Bounty Hunter System

[Steezie E]

So we need to bring gigantic groups of organized players, one set fighting champ spawn and the other defending the spawn from raiders, just for a chance at a relic and some 105 or 110 LJ or Peacemaking scrolls? Eff that. Super not worth it.

Raiding a bunch of bards and tamers while they engaged with a giant horde of monsters with your pvp focused, wand-weilding, faction reds (if you go red in a faction you should be booted out.) is what happens.

In a game based heavily on risk vs reward, I agree there has to be some sort of incentive or system for killing reds with abuse checks in place. As of now there really isn't a punishment for dying as a red, which there should br a hefty one, considerng you find your enjoyment at others expense of precious game time. Pretty much everyone has 3+ accounts with multiple reds (I dont), so the unfair disadvantage lies with the pvm'er who has time and champ score tied up, whereas the red needs a DP weapon and the element of surprise.

 

[GluttonySDS]

You keep focusing on the hopes that players at champ spawns are going to group up, instantly be organized and fight a PK raid. This cant and won't happen! More often then not a good chunk of players there are in the same guild that raids! Stop being unrealistic.

What is preventing your guild from being like the guild that can do champs and defend them? Stop blaming other groups for your own lack of organizational effort.

I'm surprised.... I honestly thought you be up for a real anti PK challenge?

What challenge? Kill the <5% of the players on UOF that play a red?

 

[K A Z]

Sounds like it wont do anything for you... you've always played as a pure PK. Solo mostly If I remember correctly... so I'm not sure why you're in factions? Are you opposed to having a group of blue players hunting you?

I like to PVP and PK. I PK everything from bards, to meta warrior, to tamers and even PVPers. Hence why I'm in factions. When I'm alone I usually go around PKing in Dungeons, stir shit up, end up fighting 1v5, lure people into spawn, totally ridicule them, die, get statted., can't play that char for 48 hours, rinse and repeat. Until I'm out of chars. Usually doesn't take long. I sometimes lose 3 reds in 1 scenario. I'm in factions because I have other friends in factions; because it allows me to faction track (very useful) and because it also allows me to wear fancy evil/hero clothing.

 

[Lexington]

What is preventing your guild from being like the guild that can do champs and defend them? Stop blaming other groups for your own lack of organizational effort.



What challenge? Kill the <5% of the players on UOF that play a red?

Blaming others? You're way off track Glutt

I don't do the guild thing... since my RL friends gave up the game I play solo. If there's a change or not it won't affect me once so ever.

I'm not here advocating for my play style... I'm here for the longevity of the shard and the health of the PK system. I'd hate to see UOF crumble the same way uoforever did.

 

[girana]

I'd hate to see UOF crumble the same way uoforever did.

well thats happen with a pvp system balanced for elite players and modded clients.

 

[Lexington]

well thats happen with a pvp system balanced for elite players and modded clients.

If we know this, we should come up with suggestions to prevent it.

Anyways I'm done... I've said my piece.

 

[Eythan]

There's already an auto-buyback/bounty system that isn't used. So long as statloss is little more than a slap on the wrist (48 hour cap) and PKers can roll multiple characters, bounties will be pointless.

If when you turned in a head with bounties on it it imposed a permanent statloss with increasing penalties the higher the bounty, then that's how you would avoid abuse. Want to turn in your own 100K bounty? Cool. Take a permanent -28.5 points out of every skill and stat. That cuts out the abuse pretty quick.

I think I've gotten 3 bounties since October out of 40-ish stats. Most folks say, "Go ahead and stat, I'm off to bed anyway" or "go fuck yourself" with a counter offer of 1 gold. They don't care. That's proof that the current stat loss system is meaningless. If you want a bounty system that cannot be abused, then we would need to impose stronger penalties for being a PKer.

I only have 1 red, and when I've gotten statted, I just kill on my blue. If I go red? No big deal, my main will be out of stat shortly thereafter and I'll just run my "blue" during my off-hours to burn off those counts to turn him blue. Now if there was perma statloss, or even no cap on the temporary statloss (that's the more realistic issue), you can bet your ass I'd start considering paying gold to get out of that. Right now, I get statted with a theoretical "no cap" statloss, my character would be out for almost 6 days (275ish counts). I would likely pay the money to avoid that. But 48 hours? I got other things I do, other games I play, not to mention other characters to run; 48 hours is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Want bounty hunting? Make the bounties worth hunting, and make them worth paying.

This is what I have said to my friends in the past. Right now turning in heads means nothing.

 

[halv]

What is preventing your guild from being like the guild that can do champs and defend them?

Oh, i can answer this question. First, there are time and timezones. Second, there are people who live in UO:F and people with a life outside UO:F.

People that try to play 2-3 hours after their job is finished and the kids are in bed. People who gather up to do a champ before going to bed just to have fun with some guildies.
People who go to bed angry because they wanted to have fun but other people don't let them.

There're communication issues too. For many people English is their third or fourth language they learned and it's hard to understand a native English speakeing guild leader who is not even speaking real English because he was growing up on a far away country side and learned a weird accent and dialect.

Make UO:F trammel!

