Hunting Grounds - Sat. November 22nd at 11AM EST to Sat. November 29th at 11AM EST

[Luthius]

Hunting Grounds Event

• The Hunting Grounds is a week long event where players can gain temporary access to a new Hunting Grounds region
• Players will compete against each by other Hunting Deer in the region and turning in Deer Antler Trophies to a Game Warden, which will increase their [EventScore for the event

The Hunting Grounds will be open from November 22nd at 11AM EST until Saturday, November 29th at 11AM EST.

Hunting Permits

• When players kill creatures or earn gold at any location (Dungeons, Wilderness, Oceans, etc) they have a chance (based on their % Damage Dealt to target) to receive a Hunting Permit in their backpack
• Hunting Permits are bound to the player and will not be usable by other players
• Hunting Permits cannot be stolen, but will drop on death to the player's corpse
• Players will need to spend a Hunting Permit in order to gain access to the Hunting Grounds event

Hunting Official

• In order to participate in the event, players must visit a "Hunting Official" NPC near the Prevalia Bank or Corpse Creek Bank
• If players say "Event", "Hunting", or "Permit" near the NPC, or double-click them, it will launch the Event Menu
• Players gain access to the Hunting Grounds event region by having a Hunting Permit (that is bound to them) in their backpack and then clicking the "Enter Hunting Grounds" button in the menu, which will teleport them into the region

Followers

• Players are not allowed to bring Followers into the Hunting Grounds and must stable them before they may enter the event

Entering the Event

• Once players enter the Hunting Grounds, they will be allowed to spend 15 minutes in the region
• After a player has spent 15 minutes in the region, they will be Ejected back to town (the last town they used a Moongate from)

Event Instances

• There are two Instances (Regions) of Hunting Grounds that operate simultaneously
• When a player enters the Hunting Grounds event, the system will alternate which Instance the player is placed into
• For example, player 1 gets sent to Instance 1, then player 2 gets sent to Instance 2, and then player 3 gets sent to Instance 1, and so on
• There are no mechanical differences between each instance, and this mechanic solely exists to prevent overcrowding from occuring during the event by spreading players between instances

Region Rules

• The Hunting Grounds is unique and all traditional combat, against players or creatures, is disabled completely
• Instead, players will perform event-specific Hunting actions against deer in the region (explained later)
• Players cannot perform Harmful actions to other players while in the Hunting Grounds Region

Equipment

• Players will not require any equipment or resources to participate in this event and their Stats, Skills, PvM Bonuses (Aspects / Codexes / Mastery Chains / etc) for their character will have no bearing on their gameplay for the event
• Each player that enters the event will have their currently equipped items in their left and/or right hands placed into their backpack, and will equip a Bow, which cannot be removed

The Hunting Lodge and Game Warden

• When players enter the event, they begin in the Hunting Lodge at the north side of the map, which contains a Game Warden NPC and an Exit Moongate (to leave the event early)
• Players will return to this Game Warden throughout the event to turn in Antler Trophies and to resupply Ammunition

Bucks (Deer)

• Players earn [EventScore during the Hunting Grounds event by hunting Deer, carving Antler Trophies from them, and turning them into the Game Warden
• Each Buck (deer) has a "Point" value listed in its name that indicates how much [EventScore its Antler Trophy will be worth when turned in
• The Point value of deer are randomized, but the further away the creature spawns from the Hunting Lodge, the higher the Point value it will likely have (to a maximum of 14 Points)

Mental State

• Deer are fearful creatures and quickly become nervous or flee entirely when around humans
• The "mental state" of each deer is displayed above the creature which is (calm), (nervous), or (fleeing)

Calm

• When a deer is (calm), it will only move sporadically, and will be dramatically easier for players to shoot

Nervous

• If a Hidden player is nearby, there is a chance the deer will become (nervous) with chances increased based on the proximity to the player
• While nervous, the deer will move frequently and will be fairly difficult for the player to shoot
• If a nervous deer does not see or sense a player nearby for 10 seconds, it will return to being (calm)

Fleeing

• If a Deer spots a non-Hidden player, they will likely (flee)
• Deer may also flee if a player attempts to shoot a deer near them, or if they were already (nervous) and a hidden player remains near them
• While fleeing, the deer will move constantly and will be extremely difficult for the player to shoot
• If a fleeing deer does not see or sense a player nearby for 10 seconds, it will return to being (nervous)

Hunting Grounds Hotbar

• While inside the event, players will automatically have a Hunting Grounds Hotbar displayed for them that is updated every 5 seconds (and cannot be permanently closed)

In the Hunting Grounds Hotbar, players can see:

• Their current Score for the event (from Trophies turned in)
• How much Time they have left in the event
• Their Held Trophies (not yet turned in)
• Hunting Action Buttons
• Ammunition remaining for their weapon

