Illarion.org

So, I wanted to open this thread because I've noticed that there has been a rather drastic change in how fighting works in Illarion since the VBU, this is not a bashing session, my goal here is to A) Make a point, and B) give constructive feedback to assist the devs in making a better illarion.

We can't expect changes to happen so soon, but if we are patient and the developers open, we can make Illarion awesome.

I feel that the way fighting works in illarion has got extremely bland, while based on a solid format so to speak it lacks that immersive allure that fighters had on Gobaith, Where no two warriors were the same. I think the goal is to keep illarion unique, and not focus so much on other rpgs. Illarion is not WoW, Illarion is not Runescape, THIS IS ILLARION!
I want to know how other's feel about this and I'll explain how I feel as well. We should give good reasons why this should be changed or not changed, and in the end come up with a solid comprehensible proposal to give the developers (and give them time, we still want magic!).

So starting off, I think the way the stats work is great, it's much more straight forward and simpler than Gobaith. My main concern is the equipment and gem aspect. Magic gems are a difficult subject to come around to because everyone wants a bit of effects from gems to benefit their style of play. I see huge potential in having individual effects from magical gems, it creates immersiveness and so many possibilities on how to build up your fighter. Now full gems sets simply boosting damage, while simple, straightforward and easy, lacks the complexity and fun to finding what boost works best for you. I am sure the same goes for crafters, alchemists, and mages alike. Many may like simplicity, but when things get too simple, they get boring.

Now.. Equipment is a tough subject for me, as I feel that this is where much of the blandness comes from. Before when many weapons and armors had their own stats that determined how effective they were, this was fun. Sure some people wore the same stuff, but when you donned an armor and a weapon it suited your char, it made you feel like "Yeah thats MY char woot" Now I see one level 100 weapon or armor and think "I really have to use *that* to fight to full effectiveness?" Maybe it can be as simple as adjusting some of the current equipment stats for certain items and adding new equipment. Things to really make a char feel that it is their character, not what they have to be in order to compete with the other guys. Also, I HATE this trifecta, in some ways it doesn't even make sense. "hey I'm going to wear some studded leather so I can take the blow of a warhammer easier..." I mean c'mon, really??? Maybe on a very basic level a trifecta can work, however to the extent that it works currently just doesn't add up. Personally I think this to be more logical and a bit more fun, Light armor= the lowest armor value but supports better movement in combat granting the warrior the ability to move more freely and do more damage with his weapon. Medium Armor= This armor type grants a good armor value however it starts to hinder your movement and thus affecting how much damage you can dish out in a fight. Heavy armor= This armor has very good armor value but starts to greatly hinder the movement and thus the damage output. An example scale that could be well balanced: Light armor in comparison has a +2 bonus to attacking, but -1 in defense. Medium armor grants +1 to attacking, and +1 to defense, Heavy armor Grants +2 to defense, while a -1 to attacking.

This isn't so much of a proposal yet as a discussion as to where people want fighting to go. Don't be a hermit and pitch in with your opinions, many times things are not considered because you, the players, don't voice what you want. When we come to a collaborative agreement we can then work on a solid and good proposal the devs can use. No more complaining about where things go in illa! Voice your damn opinions or shush!!

In basic I agree with you. Armor Sets ( and only complete sets ) should give Bonus and Penalties.
A Hunter don't need a heavy armor to raise a bow, but has to be fast in movement, same for rogue type characters.
Counts for the other way around - A Knight NEEDS heavy armor- just because he is a Knight.

Medium Armor should give the balanced stats - but I did notice that there are no gloves in Medium IG available.

The weapons on the other hand shouldn't count to it. Let them be just skill based.
Shields - if they are big - maybe causing in movement penalty ?

Not sure about the effort to implant it the right way, though.

I can certainly agree with the basic points raised here, Meph. The weapon and armour system is a bit meh because there is basically only one choice every time. It's too plain in the respect that I have to wield a certain weapon or have to wear a certain armor because that is my level. I would prefer choices. Maybe something like: I can wear any armor I want but it has to be crafted to be the level I need ie I can wear a lor angur guardians armor at level 10 or level 100. The higher level armors would have to be crafted by the better smiths, though. That might also open up a gap in the market for high level crafters imo. It would also make our characters look a lot more unique-ish instead of a screen of clones.

I say we take full advantage of the paperdolling and let us dress our characters any which way we want! In the name of fashion!

I don't know if thats possible but thats a very good idea, I likes eet.

If there was a way to assign the attributes of one armor to the graphic of another, it might be of interest. Some players just like a certain look. I'm thinking an NPC would be able to do it for a large fee.

Kamilar wrote:If there was a way to assign the attributes of one armor to the graphic of another, it might be of interest. Some players just like a certain look. I'm thinking an NPC would be able to do it for a large fee.

Wow, imagine the possibilities... but I'm thinking this might be difficult, changing this into a dynamic possibility rather than a set value table on the database. I don't know if it can be done, but it would be awesome! Establishing prices would be a little troublesome too.

Wearing short greaves in summer and long ones in winter. Oh man, we could collect whole wardrobes of armor! Mix and match. This might be good for our smiths and trade too. Trading different armors of different levels. Whole sets even!

I'd like to note that almost every element of the current state of gear/combat/gems were stepping stones to a bigger picture that has come a halt. Wish I could keep helping but the projects have surpassed my ability to help and I only really have 1-2 hours of free time per day (when lucky) =(

That being said, I think alot of people are severely mis-remembering how things were pre VBU. Pre VBU gear and weapons had no requirements, but dont think for a second that any group of items were designed to be (or actually were) equals. Having spent a fair amount of time looking at the actual stats of weapons/armor pre VBU and being involved in discussions on them, I can tell you there was a very linear progression of armor/weapon stats. There is some room to argue about light/heavy gear, but it was fairly moot since most all maxed characters were aware the same combo of gear to exploit high armor with light weight so that they can defend and dodge in the best possible way. It may have seemed like there were lots of options, but there absolutely was an optimal set of armor, and a single best weapon for each weapon class (and they werent equal). Now, that linear progression is simply balanced among armor classes and weapon classes perfectly (it never was before).

I'd also like to note that this trifecta has been in effect LONG before the vbu. The differences just werent as blatant and since conc/puncture users were uncommon, no one cared.

There was a project to make adventuring/treasure hunting much more exciting and bring to the table alot of diversity in gear choices, I dont know whats going to happen now or what the current plan is, but the current state of gear is more more balanced and more diverse than in previous installments of combat. If it felt like it was actually better before, as if you could swap out certain weapons/armors to fit your playstyle or character, than that was a mis interpretation of the value of what you were wearing/using and if you felt that your performance was proof that things were better/diverse, then RNG was simply in your favor.