IE mod and 3.0

[TheMetaphysician]

Do any of you guys have a guess as to how long it will be until there is a version of the IE mod that works with 3.0, based on how long it has taken in the past or on other info you might have? I'm a completionist, so the ends of games are always less challenging than I would like, and I'm thinking that all the XP getting dumped into the game with the expansions won't be sufficiently offset by the level scaling for me. So I really want to wait for the -50% exp nerf in the IE mod. But I'm also chomping at the bit to get started. I played through it once when it was released, and act 3 and 4 were too easy for my taste.

 

Alternatively, any suggestions on how to recreate the -50% XP nerf without waiting for the IE mod? I don't care about achievements, so I'm happy to use the console.

[AndreaColombo]

If the mod's maintainers are still around and interested (which I deem likely, seeing as the last update was this January and TWM pt II has just come out), probably a couple weeks.

[TheMetaphysician]

Thanks for the reply! A couple of weeks isn't bad at all; I may just wait around for it to come out.

 

In the meantime, I did think up a way (2 ways, in fact) to mimic the IE mod's nerfed experience table just using the console; initial testing suggests they work. I thought I'd share them in case anyone other than me is interested. They are:

 

(1) Whenever your characters first gain enough experience to level up, before leveling them up, subtract them down to only halfway between the last level's XP number and the new level's xp number. (You can use the "AddExperience" command with a negative number to subtract xp. You'll also probably have to look online at an xp table to remember the last level's xp number, as it will no longer be shown on your character sheet.) You will no longer be able to level up. Do that once for each level and you get the -50% leveling pattern, as each level takes half again as much xp to complete.

 

(2) Alternatively, right AFTER you level up, subtract an amount of experience equal to half of the xp needed to reach the NEXT level. You will not drop back down a level because you've already gone through the level-up process, despite the fact that you are now below the required xp for that level. That will mean you have to gain half again as much xp to get to the next level (for every level except the move from level 1 to level 2). This one seems better for two reasons. First, the first approach will involve hearing the "level up" sound, getting excited, and then realizing that you can't actually level up half the time. This one has no such issue. Second, you don't have to look online at an xp table or otherwise remember the last level's xp number; all you need is the next level's number, which is on the character sheet.

 

I'm intrigued by these options, in part because you can wait a few levels before implementing them. The first few levels (say, until about level 5) certainly don't need any more challenge, especially on PotD. It is the later parts of the game that need level-slowing, at least for completionist types who try to plan out powerful builds. I might wait until level 5 or so to start implementing them. And if you wanted you could actually implement a harsher nerf than 50%, or one that escalates or otherwise varies by level, or anything you want, really. It would be cool if we all put our heads together and figured out the ideal experience nerf for completionists to maintain a difficult challenge throughout the game.

 

The downside is fiddling with the console at every level, and losing access to achievements (which I don't care about, but some do). It might break immersion, and make you feel like a cheater. But if you just create a policy before embarking on a playthrough, and stick to the policy religiously, it isn't really different than just adding a rule to the game, and so shouldn't make you feel like a cheater.