Another OST solution

[cbus97]

Give every heckler a small AoE buffing aura that gives a tiny increase in AAO to all nearby hecklers, and make it keep stacking with no limit.

This way, killing a reasonably small group of hecklers will be unchanged, but ginormous blobs will buff themselves to the point where they pose a threat to OSTs.

[Ayria]

Devious, I approve.

Don't know if it can be done though. With the way the DB works it would have to cap somewhere to prevent it taking up a ton of entries.

[Grumpymcfart]

Give every heckler a small AoE buffing aura that gives a tiny increase in AAO to all nearby hecklers, and make it keep stacking with no limit.

This way, killing a reasonably small group of hecklers will be unchanged, but ginormous blobs will buff themselves to the point where they pose a threat to OSTs.

bump

[monkier]

interesting solution, but i dont think of osting as a problem. if you dont like it, dont do it.

[Maxisolja]

ost'ing isn't a problem itself, its a player implemented temporary solution to other bigger problems.

[Lusos101]

Its a good way to get the prestige of having many high level toons without the effort of actually leveling them.

[Saetos]

ost'ing isn't a problem itself, its a player implemented temporary solution to other bigger problems.

qft.

[cbus97]

There's plenty of other threads debating the ethics of OSTing. Let's not debate that here.

This idea begins with the premise that OSTing is bad, and aims to offer a simple mechanic that will reduce it without drastically affecting other aspects of the game.

[cbus97]

Devious, I approve.

Don't know if it can be done though. With the way the DB works it would have to cap somewhere to prevent it taking up a ton of entries.

This is true. I was thinking somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 versions of the buff. For example, 10-15 Ely hecks will have 10-15 stacks of the buff, which should make an average 220 have to "sweat" a little bit to stay alive, but it's still manageable. Between 20-25, solo survival will be possible but extremely difficult, even for an endgame 220 doc. At 30 stacks, each Ely heck will hit as hard as the average Pande mob, making OST attempts practically useless.

For RP purposes you could use the "hive mind" idea, saying the hecklers don't have a mind of their own and are controlled by an outside force. Being in close proximity increases their power dramatically because of their "resonance" with each other, blah blah, etc.

[alfora]

For RP purposes you could use the "hive mind" idea, saying the hecklers don't have a mind of their own and are controlled by an outside force. Being in close proximity increases their power dramatically because of their "resonance" with each other, blah blah, etc.

For RP purposes I'd rather have the "animal intelligence mind" idea:

This damn toon in the middle is too strong for me to attack, I cannot even hit him; lets start killing the weaker toons around him for a change

[drops]

This idea begins with the premise that OSTing is bad, and aims to offer a simple mechanic that will reduce it without drastically affecting other aspects of the game.

You're starting from the wrong premise. OST is neither good nor bad. It's just a band-aid fix to the need of going through the same mind-numbing **** again and again and again. If you want to "fix" OST, ask for a decent alternative to Ely hecks. That would make any OST "problems" go away on their own.

[Otinsainpas]

this is as good idea as giving hecklers pulsing ability to 1-shot all 220 players that are near them!

lvl220, 100% of max hp every few seconds,
lvl210+ 50% of max hp every few seconds
lvl200+ 25% of max hp every few seconds..

and it naturally stacks, so 4 hecklers will instakill lvl 200 players


AAO buff will only make doc-OST job easier as he will take even some damage to heal with CH

[cbus97]

You're starting from the wrong premise. OST is neither good nor bad. It's just a band-aid fix to the need of going through the same mind-numbing **** again and again and again. If you want to "fix" OST, ask for a decent alternative to Ely hecks. That would make any OST "problems" go away on their own.

Ok, that's your opinion, and you're entitled to it. But that's not the point of this thread. If you want to argue the premise, take it to one of the 1000 other threads about the subject.

[cbus97]

this is as good idea as giving hecklers pulsing ability to 1-shot all 220 players that are near them!

That seems like a drastic departure from existing game mechanics. The goal of my idea is to make OSTing less desirable without making crazy changes to the difficulty and behavior of mobs that have been around for years, potentially disrupting game balance.

I see it as a good compromise, since OSTing a smaller group of hecklers will still be possible, but people won't have the incentive to steal large groups of mobs from the playfield, which is the #1 problem, IMO.

It's consistent with current logic that 1 Ely heck should not pose a threat for a 220, and I think it should stay that way.

[Saetos]

Ok, that's your opinion, and you're entitled to it. But that's not the point of this thread. If you want to argue the premise, take it to one of the 1000 other threads about the subject.

Why are you telling people with different opinions than yours to go to another thread? What makes this thread the Holy Ground that no other opinion can besmirch?

[cbus97]

You're just trolling me because I'm in your org.

[Gatester]

I have no problems tanking 30ish hecks just cause they can hit me more often. This wouldn't stop me from OSTing unless you could give them a damage add buff instead. This is considering I have tanked over 70 hecks simultaneously when the 3% random chance was still in effect.

Im honestly interested in how daily mishes will effect leveling, but Im not sure I can agree with every option that can increase the speed of leveling disapearing. After Ely Hecks what would be next? Rolling high level mishes with pets killing mobs? Making cyborgs on rk impossible to kite or pull? Personally, I'd be happy if mobs of your level were actually enough to get you leveled.

[cbus97]

Yeah, AAO and damage buff are probably necessary.

[Mikenche]

This is a brilliant idea. I ran some numbers through my head, and I think it might be good if a single instance of the buff gives +60 AAO and +30 damage. Since hecks normally do something like 500-1000 damage per hit, +30 from a single one won't hurt normal teams too badly. But if an OST pulls 30 hecks, they all get +1800 AAO and +900 damage, which will overpower even a 220 doc's healing ability.

As for mechanics. I'm not sure, but I have a feeling that a a buff without a nanoline might be able to stack indefinitely. If not, it shouldn't be too bad to add e.g. 50 different buffs to the DB to stack up to 50 hecks. It would also be good if the aura could be made not affect the heck that emanates it, keeping single hecks exactly as they are.

And lastly, a response to the "OST isn't a problem" crowd. I don't mind if people want to bore themselves to death with an OST. It becomes a problem when a single OST pulls all the hecklers in the area, depriving other teams of prey. This change would still allow OSTing in a sensible scale, but prevent the ridiculous blobs.