Hunting Actions

• Traditional combat is disabled inside of the Hunting Grounds region, and instead players perform four primary Hunting Actions: which are Hide, Track, Shoot, and Carve

Hide

• Deer are notoriously fearful creatures and will often become nervous or outright flee if they catch sight of or sense a player nearby
• To avoid this, players should Hide when attempting to approach deer
• Players can Hide by using the "Hide" button in the Hunting Grounds Hotbar or activating the Hiding skill using the normal gameplay options for the Hide skill (button / Client + Razor hotkeys)
• Hiding attempts will always be successful (regardless of character skill) and the skill has a 5 second cooldown inside the Hunting Grounds

Stealthing

• If a player becomes Hidden, they can immediately begin Stealth movement with unlimited number of steps and no need to reactivate Hiding or use the Stealth skill
• Players can move freely while Stealthed, but will become revealed if they Run, step over a Deer, or make a Shoot action

Track

• Players can Track the last location of the nearest deer by using the "Track" button in the Hunting Grounds Hotbar or activating the Tracking skill using the normal gameplay options for the Track skill (button / Client + Razor hotkeys)
• Tracking attempts will always be successful (regardless of character skill) and the skill has a 5 second cooldown inside the Hunting Grounds
• Players can use Tracking in the Hunting Grounds even while hidden and will not be revealed

Shoot

• To attempt to shoot a deer, players can either double-click the creature (either in or out of War Mode), or use the "Shoot" button in the Hunting Grounds Hotbar and then select the target deer
• Players must be stationary for at least 2 seconds in order to make a Shoot action against a deer
• Players must also be in Range of their weapon, which defaults to 12 tiles for the starter Bow

Hit Chances
The chance for a Shoot action to Hit a deer is not impacted by distance, but instead is based entirely on the Mental State of the deer as follows:

Calm: 90% Chance
Nervous: 30% Chance
Fleeing: 3% Chance


Grazes

• If a player lands a Hit on a deer, it will typically kill it, however there is a potential chance the shot will instead Graze the deer
• If a deer is Grazed, they will immediately Flee and have a blood trail follow them for 20 seconds
• The starting Bow has a 25% chance to Graze targets, with "Upgraded" weapons having increasingly lower Graze chances (explained later)

Ammunition

• Players have 15 Ammunition available to them which is reduced by 1 each time they take a Shoot action
• Players can see their remaining Ammunition amount at the bottom of the Hunting Grounds Hotbar
• Players can resupply their Ammunition at the Game Warden using the "Turn in Trophies and Resupply" button

Carve

• If a player kills a deer, they must Carve it to retrieve an Antler Trophy which will be turned in for [EventScore
• To Carve a deer corpse, players can double-click the corpse, click the "Carve" button in the Hunting Grounds Hotbar, or activate the Forensic Eval skill using the normal gameplay options for the Forensic Eval skill (button / Client + Razor hotkeys)
• Players can only Carve corpses of deer they killed (not belonging to other players)
• Deer corpses will disappear after 30 seconds whether carved or not

Held Trophies

• Upon Carving a deer corpse, players will receive an Antler Trophy in the "Held Trophies" section of their Hunting Grounds Hotbar, with the Points value matching the Points listed for the deer
• Players can only hold a maximum 5 Trophies at a time

• Players with 5 Held Trophies must return to the Game Warden and turn their Held Trophies before they can collect additional ones
• Note: Players can turn in less than 5 Trophies if they wish (they do not need to wait until they have 5 to turn them in)

Turning in Trophies and Resupply Ammunition

• At any point players can return to the Game Warden NPC located in the Hunting Lodge (north side of Map) to turn in Held Trophies and to Resupply Ammunition for their weapon
• Players can double-click the NPC to open the Game Warden Menu
• Clicking the "Turn in Trophies and Resupply" button on the Game Warden menu will remove all Held Trophies and convert them into [EventScore, as well as restoring 15 Ammunition for the player

Upgrading Weapons

• For every 3 Antler Trophies turned in (regardless of Point value) the player will automatically Upgrade their weapon to a more powerful type
• Each tier of Weapon Upgrade has an increase to Range as well as a lower Graze chance

[EventScore

• Players can type [EventScore at any time to see the current score for the event, with scores updated hourly

Leaving the Event

• A player's event session will end if 15 minutes pass or they leave the event region by any means
• Players can optionally end their event session early by using the Green Moongate located inside the Hunting Lodge
• Any Held Trophies for the player not yet turned in when they leave the Hunting Grounds will NOT be added to their [EventScore (players should be mindful of how much time they have remaining!)

