20 May updates
Posted: Sat May 20, 2017 6:28 pm
A few bugfixes related to yesterday's update:
I would also like to address some issues and complaints that a few players have brought forward:
"I'm not getting any decent drops at Zulrah"
Zulrah is a safe boss, meaning there is no risk involved and the only expense is whatever supplies you use to kill it. We would preferably have made Zulrah a risky boss (at least to some extent), but players are simply used to it being safe in OSRS, which might cause a lot of confusion (and frustration) amongst players if we didn't make it that way.
One cannot expect a safe boss to be the most profitable boss in the game. The most profitable ones, you'll generally find in the wilderness. The reasons are quite obvious, since higher rewards require greater risks.
Secondly, it's always better to start off having too low droprates than too high. If a hundred players manage to obtain rare items and gain massive loots from a new boss, that's far more devastating to a game than it being the other way around. We keep re-evaluating and make small changes accordingly, to make sure we're not accidentally ruining our own game. Yes, that does mean bosses tend to give pretty crappy loot on release and become more profitable later on, but that's a small price to pay for the safety this approach offers.
Especially with the big 'NPC drop table revamp' that's upcoming, we'll make sure to once again evaluate the expenses & profitability of Zulrah to balance it further (along with all other NPC's).
"The toxic blowpipe & trident of the swamp aren't even the best weapons in the game"
Probably not. We made them work exactly the same way they did in OSRS (with the exception of the blowpipe offering no extra attack speed in PvM). In OSRS, I believe the toxic blowpipe is generally regarded as "the highest DPS weapon in the game", but that doesn't mean it should also be "the highest DPS weapon in PkHonor".
With all the items we already have in the game (such as Chaotics, Nex equipment, Statius, Vesta, Zuriel and Morrigan), it's not a surprise that these items do not always offer the highest DPS. Zulrah's items are focused around venom. They are best used to apply venom to the unwary player or monster. If you want the highest DPS, use a blowpipe (or trident of the swamp) along with a high hitting secondary weapon.
"The serpentine helm isn't even the best helm in the game"
Same reason as the blowpipe & trident of the swamp. The helm protects against poison and venom, which is its primary use (not to mention passively being able to apply venom to whomever hits you). Furthermore, it has the highest strength bonus of any helm in the game. It's not the best helm in every situation, nor is it supposed to be. But it does offer unique strengths which no other helm has.
We do not aim to make PkHonor into a game where there is only a single weapon that can be considered "the best weapon" or a single helm that can be considered "the best helm". Players need to make choices based on the circumstances.
If you were hoping to get to have Zulrah give you "the best new gear in PkHonor, ever", you've come to the wrong place. Power creep - as in, keeping on adding new items that are stronger in every way than all currently existing items - is a very real problem in many online games, our own included. We have no intention of making that problem even worse. Venom as a new combat mechanic offers extra variety to the game and has strengths and weaknesses of its own. There is absolutely no need to have the new items be the best in everything. That's just plain stupid, if you forgive the expression.
- Fixed a bug that caused Zulrah to randomly despawn when you kill it while dying yourself (or while logging out)
- Zulrah's droptable has been slightly buffed
- Zulrah's different forms now have more specific weaknesses versus ranged and magic attacks
- Fixed the special attack of the Completionist Cape (Chaos)
- Fixed the granite maul special attack against NPC's
- Fixed the maximum hit of regular spells while wearing a Trident of The Seas (or Trident of The Swamp)
I would also like to address some issues and complaints that a few players have brought forward:
"I'm not getting any decent drops at Zulrah"
Zulrah is a safe boss, meaning there is no risk involved and the only expense is whatever supplies you use to kill it. We would preferably have made Zulrah a risky boss (at least to some extent), but players are simply used to it being safe in OSRS, which might cause a lot of confusion (and frustration) amongst players if we didn't make it that way.
One cannot expect a safe boss to be the most profitable boss in the game. The most profitable ones, you'll generally find in the wilderness. The reasons are quite obvious, since higher rewards require greater risks.
Secondly, it's always better to start off having too low droprates than too high. If a hundred players manage to obtain rare items and gain massive loots from a new boss, that's far more devastating to a game than it being the other way around. We keep re-evaluating and make small changes accordingly, to make sure we're not accidentally ruining our own game. Yes, that does mean bosses tend to give pretty crappy loot on release and become more profitable later on, but that's a small price to pay for the safety this approach offers.
Especially with the big 'NPC drop table revamp' that's upcoming, we'll make sure to once again evaluate the expenses & profitability of Zulrah to balance it further (along with all other NPC's).
"The toxic blowpipe & trident of the swamp aren't even the best weapons in the game"
Probably not. We made them work exactly the same way they did in OSRS (with the exception of the blowpipe offering no extra attack speed in PvM). In OSRS, I believe the toxic blowpipe is generally regarded as "the highest DPS weapon in the game", but that doesn't mean it should also be "the highest DPS weapon in PkHonor".
With all the items we already have in the game (such as Chaotics, Nex equipment, Statius, Vesta, Zuriel and Morrigan), it's not a surprise that these items do not always offer the highest DPS. Zulrah's items are focused around venom. They are best used to apply venom to the unwary player or monster. If you want the highest DPS, use a blowpipe (or trident of the swamp) along with a high hitting secondary weapon.
"The serpentine helm isn't even the best helm in the game"
Same reason as the blowpipe & trident of the swamp. The helm protects against poison and venom, which is its primary use (not to mention passively being able to apply venom to whomever hits you). Furthermore, it has the highest strength bonus of any helm in the game. It's not the best helm in every situation, nor is it supposed to be. But it does offer unique strengths which no other helm has.
We do not aim to make PkHonor into a game where there is only a single weapon that can be considered "the best weapon" or a single helm that can be considered "the best helm". Players need to make choices based on the circumstances.
If you were hoping to get to have Zulrah give you "the best new gear in PkHonor, ever", you've come to the wrong place. Power creep - as in, keeping on adding new items that are stronger in every way than all currently existing items - is a very real problem in many online games, our own included. We have no intention of making that problem even worse. Venom as a new combat mechanic offers extra variety to the game and has strengths and weaknesses of its own. There is absolutely no need to have the new items be the best in everything. That's just plain stupid, if you forgive the expression.
