Larian Studios Forums Beyond Divinity (English) Suggestions Better application of the thief/assassin?

Then you should only get the XP for stealing the crown jewels and not for the killing. The mission is: steal the crown jewels. Nowhere is the contract did it say "bonuses paid for indiscriminate manslaughter".

well killing can still net u XP but it shouldn't be tied to the quest which is stealing the crown jewels. but i like what handefood's suggesting & what alrik is wondering: alternative to killing which is sneaking past the guards/whoever.

in lionheart, XP is awarded to sneaking up to 75% of the total XP that u get if u kill. so since u don't have to face the hardship of actual killing & risking your neck at the same time, 75% is fair enough. for me at least.

In Dungeons & Dragons, if you encounter a trap, you are awarded the XP for disabling it or for triggering it or for accepting the outcome. The only time you don't get the XP is if you somehow avoid it without ever noticing it. It makes sense.

A warrior learns how to shug off the effects of a trap. XP = more hit points.
A thief learns how to disable the trap. XP = higher skill levels.
A lucky person never learns anything because nothing is ever difficult for them.

In Deus Ex and No One Lives Forever 2, experience is never given for killing (except for bosses, but that's because they're mission objectives). It's only given for mission progression, mission completion and finding secret areas.

I like the idea of gaining 75% experience for sneaking. For a lot of the game, there is no need to slaughter every last living thing. In the Orc Camps and the Dark Forest, you could progress quite easily if you just did your mission and killed any opposition you met. There's no need to seek out opposition, but doing so can povide that extra 25% experience.

We had the discussion with Divinity also and Lar said they tried it but it just wouldn't balance correctly. One of the things is that it's a game where killing gains you XP AND solving quests gains you XP. The problem with avoiding fights and giving XP for that is in my opinion that you can avoid the fight => gain XP, solve the quest => gain XP. Then come back and kill the lot anyway => gain XP. This needs to be balanced properly for all playing styles.

One could say thet sneaking nets you 75% of the total XP. But what if you kill the monsters aagin? Should that give you only 25%? What if your sneaking fails, what should the XP reward per kill then be? Every monster in the neighborhood would need to get 'tagged' after a successfull kill in order for this to work And how long should the 'tag' stay?
As there are no classes anymore, the option to tie the XP and percentages you gain based on what typer of character you play are gone too.

i don't know how reflexive did it but it works well. XP through sneaking i mean.

as u approach the enemy(or enemies), u slowly gain XP from it as time goes by. let's say the total XP for the enemy is 200.

when u first approach it via sneak (how u successfully sneak depends on the skill level vs enemy sight/hearing level, or maybe dice rolls), u register 47 then 27 then 23 then 19 then 13 then 12 then 6 then 3. which totals up to 150 that is 75% of 200. sneaking near the enemy for longer period after getting the 75% won't net anymore XP. killing it however will net the remaining 25%.

if sneaking fails before getting the total 75% (say maybe about 50% before being caught), then the remaining XP not obtained through sneaking can be obtained through killing.

"As there are no classes anymore, the option to tie the XP and percentages you gain based on what type of character you play are gone too." myrthos

there shouldn't be any discrimination for any classes when it come to XP rewards in the first place. if u can sneak & sneak successfully, then u deserve the 75% XP but if u can kill it off after that, then u deserve the remaining 25%. it's all methodology & nothing on class.

Good point! It would be so much easier tojust give XP for kills and quests. It just makes the whole concept of sneaking and taking back doors useless.

Can they rig the maps so that you can take advantage of environmental factors (walls, bottle necks, poison barrels, etc.), but only if you can sneak over to them? That would make sneaking useful, while providing XP for kills.