Bio Engineer Archive

ArthurDent was able to get some information on this at fanfest (see the sticky for more details). as Mr. Dent wrote:


He (Keldarin) was asked about a BE's combat level. He was real adament about that not changing. He said that he "didn't want BE's thinking they are combatants". He added that if the armor cirtification given to BE's wasn't sufficient protection then maybe something else could be done, but that increased combat level would not be part of the solution.


I still see this as an issue. DNA sampling is an inherently dangerous activity, and the BioE requirement for base takedowns indicates, at least to me, some form of combat viability is needed. the armor cert is NOT sufficient, given that CL is the One Number to Rule Them All in engagements and applies damage multiplicatively.

while I don't know that mBioE should sport a CL equal to dedicated elite combat professions (say... BH, commando, smuggler, or squad leader, which require the same skill point investment), I DO think that mBioE is a huge 'opportunity cost' in skill points spent, since mElite_Combat is CL54, and mBioE/mElite_Combat is CL58 or so (mBioE alone is CL17).

until we hear more from the devs, though... pay your local cloner, and get ready to spend some time there.

please also note that while BioE is not a combat profession, neither is it a mainstream crafting profession. you'll notice a lack of an artisan pre-req, which gates many BioE's from two important 'crafter' features: vendors, and surveying for resources.

This reminds me, did anything ever come of the reported dropping of scout as a requirement? Was that just a typo in the CU docs? It would be nice to allow "pure-crafting" BE's to not have to have scout if they dont want it. (Crafting professions that come from artisan only have one pre-req branch). Additionally, 4000 scout is more useful for DNA sampling than 0040 anyway.

I have no combat skills....just means more trips to the cloners And I don't even bother with the energy resistant armor they gave us...just something else to decay.

If it wasn't for the skins, tissues and additives at master, I'd drop to a 0404...so tired of this new pet system. It was the worst thing that has ever happened to us.

One school of thought on BE's and combat profs says you're going to be cloning alot anyway, so points for a combat profession are wasted. You can always group with a lvl80 person to get a damage reducion. It's also a lot less hassle to have your own vendor.

On the other hand combat professions provide a health bonus that can help you survive the first few hits even while grouped. A combat prof can provide an armor cert that will help against kinetic damage since the BE cert is basically useless against kinetic. A combat prof makes it easier to gather your own meat if you're so inclined.





Glanoc
We lobbied first for the scout prereq to go away then to have it shifted to 4000 during the CU beta. As far as I know we never really got an answer why it wasn't changed yet remained in all the CU docs.

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PlainWhiteSocks wrote:
We lobbied first for the scout prereq to go away then to have it shifted to 4000 during the CU beta. As far as I know we never really got an answer why it wasn't changed yet remained in all the CU docs.

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I suspect that the LACK of change from 0040 to 4000 (or the removal of the scout pre-req) has to do with the increased viability of the 'buster' template...

nBioE, mBH, commando 0100, smug 0100, nSL... with nine skill points to spare. note the MASTER BOUNTY HUNTER part of this template... a profession that arguably offers more combat viability (through skillmods and specials) than any other single profession.

this is only possible with a co-pre-req for BH/BioE of scout 4000... as long as BioE requires scout 0040, this template remains at -5 skill points... which means that a 'buster' is still unable to master a single elite combat profession.

My BE alt is as follows

24 points into FS (Padawan) CM 44x4 and HS 44x4
Master Bio-E
Master Chef
Artisan x4xx (for Chef)
Medic xxx4
Scout 3141

I am 1 point short (SP) for giving up scout x1x1 and getting scout 4xxx. I did my Jedi with crafting and senses (and not doctor!) so I missed getting the survival bonus trees. I wish they would put survival into heightened senses but thats just me...

I wanted the crafting bonuses for my BE and Chef, hense the choice of template. Now if they moved the scout requirement to 4xxx I would be oh SO happy.

For the original post, you can go out and harvest dna solo, it is difficult at times and you will definetly clone a bit but it is possible and workable. I am master ranger/master be and I have fun collecting dna and making pets, its my main reason for being be though my wife steals my be to make tissues for her tailor.

For the people talking about removing the need for scout, I am prepeared to be flamed. The reason for having scout 0040 is because that line is harvesting which is needed for harvesting the DNA. Thats like saying lets remove marksman from rifles or engineering from weaponsmith. Are we going to ask them to remove organic chemistry even though we can make med supplies? The whole point to a template is to have to use your mind and decide what to do with the points you have. Jedi's are a good example. A general template is supposed to be able to master 3 skills, yet if you decide to go jedi, you can only master 2 skills. So you have to make the decision...do you go jedi and give up a 3rd master or do you keep your masters and give up jedi. As a bio-engineer you have to decide on what you want most. For me I figured that I wanted Ranger so I could camo and have a better chance at not being detected which works great for me. I might anger a creature but it doesn't break my camo and others don't join in on trying to stomp me. I have no fighting skills which suck but I made a decision and think that ranger works better for me then a fighting skill. Flame on but it only makes sense. To be able to have the creature knowledge to harvest dna, you need to have creature harvest in addition to bio-engineer. And for those talking about mask scent, while I was working my way to ranger, creatures 50 and higher were constantly breaking my mastser scout mask scent in addition to my +25 mask scent clothing. Masked scent sucks, if you want something, go ranger...its awesome and 100 times better then mask scent. Flame On!!!

I was sampling on dathomir as cl 19 BE/Chef with a little scout and novice ch. I was surviving quite well with the terrain negotiation and careful planning of escape routes. If I was aggroed I ran round a hill - down into a dip and around anything else - or ran through a mob of yellow dots - that seemed to break aggro too.

Failing that - I relied on my companion to run as body guard. We chat on voice so its not too boring for him, and if I fail to sample too often - I let him swoop in and save me, giving him and his pets a kill.

Now I have respecced away chef and taken up master ch - I am a little tougher and can stand up to a bit of biting and slashing. Gives my legs more chance to run.

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lammergeier wrote:

I suspect that the LACK of change from 0040 to 4000 (or the removal of the scout pre-req) has to do with the increased viability of the 'buster' template...

nBioE, mBH, commando 0100, smug 0100, nSL... with nine skill points to spare. note the MASTER BOUNTY HUNTER part of this template... a profession that arguably offers more combat viability (through skillmods and specials) than any other single profession.

this is only possible with a co-pre-req for BH/BioE of scout 4000... as long as BioE requires scout 0040, this template remains at -5 skill points... which means that a 'buster' is still unable to master a single elite combat profession.

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ok, so how about 'flipping' the Scout requirements for BE and BH?

rather than BE needing 0040 and BH needing 4000, change them so BE needs 4000 and BH needs 0040 -- to me, that actually makes more sense, since BEs will benefit from the exploration and mask scent and it seems logical that a BH would need to train in hunting skills

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Fhtagn wrote:

rather than BE needing 0040 and BH needing 4000, change them so BE needs 4000 and BH needs 0040 -- to me, that actually makes more sense, since BEs will benefit from the exploration and mask scent and it seems logical that a BH would need to train in hunting skills

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