Chef Archive

I've clawed my way to the top of the Chef ladder only to watch all my hard earned work be in vain. We are half-hazard buffers and completely broken and misunderstood. Well over 80% of the players in SWG see us as a broken useless class, and since we already have that rep, it's going to be very hard to correct it.

So I have a proposal. It's a simple proposal that if we give it backing might get the devs attention to do something about it. Buffing stats are all fine and good, but since so many other classes can do it along with other skills, why shouldn't we get something that sits us out from the rest. Easy solution -- allow foods to do more then buff! Here are a few of my ideas.

1. Improved Burst Run (eat it and then you can burst run for longer -- experiment increases time)


2. Improved Skill Mods (eat it and get improved combat stats like skill tapes give -- experiment increases time and the amount it actually buffs a skill)


3. Damage Reduction (eat it and take 3%, 5%, 7% less damage -- experiment increases percentage and time)


4. Improved Running (works like the scout skill to increase running speed and the ability to take hills -- experiment raises skill and time)


5. Improved Experimentation (works like working witha better crafting station -- experiment increases ability and time)


6. Reduced Failure (lowers the critical failure rate -- experiement lowers failure rate and increases time)


7. Buff Primer (makes all stat increasing foods work for longer and raise stats higher -- experiment increases rate and time)


8. Increased Healing (makes med packs heal for more -- experiment increases rate and lasting appeal)


9. Reduced Fatigue (makes non-combat actions take 10%, 15%, 25% less bar -- experiment increases percent and time)


10. Improved Charisma (earn 3%, 5%, 7% more credits/faction points when completing missions -- experiment increases precent and time)

This is just a small sample of the amazing things we SHOULD be doing. We are the Shamans of the game and currently we are horrible at our job. Let's push to make us better then we ever dreamed we could get! You can only add 300 to someones stats so many ways before no one cares anymore -- we should be doing more!

Some interesting points and ideas above which are now very valid since the game as seen some implementations that make our profession a side line.

The bartender now makes drinks which can be used for display in houses.

The mind buff of the entertainer class.

On top of the docs being able to buff the otehr two HAM lines for a considerable amount of time

So i would like to see things like this implemented into the game without changing the whole fabric of the experimentation process and thats the only way they would consider this. However the coding needed to make such drastic ideas into the game i imagine might be a little too difficult for SOE programmers. But if the developers can achieve some if not all the above they would make the class something different from the smuggler,doc and entertainer line which gamers might take to buying. However how long might we have to wait for things like this?

In the meantime lets see things done such as a resturant in the new player cities

All food/drinks pics having unique pictures not just the same: (they did it with surveying repair tools)

A difference in buff strength and duration from those of artisan food and drink to discourage the need to grind to get to decent foods. And maybe even some of the simplier aspects of the previous post implemented into novice foods to make them an item people would buy.

In summary an excellent post above which i give total support and a few ideas of my own. Just hope the developers see these and take them and use them.

Hmmm...how 'bout this as an idea:

Chef Developer:

Please set up a meeting with your co-worker, the EQ2 Shaman/Alchemy developer, to discuss buffs.

Respectfully yours,

Brellian, Chef

I wholeheartedly support this kind of long-term diversification of chef abilities. I posted some similar and complementary ideas in Niktok's Visions for the chef Class - A wish list of suggestions for improvement. a while ago though I got a bit burned for them. Still I'll cut-and-paste-and-edit-and-reformat them as support for your ideas Nightenstaff.

1) New ways to get food & drink to people, and make it more an integral part of cantina & hotel life

1.1) I would love it if all food had an 'Offer to' option on the radial menu. Much quicker / easier / less frustrating than trading with PCs. Instead they see something like: "LedSyrus has offered you a Jawa Beer (Constitution+63,429secs Willpower+73,129sec). Would you like it? Yes/No". Chefs could rely on tips i guess, but possibly there might be some way to add a price to the message (if you want to). Perhaps you could designate an askingPrice AND a salesPatter for each item of food (for god's sake though make it default to the last askingPrice / salesPatter you entered, or some other easy way of labelling multiple items!).
1.2) Lets make food & drink more a part of cantina & hotel life. Add special food & drink vendors in entertainment venues (free / very cheap to use for qualified chefs?). Alternatively food/drink could be PLACED in cantinas & hotels (on the bar?) and in player houses, and could be bought/picked up by anyone for the asking price. Some food/drink consuming animations would make cantinas & hotels more fun too.

2) Food & drink that can be used on NPCs to various effects

2.1) chance of making an aggro humanoid leave you alone
2.2) chance of increasing a mission payout / decreasing training charge / decrease pilot fares (the latter if they put NPC pilots in cantinas re: an early suggestion of mine)
2.3) chance of smoothing out (non-rebel/imperial?) negative faction standings. (Actually, as I have mentioned in my first thread, linked at the bottom of this post, I would like there to be NPCs in cantinas with whom anyone can converse and stand a chance of smoothing out negative faction points a little- you know how it is, you gain 50 fp with one group and lose 100 with another. That stuff is difficult to reverse because things keep going down. Let people smooth-talk their way out of the bad books and cantinas & hotels gain an additional function in the world. Make food & drink seriously useful to the process and it would be great.)
2.4) chance / improved chance of getting minor loot / info drops (not necessarily valuable stuff, just interesting: clues to point people to dungeons / theme parks etc) from cantina & hotel NPCs if you converse with them while plying them with food & drink.
2.5) food & drink that'll help Bounty Hunters get information they need?
2.6) PET FOOD! Possibly to make them grow faster / stronger.

3) Food & drink that grant temporary skills / skill mod boosts, and thus food & drink to suit particular professions. Heres some off-the-cuff ideas, somebetter than others...

3.1) food/drink that grants a temporary high-level dance skill, or grants a dance/song 1-2 levels higher than the level you are currently know (due to relaxed inhibitions?). That'd be popular in cantinas.
3.2) food/drink to temporarily improve entertainers healing rates?
3.3) combat food/drink to temporarily improve resistance to dizzy / stun / blind etc
3.4) combat food/drink to temporarily improve dodge ability
3.5) food/drink to temporarily improve item assembly, experimentation, or reduce criticals
3.6) food/drink to temporarily extend burst run duration or reduce tiredness duration
3.7) food/drink to temporarily improve terrain negotiation for those long-haul cross-country trips.
3.8) food/drink to temporarily improve maskScent / conceal effectiveness, for those long-haul cross-country trips!
3.9) food/drink to temporarily improve weapon accuracy
3.10) food/drink to temporarily assist Teras Kasi meditation
3.11) food/drink to temporarily make your name flag / HAM bars appear bigger / more prominent to other players, for those entertainers who want to stand out of the crowd, or those drunken bums who are determined to!

Cheers.

Can I just add though...

DO make our food better. AND make it useful. I'd be happiest with a mix of stat buffs, skill buffs and special foods.