Visibility Range vs. Experience per Kill

[essjayehm 58]

So, I remember that someone mentioned that having visibility range increasers, increases the # of enemies that spawn. I guess I've never noticed this before, so I gave it a whirl this week.

 

Wow....

 

Seriously, I am now debating wether socketing Visibility range is more effective as a way to gain levels quickly. Obviously, this is for an Area of Effect-style character that is slaughtering mobs 20-30 at a time... but I think I may have a valid point here.

 

Does anyone know/think they know the rate of extra spawnage for X visibility range socketed? We can get a reasonable comparison so that if, say 25% more monsters spawn with +25% visibility range, then we would need +25% experience per kill to get the same "bang for our socket". But, if 50% more monsters spawn with 25% vis. range, then we'd need +50% experience per kill, a huge difference in socketing!

 

 

Ready..... FIGHT!

[Llama8 8]

I think that Sacred 2 spawns the monsters at the relevant density, so you're not getting "additional" monsters, you're just getting them "sooner". Sacred 2 normally spawns monsters in a radius around the character a bit beyond your visibility/FoW radius to give the illusion of being in a world full of monsters while keeping the number of stuff it has to keep track of down. Since your mini-map vision radius increases with +VR, Sacred 2 spawns the monsters in a larger area but I don't think it'll spawn more than you would have got had you run in the relevant direction anyway.

 

Having a high VR is convenient/more efficient since it'll show you where the larger mobs are & you can run towards them rather than having to hunt round for them. It also increses your MF as well.

[colif 36]

As llama says, its useful to see what is around and just attack the champions. I would have a mix of both or just use a VR suit to run around edges of map expanding as much as possible to extend your mf and then swap to experience gear. I normally don't have enough of both types to have 2 suits in 1 difficulty.

[locolagarto 15]

I Remember it was Woody that introduced me to this idea in his level 200 temple guardian build. I have not really tested it yet. But perhaps you could give more detail of what you witnessed from your test. Do you think the density of monsters is greater or just the Radius of your view?

[Woody 24]

Pics are better than 1000 words ^^

 

 

Pic 1 : region spawned with 82% VR

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/3750/cartevr1.png

 

5+3+6+4+2+4 = 24

 

 

Pic 2 : region spawned with 0% VR - then used 82% VR to see how many ennemies was there

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/3835/cartevf2.png

 

6+4+4+2+1 = 17

Edited June 23, 2010 by Woody

[Dobster 39]

Sorry Woody but I'm still unsure about this even with the pics

 

Surely this would need testing over larger number of spawns because I thought that spawns are not the same amount every time you join a server?

 

If you joined a server with 0%VR multiple times wouldn't you get similar random results?

Edited June 23, 2010 by Dobster

[Llama8 8]

Yeah, I've seen a large number of spawns before (especially with Kobolds) without VR & I've seen low spawns with VR (~400%). I don't think that there are any mods in Sacred 2 that increase monster density (& I've seen Ascaron's mod spreadsheet).

[Dragon Brother 619]

And ive seen that area with at least 20 kobolds before and I never socket visiblity...you can get 4 or 5 mobs of them and a champ their easily.

[gogoblender 3,072]

I actually never thought of that mod as "spawning" or "creating" "more" enemies. I'd always thought that the enemies were already pre calculated to be there when we encountered them. I just always thought the visibility mod just gave us a bigger view of the mobs around us.

 

When I used to level with Barristan and a few others on the servers... there was this one dude who had really wicked visibility PLUS speed built into one slot.

 

He was scout for us where we would lay firetraps for mobs. Teh "scout" would run all over the place picking up mobs..his speed was blurring, his eyesight could see far far...

 

He would herd, and drive mobs into where we would await them crouched with firepower...or sometimes, and this was very exciting...we'd run along beside the scout, as he was picking up monsters in the swamp... while we would criss cross to further extend the agro.

 

When ever we'd brake to a stop and all start firing together into center space...

 

Magnificent.

 

 

gogo

[essjayehm 58]

Great examples, Woody! Thanks for that!

