The yellow lotus potion, we could not live without it.
Have i been using it before? No i have not! Or maybe… maybe i just don’t remember it.
This makes me think of something…
The first time someone ever used a yellow lotus potion may not be the first time that we know of. If this person was all alone upon using the freshly made brew. The knowledge of this very potion may have vanished with everything else the person ever known.
The description for the [yellow lotus potion].
A yellow lotus potion, blanks the mind, freeing one to focus on a new set of skills at the cost of forgetting all previous abilities and skills.
My Suggestion.
After using the yellow lotus potion you do not remember any ability or skill.
Upon entering your crafting screen (where you can learn recipes), you vaguely remember some things.
(visual pop up or just an option on the screen [Questions him/her self: “Have i done this before?”)
Upon choosing yes or just selecting the option on the screen, the person would re-learn every crafting ability he/she previously learned.
The person would still be able to relearn the physical abilities in a different way.
The same thing could be done for the physical abilties still allowing the person to pick different crafting recipes.
Why?
Personaly i think, it takes quiete alot of time to go trough the long list of items you can learn. And i find myself using the yellow lotus potion more often to pick new physical abilities compared to chosing new crafting recipes. Going through the list of crafting recipes is where i start disliking things.
For me, doing it the way i described, still feels like it matches the discription of the item. And if it should need a change to go with the suggested change, i would probably just add: “Or does it?!” at the end.
The description for the [yellow lotus potion]. (new)
A yellow lotus potion, blanks the mind, freeing one to focus on a new set of skills at the cost of forgetting all previous abilities and skills. Or does it?!
I feel the same way: it takes much, much, much longer to reset your crafting skills than your character stats. However, I’d recommend a different approach to Lotus potions and crafting skill points. Rather than a passive indicator of “here’s what you traited last time”, I’d like to see character stats reset be completely independent of crafting points reset.
This could be implemented by introducing different potions to reset stat points vs. crafting points, or a pop-up after consuming a potion asking the user to choose which points pool to reset, or having stats reset with a potion and crafting points reset at a shrine. I’m sure there are other ways to do it too, but the end goal of separating the reset of these point pools would be awesome.
I’d suggest a more simpler solution: Separating out an attribute reset potion from the crafting reset potion.
It’s impossible to just ‘forget’ your strength or vitality by drinking a mind-wiping potion. Strength, vitality, grit, encumbrance… those represent your body, not your mind. You can’t just ‘forget’ your strength and become weaker!
The attribute reset potion could be balanced differently from the yellow lotus potion. Yellow lotus potions are easy to make, but body transformation potions? That should be much more difficult to make.
There are many ways to look at this. And non of them is better compared to the other.
For example:
Without the physical strenght, the right mindset will not help to do task x.
Without the right mindset, the physical strenght will not help to do task x.
Just 2 very simple statements. Both true.
By showing these 2 very simple statements, i mean to clearify the follwing.
If your mind is not wired right, you could be physically in the best possible shape but be unable to make use of it in ways that you would expect from the visual representation of it.
While i understand your perspective, it is not perse the trueth in the sense of it beeing the only trueth.
As your idea is based on the statement: “It’s impossible to just ‘forget’ your strength or vitality” and we now know this is not perse true, the idea may lose some value.
However when i seperate the two, and take the idea just as an idea, without the fundation you layed down for it. I read the following:
Two different potions.
One beeing for - resetting crafting skills points.
The other beeing for - resetting physical skills points.
This would then be exactly what bynitch suggested.
" I’d like to see character stats reset be completely independent of crafting points reset."
To clearify, in the original idea i posted.
You have full control over keeping one or the other.
You can keep your physical abilities while unlearning your crafting skills.
You can keep your crafting skills while unlearning your physical abilities.
All of this is done using the same potion.
It just takes one click, to (vaguely remember)keep the already chosen points.
