Game Mechanics: Classic ZEM values, and special ZEM for levels 1-6

[Dolalin]

From this post by a Show EQ dev on the Hackersquest boards:

Originally posted by casey on 05-22-2001 11:14 AM

Experience questions answered

Here are some basic constants

Class modifiers

War, Rog: .9 for level calculations, 1.0 for experience awards
wis casters: 1.0
int casters: 1.1
monks: 1.2
hybrids(sk,pal,rng,brd): 1.4

Race modifiers

Halfling: 95
Hum, eru, elf, def, hie, halfelf, dwf, gnm: 100
barb: 105
ogre: 115
troll, iks: 120

Hell modifiers:

lvl 1-29 : 10
lvl 30-34: 11
lvl 35-39: 12
lvl 40-44: 13
lvl 45-50: 14
lvl 51: 15
lvl 52: 16
lvl 53: 17
lvl 54: 19
lvl 55: 21
lvl 56: 23
lvl 57: 25
lvl 58: 27
lvl 59-60: 30

Group bonuses

solo: 1
2 man: 1.02
3 man: 1.06
4 man: 1.1
5 man : 1.14
full : 1.2

Group dist

your level / (all group members levels summated (inclding yours))


ZEM (Zone experience multiplier)

most outdoor zones: 75
most dungeons: 80
some kunark/velious dungeons: 85
underused zones (kedge, hole): 100
regardless of zone, lvl 1-6 you get a ZEM of 100


Formula:

exp needed to level (lifetime):

(lvl to attain^3)*Class mod*race mod*hell mod


exp needed in a given level:

(lifetime exp to level x) - (lifetime exp to level x-1)


exp given by a mob:

(mob lvl^2)*Class mod*ZEM*group bonus*group dist


pets:

If any single pet can do > 51% damage to a mob, he will get half experience. This will rarely happen in a group unless you are using some badass charmed pets. It *does not* matter who gets the final blow or anything else you hear, its just tied to whether or not a pet does more than half damage. I've not tested this in a group setting so i do not know whether he takes half of total exp, or just half of his owners exp.


examples:

lvl 30 DE SK needs 41,580,000 exp lvl 1-30.
((30^3)*1.4*100*11)


from lvl 29-30 dor DE SK you need: 7,433,400 exp
((30^3)*1.4*100*11)-((29^3)*1.4*100*10)


a DE SK killing a lvl 28 mob solo outdoors gets 82,320 exp
((28^2)*1.4*75*1*1)

a lvl 31 DE SK in a group of lvls 29, 30, 38 killing a lvl 35 mob in a dungeon will get 36550 exp
((35^2)*1.4*80*1.1*.242) .242 = 31/(31+29+30+38)


from here you can extrapolate many quantites (kills to level, time per kill, time to level). If you take exp to level for lvl 1-2, 2-3....59-60, you will also see why hell levels exist, just a mathematical effect of the way they chose to manage these equations.

any other questions?

http://web.archive.org/web/200305272...perience+works

Obviously us non-devs can't see the real ZEM values on p99, but unless there's other proof out there for specific zones, it doesn't seem like there should be any ZEM higher than 100.

Also, there seems to have been a ZEM of 100 for levels 1-6 no matter your zone. Not sure this is active here either.

[Man0warr]

Didn't the current ZEM values come from a leaked database dump from Al'kabor before it shut down?

[Dolalin]

No idea, but those wouldn't have been classic anyways. ZEMs were tinkered with a lot between Velious and LDoN.

[Videri]

Wow!! Amazing info. What a find. /salute

[Veeshan31]

Fix green 2019. Nerf the ridiculous ZEM zones

[Dolalin]

I did a newsgroup search just for kicks and I found posts by that same Casey ShowEQ dev guy on the subject of ZEM.

He confirms that no ZEM in classic was ever higher than 100.

So basically if there are any ZEMs higher than 100 on P99, they're wrong. And only a few zones were 100.

Casey Webster
3/12/02

considering i wrote the curernt exp split calculations in showeq, i'd be
happy
to share
group split is performed in the following fashion. First, determine the
number
of people in your group, and apply the following exp bonus.

solo, no bonus
2 people, 2% bonus
3 people, 6% bonus
4 people, 10% bonus
5 people, 14% bonus
6 people, 20% bonus

ok, now take the exp a mob gives, which is equal to (mob lvl)^2 * ZEM
in this case, ZEM is 75 for most outdoor zones, 80 for some dungeons, 85
for some others, and it maxes out at 100 for underused zones and some
especially difficult ones.

take this experience, and apply the proper bonus. This is the exp that will
be
split amongst the group. Now we determine how it will be split.

For this, look at each group members level, and add 5 to everyones level
(your included), and now add it all up. Call this aggregate_level. Now
take
just your level, add 5 and divide it by aggregate_level. This is your group
split. Figure this for each group member, and multiply it by mob exp, and
this
is what each member gets. Note that class plays absolutely no part in the
split.

