HechtHeftig wrote:That wasn't the point I was trying to make. Your concept is: less shrines and better rolls.
That is not the concept, that is an example solution.
The concept is: less time in town, more time playing the game --> same crafted items.
Again you are mixing up my EXAMPLE solution with a concept. The example was only to clarify the concept as I have said a few times now.[/quote]
Ermm, well, one of is is certainly doing thatAnd please don't take my sentences out of context.
The point I keep trying to make is that there as SO many ways to do this. I am NOT trying to get into a discussion of one, or of one solution versus another - the concept is about what we do with our time in the game, not how that is achieved.
One point here is that the stochastic element of the game (most people would probably know it as "RNG") is up for discussion anyway. If you try to entice people onto the MP servers with a ladder, then the case for reducing reducing RNG is stronger. Otherwise you have one person getting a perfect roll on the first attempt, who then steamrollers the game and tops the ladder. Another person takes forever to get a decent item and is effectively stuck. The second player may be the better player but we cannot tell. And yes I realise that the time they play will be the main factor, but although there will always be some randomness, there is a strong case for reducing it to a minimum if you want to have a game with a real sense of being skill-based especially when there may be PvP involved. Did the best man win or was it due to him getting a luckier roll on his weapon?
How desirable it is to iron out those inequalities is a separate discussion - I'm not taking a side here, only pointing out that it's not really valid to see it as an immutable fact that randomness is desirable feature.
I would certainly agree that games need to satisfy the reward centres of the brain, but for everyone who says "Wow a great roll" there's someone saying "Wow. A great drop". If you get to the point where a shrine drop is rare enough that it is effectively "Wow,. I can now make a great item" then the reward system works well enough to have people want to continue playing. That's all part of the balance/design question more than the "requirements" question.