Equipment
Recently I spent a good chunk of time finalizing the equipment system. Equipment is an important element in RPGs - it allows you to customize the look and stats of your characters. I like how this empowers players to create even more unique set ups that fit their play style and preferred aesthetic.
Equipment in Sea Wolf: Tactics will consist of a Helm, Body Armor, Boot, Arm Ring, Weapon and Offhand Weapon/Shield. Currently any helm, body armor, boot, or arm ring can be warn by any character although that may change. The weapons that characters can wield are determined by each character - not their Class. I chose this direction because I think weapon choice is subjective and can help express a characters style. For example one Soldier Class character can wield Swords and Axes and Shields while another wields Axes and Hammers and Shields. There are currently over 100 unique weapons and equipment items with a lot more planned! Each weapon will have a unique combination of stats and some will even grant additional passive abilities like a sword that increases in damage as its wielder loses health.
You’ll find weapons at various shops, as loot after battles, in chests mid battle, in chests hidden around the over world or as rewards for completing quests.
Shops
Speaking of Shops, shops have gotten some recent attention as well. All items for sale at shops will be restocked at different rates. More powerful items won’t be stocked by shops until the player has progressed further in the game. Shops also have their own specialties - a peaceful wine merchant isn’t interested in buying weapons but will pay extra for luxuries like silk while the Bazaar, the center of trade for the entire Empire, will pay a fair price for just about anything.
Sometimes, Merchants will be unable to meet the local demand for a certain commodity and will ask for help in sourcing it, offering a handsome bonus in return.
Loot
Winning battles can be a great way to earn extra loot - from local commodities to gold and rare weapons and armor. I use two loot tables to determine what the player gets: a region specific loot table that is filled with items naturally found in that area and an enemy specific loot table which contains items that the enemies you just defeated might have on them. Tougher enemies have more rare loot - some of which you can only get through combat. Loot is picked from the loot tables using a series of random number “rolls”. The rolled number determines if common (50% chance), uncommon (10% chance), rare (5% chance) or very rare loot (1% chance) is awarded. The player can craft Upgrades at Campsites to permanently increase the number of rolls performed on loot tables. My goal is to tune the loot system so that the player is never required to farm much but is rewarded if they do.
Thanks for reading! Let me know in the comments if you have any questions or comments about the game - I’ll do my best to respond! Also, please wishlist Sea Wolf: Tactics if you haven’t already!
Cheers,
Brandt