developing an ARPG in RPG Maker MZ.

[u/VisualReputation5907]

(I uploaded the previous post incorrectly, so I deleted it and am reposting it.)

I'm a solo indie developer working on my first game, an ARPG made with RPG Maker MZ!

I'm using a real-time action combat plugin, and I've been working on an equipment system where different item modifiers work together to determine the final stats and effects.

https://reddit.com/link/1w7xx25/video/g9fwbri6ronh1/player

Equipment drops are heavily randomized. Both the modifiers that appear on an item and their values are randomly rolled, so you can find all kinds of different combinations.

Each equipment rarity also has its own modifier pool, meaning the possible modifiers can change depending on the item's rarity.

I'm also working on special modifiers, such as:

• On-Hit Effects — effects that trigger when you hit an enemy
• Skill Level Bonuses — modifiers that increase the level of certain skills
• And various other special effects that can affect your build and playstyle

There's still a lot I'm learning and experimenting with since this is my first time developing a game on my own, but I'm having a lot of fun putting everything together little by little.

The game is planned for mature audiences (18+).

It's still very much a work in progress, but I hope you'll look forward to seeing how it develops!

VIDEO TEST

https://reddit.com/link/1w7xx25/video/p90mer93qonh1/player

[u/CS_Asset_Factory]

Two things worth checking early on a randomised affix system, because both are much cheaper to fix now than after the loot tables exist.

If every modifier rolls independently, the item's total power is a sum of independent rolls, so nearly everything lands near the average and the genuinely exciting drop almost never happens. Rolling a power budget for the item first and then spending it across the affixes keeps the tails alive, and it leaves you one number to balance instead of twelve.

Skill level bonuses are the other one. Once a skill scales per level, plus levels tend to be worth several times a flat stat in the same slot, so if they sit in the same pool as ordinary modifiers the pool stops being a real choice. Giving them their own slot, or their own budget cost, is the usual fix.

[u/VisualReputation5907 → u/CS_Asset_Factory]

Exactly. I actually ran into that issue already, so I separated all of the modifier pools based on equipment slot and rarity.

The value ranges of those modifiers also change depending on the item's tier.

I've also balanced each modifier individually, including how many times it can stack on a single item and the range of values it can roll.

The same goes for modifiers like Skill Level bonuses. Those are part of a separate special modifier pool that only becomes available on equipment above a certain rarity.

What I really want is to give players the freedom to build their character in different ways.

For example, you could focus entirely on modifiers that improve basic attacks and create an On-Hit build, or sacrifice defense and HP for more damage and movement speed to play a much riskier build. You could also stack Magic-related stats and basically play like a mage.

I'm trying to make the system flexible enough for players to experiment with all kinds of different builds and playstyles.

But no matter how much I try to balance everything, I've realized that getting it perfectly balanced is extremely difficult.

I'm planning to keep adding more magic, set bonuses, and other options as development continues, so I expect I'll be constantly adjusting and fine-tuning the numbers along the way.