ATTENTION: mercenaries

Dalvyn · Post by **Dalvyn** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 5:24 pm

Mercenary pets are unbalancing to the game, mostly because they can be fully equipped with armour and weapon.

In the following weeks, I am going to remove them one by one from the game. That means that they will simply disappear. If you have one and that mercenary is carrying items that you do not want to lose, make sure that you remove those items and put them somewhere else (the mercenaries' inventory and equipment will be lost).

Oghma · Post by **Oghma** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 5:27 pm

I welcome this, mercenary npc's have no real place in a multi-user game that thrives on group interaction. By removing them we allow characters that would rely on tanking these mobiles to actually go and seek other pc's for help and defense, with variations on rp and random actions not scripted or ordered said through code. Well done!

Selveem · Post by **Selveem** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 5:53 pm

First, I wanted to thank the staff for bringing this to our attention before they are removed. This is a pleasurable announcement in that we have a chance to do something about it.

I understand that this is now an immediate certainty, but I'm curious; how did this conclusion come?

From what I've seen, armor does next to nothing right now. They can wield two weapons, but I don't think they have nearly the damage output that a griffon mount does. They certainly don't have as many attacks.

Could it be possible to have mercenaries replaced with new ones available in game that can be dressed and the like too, but won't fight?

Moloch · Post by **Moloch** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 6:24 pm

I had a question regarding mercenaries, and I thought that it would just be better to be safe, rather than sorry. Were bipedal golems included in this deleting scan?

Dalvyn · Post by **Dalvyn** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 6:28 pm

What bipedal golem did you have in mind?

Moloch · Post by **Moloch** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 6:32 pm

The golems from the Necromancer's guild, mostly.

Duranamir · Post by **Duranamir** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 7:28 pm

First i agree with Selveem that it is good to have some warning and i will act appropriately.

But i would like to query the reasoning, having owned a mercenary (one of the Drow ones) for a number of years i find the current version to be useful but not much more than that. They don’t protect their owners, as they cant rescue and in my experience all Mobs will attack the owner not the mercenary . The armour they wear is rarely ever relevant as they don’t get attacked and i don’t feel that even with a weapon they are that effective.

I personally like to have one as a sort of IC status symbol and rather stylish pack horse.

.

I would rather they were dropped in level than removed as i think they make a nice RP additions to a character, in the same vein as rangers and druids with there pets, who i would think are probably significantly more lethal combatants.

Is this change going to affect all humanoid type minions ? or just the ones called mercenary explicitly in there name.

Duranamir

Dalvyn · Post by **Dalvyn** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 7:35 pm

The problem is that it's not possible to update mercenaries that have already been hired. The only option is to remove them.

You can move while invisible and order your mercenaries to attack for you for example.

Servant-like humanoid pets are fine, for status. They would most likely be coded as wimpy.

Duranamir · Post by **Duranamir** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 7:39 pm

Ok, i was actually not aware of that trick. As i said i will comply, any objection to an undead ex Drow mercenary ?

As undead certainly have more limits on what you can order them to do. i.e. ordinary Merc can be ordered to move into another room, Undead only ever follow which since they cant see invis gets round the trick you mentioned ?

Duranamir

Lathander · Post by **Lathander** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 8:08 pm

I won't speak for Dal, but I would think that undead are just fine.

Solaghar · Post by **Solaghar** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 8:11 pm

I have no problem with getting rid of fighting humanoid mercenaries, but is it necessary to set them as wimpy? Surely there must be a happy medium, as wimpy pets are no end of annoying. I'd far prefer something that was just low level enough that even if you did equip it, it would die. Or some sort of program on it that makes it killmode nofight all the time and switches to that every time it gets into combat.

Selveem · Post by **Selveem** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 8:13 pm

I'm sorry, maybe I missed something. :/

I suppose I don't know enough about the different types of 'pets,' but can't you do the exact same thing with griffons, pegusi, warhorses, worgs, and all the other 'combative' pets?

Again, from what I've seen Griffons are more powerful than the humanoid mercenaries available. What makes them so much more powerful?

Oghma · Post by **Oghma** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 8:19 pm

Griffons cannot be tanked out in armour or sent into areas they should not be icly. Mercenaries can. Since it is unbalancing to have such it would be better to remove the aggressive ones. That is what I have been able to gage from this. The only players that will miss them are going to be the ones that tanked them out for leveling in my opinion.

Dalvyn · Post by **Dalvyn** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 8:31 pm

Solaghar, even if they were set very low level, they would still level up with the characters.

Tricky situation.

Selveem · Post by **Selveem** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 8:34 pm

I misunderstood, then.

I wasn't aware the mercenaries actually leveled up.

My current mercenary SUCKS in combat and I rarely take him out for fear of him dying. Is it possible to just change it so that mercenaries, specificially, cannot level?

Duranamir · Post by **Duranamir** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 8:44 pm

I don’t completely agree Oghma, I am going to miss my mercenary because RP wise it is nice to have effectively a sentient as a pet. A slave if you will. But that may just be an evil character thing. My own mercs tend to die with a fair bit of regularity the minute anyone uses an AOE spell, especially one %$£$ Arch mage who will insist on casting Weird in an attempt to help me.

As far as levelling goes the mercenarys themselves can go up in level with the characters ! that is something I did not even suspect ! And I second Selveem’s question if that was stopped would it nullify the problem as seen by the IMM’s ?

Duranamir

Mele · Post by **Mele** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 9:05 pm

Dalvyn wrote:Mercenary pets are unbalancing to the game, mostly because they can be fully equipped with armour and weapon.

In the following weeks, I am going to remove them one by one from the game. That means that they will simply disappear. If you have one and that mercenary is carrying items that you do not want to lose, make sure that you remove those items and put them somewhere else (the mercenaries' inventory and equipment will be lost).

Don't worry on questioning to get rid of em. :D He's just warning you to make them nakkie.

Lerytha · Post by **Lerytha** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 9:20 pm

Or... for evil PCs, murder your mercenary somewhere with witnesses to prove how evil your character is.

Or you could do a scorched earth policy:

EVIL PC: "Quick! Kill the mercenary, before the imm can get its equipment back! Quick!"

(DISCLAIMER: my poor attempt at a pseudo-historial reference, no offence to imms or evil PCs meant at all... but you all knew that anyway

)

Nysan · Post by **Nysan** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 1:56 am

Any chance that we can see a list of the mobs being removed? Some 'pets' are grey areas to some players and would be nice to know whats on the chopping block for certain. Limit the "SURPRISE!!!" effect on certain players when they log in one day in the coming weeks. *shrug*

Cret · Post by **Cret** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 3:59 am

Is there a way to get arround this. I dont ever use my NPC merc for combat. He is a stand-alone add to my 'immage' item...

ATTENTION: mercenaries

ATTENTION: mercenaries

Re: ATTENTION: mercenaries