What can be done to make Shops in RPGs useful in any way? As

>have one or two good threads about something
>retards spam the board trying to reignite more threads for weeks
epic simply epic

>>387914772
Shops in rpgs only serve to dump your trash for extra money that you dont even need.

>>387914772
They're failsafes for children with ADHD who don't ever stray from the main path. And speedrunners I guess.

>>387914772
>buy smithfu

do i win op?

>>387915006
This. Shops are not for there for you to buy stuff, but to sell stuff.

>>387914772
it's not the shops, it's building the game around shops and understanding the concept
some people really don't want to waste their time, some other people don't know what's ahead
think of it this way: your sword right now isn't shit, but it could be better; there's that "ok" one that you can buy or the other that, based on previous experience or knowledge, that the dungeon contains it
you either slog through it, get the best sword and save money or buy the slightly better sword and have an easier time in the dungeon then discard it once you get the best sword
ultimately, in rpgs you're going to end up filthy fuckin' rich so money doesn't matter

is this the second thread?

Let shops have stuff you can't just find, but don't make it shit that is always gonna be worse than loot. I loved how in oblivion most shops had a special enchanted item.

>>387914772
this is the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
shops are extremely useful in many RPG's

>healing items/mp up items/ a million great weapons and consumables in a game like Demon's Souls

>Potions, ethers, materia, weapons etc in a game like FFVII or most of them for that matter

>Ammo in a game like Fallout 3

I could go on

>>387914772
Instead of providing goods, shops should provide services like crafting unique weapons, enchanting and disenchanting items, repairing armour, etc.

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>checking out a merchants shop
>go into a different room with more items
>he follows you in there to make sure you're not stealing anything
>pick up a bucket and put it on his head
>take everything and he doesn't get angry because he didn't see it

>>387916008
Are you just bullshitting or what game?

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Golden Sun made them work quite well by having all of the weapons you'd actually want to use be unique artifacts. Finding a cool new axe with a cool new unleash attack in a shop was just as exciting and special as finding one in a chest, and you were (almost) guaranteed that you wouldn't end up finding the exact same thing ten minutes later. And since equipment types were shared, even if you did find an upgrade, you could just shuffle what you'd bought to a different character, because you could only buy a single Axe of Ragna, not enough to equip everyone at once.

>>387916106
skyrim

>>387916106
skyrim/fallouts

>>387916217
I had a hunch but damn it actually worked? I dont know whether to give props to bethesda or just laugh.

>>387914772
gambling
enhancing

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>>387914772
>OP's pic
>notices art style

ITS HIM...

>>387916406
>filename is unix timestamp
Its not. Its a legit thread about shops.

Tales of Vesperia's:
>All weapons have unique passive effects that you can learn and store after using them enoughb which incentivizes you to give them all a spin
>Shops also let you craft their stock among better items with the right materials

>>387916406
Is this guy a 4chan anonymous, or does he actually have a art page. I love his style.

>>387916758
anonymous

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>>387915821
>buying healing items
>having to use healing items and not just cure or heal more then 2 or 3 times in the entire game

>>387916406
>>387916491
he was here last night posting more shopkeeper stuff you can probably find it in the archive

>>387916368
You definitely shouldn't be giving them props.

>Kill merchant
>Don't get to loot everything on him and in the store

Does ANY game let you do this? It totally could work with sufficient punishment.

>>387915980
Not op, but why? Are you the only person in the world able to kill mobs and collect loot. Soldiers protecting cities and returning with loot that the city sells for funds or other adventurers/mercenaries should have plenty of goods sitting around so where does the loot go?

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At least shops in RPGs are not as useless as shops in MMORPGS
I dont even know why they bother having them outside starting towns. 100% useless 100% of the time.

>>387914995
It's no surprise, autistic people enjoy repetition.

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>>387917064

>>387917064
>>387917064
Tons of games do this, mostly WRPGs though.

>>387917226
What do you miss out on if you kill the merchant?

>can't find weapons in dungeons
>merchants sells healing items
>some merchants sell one time use weapons

I don't really see what the problem is.

>>387917064
First two fallouts.

>>387914772
I want to rape her

>>387917327
>First two fallouts.

Oh fuck you're right. Too bad it takes about 15min to get out of town once all the NPCs start to freak out, even with full combat speed.

Do they ever let you back in town without being killed on sight?

I was playing Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance for the PS2 and the shop system is not bad. Drops are totally random so sometimes you find good equipment, but most of the time you don't find good everything so you have to supplement with the shops. They sell pretty much everything and have a good selection of powerful weapons, like flaming swords and frost bows.

>go into dangerous area filled with enemies
>halfway through you find a merchant selling wares
>they have no weapons and are selling stupid shit like crafting materials and weak armor

this always fucked with my immersion because how the fuck aren't they dead

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>>387916918
whats his name...

>>387917325
Nothing but they are really strong and if you kill one the police will chase you. I'd imagine if you are at the level where you can get away with killing one you don't need to.

>>387917540
They're obviously not going to sell their good shit to you in the middle of a dangerous area, they need it.

>>387914772
FF:TA2


you could only ever get the best gear through the shop, but it was a bit of a mystery what you would get the first time, as it dosnt tell you what combination of items makes what beforehand. best you have is the theme of the group of items you are putting the drops into, but its all consistant.

>>387917540
This made me think someone should make a game where a merchant comes out of nowhere in a dungeon and sells you super powerful stuff dirt cheap.

Then you proceed and notice everything you bought breaks almost instantly.

>>387917540
What if they're secretly wizards.

