Hey, I was thinking how to make IWD better. Its good game but at the same time I see a lot of problems with it. I made this post to gather some ideas that future mods can implement, so go on with your thoughts and propositions.
Here are my thoughts and problems I see:
Problem 1.
Each run looks too similar to another in case of items. I mean, you go to X, you are guaranteed item Y, you go to Z and there is random item spawn, but there is 75% chances for for crap and 25% for good item, so you do save-reload method before entering until you get that one item that interests you. Some people completely resign and mod random loot to be 100%. Also some types of weapons are strictly better than others i.e. adding proficiency to Katanas is pointless because there aren't much of them ingame, and AFAIK best Katanas are worse that best weapons from other groups.
Solution
Add more diversity to items and make loot more randomized, even make some items in shop random.
How I see this is that each run would have different items. You won't know if best item in this run would be 2h Axe dropped by some enemy, or maybe dagger in chest or something else in shop (same with other items like armors, shields etc.). So you need to plan diversity in group, not "I must have 1 char using morning stars because I will have guaranteed best morning star in game anyway" and same with other chars. For this to be kind of balanced a bit you need some predetermined items in shops or random pools like only random axe, only random sword in order to not get run with 0 long swords entire game for example.
Problem 2.
Not enough end game content and too fast/dull character progress. I finished my last full run with 6x single classed party and half of the team had lvl 30 already. But still I felt like items I had weren't great compared to IWD2 Hof for example. Kinda game ended too fast, and higher character lvls brought nothing except more hp and some spells (I know about some mods fixing this but still I am mentioning this). Also HoF mode doesn't bring much there because items are the same AFAIK. In IWD2 it worked like this: at the end of the game you had party around lvl 17 (max was 30) and HoF mode brought a lot of new upgraded items. There were use for +5 weapons and other really awesome items because enemies are much better also.
Maybe its me but I am finding HoF 2nd runs boring. I would want to see more end game content than same content with only enemies that have boosted stats. So boring...
Solution
*IWD is lacking end game content where you will need high lvl equipment and enemies will be much harder. Also I would really want to see slower character progression but where lvls matter more than +hp.
Problem 3.
Problems with ranged using ammunition. In my last run I had ranger using bows until I get returing axe. He used this weapon until the end of game because I don't need to go to the town for ammunition and its +2 for free (if you calculate cost for +2 arrows you can see how bad it is compared to returing axe).
Solution
Add quivers and other items "of plenty" which provides infinite ammo or something like "returing arrow". In IWD2 there is a lot of returing items (even 2h weapon) but in IWD1 there isn't many. I would like to see "Quiver of plenty +5" which is ultra rare but still existing. Make more returing items but not guaranteed in run as I proposed in ideas above.
Problem 4.
More interesting enemies and more bosses. As OlvynChuru mentioned in other post, enemies in IWD are dumb and you can easily win with them by kiting them around. Enemies need to be harder in case you couldn't kite them around and win, like more ranged abilites or better AI.
Solution
Improving abilities of enemies. There were tactic mod for IWD2 where i.e. caster or ranged enemies ran off from you if your character came too close to them, it kinda looked like they kiting you. Also about bosses, Sarevok57 made pretty interesting mod with a lot of new enemies and bosses (but sadly its rather mod for personal use, not weidu so not really compatible with other mods).
Thats my thoughts and opinions. If you have something more to add or disagree I would like to hear your thoughts on that matter![:)]( ":)")
Here are my thoughts and problems I see:
Problem 1.
Each run looks too similar to another in case of items. I mean, you go to X, you are guaranteed item Y, you go to Z and there is random item spawn, but there is 75% chances for for crap and 25% for good item, so you do save-reload method before entering until you get that one item that interests you. Some people completely resign and mod random loot to be 100%. Also some types of weapons are strictly better than others i.e. adding proficiency to Katanas is pointless because there aren't much of them ingame, and AFAIK best Katanas are worse that best weapons from other groups.
Solution
Add more diversity to items and make loot more randomized, even make some items in shop random.
How I see this is that each run would have different items. You won't know if best item in this run would be 2h Axe dropped by some enemy, or maybe dagger in chest or something else in shop (same with other items like armors, shields etc.). So you need to plan diversity in group, not "I must have 1 char using morning stars because I will have guaranteed best morning star in game anyway" and same with other chars. For this to be kind of balanced a bit you need some predetermined items in shops or random pools like only random axe, only random sword in order to not get run with 0 long swords entire game for example.
Problem 2.
Not enough end game content and too fast/dull character progress. I finished my last full run with 6x single classed party and half of the team had lvl 30 already. But still I felt like items I had weren't great compared to IWD2 Hof for example. Kinda game ended too fast, and higher character lvls brought nothing except more hp and some spells (I know about some mods fixing this but still I am mentioning this). Also HoF mode doesn't bring much there because items are the same AFAIK. In IWD2 it worked like this: at the end of the game you had party around lvl 17 (max was 30) and HoF mode brought a lot of new upgraded items. There were use for +5 weapons and other really awesome items because enemies are much better also.
Maybe its me but I am finding HoF 2nd runs boring. I would want to see more end game content than same content with only enemies that have boosted stats. So boring...
Solution
*IWD is lacking end game content where you will need high lvl equipment and enemies will be much harder. Also I would really want to see slower character progression but where lvls matter more than +hp.
Problem 3.
Problems with ranged using ammunition. In my last run I had ranger using bows until I get returing axe. He used this weapon until the end of game because I don't need to go to the town for ammunition and its +2 for free (if you calculate cost for +2 arrows you can see how bad it is compared to returing axe).
Solution
Add quivers and other items "of plenty" which provides infinite ammo or something like "returing arrow". In IWD2 there is a lot of returing items (even 2h weapon) but in IWD1 there isn't many. I would like to see "Quiver of plenty +5" which is ultra rare but still existing. Make more returing items but not guaranteed in run as I proposed in ideas above.
Problem 4.
More interesting enemies and more bosses. As OlvynChuru mentioned in other post, enemies in IWD are dumb and you can easily win with them by kiting them around. Enemies need to be harder in case you couldn't kite them around and win, like more ranged abilites or better AI.
Solution
Improving abilities of enemies. There were tactic mod for IWD2 where i.e. caster or ranged enemies ran off from you if your character came too close to them, it kinda looked like they kiting you. Also about bosses, Sarevok57 made pretty interesting mod with a lot of new enemies and bosses (but sadly its rather mod for personal use, not weidu so not really compatible with other mods).
Thats my thoughts and opinions. If you have something more to add or disagree I would like to hear your thoughts on that matter
