hmm if something like the watch command is implemented I would say it would have to work only once per kill. Then you would have to /watch again with the next monster to make sure someone doesn't simply stand next to a spawncamper and leaves for a few hours and still gains exp.
Not that exp is that hard to get but still that might change.
Oh for crying out... listen, I've read a few posts by other Phineas and some other roleplayers and from what I gather there are people out there who actually dislike spending hours and hours of their precious human lifespan pressing a button over and over to get XP for a virtual character (crazy isn't it). This irrational fear of people 'powerleveling' or 'getting something for nothing in a game' is just going to ruin the game for everyone.
I know this would give the potential for people to get XP while AFK... in fact that's kind of the whole point. One of the reasons people killsteal (which was the origional topic, sorry if I hijacked it) is to get some XP without having to whittle away at a monsters XP forever. If instead they can just park near a monster and /watch other fighters level and get some XP for free... then the need to killsteal goes down.
Plus, I don't know about anyone else... but this is a game. It is supposed to be fun, and frankly the combat system is not fun for me.
With the current setup, the game strongly favors grinding and powerleveling. Repeatedly killing monsters over and over for XP. When I wanted to train metallurgy, I had to go fight monsters to get the XP to train it... and got hurt alot because I was built to be a merchant or miner or crafter. I then had to train combat skills so I could fight monsters to get XP to train metallurgy which just doesn't make sense. I essentially reworked my whole character from being a crafter to being a fighter... just because that is the only way to get XP.
And another thing, suppose with the /watch command there is the potential for somebody to get a slow stream of XP (less then what they would get by fighting, about 1/10 or 1/4 depending on how generous the code might be) without having to mindlessly press buttons all day? what would they do in the mean time?
1. chat with their guild or people around them
2. read a book and learn things
3. get work done around the house
And also, if they /watch another character fight while AFK then they would not collect any of the loot from the monster, and therefore would have trouble training skills. They would have to get money from somewhere so they actually would have to spend game time to mine gold or whatever to get the money to pay for training. So really they still would not get 'something for nothing' because XP is pretty much useless in this game unless you have the money to pay for training.
If there was ever a way of gaining some benefit by watching someone, there probably should be some mental stamina drain associated with it as well like there is with most other activities. This stamina drain itself would place some limit on how much it could be used and enforces the idea that your character is actively studying the actions of another and not just passively observing.
This is actually a good idea, while I personally think that the only having 1/10 to 1/4 of the XP getting registered to the watcher and the risk of the target leaving or stopping combat would be enough to add a bit of risk the idea of using the mental stamina to show it involves actual study could be nice.
But I would reccomend that it be used mainly as proof that it is studying or as a decrease in the mental stamina. So if a person has been watching combat for hours their mental stamina would be pretty low (they would still get all the XP due to them, that wouldn't get hurt) but if they tried engaging in an activity that uses mental stamina (like armed combat? not sure if that is mental stamina) immediatly afterwards then they would be caught off-guard and could get in trouble.
So the basic breakdown of a proposed /watch command would go:
-targets one player character for as long as that character is targeted
-as long as the subject is targeted the watcher gets a fraction of their XP gain (1/10 to 1/4) with no loss of XP to the one getting watched
-the watcher's mental stamina would slowly decrease which would add the risk that if they are surprised into armed combat they could get really hurt
-the player could then do a variety of things as long as the subject was still targeted. chat with others in Planeshift or even do something else entirely
-if they leave the game, there is the risk the subject will stop fighting, leave, die or whatever. also monsters may attack the watcher unawares which would all interrupt the watching process.
-even if they get lots of XP due to watching others, they would still need to get money to pay for training.
The way I see it, /watching would primarily work to benefit those who either did not build combat-oriented characters such as crafters or healers, those with new characters who need XP to level up stuff, and people who can think of more exciting things to do than sit around killing monsters.
I imagine combat /watching could actually form a sort of in-game version of entertainment. People go to the arenas to /watch the combat and would actually have an in-game incetive to do so. Popular among the merchant and crafter class who don't have the means to go through combat.
Get some basic training in melee and light armour. Kill the dwarf mercenary in the arena until you have enough PP to train your first level of crystal way. Get a friend to buy you an arrow glyph and lend you an energy glyph. Then get a friend to get an ulbernaught down to 2% for you, and then finish off the ulbernaught. Bam, 18 progression points each time.
Is it cheating? Yes. But right now, the game mechanics are broken, so I don't feel too bad about it.
Actually, if you wanted to help another player level up would you be okay fighting monsters while they /watch and gain XP, even if they were AFK for a long time? Suppose they were to pay you money or steel bars?
I personally think that the reason the mechanics are so broken is that people are afraid of othe people 'powerleveling' and try making features to prevent that.
The problem is that powerleveling by its very nature is the most efficient way to level up. Try to prevent powerleveling and you just make it harder for anyone to advance... its just that the powerlevelers will adapt and keep going while everyone else gets caught in the traps.
