4 réponses à ce sujet

[Mnemnosyne]

Has anyone else noticed that usually - and not only in this game but most RPG's and BioWare RPG's - when there is the option to talk someone out of a fight, you get less reward for it, whether it's through intimidation or persuasion?  It seems that in order to maximize rewards (exp and loot) obtained, the vast majority of the time it's better to solve problems through violence rather than negotiation. 

This has always bugged me, and I wonder why it seems to universally be set up this way.  Very often if I use a Persuade or Intimidate option to avoid a combat, I'll get little to no exp for it, whereas engaging in the combat nets me exp as well as the stuff I get to loot from the corpses of the fallen.  While on the loot side it's totally understandable, I've always felt that exp rewards for talking your way through a problem should be higher than those for fighting your way through it.

It seems pretty clear, however, that it is intentional to reward you more for solving almost every problem through violence.  I can't see it being an oversight, since it's been a situation that's existed since Baldur's Gate or possibly even earlier - for it to have been overlooked rather than a conscious decision for well over a decade seems unlikely at best.

Admittedly I am finally seeing a few times where combat is not the most rewarding means of going through things, but by and large, it is still the case that solving 90% of problems with violence is the most expedient and rewarding method to do them.

So, I wonder, what does everyone else think of this?  Is it really a good thing that engaging in combat is usually more rewarding than solving a problem through dialogue?  If it is a good thing in your opinion, why?  And on the off-chance that any devs actually respond, really - why?  Can we get some idea of the reasoning behind this?

[Alex Savchovsky]

In terms of role-playing "how much XP do I get" is a meaningless question. And powerplayers are most likely to go fight anyways. So I don't think this is really a problem. Hypothetically - yeah, ok, it would be nice to get the same reward. But I wouldn't see the difference.

[Jordi B]

Alex Savchovsky wrote...

In terms of role-playing "how much XP do I get" is a meaningless question. And powerplayers are most likely to go fight anyways. So I don't think this is really a problem. Hypothetically - yeah, ok, it would be nice to get the same reward. But I wouldn't see the difference.

I disagree. I think pure powergamers will just do whatever gives the best rewards, which just happens to be fighting 99% of the time. Also, I think there are players who may want to do a little bit of both, i.e. they would like to roleplay as much as possible, but also get more powerful. For these players, making the choices approximately evenly rewarded may actually help their roleplaying, because they may feel they have a more equal choice. Perhaps you think this is weak, but it is just the way some people like to play and not everything is black or white.
Also, from a game balance perspective I think that using the coercion skill (and maybe other skills and attributes) should in 90% of the cases give MORE (or equal) rewards than fighting, because you have invested skill points into it, which could otherwise have gone into other slots. It would also give players another incentive than just roleplaying to pick this skill. Basically, I think their should be a return on investment for everything.
I agree that getting the loot usually doesn't make sense, so perhaps you should just get more experience. However, in some cases, the NPC in question may just give you that awesome item you could otherwise loot as a reward...

Modifié par Jordi B, 25 novembre 2009 - 04:03 .

[Mnemnosyne]

Yes, that's one of the issues I find. I at times, find myself looking for an excuse to get into a fight instead of talk, even when it's probably more in-character for me to talk. Because I know I will get a better reward from fighting.

It also sometimes influences my character creation in the first place, as well. Knowing that the majority of the time, fighting will get me better rewards, it inclines me toward creating characters that prefer to solve their problems through violence rather than more peaceful characters.