Dancer Archive

Lets start with your basic assumption. That entertainer is NOT a combat support class. Our primary function (talking game mechanics here, not RP situations) is to heal BF and mind wounds. That's battle fatigue and mind wounds. The only way to get these is by fighting. So I argue that we are indeed a combat support class by the game mechanics. Since the game has made the character a support class for combat, why not give us a bone so that players would want to take an entertainer to a fight where we can support them. So.. what are ways we could support on a battle field besides wound healing (only) in camp afterwards?

1. Allow for the making of a mind stim similar to a action stim but keep it in the hands of the entertainers to craft these. Right now a combat class can get one shot to their mind bar and it's the only bar NOTHING can be done about in combat. The grumbling gets worse every day and eventually SOE will cave and make a way to boost up the mind stat (not heal the wounds mind you, just fill the white bar back up). If we don't fight to keep mind related healing in our class than this too will go to the medic.

2. Allow master dancers to buff the mind bar.. possibly another use for that technique tree. Someone comes in before a fight (or at the camp before a fight) with a full mind and by using certain technique (heck make them targetable) you can actually increase their mind bar.. like send them into a nirvana. The buff last a few minutes and give them an extra edge in combat because they are just sooo relaxed.

3. Allow those flashing, action intensive techniques we have to work defensively for the troops (or yourself if you get caught in a bad spot). This isn't magic, it's science. There is no disco ball or smoke machine in the cantina. If there was everyone could use it. Right now those techniques appear to generate from what?? nothing external that's for sure. Smoke bombs are very basic (you can buy then for 5 cents around July 4th in RL).. light and drop or throw even. The flashes of distract and spot light can be cause by exposing phospherous (my spelling is horrible I know) to oxygen.. the burn is very bright and will temporarily (sometimes permanently) blind if you look into it (this is in RL still). You are behind your troops, their backs are to you so they are not effected. The enemy which is looking at you is. The smoke bomb would decrease the view range of both friend and foe but can be used as a cover to run your arses off in a loosing battle.

Now. Try to see this from the non-entertainer point of view. Why bother bringing an entertain with you when you hunt? A true entertainer mind you not one with much pistol skills. A lot of players would rather get novice entertaine and slowly heal themselves than deal with us. This would give them a reason to want us there and allow entertainers that want to see something of the wilds and way of doing it without having to pick up combat skills. It's a win win.

Now if you do not buy in that entertainer is a combat support class than none of these arguments will mean much to you. I'm simply throwing out ideas of ways entertainers can do more in that support role.

Min'Tora Ehi

I have to agree with Mivora. What motivation is there to being a dancer and doing new things? There is no motivation for leaving a cantina. There is no motivation for exploring new worlds because all cantina's look exactly the same. Yes some people are perfectly happy with standing in a cantina and passing information along. BUT THAT IS NOT ALL OF WHAT ENTERTAINERS DO. We are a healing class. We are a support class, your lying to yourself if you don't believe that. But the game has limited us to a cantina. Or they have limited us to the 5 minutes of dancing in a camp if you are in a group with a scout. So everyone else has a job for an hour or so and then you get to dance for 5 minutes. We are severly limited in what we contribute to the game. I realize some of you don't agree with me but you know what....we play the game differently you way isn't any better than mine.

I should ask why you are willing to settle for such limitations when there is such a huge game out there?

Expanded Combat Role?
Yes Please.
Castaspella Perfect
Novice Dancer
Novice Tailor
Bria

I also agree with expanding the smoke bomb and distract effect to the field -they serve no purpose besides *maybe* gaining some *small* tips in the cantina (ooh, 20 credits, let me post something on the bazaar!). Smoke bomb and distract should be useable in the field to add to your own ranged or melee defense rating - distract for melee, smoke bomb for ranged. As players gain smoke2 and smoke3, or distract2 and distract3, the amount of short-term defense buff should increase, or the duration extended.

I'm not saying we should be able to start dancing in combat, but when I'm prone,aiming my rifle and doing headshot3 while under cover, I should be able to further defend myself by putting up a smoke screen.

Faun Lightcrest
Master Dancer
Novice Sharpshooter
Stimpack Chemist
Explorer

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Eljer wrote:

I should ask why you are willing to settle for such limitations when there is such a huge game out there?

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Why do you see combat as the goal of the game? What logical reason can you give for a musician or dancer to be healing your mind in a firefight?

I'm not saying combat is the goal of the game, I am saying give us a reason to get outside the cantina. Any other class in the game can perform his/her duties anywhere on any planet. ALl they need is a droid or a house or a camp or mobs to kill. We need a cantina (i'm leaving out houses and hotels because at this point the masses really don't use them). We are very limited as dancers to a very small area of the game, and generally...we are limited to a very small area in 1 or 2 cities. That's what I don't like.