Why the useless skills?

[Reth]

Been playing Ultima for a little over a week now (still on my trial, but plan on gettung SA aafter it expires), and enjoying the game. The open ended sandbox approach is a nice change compared to todays MMO's that seem like a directed path to endgame.

The one thing that irks me about the game, though, is the fact the devs have useless skills. I read up on the game on UO Guide in my spare time or at work, and stumbled upon the page listing that Camping, Forensic Evaluation, and Taste Identification are basically all but useless, besides RPing purposes.

Have the devs shared any plans to revamp the skills to give them a purpose, or are they just there for the titles once you reach Grandmaster?

 

[Mirt]

Forensic now has a use. It is used to find who to return honesty items for. The others once had purposes, but for the most part those purposes have fallen off over time due to the nature of gaming changing. While I would suspect something could be done for at least taste id, it would take some good ideas to come up with camping, since its use is still there its just totally not needed anymore.

 

[Ned888]

I agree that there are 'useless' skills in game. They need to be given purpose though, not removed.

I posted some ideas about this in the past, but here are a few now:

Herding - combined with other skills to be used as a taunt ability (Tactic or Musicianship maybe).

Camping - Instant housing in the form of a tent. You get a tent and a single chest w/campfire and cookpot. The higher the skill the more storage and placeables you would have to display. You log off and it disappears but you can use the skill again in any open space to set up camp again.

Taste ID - This could be used like Eval INT or Armslore except for Cooking and Alchemy to improve the properties associated with your creations.

Stuff like that!

 

[Reth]

Yea, I'm all for adding purposes to the skills instead of getting rid of them too.

Seeing how they gave Forensics a use just 2 months ago makes me hopeful they're not going to leave the others useless either.

 

[Tina Small]

Camping is still useful, but it only seems to work if your character has no live pets out of the stable when the skill is used.

Fink from Oceania wrote up a very nice guide for camping, as well as a journal on gaining in the skill:

UO Stratics *New* | Camping

 

[virtualhabitat]

What's wrong with herding? I find it quite useful as a training tool in taming.

 

[Ned888]

What's wrong with herding? I find it quite useful as a training tool in taming.

Absolutely nothing! I actually think it's fun! I just think that it could be more useful and fill a role that is severely lacking in the game right now. There's no really reliable way to pull aggro while teaming that I can find. This would enhance an existing skill.

As far as the camping goes, it's useful too, but I think it would be more useful if it could do other things too. Housing can be expensive and a little camp/house wouldn't be too bad, right?

Just thinking is all.

 

[Podolak]

Been playing Ultima for a little over a week now (still on my trial, but plan on gettung SA aafter it expires), and enjoying the game. The open ended sandbox approach is a nice change compared to todays MMO's that seem like a directed path to endgame.

Are we all missing the underlying gem of this post? A new player!

 

[Mirt]

We do. Also herding has more uses then most people think. It can be used to move mobs. Camping well remember guys there are inns now so that is pretty low on the uses.

 

[virtualhabitat]

Absolutely nothing! I actually think it's fun! I just think that it could be more useful and fill a role that is severely lacking in the game right now. There's no really reliable way to pull aggro while teaming that I can find. This would enhance an existing skill.

As far as the camping goes, it's useful too, but I think it would be more useful if it could do other things too. Housing can be expensive and a little camp/house wouldn't be too bad, right?

Just thinking is all.

I agree, herding should enhance taming templates far more than it currently does. Indeed, as its name implies, herding should add extra stable slots as well as some limited protection from aggros.

 

[old gypsy]

I still use camping on one of my characters... it comes in handy when you're called away from the game and need to log out on your boat, for instance. Sure, I know we can recall, but I like the camping option.

 

[old gypsy]

Are we all missing the underlying gem of this post? A new player!

A true "rare"!

 

[Endrik]

Are we all missing the underlying gem of this post? A new player!

Sorry, I don't buy that for a second. Does anybody else actually believe this person has only been playing UO for about a week?

 

[PlayerSkillFTW]

I used to use Forensic Eval during PvP when i would take a screenshot, just to prove that i was the person that killed them.

 

[Reth]

Sorry, I don't buy that for a second. Does anybody else actually believe this person has only been playing UO for about a week?

The new player found a page called Useless Skills on UO Guide.

But yes, I am a new player. A little late to the game, but better than never

 

[AirmidCecht]

Welcome to UO and Stratics Reth. It is great to get unique feedback from a new player

I hope you add more as you travel Sosaria!

*packs a welcome basket for you*

 

[Mirt]

I used to use Forensic Eval during PvP when i would take a screenshot, just to prove that i was the person that killed them.

That one I never ever saw. At one point all these skills had a purpose. That has shifted with time. I would say though I would like to see Item Id tied in more with imbuing and add taste id with both cooking and alchemy. Maybe we could even have it bump up the effectiveness of pots and even apples.

