Reduce potency of armor forging

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Armor forging is a very powerful skill, perhaps even more powerful than its 
high cost indicates.

Here are a list of proposed changes:
* Increase drop rate of copper and bronze chunks slightly.  This will reduce 
complaints about lack of early chunks resulting in what feels like a useless 
skill.

* Decrease drop rates of powerful chunks: adamant, mithril, and runegold. This 
should make it more important to use infusions to get what you want in an item, 
rather than just crafting until you find it.

* Decrease raw power of either: high power chunks, or high-level skill, or 
both.  Perhaps increase raw power modestly with infusions skill.

Original issue reported on code.google.com by jmidd...@gmail.com on 14 Feb 2011 at 6:00

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Also possible:
* Reduce drop rate (or cap) high-end chunks based on number used/in 
home/inventory.  This is somewhat consistent with chunks potency as 
artifact-level

Original comment by jmidd...@gmail.com on 14 Feb 2011 at 6:04

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This is better than my rough draft. I don't like the world-state affecting drop 
rate as I think it would shatter disbelief (gameplay over realism, yes, but 
this is taking it too far - and there's gotta be a better way), but I really 
like the rest of it.

(If world-state already affects drop ratee for artifacts as the amendment seems 
to perhaps suggest, then it must be subtle. Or maybe I'm just dense.)

Decreasing raw power for high power is probably safer than reducing it for 
powerful chunks - awesome chunks should still feel awesome IMO (though they 
should feel awesome in a new context of reduced overall awesomeness).

Here's a further suggestion to make infusion necessary for really powerful 
forging: boost the (apparently) already existing tendency for forges to be 
themed, that is, for boots to get speed, shields to get rElements, etc. I think 
this could also help weaken the "craft again until I fill the hole" tactic. 
While not enough in itself, it could reduce the "pressure" on decreasing the 
drop rates of powerful chunks.

Bostock

Original comment by erikpi...@gmail.com on 14 Feb 2011 at 6:40

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These are my thoughts regarding this...

I'm not opposed to the idea of reducing the power somewhat, however I think we 
need to look at the power and 'usefulness' in comparison to what else is 
available; many characters on the ladder, even with high forging skill, end up 
wearing standard artifacts in many slots rather than forged items.

Essentially what I am saying is that while it is very *powerful* in the 
endgame, it is at its most *useful* in the midgame where you are unlikely to 
have found any good artifacts and getting a hard-to-find resistance or a nice 
stat bonus from a forged item makes all the difference.

Rebalancing the drop-rates of high and low level chunks sounds like a good 
idea, but I'm not sure I like the idea of a hard cap on number dropped; for one 
thing that would have an equal effect on weapon forging, and maybe if we were 
forced to choose between armor and weapon forging, armor would normally win.

I think it that overall, it would make sense if the total number of powers 
forged was lower, but that the chances of successfully getting the powers you 
want through infusion was greater; it would also help if the spread of essences 
was more even. At present there are some that seem to be hardly ever found, and 
never in enough quantities to have a reasonable chance to infuse a power that 
uses them - in particular, Blessing, Protection and Knowledge. (Maybe Potions 
of Essences could be used as a substitute for the essences themselves, to make 
them more useful for characters without throwing.)

NotMorgoth

Sorry, deleted the post by mistake...

Original comment by pla...@googlemail.com on 14 Feb 2011 at 7:34

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Looking back at the proposal above, I see no mention of an up in essence drop 
rate, which I still think is necessary even with the other proposed 
improvements to Infusion's effect on forging. Allowing infusion-skilled 
characters to derive essences from potions of essences would be cool and 
helpful, I agree with NotMorgoth on that, but I don't think it should be the 
sole source of the increase. Above all, there need to be more essences earlier 
on, when potions of essences are still rare. Armor Forging is pushing it 
already as it is with its uselessness before about D:20; Infusion is IMO way 
beyond the line in how it currently is useless until -- again IMO of course -- 
about D:40!

One caveat with potions of essences as an essence source. I won't fish for the 
exact wordings, but hopefully you'll get the idea:

You call upon the spirits. Foo.
You call upon the spirits. Bar.
You call upon the spirits. You hear cackling.
You detect some traps!
Do you want to disarm this trap? y
You find here 6 potions of essences (Acid).
You call upon the spirits...

Original comment by erikpi...@gmail.com on 14 Feb 2011 at 7:41

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Hmm, didn't think of that - I don't think I've ever found anything by disarming 
traps - could be a good reason to try playing a character with the disarming 
skill now the chances of this have increased.

Original comment by pla...@googlemail.com on 14 Feb 2011 at 8:16

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Potions of essences can also be used in traps or dropped and exploded via cold 
balls.  Not all items need to be useful to all characters.

I can look into increasing the essence drop rate, at least regarding the really 
uncommon types.

Original comment by jmidd...@gmail.com on 14 Feb 2011 at 8:49

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Essence rarity can be discussed here:
http://code.google.com/p/skills-angband/issues/detail?id=164

Original comment by jmidd...@gmail.com on 14 Feb 2011 at 8:53

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Actually, now that I'm starting to warm back up to trap-setting (back up from 
absolute zero), I think I'm going to try abusing this trick for traps hideously 
enough to convince Camlost to close up the loophole. :-)

Original comment by erikpi...@gmail.com on 14 Feb 2011 at 9:54

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Switching to 1.0.2

Original comment by jmidd...@gmail.com on 12 Mar 2011 at 7:10

• Added labels: Milestone-Release1.0.2
• Removed labels: Milestone-Release1.0.3

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fixed in r284

Original comment by jmidd...@gmail.com on 12 Mar 2011 at 7:47

• Changed state: Fixed