Scout Archive
Thread: Maskscent nerfed... oh no! You actually need to learn how to play the game!
No, this is for real. Read what I said. If you have a real reply then please write something, but don't call me names.
It's a shame though that mask scent fails too much to be viable without repeated re-applying (the way it used to be)
just nerf the EXP we got, not the skill
The old /maskscent was broken. It was way to easy to get xp off of, especially given the lightness of the death penalty in this game if you bank all of your equipment.
BUT! The skill is one of the things that makes a scout a scout! Unfortunately, killing the skill instead of fixing the problem is the typical SOE style, so I wasn't totally suprised.
Now Scouts are left with a useless skill and buggy skill. yipee.
Sockosis wrote:
I agree with the original poster. You guys are aware at exploration 4, you ave a total of 30 camo skill out of a possible 100. Gee, why does this rancor detect me? Sorry if that sounded mean but, they didn't nerf maskscent. They made it so your skill level actually mattered.
Although I liked the maskscent as it was, I'd have to agree with this observation. I think it will help strengthen the Ranger profession. Rangers are the people who should be good at maskscent, scouts are just beginners.
No I didn't change my mind. I think nerfing xp is a very bad idea considering you get like no xp as it is for maskscent once you actually get above exploration III... this whole maskscent xp thing is way overrated.
With that said I also don't think it is such a bad idea for them to do what they did. Like I said, it is now more of a skill rather than an innate ability... i mean, c'mon if you can keep it on 100% of the time then it is the same as an innate ability. This accomplished two things:
1) Stop people from exploiting and getting free scout skills; something I despise.
2) Helps to create a bigger gap between those of us who are master scouts or rangers and those who aren't. Meaning, for those of us with very high camo this is much less of a problem since we are successful most of the time. Whereas a novice is going to have a harder time. Previously it almost didn't matter because you could constantly reapply.
As far as I know, its the timer that people are objecting to, not the percentage of successes.
If you want to argue about professions and what they should be good at (and how the changes of maskscent should help certain professions) then you must consider that a CH gets *no* maskscent bonus. If anyone should be better than a scout at masking their scent from creatures, it should be the Handlers, who must approach, tame and live with the creatures.
The other problem is that the maskscent goes off (and thus invoking the timer) regardless of the pack instinct of a creature. Since most creatures are found in groups, but not necessarily working in packs, this makes a 1 minute timer a poor game mechanic choice.
Depending upon the reason for the change, Im sure there are dozens of more suitable fixes they could have done.
"The other problem is that the maskscent goes off (and thus invoking the timer) regardless of the pack instinct of a creature. Since most creatures are found in groups, but not necessarily working in packs, this makes a 1 minute timer a poor game mechanic choice."
Along those same lines...it is not the reset timer that upsets me, but the fact that my maskscent is broken by a nearby non-aggressive mob more often than an aggressive one. The exp gained by the skill is really not that high...especially when you get to the level where you need a lot of scout exp to get the next level.I just wish they would have changed it so it doesnt get broken so easily by mobs it wasnt intended to fool anyway!