Chapter 778: Farming the Dungeon
The players were all exploring Stormwind City while trying to talk to various NPCs, searching the entire city for hidden quests.
Class quests, for example, were trigger-based. You had to meet certain conditions and encounter a specific NPC to activate them.
Beyond that, the players also found many other activities. For instance, after learning the fishing skill from the fishing trainer, they could fish in the canals of Stormwind City, and the fish they caught could be sold for money.
There were also some simple errand quests. For example, a certain NPC needed a specific material. As long as the player bought that material from a designated merchant and handed it over, they would receive a fixed amount of compensation.
If all else failed, players could also learn skinning, go to the gates of Stormwind City to kill a few wild boars, and sell the leather for money.
Of course, wealthy players definitely couldn't tolerate this kind of earning speed. Making a few copper coins at a time was just too inefficient.
But after searching repeatedly, they discovered that there really was no top-up window here...
Obviously, the Stormwind City created by Chen Mo was essentially a small module attached to "Seaside Mansion." Its main purpose was for players to sightsee. Both the economic system and the combat system were still at a very rudimentary stage, serving only as a bonus feature.
Furthermore, players didn't have levels or experience points. Everyone was the same level with the same combat capabilities. Defeating monsters didn't grant levels, nor could they upgrade attributes or skills.
As for making money, it did have some use. You could buy slightly better equipment, purchase small toys, or drink at the tavern. But at most, a few dozen gold coins would let you play quite comfortably.
However, many players were still quite competitive. Although Chen Mo had almost explicitly stated that gold coins didn't have much use for now, plenty of players still treated it like a serious game...
Soon, the players compiled a fairly detailed money-making guide.
Currently, there were many profession trainers in Stormwind City, but many of them couldn't trigger quests to learn their skills. In other words, only a portion was available, including: Skinning, Mining, Leatherworking, Tailoring, Blacksmithing, Fishing, and Cooking.
The first three were gathering professions, but Skinning was clearly more worthwhile. Outside Stormwind City, there was a small forest where many wild boars respawned regularly, making leather production relatively stable. Mining was more luck-based, but ore prices were high, and self-forged weapons were much cheaper than store-bought ones, so finding ore was very profitable.
Blacksmithing, Leatherworking, and Tailoring could produce mail, leather, and cloth armor respectively. Aside from dungeon drops, the highest-tier armor players could currently obtain was crafted. It was better quality than store-bought and more affordable, provided you had enough materials.
Cooking could grant players special buffs, so some food items sold well.
Fishing was the most stable source of income. After all, Skinning depended on the respawn rate of boars in the forest, while Fishing only required sitting by the canal for steady production.
Although the quality of fish caught varied, overall, the income was relatively stable.
Apart from these, players could also earn money through various errand quests or special quests. Some had prerequisites, while others didn't. For example, one errand quest required players to front 2 gold coins themselves before they could accept it, but the reward upon completion was very generous.
Beyond all that, the most stable source of income was farming dungeons.
Yes, Stormwind City wasn't just for sightseeing; you could also fight. Otherwise, the combat system Chen Mo built would be wasted. It couldn't just be used for players to duel each other, could it?
By the canal next to the Mage District, there was a heavily guarded prison. Warden Selworth was recruiting brave adventurers to delve into the prison and suppress a riot among the inmates. Killing the mobs and bosses inside could drop equipment, money, and cloth, which was very appealing to players.
However, most players cried foul after trying the difficulty...
Since the current combat system was essentially the same as "Dark Souls," only with added special class skills, dungeon runs were a relatively high-difficulty challenge.
There weren't many restrictions on class composition. If all five players were confident in their skills, they could run the dungeon with five Rogues or five Mages, as long as they didn't get hit by the boss. If they lacked confidence, they'd better bring a Warrior and a Priest to at least struggle a bit before dying.
Many players tried running this dungeon and got utterly wrecked.
But this didn't dampen their enthusiasm; if anything, it made them more determined...
Some veteran "Dark Souls" players, in particular, rediscovered the thrill of the original "Prepare to Die" mode. They excitedly contacted the "Sun Bros" from their old boss-fighting groups and threw themselves into the Stormwind City prison progression runs.
In the prison dungeon, even these players, who had suffered thousands of deaths in "Dark Souls," didn't have an easy time clearing it. They found that the playstyle of the Stormwind City prison wasn't entirely the same as "Dark Souls."
In "Dark Souls," many mobs were mindless undead who had lost their sanity to some degree. Luring one over usually wouldn't aggro others.
But the mobs in this world were different. These prisoners were very intelligent, and different mobs had different aggro ranges and attack tendencies. Some prisoners were especially alert; as soon as a player entered their line of sight, they would immediately rush over to attack, potentially pulling other mobs along with them.
Some mobs even patrolled around, ready to cause trouble at any moment.
Fortunately, there were many guards in the prison fighting alongside the prisoners. Otherwise, relying solely on the player's five-man team, they really couldn't handle so many rioting inmates...
Under these circumstances, clearing the dungeon required not only good combat skills but also some strategy. Even if players played well, if they aggroed too many mobs, they would inevitably get swarmed and have to GG.
Moreover, each time players entered the dungeon, there was a certain randomness. The distribution of guards and prisoners changed, making it impossible to clear the dungeon with a fixed route.
Many players shared their insights during progression, such as helping the guards as much as possible or pulling mobs according to certain internal rules.
And even if they got past the mobs, they still had to face the boss...
The bosses here were designed with the same difficulty as "Dark Souls," and their AI was set to be quite high. If players made even one mistake, they would wipe.
[Reminder: Your output must contain ZERO Chinese characters. Translate or transliterate everything.]