want to play them, regardless of their ranks.

I probably wouldn't have fun if I didn't.

[GMWombat]

There is a valid complaint in here, in that the training ability is artificially limited.

If character A has trained for 103 hours in order to reach his current skill level, should you be able to train for 103 hours straight and reach his level? Currently, you could reach his level by training for 103 hours, however you'd have to spread it over 10 weeks, even if you were dedicated enough to want to do it all at once. You are forced to spend 10 weeks to reach his level, rather than sitting there for 4 days straight.

Is this artificial limitation good for the game?

Should someone willing to train for 12 hours a day every day be able to see more gain than someone willing to train for 3 hours every day?

If the 'tail' was lengthened, and you could continue gaining 0.02-per-hit for an additional 100 sp per week (random figures), would you feel forced to train for longer each week per week?

If you were able to train almost constantly, would Wombat drastically change sparring? Yus.



The complaint about PvP isn't valid. You can fight other characters regardless of ranks. All PvP guilds will recruit regardless of ranks, most others will be willing to take on a recruit and guide him up into a fighter able to do his duty (eg, kill bandits). The complaint about not being able to visit hunting grounds isn't all that valid, given that with 2 friends you only need about 300 ranks to cope in any hunting ground bar some of the RV dungeons. (note, may not be same 300 ranks for all options)

[Gorathos II]

TEC really doesn't need another Calgar, Wombat.

The current system has some flaws, but it's better than "old" TEC's system where we'd beat on sewer snake heads in the dark for 6 hours straight.