Suggestion Current EXP Rates, Quests, PvE Content, and End-Game Content

[NobleAlexander]

As you all know the tier 6 dungeons had its EXP rates cut in half to make way for the quest system. Doing so allows for less reliance on the tier 6 dungeons and more on the quests. As a result, players are somewhat forced to grind through the lower dungeons (typically tier 4 to tier 6). Lower dungeons yield less EXP but are typically more efficient (in terms of the EXP per Health ratio) and several times safer than the tier 6 dungeons. That said there is a heavy reliance on quests to earn EXP for classes as of recently. These quests are of course on a cooldown meaning it is a restriction on how quickly you can level up. This is mainly a play by Kainzo to increase the need on EXP boosts due to the longer grind. While I understand Kainzo has to make a living off the server and wishes to maximize his gains on the EXP boosts it is my belief that he is going about it the wrong way. As there is obviously a multitude of ways one can incentivize the player to buy content, but I'll get into that later.

The Heroes plugin is an obvious nod to the MMORPG genre, but it still lacks several essential elements of one. For instance, the most important element, the end game. As is, the server is closest in relation to the MMORPG "Runescape" prior to Runescape 3. The server is a practically infinite grind with barely any payoff at the end. You get to max level in Herocraft to maximize your efficiency in the scarce amount of PvP available and Castle grinding (where most of this scarce PvP happens). Where in a typical MMORPG has the majority of content put into the end game instead of the slow early/mid game which is mostly seen (in the USA and European Countries) to be the sluggish boring part. Herocraft desperately needs significant end-game content that isn't just for grinding up levels. Understandably this seems not "noob" friendly for a similar reason why MCMMO isn't friendly. As the map gets older the players who have been there the longest have the most significant advantage due to grinding the bosses for the highest period of time. That problem is amplified by the fact that to get to max level you have to spend several hours more than most modern free to play MMORPGs such as Tera, which typically requires about 15 hours to arrive at max level. As a result, the current EXP system is greatly restricting the availability and implementability of end-game content due to the fact that newer players would be mostly unable to access it until an absolutely ridiculous amount of time. Although, if you consider the fact that the server has this intense learning curve to scare off new players it seems silly to cater to a player base which isn't the ones providing you with the majority of your income. That's how MMORPGs such as Runescape scared away the majority of its veteran player base by trying to make the grind easier to cater to a new player base.

Unlike the modern free to play MMORPG the PvE content is lacking in improvement as you go up the tiers. This is a result of significant lack of effort put into the bosses and other mobs which lead to a repetitive grinding process to amplify the already mind-numbing leveling process. While common mobs should typically be low effort type mobs the bosses by no means should also have the similar low effort put into them. Instead look into plugins and other ways to allow the mobs to feel threatening on their own without simply just increasing the mob's health and damage. Moreover consider adding another type of boss, which is so threatening it requires some number of party members to do it with the mob being a significant threat that has the possibility of wiping a party out if they are not careful. The heroes server (which does not exist anymore) Medieval Legends did boss mobs notably better with the boss mobs feeling much more threatening and flavorful, so I know for a fact that it is possible to do the same thing for Herocraft (especially if you consider the fact that Medieval Legends only had 1 scripter, 1 builder, and 0 coders apart of the server). This added flavor to boss mobs will make it feel like a given party has actually accomplished something besides smashing their faces on a keyboard to kill an enemy, which will lessen the pain of grinding and be a great start to expanding the PvE content.

Furthermore, in MMORPGs without fail, they will attempt to give a feeling of progression, which in Herocraft is lost under the lack of progressive damage and health gain at every level. The reasoning for that is to make newer players feel they have a chance at fighting higher level players due to the lack of progressive damage and health gain at every level. This could be solved by giving them a PvP immunity until a certain level or lessening the emphasis and importance of the usage of higher tier PvP enabled dungeons for grinding. What can be done to fix this emphasis on higher tier dungeons? Level based EXP drops. Meaning, if you are within the range of X-Y class level you will get a significantly increased amount of EXP than if you were not. As well, you could restructure the tier system with each dungeon being a specific level range instead of tier 2 to tier 6 having two separate dungeons to simulate a feeling of progression as you go from dungeon to dungeon.

So, I said earlier that there were some ways you could incentivize players to use real life cash to get some form of compensation. The important part for most players is the compensation. So, if more emphasis is put into the end-game content how can Mr. Kainzo make his mula (money)? This isn't the only way, but you can make tough boss mobs drop significant upgrade type items which can be used to upgrade armor and weapons. Without said upgrades, it will make progression notably harder to the point of impossible as one progresses. This damage increase on weapons and armor will add a feeling of progression that was lost. As well, this will increase player interaction due to fights over the control of boss spawns. Besides that, depending on the rarity of the drop and the number required to upgrade it would become a very big deal to buy item drop boosts as well as EXP boosts to progress at a much more swift pace. To further incentivize the usage of the item boost you can make an item tip jar which will be separate to the coin tip jar. It's possible that you could make it a player shop of the sort where if they buy an item boost they can take an item or two (or all of them) for buying an item drop boost. To then incentivize players to put rare items in the item tip jar you can give the player(s) who put the item in there a little extra % boost or some coin or something of the sort.

