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Identification reform:
In my more frustrated moments, I've sometimes wished to do away with the identification mechanic altogether. It really is an incredible hassle at times, especially early on for most classes. Those painful early levels have gotten much better with the development of ID by use, but the incentive for using it lasts only so long as identification is relatively costly, which isn't long.
I don't want to get rid of identification completely, as it can still be a source of fun. Who doesn't get a thrill at finding a scroll titled 'gnarf sheeb' thousands of feet down? Or an unknown potion around 1700 feet? Or seeing a 'splendid' or 'special' pseudo ID? The thrill of the mysterious and unexpected is my primary reason for wanting identification around. It's fun to encounter something new and think "What's that?" Also, it does add to the challenges of inventory and gold management, though in a trivial way for much of the game.
What makes me call for a reform is the sheer tedium of it all, especially in the late game where, for every class, the ID mechanic boils down to (at least) an extra keystroke for almost every bit of loot you find. No strategy, no decision making, no challenge, no worries about cost, nothing but a bunch of extra time and keystrokes. And if you're a warrior without a huge stack of Rods of Identify, life sucks.
To put it simply, I want to spend my time finding and earning loot, not pondering it. It seems ridiculous that a battle against a swarm of ancient dragons could take far less time and fewer keystrokes than simply discovering what it was that they were all carrying.
So with the goals of retaining the joy of discovery and simultaneously eliminating tedium, I have a few possible reforms. All of these apply to gear, not potions and wands and the like.
1) Instantly ID everything you walk over except for artifacts. When an artifact is encountered, give it a flavored description. For example, "You see a beautifully-wrought dagger." Or "You see a set of steel gauntlets glowing with power." Maybe tailor the flavor descriptions based on random flags of the item, so Ringil might get described as "a fine, icy longsword." This is the most drastic of my proposed changes, but I think it would actually enhance the joy of discovery in many cases. Hammering your ID macro over a stack of dragon loot and then sifting through it to find an artifact is a nice surprise, but I don't think it compares to seeing the inscription {special} appear on an item in your inventory. Looking at a pile of freshly dropped loot and seeing an Exquisitely-Fashioned Set of Leather Boots would produce a similar feeling, I think.
2) Instantly ID things as described above, but only things of a certain power compared to your experience or level. Starting characters only know about completely non-magical items, level 50 characters recognize everything but artifacts. Never insta-ID artifacts, instead treating them as in suggestion 1. Tune things so that encountering unidentified items is still fairly rare, at least enough to keep the thrill of discovery.
3) Instantly ID average and good weapons and armor, but make ego item ID work like ID with potions and wands and things. You find one holy avenger, you'll recognize another when you see it. Keep artifact ID as in suggestions 1 and 2. Throughout the game, encountering unIDed items remains rare and exciting.
I realize that all of these changes are probably too radical for Vanilla, but I would marry any variant that adopted one of them.
In my more frustrated moments, I've sometimes wished to do away with the identification mechanic altogether. It really is an incredible hassle at times, especially early on for most classes. Those painful early levels have gotten much better with the development of ID by use, but the incentive for using it lasts only so long as identification is relatively costly, which isn't long.
I don't want to get rid of identification completely, as it can still be a source of fun. Who doesn't get a thrill at finding a scroll titled 'gnarf sheeb' thousands of feet down? Or an unknown potion around 1700 feet? Or seeing a 'splendid' or 'special' pseudo ID? The thrill of the mysterious and unexpected is my primary reason for wanting identification around. It's fun to encounter something new and think "What's that?" Also, it does add to the challenges of inventory and gold management, though in a trivial way for much of the game.
What makes me call for a reform is the sheer tedium of it all, especially in the late game where, for every class, the ID mechanic boils down to (at least) an extra keystroke for almost every bit of loot you find. No strategy, no decision making, no challenge, no worries about cost, nothing but a bunch of extra time and keystrokes. And if you're a warrior without a huge stack of Rods of Identify, life sucks.
To put it simply, I want to spend my time finding and earning loot, not pondering it. It seems ridiculous that a battle against a swarm of ancient dragons could take far less time and fewer keystrokes than simply discovering what it was that they were all carrying.
So with the goals of retaining the joy of discovery and simultaneously eliminating tedium, I have a few possible reforms. All of these apply to gear, not potions and wands and the like.
1) Instantly ID everything you walk over except for artifacts. When an artifact is encountered, give it a flavored description. For example, "You see a beautifully-wrought dagger." Or "You see a set of steel gauntlets glowing with power." Maybe tailor the flavor descriptions based on random flags of the item, so Ringil might get described as "a fine, icy longsword." This is the most drastic of my proposed changes, but I think it would actually enhance the joy of discovery in many cases. Hammering your ID macro over a stack of dragon loot and then sifting through it to find an artifact is a nice surprise, but I don't think it compares to seeing the inscription {special} appear on an item in your inventory. Looking at a pile of freshly dropped loot and seeing an Exquisitely-Fashioned Set of Leather Boots would produce a similar feeling, I think.
2) Instantly ID things as described above, but only things of a certain power compared to your experience or level. Starting characters only know about completely non-magical items, level 50 characters recognize everything but artifacts. Never insta-ID artifacts, instead treating them as in suggestion 1. Tune things so that encountering unidentified items is still fairly rare, at least enough to keep the thrill of discovery.
3) Instantly ID average and good weapons and armor, but make ego item ID work like ID with potions and wands and things. You find one holy avenger, you'll recognize another when you see it. Keep artifact ID as in suggestions 1 and 2. Throughout the game, encountering unIDed items remains rare and exciting.
I realize that all of these changes are probably too radical for Vanilla, but I would marry any variant that adopted one of them.
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