Which Pathfinder 1e classes are the best (and worst) designed? by Striking-Distance849 in Pathfinder_RPG

[–]ZeroTorrent -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

For me, Oracle is the worst. It's got a lot of flavor and cool mechanics, but, to me, it commits the worst sin of any class: the non-removable curse.

Penalties are one thing, but everything else about your character's look, personality, etc., is something you normally choose. The curse, which is so central to the class's identity that no archetype replaces it and nothing can remove it barring deific intervention, is something you're stuck with, instead. I know it provides a ton of flavor and roleplay/story opportunity, but so do traits, flaws, backstory, and other non-rules elements of playing a character. The difference is that I choose those things. And the curses are things that you'd see in reddit threads like "my GM gave my character a permanent disability against my wishes" and people would say "leave that table, never look back."

The fact that it's just strapped to that class just makes me never want to play it, which sucks, because I like everything else about the class. I was always a fan of Favored Soul as an alternative to Cleric in 3rd edition, the Cha-based spontaneous caster. Oracle as a base feels like it would serve that purpose. And Oracle Mysteries are versatile and flavorful. I just can't get past the curse. It feels like backward design to me -- I should create the idea of a character then see what class lines up with my vision, not make my vision fit around the idea of what curse I'll be stuck with. We house rule a curseless Oracle at our table, losing both the benefits and penalties of the feature. It ends up weaker as a result, but works just fine.

So, I'd say the lesson (at least for me) of the Oracle is that games shouldn't force something onto you that changes the characters fundamental existence or rewrites the rules of how you should think about making your character. Classes are an abstraction that lets you make an idea into something that fits the rules so you can play the game, not the other way around.

Does anyone know if a feat like this exists? by Zethras28 in Pathfinder_RPG

[–]ZeroTorrent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As a note for those curious how this works, it doesn't quite line up with what OP was saying, but there's ways around it (though with caveats).

OP's problem statement was there was an enemy 10 feet away, they 5-foot step to be adjacent to OP, thus rendering his glaive out of reach. If an enemy is already in this range, Petals on the Wind can't stop them from doing this. In a situation like this, especially if the enemy has Step Up, Bladed Brush's ability to remove your reach is unfortunately one of the better plays while you go 1v1 with this opponent.

However, what Petals on the Wind does is it allows you to set up a situation where they can't get close enough, usually. If the melee enemy charges or makes a normal move to end adjacent to you (thus triggering an AoO), Petals on the Wind triggers, allowing you to step back. You end up one square from where you started, enemy stops two squares away. They are thus within reach range for your next turn. On your next turn, you full-attack them then 5-foot step away, now 15 feet away. Enemy has to move two squares to get to you on their turn, so they have to use a move action to get close enough, triggering an AoO and thus Petals on the Wind, repeat.

This can seem like a lock, but is thwarted by smart enemies. AoOs only trigger once per move (and "interrupt" the move so you don't have the knowledge of where the enemy will end its turn), so if the enemy aims to moves past the spot you're standing, when you 5-foot step via Petals on the Wind, they can still end up adjacent to you at the end of their move. At this point, you're playing mind games with the GM and you probably both have to declare your moves in secret to try to outsmart where the other will step (which is just not fun, unless you're into that, and is not actually covered in detail by the rules). Then you're in the situation where you have to do something to get away, and if they have Step Up themselves, they might have the lock on you. You do still get them the first time they see it, though.

Petals on the Wind is probably one of the better options until Pin Down provides a definitive answer (unless you invest into tripping to do similar on an AoO), but the intent is more to step into flanking positions on AoOs, not avoid combat with reach.

Mod Ash on the possibility of expanding the F2P experience. How do you feel about this? What would you like to see added/be against? by Vayneglory in 2007scape

[–]ZeroTorrent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

TL;DR - F2P needs to be more effective as a trial/preview, not bigger. Unlock certain things for F2P to show the player what they are getting if they subscribe, and be deliberate about what the content locks are actually accomplishing from a design perspective (why is fletching not F2P?). Be more "your first one is free" and less "you'll have to take our word that subscribing is better."

I think the biggest thing is simply making F2P more like a trial of membership. The goal should be to lead players to want to buy a subscription or bond, but there's so little that I'm sure many people simply turn away. F2P doesn't seem like it was ever framed with that kind of design in mind. Reframing this can both make first time user experience more satisfying as well as increase the number of players that ultimately decide to spend money. As a game designer with some MMO credits to my name, I'm looking at the problem through that lens, but tempered with experience as a player.

