Board Thread:Suggestions forum/@comment-26172435-20151221114104/@comment-26172435-20151223184147

Recneps wrote:

AlteOgre wrote:

Madman198237 wrote: Experience levels could, however, easily apply to the first point in the OP. Perhaps, upon reaching a certain level, characters could gain one skill point (The omnipresent face of your average RPG leveling system).

This point could then be spent towards skills/traits unlocked by faction standings. Use of skill points may be a way to safely 'store' experience orbs to later improve character traits, when alignment criteria are met. Disadvantage may be that it will reward grinding too much as it significantly lowers the risk of losing experience from 'knockouts' (what many call 'deaths'). I am convinced knockouts should have a price and grinding be discouraged ... so I'd not suggest a skillpoint system until more convincing arguments of using them are brought up. I edited the OP accordingly. No death penalties actually discourages grinding. It makes it more possible for people to get experience without being entirely safe. Most of the time you never die when you grind. That's another interesting view on grinding and I recognize it. Yet, I sense there's a fundamental flaw in relating your train of thought / reasoning to the concepts I'm addressing. If I understand correctly your starting point is that people grind mobs to get experience orbs while they ensure they cannot be hit themselves. I can understand that. This situation/behaviour however, will exist despite any chosen option regarding 'costs of knockouts', 'orbs storage options', 'orb conversion options', etcetera. It can only be discouraged by decreasing the reward value of acquiring experience orbs. So, addressing this specific grinding behaviour in itself is not discriminating, so not of any relevance when evaluating concepts for use of orbs. The situations that are discriminating in my view are those when players that have collected orbs and a (partially) filled experience bar run the risk of getting knocked out: just when walking around, gathering resources, travelling, etcetera ... and get ambushed by some foe, whether these be swans, wargs, elf invasions or other players. If there is no penalty to a knockout (no loss of experience orbs), players can collect and carry as much as they please without running the risk of losing any: that's why I am convinced knockouts must make you lose experience orbs and orbs should not be storable to discourage grinding. If players cannot store orbs or the costs of conversion in exchange of any perk (trait improvement, smithing or enchanting) is increased, the relative penalty of a 'knockout in action' is higher and players will be more hesitant to grind.

Now on your second line, which says 'no knockout cost encourages players to not grind'. That may be the case, but it doesn't offer distinguishing arguments that matter to the suggested system in this thread. It does matter for server owners who can decide on measures regarding monitoring of grinding behaviour of their players and on the costs of knockouts. The suggestion subject of this thread principally doesn't influence that mechanism. My preference and suggestion to not use any orb storage system and have players lose orbs at a knockout, may indeed discourage players to engage in open combat to acquire experience. Yet it doesn't discourage players to not grind either. In my view, it predominantly encourages players to play smarter (which is a good cause in itself, supporting roleplay survival) and discourages collecting huge amounts of experience orbs from grinding, meanwhile assuming grinding is also discouraged by server rules and staff, independently of the chosen experience orb storage and conversion system.

Now ... I need some paracetamol ...