Noise & Stealth
Noise is a mechanic that measures the levels of sound you create by performing actions. By creating Noise, you may alert NPCs and Enemies and affect their future actions.
Alertness
Alertness is the state of NPCs which represents if they know about you. Townspeople don't have alertness, but all other neutral NPCs and Enemies do. While the NPCs do react to each other (for example wolves will hunt deer, or wolves and bandits will go kill each other), it doesn't appear that they use the same Alertness system that is used when the player is involved.
Currently there are 3 levels of alertness:
- Unaware
- Suspicious
- Hostile
Levels of Alertness
Unaware NPCs will do their normal things - walk around, sit around the fire, stand ground and guard their area, and so on. They will remain Unaware as long as you don't enter their Vision, create some Noise you or until you hit them with an attack.
Suspicious NPCs will interrupt their normal routine and they will move to the last spot where they saw or heard you. They will remain Suspicious until they come close enough to spot you or until you hit them with an attack or ability, then they become Hostile. If they cannot find you and don't get alerted again for a certain amount of time, they will eventually go back to their Unaware state.
Territorial animals - such as Bears, Boars or Wolves - will instead hold their position when they spot the player and try to scare the player away by making specific sound and animation. If the player stays in their close proximity for too long or comes too close, these animals will also enter the Hostile state. Otherwise, if player leaves their close proximity quickly enough, the animals will go back to the Unaware state.
Hostile NPCs will move and attack you with melee or ranged attacks, spells and they will use their Skills to charge at you and kill you. They will remain Hostile until killed, or until you manage to run out of their Vision, which will make them switch back to the Suspicious state.
There are exceptions to this behavior. For example, if some Suspicious or Hostile NPCs see other NPCs that they would like to fight, they might choose to ignore you and go fight other NPCs instead (for example Bandits vs. Wolves).
Noise
These actions generate noise:
- Shouting
- Combat
- Breaking objects
- Throwing items
- Attacking
- Using Skills
- Killing Enemies
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The items you wear can change the amount of Noise Produced. The more Noise you produce, the higher is the chance that an enemy will raise their Alertness state from Unaware to Suspicious and come search for you. In addition, some actions seem to always produce Noise, regardless of the items you wear. These are:
- Breaking crates, doors and barrels
- Killing enemies (but not attacking them - need confirmation)
- Shouting
This mechanic also allows you to lure enemies into favorable terrain or narrow passages to gain an advantage for battle.
Noise Amount
TBA how much noise is generated by each action, needs research
Stealth
Stealth is a mechanic which allows you to stay invisible to Enemies while performing actions in their Vision range. Stealthy players may be able to approach enemies without alerting them, this is currently useful for performing Backstabs. Stealth mechanic is closely tied to the Stealth attribute and the Stealth Mode, but the Stealth Mode is not yet in the game.
A knight in full plate is much more likely to be spotted than a rogue wearing a dark cloak and leather boots. Stealth attribute affects this chance. Enemies can only spot you when you stand within their Vision range. Stealth will be subject to changes according to the Development roadmap. Enemies' detection ability also varies, as some enemies are able to spot you from several tiles away, while others need to come really close before becoming Hostile. Hiding behind trees and corners also seems to help avoid being detected, but again the specifics are currently unknown.
See Also
Page last edited during patch: 0.7.0.27
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