First of, I'm really impressed with the two new systems, Enchanting and Brewing. I spent some time before the release wondering about xp and how that can come into play. Must say, Mojang did a really nice job!
My only beef really is the how much luck you need when it comes to enchanting. The system, as it is now, doesn't really reward me to keep gathering green-xp-orbs, which seems to be the point of it. We have a private server with about 7-8 players and all experience the same thing. Gathering experience beyond 10 seems pointless, because it doesn't guarantee a better tool/weapon. I've tried multiple times at all levels from lvl 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and I can't say that it's worth the hassle to go beyond 10-15. I think my best enchantment happened at 16; Sharpness III+Looting I. Got the - pretty worthless - Knockback II at 35. Some of the players on the server never go beyond 10, and still get multiple enchantments and really good stuff (some of them far better than what I got on the slightly higher end of the scale).
In my humble opinion the system needs to promote higher levels more. Randomness is fine, but it seems that something is off when you can enchant at level 5 and level 30 and get the same thing.
Will going even higher, say 50, guarantee me a better tool/weapon than at 25?
Is there a sweetspot? What's your experience?
My sword I spent 33 levels on got arthro V...
Arthropodus and knockback have to be the most useless enchants ever. I found a dungeon next to a lava pit and I was using knockback to make the zombies go flying into the lava, it was so great.
In my humble opinion the system needs to promote higher levels more. Randomness is fine, but it seems that something is off when you can enchant at level 5 and level 30 and get the same thing.
Will going even higher, say 50, guarantee me a better tool/weapon than at 25?
Is there a sweetspot? What's your experience?
Quoting myself from another post (it's actually more relevant to this thread anyway):
The exact enchantments you'll get, and how many, have major random factors but generally the higher the level you enchant, the better your chances of getting the best attributes. Also unless you enchant at higher levels, the highest levels of the desired enchants may be impossible to get.
There are exceptions to the higher-is-better rule. For instance if you want Aqua Affinity on your diamond helm, the ideal level to enchant (I base this on the wiki data and formulae) is around 22; however if you also want Respiration III on that helm, your best overall odds would fall around 27. If the ONLY thing you care about on that helm is getting Respiration III, you would ideally enchant at level 37. If you want Feather Fall IV on your diamond boots, the ideal odds would be about level 20. If you enchant diamond boots above level 43, you will not ever get Feather Fall of any level. Knowing this sort of thing you can play the odds and improve your chances of a desired result.
I think that the enchantment system needs work. I really dislike the the "roulette" system as it is, plus the GUI can be a bit of a pain to work with.
Here's what I propose:
A better GUI. It should have buttons to turn pages forward and backward through the enchantment book without having to remove and replace the item you wish to enchant.
Enchantments should be listed in order by lowest XP cost, in alphabetical order. Even though the enchantments themselves are made up of random strings of words that make no sense, this would still help organize the enchantments better, and make it easier to pick out individual enchantments to use. Players will still have no idea what an enchantment does until they use it. The presence of bookshelves near an enchantment table gives a player access to higher page numbers, and therefore, higher level enchantments.
No two enchantments in the book should give the same effects. If more than one enchantment gives the same effects, any duplicates should be thrown out of the book. Only the version of the enchantment with the lowest XP cost should be listed.
Once a player uses an enchantment, the effects of that enchantment should be come visible (and readable to the average player - NOT Galactic) in the GUI via tooltip the next time the player browses the book. This will enable players to easily pick the same enchantment again, if they like the effect.
There will still be a random factor, given that enchantments will still appear as random gibberish to the player, but once an enchantment is used, it will be much easier to pick and choose that enchantment again in the future. It will also give players an easier way to pick out what level of enchantment they wish to use.
My only beef really is the how much luck you need when it comes to enchanting. The system, as it is now, doesn't really reward me to keep gathering green-xp-orbs, which seems to be the point of it. We have a private server with about 7-8 players and all experience the same thing. Gathering experience beyond 10 seems pointless, because it doesn't guarantee a better tool/weapon. I've tried multiple times at all levels from lvl 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and I can't say that it's worth the hassle to go beyond 10-15. I think my best enchantment happened at 16; Sharpness III+Looting I. Got the - pretty worthless - Knockback II at 35. Some of the players on the server never go beyond 10, and still get multiple enchantments and really good stuff (some of them far better than what I got on the slightly higher end of the scale).
In my humble opinion the system needs to promote higher levels more. Randomness is fine, but it seems that something is off when you can enchant at level 5 and level 30 and get the same thing.
Will going even higher, say 50, guarantee me a better tool/weapon than at 25?
Is there a sweetspot? What's your experience?
Arthropodus and knockback have to be the most useless enchants ever. I found a dungeon next to a lava pit and I was using knockback to make the zombies go flying into the lava, it was so great.
Quoting myself from another post (it's actually more relevant to this thread anyway):
The exact enchantments you'll get, and how many, have major random factors but generally the higher the level you enchant, the better your chances of getting the best attributes. Also unless you enchant at higher levels, the highest levels of the desired enchants may be impossible to get.
There are exceptions to the higher-is-better rule. For instance if you want Aqua Affinity on your diamond helm, the ideal level to enchant (I base this on the wiki data and formulae) is around 22; however if you also want Respiration III on that helm, your best overall odds would fall around 27. If the ONLY thing you care about on that helm is getting Respiration III, you would ideally enchant at level 37. If you want Feather Fall IV on your diamond boots, the ideal odds would be about level 20. If you enchant diamond boots above level 43, you will not ever get Feather Fall of any level. Knowing this sort of thing you can play the odds and improve your chances of a desired result.
Also see wiki: Enchanting
http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Enchanting
Thank you! That was very helpful!
Here's what I propose:
There will still be a random factor, given that enchantments will still appear as random gibberish to the player, but once an enchantment is used, it will be much easier to pick and choose that enchantment again in the future. It will also give players an easier way to pick out what level of enchantment they wish to use.