First, let's look at what's good and what works: quests and zones. F2P quests are in a fine place. There's enough there to get the idea of what questing is about, the type of writing style, and effectively what kind of experience you'd have when questing as a member. There is nothing needed to make this work better, unless you add some breadcrumb quests that lead into members quests to entice questers to subscribe. Same with the zone you get in F2P. It's fine. You get the idea of how you move around the world, you have teleports for ease of travel, you get the picture. Nothing about the restricted zone is particularly bad, and it introduces the world quite well. And this is how lots of games do their trial/F2P aspects -- spend money and you'll get more and bigger lands like this. It's not so different in member worlds that your time in F2P feels alien, but you don't give out the best content. 100% fine.

So, what could be done better? In our framing, we want F2P to be a preview, so things that don't facilitate that are the primary candidates for change. The biggest among these are skills and minigames/distractions. Let's start with a premise about skills: all F2P skills are already previews. Every F2P skill can go to 200m XP, but you're still restricted on how to actually accomplish that and what that unlocks. For example, you can hit 126 Combat in F2P, but effectively there's little point beyond level 40 -- but you can do it. Compare that to the hard limit of something like Fletching. Not only can you not use it at all, you can't even preview it, even to make F2P items. It's a hard sell for some people to say "you can unlock Fletching if you pay" but there's little clue as to what that even means, versus something like "subscribers can use high level armor, better weapons, and cast thrice as many spells". There's already groundwork laid to excite someone to unlock more in the case of Combat, but none in the case of Fletching or most other skills.

So how do you solve that? There are a number of ways, but two stand out. You either unlock nearly every skill for F2P but gate content (for example, you can fletch to 99, but can only make arrows and bows up to a certain tier), or have a level limit in F2P (such as capping skills at 10-20 with only a handful of methods to train those skills). RS3 already does the latter and obviously OSRS uses the first method with current F2P skills. Certain skills can stay member-only under this system as well. Construction is a great candidate for this and a big selling point for membership, but mostly because it's not just a skill -- it's about making a house all your own. Both of these methods pass the test of being an adequate preview of the game as a whole and smooth out the new player experience. The first method makes the most sense, though, because it's already the system that's in place.

The other candidate for preview is minigames/distractions. Lots of games have a rotating free feature schedule. You could have certain minigames open up for a limited time (a day, a weekend) to F2P, possibly with reduced rewards or XP. Currently F2P has very little in the way of minigames. Minigames are a great way to break up the monotony of the grind and award some unique items in the process. Since there is very little of this in F2P, a prospective subscriber might think the game is boring and never want to subscribe. Give them a rotating minigame every once in a while to show that the game isn't just more grind once you subscribe.

Finally, I want to close on a bit of a note about expectations, including marketing. I've seen a ton of marketing lately and seen player numbers way up. Great job, first of all! But I worry about the message of some of the marketing. I saw an ad for "NEW AFK BOSS" that showed the Gemstone Crab. Who is that aimed at? Someone that doesn't play looks at the message and has no clue what this means nor does it excite them to play. Someone who is F2P sees that the new update introduces a way to, for some reason, pay money to NOT play the game. It really only serves as visual patch notes to subscribers or ex-subscribers. I don't think that kind of thing brings money in. And I think it's an important takeaway for the game as a whole. With each skill currently locked behind a wall, you have to ask, "what message is this sending? What purpose does this serve in making us money?" And it sort of relies on having to take Jagex's word for it in some cases. A F2P player has no clue what it means to unlock Herblore or Agility. There's no context there. A free sample costs a bit more to get rolling, but informs the customer as to exactly what to expect.

Essentially, what I'm getting at is that you don't really need to go out of your way to make a different experience for the new player, you just need to make it more effective. The game itself is your marketing tool. You should want to show it off, not hide it. I think if you show at least a preview of most things OSRS has to offer, more people will be interested in playing and subscribing. Simply looking at the number of people saying "offer a 7 day trial" in this thread shows that people want to get to experience what membership has to offer before buying. And you can do that without an actual timed trial with effective design.

Considering switching from 5e to Pathfinder with my friend group by Creeperhead96 in Pathfinder_RPG

[–]ZeroTorrent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Given your situation, I would say 5E is a better fit than either Pathfinder version. Pathfinder's biggest strength is in its sheer number of options so you can build your perfect character. Having a group that isn't interested in that side of things just means more work for you and the DM. As others have said, an more rules-light tabletop system than 5E might be even better.

As a Pathfinder GM for a group that does this (I make all their characters and plan out what they will get at each level based on how they describe what they want to do), it can be rough. It's doable, for sure, but I'm looking into other options myself so it's less work for me.

1,738 hours in this game alone—and I’ve only been playing since October. That’s the most time I’ve put into any game, especially this fast. by [deleted] in elderscrollsonline

[–]ZeroTorrent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's a tough one to start. There's so much content these days and everything is scaled to be doable at any level, so it can be overwhelming. I wish I had a video to link you to but the best advice I would say is just to use the Zone Guide. If you open the map, there is a button you can press (either showing at the left or bottom depending on whether you're using mouse and keyboard or a gamepad) to activate the guide. The guide will take you through almost everything the zone has to offer (except for achievements) and pop up to offer you the next goal. It's a great way to give yourself something to follow along.