Hope this gives you a few ideas Herocraft staff team!

 

[Vongard]

I appreciate your well thought out post. It is thorough and Interesting.

I agree that experience needed to reach max level is too high, we need a more interesting way to level.
And more compelling end game content would be amazing.

I strongly disagree with a single point. Changes to the leveling hp/damage system.
This game thrives on non-max levels having relevancy. The game is interesting because it rewards hardcore players while not alienating casual players. I entirely disagree with the notion of a level requirement to pvp. It existed on a previous map (I believe bastion) and while it works well on paper it makes for boring game play. If a friend joins me on the server i want them to feel useful and entertained at level 1.

 

[w0nd3rb0y]

I stopped reading halfway through. #mobarenas2017 will fix everything.

 

[STDs4YouAnd4Me]

I stopped reading halfway through. #mobarenas2017 will fix everything.

Mob arenas were lame. Nothing beats raw open world leveling.

 

[LordZelkova]

Mob arenas were lame. Nothing beats raw open world leveling.

I always enjoyed MA's more than trying to swamp level. It felt more consistent and at least felt like more than just left clicking a mob to death.

 

[STDs4YouAnd4Me]

I always enjoyed MA's more than trying to swamp level. It felt more consistent and at least felt like more than just left clicking a mob to death.

Mob arenas and dungeons are one in the same. When you need to be in a different realm or be at spawn to level, it negates open-world. With enough money people could just buy spawn plots, or build LWC's next to herogates, effectively making Herocraft a no-pvp creative server. Dungeons were the worst thing that could have happened to Herocraft

 

[J2BH]

Unless leveling is the most fun I wwill ever have in my entire life,
in no way in gods name should leveling take longer than it already does.

 

[w0nd3rb0y]

Mob arenas and dungeons are one in the same. When you need to be in a different realm or be at spawn to level, it negates open-world. With enough money people could just buy spawn plots, or build LWC's next to herogates, effectively making Herocraft a no-pvp creative server. Dungeons were the worst thing that could have happened to Herocraft

Do you remember mob arenas? Were you here during that time? Some of the best pvp fights happened at the mob arenas. The MAs were in the wild. You had to walk there. They weren't in spawn or a different world.

Edit: spawn did have one arena, sewer I believe.

 

[NobleAlexander]

I appreciate your well thought out post. It is thorough and Interesting.

I agree that experience needed to reach max level is too high, we need a more interesting way to level.
And more compelling end game content would be amazing.

I strongly disagree with a single point. Changes to the leveling hp/damage system.
This game thrives on non-max levels having relevancy. The game is interesting because it rewards hardcore players while not alienating casual players. I entirely disagree with the notion of a level requirement to pvp. It existed on a previous map (I believe bastion) and while it works well on paper it makes for boring gameplay. If a friend joins me on the server i want them to feel useful and entertained at level 1.

To clarify the intent of my post, I believe that there is some merit in making the game feel progressive. Several of these were ideas that came as a result of playing many MMORPGs. Sadly, this game is by no means an MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) but is an RPG. It plays similarly to an MMORPG just without the massive player base. We have a long grind, but no form of light at the end of the tunnel. The idea behind the PVP lock/level progression is simple. You significantly reduce the time it takes to level to max (which of course Kainzo would likely object because of the lack of EXP boosts as a result leading to it being turned down) but add progression. The idea of several MMORPGs that have been successful is to make the grind a way to progress the player and teach them their classes skills in at most a week of casual (2 hours a day) play. After one gets to max level you begin to add item progression instead of leveling progression. Making it interesting with fun bosses (which are entirely possible with Mythic Mobs... I'd know because the server that had said fun bosses was co-ran by me).

Also, most PvP restriction plugins are able to allow the player to remove the PvP restriction, and PvP regardless of their level/time on the server. That said, most of them won't allow it to be put back on by the player, but it could be possible to allow certain levels to be able to use a skill which has a long wind up to turn it back on. If not then there should be a warning that pops up in chat informing them about the fact it can't come back on and that they'll likely be at a disadvantage.

You may or may not have noticed I am trying to look out for the new player while catering to the veteran players. The new players get the short end of the stick most of the time, and several township members of varying townships have taken it upon themselves to repeatable kill low-level players. Personally, I'd wish they would be punished for this act. Possibly warning them in chat after killing a specific low-level player. Afterward, if they kill more (of that same player) something happens... whether it be a debuff... a temp ban... a tax taken from their account... a reset of their kill counter... something.