Commando Archive
Thread: State of the Commando Address (December 2003)
STATE OF THE COMMANDO ADDRESS
Okay now I want to keep where we are currently, and some ideas of where we want to head here, so the post is going to be split farther down. This way we can send one post over to the Dev's and see what we can get fixed. *They love to have it organized; must be the programming blood. 
* So as you all have been waiting for, and I'm sure the Dev's need, the post.
CURRENT BUGS:
- HAR accuracy bonus does not stack
*Basically even as a Master, when in normal fighting situations, we hit 2-3/10 shots*
- HAR speed bonus does not stack
*Not only is it a problem hitting, we have a long wait between misses. The special moves have a varied, but EXTREMELY long wait time, so again the HAR becomes useless*
Now this is something that has to be fixed ASAP. It's almost the same as having a weapon without a working cert, sound familiar? From what I've tested around on and read about, these seem to be the only bugs we have, that are actually bugs. Though I haven't had a chance to actually test the blast radius personally, I get conflicting reports on it from in-game people I have asked. Some say they see it work, some say no . . . could I get an overall confirmation on this one?
GAME PLAY ISSUES:
- HAR
*The HAR, as the overall Commando consensus goes, is the FT's weaker younger brother. It's only plus is, that it works against creatures that have low Acid resists, when the target has high heat resist. But with the Flamethrower being able to cause normal burn damage no matter the resist, it is still a secondary weapon, no matter how people try and look at it. I have more ideas on how to make Commando's an overall damaging Profession; as I feel we are supposed to be with the range of damage types we have at our disposal, but that will be later. What I want to discuss on the HAR, is how to make its overall usability better, a few ideas here:
> HAR's own type of burn attack, some sort of Acid/Chemical burn, to make it more unique.
> Special Ranged Attacks for the HAR. This would make it the Rifle it's supposed to be, not another FT knock off.
> Combine this with the FT tree if above will not happen, freeing up a tree for another use, maybe a Rapid Fire Weapon.
> AP 2 for the Acid Rifle. It's a Heavy version of the others that all have AP1, but we don't need competition with our own Heavy Weapons Tree. There is a reason for it to exist.
Add more as you feel for the HAR; your input is key to the process.
-Heavy Weapons
* Right now our heavy weapons are well . . . I'd say decent to be optimistic about it. The thing is they seem to lack the punch they are made to do, we have to stop and kneel to fire them, so we become vulnerable each shot. Besides they are way too expensive per shot, to make them viable in many situations, making it hard for Commando's to gain access or afford them. Ideas for the HW's we have:*
> Increase damage of the HW's we have. I personally wouldn't mind a speed hit, more than we have now, for a greater punch than we have. But the speed thing is me.
> Change the requirements to create the weapons. Right now it is still hard for people to collect the right resources to create a decent amount of these weapons.
> Increase the number of shots to each weapon, or make ammo kits, so that it is not so expensive to use. Also running out mid combat, with limited inventory to carry another weapon or five is not a good situation. A crate of ammo might help with this.
> Make all the HW's AP3, they are Heavy after all.
Right now I'm keeping myself limited to a few select of my ideas, but again your input is a great asset. Go with what you feel here; I am here to help us all make Commando better, and I am your voice.
-Grenades
* Versatile with damage types? Yes. Useable in actual situations? No. The grenades need an overhaul to become something viable within the game. Issues from range, expenses, number of grenades in a stack, etc. run it dead. So let's go for ideas again here:*
> Increase range for the grenades to be accurate. We blow ourselves up more than the enemy.
> Increase the actual accuracy of the grenades. We're the experts’ we these things, and miss way too often, especially since it's just a big explosion of some type . . . not many can dodge an explosion right on top of them.
> See tacwraith's post http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=commando&message.id=35240 on some side effects that could be added. I wanna read the description of the grenades to stay true to them, but it seems to be right on target. Let's discuss side effects that could be added.
