My bread and butter for experience is influencing. I'm up to superego thanks to the 75 credits for playing during open beta. Influencing has taken me to level 68 so far with an experience gain on par with hunting the astral. Keep in mind though that I don't hunt astral as religiously as do some people *eye Kharvik* so I'm comparing a session of influencing with bashing on just one sphere until the node is at motes.

Some concerns I have about influencing are that you can't make any amount of money of note with influencing. Charity type methods usually result in the the denizen coming up emptyhanded and many denizens are resistant to charity "attacks" if not entirely immune. When they do give you some gold its never more than 100 pieces at a time. Also, as pertaining to karma if you bash you can offer the corpses for karma. If you influence, you just watch the karma drain away to maintain your blessing(s).

What do you think? Should charity methods result in a higher payout? Should there be a way to gain karma by influencing? What's been your general experience with the Influence skillset? What do you use it for primarily?

Aye, I was planning on making my living from influencing guards, and found the amount I got was not able to even pay for one bormide vial after I finished the entire city.

The higher up mobs should give out more money.
After all, your devoting an enitre skillset to JUST influencing. Unless your a guardian class, it really serves no other purpose.

Yes, give the same prizes for influencing as bashing.

Influencing is basically bashing for passive people and they amount the same things:

Bashing you die if you tackle someone who is too tough
Influencing you lose xp from influencing someone who is too tough

both loses xp.

So basically Influencing, say, Guards with charity should handout the same as killing the bugger.

Also, influencing should give you some (not much, maybe even less then offering) karma.

I want Critical Arguments.

Where I influence, I get 150-250 gold per mob. I have made well over 100k this way. I don't know what you're complaining about.

I haven't done much influencing, but whenever we are influencing for control, I usually end up getting killed by Elaria and Rhysus for standing around.

Daganev, were you looking dirt poor when you were begging?

I was naked.

Heh. Anyone able to confirm this? An Ur'guard without a uniform?

I do it in secret. WEll once I wasn't so secret cause I ran out of bromide... but normally I do it in secret.

Heh, undercover Daganev berating some poor orc to give him money, or he will leave his clothes off and prance around the village... When his commander strides in and watches from yesod...

Eesh, if I had to worry about bromide elixers then influencing wouldn't be worth it at all.

Wait...you're complaining that influencing sucks when you don't even use a bromide? That's like saying bashing is too hard because you don't use a health vial or wear armor.

I opened the topic by saying that influencing is what I do for experience. Never did I say it sucked or that it was bad. Influencing is almost the only thing I do. In fact, I've not complained about anything. Nor can your statement about bashing being too hard without health vials be accurately applied here because I said nothing about the "difficulty" of influencing without bromide. I had some perceptions about influence and wanted to know what others thought. Reading the original post may prevent you from making such misunderstandings in the future.

Sorry, I read that as a complaint. I was suggesting that if you used a bromide you could influence stronger things and get more money.

The strongest things I know of are guards, and they don't give more than 150. I got gold once every 7 guards.

I have gotten > 200 gold of the brothers in Tosha. I have gotten > 300 off of Queen Maeve back when I was Merian and could influence stronger things. I also get gold -much- more frequently than once per 7. I get it more than half the time I think. Its just a matter of finding the right things.

EDIT: With the screwy timing mechanics for the mobs questioning you, there is no way you should be influencing as a Tae'dae, or any race with an eq penalty.

I sip bromide every round, its not that hard. I have 18 charisma when I influence and have beutry regen.


If what your saying is true however, something needs to be changed because the ONLY benefit tae'dae have over igasho or the other tanky races is that they have high charisma.

Don't know if the change needs to be in influencing or in tae'dae but something needs to change.

The changes needs to be in the influencing, Daganev, because you're exactly right. (And yes, I am sayin' this 'cause Merian are better than Furrikin at influencing owing to the eq thing, but just ignore that. )