I was talking to some of the guides and they said that they didnt have anyone saying they had issues finding PVE.
Now, I'm not sure about others but I would like to PVE a lot more. We have a lot of combat focused players in our tribe and new players looking for it all the time. Yet every time we go hunting, we spend 85% of the time looking for something (anything) to kill and 5% of the time fighting, and 10% of the time skinning.
Not counting the transporting of items back to the tribal area for the crafters, this seems to me like a major problem.
Also, I see no real reason to fight in a group. Most animals are easy to solo (80% of the animals) and the few that are not can easy be done in a duo, or a using the water tactic. So group play isnt encouraged.
I would like to see what other peoples thoughts on this are, and if my tribe is just out to lunch on how much PVE we expect in a game.
Is there PVE in this game, sure if you live up in the hills all alone ( i did that)
But if you like to interact with poeple you live closer to the lake.
And if one goes uphill its still hard to fins anything and if you kill something you are so encumbered that it takes like an year to get home so you will use an deathport.
i dont think this is the way it should be, actually i think in an destroyed world there would be so many flesh eating animals they would come downhill in the winter for food.
I feel the same as you(MrDDT) do when it comes to thinking we need more PvE. But I like the way the hunting is now, I like the fact that you have to really go hunting. I would like for things to be more of a 50/50 chance of winning the fight or not when it comes to bears. Would like PvE fights to be more of a challenge. I would also like to see deer to herd in larger numbers. But there is only so much you can do with that, I know sometime in the future we are going to have zombies(Can't wait for this after watch the last "Walking Dead"). And I know that will help for a time till most of the camps are dealt with.
But right now, I'm not sure what could be or needs to be added to help. Right now we have hunting, bulding, harvesting, and crafting. I know for me I waiting on Farming, Cooking, and Taming. But I'm not looking for them to be added any time soon, And even if they are. Will I like them or will it just feel like a new grind?
But the more I think about it, The more I feel that a lot of the problem is low game population. It's hard for me to keep grinding if I feel there is no reason for it. Sure there is skill gain, But I don't care what level I'm at if there no great need to make sure I'm on the upper end of my crafts skills. And with a low pop and no need for new high level items. I have a hard time grinding them out.
I hope I'm wrong, But I think we are stuck till a lot more content comes out and our population goes up a lot more. In a game like this(IMO) PvE(ie:crafting, hunting) will work better when there is PvP going on. Till then we are just grinding and hunting to hunt. With no real reason to do anything.
I would love to read some fresh new idea for this, As I have been around Xsyon for a long time now and I just can't think of anything new and fun any more.
Animals like bear, dear, cougar, fox, mountain lion, mountain goat, etc.... should all stay up in the mountains and in larger packs, it dose feel lonely up in the woods and mountains, larger animals should really be harder to kill, I agree with that.
Encumbered: this is a real problem, I wish it was different like in other games, you can take so much without loosing speed and when your limit is over? then you would move by walking.
I really would like to see bonuses to work.
Speed bonus however should have maximum limit so people don't run like road-runner.
Speed bonus stacking = original maxed agility and running, people with maximum agility and running should have no effect.
I would also PVP with you guys if there is no player loot.
If anyone want my stuff? trade is a good option.
Agree DDT, the intial few times you go hunting it appears fun, but then you realise its just a chore for no real gain (wandering for ages finally finding stuff, then trying to get it all back to camp), armor from the bones isnt really needed cos there is no PvP/PvE and when there are PvP events noone wants to take part incase they lose the armor lol.
The travelling time and bone weight is the main issue for hunting and getting bones etc back, this with the amount of resting while travelling adds to the issue. I also see comfort, and cooking possible having a negative impact on this experience also depending how its implemented. All in all travelling is a chore period too much resting required.
Other than the proposed zombies im unsure what else they have in mind and how this can be progressed. People need a reason to leave their safe zone and at the moment scavenging is all that provides this and even then you dont have to travel too far to find what you need.
Perhaps increase the animal population slightly, increase animal difficulty of larger animals slightly. And as suggested above, some animals should just be blood thirsty and hungry so they search out people even in populated areas. (even if it was the mutant version of the animal)
I still very much enjoy hunting, not seeing an animal around every turn doesn't bother me so much, its walking 9 zones and seeing no animals that bothers me.
You think bones and hides are heavy now, what about when meat is added in?
PvE can be much more than just killing stuff. Right now though anything they could add to improve PvE requires lots of basics to be in place first, else you end up with just more grinding, i.e. the skill itself and a few items or actions to raise the skill, but nothing to really affect gameplay. Even more cool architecture parts like bridges is really still just more of the same, so the ooh and aah factor wears off quicker each time new items are added to an existing skill. A lot of people are feeming for farming and cooking, but what will they actually add to the game besides more busy work? Don't get me wrong, I love little stuff like farming that adds to the sense of a complete living world, but is the hype (in the player's own minds) going to be equal to what we will get with the initial system? Jordi has admitted it will only be a few crops "at first".
It also doesn't help that in between every biggish feature they've added so far they have gotten side tracked with core tech issues like lag and database optimizations, etc.
I solo hunt most of the time and needing to find animals adds to the "Hunting" experience for me. For one person it isn't that hard. I also drag my cart with me every time I go hunting. I find a good place to park it then wander that area a bit before moving on. Yes it is slow, but it feels more realistic than anything I have played before. I can hunt the whole evening and carry it all back in the cart with no problem. I have been carving out trees along the rivers so each time I go travel gets a little better. As time goes on and people inhabit more areas and clear more paths and build more roads travel should get better. Which is part of rebuilding the world.
I would like to see Deer herd since that is what they do in a real environment. I think small animals like squirrels, rabbits marmotts etc should be easy enough for the beginner players to go hunting while Deer Coyote medium difficulty and Bears being the hardest. Mutants should be more rare than the normal mobs and much tougher to kill. Large ones like Plateback and Shadow bears should need a strong group to kill.
PVE isnt that bad the further away from the city ruins you get. The problem is there is no rhyme or reason to any of them.
I would like to see some of the smaller animals become more common year round, like squirrels, pine marlins, and racoons, and foxes. But some of the larger animals rarer. The other day I had 4 brown bears in a 100m radius of my totem.
Some animals are pack/heard animals others arent. Currently everything is a pack animal.
It is rare I see a solitary bear, but I seem to always stumble into a solitary coyote, which IS a pack animal.
I would also like to see other forms of food.
Fish is good and all, but we have animals, so meat would be good too. Give those squirrels a use.
I also think that zombies will add a lot to the game once implemented. I am hoping that I will actually have to work with other tribes in the area to assist me in removing them(I want them to be super hard to kill lol)