No one is innocent... But it depends on the lore behind it. Though I'm not a hardcore role-player I like to stay 'in character', so if it wasn't in the nature of my character and the lore around it, I would ignore my player greed feelings and work out another way to get the item.
Perhaps buying it from a character/player with less scruples might feel ok hehe...
I'm not so much into roleplaying that I would say "I never kill NPCs of a friendly faction!". That is a factor for me, but not neccessarily the deciding one.
That said, I would ask myself the following questions:
- Is this a friendly/hostile faction we're talking about? -> if hostile, this would make the decision a lot easier of course :)
- Do I need the faction in the near future?
- Can the faction be repaired?
- How much effort would it take to repair the faction (and will doing so maybe hurt other factions I need)?
vs.
- How much effort would the "workaround" require?
- Can the workaround be done without hurting other factions?
In general, gameplay-wise, I try my best to leave factions intact. Especially at the beginning, when not all interrelations between factions, and ways to rise/lower them may be known yet. So, if there is an alternative way to obtain the item, I would most likely go that route, unless the effort for this way was really unreasonably higher.
Kilsin said:Would You Rather - Kill an innocent NPC for a good loot item and take a nasty faction hit or leave them be and acquire the loot via other means? Please explain your decision #MMORPG #CommunityMatters
Since I normally try to stick to a more neutral "alignment" I will use the game I am currently playing, Red Dead Redemption 2 Online (although not technically an MMO), to explain how I do things.... The short of it is "Don't start none won't be none." NPCs have really good AI in RDO. Some of them are rude. The rude ones get clapped. The non-rude ones get left alone, unless they're a part of some quest that requires me to kill them.
Even my Evil PCs are still not murderhobos. An evil beloved "hero" is more valuable than a single. Manipulating factions to get what the PC needs is perfectly fine. If faction hits mean virtually nothing on their own in the game (just like most MMOs) I can simply do a few faction quests for an hour to reset the damage done then I probably would.
Slaughter 500 baby goblins to make up for killing the son of the village chief. MMO logic :(
Also need to know how common gear drops are? If "good loot" is only good for a level or two then it has no real value.
Personally, it would depend on the class I was playing, the lore behind the decision, how relevant the NPC was to me, how good this item actually was, the rep that was taking the hit, and if there were any workarounds to obtaining the item.
I would probably look for a workaround around first because this option probably wouldn't come with a rep hit to that specific faction, it would allow the NPC to live, and this option would probably provide more content in the long run. If there wasn't a workaround and that item was just too good then, in the end, I would probably kill the NPC even if I didn't want to for three reasons. Reason one is that I typically main healers and if the item in question is going to allow me to keep my group alive more effectively then that NPC's life is not worth the life of five other actual players. The second reason is that tanking, CC, and DPS are also crucial roles when it comes to the success of a party. So, even if I was playing another role I probably wouldn't pass on an item that increases my potential and potentially impacts my group's chance at success. The final reason is that I like to experience content and the process of obtaining the item is a form of content.
I really like seeing a game have difficult decisions that have to be made by the player and having those decisions have consequences. The presence of good, bad, and morally gray decisions can really add to the character RP experience and enhance gameplay for people who like to form a character backstory. I can't wait to see how difficult choices are going to be implemented in Pantheon and what effect these choices are going to have on characters.
Kilsin said:Would You Rather - Kill an innocent NPC for a good loot item and take a nasty faction hit or leave them be and acquire the loot via other means? Please explain your decision #MMORPG #CommunityMatters
I'd absolutely and without hesitation, kill an innocent NPC if the item it dropped was something I needed/wanted. I'd do it because good items trump everything. This is a items based game, like every other MMO out there. Items are what makes the character stronger in every way so if you want to be the best you can be, you want the best items and faction be damned. Plus, I always play 'evil' races so we already start with terrible faction to most everyone anyway so what's a few more negative factions? It's a match on a fire, really.
Can I pick both?
I do like the idea of certain items only being able to be obtained by methods that require you to make a conscious choice to "pay the price". I think that adds depth and makes for more meaningful immersion and engagement.
That being said, I am also a HUGE fan of "many paths to success".
So again, I will vote "both", but with the caveat that there should still be some instances where obtaining something will result in a hard rep cost.
A deeper question, IMO, is what can be done with that item once you pay the price?
If someone can just farm the item repeatedly and keep taking a faction hit they have already accepted, then turn around and sell that item to someone else (which removes their cost of paying the faction hit), then that defeats the intent for me.
I know they are trying to limit BoP as much as possible, but I think there are instances where it just makes sense both from an economic standpoint and a gameplay impact one (for example, epic class item rewards should be BoP).
I think it depends on multiple factors. What kind of item is it? What does the alternative path to acquire the item look like? How hard is the faction to repair? From a RP perspective, how are you defining "innocent"? Does that just mean non-aggro or is there a storyline to support their innocence? From a lore perspective it could be interesting and certain classes or races would obviously pick one decision versus the other. I like the idea of multiple ways to obtain similar items and if nothing else I'm sure I will have alts. It would probably depend on how situation arises, but assuming I know what item I would get, there's a good chance I would go with the quick and dirty method (at least on one character).
Smug, I like the feeling of being smug.
Hopefully, there will be tiers of game play in pantheon, the long game, the short game and the medium game. The long game I associate with Faction and some quests or crafting. The kind of thing you can do when you don't know what to do or there is nothing else to do, or can stop doing at a moments notice if medium or short term gaming opportunities like groups lookiing for one more or pre-arranged time specific crawls with a certain goal planned , open up.
Maintaining faction and getting the item sort of puts you on the good side of the velvet rope at the club. Its nice to be able to walk in and not worry about people attacking you because you have faction when others cant- smug. *sheepish grin*
In the past, I have always played as a "good" person. That quite fits my personality, so no, I have never killed an innocent character. I doubt I could kill an innocent npc. It would bother me a great deal. Weird, huh.
I am considering playing an evil Ogre Shaman, or, better still if an Ogre Rogue becomes a thing, in which case I might do it. It will depend on if Ogres are seen as evil, or neutral. Also what if any religion comes into Terminus.
Depends on the character I play. If I play and "Evil" Character like DireLord or Necromancer I'd definitely kill the dude. If I play a Paladin I wouldn't really kill him, I would release his soul from from his sins and then take the weapon bestowed for my righteous and valorous deed!
Kill the NPC, praise the Nine God.
However, if I'm playing something other than Skar, then it really depends on how hard it would be to grind that faction back vs how much it would cost to buy it from someone else.