> Add more uses per stack of grenades. They are too hard to come by, well good ones anyway, to be used five per stack. Especially when we have a chance of that entire stack not hitting anything, or worse just us.
Add more as you feel, I want input, lots of it . . . working with everyone is what I am here to do.
-Unarmed Requirement
*Now I don't really see the reason for this, outside of a Skill Point burn, and a very weak way out of the 2.5x damage multiplier. We would either be effective with a change of the tree requirement (though this would slam many with their current skills set JUST right) or I favor an addition of some Unarmed abilities to Commando*
> Add Special Abilities for Commandos. Something like military style Unarmed hits, brutish, slow, but damaging and debilitating.
This I haven't seen as much as many other issues, but I think with added Unarmed abilities with nice side effects, we would be happier with it. Things like gouging out an opponent’s eyes *dirty and brutish, but effective; Effect :Blind* and throat hits to stun and cause posture change *nothing brings you to your knees like a shot to your trachea*. What does everyone think of this, and anything to add here?
-Launcher Pistol
*The LP isn't bad overall, but it lacks our own finesse, something that makes it our very own. They only way to make it actually effective, is to become a Pistoleer too, so why make it a Commando Weapon at all? Yes we have Master Marksman, but that doesn't do a ton for it.*
> Add LP to one of the Tree's; it's own special moves, something that makes it a Commando Weapon.
If I forgot anything up here, just add it, I am trying not to miss any points at all, but again if I do just add it.
Okay now on to our future:
WISH LIST:
Okay here I am going to kind of combine ideas and a WISH LIST for the future. These can be additions, changes, or definition to our profession to make it feel right. Sort of the hodgepodge group of the Address.
-Rapid Fire Weapon
*Now if we can get something like the E-Web, it would be amazing, and add definition to the Profession. We can discuss logistics on this weapon, implementation of it, and find what is viable and what is not from a Development standpoint.*
-Damage Types
*Okay here comes the Devil's Advocate portion (equips Flame Retardant Suit incase) and I know it will either be hated or welcomed. But hear me out, it's just and idea hehe. Now we know it's a possibility that in the future, DoT's (Burns, Bleeds, etc.) will be reduced by the resistance to that type of damage. Now I can understand this and would not mind it . . . but here's why. Commandos’ have the ability to equip weapons with many different damage types, making them effective against a variety. Now if we had access to some sort of DoT, even if reduced in overall damage vs. 0% resist; that could be used by each weapon. Acid burns for the HAR, Blast Damage from our LP and RL, Burn from the FT, Nerve Damage from our Cryoban, etc. Now the Commando has a reason to spread out our weapon use, and still remain effective in Combat.*
-New Title Changes/Special Attack Titles/etc.
*Now I don't know about you, but what does, being good with a FT have to do with being a Grenadier? I would think this would be the grenades title . . . or similar hehe. Also Flame Single 1 just sounds boring, spice it up a bit, I'm sure we can all think of some good new names for all of the titles, moves, etc all.*
-HAR Graphics
*Nothing causes fear greater than that little puff of smoke and small, "tink" sound the HAR makes when firing. I know this is a wish, but I would think it could look a little cooler, any ideas on how to make it look? This is one I think should be changed, but not always great at the "cool look" aspect.*
-Field Repairs
*A Commando, I feel, is the overall field fighter. These are the guys, besides a BH, who can go into the wilds and come out the other side just as "pretty" as when they began. Now some sort of field repair could help this: It would be a temporary fix to armor or weapons, but at a higher risk and worse fix than a Master Armorsmith/Weaponsmith could do. But in a pinch if that armor is gonna bust the next shot you take, you can squeeze out an extra few hits from it.