Meaning it is not directly independent from the other, but you have full control over it beeing independent from the other. The choise would be in your mind,… or is it your trigger finger that gets to make the decision?
both ideas are good, none of them are better than the other so I won’t join the pointless arguing…
Suffice to say that re-allocating feat points is the most massive grief I’ve had with the UI of this game so far…
The yellow lotus potion is no different mechanically from the Mindwipe Tonic in ARK. The trouble in Conan Exiles, however, is the frequency of use.
I agree there should be some adjustments to the yellow lotus potion, perhaps in the form of two different potions? Potion A lets you reset your Feats, Potion B lets you reset you Ability points.
With all the improvements to Alchemy on the way, I wouldn’t be surprised if something like this is already in the works.
simple solution imo is to add some sort of option to pick whether you reset stats or feats, this be a red/blue pill type thing using alchemy or just asking which you wanna reset. then adding a cool down on resetting them like 3hrs + on stats to stop people resetting before every fight/mining trip and something short like 20mins on feats because there is no need to punish people for resetting feats imo.
While a simple solution, sounds like the way to go with. There is also more to think of.
A simple solution, this can be a simple solution in usage, or simple to create.
While i do agree with the fact that use of a potion, which should not be a difficult task, should therefor be simple in its use, i also believe there is more to it.
Adding a cooldown timer in ways of adding a (de)buff to visually represent the cooldown that has been activated is something that is clear in some way, but may be unclear if there are too many of these. (different kinds of potions)
On the other hand there is a storyline and also a mood to go with that storyline which can be visually or phonetically created. This mood can also be presented by something that can be used or created.
For example, having simple yes/no question that you can asking on the question:
“Do you want to keep X?”
Does not represent the idea of a wiped mind. But if you add a visual additive to that, and ask the question differently while having the same yes/no options as an answer you create a mood that goes along with the idea of a wiped mind. As in my example:
“Have i done this before?” (upon entering crafting or physical skill page for the first time after unlearning through usage of the potion)
A little question mark in a circle that is used in the game can be added to the corner explaining
“Do you want to remember these stats?” Or something along those lines.
The explanation can be eigther straight forward to be very clear or a leave a little opening for interpretation making you want to try it, so that you find out about its useage, etc.
Upon yes (you want to keep[relearn] the exact same thing as before) you get the visually presented message “i vaguely remember something” and a sound indicating something actually happend. Which then satisfies our mind. Cause we did something and we have gotten a response to that in multiple ways, making us very assured something happend.
So, i can not be satisfied by the idea of just having potion x and potion y. Without having good reasoning behind them that match mood and gameplay.
An example for that that goes with your suggestion…
It may be needed to have a cooldown, but without having a good reason to while someone could not drink the same potion again it would not fit in the game. If there is a indeed a problem of having the potion be used too frequently, it could be possible that you also get sick of using the potion (which is [i believe] not uncommon with amnesia) This could be the reasoning for the person to be unable to use the potion again without taking his/her own life.
While this is a just a small example, and it can probably be done in a much more fitting style, i do hope you get my point.
I get your point, but I think you’re overcomplicating it. It’s simpler and more understandable to just split the two different resets into two different potions.
The complicated part is, my suggestion may interfere with the current UI system. Which may be an impossibility indeed. As time may be limited aswell as resources or manpower, it sometimes is therefor better to take an easier aproach that follows the general concept of using an item.
It may take away from the whole feeling and takes away from the real experience of a unique game. And therefor interferes with the mood presented to the player. But chooises have to be made. And creating something where everything is perfectly fitting to all possible levels of perception is just an impossibility.
Therefor i can agree with the simplification of something like this, which is mainly an improvement for players as its intended to make something that is already in the game easier in its use.
Other than that, the idea by itself is ofcourse not a complicated one. Only a dev or designer would name it complicated as per previously named “problems”. Calling the idea by itself a complicated one, would be calling everything that presents a story, mood, feeling, aswell as a visual and phonetical representation, a complicated thing. While getting all of that right is difficult indeed, thinking about the possiblities (aka ideas) is not. And without all of that, we would neigther see or hear the 1s and 0s that are presented to us.
To conclude: “Nothing is perfect, and perfected can be nothing, as we improve to get thing perfect and improving is an ongoing process.”