My 5 cents.

 

[Dewderonomy]

Make UO:F trammel!

It isn't already? lol

There are a lot of problems with the social dynamics and metagame of UOF that didn't quite exist in UO prime. For example, permanent consequences for reds. If there were harsher penalties for reds, you wouldn't see the rise of certain zerg guilds ganking the way it is here, as a handful of anti-PK groups (or just other reds and self-defending blues) would cause them enough hassle to make them "git gud" or find another hobby. At the very least it would slow down the zerging.

Not saying the original system was perfect or that the draconian flagging/reputation system is the end-all, be-all to such dynamics, but social engineering is not just important for a well functioning sandbox game - it is entirely necessary for one to function at all.

 

[girana]

It isn't already? lol

There are a lot of problems with the social dynamics and metagame of UOF that didn't quite exist in UO prime. For example, permanent consequences for reds. If there were harsher penalties for reds, you wouldn't see the rise of certain zerg guilds ganking the way it is here, as a handful of anti-PK groups (or just other reds and self-defending blues) would cause them enough hassle to make them "git gud" or find another hobby. At the very least it would slow down the zerging.

Not saying the original system was perfect or that the draconian flagging/reputation system is the end-all, be-all to such dynamics, but social engineering is not just important for a well functioning sandbox game - it is entirely necessary for one to function at all.

harsher rules against reds just hurts solo/small group reds not zergs

 

[Dewderonomy]

harsher rules against reds just hurts solo/small group reds not zergs

It hurts all reds. Those zerg reds will hurt too, maybe not as quickly, but they will. Something to keep in mind is when there aren't consequences then you lose antis. When you lose antis, then all you get is, well, this server.

This isn't a matter of conjecture, either. We have years of precedence from OSI to look at. Solo PKing and small groups was the norm there. I cannot remember ever being zerged by reds in groups over 5 on Catskills, so if it happened it was such a rarity as not to stand out from the years of playing. It wasn't until Angel Island in 2006-07 that I recalled facing 7-10 mages at once near the moongate on Verity Isle (Moonglow island for you scrubs). Skilled reds on OSI were legendary, even to their victims. Most reds you found were statted shitters picking on newbies in Delucian cow fields, Skara Brae farms, opportunists at Britain graveyard, and similar places where they could target the weak using little more than a spear, a bag of regs and some bandages.

Just remember, guys, this is ultimately about PKing that we're talking about, not PvP, and ways to make bounty hunting "a thing". Harsher rules are there for a reason. Can't hack it solo, in a small group, or a zerg, then pick up a new career. Maybe tailoring or peacemaking.

 

[kurtis]

Most folks say, "Go ahead and stat, I'm off to bed anyway" or "go fuck yourself" with a counter offer of 1 gold. They don't care. That's proof that the current stat loss system is meaningless. If you want a bounty system that cannot be abused, then we would need to impose stronger penalties for being a PKer.

^ this.

I don't think I have ever bought a head back on my PK. A while back a POWER red sold my head back for 1 gp and I couldn't even accept because I didn't keep gold in that char's bank lol.

I take wild risks on my PK's and I don't give a damn if they die. You know the consequences are weak when the most annoying part of dying is having to get my giant beetle back to my house and res it.

I don't know the answer. But I do know the current penalty system does not provide an acceptable risk/reward for being red.

 

[Zog'orium]

harsher rules against reds just hurts solo/small group reds not zergs

And just encourages bigger and bigger groups to go out to avoid stat loss. Stat loss was removed by OSI Ultima Online how many years ago? Wish I could find the patch HAR!

 

[Lexington]

And just encourages bigger and bigger groups to go out to avoid stat loss. Stat loss was removed by OSI Ultima Online how many years ago? Wish I could find the patch HAR!

Considering most PVM player hunt solo a PK group larger than 2 is really irrelevant. If you're slow on the recall macro you will die %100 of the time. Plus, there are already semi large groups that PK as it is.

 

[Zog'orium]

Considering most PVM player hunt solo a PK group larger than 2 is really irrelevant. If you're slow on the recall macro you will die %100 of the time. Plus, there are already semi large groups that PK as it is.

I get what your saying. It sucks when you get pk'd and dry looted. But with meta pets, meta talisman, slayer weps, armored swamp dragons , slayer armor, enhanced ships with cannons/upgrades and power scrolls...is there really any way you die other than a pk?

 

[Lexington]

I get what your saying. It sucks when you get pk'd and dry looted. But with meta pets, meta talisman, slayer weps, armored swamp dragons , slayer armor, enhanced ships with cannons/upgrades and power scrolls...is there really any way you die other than a pk?

Not sure about the rest but I die all the time fighting mobs I shouldn't.... and more than a few deaths because I'm semi afk surfing the forms or discord.

 

[Zog'orium]

I know that out of my last ten or so stats they have all been at the hands of faction members A lot of them red faction players. Just because I klomp with my brudders doesn't stop another player from Pking me. EQMS stats us as does Maga. The only ones that don't is Power and a lot of the $ guild. As a rule we do not stat...like ever. So our only revenge is to try and kill them later. But that's the fun of playing on a fel server.