Dancer Archive
Thread: New idea: Mind Enhancement experience
While going about proclaiming the doom about the mind buff changes resulting in more bots.. I had quite a stroke of inspiration.
Ravenmist pointed out that since the buffs are targetted they can't be done AFK, the botted entertainers will start to go away. I was in the middle of pointing out that won't make a difference because they are just there to bot their way to master.. When it hit me..
Make the buff give a new type of experience, say Mind Enhancement experience, or maybe Dance/Music Enhancement, or Entertainer Enhancement.. Anyway, the name isn't important. Then the idea is to make this type of experience required for advancing in the Technique line.
This isn't that far fetched a change. Experience is already given for the mind buff. Ever notice there are up to3 lines of entertainer healing experience given? The first two are mind wound and battle fatigue (I haven't actually worked out which order it is) but the third is for the mind buff. This is also why sometimes you see a slow trickle of healing experience when nobody around is hurt - it is because someone just started watching you, and is getting buffed.
The more I think about this idea the more I like it. As it is right now, each tick of dancing (Or playing music) you get up to four different experience gains, one corresponding to the abilities of each tree of the elite profession. However, the experience for technique isn't even usable for skills on it's own tree!
Furthermore, with the right implementation, this will also prevent a surge of AFK entertainers just trying to get the mind buff.
Tiaga wrote:
Make the buff give a new type of experience, say Mind Enhancement experience, or maybe Dance/Music Enhancement, or Entertainer Enhancement.. Anyway, the name isn't important. Then the idea is to make this type of experience required for advancing in the Technique line.
Hmm, an intriguing idea. It's a good way to discourage most AFKers.
I say most because it apparently is possible to target random people. I'm not sure of how this happens, but I've seen it with some AFKers (in theory, these people could just say a bunch of stupid things and randomly smile at pets and other performers while ignoring what people say around them, but I doubt it).
However, this can still be a tough road to hoe. Someone has to /watch you as you randomly enhance his mind. In a heavy xp area like Theed, fat chance. If you're a lone bot on Endor or Yavin, then it is likely to work, but you won't get the uber dance xp like you would in a crowd.
But you know, even if someone is able to craft such a macro where he can still get those buffs onto some people, I'd say it's a small minority of AFKers who know how to do such things. So, I'm sure such a move would discourage most AFKers from being Masters. AFK bots would still AFK because they can still heal even if they're not Masters.
Having Mind Enchancement xp separate from Dance/Music has another benefit. Do you Masters remember how long it took to get up that high? Why was it so painful? Because you had to spend Dancing xp on two trees, and that was not an easy number to get. I think most people maxed out Fatigue and Wound healing before they even got 4 boxes in Dancing Knowledge (as most people focused on that tree [I'm a freak and went for the flashy lights]).
So, it allows faster progression for the serious performers while preventing AFKers (most of them) from being Master. I can dig it.
Actually I had knowledge and technique maxxed before healing. Of course, part of that is I did a gig where I danced in front of a crowd of 50-100 people watching. I earned a third of either Tech 3 or 4 (Forget which) at that gig, in 2 hours of dancing. Even then, if I hadn't, they would have finished off healing and tech at the same time.
But I do agree with you.. At least make healing give the right type of xp.
A further idea I had to go with the separate type of xp.. Make the mind buff be an interactive process.. Have it bring up a window you have to interact with.
Tiaga wrote:
A further idea I had to go with the separate type of xp.. Make the mind buff be an interactive process.. Have it bring up a window you have to interact with.
Heh, you're persistent with discouraging AFKers, aren't you?
But that's okay. So far, it seems there is no attempt to boot AFKers based on time not touching the keyboard (or it'd be too easy to circumvent).
The interactive process could have other interesting aspects. Have the dancer choose the level of healing. Say, something like:
Level 1 - 5 action cost per pulse.
Level 2 - 7 action cost per pulse.
Level 3 - 10 action cost per pulse.
And so on. Basically, the Master can perform at the highest level for maximum buffage. But it's expensive. This would encourage patrons to pay more for the higher buffs. A dancer can choose to do simple Level 1 dances, which is easy enough, but it has little benefit. But if someone tips the Master Dancer 500 credits, the Dancer can choose to do half buff. With a 1000-credit tip, the Dancer will go all out for this person, draining his Action.
Of course, medics can help keep the buffs flowing as well, unless buffing were based on your Mind, which is a possibility. If it were based on Mind, then there'd be no infinite buffing (though an infinite buff might not be harmful to the economy really).
how about make a you guys craft items they can come in cups or on a plate . they would be trade via the trade window to people and have the buffs on them based on your skill level.
These items in cups could be some kind of consumable liquid and the items on a plate can be a eadible solid. These items then could be used to enchance players mind stats.
Maybe you should place your whining on the general forum like everyone else does. We didn't break your profession, nor can we fix it. Dancers have been buffing the mind since release. Get over it.
As for the meat of this post, I like the idea!
- J
I think Tiaga's idea has merit. After all, one can only reach Master if you have enough Apprenticeship points. This mind enhancement XP could work the same way. Split the 2 elite healing trees so one requires regular entertainment heal xp, the other requires this buffing xp. It just might work.
Questions to be answered before something like this could go live:
* What increments of XP should the new type award to stay balanced?
* Does it make the other healing tree too easy to raise, now that we don't have to split our XP between two?
* Can it be exploited? I have 2 accounts. Could I just stand my dancer in my PA hall and have my scout /watch for a few days to level her buffing xp? Could someone "rent" their PA's toons when they're not being played to do the same thing? (This would go full circle right back to being botted)
* What effect will faction have on this - we can't trade with opposite factions,should we be able to buff them?
Sinda wrote:
I think Tiaga's idea has merit. After all, one can only reach Master if you have enough Apprenticeship points. This mind enhancement XP could work the same way. Split the 2 elite healing trees so one requires regular entertainment heal xp, the other requires this buffing xp. It just might work.
Questions to be answered before something like this could go live:
* What increments of XP should the new type award to stay balanced?
Same thing it currently rewards.. The XP is being rewarded already.. We just need to apply it to something. However if it stays the same the branch requirements should be brought down.
* Does it make the other healing tree too easy to raise, now that we don't have to split our XP between two?
I actually am not suggesting using one of the healing branches.. Read what I said.. I'm suggesting using the technique branch for this.. Since it is the technique branch that grants buffs in the first place.
* Can it be exploited? I have 2 accounts. Could I just stand my dancer in my PA hall and have my scout /watch for a few days to level her buffing xp? Could someone "rent" their PA's toons when they're not being played to do the same thing? (This would go full circle right back to being botted)
This I covered with my later comment suggesting making it something interactive, not just a command.. A window that comes up maybe.
* What effect will faction have on this - we can't trade with opposite factions,should we be able to buff them?