Okay these are all things I have seen, read, or heard of that would fix/make better/make cooler; the overall look of the Commando. As I said above, I wanted to leave room for full expansion from all of you out there . . . because not any one of us can think of all scenarios and every idea floating around. That is why we work together; I am just another Commando out there, but I happen to have the loudest voice to scream . . . err . . . talk to the Devs with
Let us all get together, and get cracking on Commando's overall aspects, I have a feeling that no matter how tough it gets; we will pull through. After all we are Commando's 
HOO-RAH!
Well its a good start. I'm going to have to print it out, go over it and make some suggestions, as I am sure many others will.
But thanks for this effort. Hope to work together to make our profession the best it can be.
"-Rapid Fire Weapon
*Now if we can get something like the E-Web, it would be amazing, and add definition to the Profession. We can discuss logistics on this weapon, implementation of it, and find what is viable and what is not from a Development standpoint.*"
You are now officially my hero!
Anyways, for the HAR firing animation/sound I'd personally recomend making it shoot something that's kind of like a green version of the HPBS projectile. It conjures up the image of slinging a bunch of acid at something anyways. For sound, maybe give it something like what the other acid weapons use. Not sure what to do about the AE attacks though, maybe they'll be removed in the HAR revamp? If they're not though, I suppose you could just have it fire a bunch of shots wildly kind of like the point-blank area attack we get at novice marksman.
My suggestion for the LP would be to add a special or two (and maybe some accuracy/speed mods) to the Field Tactics line.
For the unarmed attack ideas, I'm not to sure where to put them actually, placing them in Field Tactics seems like a bit much when combined with the LP skills, so maybe we should just ask that the unarmed requirement be dropped instead, seeing as we already have close-range weaponry (and it seems that other classes like TKA are more focussed on melee KD's/Blinds.)
Now these are the things I'm talking about Mad; ideas.... and yes I did undertand what he said
I knew I forgot something, with the Grenade Launcher, I wanted to add that to the Wish List. That would be quite fun, and make the things great ranged. Not sure about AP3 on all Grenades, Goo and Cold don't break through armor quite like a Minor Thermal-Nuclear Explosion But AP3 on Proton at the least.
FT range for specials I doubt is going to go beyond the range a Melee can strike us, though it would be nice to see, we have to move one step at a time. The HAR though should defiently have Specials outside the range they are, speed increased, etc.
The LP as said above definetly needs it's own overhaul. Ranged KD and Ranged Dizzy would be nice; but remember we do have to watch what we ask for. We stick someone in that loop then set them on fire; things won't be pretty. Now if they fix the KD/Dizzy being down for 3-5 minutes *haven't seen if that's fixed yet on TC, gonna have to grab the TKA Correspondant to beat me up a bit* it would be a nice addition.
Now the HW damage: I wasn't even thinking of vehicles when I posted it. I was thinking about things like Turrets with 100k HAM and me doing only a minor dent with my RL. The thing is vulnerable to Blast and I run out of shots before the damed thing drops, and they kill me in one shot..... try being a Rebel with no possibility of taking a base there. The + Dam vs Large targets *Krayts, Turrets, Vehicles, etc.* and - vs Little Things *People, Bugs, etc* is a good balance. Pretty to land a rocket directly on and through those things, but not so easy on a Person.
Still trying to find hard numbers on blast radius; but it seems to be out-of-commission at the current time. Another bug to add to the list. My RL would only hit the designated target, though I seem to hit more often than 5/10 times, closer to 7/10. More research here to bring to Dev's.
Oddly I was getting a + accuracy bonus when prone; buta nother wasn't and another friend was. I'm either an oddity or it fluxuates on which group it works for. Looks like more checking into this one, if everyone can give me exact numbers they're getting Prone vs Kneeling vs Standing.
Keep it coming all, keep it coming.... time to get Commando back in business
______________________________________________________
lordseckmoth sed
After all we are Commando's HOO-RAH!