>>387917087
Any loot that isn't currency or something precious isn't something the average guard or adventurer will pick up to sell, and those can probably be sold to universities or whatever for research and study, so the shops aren't buying random magical shit for no reason, but it's actual people who have an academic interest in the loot.
So you'd have service providers to repair and stuff, and the big institutions to sell the interesting stuff to.

>>387916406
>>387917029
He said at the end of thread that there would be a new one up on friday night

>>387917463
I dunno.
But there you can also just steal stuff from merchants for the same effect.

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>>387917541

>kill travelling merchant while playing the hardest difficulty
>he just doesn't spawn anymore

Wish I'd known that before I saved deep into a pro run in re4.

mind linking the last thread before this one goes down?

>>387918942

>>387855828
>>387869353

>>387914772

Most good RPGs already have useful shops. Stop making this stupid thread.

Classic Final Fantasy games for example may not have weapons worth buying in shops, but they do sell magic spells and consumables, which you usually cant reliably get anywhere else, and you don't tend to find enough armor for your whole party either without having to buy some.

anyone have the link to that momcest work?

>>387920217
https://mega.nz/#F!mYBTkYga!c1gaFx-_3N517VwhvNR06Q!XMYmzTKI

>>387915980
pretty gud idea. it is kind of silly that not only are you the legendary hero of the land but you're also apparently the worlds greatest blacksmith.

>>387920217
Go on vocaroo.com, and record yourself saying "Sony is fag console, and Im the biggest fag of all"

I have an imgur saved link, and will give you the entire porn thread if you say it.

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>>387920907
>lostboy.exe

>>387921056
You aren't the one smithing, you're the one paying the smith to use his considerable talents crafting armaments for you as a special commission while they continue their daily routine of fixing spoons or whatever in your absence

Status element weapons, durability, element oils, special build accessories, special ammo or ammo period and specific armour pieces are all very simple ways for them to stay relevant you damage tweaking twat.

There's more complex methods for specific games but usually they're handled in a less traditional way than a shop like Xenoblade's crafting stuff

>>387914772
Well they're good for consumables or crafting materials that you don't want to farm for.

>>387921881
>Assassin's Creed Rogue
>you need materials to upgrade your ship
>but you can't buy them at all, you have to steal them by assaulting other ships
>you aren't even a fucking pirate in this game

>>387916406
Where is the rest of this one?

>>387923058
>>387916406
Nevermind I noticed it's from the first one.

I hate it even more when it's the opposite and you can buy better stuff than you get from quests and fairly easily.

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Does anyone else have a petrification fetish?

>>387923430
Huh so you masturbate to statues or to the fact of petrifying people?

>>387924109
The latter.

>>387923430
>google one of my friends username that I play an MMO with, see if I can find their steam
>find a post in a /d/ offshoot imageboard in a petrification thread where he invites others to play the same game because enemies turn to stone when defeated
>he also plays the mage character that can freeze enemies solid

I feel bad for stumbling upon someone's fetish like that.

>>387917605
Killing the shopkeeper doesn't spawn the cops, stealing merchandise with the owner still alive does. The cops are actually good for you since they're pretty squishy and spawn in goddamn massive hordes for fat stacks of experience, but the store owner will hunt you down and lay smackdown on your ass if you aren't prepared.

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>>387923430
>take a weapon
>black smith starts fighting you
>level ???
nice fucking game

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>>387925302

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>>387914772
>not posting a superior version

>>387916156
I never bought a weapon in Golden sun from a shopkeeper ever.

>>387925763
Well? post it then?

>>387926350
Then you missed out on a bunch of weapons that would have remained equipped for significant periods of time, including several characters' best weapons. I don't think you can really pin that on the shopping system rather than just you being a stubborn dumbass.

>>387925763
I'm buying your apron.

Give it here.

>>387914772
>monsters drop pristine equipment that fits your characters perfectly
>shops sell overpriced crafting bases only
>do a quest for the blacksmith
>he gives you potions
>do a quest for a shambling horror from the 5th floor of a dungeon that can talk
>get a glowing suit of armor with side cameras and 4 cup holders
>game devs claim that they made tree shops balanced so players have to actually work for gear
Name that game, /v/.

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>>387926438
>lewd bunnygirl
YES

Games with item/weapon fusion don't usually have this problem

>>387926438
I'll take one (You) Blade please, but only one
>>387928243

>>387917741
I hated the FFTA2 system.
>play through the game without using a guide
>need to learn thief skills to unlock ninja
>daggers teach thief skills
>have a hard time unlocking new daggers to learn enough thief skills
>finally unlock ninja
>katanas teach ninja skills
>make lots of different katanas
>have a hard time finding the katana that teaches dual wield
It's easy if you follow a guide though.

>>387926438
the girl (male) on the left, please.

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>>387930060
That's a loli

>>387930321
That's fine too.

>>387930321
Wait a second...

>>387930670
that card.

>>387925763
What game allows me to pay for equipment by fucking the shopkeep

I think Etrian Odyssey's shops are a clever bit of design.
>weapons/armour almost exclusively sold in shop
>one shop, items unlocked by selling monster materials
>allows designers to have specialised class-specific equipment without worrying about players collecting a load of drops they can't use

>>387923430
thats really freaky dude

>>387930931
any MMO with player run shops. Just make sure you roll a female toon

>>387914772

make items dungeon specific while vendors only offer certain items

>>387930321
How much to buy her and the shopkeeper?

>>387914772
Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song. High tier weapons are competitive against all but the absolute best artifact weapons and don't drain your LP like they do, plus the best armor is from shops.

>>387916936
>Playing games that are so easy you can outright ignore what is usually the most efficient healing method

>>387932001
>having such a low level of skill that all games aren't so easy you can ignore crutches entirely

r u a cajool