Being Ejected

• When a player leaves the event region, they will be teleported to the last town they visited by Moongate and will be set as Hidden

[EventScore and Rank %

• Each player has an [EventScore based on how well they do during the event
• Players can type [EventScore to see their current EventScore for this event (scores are updated hourly)
• At the end of the event, each player will have an Event Score Rank % determined for them based on how their [EventScore compares to all other players
• Example: a player who ranked 100th in [EventScore out of 1000 total players will have a Rank % of 90% (since they did better than 90% of all other players)

What Are The Prizes?

• Prizes for this event are distributed directly to player Bank Boxes at the end of the event
• Players will receive ALL prizes shown below that their Rank % matches or exceeds

0-5% Rank: Outlands Collectable Card
5-25% Rank: Deer Print Poster
25-50% Rank: Bow Rack
50-75% Rank: Deer Skin Rug
75-95% Rank: Hanging Deer Carcass
95-100% Rank: Stag Statue

 

[Spellbreaker]

WOW that is going to be so much fun! Well done!

 

[syhy]

Does weapon upgrade persists or being reset after each session?

 

[Michael]

Does weapon upgrade persists or being reset after each session?

The upgrades reset each session. Fresh, equal start every time.

 

[Fronchie]

Had only a couple deer spawn now tracking is stuck on this ?

 

[Spellbreaker]

I also want to comment how brilliant this event is. Basically anyone making gold will have a chance to get a permit. But! y'all didnt stop there! you made it so once we enter the event, we get a new skill bar sorta speak. AMAZING this puts all of us on the same playing field! Now it won't matter how much aspect or linkage we have we will be event equal. This is going to be really helpful for new players and lock pickers. Lockpickers get event entry passes all the time but they do not have the skills to actually do any fighting.

Man, this is just brilliant, well done!

PS at the Field of Souls event, I noticed some ppl were hitting mobs until they did over 50% damage and then running away to attack another MOB. Then when other folks would come by and kill the MOB that has less then 1/2 life it seemed to me the other player was getting credit for it. Of course I am speculating this was their tactic, as I was observing a handful of players at the top of the [eventscore. If that is what they in fact were doing, this is going to stop that type of behavior.

 

[AreYouKidden]

I also want to comment how brilliant this event is. Basically anyone making gold will have a chance to get a permit. But! y'all didnt stop there! you made it so once we enter the event, we get a new skill bar sorta speak. AMAZING this puts all of us on the same playing field! Now it won't matter how much aspect or linkage we have we will be event equal. This is going to be really helpful for new players and lock pickers. Lockpickers get event entry passes all the time but they do not have the skills to actually do any fighting.

Man, this is just brilliant, well done!

PS at the Field of Souls event, I noticed some ppl were hitting mobs until they did over 50% damage and then running away to attack another MOB. Then when other folks would come by and kill the MOB that has less then 1/2 life it seemed to me the other player was getting credit for it. Of course I am speculating this was their tactic, as I was observing a handful of players at the top of the [eventscore. If that is what they in fact were doing, this is going to stop that type of behavior.

Swordsman leave at 50% and let their bleeds tick down until it's almost done or otherwise - all of those events you get event credit for the damage you did to the mob regardless of who killed it - but swords builds if they kill the mob, don't resolve their bleed damage fully, and thus leave DPS on the table that isn't being tranlsted to event score..

 

[Spellbreaker]

AreYouKidden - 'Swordsman leave at 50% and let their bleeds tick down until it's almost done or otherwise - all of those events you get event credit for the damage you did to the mob regardless of who killed it - but swords builds if they kill the mob, don't resolve their bleed damage fully, and thus leave DPS on the table that isn't being translated to event score..'

I know one person personally that was doing this and they do use swords! Now this makes sense. Thank you for the knowledge. I generally play a Trapper so it's kind of the same thing, yes. Trap goes off and for the next 9 seconds the trap is doing damage. I could walk away while the trap is doing its damage and start rounding up the next set of mobs to drop a trap on. Only difference is, trap cooldown will prohibit me from setting off another trap until the cooldown completes. This is really helpful, now I will have to figure out a way to utilize this type of game play for the next event.

Well done thank you again for solving the mystery.

 

[Expo]

The inaugural Hunting Grounds event has come to a swift and triumphant close. After a full week of stalking rutting deer through the Grounds, Rockle emerged as the shard’s top hunter, turning in exactly 17000 points worth of antlers and outpacing more than 2000 other competitors.

All rewards have now been delivered directly into participant bank boxes. Please note, they are only blessed for 60 minutes.

Thank you to everyone who tracked, crept, crouched, whiffed shots, spooked deer, and ultimately helped make the first run of this new event a success. We look forward to refining and expanding the Hunting Grounds in the future, building on a very strong foundation.