Uber Items

[kefka]

Anyone else a little tired of the "phat lewt" you get in these games? Even Kotor continues this trend. Dominator gauntlets, regeneration implants, robes that boost your wisdom (how does that work? ) and so on... We're a Jedi here (or sith). That means they use the force and lightsaber only. By Kotor's end you're like a walking tank with more utility belts than Batman.

 

Don't get me wrong, I like powerful items, but only when they're extremely rare. It's even worse as a Jedi. They should rely on their skills, not the loot they collect.

[Gorth]

robes that boost your wisdom (how does that work?  ) and so on...

Dead simple logic really. B)

 

Sister Egenia (spelling?) is an old, wise, robe wearing woman. Yoda is an old, wise, robe wearing gremlin, Elminster is an old, wise, robe wearing man.

 

See a pattern here ?

 

It must be the robes.

 

Otherwise, throw 80%-90% of the loot away. A tiny group of people walking around with anough firepower/magic under their robes to arm a small army to the teeth, please...

 

Would be nice with a few mundane (whatever passes as mundane in the gamesetting) items, that can be tinkered with to improve their performance. That is, if you have access to people who can do it, whether they be party members or just available locally.

 

Want a flaming arrow in a fantasy setting ?

1. 1 arrow
   
2. 1 Bottle Liquor
   
3. 1 Strip of cloth
   
4. Mix all ingredients
   

Ignite shortly before use, point away from inflamable objects.

 

Want an armour piercing blaster ?

1. 1 standard issue blaster
   
2. 1 supercharged energy pack
   
3. 1 string of heavy duty energy wiring
   
4. Attach objects to each other. Do not attach the red wire to the blue plug, You'll void the warranty
   

Point business end of blaster toward adversary and pull trigger until conflict solved

 

And so on and so on and so on...

 

Let people work hard for that little extra. If they can't be bothered to do that, they can still complete the game, they'll just lose some bragging rights.

[mkreku]

Maybe the robes are embroidered with lots and lots of tiny little advice?

[Gorth]

Maybe the robes are embroidered with lots and lots of tiny little advice?

:D

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Maybe the robes are embroidered with lots and lots of tiny little advice?

If thats true, i certainly could've used some of those robes whenever i had to take exams.

[kefka]

Sister Egenia (spelling?) is an old, wise, robe wearing woman. Yoda is an old, wise, robe wearing gremlin, Elminster is an old, wise, robe wearing man.

 

See a pattern here ?

[Eagle]

I sold 99/100 items i picked up, most of them are absolutely useless and are never used. Most of the good kit is in shops aswell. I prefered BG2 as they were all part of quests (Carsomyr and Cromfaeyr(sp?) anyone?). A lot is part of quests but things like the mantle of the force, heart of the guardian, dominator gauntlets and the better implants are all stuff you have to buy.

[AlanC9]

I'm going to go even further than kefka. I've had enough of powerful items, period. As far as I'm concerned, every item in KotOR should be generic.

 

Item chasing is OK in a fantasy game, but I don't think it makes sense in SF, especially Star Wars.

[Arkan]

I'm going to go even further than kefka. I've had enough of powerful items, period. As far as I'm concerned, every item in KotOR should be generic.

 

Item chasing is OK in a fantasy game, but I don't think it makes sense in SF, especially Star Wars.

Star Wars is fantasy.

[evil.E]

I agree that there was way too much inventory. Thankfully I got rid of most of it on Yavin. I think it would of been better if they limited the amount of stuff you can carry to only a few base items. Also, the really good stuff like Heart of the Guardian and Dominator Gauntlets were cool but they shouldn't of been things you could buy. They should of been things that you got after some epic battle or extremely difficult puzzle. Point being that you should have to earn these items not just fork over some credits. Much like they did with the Genhorradan* side quest. Perhaps it might also be cool if the games difficulty setting determined which power items were availible. For example if your playing the game on easy and you kill the final Tarantek you get dominator gauntlets, normal you'd get heart of the guardian, difficult mantle of the force, etc....

[kefka]

You make some good points there evil.E

 

I don't think you should be able to buy the best items, you should earn them. Some might argue that those credits are earned but money was never really a problem in Kotor. Selling the stuff found in lockers, or winning the swoop races, or by looting gave more than enough to buy whatever you wanted.

 

Much like they did with the Genhorradan* side quest.

Exactly. It was much more satisfying to receive new equipment that way.

 

Perhaps it might also be cool if the games difficulty setting determined which power items were availible. For example if your playing the game on easy and you kill the final Tarantek you get dominator gauntlets, normal you'd get heart of the guardian, difficult mantle of the force, etc....

An interesting idea. For the most powerful items you'd need to play the hardest difficulty setting. That makes sense.

[Gromnir]

you know, it may be superficial of Gromnir, but we admit that we like items... but not powerful items. the thing is, we ain't really impressed with super powers. in most crpgs, super powered items is unnecessary and make game less fun once you is gaining levels/skills/points/whatever, so by the end of game we is typically equipping self for style points.