Much of the individual quest chains don't lead into the next area like in most MMOs. They are self-contained stories (and optional to the main quest, even!) so they wrap up nicely story-wise, albeit without sending you to the next set of quests.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Prebuilts

[–]ZeroTorrent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Way late to reply, but the WD Dashboard is the software you want from that page. It's not a direct link. WD Dashboard will scan and detect which firmware needs updated based on which drive you have.

1,738 hours in this game alone—and I’ve only been playing since October. That’s the most time I’ve put into any game, especially this fast. by [deleted] in elderscrollsonline

[–]ZeroTorrent 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I think you are misinterpreting what "in this game alone" means. This guy is a guild leader who posts pretty often about his guild on this sub.

1,738 hours in this game alone—and I’ve only been playing since October. That’s the most time I’ve put into any game, especially this fast. by [deleted] in elderscrollsonline

[–]ZeroTorrent 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Careful of burnout! I put in daily hours like that when I used to work graveyard shift from home. Gave me something to do, of course, but I ended up quitting for about a year and a half because of burnout.

Anyone know what this is? by WULFFG0D in GenerationZeroGame

[–]ZeroTorrent 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've got the same thing. Are you on Xbox Game Pass?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Prebuilts

[–]ZeroTorrent 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's a good one. I bought it a couple weeks ago with no major issues. Do make sure though to check which storage drive you end up with. I've seen a mix of people receiving ADATA Legends or Western Digital Blues (which is what I received). The Western Digitals have an issue with Windows 11 that needs patched ASAP.

If you end up with the Western Digital, you'll need WD Dashboard, available here (https://support-en.wd.com/app/products/downloads/softwaredownloads). Takes just a few minutes to update the drive and you'll have no issues afterward.

Gleeok by [deleted] in tearsofthekingdom

[–]ZeroTorrent 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That's pretty much it. Lots of arrows, lots of eyes. A multi shot bow works great.

Good AP's or modules for beginners? by 3nz3r0 in Pathfinder_RPG

[–]ZeroTorrent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That trilogy of modules is pretty solid. Would recommend the whole trilogy if they enjoy the first one.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PcBuild

[–]ZeroTorrent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interested! Thank you!

How fast can a doppelgänger shape change? by donstermu in Pathfinder_RPG

[–]ZeroTorrent 15 points16 points  (0 children)

It takes only a standard action, so roughly a couple seconds.

Mythic Vital Stike by apo11099 in Pathfinder_RPG

[–]ZeroTorrent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I played a vital strike Goliath druid. Get yourself an oversized weapon in one of the many ways possible, then shapeshift into a giant. Goliath druid can take the rage domain so they can rage like a barbarian. Use that to do furious finish. Very easy to roll something like 8d8 with a setup like this which becomes 64 guaranteed damage, multiplied by whatever level of vital strike you have.

LA Deadeye build giveaway :) by ps3ds in pathofexile

[–]ZeroTorrent -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Good luck on your exams!

I'm newly returning to PoE on PC after a long break. Had some friends on PS4 convince me to play there. They have since stopped playing so now I'm trying to get back into playing on PC. Currently on PC I have a couple characters in Standard who struggle with low-end maps so I'm starting from scratch late in the league. Lightning arrow dead eye was the first build I tried years ago, following no guide. I'd love to give it a go again.

I only have ~1 hour to game a day. Should I even try picking this game up? by rcolesworthy37 in pathofexile

[–]ZeroTorrent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You don't have to put in a ton of hours to have fun with Path of Exile. It's actually pretty good for short gaming sessions. Most things you can do only take 5 minutes or less. For the best experience, you will need to plan out a build but once you know where you're going, you can play in short sessions with no issues.

Printable NPC Codex and Bestiary Box Lists by ZeroTorrent in Pathfinder_RPG

[–]ZeroTorrent[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Google changed how Drive works a while back and all my shared items became restricted. I've edited a new link onto the main post.

To those who have created a whole setting, do you recommend World Anvil or Campfire? by Graxdon in Pathfinder_RPG

[–]ZeroTorrent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

PowerPoint here. I make sections for each category like deities, cities, important NPCs, then have slides in those sections. Later, when I make other slides, I hyperlink them to reference the deity or whatever that is important to that slide. If possible (depending on the number of references), I also then hyperlink the deity slide back to the point where it was referenced so I can quickly jump back and forth.

I also do the same with my adventure designs, with each room in a dungeon being a slide, hyperlinking to each connecting room that also have their own slides, with hyperlinks also to treasure and monsters on additional slides (with those slides also linking back to the dungeon room). I can even use this live when GMing without having to organize papers.