Here's an idea...

[Hacknshoot]

Maybe you should implement a Critical hit idea. Not the one that you have in Diabolic skills(I think you should change its name to Deathblow), but one where you inflict a multiplier of damage based on your weapon choice, skill in said weapon, and a chance that gets higher with Dexterity.

You could also do increasing stats with spell casting/weapon usage. Basically, the more you use a weapon, the higher you go in your main skills surrounding it.
Basically:
Light weapons-Dexterity, Agility
Medium weapons-Strength, Dexterity
Heavy Weapons-Strength
Bows-Dexterity, Dexterity, Dexterity!
Spells-Intelligence, Agility
And your other stats being slightly upgraded as well. I got the idea from Dungeon Siege but it should work well here too. A lot of games implement a "hit with a heavy weapon, get more strength" idea.
In the same manner, if you are partially through a stat point, you would only have to spend the remaining cost with your ADV points.
Say I have 2000 ADV points needed to go up in Strength, and I get 1250 points from fighting. I would only have to spend 750 to go up amnually, but it would not increase the level back to the same point(5/8 of another Strength point in this case). This exp thing would not apply to your skills, and you would still have to spend the full cost in any skill.

Just a couple of helpful ideas :)

[Tonedeff]

I think you idea of using Attributes is already being used in the game.
I dont understand with that last idea of your, but the first one I do agree and it can be usefull.

[Hacknshoot]

Ok. In Dungeon Siege, when you use something, it adds to that skill, which in turn, adds to your stats based on the exp gained and what skill you get, and exp is added per hit until the enemy is dead, and you only get the percentage of exp that you do damage for(do 20 damage to a 100 HP/20 EXP guy, get 4 EXP). There's 4 skills and 3 stats in DS. In this case, Melee skill gives 64% exp to Strength, 29% to Dexterity, and 7% to Intelligence.

So still retaining the Exp proportion per hit, say we use Light Weapons, which I defined using Dexterity and Agility. You would get 45% Agility for all the EXP you get for hitting with Light Weapons, 35% Dexterity, and 5% to all the other stats. Medium Weapons gives 40% to Strength and Dexterity each, and 5% to the other stats. Since there would be no way to add to your Vitality and Honour with weapons, those are given 5% along with the rest. Fighting does make you more endurant because you stop getting tired after swinging a Greatsword after a while.

[Hacknshoot]

Ok... any more comments on this? I just want to hear people's opinions on this.

[ldonyo]

While getting stat and skill increases through skill use is fine, it makes it a bit harder to gain new skills or to concentrate all of your efforts on raising a newly acquired skill to the same level as skills your character has had for a long time.

Personally, I would rather gain points to spend as I wish than to have to alter my style of play in order to raise a skill.

[Hacknshoot]

I think you took it the wrong way. I said you could still advance in whatever you so wished with ADV points, just that combat would help improve them as well.

[devicem]

I have viewed this suggestion as well and I like it but the fact that they will never make it leaves me to " I've got nothing else to say". :eek:

[Hacknshoot]

I have viewed this suggestion as well and I like it but the fact that they will never make it leaves me to " I've got nothing else to say". :eek:
Well, you never know. They might take some suggestions like this, but I think that it may be hard to do them anyway. While I'd like to see these in the game, I don't require it. :)

[Tonedeff]

I think they do read the suggestion threads, but they just silently mark stuff and maybe add it on their to do list. Maybe not.

[ldonyo]

I think you took it the wrong way. I said you could still advance in whatever you so wished with ADV points, just that combat would help improve them as well.

I understand that part. I was just saying that I would prefer to get all the points to spend how I wish.

If some of the points were automatically allocated toward the skills I use most often, light weapons as an example, I wouldn't be able to spend them all on other skills, let's say medium weapons, to raise the new skill up to a level that would remove all penalties right away. Yes, I could save up ADV points to do that, but it would take so much longer that there would almost be no point.

[Hacknshoot]

It wouldn't affect your ADV points any way. You would get separate points for your stats, and then get the same amount for ADV points.
Say right now, an enemy comes up that has 10000 EXP points. You fight with all Light Weaponry. You would get 4500 points to Agility, 3500 to Dexterity, and 500 to the rest. You would then get 10000 ADV points to spend the way you want, like for any of your skills(or any stat, as well) if you were fighting in Melee combat, as well. Now that I think of it though, it may be a bit overpowered.

[ldonyo]

That example makes it look like you get twice as many points for the same combat. While that would be cool in one way (rapid advancement) it would certainly remove some of the challenge from the game.

[Hacknshoot]

Exactly what I figured out. But it can make it rewarding to multi-skill after a while. Or they can scale the difficulty to fit that form of play. Making enemies harder than what they are could be fun. I mean, it would e nice to die to a Chunneler or witch one of these days.