Earning exp only outside of battle

[Kristina]

For all of you who have enemies/monster battles but the player doesn't earn exp by defeating them....how do the player earn exp?

I've been thinking that they will earn exp by completing maps or areas, but that might be a silly idea?

 

[Zerothedarklord]

could award experience from completing quests if you like.

 

[Kristina]

I did think of that, but then I thought of completing maps/areas which includes the quests. I just don't know if that's a stupid idea or not.

 

[l8rose]

Completing Maps and areas is a good idea for an additional source of exp. It's actually used in a lot of big title open world games (World of Warcraft for example). It's also a good way to help reduce the grind for leveling up.

On a side note you can also add exp for opening chests or completing collections (like collect X number of an item, logging all monsters of a certain type, meeting all characters from a certain family, etc) if you're looking for other ideas.

 

[Kristina]

Thanks! Good ideas as well, didn't think of that. I especially like the idea with logging all monsters of a certain type.

 

[Milennin]

I don't think it's good to have battles that give no EXP, in a regular RPG. Makes battles feel like a waste of time, in my opinion. If it's EXP in addition to battles, then stuff like quest completion, map exploration, opening chests, crafting etc would work well enough.

 

[Kristina]

My game's battle system is ABS and the player will earn exp by defeating them just in a different way. Instead of getting exp by only defeating enemies, you will get exp by defeating the area which includes the enemies.

That was the idea.

 

[RCXDan]

Deus Ex had an interesting take on out-of-combat EXP where you gained experience from discovering important areas or hidden areas. Made being thorough with exploration fun.

Plus generally I like it when you gain exp from completing mission objectives.

 

[ShadowDragon]

in my game, the actor dont earn exp or even level at all, you can only get stronger when
using the armor, combine for bonus att etc.

to get exp outside of battle, make some hidden area's, hidden objective to compleet
that can only be found to add to teh quest list, or find x hidden things in front or below
the player to pick up which can explore the area more for nice things.

there are alot of idea's that can be accomplish like found 5 chest, gain x exp,
do quests, map area completion (idea if you have fog of war for example) some have
it when you gain 90% of the map that is walkable, compleet that and the full map = 100%
to gain exp or item to use.

you just have to play around what fit nicely to your game.

 

[Kristina]

@RCXDan That was what I were thinking of, just completing the areas as well. I thought it could be an interesting way to gain the exp. There will be hidden areas where you will get exp just by finding them and also by finding certain items and more.

@ShadowDragon That sounds like a really cool way to earn exp.
Thanks for the many ideas! Glad that my idea wasn't silly, I will go down that road then.

 

[ShadowDragon]

there are more ways to earn exp like solving dungeon/cave puzzles,
or puzzle that is split inside that cave, there are many ways.

was your question for earning exp silly? maybe, that because there are silly peoples too ^^
there are so many ways to earn exp, and so many different methodes.

crazy ones for crazy peoples,
silly ones for silly peoples,
awesome ones for awesome peoples,
so many different ways, for so many different peoples,

a game is a game, silly or not, as long the player is happy, so are you =)
noone is perfect, make the exp curve you like, and people can give feedback
or suggestions to it so you can add or adjust so it still fit your game.

nothing is wrong or right, so dont worry to much on your idea's =)

 

[Kristina]

Well, I thought it might have been silly to not earn exp by defeating enemies alone, but I can see that it's not silly at all which makes me glad ^^

You're 100% right, thank you! ^o^

 

[Wavelength]

I think giving EXP (or just a straight Level Up) for completing each area is fine, and that works particularly well if the party only gets it once for each area and you have a compelling reason why you need to tightly control the party's power progression (rather than the looser, fuzzier control of giving EXP to enemies and not knowing how many enemies the player will fight).

However, remember that it's important to make each combat/each kill feel rewarding! EXP is one of the best ways that designers do this, because the player understands that gaining EXP puts them closer to the next level of power; the next unlocked ability; the next bit of progression. Taking that away means you need some other really good way to make each combat feel rewarding.

 

[Kristina]

Thank you for your insights. I believe that the combat/kill is rewarding enough. You do earn exp by defeating the enemies, just not by each kill but by completing the map which includes killing the enemies. Also, certain things happens after you kill and discover certain enemies and you get certain things as well.

So, I think the combat is rewarding enough.

 

[Wavelength]

Specifically speaking to that concept of 'rewarding' though - can you complete the map without killing all of the enemies? Might it be more worthwhile for people to just run through the map at breakneck pace rather than engage the enemies? And will players think "nice, I took out an enemy!" or will they think of it more like "well, at least that's out of the way, now to get back to what I wanted to do..."?

 

[Kristina]

No.
You can't complete the map 100% if you don't kill all the enemies. However, you will earn exp but it's not much compared to if you completed the map 100% and you often lose the opportunity to gain items because you often have to defeat all the enemies to get a key that gives you access to a room with items, weapons etc.

So no matter what you must kill all the enemies to complete the maps 100%. The items, weapons etc. you gain will help you on other maps and against other enemies, so it's definitely best to complete them.

 

[SpyreStudio]

For all of you who have enemies/monster battles but the player doesn't earn exp by defeating them....how do the player earn exp?

I've been thinking that they will earn exp by completing maps or areas, but that might be a silly idea?

If they're not earning XP from battles than they can earn XP from finding items, discovering secret pathways, walking around and exploring the environment with the 'Z' button... Etc, makes it easier to pay attention to the world around you. I see this a lot in JRPGs and in Dragon's Dogma. Things are just scattered around the world and they give you gold. You can throw items in there to reward exploration.

 

[Kristina]

Yes, I have made it so they can earn exp by exploring and discovering + completing maps and areas.