# Mutation category expansion

**URL:** <https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/mutation-category-expansion/3755>\
**Category:** The Drawing Board\
**Created:** [November 1, 2013, 4:36am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/mutation-category-expansion/3755 "2013-11-01T04:36:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 433

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**Author:** ![Stretop](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/stretop/32/9864_2.png) [@Stretop](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Stretop)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 12:06am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/mutation-category-expansion/3755/433 "2015-01-10T00:06:10Z")

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> [@Llamageddon](#):
>
> limiting bionics, possibly with slots(e.g. 1/2 muscle slots, 4/6 power system slots, 0/1 left arm)

Bad idea. As this thread shows - survivors are highly mutable. Are you going to provide them with “wings slots”, “tail slots”, more slots for their “Huge”-ness, more “arm slots” for “8 tentacles” and so on?

> [@Llamageddon](#):
>
> increasing the finiteness of resources,

Making player powerless is always a bad idea. Let’s see…

> [@Llamageddon](#):
>
> e.g. higher tech stuff is not repairable,

That’s just silly. Why would anyone (from in-world perspective) design something that cannot be repaired? Far better solution is to require more advaced tools for restoration of more advanced tech.

> [@Llamageddon](#):
>
> no alchemical transmutation of cars into steel lumps,

And into what they must be transmuted by our resident fullzombiehulk alchemists? Into plastic bags of chewing candy?

> [@Llamageddon](#):
>
> more unmanufactureable stuff,

Ans this is. Worst. Idea. Ever. At the end of the day crafting is what fuels scavenging: you scavenge resources to make tools, then scavenge another resources and use that tools to make more advanced tools (and useful items) and so on.

What you are proposing is exactly what turns rougelike into MMORPG - grinding vast number of entities for desired drops. Only here you would have to grind locations mapgen throws at you instead of mobs local spawners throw at you in MMO.

> [@KA101](#):
>
> So in other words, make (some of) the current content tougher to obtain.

It would be better to make (some of) the current content require more complex and advanced player actions to obtain; not “tougher” as “you must pray harder to RNGod to gain this”.

> [@Llamageddon](#):
>
> once you’re at a high enough level, there is nothing stopping you from becoming stronger until you run out of better equipment/reach all the caps

And what is the problem with that? Isn’t it realistic, actually?

> [@Synthetic](#):
>
> In this system, bad mutations could be the result of a Critical Failure in getting a mutation. Pure positive mutations could also be a critical success roll, rare enough that players aren’t going to grind over and over for it.

Then those critical failures and critical successes should also be dependent on skills, like pretty much any other rolls (shooting, hitting, butchering etc.). Otherwise this would simply be an invitation to more extreme grind. Grinding is the result of randomness, it cannot be fought by changing parameters of randomness, only by reducing it, making it more controllable.

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