MrSmith wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2024 3:40 pm
How about a 4th option.
If the intent is promote greater inclusion... Then remove any and all penalties for any characters, regardless of level, adventuring in a party.
If the intent is promote RP and discourage grinding... Then significantly lower the spawn rate in any dungeon if level disparity exists. This will increase the opportunity to RP between melee, while removing the opportunities to exploit the level disparity in favor of higher level toons speed killing.
I also think this is an interesting solution to reduce level-disparate-rofflestomp xp grinding and promote RP.
Maybe you have a solution to an issue that has come to my mind, after some days of returning to this option (if it even can be a coded option). The scenario is:
A Lvl 30 character and 3 Lvl 8 characters go to the Wood of Sharp Teeth. With their level disparity, the mob spawns are severely reduced, but the group is RPing in a part of the map. Then, another group arrives in the same map, a set of 3 Level 10s, who want to slay some (still) CR appropriate mobs, and gain some experience (okay, okay...grinding out some easy XP). However...the Area has adjusted the mob spawn down, based on the first group, and thus there really is no "normal" mob spawn to be had.
In this scenario, which group has the "greater right" to stay in the CR-specific Area? The fist group, under a "first come, first server Rule?" Or the more CR appropriate group, which is the second group? Because one-or-the-other groups now would dictate the mechanical experience of the Area.
Considering the general low population of the Server currently and the many low and mid- CR Areas BGTSCC currently has, this is likely a infrequent "problem." But it relates to an earlier issue BGTSCC experienced when it had more Areas using the CR Scaling Mechanic, where higher level toons would enter an Area with a normal CR, and thus it would adjust the mobs into a higher CR, then a lower Level PC(s) would come through, and get murderated by said "suped up" mobs. And then Players would get kinda upset.
As far as I can tell, there is no mechanic in place to bar lowbies from grouping up with highbies. The only mechanical "penalization" going on is that such disparate Level grouping causes XP gained from "grinding" mobs to reduce to a non-profitable Level. Though, to balance it, Chat XP still "pays out" at a very good and consistent rate.
I just want to say something else: I'm not anti-grinding, as I also do sometimes kill mobs in a grinding fashion in order to achieve a Level. But I am of the school of thought to not promote it, nor say it is a okay/fair thing to have on a Role-play server. I do wish there were more equally profitable means besides lootz/grindz activity on BGTSCC, and with the Chat XP increase, something is now slightly better than such.
But essentially, my words against grinding or making grinding easier is in order to
uphold a greater attention to improving GAINS via role-play investment. Grinding is an OOC thought and act. I agree, it has it's value and achieves a goal. But I'm personally unconvinced that goal is an IC goal,
but absolutely an OOC goal. As grinding is permitted on BTGSCC,
except for AFK Grinding, all I can do as a community member is speak my opinion, put into debate my opinion, as a means to sway thought. If you don't like what I'm selling, please, by all the Gods alive and dead, just ignore me!!!! Cheers.
