Portal and Identify Scrolls - Do we really need them?

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zeto wrote:

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Wittgenstein wrote:

I have never liked TP scrolls or ID scrolls, they serve as a means to punish new players and little else. I think they should be removed.

Why I need to wait an extra 5 seconds to see what an item does... is beyond me.

If you still want items to come unidentified, fine, have the player click on an item to identify it. You can still keep your "robust" economy, without putting in a mechanic that has little use.

The problem isn't with the scrolls, it's with the system, that seemingly does punish new players more than anything else.

The problem is then that the scrolls hold little value at high level due to their necessary abundance. With no real intelligent solution on the horizon (as drop balance doesn't seem to be viable,) I agree that the D3 system is superior.

In order to salvage the system, they need to have alternative value more like orbs. They also need to be useful in abundance.

The solution? Only one I can think of... no limit gambling with scrolls. Perhaps even put up a global item to win... display its properties, and make it ultra rare... or even unique. Let players blow their scrolls in unlimited quantities.

Or inflate the amount of ID scrolls required to ID high level items.. not that I like that idea.

Or, maybe if you use more scrolls at once it gives you a chance to have higher % mods on the item? not sure how it works, are the mods attributed upon drop and just hidden? or are they determined at the point of identification?

I feel like the purpose they serve is as an introduction to the currency system. It is a point of reference which people are familiar with to a complicated and deep system.

I love these little things.

Part nostalgia, part currency.

Also, let's not forget, identified / unidentified trading are 2 different animals.

It adds another dynamic to the loot system, which is a big (perhaps the biggest) part of the game.

I won't lie, my opinion on this matter probably isn't as useful as others, as I'm not speaking from experience or reason, just from preference.

I really like the way this system works. It feels new, fresh, fun, although there are potential problems (seems to be inflation as the number 1) that pretty much happens in all games at some point or another.

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DeathSpear wrote:

I enjoy picking up rares and not knowing what it does until I identify it. I think it is fun. But to each their own.

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Kaylos wrote:

I love these little things.

Also, let's not forget, identified / unidentified trading are 2 different animals.

It adds another dynamic to the loot system, which is a big (perhaps the biggest) part of the game.

I agree with those two posts.

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Randomlee wrote:

Do we really need this mechanic?

Really, it's only in the very early part of the game where they honestly matter. By the time you reach the end of normal you typically have a large supply of them. I understand they serve as currency for buying base items from vendors and such, but I can't help but think there might be a better way.

It might just be that I miss gold.

I can say this is a mechanic I did not miss in Titan Quest.

What do you guys think about it?

+1000 for thinking out of the box.

You're absolutely right: at some point, the portal scrolls just take inventory space.

In Depths of Peril (an Indie Diablo like game with **** graphics but very fun gameplay) you can simply right click anything to identify and there is a progress bar that simply takes time to complete. When you go to the merchants, you can select "Identify All" for a price. The price become soon insignificant, but that means you have to return to the merchant. If you want to identify something "on the road", then you have the progress bar.

It works well, and I was wishing that the PoE merchant could also "identify all". :)

As for Portals, I suppose story-wise the exiles could have given you a map, or maybe a small compass, and when you use it instead of the paradigm of "teleporting" we just imagine the hero running back to town.

That said the scrolls are simple enough to use, perhaps it is as the GGG devs said in a video, they wanted to make something people are familiar with, and so they are innovating in areas that feel like it's worth it to them?

I have to admit I don't really mind either way, it just works.

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minuteman465 wrote:

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DeathSpear wrote:

I enjoy picking up rares and not knowing what it does until I identify it. I think it is fun. But to each their own.

Yes its fun to identify rares!

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Inksplat wrote:

However, I personally love IDing stuff. I didn't think I'd miss it, but that was definitely something I felt was lacking in D3.

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BesucherXia wrote:

And the ID scroll is also a must for me, simply because I enjoy the moment of finding out what I really get.

Ditto. :)

Worth noting is that unidentified items have a special value in some recipes.

I think having to ID items adds to the game in some ways, giving a sense of suspense between the time you pick it up and ID it hoping its going to be awesome...

though i think town portal scrolls are just a burden.

I agree they need to be removed all together simply because they don't add anything to game play
If anything they make it less fun

Please please please don't change it.