Dancer Archive
Thread: Combat Upgrade Dancer Concerns
Special Actions
- The following profession trees will be modified by adding and removing new special abilities to bring them in line with the new system: Marksmen, Medic, Brawler, Scout, Riflemen, Pistoleer, Carbineer, Bounty Hunter, Smuggler, Commando, Pikeman, Swordsman, Fencer, Jedi, TKA, Doctor, Combat Medic.
Special Actions (continued)
- Players that have skill boxes in one of these affected professions will be allowed a skill re-spec for their character. This does not include the force sensitive skills. (A re-spec is short for "respecify". It is the chance to choose new skills for your character).
I take this to mean that if we have skills in these professions, we can completely respecify our skill points. I draw on the example of when all Jedi got their respec. They were allowed to respec ALL their Skill Points, not just the ones that were in Jedi. So while you may not have the SP to do all the things you can do now, you won't have to go grinding anything out if I am correct.
I think the question is not so much "will they let us respect for the change in brawler prereq for TK" but "how much will our existing template with non-combat professionsneed to change to accomplish this". (I'm no longer TKM on my entertainer but I've hung on to that novice box a while now & hate that it looks like I'm going to have to give it up. Istill enjoy it even though I've got a TKM/doc char on the same server as well).
Ihareo wrote:
Esharra wrote:
Been wondering this too. I just can't see them penalizing existing masters in such a way.
Drygo wrote:
I was wondering about this as well. Currently, I'm a TKM, Master Dancer, Master Entertainer, with the rest in FS skills.
Now, we can't respec the FS skills. And, if I can't respec any dancer or entertainer, then how exactly am I going to fill up that extra line in Brawler? Am I going to have to use some TKM boxes to fill out the Brawler boxes and then be required to grindback 5-8 of the hardest TKM boxes?
Actually what I believe Blair said was that all players who have points in those professions will get a respec... lemme see if I can dig up a quote...
yup..pretty much my take on it too..we'll just have to see.
rayill wrote:
They'll be able to respec, but there is no announcement on how they are going to allow the respec.
.....
However, it's too early to speculate how they are going to let people respec at this point.
If we are just getting the port of what looks like it will work for the combat professions then, since I am non-combat anyway, I want a CU opt-out server option and a free character transfer to it. Then you can just replace all the non-combat characters with NPCs and the combat professions that don't want to move will be ecstatic because they will have everything at their fingertips.
But putting non-combat classes in the game at all makes it seem so much like maybe someone actually cares about the *other* side of the game and the players they would lose if it ever went that far.
All of this sounds a lot harsher than I mean it. I understand that this is supposed to be an improvement and that I should give it a chance. But my main concern is that without voicing my thoughts and the apprehension that I have I will only be trying it out once I have no choice but to accept the changes. I would very much appreciate if you would listen to me and consider what I have to say.
I do love this game, I don't want to quit, and I have some suggestions that might relieve some of the concerns.
MORALE
Replace entertainer buffs and the related stats with a Morale factor. You might immediately say that Battle Fatigue already represents this. That is not true. Battle Fatigue resistance does not exist in this game. There is no such thing as a buff specifically to prevent BF. In an actual combat situation, morale enables a fighter to go on against the odds. Believing in their cause, remembering their loved ones back home, having faith in their equipment, fighting with their comrades, trusting their commander.. it all contributes to the ability to resist battle fatigue. I think that Entertainers, Medics, Smugglers, Squad Leaders, faction Officers (as group leaders, possibly with a heroism factor) and items such as food, spice, armor, and weapons should contribute to sustaining a character's morale (battle fatigue resistance). It would then be possible for morale buffs to be given by the classes that are being affected.
ENTERTAINMENT ACTS
This suggestion will solve two problems at once, I hope.
Income - To feature an entertainer in a theater or cantina it should be necessary to HIRE that act. The establishment should put the Entertainer on salary. For every customer that watches the entertainer they should receive a bonus from the employer to an existing daily income. The employment would be valid as long as the player was actively (non-AFK) performing in that location for at least one continuous hour three days a week. Payscale would be dependent on your level and your ability to draw a crowd. A novice entertainer would not make very much but they would be able to renegotiate their contract when they leveled up.
Grouping - Entertainer groups are a pain to maintain. I had considered making the suggestion that members of the group receive invite permissions unless they are revoked by the group leader. However, I think it would be better to fix the problem this way. At any cantina it should be possible for an entertainer to approach the bartender and ask for a job. For a theater this would obviously be a manager's job. Once employed you would be added to the bartender/manager's group and they would be the leader. When someone new comes in and wants to join the group they talk to the bartender/manager and can be added any time of the day without having to worry about the current PC leader being AFK. This enables a much better system for Entertainer group experience.
ENTERTAINMENT ACTS II (Dancer Specific)
Duos/Dance Troupes/Couples - Solo dancing is fun but there is no reason why the ability to dance with someone else should not be included in this game. It would add so much to the enjoyment for dancers. There might be some concern with the sexuality that is involved with dancing partners. I'm not going to say that I would laugh at that after the exotic leotards and exotic dances... but I will say that it is controllable. Not having a dance be too sexually charged is as simple as not choreographing it to be across that line.
Duos would involve a dancing team. The Dancers would have to be of equal level and match their partner's performance. Obviously, coordinating flourishes and particular dances would require some practice for the team and would make it challenging to put on a good show. The command /startdance Duo would bring up a list of dances available for the team and synchronize the start. A duo invite would be accessible on the character's radial menu.
