Watch

[aphex]

How the hell do you get this up? Do you have to be watching someone that's hemoting..? How can I get watch to fail?

[Riev]

Obligatory "Don't focus on working skills, focus on character" rant.


Okay, now that that is done:

Watch is difficult to bring up. You must miss things happening that require the watch skill. From the helpfile:

Watching a person will allow you a better chance to notice when they do sneaky things.

Watch goes up when you fail to notice someone doing something sneaky. Whether that be a SNEAKY_SKILL or a simple hidden emote, it will probably fail. I've only gotten the skill up on a character once before (since the skill signifiers) and it didn't seem to be -that- useful. So really, don't worry about raising this skill, just be glad it works when it does, and remember that if you want to talk to someone, watching them means you're looking at them, not talking while you spin around and look at the sky.

[aphex]

If I want to get insertskillhere, I think I have to up watch, unfortunately. Yeah.. this seems like a crappy skill to up. Well, thanks.

[hyzhenhok]

Find someone who wants to practice being sneaky and help each other.

[Dalmeth]

It should be noted that simply using the skill does raise it to some degree so... use it when you think it makes sense.

[Gunnerblaster]

Trust no one! 

[Clavis]

use it when talking to someone?? specially if their anal about emoting everything

[FantasyWriter]

Find someone who wants to practice being sneaky and help each other.

Sneaky guild hide and seek can be fun.

[Qzzrbl]

Yeah, watch is one of those things that's a bitch to get up, but it can be a definite life-saver in some situations.

Just watch people when you talk to them, watch elves when they come in, watch directions when you're expecting or waiting for someone to come in for a meeting or somesuch.

Since the Watch skill can encompass so many situations, it's one of those skills that are easy to use and skill up without feeling like a total twink in the process.

[jhunter]

Just use it in situations that would make sense for your character. It will go up through various circumstances that you will encounter (albeit only vs. certain stealth-based things) but is still realistic and useful in situations that aren't -codedly- beating another skill. (Which means you get all the info you could gain in those situations anyway.)

[perfecto]

I find it odd that you can't sit and watch a dirrection.. I'm pretty sure I'm doing that as I type this..

Just one of those things that bug me.

[Aaron Goulet]

I find it odd that you can't sit and watch a dirrection.. I'm pretty sure I'm doing that as I type this..

Just one of those things that bug me.

I'm not saying that I do or don't advocate it, but I believe the reason why is because people would likely be watching the door of a tavern non-stop while their actual character is looking at other PCs.

[perfecto]

Most likely Aaron..

My only solution to that would be to put a really short timer on the "watch dirrection" command.
Then you could do it sitting or standing, but it would wear off quickly as one's attention span tends to slip.

brilliant.. I love a good brainstorming.

[DrunkenSalarr]

I find it odd that you can't sit and watch a dirrection.. I'm pretty sure I'm doing that as I type this..

Just one of those things that bug me.

I'm not saying that I do or don't advocate it, but I believe the reason why is because people would likely be watching the door of a tavern non-stop while their actual character is looking at other PCs.

Another solution would be that "watch" disengages/turns-off if you use look (with the single exception being if the target of look happens to be your watch target).  For instance, if you are sitting in the Gaj and decide to 'watch north', if you 'look bar' or 'look tables' or 'look templar' you stop watching north.  but if you're watching north and you 'look north', you're still watching north.

[Lizzie]

What makes no sense to me, is that I can't watch and scan at the same time. If I'm keeping a close WATCH on the area by scanning..then you can be damned sure I'm also able to keep a close WATCH on someone specific. Unless characters of Armageddon have a visual disability and no peripheral vision...and the scan skill means they are constantly turning around in circles...

But I'm guessing that isn't what's happening. Characters who SCAN are not turning around in circles the entire time they're scanning. Rather, they're on alert. They are cognizant of the fact that something sneaky MIGHT be happening, and they're ready to notice it IF it happens. Watch is the -exact same thing- except it's more focused. The two should be able to happen simutaneously, if the watching is going on in the same room.

For instance:
Hidden guy shows up. You are already scanning. You see that he's hiding. You see that he's being sneaky, because you saw him sneak to the other room and return. So now you WATCH him - and all of a sudden you can't see him hiding anymore? WTF. You're watching HIM, specifically - and yet you can't see that he's hiding, even though your eyeballs are focused specificially on him. You type SCAN to turn it back on, and suddenly you're not watching him anymore. But you can see him now!

Makes absolutely zero sense at all.

Watching someone in the same room you're in, should have zero effect on the scan skill.

[Marauder Moe]

Characters who SCAN are not turning around in circles the entire time they're scanning. Rather, they're on alert. They are cognizant of the fact that something sneaky MIGHT be happening, and they're ready to notice it IF it happens.

The emote attached to scan implies otherwise.

[jhunter]

I think that when someone has the scan skill and uses the watch command it should trigger scan as well but limit it to things in the area/or the specific target being watched.

[najdorf]

my 40 day char has been watching here and there from day 1. And skill is still novice

[Lizzie]

Characters who SCAN are not turning around in circles the entire time they're scanning. Rather, they're on alert. They are cognizant of the fact that something sneaky MIGHT be happening, and they're ready to notice it IF it happens.

The emote attached to scan implies otherwise.

The emote attached to toggling the command ON implies otherwise, however that emote doesn't follow you from one room to the next. The skill itself, however, does. You can be scanning while resting or standing, while in combat. Obviously you are not turning your head in a 360-degree circle while resting, or sitting, or fighting an opponent and close-range. So, the emote is great, at the moment you toggle the skill on. The emote doesn't apply to every moment after that.

Also, the help file for watch specifies that you can't scan the immediate area while watching something at a distance. But, if I'm trying to watch something in the same room and scan, I can't. Whoever wrote the help file, went to the trouble of specifying "at a distance." So, either the help file is wrong, or the skill isn't working as it should.

[Marshmellow]

my 40 day char has been watching here and there from day 1. And skill is still novice

Ditto this for me.

[Dakota]

my 40 day char has been watching here and there from day 1. And skill is still novice

Ditto this for me.

I had a 50+ day character who watched here and there outside.. watched numerous times vs. players and saw many a hemotes and missed a few.. had decent wisdom.. mastered a lot of skills..

watch -never- moved. I just assumed it was kind of like Brew and didn't care so much as.. well.. theirs a lot more to arm than skills.

[Mendel]

Watch moves.  At least, -my- watch has moved.

[Dakota]

Watch moves.  At least, -my- watch has moved.

hax.

[Feco]

We probably shouldn't speculate, but I assume that means it's Guild/Subguild related.

[aphex]

MY watch moved, for the first time ever, thanks to this thread!