 

I am pretty convinced of this now... the consistent large mobs of enemies for the first 20 levels of my new toon really have me believing in this. With the previous Inquisitor, the Human lands were mostly barren, getting at most 5 humans to cluster together.. but now I have no troubles getting 8 or 10 to smash together, and I am casting Clustering more often (it "feels" more often, for sure).

 

I thought maybe the topic may interest some PC'ers, since your experience per kill from equipment does not interact correctly with the hero statues and mentor potions... I really wasn't thinking of starting some deep discussion/testing/whatever, but just as a thought since I started my new toon and have had VR up at 50% or so the whole time. I truly believe I am levelling faster than I have in the past, when I was socketing experience per kill rather than visibility range. It could just be me, of course!

[Bleak_Advent 1]

Great examples, Woody! Thanks for that!

 

I am pretty convinced of this now... the consistent large mobs of enemies for the first 20 levels of my new toon really have me believing in this. With the previous Inquisitor, the Human lands were mostly barren, getting at most 5 humans to cluster together.. but now I have no troubles getting 8 or 10 to smash together, and I am casting Clustering more often (it "feels" more often, for sure).

 

I thought maybe the topic may interest some PC'ers, since your experience per kill from equipment does not interact correctly with the hero statues and mentor potions... I really wasn't thinking of starting some deep discussion/testing/whatever, but just as a thought since I started my new toon and have had VR up at 50% or so the whole time. I truly believe I am levelling faster than I have in the past, when I was socketing experience per kill rather than visibility range. It could just be me, of course!

 

Even if the perceived result is not the case in reality, VR is still extremely useful for gathering mobs for the slaugh...err...cake!

[dreeft 9]

Even if the perceived result is not the case in reality, VR is still extremely useful for gathering mobs for the slaugh...err...cake!

mmm.. slaughter cake*

 

*warning, link is kind of creepy!

[Bleak_Advent 1]

Even if the perceived result is not the case in reality, VR is still extremely useful for gathering mobs for the slaugh...err...cake!

mmm.. slaughter cake*

 

*warning, link is kind of creepy!

 

It does exist!

[Llama8 8]

I really wasn't thinking of starting some deep discussion/testing/whatever, but just as a thought since I started my new toon and have had VR up at 50% or so the whole time. I truly believe I am levelling faster than I have in the past, when I was socketing experience per kill rather than visibility range. It could just be me, of course!

You think you're seen more monsters spawned with VR since you're seeing further & are able to head for the larger mobs rather than individual monsters. You are killing more monsters per hour (which results in faster levelling) because you're able to take a more direct line towards the larger mobs rather than finding them "randomly".

[essjayehm 58]

I really wasn't thinking of starting some deep discussion/testing/whatever, but just as a thought since I started my new toon and have had VR up at 50% or so the whole time. I truly believe I am levelling faster than I have in the past, when I was socketing experience per kill rather than visibility range. It could just be me, of course!

You think you're seen more monsters spawned with VR since you're seeing further & are able to head for the larger mobs rather than individual monsters. You are killing more monsters per hour (which results in faster levelling) because you're able to take a more direct line towards the larger mobs rather than finding them "randomly".

I do not discount this fact... but I still truly believe that the # of monsters is higher. If you're sure I'm wrong, that's OK... I typically live in my own little world anyway. I like it here. It's warm

 

Settled. It's just me!

[Llama8 8]

I do not discount this fact... but I still truly believe that the # of monsters is higher. If you're sure I'm wrong, that's OK... I typically live in my own little world anyway. I like it here. It's warm

 

Settled. It's just me!

 

As a function of time the number of monsters you're killing is higher, but it's because you're able to make better decisions (run over there towards that large mob, rather than run aimlessly around hoping to find a large mob) not because Sacred 2 is spawning a higher monster density.

[gogoblender 3,072]

As a function of time the number of monsters you're killing is higher, but it's because you're able to make better decisions (run over there towards that large mob, rather than run aimlessly around hoping to find a large mob) not because Sacred 2 is spawning a higher monster density.

 

 

I'm sure this is exactly it. I can't see a mod as just creating more monsters when it's name visibility implies a easier explanation.

 

occam's razor

 

 

 

gogo