Ranger Archive

In case you missed it Holo made comment about /maskscent in another thread related to better communications. This is the piece where he mentions /maskscent

On the second bit, I don't even remember,I have to admit. I do know that last I heard, the dev team was comfortable with the level of efficacy of mask scent. There was even a thread just a few days ago about "why exactly are they upset about this?" because the examples given were all about attempting to sneak past large groups of creatures (which incurs one roll to break the masking for each critter).

-Raph Koster,


Creative Director

Here's the whole post

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=Development&message.id=517019#M517019

Japhy,

I saw that. I can't say that I disagree with them, because my experience with mask scent has been pretty good so far.

I've still got the scouts trying to narrow down where the problem lies.

B

Actually I'm not sure the scouts are having the problem, and that in itselfis a clue.

Well go look at my post: Results of Maskscent and Conceal

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=ranger&message.id=12641

I have done some tests, with myself and fellow PA members through various stages of Maskscent up through Master Ranger. Maybe it will help, maybe it won't, but I spent two nights testing it out on Endor a rough planet.

Well go look at my post: Results of Maskscent and Conceal

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=ranger&message.id=12641

I have done some tests, with myself and fellow PA members through various stages of Maskscent up through Master Ranger. Maybe it will help, maybe it won't, but I spent two nights testing it out on Endor a rough planet.

This is the way I look at it. Maskscent is a scout skill and conceal is a Ranger skill. Conceal is supposed to be more powerful than maskscent yet it isn't aside from working on more types of mobs. I have made camo kits and have tested maskscent and conceal extensively. The effort required to make the camo kits is absurd, especially when compared to the ease and "freeness" of maskscent. I am a ranger, supposedly living out in the wilderness and I am reduced to having to buy a house to store the materials needed to make my camo kits!

Not to mention that even as a master ranger, maskscent and conceal get broken regularly, I can't see how this can be considered anything but a massive nerf on rangers. This plus the harvesting stealth nerf means that I am fairly likely to surrender my ranger skills soon unless the developers move quickly to fix their error, and I suspect that I am not alone. The only useful skillsthat ranger currently provides are terrain negotiation and tracking and is certainly not worth the skill points I am using.

Maybe I'll make become an architect like my mama always wanted.

I am ok with Maskscents effectiveness as it is now, being that our Conceal is suppose to be better.

It is the frequency of it provoking attack that I want to see tweaked down.

I am more concerned with Conceal not working any better than Maskscent on creaturesand notworking on NPC's as it is suppose to. The frequency of provoking attack with Conceal is just as bad as with Maskscent and should be adjusted.

"I am ok with Maskscents effectiveness as it is now, being that our Conceal is suppose to be better."

- I agree. If there is an issue with the effectiveness of /maskscent it is more a scout profession issue than a Ranger one.

- Now by the description provided in the last Coorespondence response, /conceal should be significantly better than it currently is.

The problem is that mask scent can make creatures attack you that would normally not do that. Instead of being a good ability it's rather something you have to balance the good and bad effects of. I can get aggroed at 64 metres by something that would normally not even care unless I came closer than 64. For example, this makes mask scent (anc conceal for that matter) totally useless on Dathomir where most creatures usually only stalk or aggro at 30 metres or less.. having mask scent or conceal here is just a huge risk as you will be attacked more often. The same applies to most other planets.. I don't even dare to use mask scent on naboo as if a plains hunter spawns within 64 metres and breaks the masked scent it'll kill me in a matter of seconds. If I didn't have it on I could with ease get within 30-40 metres without being attacked. This is the problem and one that has to be fixed.

The only problem with maskscent or conceal is that if they break you are likely to be attacked by animals:

A - From outside their usual attack range.

B - That wouldn't normally attack you.

I'm perfectly willing to accept risk with maskscent. But if the maskscent actually attracts creatures that are not in a position to attack you normally, that makes it a liability. Even though it may seem like a balancer to have animals go berzerk on you for using mask scent every so often, if normal players are negotiating mobs succesfully and the scout / ranger is attracting them from outside their attack range, or attacking otherwise benign yellow-dot animals, this makes the scout / ranger a less desirable person in a party.

-- YP

Delta Wrote:

<<

Japhy,

I saw that. I can't say that I disagree with them, because my experience with mask scent has been pretty good so far.

I've still got the scouts trying to narrow down where the problem lies.

B

>>

Nope can't say that I disagree either. My maskscent has always worked just fine.

I just thought I'd share that little section as it pertains to us and I thought some Rangers might like to see it in case they missed it.

I have not done any formal testing on /maskscent nor /conceal. All I can say about conceal and camo kilts is the same as anyone else, they are to difficult to make and the items that are required are not normal items that one would find on the bazaar or being gathered by any of the artisan people. Making the camo kits for the harder planets even more difficult to produce unless you are a ranger/artisan with survey skills which most like myself are not. Anyway, I was hunting with my guildies last night on dathomir and all of us had maskscent on and I am and was the only master ranger, one person 2 boxes in wayfaring from ranger, a master CH and the other 2 had scout skills. When we came near the Rancors we were intending to hunt the only person that continually got attacked and had maskscent broke on was ME. A master ranger, THE master ranger of the group. I was getting broken/discovered. Not the CH, not the TKA, not the Sharpshooter, ME. Thats test enough for me to say there is a problem with /maskscent, and this happened all night, not just once. Thats all I have to say about that.

N'Raas,

Nice punt.

I'll take care of the maskscent issues. When GreenMarine gets back, I'll ask him to doublecheck it.

So far, however, it seems to me that it is working now as it should be. I've not seen anything that makes me think that it is significantly bugged - at least not as bad as it was.

You work on /conceal. I'll handle /maskscent.

Man, it's good to have a partner in crime.

B