Dancer Archive

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Xyrdre wrote:

New loot is always a lot of fun! Much of this is really cool stuff, and I think it'll make a lot of players very happy.

I have to add my voice to concerns over mind wound healing loot though. The entertainer community is already pretty beat up with everything as it is. Unless there is some kind of dire need for this item, please reconsider replacing another of the few interdependent roles that entertainers have within the SWG community with a game system provided item. I'm sure I don't need to reiterate the issues - it's not like those issues haven't been beaten to death already.

I see a lot of attention paid in the In Concept of lootto strengthening the relationship between combat and crafting playstyles, and I think this is a very good approach to take. Strengthening relationships, I think, is key to a successful blending of playstyles in anMMO.I would like to see some thought put intohow loot could be used as a vehicle to strengthen relationships more between combat and social playstyles, two playstyles that, at this stage in things,are at odds with each othermore often than I would like. Finding ways to bridge this gap, I think, will be important to fully integrating the social playstyle into SWG, and loot may be one method of finding a common ground across all playstyles. Everyone loves cool loot... therein may besome common ground to work with.

I do have one additionalquestion about loot, TH. Is there adesign or balancereason why all loot must come from combat drops?

I know that this is the traditional way that loot comes into a game, but we do have a new, non-traditional opportunity here.

There isa new type ofcommunity in the gamewith the social playstyle, consisting of manyplayers that are attracted to SWG largely because it offers a whole new way to experience an MMO other than combat or crafting. Many of these players have little to no interest in taking up combat professions, as they've largely grown tired of that, and havingloot as exclusively combat drops takes a complete playstyle out of the loop from the thrill of getting such game rewards. Very often, the "phat lewt", even those that are fun house decor type items (the kinds that we social players covet most often ) wind up selling for vast amounts of credits, and arewell beyond the means of entertainer incomes, effectively forcing players to take up combat to acquire either the items, or enough credits to purchase them. I'd like to see ways that players of all playstyles and professions have access to loot rewards of interest to that playstyle through the use of their own skills and abilities.

I'd love to see extended and improved systems akin to the current entertainer quests, whereby completion of quests, challenges, or mini-games through the use of our skills and abilities, gifts were given (as random loot drops, much in the same way that combat kill loot drops work) by the NPC audiences or quest givers that are more in line with the kinds of things that entertainer players like. In my mind, it makes perfect sense that gifts of paintings, jewelry, pieces of art, tapestries, rugs, etc., would be coming to entertainers from fans by doing our thing. Even better if some of them used the recycler mechanics, like the loot kits, to get the collect 'em all trading happening. Quest or mini-game content could potentially scale with skill level, encouraging entertainer grouping for these quests to gain an even phatter loot item. I think that ideas like this could go a long way towards providing fun game play value, and rewards, for entertainers based on our preferred play styles, rather than being exclusively in support roles for others.

I know that this sort of thing would take design time and work, and Iwouldn't expect to see such additions right away. But, I wanted to pitch out the idea so that if it's seen as feasible, it could add into the mix of concepts that could help make SWG an even stronger game for all players. If it's a good idea, it can't hurt to be thinking about the possibilities early on.

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