 

...

 

is maybe a little childish, but we admit that outside of really tough battles we tends to choose equipment does something interesting or has a unique effect. have a gun or weapon or spell or power that has a nifty explosion with a dazzling light shower or crackling spooky green lightning effect that knocks back enemies, bouncing 'em off walls would be something we would use often... even if it not do much actual damage and even if it not actually the best tactic.

 

am imaging that the problem is that

[Gorth]

you know, it may be superficial of Gromnir, but we admit that we like items... but not powerful items.

Thats because you're an orc Gromnir, orcs likes shiny objects, it's in their nature, just like magpies and dragons

 

One of the advantages of games with fairly easy combat is, that you can experiment and roleplay a little easier.

 

I always wondered if I was the only playing Kotor through, where Carth, Canderous and Big Z still had their own guns, Mission her vibroblade etc. in the end ?

 

I did similar in IWD and IWD2 with some of the more interesting things, like the luck bringing scimitar etc. Did cheat a little and cast Powerword Ctrl+Y when the battle were hopeless for not maxed out characters, but nevermind that

 

Being a hopeless PS:T fanboy, I'm not blind to, that it did have a few weird things going on. How did you remove the tattoos and put them back in your inventory ? Sounds painful

 

Speaking of PS:T, except that the fighter got nerfed combat wise (a mage with better armour than a fighter ???), I dont think there was an "overabundance" of uber items. Perhaps I didn't just look hard enough.

 

Not suffering from the Compulsory Hoarding Disorder, I prefer unique and personalised items over gathering 72 blasters and flying them to Yavin for maximum profit. Methinks, the two saber crystals on Yavin was just a way of offering the player a combat reward for killing the Trandoshans (spelling?) and relieving him of some of the surplus money before the endgame. They looked nice, but I never figured out what they actually did...

 

I'm curious about how the Trash for Money program turns out in Fargos new Bards Tale. The thought horrified me at first, but now, lets lean back, watch, then decide...

[Magnum Opus]

I'm in favour of having lots and lots of interesting items, certainly enough for item-hunting purposes and hoarding, but for having only a very few "uber-items". I'll admit to being an absolutely shameless packrat, especially after I've played a game a couple times, and I always like to have enough interesting and/or shiny things to fill out that hoard... and to have enough barrels or chests to serve as storage space for them, of course. In a convenient spot, too. It's all about location location location.

 

Essentially, I don't want the equipment that the character finds to overwhelm the character that's using it. Having a few really powerful items is all to the good, but you ought to feel like you've won the lottery when you find them... or that you had to give up the proverbial pound of flesh to get it. If an item is truly powerful, make its use unique to a certain time or place or creature (preferably a rare or unique creature). The valuable items should be... well... valuable.

 

And it certainly helps if I get to play dress-up with my characters, too. If there'd been more interesting sets of armour in the game, I would have dressed up a couple of the BG1 NPCs and put them in my treasure room as well, just to showcase my armour. As it was, though, the avatars didn't really look all that good, IMO; certainly good enough for everyday wear and tear, but not really good enough to line them up against a wall somewhere and put them on display.

 

Yes... I like "stuff". Just don't let it render the actual character I've spent so much time developing meaningless.

[Gromnir]

"Thats because you're an orc Gromnir, orcs likes shiny objects, it's in their nature, just like magpies and dragons "

 

must 'members yet again to thanks dave and rob for permanently fixing the "Gromnir is an orc," misconception 'mongst those who played tob.

 

*sigh*

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Cantousent]

HAHAHAHAHA. At least he didn't call you a half-orc as I'm wont to do.

 

EDIT: I love phat loot. I just wish they'd spread it out a bit. I mean, if they're doing a sequel, why not save some of that uber crap for game 2. I guess they don't know that they'll have a game 2 for sure.

[Gorth]

must 'members yet again to thanks dave and rob for permanently fixing the "Gromnir is a orc," misconception 'mongst those who played tob.

:D

 

Sorry, now that you mention it, I do remember reading some of the "Cameo" thread. Think of the ToB version of Gromnir as an artists impression.

[Kasoroth]

I don't mind having a large variety of items, but the items should be kept to a relatively low power level. In particular, I think that items that boost primary stats should be kept to an absolute minimum (like +2 at the most, with no stacking for multiple items of the same stat) or even eliminated completely. Stat allocation is one of the major things that distinguish one character from another, and if you can just equip a bunch of items when you need a higher intelligence, dexterity, etc for a particular situation, it reduces and/or negates the significance of the choices you made during character creation.

 

-Kasoroth

[kefka]

In particular, I think that items that boost primary stats should be kept to an absolute minimum (like +2 at the most, with no stacking for multiple items of the same stat) or even eliminated completely.

I agree with that. Some items in Kotor increased your stats way beyond what should be possible -- and items which stack to provide +9 strength or wisdom, for example, made your initial stats a joke. You have so much powerful gear at your disposal you're spoiled for choice and can equip almost anything to suit any situation. You should not be able to 'buy' stats.