Dancer Archive

Light,

I am an unoffical hybrid I'm a combat dancer. I am a Master Medic, Novice Carbineer, and close to Master Dancer. I can handle all the healing in a group, and can deal some pretty decent damage with my carbine as well. It's a very good mix for me, and gives me a variety of options for what to do on any given night.

Micara Karniss
Chilastra

I like this idea and it could actually be used for all classes. As for the points,that really has a simple solution. Upon attaining Master rank in any profession you recieve 5 or 10 more "Master skill points." These points can ONLY be used to advance in their particular Grandmaster skill tree. There would be more skills then one had points to spend on so not everyone had the same old skills. This would make players feel more unique even when they were a grandmaster. Upon achieving your first skill-no matter which skill it was-you would recieve the title Grandmaster. These skills should be extremely high cost so a person couldn't just fly through to grandmaster.

What happens when you make Grandmaster and still have skill points left over. Create a Super Duper Dance line. If you reached your goal and have not desire to progress anywhere else then dont spend your points. There is not a requirement to spend all 250 points. Your goal is Master Dancer you achieved that goal now enjoy.

Everyone has some hard limit, say I want to be a bounty hunter. Master Bounty Hunter leaves me with 31 points left over. Do I complain I dont want to do anything other then Marksman, Scout, Bounty Hunter and want a Advanced Master Bounty Hunter skill to spend my point on. No, i accept that I have 31 points left over and not spend them.

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=Development&message.id=207768

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Perhaps quests that will end with you gaining a new dance move? Definitely something you couldn't macro your way through.

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Now, THERE'S an idea I could get behind -- it would also address the reason I brought the GM idea up in the first place, i.e., having skill goals beyond Master rank to delay the inevitable Master-saturation that is bound to come before much longer.

Such dance moves should not be teachable, IMO, but unique only to those who finish the quest or find the item that grants them the move.

Why would you ever ask for more level grind? That is the least fun portion of the game, in my mind. Instead, why don't you push for more options after you've achieved mastery. Some things that come to mind are more flexibility in flourishes or more dances, or maybe different tempos; these are things that allow you to rely on your creativity to set yourself apart from other dancers rather than your willingness to do the same thing over and over again. Dancing and music in this game should be art, as they are in real life. As performers, you should be given the flexibility to at least attempt to make the dances that are given to you your own. Four flourishes does not an artform make.

In dance, you've chosen a profession that is very subjective. The keys you press should have the ability to make the characters run by other players feel stimulated, relieved, anxious, or relaxed. You aren't a slave to the game mechanics of damage calculations, poor armor effectiveness, and class balance. All of your balance is found in the performance venue, and your effectiveness should be measured not by how many experience points you accumulate but by how well you entertain your audience.

My recommendation is to step away from the level grind mindset and ask yourself what you could do as a master dancer that will make you different from the other master dancers. Maybe develop a style revolving around certain dances. Maybe you only wear certain types of costumes and only dance certain types of dances, but you do them very well. Choreograph your own routines to give them life beyond the basic pieces. Ask the developers for the tools that will help you personalize your dancing, don't ask them to punish us all with more carrot/stick keypresses and macros that serve only to keep us addicted, keep the servers full, and make us feel like rats in a skinner box.

Yours in Entertainment,
Bener