Potion Improvements
Potions are all-around problematic in UO right now. This proposal just deals with a couple of elements.
- Limited use of refresh potions through hangover effects:
First and foremost, potions that "restore" a stat (like total refresh
restores stamina) should be changed so that they do not have an instant effect
(instantly restore all stamina, for example), but instead should give a partial
effect (restore only some of your stamina), and then modify your underlying
regeneration rates (such as boosting stamina regen by +6). But once the potion
wears off, there should be a negative impact on your regeneration rates, as
you suffer the hangover effect from the magic elixer. As another example, a
lesser heal potion might restore five HP of health and increase the natural
hp regen rate by +2, while a greater heal potion might restore 20 HP and increase
regen by +6.
In this model, you can use the potions to boost your natural capabilities, but will pay a significant price if you try to depend on them too greatly. This is the cost/reward equation: if you really need it you can get the desired effects, but there is a penalty for it so don't use it all the time.
Once the regenerative effects wore off (after two minutes, for example), you should get a hangover effect that slows regenerative rate by some percentage. Like, after the +6 HP regen effect wore off, you'd get a penalty of -3 HP regen rate, and which lasted for the same amount of time as the benefit.
Characters can only consume a single potion of a specific type (ie, health) while the positive effects are in place. However, another potion of the same type can be consumed by while the negative effects are active. For example, if you drink a greater heal potion and the positive effect wears off (putting you into the -3 HP regen window), you can drink another greater heal potion, but it's effect will combine with the existing negative (producing (+6 + -3) = +3 regen, until the first potions negative effect wears off.
Greater cure potions should raise the character's resistance to poison damage for the duration of the effect, but then make the player more succeptible to subsequent attack by lowering their natural resistance [see the poisoning essay for more information].
In order to make this consistent, there needs to be a third kind of stamina refresh potion added (a lesser refresh, if you will). Mana refresh potions should also be added that follow these same kinds of rules. - Allow potions to be used with two-handed weapons:
Currently potions are not available to players that use two-handed weapons.
This includes archers most noticably, but also includes samurai (who are forced
to use two-handed weaps for defensive moves), and players that like to use
two-handed weaps for the heavy hitting. Two-handed weaps already suffer several
other penalties (fewer HCI/DCI/FC slots, less luck, etc), and they do not have
any significant defensive advantage over one-handed weapons alone (those advantages,
where they exist, come from the skill system, not the weapons system). The
lack of access to potions is unncessary and redundant. This should be changed.
However, in order to maintain some balance with parry warriors that cannot use a potion with both hands full, using a potion with a two-hander should essentially cause the player character to "drop out of combat". More specifically, the character has to free a hand to drink a potion, so they should effective pop out of war mode, drink the pot, and then go back into war mode. This can be achieved by simply setting the immediate swing timer to the equip delay whenever a potion is used with a two-handed weapon, thus causing them to suffer the weapon equip delay after each use. During that time they would still have defensive capabilities inherent in their weapon skill, but would not be able to dish any damage until the swing delay was consumed. - Skill realignment and recycling (ie, chemical reduction):
The alchemy skill system is different from the other crafts in that there is
no "exceptional" basis for potions. Instead, players have the choice
of creating the different strengths, and they either succeed or fail catastrophically.
This should be brought into alignment with other crafting types. For example,
there should not be a "lesser" or "greater"
potion crafting option, but instead players should simply try to create the
potion. If it comes out exceptional, then it is "greater" by nature.
If it is weak, it comes out "lesser".
If a player has failed to produce an exceptional potion, it should also be possible to apply the "recycling" logic to the result, using the alchemy metaphor of chemical reduction. In this model, a lesser potion is put on flame and the mixture is reduced to a stronger variety, but there is less of it. In this way, it would be possible to do something like combine three lesser heal potions into a single greater heal potion, or combine two normal heal potions into a single greater heal potion.
This would make the skill more interesting, although I can easily image significant opposition to such a radical change. I don't expect this to ever happen.
There are more ideas here, and I am glad that UO developers have expanded alchemy over the past couple of years with features such as enhancement jewelry, alchy bonuses and new potions. However, the above changes would significantly improve the way potions are used in combat systems (excepting the reduction change, which has nothing to do with combat).