It’s all combat and codeplay

[Mirabel]

It’s clear by now that 7.0 revolves almost entirely around fighting and coded superiority. By and large, that’s what matters in this iteration, and the game systems that don’t contain room for combat and Might Makes Right tend to feel irrelevant or unappealing because the all-encompassing importance of that makes all else inconsequential. Characters that don’t fight, and players who aren’t natural competitors, are relegated to the sidelines where they get to serve as social interaction for the characters that 7.0 actually accommodates: the fighters.

Point in case: Windermere. The school sphere has always been decidedly non-combat in nature, the designated play area for people who don’t want to feel like a second-rate player just because you don’t do combat. That worked quite well in the past. However, 7.0 has totally disconnected the college sphere has from all of the game’s other systems and mechanics. The only association Windermere has with New Haven is the fact that it’s physically connected to the grid. It has no meaningful links to any aspect of the game. Faculty ranks no longer do anything, there’s no longer an archetype associated with the sphere, and it no longer serves the practical function of housing the clinic or the HSD. Windermere is so disconnected from the rest of the game that the word ‘Haven’ does not appear in the sphere’s documentation, nor does any other association whatsoever with any part of the game beyond the campus boundary. It’s like something hacked off of a completely different setting and crudely glued onto Haven 7.0 without any attempt to actually plug it in besides linking it to the grid. It really highlights how little room there is for non-combat play in this iteration. It’s rather on the nose, to be honest.

Aside from the Windermere issue, it’s just tiresome to be constantly reminded of how effectively worthless one’s character is if one does not participate in the 24/7 mist fighting festival or help rescue the 10-20ish people who get captured there every day. Don’t go on raids? Well, then you’re automatically of limited value to your society. Haven’t built your character for coded superiority? You built it wrong, then. You’ll probably end up unconscious and subsequently hospitalized each and every time you ever enter the mist for any reason, whether or not you even meant to. As 7.0 exits the honeymoon phase, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that Haven has become a combat MUD first and foremost, and playing a non-combat, non-PvP character feels like playing the game in a way that the creator didn’t intend to accommodate, like a novelty pacifist playthrough of a conventional RPG where all game systems tie into combat, weapons, leveling up an defeating enemies.

I’m taking a break from Haven and will come back later this year to see if it’s less fixated on fighting and survival gameplay and winning boroughs by way of coded power. As it stands, it feels like that’s all there is to 7.0. It currently isn’t a game I want to play.

[King]

As a combat character who has tried to get boroughs and lost consistently to social events on repeat, I think you are less correct in this assessment than you might hope. I wont’t address the college thing, because that is entirely outside my experience…

But raids are pointless. And fall into the same issues hunting does: everyone is doing it, therefore, it is worthless.

Events are the thing that make a difference. The things in Lookfor make a difference. Many of which do not require combat or power, like encounters and socializing. And socializing/events are entirely Freeform. You can make up whatever you want. Set a calendar event, toss some food on the ground, make some announcements when it gets crowded, and the borough is yours. We’ve seen it multiple times. Even last minute events swing things, with little or no planning.

So no, H7 is absolutely not geared toward combat. It is geared toward diversity! Do all the things, or have enough people that all the things get covered. That’s the key. Well, and having fun with what you are actually doing.

[Calk]

I think the main issue that Mirabel might be suffering is in fact how unconnected the college sphere is. Even if you were to make a combat character, if you played in the college exclusively you would still not have any real impact on the game. At this point, it doesn’t matter if you play combat, social, skullduggery, or any of the other playstyles. If you try to focus on something other than the factions (and the college isn’t a faction for some reason) then you’re going to be on the periphery.

Don’t believe me? Try making a social, noncombat character who’s primary focus is the factions. You will become super relevant overnight to the point where it’s actually stressful. In fact, one of the major patches to the game was in making it less stressful to play for these characters.

Takeaway: It isn’t the game balance between social and combat that’s broken, it’s non-faction play.

A couple possible solutions:

1) Give non-faction characters sway in who gets control of the boroughs, giving faction characters reasons to interact with them.
2) Make Windermere it’s own faction.
3) Create a ‘citizen faction’ that bystander-style characters can join without mucking up their character concept. This might be more along the lines of real world community groups like a nonprofit, or city government. Actually, I’d really like to see a city government faction that’s given some teeth.

