A slight drifter nerf (ranged attack)

[Haruś]

I have played this game for some time already, and the thing that both me and my friends have complained a lot about is how accurate the drifter's rock throw is, wouldn't it be a bit fairer if their rock throws had at least a slight chance to miss the player? Getting sniped each time a new drifter wanders in while exploring caves is quite annoying.

[Omega Haxors]

Made more offensive by the fact YOUR shots can barely hit things at melee range yet they can consistently snipe you from outside of your light range.
The good news though is that you can basically nullify the shots with wood lammelar, just too bad it requires a rare resource to make the set.

Edited September 12, 2023 by Omega Haxors

[VaelophisNyx]

it doesn't help that the priority for rock tossing is also quite high, leading to any quantity of drifters above three becoming a firing squad

[Alan Blue]

Wild agreement.

Inside a lit fenced area, something like 20 squares from the drifters outside, pegged 100% while stationary.

Now. Start attempting to dodge. You can visually see the rock released, *move*, and still get hit. 

Barriers seem to allow some dodging.

[Thorfinn]

Sure, but you have poultices, they don't. I wouldn't in a million years consider trading benefits.

[Dra6o0n]

It's less about the situation and more on the logical mechanics of the drifter's rock throwing ability. Imagine 10 of them piled up at the bottom of a cliff and you above, you peek around the corner and you get nailed with 10 rocks, losing health consistently.

 

Someone should go into creative mode and spawn them to test out their rock throwing ability, lock them into a special platform where they can only shoot out of a hole.

Think minecraft arrow dispensers, except rocks.

Edited May 7 by Dra6o0n

[Silent Shadow]

A shield or wooden lamellar armor pretty much negates the damage from stones, and the friendly fire incites a lot of brawls. I don't know if they fixed it or not, but it doesn't seem that bad to me.

[Thorfinn]

Right, @Silent Shadow. It's trivially easy to get a group of them to attack each other.

And if there's a dozen drifters ahead, nothing says you can't just head another direction so they despawn. Not like they are going to give you any loot worth the risk. "Ooh, one flax!" Just choose your battles such that odds are ever in your favor.

"What if the only way out is through them?" Then putting yourself in that situation wasn't such a great idea. Learn from the experience. At least learn how to get them brawling amongst themselves.

Yeah, uncanny accuracy, I get it. So? Just accept that drifters have the "uncanny accuracy" trait, and figure out how to live with it. Or turn off drifters entirely. 

[LadyWYT]

I don't really mind the accuracy; I think it makes up for the drifters' lack of pathfinding ability. The rocks are usually how I figure out they're nearby in the first place, and as others have said, some armor or a shield renders a thrown rock ineffective. Healing items will fix whatever damage is sustained, provided you remembered to bring some.

One thing I do really like is the friendly fire mechanic. It's not only a handy way to deal with a lot of drifters at once, but it's also highly entertaining to watch!

[Thorfinn]

14 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

The rocks are usually how I figure out they're nearby in the first place

That is so true. Much better to hear a rock "thud" or or even get hit than getting surprise flank attacked and totally shred your health. Yeah, maybe hearing them coming would be better yet, but rocks are a great "tell"...

[Alan Blue]

How about this:

Instead of a *nerf*, how about rocks do *two* damage up close and personal, but one or zero at decent range or 'with dodging'. 

I don't mind the incidental hits, or the combat while spelunking. I mind how difficult it is to do anything useful that's less than "Full wall with pile of lanterns". It's perhaps my personal mild claustrophobia that I don't enjoy locking myself in a 3x3 instahut. Sure, it works. But I'd prefer more space. And if you go for "Fenced area" ... it's a mighty big fenced area - and now it's insufficiently lit. Until you can legitimately carry stacks of waterproof lighting. 

[Silent Shadow]

Sounds like your issue is with where they spawn, not with them throwing rocks. The best solution I have found is to subdivide your outside areas into smaller zones. You can open gates and doors, but drifters cannot, so they get stuck in one spot and you can just walk by them. For housing and workshops, I have found candles and oil lamps to be sufficient until I can get enough metal for lanterns. If you want large open rooms, then the candelabra is pretty good and somewhat affordable.