Alchemy
Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 4:50 pm
Alchemy is a fantabulous way for wizards to get some hard to find and expensive components. However, does it really have to be such a pain? I don't want it to be super super easy, but at the moment if a wizard wants to create a jacinth gem they will need six positive shards, and six fire shards. Now, IF you know where all the formations are, you MIGHT be able to get them all in just one day. So, you set off to travel, and some of the places are quite dangerous. Once you get there, you have to pick at the durned things, and you have to have a ridiculous amount of dexterity to get even one from the formation without breaking it.
I don't want you to be able to just pick five shards off of a formation, but I do find it a little ridiculous that with Gesine, I rarely can get more than one, even as completely beefed up on slinkiness and luck that I can get her. And most characters will not be able to get that beefed up if they can even get to the formations to try to pick at them. I'd like to see it take slightly less than the amount of dexterity it takes right now. Maybe there is more at work than just dexterity.. I don't know. Or perhaps just raise the number of times you can attempt at each formation.
Knowing where every formation is, it happens a lot that I can visit them all and not have enough shards to make anything at all. That wouldn't be so bad, but it takes FOREVER to visit them all (well over an hour). Even if you have help and are taking turns with the picking. Because it also takes a ridiculous amount of stamina to mine these suckers (The main characters that will use these things are not muscle heads, and you cannot pay young impressionable characters enough to make them do it for you, I've tried). We aren't mining.. it should take some stamina, but not as much as it would take someone slamming a pick at a rock wall over and over. And now with the changes to fly, unless the formations are right next to each other (I can only think of one case off hand where this happens) you can only pick at one formation at a time without having to rest.
I would like to see a few things, not all would have to be done, but it just seems like it takes an extreme amount of effort to go through and as it stands right now when you are done you might not even be able to make one component. I do not like everything being changed to make things easier in the game, I like for things to be challenging, but even I think that if you spend over an hour, you should have at least worked hard enough to get one stinking gem out of it. And if you were wanting to put an enchantment on something... oi boy, it could take even longer.
1. Reduce (by a small amount) the dexterity it takes to pick a shard (Or raise the number of possible attempts at each location)
2. Reduce the amount of stamina it uses to pick at the formations!! You have to spend a ton of stamina picking and then a ton of stamina traveling.
3. Add new formations (Or reduce the amount of time it takes for the formations to refill themselves). Or do both!!
4. Add a quest to learn alchemy. (I would be more than happy to write this if someone would be willing to code it). Players would still be able to teach it to other players, but at the moment it can be a pickle to get a board and to find someone willing to spend the time to teach you.
5. Add other combinations to the board (Shining pink gems, black onyx gems.. um.. I'm sure there are others that would be appropriate)
I don't want you to be able to just pick five shards off of a formation, but I do find it a little ridiculous that with Gesine, I rarely can get more than one, even as completely beefed up on slinkiness and luck that I can get her. And most characters will not be able to get that beefed up if they can even get to the formations to try to pick at them. I'd like to see it take slightly less than the amount of dexterity it takes right now. Maybe there is more at work than just dexterity.. I don't know. Or perhaps just raise the number of times you can attempt at each formation.
Knowing where every formation is, it happens a lot that I can visit them all and not have enough shards to make anything at all. That wouldn't be so bad, but it takes FOREVER to visit them all (well over an hour). Even if you have help and are taking turns with the picking. Because it also takes a ridiculous amount of stamina to mine these suckers (The main characters that will use these things are not muscle heads, and you cannot pay young impressionable characters enough to make them do it for you, I've tried). We aren't mining.. it should take some stamina, but not as much as it would take someone slamming a pick at a rock wall over and over. And now with the changes to fly, unless the formations are right next to each other (I can only think of one case off hand where this happens) you can only pick at one formation at a time without having to rest.
I would like to see a few things, not all would have to be done, but it just seems like it takes an extreme amount of effort to go through and as it stands right now when you are done you might not even be able to make one component. I do not like everything being changed to make things easier in the game, I like for things to be challenging, but even I think that if you spend over an hour, you should have at least worked hard enough to get one stinking gem out of it. And if you were wanting to put an enchantment on something... oi boy, it could take even longer.
1. Reduce (by a small amount) the dexterity it takes to pick a shard (Or raise the number of possible attempts at each location)
2. Reduce the amount of stamina it uses to pick at the formations!! You have to spend a ton of stamina picking and then a ton of stamina traveling.
3. Add new formations (Or reduce the amount of time it takes for the formations to refill themselves). Or do both!!
4. Add a quest to learn alchemy. (I would be more than happy to write this if someone would be willing to code it). Players would still be able to teach it to other players, but at the moment it can be a pickle to get a board and to find someone willing to spend the time to teach you.
5. Add other combinations to the board (Shining pink gems, black onyx gems.. um.. I'm sure there are others that would be appropriate)