So, I went on a queen killing spree with a bunch of other guys the other night, and I noticed that, while I get massive XP in light and/or heavy weapons for killing the queen (even more if I deliver the kill shot, it seems) I get no combat XP. Why? Do you have to have a advanced combat mission active to get XP for combat? I killed 14 queens, and almost hit level 5 both light and heavy weaps, but I'm still 13000 points away for combat.

-tm

the only way to get combat XP, apart from PvP (which doesn't count, since you get so little for your troubles) is to kill the bots you get in your combat missions. sad but true.

Yeah, IMHO Combat XP is a bit out of place in the modern system. I'd rework it as follows:

-Can the adv. combat mission for solo players. Replace it with a Group Hunt mission that shows up to players in a group or in a clan with more than one member in the system at the time the mission is to be taken. If at any time the player leaves the group, the mission is aborted

-Combat XP given for duel victories and taken away for duel defeats, amount depending on the level of the duellists.

Essentially what this would do is eliminate the need (and even ability) to just grind alone for hours to earn ships. PvP or Co-op combat would be required to gain combat levels, drawing players together into groups and clans more readily.

Edit: Made it more clear that combat XP would only be taken away for defeats in duels, not casual combat.

Taking combat xp away from pilots who are killed in PvP is a sure way to make people steer away from PvP in a big way, and more than likely quit the game altogether after they get killed 10 or 20 times in a row by vastly superior pilots.

I know you're only talking about duels, but death penalties are a really bad idea in a PvP-oriented game.

Yeah, just duels, not casual combat.

But wouldn't that deter people from playing with the new duel ranking system? I know I would never participate in any duels if there was a chance to lose my hard earned combat XP if I lost.

I'd have to agree with wylfing here :D

Perhaps a form of 'betting' a certain amount of combat XP at the duel prompt would work. The default value of a duel between statistically equal players would be, say, 400, but would be set higher or lower based on a trailing variable. So...

/duel challenge "sloanesky" 0

would make it a duel in which (like today's duels) the only wager was ranking. How's that?

As long as I dont lose combat exp when I get owned :(

I want to see Hive Queens made permanent bonus bots for the Adv. Combat mission. So anytime I'm on Adv. Combat & kill a Queen, I get 500 Combat XP.

As for ctishman's suggestions, I don't want those to be the only options. I'm cool with having groups help significantly with gaining combat XP, but I always want to have some way to work on it solo. I usually play at off-peak times, which means there's maybe a total of 20-30 players on, few if any of whom I'd consider eligible candidates to do group combat missions with (they're my "enemies", less than half my level, or way far away, etc).

ctishman- nice idea with the wagers, but that would make it waaaay too easy to cheat the system. *Get vendetta friend to create other-nation character**Create alt that you want to level up**Duel vendetta friend- wager 1,000,000 combat points**Presto! Combat 16*

Ok, so what if you make it so that you can only wager what you have? Same deal: *Kill a few bots**Wager 200 combat**Now you've got 400 Combat**Wager 400 Combat**Now you've got 800 combat* You're combat would increase exponentially (literally...exponentially...Combat x 2^(Number of times you did it))

Even without cheating the system..."Hello n00b" /duel challenge n00b 1,000,000 *boom* "Thanks for getting me combat 16 n00b!"

It would be a nice idea, if there was a way to prevent cheating the system.

Regarding the un-solo botting, I think botting, though painfully boring, is the way for a player to show commitment to their new levels. If it was easier to get levels, or you had to do it with a friend, all the anti-socialites would be the only ones still at 4 combat.

Also, a better PvPer doesn't have to spend as much time botting as a player who needs the better weaps/ships to win any duels. IMAGOODDUELER only needs to bot to 4 combat, because he is deadly with a centurion and neut III's. He doesn't need his lumbering prom.

Botting is a necessary part of the Vendetta life that all players need to go through at some point or another.

