are heat seeking explosion pots on this server because when i played uo back in the day people didnt use this tactic and it really turns me off
Not really. Targetting them takes some finesse but they aren't as overpowered or insane as they were in the early days on the shard.
To Clarify, potions can be tossed at a moving target, such as a player, and they will be sent to the tile the player is standing on when the targeting took place. A player, mounted and on the run, will require practiced skill to hit with an explosion potion. The timing has to be just right for the splash damage to hit a moving target. I'm not sure what your definition of heat seeking is, but the staff feels that purple potions on UO:R are well balanced and reward a players skill in their use. However you will not hit a moving target 100% of the time in any situation. And only 50% of the time with lots of practice.
The timing does not have to be right if you just set a razor macro to do it perfectly everytime. The only way to combat this is to code purple pots to have a random visible countdown timer each time. from 3-5 seconds. When the timer is the same everytime you can put static pauses in your razor macros that allow you to dclick the pot, X out of the target cast a spell and dclick again at the right time and send it on its way. No skill involved whatsoever, and a huge lowering of the skill ceiling. Agree with OP, static timers on purple pots are a bad thing.
I'm not going to say I don't believe its possible to make a macro to work here - but the timers are no longer static as you think that they are. There was a time when I had a macro that would do what you described so that I could throw them in the middle of spell combos and still never miss, but there have been changes to the mechanic. Now I have to throw them by hand.
The timer is random enough to mess up a macro, but the visual timer that you see count down on screen appears the same. However it is not.
I have spent YEARS perfecting the use of explo pots in my spell combos as well as chasing people down with them. The section of the above quote that I placed in bold is exactly what prevents them from being overpowered. Basically, if you have the best timer (macro or not), and have practiced for hours trying to get the timer down to a T, you will NEVER be able to hit someone 100% of the time on the run. As the quote above states by Chris, you can only hit 50% of the time and that is if you are throwing them perfectly. Personally, I don't use a macro to toss them, I throw by hand because I find it much more efficient than a macro that is subject to errors. However, if you are standing on screen with me while I am dumping a spell combo on you while tossing pots, I assure you i'm going to hit you with my pot every single time. The staff here has implemented a system for purple potions that a) puts a reasonable damage cap on the explosion pot damage which doesn't allow for a damage bonus from the alchemy skill, and b) generates a random timer that will never allow you to "heat seak" zerg someone who is mounted and on the run 100% of the time. After spending a few months on the field since my return I would say they are as balanced as I have ever seen on any server.
I'd also like to toss (lol) my newbie two cents in again. I just recently added purple potions to my combat characters. I don't know that I'll ever even attempt to use a macro for them and after what Mandevu just said, I'm even more certain I won't. I've been practicing and getting better at my personal timing and trying to get them to pop at the right time. Sure, they blow up in my face some times, but other times it's the only way I can finish the job on my non-Eval pvp chars. I put Use Explosion Potion on mouse wheel down with Last Target on mouse wheel up. I'm a terrible mage so 'using' things and 'targetting' is still something I need a ton of practice with. I can say however, that since the last changes to pots, I have been machine-gunned far less by them, and feel that it's not so easy for three newbie chars to fill up with purps and just turret someone down with ease. Whatever, I'm rambling. UO:R FTMFW, that is all.
As a new player to the server, I noticed that everyone is blowing themselves up with their own pots. So, uh, thanks? It either works pretty good at preventing overuse of this item, or you guys are just really bad at the game.
There is nothing wrong with hiding or archery. In fact both are gimping yourself imo for pvp. So acting like someone is crutching on a bad weapon skill, and a bad defensive skill is kind of ridiculous. I also Assume 20.1 tracking works here... Also do purple potions hit blues in town here? I sure hope so.
Depending on your style of pvp, they could be considered gimp but not for a sneak attack on the unsuspecting. Not all PvP is arranged duels with even footing. 20.1 Tracking should work.....for players not hiding, within 20 tiles, ish. Purples do not reveal hiders but they will definitely get you whacked in town if you hit the innocent.
I think he was saying that hes bad for choosing a gimp skill. Also tracking sucks unless your GM (in my experience). If you have 30-40 tracking it is okay if you only trying to track up to a screen away or so. Purples hit any and everything in their explosion radius, including blues, pets, monsters, etc.
Yes...my point was a hiding archer is not going to be killing anyone worthwhile unless they have a lot of help from other players. Also quite willing to put my money where my mouth is so to speak.
