QCF Design Community

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Basically agree with everything Fall_Ark's said but I kind of got sold on this by the unique kingdom states point.

And given I said the prepping one, scumming for another thing in another thread... think I should put that in context. I used it as an example of some advantage you could get by repeated low-odds scumming (as a counter-example to balancing something based on the idea of the chance of scumming for it) if you're desperate for it rather than as any sort of request/an example of a thing I/or other vets do...

The main thing with this is that it's incredibly frustrating for using/exploring a range of prepped strats - it hurts experimentation more by discouraging people from testing out new prep combinations. So, to try out my Healthmonster strategy I had to take three runs to go and shop for the fire heart. I really think part of the reason it took so long for anyone to find strategies really exploiting that item is that the prep limit means people are loathe to drop some of the more obligatory-for-vicious or special items in order to try oddball things. If I want to try out a rock-heart prepped orc wizard with current Binlor I'll have to go out specifically to find a rock heart first (i.e. scum for it), drop an item I currently use lots or a vicious trophy item I like having in the cabinet and then go out and find that item I use lots the next time I want to prep it.

So yeah, it's an undeniably frustrating system but I'm kind of satisfied as to why it's there. If there's some way of alleviating the problem of how squeezed the turnover is that'd be lovely but I can't see an obvious one. The additional buyable locker slots help a little (I've got one).

So what a lot of you are saying is that playing a normal dungeon isn't fun anymore.

I consider playing a game or two of DD, even if I'm not pushing a specific strat that I want to try, fun and engaging (because it keeps catching me, even when I'm supposed to be testing). So basically, if playing the game normally isn't fun and the only way to get enjoyment from DD is to try a hardcore strategy, then yeah, I get where the "everything locker" idea coming from. It's just not coming from the same space that we're designing the game from...

I think that the primary demotivator is that changing locker load outs ultimately means having to repeat something that you've already done when you are ready to go back. Getting the Dragonshield is fun when you are in the mood for some Dragon Isles action, but is pure grind when you just want to play around with stacking resistances in Venture Cave.

It isn't the finding that sucks, it is the replacing.

"to make players fret over lockerable item selections" is fine, and I enjoy deciding which Item to keep and which to give away. I think the infinite lockers should be an achievement which you can get if you are far in the game because that's the point where you start thinking about special combination or want to try special hard challenges.