Now, remember back to when VI said they took out class penatlies. They
didnt really, they just negated the effect (so they are in effect not
there). The
way they accomplished this, is after your split of the exp is assigned to
you,
it is multiplied by your classes particular class exp modifier (what makes
you need more exp to level). For the purpose of exp rewards, here are
the class modifiers

Wis casters (DRU, SHM, CLR), warrior, rogue - 1.0
Int casters(NEC, WIZ, MAG, ENC) - 1.1
Monk - 1.2
Hybrid (BST, SK, PAL, RNG, BRD) - 1.4

Now, the value you get after multiplying your split by this class mod, is
the experience that goes into your exp pool. Again, for emphasis, at
first glance, it appears that an SK gets more exp than a druid, but what
you need to look at is Experience reward / Experience to level. If the
SK and druid are the same level, the % of the level they gain per kill
will be equal, even though thier raw numbers are not. This is the effect
of negating class penalties.

Now, since that is a lot of info to take in at once, lets have a
demonstration

Group of 5,

44 SK
46 druid
43 warrior
48 rogue
45 pally

they kill a lvl 50 mob in a dungeon (the ZEM 80 variety)
the mob gives 50*50*80 experience, or 200,000 exp.
They have a 5 person group, so 200,000 + 14% is 228,000 exp.

Now for the split, calculate group aggregate level (everyones levels + 5)
(44+5)+(46+5)+(43+5)+(48+5)+(45+5) =
49 + 51 + 48 + 53 + 50 = 251.

Now we calculate the individual splits
SK: (44+5)/251 = 49/251
druid: (46+5)/251 = 51/251
warrior: (43+5)/251 = 48/251
rogue: (48+5)251 = 53/251
pally: (45+5)251 = 50/251

now, multiply this split value by the exp reward to get the xp per person

SK: 44509 exp
druid: 46326 exp
warrior: 43601 exp
rogue: 48143 exp
pally: 45418 exp

notice that the split is purely a function of level, not class.

now we adjust the reward per class to compensate for the innate differences
in levelling requirements.

SK: 44509 * 1.4 = 62312 exp
druid: 46326 * 1.0 = 46326 exp
warrior: 43601 * 1.0 = 43601 exp
rogue: 48143 * 1.0 = 48143 exp
pally 45418 * 1.4 = 63585 exp

these are the rewards applied to your experience pool for the kill.

There will be some degree of error here from rounding and not using the
exact numbers VI uses (they are floating point numbers for class/race
mod, whereas i am using simple integers). But in the wide scope of how
much exp you need at these levels, a couple points doesnt really mean
much. I'll save calculating experience needed to level for another day.

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt....I/7h7DhR63ZmwJ

Casey Webster
3/13/02

>
> > ok, now take the exp a mob gives, which is equal to (mob lvl)^2 * ZEM
> > in this case, ZEM is 75 for most outdoor zones, 80 for some dungeons, 85
> > for some others, and it maxes out at 100 for underused zones and some
> > especially difficult ones.
>
> I assume when the big "upping underused zone" XP bonus patch was done
> that some ZEMs changed. Did any get over 100, that you recall?

some zems reached 100 as a result of the patch (the hole is an example), but
no zones exceeded it. The only zone at 100 before that patch was Kedge
i believe.

>
> > For this, look at each group members level, and add 5 to everyones level
> > (your included), and now add it all up.
>
> Is this also the case at low level? I've been a level one character
> grouped with a level 2 character and the split of XP I got was quite small
> compared with what I should expect from this, and much closer to the 1/3rd
> I'd expect if it were straight levels. (Low level was easiest, I could
> visually assess the impact of grouping.)
>

The numbers are a bit screwey at low level. At lvl 6 and under, a "newbie"
zem of 100 is applied to kills regardless of zone. The split with a lvl 2
and 1
should be 7/13 and 6/13. The other factors that may contribute to this are
the exp cap.

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt....I/m9N5Q__WctAJ

Also confirms the newbie ZEM.

The XP bonus patch referred to is this one in January 2001:

As of the next patch, you will receive additional experience (per kill) in the following zones:

Droga increased by 12%
Nurga increased by 12%
Solusek's Eye (SolA) increased by 13%
Najena increased by 13%
Befallen increased by 13%
Paw increased by 13%
Permafrost increased by 13%
Kaesora increased by 18%
Qeynos Catacombs increased by 20%
Runnyeye increased by 20%
Kerra Ridge increased by 20%
The Hole increased by 25%

https://wiki.project1999.com/Patch_N...one_Experience

No zone was above 100.

Lotsssssssss of ZEMs on P99 need looking at I think. Plus era rules applied for ZEMs as changed in the above patch.

[Dolalin]

For the Hole, we can see it had a ZEM of 80 before the patch because 100 - 25% = 80. That's the standard old world dungeon ZEM.

A lot of these are pretty easy to guess and calculate.

[tinklepee]

Just imagine the outcry if the double exp zones are nerfed lol

[Dolalin]

Here is another thread from Casey on the ShowEQ forums that states ZEM maxes out at 100. This post from January 2002 and confirms he was a dev.

ZEM = zone modifier, 75 is low (standard), goes up to 100

http://www.showeq.net/forums/showthr...=1513#post1513

[DMN]

I only remember kedge giving quite a massive exp boost back in the day and I'm not sure if they didn't even change that after it was itemized. Somewhere around 40-50% exp boost from outdoor, non dungeon mob.

Dungeons all gave a small but significant boost relative to outdoors, like 25% or so.

Dungeons that were considered outdoors gave slightly less boost, like 15%.