different sets of armors scattered among different levels

[0rion79]

You know, one thing that isn't really a problem but I don't understand about this game is the distribution of pieces of equipment among the level up progression, that sometimes appears to be at random especially about elemental pieces of gear.
In the game there are several kind of elements like Mithril, gold, iron, fire, ice, swamp, diamond that are used to characterize weapons, armors and shield, but those items may be from drastically different levels.
I would know if there is any reason behind this: not any real problem, even if it has a minor impact on game's flavor, but I'm just curious.

Some samples:

Iron: plate: 75; sword: 150; legs: 2; no shield, no other weapons.
Fire: wand: 0; morningstar: 11, bow: 12; legs: 150; plate: 200; sword: 10; axe: 8; crossbow: 7; gloves 0.
Ice: club: 7, legs: 60, shield: 5; blue shield: 20; sword, axe and bow: 5; crossbow: 11; armor: 60?
Swamp: mask: 25, helm: 200; shield 30; bow: 100; club: 50
Earth: legs: 120; plate: 50; robe: 10; sabre: 13; fury sword: 14 (what a lame difference with the sabre!); Hatchet, Axe, Double Axe: 10, 11, 12;

And so on ... I mean: wouldn't it make sense to make just each fire equipment at level 200, each iron at level 75, each swamp at level 30 and so on?
Also I don't understand why you have made the fire armor - supposed to be the ultimate armor - to give a damage bonus lesser than the golden one that, imho, is better. once you have a good dexterity to dodge enemy hits, the armor value is not that important.

[naomi]

i actually pm creator about the difference in stats of golden armor and fire plate, since i have both and still using golden armor coz it has higher str...still no answer hehehe his too busy for greater works maybe

[0rion79]

It would be something easily fixable, and I gladly would do it if I had the tools they use: it would be enough to swap the ID of items to make a lot of fixes without altering previous savegames.

I would also be keen on redistributing bonuses among weapons and armors.
There is no reason for which shields should improve dexterity, since they were used as secondary weapons too! But, since there is the need of that bonus and it can't be dropped exclusively on boots, imho it would be a bit more realistic to make helms and armors and armor legs to improve dexterity a little bit (because their protection allows to fight more carelessly), while shields and armors to improve damage (shields used as secondary blunt weapon and because armors may have spikes and armor's gloves can be used as weapons too.

[ChrisPH]

To answer your original question, I suspect that it has to do with the way the game evolved over time. When I first started playing the game, the MMO version hadn't come out yet and the best armor in the game was the level 8 Conquistador armor. As new content was added, it was added primarily due to user demand, particularly after the MMO was introduced, and I suspect names were just grabbed more or less at random.

I do like your idea of reallocating the secondary bonuses for the various armors. I think it makes sense. I also agree with Naomi's assessment of the relative values of the Fire and Gold Plate. If Fire Plate were available in RPG, I would not upgrade to it and abandon my Gold Plate. Losing the 10 damage is not worth the additional 50 armor, particularly at the dex my characters are at.

[0rion79]

Yes, I think the same about the golden vs. fire armor. Even if I have to admit that I haven't understood properly how the fight happens.
I mean, I have just spent a lot of time to reach level 100 by killing red cyclops (and now I'm f*** bored at the idea to start over with ghost archers to get a swamp bow) and I have seen how fragile are my archer and especially the mage in comparison to the other characters, even if each of my party member has the same dexterity.
Maybe it is just that the melee fighters have much more life points because the mage doesn't get HP when investing skill points in mana, and because I had to re-invest part of the archer's skills in dexterity since can't wear shields (while holding the bow) and so he gets not bonus..... but .... When facing cyclops, melee characters just endure their hits much more.

correct me if I'm wrong: if I have my dexterity by 5 points greater than the enemy's, then I should always hit them and they can hit me only with a critical hit (rolling a +5). But on a critical hit a weapon deals plenty of damage and so the armor value is ignored. In short, having a dexterity good enough, the armor value should be totally useless. But then, why my melee fighters look more resistant? Just because of the extra HP?

[Leone]

Sorry - this doesn't really answer your question but I was intrigued with your comments about the characters' effectiveness in the RPG version of the game. The way you describe it, the melee players are most effective, then the archer and last of all the mage. Within the MMORPG, the situation is completely the opposite. I wonder why this is? I have to say I've never played the RPG so maybe should give it a go and find out.

Sorry to hijack your post!

[0rion79]

You are welcomed. The point is not about effectiveness but about endurance vs. enemy's hits.
In my previous game I was getting mad at keeping my mage safe especially by enemy ranged attacks, so this time I have chosen to move part of his skill points in dexterity: and it has been a good choice because it drastically reduces casualities and reloading a game.
Still, the melee fighters look able to take hits much better than the archer or the mage and I wonder if it is just because they have much more HP or because of the armor even if, as I have just explained, it shouldn't be considered anymore as long as own party has a good enough dexterity.

[blitzcraig]

Ideally, you would want dex plus 6 you always hit (when you roll a -5, your attack is still 1 higher than enemy dex) as for character differences, that really doesn't start until after 100 when hp gain per level is linear (archer and mage gain least after 100, but all same before) my guess is that mage dex is lower, and HP is lower because you don't get HP for mana like others do for str. As for archer, mine was always getting attacked more than others because the way he acts with long range (he's first to attack etc.) Anyway, there's my guess without seeing your stats

[0rion79]

If you ready my previous posts, for sure we agree about the mage.
About my stats,
Hero: HP 14K, Armor 391
Archer: HP 13K, Armor 290
Dwarf: HP 14K, Armor 390
Ogre: HP 14K, Armor 406
Princess: HP13K, Armor 389
Mage: HP 4648, Armor 69 (d'oh!)

The Archer has less damage than the others probably because he is both without his level-100 weapon, both because I had to invest a bit more in dexterity for him than the others.

Anyway, let me tell you that, even with the best equipment in the game for level 100, it is very tough to go further in the game and killing white dragons and ghost archers (not to talk about ghost dwarves).

[blitzcraig]

So yeah, depending on who you're fighting, the lower arm may hurt archer...otherwise I'm guessing mostly that he acts differently than the others and draws more attacks...
And yes, there are still many gaps in level progression..every update I've done aims to fill one with quest line and new monsters, and slightly address another with at least one new monster to fight... kind of a slow process for sure, but it's improving

BTW, creator is working to balance gear with approximate player level, and I'll try to keep rpg more in mind when placing chests and drops in future maps (tbh before you mentioned it, I really was worried solely about needs of mmorpg...can't speak for what others do though of course LoL)