Hunter System - XMLAttachment

[Zack]

I have been brainstorming for ideas that might lead to eventually being able to run a private server that is attractive to even some sort of small player base, so with my limited scripting and game knowledge I found the XMLAttachment system would be perfect for a lot simplified setup of custom content. One of my first intentions was to have complete control and understanding over the balance of PvM, gold farming, and the "Artifact Market". In order to do this I made a small system using XMLAttachments to create the Hunter Skill. The current max level for this skill is 50. (This can be changed easily.)

My intention was also to create a defined path for the self sufficient PvM'er. This idea came from a game I played for a very long time called Runescape, in which through leveling Slayer solo (or with friends) you gained access to a unique portion of the end game PvM content.

The Hunter Skill:
1. Players use the task command. (Both of these will give the player a hunter task)
2. Depending on the players hunter level they will be assigned a specific creature ~ which are pulled from hand picked hunter assignment tables ~ and amount to kill. (Anywhere from 35-85 creatures)
3. Each designated creature you slay gives you a calculated amount of experience towards your hunter skill. Each creature will also give 1, 3, or 5 slayer points (depending on difficulty) which can be exchanged at a Hunter Master for unique items.
-NOTE: You must kill the monster that you have been assigned in order to receive Hunter Experience.
4. Once the task has been completed, you must return to the stone/use the command to receive a new hunter task.

Extras:
1. Hunter Artifacts - Each hunter monster has a small drop rate (Anywhere from 1/52-1/1000) to drop a unique artifact that is also dropped by a few related hunter monsters. Currently I am in the process of setting up three "tiers" of hunter artifacts. Tier 1 artifacts are dropped during level 1-15 hunter tasks. Tier 2 artifacts are dropped during level 16-30 hunter tasks. Tier 3 artifacts are dropped during level 31-50 hunter tasks.
2. Task Skipping - As of now the only way to gain a new task is to complete your previously assigned one. This is to prevent stacking tasks that may deliver a higher exp/hour.
/* Not Added Yet
3. Unique Hunter Monsters - At certain hunter levels you will unlock the ability to be assigned a monster that is unique to the shard. This assignment will require a special item (like a face mask/bug repelling lantern) in order to kill the monster, or else you will be damaged with an effect unique to that monster.
-NOTE: These unique monster will also have higher artifact drop rates, and will REQUIRE you to have the associated hunter level in order to damage it. (This means that a portion of efficient end game artifact farming will require use and training of the hunter skill for PvM.)







Would love to hear what you guys think, and what I should add in the future.

 

[Denjiki]

This sounds like a really cool idea -- and one I think a -lot- of people would love. Runescape and UO are both in the nostalgia market, so this plays on that pretty heavily. Plus, even for those who haven't played Runescape (such as myself) it still provides really cool benefits and motivations to play.

This system seems designed for solo play which is great because especially with smaller shards it allows players to go off on their own and still have fun. However, I also think it would be cool to have perhaps some sort of "team slayer" task that could be assigned as well? Obviously with greater difficulty and better(or at least different) rewards. The tasks could either be associated with the player who requested it and be completed with any other second player, OR the task could be specific to a given 2-person team and only be completed by that 2-person team. There's a lot of ways you could go with it, most of which would still end up being really fun.

 

[Zack]

This sounds like a really cool idea -- and one I think a -lot- of people would love. Runescape and UO are both in the nostalgia market, so this plays on that pretty heavily. Plus, even for those who haven't played Runescape (such as myself) it still provides really cool benefits and motivations to play.

This system seems designed for solo play which is great because especially with smaller shards it allows players to go off on their own and still have fun. However, I also think it would be cool to have perhaps some sort of "team slayer" task that could be assigned as well? Obviously with greater difficulty and better(or at least different) rewards. The tasks could either be associated with the player who requested it and be completed with any other second player, OR the task could be specific to a given 2-person team and only be completed by that 2-person team. There's a lot of ways you could go with it, most of which would still end up being really fun.

Thanks! Glad you dug the idea.

Yeah I was considering having one slayer master that only assigns boss tasks. Since my current artifact system has 3 tiers, there are specific bosses that I will end up designing with specific drop rates for each of the high end artifacts.

So if I ended up doing that, I could always require being in a party of 2 or 3 to be assigned a boss task, and then that party would be assigned a random boss task they have to complete. The only issue I see is closing the task if they leave the party, or a player who has the task can't complete it at that time, and is left attempting to kill a party scaled boss by himself.

Will definitely be something I play around with though, thanks for your response!

 

[Zack]

Hey guys! So I've been continuing to work on this on and off for the last month or so, and intend to have it close to polished here soon. Here are some updates about whats new.

1. Grouped tasks, instead of individual assignments: When a hunter task is assigned, instead of assigning a particular mob to hunt down for 35-85 kills, it assigns you a specific Super Slayer group to hunt. (Elemental/Abyss/Humanoid/Undead/Reptilian). This allows players to train slayer by fighting mobs that are more appropriate for their current skill level. I decided upon doing this instead of removing tasks from the potential task list after a certain level. Some lower leveled monsters drop lesser artifacts, and high level Hunters may or may not want to collect those while gaining Hunter experience!

2. Boss Tasks: Upon achieving level 25 Hunter, you are awarded with the option to toggle the ability to be assigned Boss tasks. (with "[Bosstasks [true/false]"). These are ideal for artifact hunters/collectors, as you are able to sacrifice efficient Hunter experience gain in order to increase your odds of collecting rare drops. Each of the 5 Super Slayer groups will have 1-2 mini-bosses and 1 main boss that can be assigned. These bosses obviously will have increased difficulty and artifact drop rates, along with some boss-unique drops.

3. Records amount of tasks completed: Pretty self explanatory. Every time you complete a task/assignment, it will increase your total completed task count.

4. Every 10th task, you receive 10 extra hunter points upon completing a task: Adding this provides some incentive to continue to complete regular tasks instead of Boss tasks later on in your game experience. The quicker you can complete a task, the closer you will get to your 10, and the faster you can farm hunter points for some nifty rewards.

5. Added some commands for players/GM's: "[cleartask" can be used by any GM+ to clear a players current Hunter task. "[Bosstasks [true/false]" can be used by any players above level 25 Hunter to start receiving new boss tasks. "[addhunterexp [value]" can be used by any Seer+ to add hunter experience to the targeted player. Upon that players next assigned kill, his level will update to reflect the new experience value.

6. Hunter specific artifacts: Upon killing any creature that lowers your task kill count, you have a 1/2,500 chance of receiving one of 5 special shield slot artifacts. This applies to ANY creature in your assigned group. (This drop-rate may be adjusted in the future, but for now, 1/2,500 seems okay.)


THINGS TO DO AS OF NOW:

1. Build 5 dungeons, for each assigned group. This will allow players to locate their assignments easily and get to farming. This will also give PvP/PK characters defined areas to look for PvM/PvE players to hunt down.

2. Use XMLspawner to design some interesting bosses to populate the dungeons with.

3. Start adding artifact drops to specific groups of mobs in each dungeon.

4. Look into adding "Party Tasks" that can be completed with friends.

 

[Shazzy]

This would really be a nice addition - I like the hunter part they have on UO, but this looks a lot nicer!

 

[sahisahi]

hows the hunter system going? i really love it.

Would you release it someday?