____________________________________________________
hoo-rah hum
did you go to a military collage by the name of ALERT
or any othere military ties
and if you did tell me if this sounds familer
drop
recover HOO-RAH
drop
recover HOO-RAH
drop
recover HOO-RAH
montain climbers
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
flater kicks
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
push ups
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
recover HOO-RAH
thos were the good times 
well sort of some of thos thrashings left you almost dead
A friend is a U.S. Marine, and got me saying it in-game. Now I can't stop lol. *shudder's at thrashings*
Okay now we don't wanna get off topic already
Nice list. I agree with the points made.
I have one thought about the Commando I'd like to say:
One thing I find a little dull about the Commando skill is the lack of Blaster weapons. Blasters, or laser weapons,is what makes Star Wars Star Wars and not some ordinary sci fi. Commandos should get the high powered blaster weapons, not some Acid weapons and grenades. Sure the LP is cool, but does it feel Star Wars? No, far from. The Flame thrower? Hardly, though some Bounty Hunters got wrist mounted ones.
Also, too bad the Rifleman gets the T21... this would bethe ideal Commando heavy weapon (It's a HUGE weapon to carry around). I think the devs made a big mistake here 
My dream would be to replace the FT and theHAR with some high powered Blasters. Give the T21 to us and give the rifleman some other blaster rifle.
Congratulations on being the new Correspondent Lordsec
I would like to see the HAR removed totally and have the repeating blaster or E-web cannon instead. The HAR just doesn't seem like a weapon that would be used in star wars. I think you covered just about everything in your address, I don't see the E-web happening though, the nerfhearders will be all over that bantha poodoo 
Anyway good luck and get your goody's headache powder ready hehe.
Make your font bigger, welcome aboard and congrats, and was your post taken from the 10 pages of issues at this url posted by TH?
http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=commando&message.id=33459
I'm still for ditching the HAR altogether in favor of some sort of rapid fire machine-o'-death, like a chain-fed minigun.
Get the devs to give us that grenade launcher no matter what, please. If you have to strap them to a chair and beat them with hammers to get us that launcher, do it. I'll help you.
Talking about the commando in the field brings me back to something I've said since I started being a commando: field tactics needs to include a few minor hunting bonuses (variations of scout skills, not as good as what a scout gets, though), to help us when we examine a target (does it deathblow, is it a pack animal, etc). Mostly, though, to survive in the field, we need our own special breed of wilderness survival training mixed in with the field tactics. A commando-issue camp kit, for example. Razor-wire and small trenches, sandbags or piled rocks, whatever. Something that makes the camp look like a crazed veteran is residing there.
More ammo for our disposable weapons, like the rocket launcher and heavy particle cannon. At 30k or more a pop, we need to get more than 30 or less shots out of it. I say no less than 50.
I got an idea for our skill tree. Ill try to organize it as rational thought here.
Field tactics: Grenades and heavy weapons. If they get made to work right they really could be a very tactical line. We get charged HAM for special move cost without having any specials for em. I dont know what but maybe at Field 4 a fly-by-wire with the RLs or maybe not. I can dream.
LP skill line: With heavy weapons and grenades together they could make a LP skill line. LP is our pistol. Make it to where you can still use pistol4/pistoleer skills but as said befor also have our own signature commando specials.
Flame Thrower: I personally love it and would hate to ask for more and get the nerf-herders riled. Perhaps as maddog said, reduce the wounding from DOT it isnt needed and just pisses people off.
Acid Rifle: Fix it, and I could even go for that blaster feel as mentioned befor instead of acid but thats not my main point. This should be our rifle. Do like I suggest for LP. We can use rifle4/rifleman specials but also have our own signature moves, not the current ones but a long range special. We could really use a 64m non-disposable weapon.
I to would like to see a rapid fire type heavy weapon but thats my base ideas and I think we should look at this as a start to make more than just the FT usefull. Add on to this as it is only a rough draft.
And yes maddog, I think we should be both anti-personel and anti-vehicular. Ever hear a real commando say that he can blow up a tank but cant kill an enemy soldier?