Macrocheck

[Jyrgen]

As an example, we could tie skill books to any loot. The % drop rate can be as small as 1% or something. It may sound null, but if it applies to all monsters around the world, it's actually much higher than it sounds.

- Boris

Still, considering there's like 48 skills in total, the chance you actually find the one you need is 0,02% (i.e, once every 4800 mobs), it's not really helping much (+ the different levels of skillgaining books). Ok, the odds get a bit better if you need multiple skills, but still, no good, as the gain is only 0.1.

To fix the skillgainbooks, you'd actually need to:
1) increase droprate (low level books drop more often than high level books, etc)
2) untie them from specific skill. Perhaps skill groups could be used (i.e, fighting skills, magery skills, merchant skills), or skillgroups by professions somehow. Probably, increasing any skill is too powerful.
3) make them give more than 0.1%. Especially for the lower level books, they should give like 1%. 0.1% at 50% is like pointless, whereas 0.1% at 99% might be pretty nice. Of course, this might cause people getting their 40% and 65% skills a bit too easy, so somehow making the books take your max skill% into account could be used.

[Boris]

I'm not talking of only personal gain. There's also a market for them if they're more common. As an example, the drop rates could be the following.

• Level 1 skill books (can gain any skill up to 65%)
  - Low end mobs, 5% drop rate.
  - Ants, ratmen, lizards, orcs, etc.
  
  Level 2 skill books (can gain any skill up to 85%)
  - Medium mobs, 5% drop rate
  - Vampires, ogres, trolls, shabooli, etc.
  
  Level 3 skill books (can gain any skill up to 100%)
  - Hard mobs, 5% drop rate
  - Daemons, titans, low-end dragons, low-end giants, etc.
  
  Level 4 skill books (can gain any skill up to 105%)
  - High-end mobs, 5% drop rate
  - Cloud, Void, Balron, Ancient, etc.

As a downside, this means quite a bunch of manual work for Arse, but if people think it's worth it, it can be done.

- Boris

[Argus]

It sounds like a pretty good plan. The only issue I see is it really won't benefit new players at all. The skill required to kill each subsequent level will need to be preceeded by a ton of alarm macroing for each echelon. I foresee it as a way for highend vets to quickly make alts, and this alone. Even if the individuals with the ability to attain these books (which they probably don't need, that's why they have the ability to kill the monster in the first place) decides to sell, it will be so far out of touch for the likes of a new player.

I don't know if anyone's mentioned it yet but a power hour or hour(s) could work aswell. A section of time when afk macroing (barring crafting skills) is legal without a macro check. You could have make this at different intervals each day, so people have to get on and play without knowing exactly when it would occur. Maybe it would be a +15% or something skill gain boost (once again these are on basic skills). You could even add it in from a roleplay perspective by saying The God's have favor upon creation during this time or someother phrase. Someone more creative than me could think it up.

Just my two cents.

[Jyrgen]

If the books still give only 0.1 and are not stackable.... see the problem? I'd rather make the droprate lower, but increase the skillgain from it, at least for lower skills. 0.1 is sooooooooooooooooooooo little.

[Boris]

It's clear the basis of macroing sticks. Skill gain has always been hard on Pangaea and I really see no reason to change it.

Without changing the basics, other add-on's have been created. There's more space, more training places, more fields, more protection (robbing of base class illegal, etc.) than ever before. Add skill books, add DGW's and the current world is a lot different from what it used to be. More of these add-on's can be created and ideas are welcomed for that part.

- Boris

[Glarundis]

i'm not against the idea of skillbooks added to every monster, but if you ask me i'd rather have them as they are, only a tiny bit more common and more used (the major problem is that even if you find one, chances aren, it's worthless to you and almost anybody)

i think they're fine if they're found on dragons but they can gain any skill of your choice in that level (and even that makes it 25% chance to find the level you want)

but if you make it with those numbers, it'll be too much for some skills.
vampire crap dropping 85% skill books?kill a few noob vampires and bam, there's your .1 already, way easier and way faster and way cheaper than getting that .1 from macroing

i wouldn't tie 85/100/105 books to ANY easy monster to kill, like normal vampires and even vampire knights and lieutenants/ogre lords/reapers/whatever

for those monsters which are a bit harder (not talking about fiends/dragons/lota/etc) you get those 85 books, going up the ladder, 100 books, etc
but 5% is too much imo.

reason for this is 85% skills like lockpicking/resisting spells/poisoning being easier than they should be if you "grind" them through hunting those monsters (vampires/trolls/shaboolies)

[Boris]

It'll never be faster, unless you're the luckiest man on earth.

- First there's a 1/20 chance for a monster to drop a skill book.
- Then there's a 1/48 chance for it the be for a specific skill.
- Even if you beat those two odds, the skill level of the book can be too low.

65% and 85% books have no real value. 100% and above are the money makers.

- Boris

[Glarundis]

but you new suggestion would end up with the 1/48 problem, since a book could gain ANY skill up to that level

[aldath c'om]

I'm not talking of only personal gain. There's also a market for them if they're more common. As an example, the drop rates could be the following.

• Level 1 skill books (can gain any skill up to 65%)
  - Low end mobs, 5% drop rate.
  - Ants, ratmen, lizards, orcs, etc.
  
  Level 2 skill books (can gain any skill up to 85%)
  - Medium mobs, 5% drop rate
  - Vampires, ogres, trolls, shabooli, etc.
  
  Level 3 skill books (can gain any skill up to 100%)
  - Hard mobs, 5% drop rate
  - Daemons, titans, low-end dragons, low-end giants, etc.
  
  Level 4 skill books (can gain any skill up to 105%)
  - High-end mobs, 5% drop rate
  - Cloud, Void, Balron, Ancient, etc.

As a downside, this means quite a bunch of manual work for Arse, but if people think it's worth it, it can be done.

- Boris

dont see anything wrong in this

[Toby Frost]

Like he said there is a market for these.. If the noobies hunt despise and find 500 level 65 books and sell them then they can progress faster.. I like it.