 

[Espilce]

Thank you Devs!!! For improving fishing, cooking, and forensic evaluation. And thanks for giving us a reason to loot again.

As a skill hoarder, I would love for all of the useless skills to have a purpose.

I can see how taste id, cooking, and eating could be brought back. Starvation could result in regeneration loss. Require taste id to make the special ingredients required for fish pies. Chocolatiering could be used to make truffles.

Looking forward to the new publish.

Signed,

A Keeper of Souls

 

[Basara]

Herding can actually be used for PvP on Siege Perilous - you just got to get blue creatures to where reds are...

 

[pgib]

camping could be such a wonderful pvm skill. Light a fire with special wood/reagents and you get a resurrection point, a regenerative aura, a damaging effect, a monster-fleeing effect and so many more options... this game really needs more money, open the pocket EA!!!

 

[Nyses]

Herding can actually be used for PvP on Siege Perilous - you just got to get blue creatures to where reds are...

Yup, best use of the Herding skill I ever saw was on Siege. Someone had worked the Oaks Illsh spawn up to lvl 2, and herded about 50 Ki-Rins over to the Spirituality moongate. Was quite hillarious.

 

[Barok]

Herding is fun on a stealther.

 

[Mandrake of DF]

There are a lot of skills here that you could judge as 'useless' - but are they? They make the difference of the gameplay for many peoples, and are making UO what it is. A game with lots of sides, aspects and mix of skills and templates.

And - it also makes the difference for a lot of old timers like me, that managed to keep up with them since '97. So - I would not call the skills useless.

You've only played 14 days u said...ive played like 14 years...

But - sure, some skills are up for rework and better use.

I must say I like forensic, its nice to be a 'Detective'

 

[sablestorm]

I agree that there are 'useless' skills in game. They need to be given purpose though, not removed.

I posted some ideas about this in the past, but here are a few now:

Herding - combined with other skills to be used as a taunt ability (Tactic or Musicianship maybe).

Camping - Instant housing in the form of a tent. You get a tent and a single chest w/campfire and cookpot. The higher the skill the more storage and placeables you would have to display. You log off and it disappears but you can use the skill again in any open space to set up camp again.

Taste ID - This could be used like Eval INT or Armslore except for Cooking and Alchemy to improve the properties associated with your creations.

Stuff like that!

Herding is not a useless skill! It is probably the most underrated skill in the game insofar as fun is concerned.

 

[Petra Fyde]

I have had loads of fun with herding, but there's not much profit in it. Sadly lately it seems more people play for profit than fun.
I have taken left over champ spawn all over lost lands arranging 'surprises' for folk doing the champ spot run - never enough of them to present a real danger, just a bit of a 'wtf' moment. Taking a couple of Unicorns to the LL entrance of fire was the most challenging, they kept running off after the giant serps and toads in that bit of swamp I needed to cross.
Also had a group of champ hunters in Delucia totally mistified for some time herding a dozen rabbits around them in circles while in stealth - in rabbit form of course.
The herding essay on site is a travelogue, Heidi's Epic Journey

 

[Reth]

There are a lot of skills here that you could judge as 'useless' - but are they? They make the difference of the gameplay for many peoples, and are making UO what it is. A game with lots of sides, aspects and mix of skills and templates.

And - it also makes the difference for a lot of old timers like me, that managed to keep up with them since '97. So - I would not call the skills useless.

You've only played 14 days u said...ive played like 14 years...

But - sure, some skills are up for rework and better use.

I must say I like forensic, its nice to be a 'Detective'

Err, I'm not trying to bash the game or anything. I can see how all the skills were useful before and such, and I still see some fun creative ideas even though UO Guide labeled some of them as useless.

The only one skill that really doesn't have a use atm from what I could gather is Taste ID, and like a lot of people suggested it can easily be integrated into cooking like as a parent skill.

 

[Petra Fyde]

Taste id is used for identifying potions. If, for example, you had a part full keg of greater heal potions, then you looted some greater heal from someone/somewhere else. The game won't let you put them into the keg until you have 'identified' that they are indeed the same potion. Not wildly useful really, but that is its current use.

 

[Mirt]

Thank you Devs!!! For improving fishing, cooking, and forensic evaluation. And thanks for giving us a reason to loot again.

As a skill hoarder, I would love for all of the useless skills to have a purpose.

I can see how taste id, cooking, and eating could be brought back. Starvation could result in regeneration loss. Require taste id to make the special ingredients required for fish pies. Chocolatiering could be used to make truffles.

Looking forward to the new publish.

Signed,

A Keeper of Souls

Oh cooking still has its uses. There are apples and there are fish pies. I haven’t really seen the fish pies take off but many of them have oh so many uses. Maybe they could add taste id to the distilling and allow for new pots that have bonuses and negatives.

 

[Petra Fyde]

I've been cooking just today, I cooked up 400 bark fragments into wood pulp and then used an inscription alacrity while turning them into blank scrolls. No mana required so 12 full points of inscription gains.