Placeholders (Concept)

Placeholders

CONCEPT

A common feature in MMOs, a placeholder is a generic NPC that occupies the spawn point of a more important, named NPC.

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Overview

In most MMOs, all NPCs have a spawn timer. This means that once an NPC is killed, there is a certain amount of time before it will respawn. This time could vary greatly from almost no time to even weeks of real time. To limit the acquisition of highly sought after loot and popular quests, some named NPCs have placeholders. Once the placeholder is killed or otherwise despawned, the respawn timer will begin. When the timer hits zero, either another place holder will spawn or, if the player is lucky, the named NPC that the player is seeking will spawn. Each NPC has its own percentage of likelihood to spawn, which, much like the timer, players decipher on their own over time. This process leads many players to spawn camp in order to ensure the completion of the task at hand.

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