This Develpment Idea is mostly for ArtherEld, but if anyone has any questions,comments. I will answer them.
This post (and there will more) is about Group systems and Area Missions.
Before I explain my system, id like to explain the past stance on Group systems.
For most games, the standard group consists of a Tank, a Healer, a De(Buffer), and 3 DPS slots.
The Tank, obviously tanks. The Healer.. Heals..., The DPS (are essentially expendable classes that deal damage and hopefully do not steal agro from the tank because they usually lack the Armor and HP to tank)
The De(Buffer) has a unique ascept. This slot usually has a class type that can snare/slow, stun/mez, or even a secondary Healer.
This group type would be considered the perfect standard group. But the downfall of such a system is the class requirement for having a Tank and a Healer. Without these 2 essential classes, the group would most likely fail to acheive victory.
The option of not having Tanks or Healers, is using a tactic called Kiting,and Fear Kiting (Reverse Kiting). Kiting involves snaring (movement debuff) and the npc chases the player with agro and the DPS attacks the npc. Reverse Kiting requires open spaces. The npc is snared and Feared (cannot control character runs in a certain direction) the dps follows the mob damaging until fear fades.
From these types of Systems Certain classes are required to acheive victory. These types of systems are played all the way through to high end. In npc wandering areas. Groups may be looking for that certain class to play, or the group has trouble getting XP. Some players will go LFG (Looking for group) yet receive no group because a group requires a certain class instead of someone who is looking for group.
This creates frustration, as to. The required classes are usually the most boring, wheras the DPS classes are the most creative and diverse.
Using the Old MxO system, the frustration would wash away, due to the fact that players were able to load whichever class style which was needed for the event. Of course the time sink of getting the proper levels for abilities and getting the abilities made, was the timesink but well worth the time.
I have my own idea for a non-Healer/Tank system but i wont go into it.
As for Area Missions.
These area missions (contacts) use the Standard Experience missions, which are boring to say the least.
I propose that these Trials (Not missions!) be the hardest tasks that players can do for their level. These Trials are given as Arcs from the Exile Contacts that do have an actual role in the matrix (Yes Exiles do work in the Matrix). Im not talking about that Exile named Antartica thats targeted for Assassination. These Area Exiles are in hiding and require protection from Agents, and the Merovingian. The difficulty of a mission should not be based in levels, but rather what effects are groups fighting/how each group member brings something to the table. Instead of thinking about getting an npc to 0 Health. Implement speed bumps into these trials. Waves of Npcs. Npcs that have Rampage (a wave of Area melee Damage), Npcs that are immune to Debuffs, NPCs that require clever strategies to be beaten.
Rewards for these difficult Trials should be access to Archive Zones, as well as the Exile Command Special Ability (this Ability has no class),
One issue i have with grouping which finally was fixed over the last summer. Groups of higher levels with lower levels. Within the Matrix, if i remember you can be lvl 10 or so and still group with a 50 and get XP. When that occurs the npcs are balanced out and some of the lower players may be able to hit the npcs, but just easier for the higher levels to take it out. For groups, i believe in challenge. I believe in grouping with players of the near/same level.
What SoE has done with EQ as well as other online games is create a "shroud" system where either the higher level player becomes a lower lvl player and can only use the powers of that such level and below.
As well, the lower level can become higher level but cannot use anything beyond the level he really has acheived. For Example. lvl 15 groups with a lvl 50. The Level 50 can buddy the lvl 15 and make the lvl 15 turn into a lvl 46. The lvl 46 has the powers of only a lvl 15 but his skills are maxed of those (tet Abilities).
I believe with this type of system, Class structures, where players can choose to play whichever class they can load is essential to the creavity and class desirability that players do run into when trying to progress in (mini) Raids.
Again,questions,comments.
Next Post will be about Regular XP (Regular mobs and Mission system)