What is this suggestion related to (eg. Website / Launcher / The game itself / etc. ): Gameplay.
Description: This suggestion is inspired by an old Tera Online feature that was deleted from the game a long time ago. The game has campfires(they are still there) at every hub. City, town, village, small adventure encampment or camp. “General store” merchant npc which is located in cities and towns was selling an item called talisman(or charm). There were several types of talismans.
The idea was to buy a particular talisman(the one which stats a player finds the most useful for its character) and use it near the campfire. The player had to sit(IRC you have to literally sit there) near the campfire for a certain amount of time because the talisman is not an instant buff - the player had to use it(burn), wait for its effect and gain a 30-60 minute buff. The talismans were not cheap.
The talismans from Tera were useful because back then the game has a lot of open world monster hunting and monsters there were brutal. Further through the level progression, monsters became more and more hard. Basically, they just had a lot of hp. So the talismans were a nice buff that helps with those old Tera monsters.
Eventually, the game became more dungeon crawler style and less open world. The monsters became not that hard and the talismans were deleted from the game. The campfires are still there, but now it is simply a decoration.
I have a sketch of how that forbidden feature could work in GotW.
I’ve ended up with 7 basic types of talismans. One for each character stat and one for move speed. The talisman could be buyable from a merchant or craftable and should be tradable. To get the buffs, the player needs to use the talisman(an item) near the campfire. It would be better if the talismans are only usable if the player sits near the campfire. More atmospheric. The player use the talisman and for every 30 seconds that the player sits there, the player gains 1 stack of the talisman buff. You can only get 3 stacks. To gain 3 stacks, the player needs to use the talisman and sit there for 1.5 minutes. No matter how many stacks the player has - all of them end in 2 hours. Each stack gives 1+1% of the certain stat. 3 stacks give 3+3% of the certain stat. So if the player has 30 STR, the full buff from an STR talisman will give 3+3%. 30+3+~1=34 STR. If the player has 100str - 106STR.
So I don’t know how to balance additional stats from the talismans because I don’t know how huge the ~+5-10% buff is. But I think 5% is not that small and not that imbalanced. It is more than 5% at the low levels, but I guess the value of the character stats are also not that high at low levels. I’m also not sure about waiting for all 3 stacks, sitting by the fire. That is why I think making the buff 2 hours long is a good idea.
In general, talismans shouldn’t be easy to obtain. Not at all. It is more like vice versa.
Another part of the system is the campfire itself. I do really think that the campfire(the item) should be also craftable and tradable.
So the idea is the player plans its farm session(solo or with friends). Buys needed talismans and items required for making the campfire(wood, matches) outside a hub. The player can buy the portable campfire and talismans or craft them. Of course, if the player “know” how to craft such things.
Another question is how the talismans work for other players who didn’t use the talisman but also sit by the fire while someone uses it. I think the way it should work is the portable campfire should last for 20 minutes. If the player used a talisman, the campfire starts to give that buff to everyone who sits near it for 10 minutes. So people can “add” several talismans into the campfire to make it buff players for a certain amount of time.
Let’s say I’m running from one warp to another. I’ve spotted a player-made campfire, and I don’t know if it gives a buff or doesn’t. I can ask in the chat(which is also very cool, the game is a MMO after all) or I can sit near that campfire and wait for 30 seconds to see if it gives any buffs. Not only that, I can also use talismans for myself which will make the campfire give that buff for 10 minute and I can tell about that to other players, and they might use it for themselves. Although, i can use a talisman by a campfire which will went out right after i spent the item. Unlucky. In that case, it might be a good idea to add some sort of visualization to make it clear about the fire.
The campfires at the hub are better, because they last forever. Which means there is no situation when the player used a talisman and the fire went out before the player got 3 stacks. Although, that still might happen only if the 10 minutes(from another player) buff from the talisman ends.
I don’t want the suggested system to feel like something really complicated and frustrating, so it might use some tweaking. Like, there should be fewer talismans, but they should give more. For example, a single talisman can give several stats.
In general, all of that should add another layer of interaction between players. Which is, I think, really important.