Perk System - Please Fix

Conan Exiles General Discussion Feedback
1

Leveling the already limited use Frost Giant, level 15 perk is Warden.

I can’t change the weapon type on this thrall, they are merely a glorified pet, and an accuracy perk for a thrall that cannot use ranged weapons is a disappointment.

A straightforward change would be to have Pets, Fighters, and Archers all have their own allowed perk pools. I’ve never had a horse get an accuracy perk and some of the perks in that pool do not appear anyplace else so it would appear as if the game mechanic already exists.

A more complicated system would be to have an RNG system based on choice. When a thrall levels, we would select which risk level we want, 1, 2, or 3.

Level 1 pool, low risk, low reward, perhaps an archer perk for a fighter but no negatives.

Level 2, moderate risk, moderate reward. Some negative effects but better positive options, along with all the options in level 1.

Level 3, the perk system as it exists now.

This would allow us to feel some agency in the process rather than the current, crapshoot, with the emphasis on crap.

As the perk system stands now, it is, at best, frustrating and a perk like Warden, -5 Vitality, + 8 Accuracy takes an already marginal fighter thrall and makes them much, much worse.

10 Likes
2

TBH I agree with the spirit of your post.

Getting an accuracy perk on a melee fighter is just deflating and I agree that each humanoid thrall class should get separate pools of perks from which the RNG pulls.

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3

Don’t worry, the perk system is mostly visual. Any penalties or bonuses are pretty much a placebo.

I mean yes they do improve damage, somewhat, but 10 STR on a follower is not nearly equal to 10 STR on a player.

4

Vitality seems to be pretty important even if accuracy and strength might not. So, if you get the Warden perk on a fighter or any of the other negative vitality perks… it feels like you just wasted your time.

4 Likes
5

Depends on the thrall. Anything short of a Relic Hunter Treasure Seeker even has vitality as a meh stat.

6

Except when your thrall loses 1000 HP due to the Warden perk.

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7

Taemien is correct: The perks have little effect.

But I also see Vitality as, uhm, vital.

Thing is: Having a bird poop on your car doesn’t make it go slower. But it just looks stupid to have bird poo on your car. And just like that, it just looks stupid to have a +accuracy perk on a pure melee thrall.

If one wanted to fix the perks, it’d be nice if the whole attribute systems for thralls were overhauled. That’d give meaning to stats like agility and give us much more variety and options in “building” thralls.
The hidden damage bonus is confusing, the random perks are aggravating, and the only thing one wants is lots of vitality with a high hidden melee damage bonus. Anything else is inferior anyhow.

5 Likes
8

So you only want the good stuff? No, sometime you get useless sh*t. Deal with it. Light another cigar and drink more of the scotch you like so much. :wink:

It’s the wheel of fish… and sometimes you get “Nothing! Absolutely Nothing!”

9

You can point out, exactly, where I stated that position, right?

Because, from what I see, I said the following:

"A straightforward change would be to have Pets, Fighters, and Archers all have their own allowed perk pools. I’ve never had a horse get an accuracy perk and some of the perks in that pool do not appear anyplace else so it would appear as if the game mechanic already exists.

A more complicated system would be to have an RNG system based on choice. When a thrall levels, we would select which risk level we want, 1, 2, or 3.

Level 1 pool, low risk, low reward, perhaps an archer perk for a fighter but no negatives.

Level 2, moderate risk, moderate reward. Some negative effects but better positive options, along with all the options in level 1.

Level 3, the perk system as it exists now."

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10

We shall have to disagree. For me, a thrall losing 1000 HP is not a little effect.

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11

Your entire post.

You want everything to fit but it’s crap-shoot as intended. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes you get Nothing! Absolutely nothing!.

You’re butthurt that this time you lost. We get that… And Now you wanna make changes. LOL
Like I said, I think you’re better off drinking your scotch and smoking your stogy that you’re so fond of telling us about. :wink:

12

Except it really is small. A Relic Hunter Treasure Seeker losing 3,000hp won’t stop them from soloing all content in the game.

13

Sigh. I can see you are having an argument in your mind. Please, go on without me.

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14

Again, we will have to disagree.

Folks can disagree about things.

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15

What I stated was a fact. I mean you can try it. Take a RHTS level it up, knock off 3k HP with admin commands and take it against any boss. It will tear it down.

16

Congratulations. I still do not believe a thrall losing 1000 HP as a perk is little.

Dude, we disagree. It’s okay.

1 Like
17

I never stated an opinion there.

What if I told you 1hp loss is a game breaking ordeal? Wouldn’t change the facts.

18

We will have to disagree.

But, for the rest of this conversation, you can disagree without me as continuing this discussion with you is not worth my time.

1 Like
19

I wouldn’t be opposed to better odds for certain perks over others depending on thrall class. Say 10% increase in chance.
Fighter=strength
Archer=accuracy
entertainer=agility
Bearer=vitality
animals should be treated differently completely. I hate they are so similar.

3 Likes
20

I’ve made this same overall point before on several occasions (and am sure I will be bringing it up again in the next couple of months at some point). I like your suggestion of the three tiers, that’s a really nice take on it - because it is true that the system does require some randomness, but this also grants an element of player control, without removing that chance of getting nothing (or even getting a negative if you choose to swing for the fences).

As always, I feel there is an element that gets overlooked in this current system - it does not matter that thrall perks are of little importance in the grand scheme of whether a thrall is good or not - because it feels disappointing every time. I know exactly how unimportant it is (like you, I’d be annoyed to lose 1000 hp, but like Taemien, ultimately I don’t feel that even those numbers actually matter) - but that feeling of disappointment is still a negative impact every time it happens - just seeing a -3 to a stat that you’ve spent three levels getting that +3 on feels like something has been taken away. And this effect is multiplied many times over for newer players who don’t know about the various hidden modifiers that make this impact relatively irrelevant. Sure, we can then educate them, but they’ve already been deeply disappointed, and that experience isn’t going to go away because intellectually they now know it doesn’t really matter.

I can’t speak for anyone else - but I don’t want a perk system that I can just choose all the good perks (there’s a mod for that, and I don’t want to use it because it doesn’t appeal at all) - I just want a perk system that doesn’t feel like it’s kicking you every time you level a thrall to 10,15 or 20. I have genuinely reached a point where I feel pre-emptive disappointment every time I level a thrall to one of those levels - I don’t even want to look anymore. I’ve run some fairly extensive tests, and the rng seems to be functioning fine - it’s the system itself that creates this situation.

5 Likes