Official: Proposed Escort Bandit Updates

[Fallen]

Banditware 2.0 · on 7/10/2007


A sneak preview of some of the changes to bandits that I've been playing with:

* Some of them can carry the heavier-duty brawling weapons
* Some of them can carry ranged weapons
* ...and will snipe from hiding if they have enough skill
* In addition to Sweep and Cheapshots maneuvers, they can also choose from Feint and Hamstring
* But each bandit is only trained in at most 2 of those 4, and is untrained in the others
* Their Cheapshot ranks are more realistic for their level -- no more throat chops at level 10
* Each bandit also knows a super-secret 5th maneuver that they won't use too much (you hope)
* The "stun-and-run" technique will eventually prove hazardous to your health -- better kill 'em or run to safety
* Once an escort task is complete, bandits are more likely to disperse, especially if they're not currently fighting someone
* Killing the bandit that kills your escortee and taking back the silver that he stole will provide some meager compensation for failing the task (but you are going to return it to the family of the deceased, right?)
* Minor bug fixes
* Hilarious bandit hijinx
* Some "bandanas" have been replaced with "neckerchiefs". For some reason, bandits wear these exclusively.

These changes aren't ready for the live games yet, but they're getting there.

[Fallen]

These guys are pretty nifty already. They make decent animates, but are too damned slow.

[SpunGirl]

I usually just quake them and keep walking.

-K

[Fallen]

* The "stun-and-run" technique will eventually prove hazardous to your health -- better kill 'em or run to safety

[SpunGirl]

I saw that. I'll be interested to see how it changes. Maybe they'll multiply every time they are stunned or quaked. If that's considered the same thing, I don't know.

-K

[Paradii]

I'd imagine it'd be similiar to the creature response when you slam. The ol' returns to the fray with some serious AS modifications. Just a guess however.

[SpunGirl]

That seems kind of lame, to me slamming is retribution for mechanics abuse. There's nothing mechanically abusive about quaking people.

By the way, have you ever tried to kill a raider/bandit guy that didn't "belong" to you? LOL. Though it looks like that may change as well.

-K

[Aaysia]

Hotness, the changes look exciting. Pity there's no escort tasks on teras, I wanna try one but I'm too lazy to move Aays off the isle.

[Fallen]

I just wish they were worth more points.

[Caede]

There was an epic thread on the officials of people complaining about stun-and-run. Generally, if you do this you will now be hunted down and killed. Afterwards, the bandits will hunt down your immediate family members, strangle them with neckerchiefs and gouge their eyesockets out with mangled spoons.

Enjoy!

--
Caede

[Aaysia]

I don't use my bounty points, so I don't really keep track of 'em... I don't think I have that many anyway. I just do bounties for the saturation. Yes I'm weird.

I'll probably get around to using them sooner or later though.

[Fallen]

You dont spend them when you upgrade your badge. Upgrade each aspect of the badge once, then each part twice, etc, until you aren't able to anymore and see what you can get for it. You might be surprised. If it isn't worth it to you yet, you still haven't wasted any points. Only charging the badge costs points.

[Aaysia]

The badges are ugly:(. I'll look into it though! Thanks.

[Sthrockmorton]

You can make them look better after upgrading them 20 odd times...

PS.

I hate when capped people leave their bandits on the trails via the stun 'n run technique. Since all I do are escorts right now, I get stuck tryin wait their guys out.

[Fallen]

Sounds like that is indeed a problem from all the complaints on the officials. It looks like it will also be addressed.

[Drew]

When I'm on triple x I do escort tasks with no exp in my head and I don't want to kill them and waste triple x, I usually take off the legs and leave them to bleed out, I wonder what will happen now?

[Celephais]

When I'm on triple x I do escort tasks with no exp in my head and I don't want to kill them and waste triple x, I usually take off the legs and leave them to bleed out, I wonder what will happen now?

Do you wait until you're down to zero exp?

If it takes you 10 minutes to run a bounty, and you absorb 30 exp normally, then you absorb 20 exp off node (2/3rds). If you absorb 10 minutes on triple X off node you would absorb 600 exp, vs the 900 exp if you were noded... so you "lost" 300 exp... the exact same about of exp you would absorb if those 10 minutes were spent after XXX.

Obviously that's not exactly percise (you start to absorb less as it goes down, etc), but it means it's close enough that if you're actually wasting time waiting to get to zero, then you're wasting exp.

[Sthrockmorton]

When I'm on triple x I do escort tasks with no exp in my head and I don't want to kill them and waste triple x, I usually take off the legs and leave them to bleed out, I wonder what will happen now?

That method is fine, I can walk by the bandits when they're on the ground and my traveller will follow.

[Gan]

Ewave works wonders for escort tasks.

[Drew]

Do you wait until you're down to zero exp?

If it takes you 10 minutes to run a bounty, and you absorb 30 exp normally, then you absorb 20 exp off node (2/3rds). If you absorb 10 minutes on triple X off node you would absorb 600 exp, vs the 900 exp if you were noded... so you "lost" 300 exp... the exact same about of exp you would absorb if those 10 minutes were spent after XXX.

Obviously that's not exactly percise (you start to absorb less as it goes down, etc), but it means it's close enough that if you're actually wasting time waiting to get to zero, then you're wasting exp.

Yes, but I only really have 1 hunt/AG task in me per day, so I'm going to be down at 0 no matter what the next time. Since I'm already at 0 I don't want to waste it.

[Drisco]

I just alwayse kill them need the Exp b/c escort tasks never fry me.

[Celephais]

Yes, but I only really have 1 hunt/AG task in me per day, so I'm going to be down at 0 no matter what the next time. Since I'm already at 0 I don't want to waste it.

What I'm saying is that any time spent not absorbing exp because you're on (triple) gift and not on a node is exactly the same as time spent absorbing offnode on (triple) gift. If you fall into double gift, or are on a node for a single pulse, the not absorbing is actually less efficient than "wasting" gift. If you don't use all 6 hours of gift a week you're even further behind the curve in such a manner that actually killing the bandits becomes "free" exp.

[Gnomad]

* Each bandit also knows a super-secret 5th maneuver that they won't use too much (you hope)Coup de Grace? Seems like a good way to keep it rare... you'd have to mess up pretty bad to see it come out.

[Belathus]

* Each bandit also knows a super-secret 5th maneuver that they won't use too much (you hope)


I'm hoping that it's a new, player accessable combat maneuver, personally. Options are good.

[Jessaril]

The problem with people e-waving/quaking them is other people get stuck on their bandits. They aren't that hard to kill for the people who they initally spawn for, but you might just screw someone else over completely by leaving them. I understand that some people don't care, which is why I am so happy they're addressing this.

It is kind of sad that people won't take a few seconds out of their task to ensure they don't hinder other players and it requires the GMs basically forcing you to do it.

I had to wait almost 10 minutes yesterday on my paladin for a capped players bandits to hide before I could continue.

They didn't really need to go that indepth with the changes, just offer a bounty point and exp bonus for killing all the bandits and move on with it.