Thanatos Ks & Suggestions

[Meka Meka]

I know this may seem a bit trivial, since the usual prescribed way of acquiring a Thanatos card is to save up tokens and pay for it, but please hear me out. This represents players (past, present and future players) who are dedicated to hunting thana, and creating a fair ground to play on. So please, before you respond by telling thana hunters to just save up for it, or that it isn't a worthy cause because the drop rate is so low anyways, please realize that thana_boss is a highly active map, and regularly hunted/camped etc by many players.

Thana KS is against the rules. According to the rules it (and summon KSing in general) is a punishable offense.

Proving Thana KS isn't a well documented process, but as it officially stands according to the GMs, the requirements for proving a KS are

• At least 3 Screenshots of placing the fragments
• 1 Screenshot of the actual KS with offender's IGN

The Problems with preparing Evidence (Screenshots)

For people that hunt thana regularly know that it can be a tedious process in and of itself. Now, I'm not comparing it to the Frigg's quest by any means, but when you add up the time invested for hunting fragments and waiting for the next spawn, it constitutes a good chunk of time spent, and a frustrating inconvenience when a KS happens (especially if it's a repeat). Asking for 4 screenshots per thana kill, in my opinion is impractical (even if it is necessary). You need 4 clear screenshots per summon, after which you need to file a ticket that queues into the GM's busy schedule. That's a lot of work that I believe doesn't favor the victim. And realistically, the only time that a player is likely to do this is if they've already been KS'd and are expecting another one to follow.

The Problems with KS Punishment

The first offense, according to the rules, is 2 hours jail time if the results of the investigation of the evidence prove to be correct. This of course, comes with the return of the rare dropped item, should it be found that it's in the offender's inventory (and not already traded off to another account). This also assumes that this ticket/investigation corresponds to this particular KS, and this KS ONLY. For reasons stated above, it's likely that a KS could have already occurred, and a potential drop already lost. After the offender's 2 hours jail time has expired, there's still not much in the way of a serious reinforcement of the rules, as the punishment simply increases the amount of jail time. No real incentive NOT to continue KSing.

Possible Solutions

I believe there's ample opportunity for KSers at thana_boss, and little in the way to discourage them from continuing to do so, as well as a system that doesn't really help the victim, but almost punishes them for attempting to report. Here are some possible solutions, in order of ease [to implement]:

Increase the severity of the punishment for a confirmed summon KS

Right now, the punishment is too light, and discourages players from even attempting to seek justice, while KSers simply laugh at the very idea of getting caught, because they know they can do it again. I would suggest, that upon discovery of a guilty party via evidence submitted through the ticket system, the first offense yields 1 week ban. The next offense yields 1 month ban. And the third offense a permanent ban. If we really care about players having the ability to own their own summon, I don't think this suggestion should be that disagreeable. Any other suggestions?

Creation of a gateway NPC to thana_boss

This NPC would function similarly to the event NPC, and acts as the only gateway into thana_boss. Thana map would need to be locked, and un-warpable. The requirements to use the NPC would be that the cooldown has completed, and the player has at least 1 of each of the 4 fragments. The NPC then warps the player to the map, where they (and their party) can summon thana (in a fashion similar to Endless Tower). The map itself is given a timeout, or basically a reasonable amount of time that anyone could be expected to kill Thanatos (it usually only takes seconds, which is why KS happens so frequently). After the timeout, the players are warped out of the map, and the cooldown timer starts again, and the NPC is not able to warp a party until the 2 hours is reached again. The last part is to prevent griefers from AFKing inside the map, and to ensure autonomy.

Change the requirements for evidence

I do think that the evidence required to prove a thana KS is sufficient, but again, as for reasons stated above it's not the easiest chore, especially when taking a screenshot can lag your computer for a second, and you're trying to deal with that and the KSer(s) at the same time. If anyone has any suggestion on this, please share.

And any other suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

:EDIT: Modified my thoughts on solutions and fixed grammar.

Edited August 23, 2011 by Meka Meka

[Seraphine]

Change the requirements for evidence

I do think that the evidence required to prove a thana KS is sufficient, but again, as for reasons stated above it's not the easiest chore, especially when taking a screenshot can lag your computer for a second, and you're trying to deal with that and the KSer(s) at the same time. If anyone has any suggestion on this, please share.

I don't think anything can be done about this really theirs no other way for us to verify if it's a legit summon by them or not however i think this is a good idea:

Creation of a gateway NPC to thana_boss

This NPC would function similarly to the event NPC, and acts as the only gateway into thana_boss. Thana map would need to be locked, and un-warpable. The requirements to use the NPC would be that the cooldown has completed, and the player has at least 1 of each of the 4 fragments. The NPC then warps the player to the map, where they (and their party) can summon thana (in a fashion similar to Endless Tower). The map itself is given a timeout, or basically a reasonable amount of time that anyone could be expected to kill Thanatos (it usually only takes seconds, which is why KS happens so frequently). After the timeout, the players are warped out of the map, and the cooldown timer starts again, and the NPC is not able to warp a party until the 2 hours is reached again. The last part is to prevent griefers from AFKing inside the map, and to ensure autonomy.

If this was done this would eliminate cheating and thus making it much easier for those summoning Thanatos . +1

Increase the severity of the punishment for a confirmed summon KS

Right now, the punishment is too light, and discourages players from even attempting to seek justice, while KSers simply laugh at the very idea of getting caught, because they know they can do it again. I would suggest, that upon discovery of a guilty party via evidence submitted through the ticket system, the first offense yields 1 week ban. The next offense yields 1 month ban. And the third offense a permanent ban. If we really care about players having the ability to own their own summon, I don't think this suggestion should be that disagreeable. Any other suggestions?

I think it's better if all cheating is eliminated rather than enforcing more severe punishments.

Edited August 23, 2011 by Seraphine

[Bishop]

I pretty much agree with Seraphine's statements.

However as for the proof that we'll need to confirm the actual KS. You could also just record your screen (With FRAPS for example) each time you summon the thana and end the movie after it is killed. If you have not been KS'd you can delete the movie. If you have been ks'd you can simply upload the movie (which should show all the things the 4 screenshots would show otherwise). This way you wont be lagging during the placements of the stones or when screenshotting the offender.

[BlackWolf]

Creation of a gateway NPC to thana_boss

This NPC would function similarly to the event NPC, and acts as the only gateway into thana_boss. Thana map would need to be locked, and un-warpable. The requirements to use the NPC would be that the cooldown has completed, and the player has at least 1 of each of the 4 fragments. The NPC then warps the player to the map, where they (and their party) can summon thana (in a fashion similar to Endless Tower). The map itself is given a timeout, or basically a reasonable amount of time that anyone could be expected to kill Thanatos (it usually only takes seconds, which is why KS happens so frequently). After the timeout, the players are warped out of the map, and the cooldown timer starts again, and the NPC is not able to warp a party until the 2 hours is reached again. The last part is to prevent griefers from AFKing inside the map, and to ensure autonomy.

+1

I Love the Idea, + I asked a GM about the same thign In game 3 years ago -_-'' They just brushed it off sayign Impossible to do, But edit to the endless tower type of NPC cant be so bad of a Idea??

[Aerynth]

+1

[rasko]

+1 even though I haven't killed thana since hocus pocus mvping was popular :P