Baldur's Gate : The Sword Coast Chronicles : NWN2 Persistent World

so back to the issue:
its completely OOC when you die:
my perspective-i login to the game, after my day..
play a few and then DIE for some reason..
ADN i imidietly log off.. cause its not fun to level/do something when you loose the value which you gained in the time invested, represented by xp - yes, i am causial (so far)

so in this perspective, its more fun worthy to play some single Mod i never played, where you can save etc. - but then i would play it from the start, which i dont, cause its about interaction, multiplayer..
its nothing more frustrating, than come home, have some free time and login, do something and then DIE and loose it all..
plus: the higher the level, the more time lost and on top of that: the will to login next time

//edit: additionaly consider playing unwanted character, which you plan to delete/transfer xp and you dont like playing it, even hate it sometimes (race, class..), its really punishing loosing time playing it - on top of all above

In the UD, try going to the tombs instead. Stay close to the exits and wait patiently for respawns Use a ranged weapon to lure them closer to you... mind that some are immune to piercing, it mostly serves as a lure. Throwing axes, if you have the proficiency, may damage them... Your line of sight is usually larger than the mobs, which is why this strategy works.

When I started, on the surface, oh man did I die a lot... Everyone goes through that phase. You have to learn that you can't rush in and hack and slash your way through the mobs. It requires some tactics and possibly cowardice. But if you're soloing no one is gonna see that Most people are willing to give a hand with buffs if you are having trouble in some areas (in UD, ask for invisibility from a caster and then do the quests). There's been lots more potions and such added since when I started, make use of them. Shield potion for +4 shield AC, Mage Armor for +4 armor (long lasting!), Barkskin potions for 3-4 natural armor. If you have a caster.. utilize the summon scrolls, they are cheap at the level or memorize them.

Sometimes running away could save everyone in the party from the xp penalty and allow you to get someone higher level to help. Especially on the surface, several people play good aligned characters who -cannot- refuse to help you as it would be against their code. Need to get to Beregost to get that 600xp reward but goblins would kill you? Ask someone in shiny armor - they won't even ask for payment..! You need to play like you can die by -anything- that looks at you menacingly. More so in DM events. I've joined higher level events and been invisible the whole time as anything could 1 hit kill me.

Nodin - I take it as you followed the previous advice and started a surface character who you intend to RCR. Much of what I said here could help you. Its a lot easier to find parties on the surface. Utilize the scry message! "Looking for party in the graveyard", when people see that, I know some log onto a low level of their own to assist. On the surface, there are always several different leveling areas, not only the -one- map to be at. Its hard to figure them out. Ask someone IC or OOC IG, or make a post. If you have trouble at the Graveyard, go to the Northern Farmlands map with the bandits and the wolves. The cave may overpower some classes though or if you have an unlucky spawn with like 4 bandits at once.

If you are having troubles in a specific area... I am sure myself and others could give pointers to what you can do to about it. As I said, at some point, everyone's been through the same.

This is a long thread, but let me post my suggestion that I've found is tried-and-true:

Old function of XP penalty: (Level*100) = XP Lost from dying
New function of XP penalty: (Level*Level)*100 / 10 = XP Lost from dying.

So, if you are level 1, your XP penalty is (1*1)*100 / 10, or 10 XP.
If you are level 2, your XP penalty is (2*2)*100 / 10, or 40 xp.
If you are level 8, your XP penalty is (8*8)*100 / 10, or 64 xp.
Once you hit level 20, your XP penalty is (20*20)*100 / 10, or 4000 xp.
A level 30 that dies would be hit with (30*30)*100 / 10, or 9000 xp.

The way this works is that it is less harsh on low level characters while simultaneously being more punishing to higher level players. You're a brand new player to the server? You should not have an XP penalty with any real meaning, because you haven't EXPERIENCED much yet! However, if you are Bob the Almighty, level 30 epic wizard of destruction and mayhem, who has slain the dragon-god Phil, guess what. You shouldn't be dying that often!

The real beauty of this system is that you can choose where the system "evens out". The last number (/ 10) determines at which level your XP loss for death is equal to your experience. (15*15)*100 / 15 = 1500 XP loss, which is equal to the old system. In my example, the "level of normality" is level 10. You can even change it to / 20, which means that everyone below level 20 is "given a break" while everyone above level 20 is penalized more harshly, just not as much as if you set it at level 10.

Losing 9000xp at level 30 wouldn't be so bad. Losing 8410 xp at level 29 might just make me weep.

I also wonder, did this thread receive an XP penalty when it respawned from the fugue?


In all seriousness, 100xp at level 1 is literally nothing. that's 2 skeletons in the graveyard- about 1 minute if you are in party. 2900 xp at level 29 represents at least 3 hours of serious grinding, possibly more. The difficulty in acquiring xp at epic levels makes any xp loss after level 20 a serious blow to any player.

If you are having trouble levelling, then shoot out some tells in game. There are lots of helpful players that will gladly give you pointers and assistance.

mrieder79 wrote:Losing 9000xp at level 30 wouldn't be so bad. Losing 8410 xp at level 29 might just make me weep.

In all seriousness, 100xp at level 1 is literally nothing. that's 2 skeletons in the graveyard- about 1 minute if you are in party. 2900 xp at level 29 represents at least 3 hours of serious grinding, possibly more. The difficulty in acquiring xp at epic levels makes any xp loss after level 20 a serious blow to any player.

To your first point:

Yes, losing 8410 XP at level 29 is ~disastrous~. It's meant to be. Attaining such a high level means, imo, that the character has seen some stuff. They should be well prepared for the challenges they face, they should bring friends who not only can resurrect them, but others who can provide means of escape if necessary. We're talking about adventurers on par with the power, wisdom, and intelligence of mature dragons. The penalty of dying is closely associated with taking that power for granted, and rushing into situations that in all honesty, a character of this level should have thought better of.

To your second point:

You are looking at numbers, only. Think more about risk vs reward. A level 1 with no gear that goes out into the skeleton graveyard is facing a considerable challenge due to respawn rates, lack of HP, lack of AC, and lack of AB. When I have a base attack bonus of +2, that means that I have roughly a 60% chance to hit the darn skeletons at all!

The base system (which was implemented in NWN1 btw, it does not originate from PnP at all) does not account for risk vs reward. The system I propose removes the risk at lower levels, and increases it as the power of the player increases. Because power increase is not linear, it is not a perfect system, but it at least allows the developers and builders to determine WHERE the "plateau" should be.

If 100 xp at level 1 is "literally nothing", 10 xp shouldn't make any difference. At level 8, however, 640 xp potential penalty still encourages exploration and risk taking. 800 xp does not.

Another server I once played on had a rather unique semi-permadeath system that rewarded cautious players and punished reckless ones quite nicely. Basically you have a stat called soul integrity or similar and each time you die you lose a huge amount of it. Dying the first time will usually take away 20-30% and each succeeding death loses more and more. Respawning requires around 25-50% soul integrity so if you run around and die several times in a row and your soul integrity is below that amount you cannot respawn OR be raised and suffer perma-death. Soul integrity will regenerate very slowly over time, usually 5% every five or ten minutes with the highest regen amount being in safe areas such as taverns. Thus if people wish to stay alive they will have to spend time in the taverns after each death and with nothing else to do they will be forced to rp. Oh and respawning or being raised causes temporary stat debuffs which last for around 5-15 minutes and cant be removed by any means.