Sheriffs: Broken Risk VS. Reward Factor and How to Fix It

First of all, let me begin by saying that I don't believe that sheriffs have too good of gear. In my experience, we really don't. What is really broken is the risk vs. reward factor of the rogue system, whether attacking players or even riskier, sheriffs.

The problem here is not the rogue system itself. It's definitely a good addition to the game. You kill a player for their loot and you run the risk of dying to other players or being arrested by a sheriff. Here's the broken aspect of it. 90% of the time, you either die or are arrested by a sheriff. In my time as a sheriff, I have found that it is remarkably easy to arrest a rogue that isn't surrounded by an OP team. Rogue on the run? No problem. Sheriffs have faster horses. Rogue in a base? Usually not a problem. It's fairly easy to either arrest or kill the rogue, and if a sheriff dies, the entire sheriff team goes after the person. Going rogue simply isn't worth the risk. This can be solved in a few different ways.

1. No rogue trackers period.
This is not recommended. Rogues add an exciting element to the game for all non-rogues, and being able to track them is fun. This also makes it so there is virtually no risk in killing a player for their gear, shifting the risk/reward factor too far in favor of reward.

2. No rogue trackers for sheriffs.
Sheriffs usually take care of the rogues on the server. Unless @Dorfwag or @Gifd is online. :v But that's just the thing. Rogues run little risk from other players compared to the risk they run from sheriffs. The removal of the rogue tracker for sheriffs only wouldn't make sense either, because normal players would be more able to effectively fight crime than sheriffs. This also shifts the risk vs. reward factor too far in favor of reward.

3. Less rogue time.
This is a better idea than the two previous. This still shows where rogues are, but gives sheriffs and rogue hunters less time to arrest or kill the rogue. This would also probably be simple to code. How much time would it be lessened to? I was thinking instead of five minutes, it should be 3-3.5 minutes. This gives rogues more of a chance to run after killing someone. At a place such as coco base (which is extremely far away from where sheriffs spawn), this would probably be enough to make escape more feasible if the rogue runs. What about at places near towns? This is where the next idea comes in.

4. Bounty and rogue trackers would not track players in towns.
This would add a new, exciting factor to the game. Players could lay low in towns and hide from sheriffs. After going rogue, it would be a mad dash to the nearest town to lay low. This wouldn't be too OP for the player though, as sheriffs could still track them on they way there. It would also be fun for sheriffs to scour a town in search of a rogue. If this were implemented, rogues would be unable to tp while rogue, otherwise they could just tp into a town. As a sidenote, this would make robbing conductors more profitable should the players hide in town. The massive bounty that players receive make this risky enough.

EDIT: 18 brought up a great point that people would just log and be untrackable. Rogues would have to have something like a 30 second logger in towns for this to work.

If options 3 and 4 were implemented, it would solve the problem of a ton of sheriffs heading to the rogue who killed one of their comrades. The rogue and his team would actually have a chance, should they decide to make a run for it. BUT WAIT! There's more to come!

Say someone has an OP team and doesn't want to leave a base after killing a sheriff. What then? Well currently, they'll just be destroyed by the 2-4 sheriffs that come to avenge their fallen peer. They don't have much choice in the matter currently, since if they leave, they'll just be tracked down and killed. But if these ideas are implemented, they might have a chance. That being said, there is still little reward in killing a sheriff, and it is undoubtedly risky. But what if there was a reward other than the slight chance that you could keep your gear a little longer?

5. Sellable sheriff heads.
This would make killing sheriffs more desirable. Instead of being forced to run, perhaps teams might stick around and try to kill more? The heads would be worth 10-20k each and would be sold to the head hunter. A new blackmarket NPC could also be created. Located near the "secret dealers", this NPC would buy sheriff heads. Note that these NPCs would not be in bases, as this would make selling the heads too easy. There could also be an actual black market area seperate from rebel bases. You could sell all heads here for a better price as well as sell sheriff heads. Sheriffs could arrest you if you are caught inside of one however. Sheriff heads would not be sellable by sheriffs of course. They would instead disappear in their inventory. These would count as being illegal items, so players who possess them could be jailed if caught with one on them.

So what do you think? Would a 3-3.5 minute rogue time + tracking not functioning in towns + valuable sheriff heads solve the risk vs. reward dilemma with the rogue system? You tell me!

 

Essentially what Gehenna said. It's better to run after killing a sheriff. That is where a lower rogue timer and no tracking in towns comes in to ensure that it is not pointless.

 

Yes and no to both of these posts. Yes, sheriff horses are technically faster. No, because the difference is so minute, you can hardly see the difference.

 

That's true, it's very risky. I still believe that it is too risky to be profitable however.

This might work if there aren't sheriffs online. Essentially, you could run from wherever you are to a town and kill anyone who tries to stop you. You can wait your rogue timer out there, but what's the point if there are no sheriffs on? If there is more than one sheriff online, even the best teams are screwed if there is 3 or more sheriffs on. If there is two, they have a small chance of survival, but the sheriffs can keep coming back and keeping them rogue.

This is no fun at all. I mean, if you have no other option than to do this, I guess it could buy you some time. However, it sucks that you would have to quit to win and you are still rogue upon logging back in.

This is true, but it also implies that you are going to either die or be arrested. I'm thinking that it would be more fun if rogues had more of a chance of escape rather than cutting their losses one way or another.

Yes, this would definitely give people more incentive to stick around and fight (which they seem to do anyways).

This would make it easier for rogues to escape. However, this sounds a lot less exciting to both players and sheriffs. Less rogue time and no tracking in towns would provide the same benefits as this, but it would be far more exciting. In order to survive, rogues could ideally run away or try to seek sanctuary in a town. They would most likely be pursued when running, adding to the suspense of the game. In towns, it would essentially be a game of hide and seek. Sheriffs would go on a man-hunt (which seems very wildwest-ish to me) and scour the town, perhaps even enlisting the help of players. Both ways don't limit the action and suspense that would take place that a respawn timer would remove.

 

Pretty sure I knew this already. I'm also pretty sure that people don't want to logout to play a server. Feel free to kill people right before a reboot though. ;v