Development Cycle Archive
Thread: Desired Rewards
Q-3PO wrote:
I'm stealing a thread from Daker-Narituson the Discussion Forum (thanks Daker).
We've got a LOT of advanced npc quests out there. The common complaints are A) They are bugged (most of them aren't and we are fixing the others as we find them, though they often have to wait for the big publish) and B) the rewards aren't good enough (which we also have been addressing).
I'll state this very clearly: It is a design objective to keep crafter integral to the game economy. We do not want to put crafters out of business by making dropped loot better than the best crafted items. Overall SWG is not an Uber-Loot game (like EQ or DAoC) and we don't intend to make it so.
That said, it is a common request for us to make better loot and we do aim to please. Every publish has seen an improvement on loot table and rewards, but we know there is more we can do without upsetting the crafters.
So here is your chance to give us some focused feedback.
What reward would motivate you to do a long, hard quest or dungeon?
Please try not to remove the crafter market or unbalance the game or reinvent the game. Also please stay on topic.
Totally agree with your points, Q.
Unique decorations for my house. Heck, I would have spent even longer to get that Krayt skull than what I did to get it. You put in an Imperial Flag on a stand, like they have around the recruiters, and that's something I would definitely want. Any kind of factional decor would be great, in my opinion. This kind of decor wouldn't tread on any of the crafter's feet either.
Why not have unique schematics drop either? Say a schematic for a unique piece of armor. 1 schematic = 1 piece and cannot be used again by the crafter. A one shot deal. This would provide unique items that crafters cannot make, BUT also require a crafter to build the item. Crafters are happy, and the person that owns the schematic would be happy. A win/win situation.
Preach that gsopel brother Thrannx ! Preach it loud and clear - preach on ! Similarly enhanced resources - such as refined - resources - even in small quantities - like a super nice steel thats been pre processed to be structurally better somehow - I mean Im thinking of 500 things off the top of my head that would A) be easy to implement and B) not shift the balance of hte crafter economy but would in 10 ways enhance it !
As always I m getting the feeling that this is all for appearances and they have an underlying agenda beyond those guidlines that they state here and will adhere to those and probably never really tell us what they are.
I have a great idea about harvesters and the shifts but am uncertain as to where I should post it !
Ive seen a lot of people say that hey want armor but what about us wookies.We cant use armor.
Well...
I have an example of we dont want : after 6hours in the imperial palace on Naboo, Darth Vader gives me a ridiculous flame thrower that woudnt be able to kill a chuba.
A good reward for a quest ? a badge, 10000credits and a rare item (a unique robe for example, not something that can be made by a tailor)
Rewards Hmmm...
I really don't see the issue here with coming up with rewards that will not hurt the crafting profession. All that really has to be done is to make the rewards different then the items made by crafters.
Several Ideas have already been presented and some are used:
1. Faction rewards - Like with Imperial and Rebel recruiters, being able to turn in faction earned through quests and kills could allow players to choose what benefits or suits them. Already there are plenty of rewards given through the recruiters, how much more difficult would it be to expand this to more minor factions.
2. Badges - I have completed several of the theme parks and recieved little other than the story for my hard effort and time. Working through Jabba's Palace or Palpatine's Retreat only to gain items basically useless or next to it (ie: Vadar's Pathetic Light Lightning Cannon) is more of an insult then a reward. Recognition through a badge, and/or a large faction reward at the end of quests could make these more fun and appealing. Really you have Project Dead Eye and the Accolade Badge so far that I know of?
3. Limited use items are an idea as well. While all items have durability in the game and eventually wear out, having special drops that are potentiallybetter then crafted items, but break much faster... This could give a reward, but still cause demand for crafted items for regular use.
4. Just adding credits more often to drops would be nice.
5. Broken items that can be fixed and possibly enhanced by crafters....
6. Hints to help reveal how to unlock your Force Sensitive slot orleads to rarerquests with better rewards.
7. Having an impact on the galaxy at large for epic style quests, besides just the war between the Empire and the Rebels.
I agree with the ideas for unique schematics, also perhaps weapon and armor drops that cannot be repaired so you cannot use them forever. Perhaps some nice clothing could work this way as well.
Aralithia Oran
Trophy type things would be cool. Like a special necklace, something to mount on a wall, place on a table, etc.
Badges
Information on a datadisk of some kind, like somewhere to go find a "secret cave", an ancient ruin, or something like that
skill enhancement tapes/attachments
Jewelry with skill enhancements. Ex.Necklace that gives +3 to Stun Resistance
I think something like a temporary weapon certification would be cool. Like a 2 day certification for a flamethrower, or a high powered pistol.
Or something similar, but a little different, gun components that when put together let you do a special move a certain number of times. Ex. a pistol that lets ANYONE do eyeshotthree or four times or a flamthrower that anyone can use to do Flame cone 2 times. Make the weapon less powerful than a player crafted weapon.
Maybe schematics for a weapon... not necessarily an "uber" weapon, but maybe one that can be used three times to create a pistol that does Cold Damage, or a flame thrower that does cold damage, etc.
Rewards:
How about wearable tiltles and/or icons that could go by your name. Like if I spend alot of time completing a theme park, i would get an like a nightsister icon/nightsister title (like nightsister assassin/spellweaver/whatever)
or:
cool faction clothes like: singing mountian clan robes, or some article of clothing that is clearly faction based. I guess a one-time use schematic would be fine.
Origen
Scout/Marksman
Chilastra
Heres an alternative solution:
Instead of just simply dropping the item, why not do one of two things,
1) Make it so a crafter has to repair the item before it can be used, This way the artisan proffesion is still involved.
2) break the item down into pieces, so a PC has to put them together before they can use them
I'd like to see unique uncraftable items which will make you stand out from newbie players like:
~Badges visible on the character
~Trophies which you can display at your home
~Unique Pieces of clothing like capes, hats, eyewear, walking stick, etc.
~Lots of unique uncraftable weapons. One of the reasons the game is so bland is because there are only a few weapons to choose from. Having a huge selection would further make your character look unique.
~Unique armor
~Pit Droids! Don't know what they would be used for.. but they are cool 
Maybe they could fix broken items.. like broken viewscreens..
You should also see the items you will be rewarded before you start the mission