[Mirabel]

Windermere does stand out as the biggest example of the issue, being the one part of Haven that caters specifically to non-combat play and simultaneously having literally zero connection to any part of the game, mechanical or lorewise. The problem isn’t exclusive to that, though. Here’s an example from my last session:

Five or six characters are sitting in an establishment. Two of their associates have been overpowered in the mist and are in need of rescue, but because the characters are non-combat, there’s nothing they can do. They sit and wait until a combat-oriented character logs on and is willing to go and rescue their friends, which the warrior then does, and there was much rejoicing when news got back to the non-combat players who were sitting there waiting the whole time, unable to participate–in fact, outright barred from joining because their presence would have caused more monsters to spawn.

That kind of thing is an everyday occurrence. That’s the feeling of playing a non-combat character. So much of 7.0 revolves around fighting, hunting in or rescuing people from the mist, and having a character built for that venue of play. On top of that, a non-combat player has to be constantly wary of the mist and is hosed anytime they accidentally end up in it. You also have to be very careful with your invitation level because pretty much anyone can kill you if they want.

7.0 has massively inflated the value and importance of combat characters, to the point where it doesn’t feel good to play a non-combat.

[Lykaia]

Social-oriented characters can contribute effectively in combat activities. While combat-focused characters must invest in a wide range of stats, social characters can utilize allied combatants. Based on previous information, being knocked out while having successfully summoned an ally prevents capture inside the mist. Social roles can leverage contacts and the leadership stat, which significantly enhance the effectiveness of combat-focused teammates. Gadget training can also expand available support options(triage).

In some cases, groups may prefer not to include players who have not developed their combat disciplines. Tier 1 characters are generally advised to avoid the mist entirely, while Tier 2 characters, even those without combat specialization, can still be valuable.

The number of participants does not increase the number of monsters that spawn; rather, spawn rates are influenced by the depth reached within the mist. If the group remains together under a single leader, it is manageable. When the leader is actively butchering a corpse or a party member is healing, no additional monsters spawn.

[Maina]

Definitely not combat focused. Not any more than any previous version. Almost certainly less. I play a character that will never be good at combat, and if I do raids or don’t over the course of a given week, it doesn’t really affect how useful I am. My biggest contributions have been from LLM patrols, running scheme thwarts, and regular Encounters. None of those require combat.

I don’t really think factions are any more required, either. Used to require them for Sanctuary. Now you just need them for Favor, which is for optional goodies. Not required. Just something to give you something to work towards. Wouldn’t hate for there to be a way for civvies to get some favor at cost (maybe for activities that have no reward otherwise for them), but I wouldn’t say the game requires participation in the faction game.

Can’t speak much to the college. I do remember past iterations (even with the clinic) largely designed around being split from the main grid since not everyone vibes school RP or being made to engage with student RP. The clinic forced some very limited cross-RP, but it was limited. I’m curious what’s missing there that you want? It’s a place for supernatural school roleplay. Is it not fulfilling that purpose? Does something stop you from going to other spheres to do things you want that aren’t supernatural school roleplay?

[King]

To my knowledge, nothing prevents students from joining societies and participating in all of these other activities (though perhaps you may need to be 21 if you are a supernatural for some). The limiting factor there is only being able to be in one of each type per account. Which really is not all that big of an issue. Which really gives you the best of all worlds, the supernatural school RP and activities around town.

Also, I don’t think you need to actually be in a society to add many of the activities to your Lookfor list, which includes encounters, chats, socializing, and dating. Most of these do not involve combat.

If you are feeling isolated, I can empathize with that. I live in one of the less populated boroughs, in a large house, with very few housemates, very few visitors, with a shop that rarely sees people in it. The grid is flippin’ huge. And my hours are weird, so I can’t ‘really’ RP for a good portion of the hours I am logged in. So I try to text and talk on comms and set things up for later as I go.

There’s also a guide for Incitements and Opportunities now too, which might help.

Also, if you are a non-combat character, and you want to avoid the Mist, buy a horse. Be speedy quick getting on them and speedy quick entering a building when you get off them, and you’ll never see unwanted combat again. (Or until Nova changes it)

[Author]

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