However, in response to the original post, yes, there should be a combat bonus for killing queens.

Unfortunately, many others have this thing called a 'life'. We have jobs and school and family, and cannot 'show our dedication' by spending hours performing a boring, repetitive task. I enjoy Vendetta, but simply don't have the hours to spend on a task only tangentally related to my enjoyment of the game.

As regards cheating wagers:

Yes, you could only wager what you had, of course. That's simple logic. As regards botting to get 200 and wagering it, remember that BOTH characters would have to have that amount of XP already, making exponential growth impossible.

For the third situation:
Find me a n00b with 1,000,000 combat to wager.

LOL, turn the light on Ctishman, if you bet combat xp and lose the battle, one might not only lose the Xp, but the standings, lv's(8/7/7/x/x, = 1/6/6/x/x) weapones,and the ability to buy back the ship he/she once had.
people would stop playing, their are many peeps that play this game just for the PvP, just a thought

Syberfly out

I live for the One, I die for the One.

It's just like any other kind of gambling - bet only what you're willing to lose. It's a system that punishes the stupid and raises the smart and worthy to the top. I reiterate that betting anything would be optional.

Plain and simple....any reason that causes players to lose ANY amount of xp for ANY reason in this game is a bad idea. It just wouldnt work. While a select few might like it, as soon as they get burned once theyll change their minds.

Work hard, put in lots of "dedication", bet a few times and win then go find someone you consider a n00b and bet say 300,000 xp and fight him. He then procedes to whoop you lilly butt and you just lost 300,000 extremely hard earned xp. You get seriously pissed and just before you decide to quit the game you flood the message boards with CRAP about how the game sucks and how you got cheated out of a measly little ten dollar bill that just so happened to be your life savings.

Now tell me...who wants that? Certainly not me. Cause after loser boy there throws his little tantrum he coincidentally causes several other players to quit due to all the CRAP on the boards and in the game.

Obviously this is a worst case senario. In no regards am I trying to say that this would be a regular occurance. Actually odds are this would never happen. But ask yourself.....why add something to the game that could produce this senario?

*edit*
Just to add a little note..
I do agree that Combat XP needs some work. Its IMO a little too hard to get. There should definately be alternatives to the mindless botting. Group missions, permanent bonuses for queenies, ect. ect. ect. Maybe not these specific things but something.
*edit*

Because it'd be fun to be able to if you felt like it? Shielding players from their own stupidity all of the time removes any risk from the game.

Also, since both parties would need to have that much XP available, losing all your XP to a n00b with an unwise 300k wager would be impossible.

Also, let me make this point again with a large animated GIF, because it's just not getting through in text:

That is so cool.

Anyway, the one thing about combat XP that I most want to see fixed is the rate at which you get XP in group botting missions. IMHO the experience gained should increase exponentially the more people you're grouped with; not only is group botting a few dozen orders of magnitude better and more fun than solo botting, but I also think that cooperative grouping of this nature should be encouraged a lot more in an MMORPG like VO. Also, group "duels", group mining/bulk hauling missions, and queen-hunting missions (grouped or otherwise, I just want to get combat XP from queens).

me rolls over the floor, nice one ctishman

[Edit]

Id bet some of my xp, i would not mind dropping some at all, i can still kick ass at level 4/4/4/4/4 I just would not mind being able to bet more than combat...

Um... guys?

If your combat XP goes below a previous level threshold, you do not lose the level. You only lose the XP, and have to work your way up to the level you were originally working up to.

if what celkan says is true then you can completely erase my previous post minus the edit. I mean if you dont lose levels the what harm is done.

Get lvl X the find a noob and bet all the xp you got (stupid but hey the people exist) win/lose no problems. Especialy if youre like lvl 8+. It doesnt matter after that point.

Anyway just thought Id add that.

One of the devs gave us the information when the bounty system was introduced.

A player was hunted so much that his levels went below a previous threshold. His level remained, his XP did not.