Another XP question:

[krunchyfrogg]

Why is it that different members of my party have different amounts of XP?

I'm not talking about multi or dual classed characters here. I've had the same party from the start of the game, and while it's not much XP, my characters are at different levels of XP. Can anybody explain why?

thanks...

[ZFR]

Because sometimes the amount of xp you get from a monster is not divisible by 6. That simple.

(Dont ask me how the odd xp is divided. I think the way it's supposed to be done is that the top characcter gets 1 XP, then the next, then the next till it runs out. I haven't checked it properly but I think the difference in XP between characters is too big for that to be true. The game seems to have some other crazy way of determining who gets the extra xp, but still the characters on top tend to get more. Maybe someone cares to do some experimenting to determine the exact mechanism?)

[Dragonshadow]

Maybe the person who killed the monster gets more?

[ZFR]

Originally posted by Dragonshadow: Maybe the person who killed the monster gets more?

No...

Like I said, the people on top get more then people down.. in all my many games. Too much of a coincidence. In one game my sorcerer (that was IWD2, but I believe the mechanism is same in both) got almost 70% kills but had least XP

[krunchyfrogg]

Thanks a lot! I'm going to move my Bard into the last spot ASAP! Being single classed with the fastest advancement has him jumping in levels leaps and bounds faster than the rest of the party (which would happen anyway, but moving him a bit lower will slightly help out the others).

[NobleNick]

krunchyfrogg,

I believe that dead party members do not get XP for mobs killed during their dirt nap.

If you partied at all without a character that would also explain it.

I would often export and then drop a character (for you, say the Bard) just before getting a quest reward, to pump the amount of reward that the other characters get. Then import that character back in after the reward sequence.

You can also export ALL characters, except one, to give your favored child all the XP from a quest.

Other than that, XP gets spread around very evenly. If every member of your party is alive and present for the entire battle, every battle; and for every reward; then I would be very surprised if XP varied from character to character by more than 1/2 of 1% .

--------------------
What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK!
Party On!!


[ 09-17-2005, 02:14 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]

[krunchyfrogg]

That export/drop/add after XP is just as cheesy as adjusting the difficulty meter before recieving XP awards.

[Zaleukos]

Its distributed correctly with the top char getting most. If we assume that all remainders are equally likely then the party leader will gain 1 extra XP compared to the last guy 5 times out of six. With all the combat in Icewind Dale that adds up. It shouldnt make that much of a diff in percent as the XP for individual monsters go up, for a monster worth 1000XP 1XP only makes up around 0.5%, but the difference can still be quite visible. In IWD2 where lower XP numbers are used I sometimes put my casters in front so that they will gain that extra level a few fights before the others.

Of course the relative difference in XP would get bigger if the remainder doesnt follow a rectangular distribution, and it might very well not do that... The leader always benefits and the last guy is more or less always "screwed" (the diff isnt really that big a deal). [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ZFR]

Well, so as to have a definite answer I did proper testing now.
The system does work indeed as it should be. The odd xp is divided with topmost guy getting 1 xp, then then next, then the next and so on till it runs out.

I just would like to add that the remainders aren't really all equally likely. Especially as quests rewards, you get 1000, 2000, 5000 more often than say 600 or 1200.

[NobleNick]

Hmmm.... I am seeing this on my new party, too. I understand how this could add up if all your expo came from 15 point goblins --> The expo is divided up 3,3,3,2,2,2. Wow, that is a 50% disparity! Luckily, most mobs give lots more than that, and quests do too.

I revise my former statement to say, "...I would be very surprised if XP varied from character to character by more than 1% for level 7 characters and above, after correcting for deaths/absences/cheats."

Heh, heh, that's not cheesy, krunchyfrogg. What is really cheesy is exporting all of the party, and then letting ALL of the party INDIVIDUALLY collect ALL of the quest reward; then reassembling the party. Not *cough* that I would ever know of something like this from *cough* first hand experience...

This new party that I have drummed up is to be a (relatively) cheese-free party: Cheesy fighting tactics are O.K., but no pumping the quest expo.

--------------------
What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK!
Party On!!