A different kind of Potion

[turbid raven]

Walking around chugging down 50 potions per hit isn't very fun or practical. I'd like to see potion work in a different way that doesn't support potion spam.

[twilit plaza]

Like lifesteal?

[turbid raven]

A potion that gives you life steal for a couple minutes would be one way to do it (ofc would have different potions then)

[patent pelican]

The designers can correct me on this, but I remember them mentioning not liking the "chug all potions" system, so we can maybe see an adjustment or better ways of dealing with it

[analog tinsel]

Potions of healing with a cool down - many MMOs go that way. Or just make potions increase regen and not actually immediate heal. So potions of like +500 regen for 10 seconds or something... mass chugging them wouldn't do anything.

[devout sedge]

PLEASE NO AUTO-POT !!

[stoic moth]

It really depends on what the devs are going for but if we restrict the conversation to RO for argument's sake, then any replacement system for potions needs to achieve the following things:

1. Be a money and material sink

2. Pose a weight/inventory management challenge

3. Helps define the limits of grinding before needing to restock

4. Provide player choice and specialisation when it comes to stats/builds

(e.g. how mages can choose to allocate STR to carry more potions, or how people choose to do less powerful 1v1 flee builds to avoid needing to spend on potions and to increase maximum deployment duration)

4. Provide a crafting system for people to engage with that creates player choice and build options for alchemists (may not apply if this game has no crafting, but for RO this is important)

If you can do that without "potion spam" then that sounds like a good change. But every game mechanic you implement has consequences on the rest of your design and it's important to account for what a system is or isn't doing to the overall experience.

[split knot]

I wish potions had a CD, with higher recovery ones having longer CD. Would be nice to get recovery variety like Life Steal, Heal over Time and temporary Barrier

[tropic sigil]

I like the concept of being damaged taking a non-healable portion of the damage, and thus forcing you to actually set up camp, sit, rest, mend yourself and then maybe consuming medicines which allow for that portion to gradually recovers.

Though I do understand that such scheme doesn't exactly fit MMO's ( Though Mabinogi works almost exactly in that manner, it's another oldschool Korean MMO ); and would be quite an extra hassle to balance the game through with such mechanics.

[stoic moth]

One option to remove the spam but still keep this system (and it's effects on the wider system) intact is: give all characters a "chug" skill that can be set to a potion then will consume 10x of the potion in 1 button press.

Still got the numerics/weight/inventory management effects on the game, but you cut down on the button spam.

[stoic moth]

This is also cool, love Mabi. A great option but as I've been constantly saying it's good to think about what affect this has on different systems.