Ranger Archive

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Ailsa wrote:

If something aggros you, that should break mask scent. It doesn't most of the time. That is a bug as far as I am concerned.

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I strongly disagree. Just because Creature A got a whiff of me and decided to attack me doesn't mean my mask scent should now be broken and nearby creatures (B, C, and D) should now be able to have a chance to detect me without my mask scent ability taken into account. I think the devs saw this situation occurring and specifically decided NOT to remove your mask scent because you got agro'd.

As to no message being given because a creature sniffed you out but did not break your mask scent, for Pete's sake, you are a RANGER! Pay attention to the movement patterns of the surrounding wildlife when you are in an area, don't just stare at the chat box on your screen. As others have said, if you see a big red agro headed your way, MOVE! If they then stand on the twig you stepped on wondering where you went, great! Now you have a nice little laugh as you stand 40 meters away in another direction, proud of the fact that you are a Ranger and some bounty hunter would be lunch by now.

I also aggree that I think I need to hear more about what it's supposed to be acting like before I can pass judgement about whether it's broken or not, but to me it seems like it's working the way I thought it should since mine almost never breaks. A musk that is applied should actually never break (does cologne wear off just because you got noticed?), even on a novice scout, just have longer durations and more chance of success on a higher level in exploration. I would go so far as to say maskscent should require a bit of crafting... making the vial of musk out of meats and such and that should factor into the quality of the musk. Scouts should be able to apply the musk to anyone just like a doctor can apply a buff. A ranger should be able to "/group mask" and maskscent the whole group but his 25-charge container may go down by 1 for every person in the group. I know something along this line has already been discussed, but thought it was worth bringing up again.

My biggest issue with the way things are working now is that it really did make sense that using maskscent should give you exploration XP, since you are gaining experience by exploring... HELLO!!... just maybe the only way you should notice is the fact that you get agro'd instead of a system message and when you check your experience monitor you notice a higher number. (woot! just qualified for exploration 3... but why? what did I do? Oh... cool) It really does make sense that we should be paying attention to our environment and not waiting for a system message to tell us that our mask is working, but why tell us "new characters only get one melon now in the tutorial" but now they tell us "mask scent will work better now".. better how?!? just tell us... "it won't 'wear off' when you get agroed and not be able to reapply for 1 minute" and we'll be happy. Maybe the best happy medium would be to collect the XP in the background and award it at the time the musk wears off or you turn it off just like wildnerness survival XP is awarded when the camp is disbanded.

Bah, leave it like it is. My mask scent lasts so long now that it actually times itself out...

I LOVE IT !!!!!!

Well it seems to be doing the job for me on Ahazi. I have yet to be aggroed while in the middle of a pack. It always stays on until it times out. I can go up to any nest and search it at this time. However, once it is off, lookout!!! You will be aggroed like sharks smelling blood!!!

If this is the way it should work at Master level, then I am happy. It does what it is supposed to. However, that said, maybe at the lower levels it is not working correctly or maybe it is not supposed to work all the time until you become a higher level ranger.

The problem with all this is that we are all just 'guessing' as to how it should work, when it should break, when we should get messages, etc., based on our own experiences - which seem to be different from person to person and galaxy to galaxy.

If the Devs would only tell us (Mineras)how they intended it (and other stuff) to work, then we would know whether it is working correctly or not. But alas, this type of information is lacking and it doesn't seem like we will know for sure for a while.

Besides, now that maskscent will be maxed at Master Scout, who knows what other issues we will find with it.

I am confused, because I think maskscent is broken. I stopped using it entirely after the patch because I feel safer with it off. Perhaps I'm just not as experienced a ranger, I intend to do some more testing with it tonight to see if I can collect some reliable data.

Yes the mask scent holds up longer. But I am getting aggroed more with it off than I am with it on. I'm on Tatooine, so I guess this is vulnerable to the criticism that I'd notice a bigger difference on a planet with tougher critters. But I have been running around thebackcountry,and without using mask scent the creatures just ignore me. When I have it on they are much more curious, they track and attack me. I have even had non-aggressive creatures attack me while I have mask scent on.

"Is it broke? The answer is if one person is having any symptom that was not intended, then it is broke. "

And what is the intended behavior??? This like MOST of the game is so poorly explained that noone knows whether its working 'as intended'. Except the developer for this particular skill, who may or may not hear about this thread because our interface to the developers seems to be a very tiny window called Q-3PO/Holocron

Since the maskscent changes I do notice thing coming close and checking me out on Dath. Baz Nitches but especially purboles. Well they're named stalkers anyway . I don't panick until I actually hear the combatmusic. Sometimes they come quite close and I have a few screenshots of 'you pet a Giant Baz Nitch,' or 'You pet an Ancient Rancor.' Love those.

-- YP

Tsion summed it up perfectly above. We are Rangers and should be vigiliant. Watch your radar and your screen for creature reactions. Mask scent is working perfectly. I can run through any red creature pack and 90% of the time Iam unscathed. Sure they sometimes follow me a little or react to my presence but whoopdee do. Mask scent rocks hard. Its the best right now. The XP can go to hell for all I care it was peanuts anyways. Id much rather be able to move through hostile territory with huge chances of survival compared to a non ranger. And the text messages telling you when a creature has detected you can stay off as well. Realistically if you were walking through the bush on earth and a chipmunk smelled you approaching would you know? Doubt it.. Not until he ran up his tree or made some chittering chipmunk noises. Watch your radar and your screen. Leave Mask scent alone its perfect.