Dance Troupes would work in the same way except that Troupes could only perform in Theaters or by invitation to the player structures *large house, guildhall, or yacht*. I realize that suddenly populating the theaters with dancers would seem to interfere with quests. My advice is to make the quests dependent on performance experience (more on that later). Troupe invite would be accessible on the radial menu and a /startdance Troupe command would bring up possible dances and start everyone simultaneously.
Couples would involve dancing with a non-dancer. This one is special. If you did this like I would do it then this type of dancing would give the best buff. Instead of receiving a minor buff from simply watching a performance, the person being buffed would benefit from the personal attention of the performer. This would give twice the normal effect. Couple invite would be accessible on the radial menu and the command /startdance Couple would allow the Dancer to select the dance. Obviously, the Dancer would lead.
Duos, Troupes, and Couples would provide different bonuses to certain actions. Duos would receive a bonus to Dancing experience. Troupes would receive a bonus to Performance experience. Couples would receive a bonus to buffing (morale increase) and to healing battle fatigue.
note: It should be possible to mirror this to Musician with the creation of Duettes, Orchestras, and Requested songs. Orchestras would be related to Dance Troupes and Requested songs would work on the same principle of Couples dancing.
ENTERTAINMENT ACTS III
Performance experience - It has never made sense to call it Wound Healing experience in the context of the mind. Logically, the process is that the healing occurs as the character relaxes and so it heals itself. It is the Entertainer's performance that provides the means to that healing process for the player. The quality of the performance determines the healing factor. So improving the performance is what is wanted from an Entertainer. Entertainers should receive Performance experience instead of Wound Healing experience. What difference does it make to simply call it something else? Well, performance experience should not be limited to being received only when someone is watching or listening. It should be something that is received to a lesser degree as the performer continually practices their art. A fair ratio might be 25% of Dancing or Musician experience. So that if 8 points of Musician experience is received then the player will also receive 2 points of Performance experience. This would only replace Wound healing, battle fatigue healing would still be x/x/x/FH. Having Performance I would add bonuses to Technique I and Fatigue Healing I. Rather than increasing the healing ability or enhancment ability, I would suggest that Performance skills would increase the healing speed. I would also suggest that having all four Performance boxes and then Mastery would provide you with an additional knowledge +10 bonus and at least one new song or dance.
COSTUME & APPEARANCE
Costume - If you are hellbent on making it so that Performers cannot equip combat-oriented items then it is only fair that we get special items that combat professions cannot equip. This is the EQ way. I would like to request knock-off versions of combat items that will work as props and costumes. These should be craftable by Tailors and Artisans. In addition to this, Tailors should be given a set of Entertainer specific schematics that expand the costume possibilities. I am an artist and I would be happy to submit designs for these that are consistent with the Star Wars feel.
(Dancer Specific request - Masks)
(Dancer Specific request - Body Jewelry)
(Dancer Specific request - High Boots, Stiletto heels)
(Musician Specific request - Suits)
(Non-Specific request - Hip-huggers, Hipsters)
(Non-Specific request - More Short Sleeve Shirts, Vests)
Appearance - ID needs a whole new set of appearance options to make up for losing Stat Migration and while you're at it... how about some cool looks specifically for Entertainers? Tattoos and piercing for the body jewelry would be a nice addition for Image Designers. Bodypaint costumes might be going too far, heh. At least a couple of specific hairstyles or cosmetic options would be cool though.
I'll stop there.
-------- I posted this here first to get feedback on the ideas. If anyone has good suggestions then I will revise before posting to the CU thread. I apologize if this seems like a hijack since I am offering more ideas related to these concerns than new concerns. If someone wants to split it, I understand.
We have been assured that though mind wounds may not be present in the new system that battle fatigue will be. We currently require skillpoints for mind enhancements and mind healing. My main concern is that these current trees will become incredibly hard to get and could be frustrating for new players.
Solution? Perhaps reduction of skill points required for Master Dancer and Master Musician like they did with Image Designer. I wouldn't feel comfortable with entertainers needing no skill points at all - which was suggested in another thread - but I think a reduction would be feasible. This would allow those that have combat skills to be able to keep them (with the new increase of skill points) and also be able to enjoy their entertainment professions.
Message Edited by Devil_Tiger on 03-23-2005 02:45 PM
Exactly my point!
Devil_Tiger wrote:
Go Rodian. They are the perfectly balanced for any profession, doesn'texcell ator suck at any. I love being a Rodian, both as a former musician, former artisan,and as a current pikeman/doctor.
No, I'm not trying to flame on this one, seriously. I'm only kidding about the going Rodian thing. Even though Rodians are the least utilized race in the game, probably because we look like a cross between a frog and a bug, I'm just trying to lighten the mood. Even though I just wish I saw more Rodians (male and female) on both servers I play on.
It's awesome that we have so much customization during and after character creation to make it so no two characters are 100% identical. Migrating stats was one more way to make Twi'lek A more different from Twi'lek B. Losing the ability to make characters more unique is just wrong. We might as just well remake our unique characters into identical human clones. It's what the CU is starting to look like the Dev's want us to become, just anotherplayer in SWG: An Empire Cloned.
Message Edited by Devil_Tiger on 03-23-2005 02:45 PM
Lonaris wrote:Thanks for summing up the concerns. I know those of us who have treated the profession like a real profession ... spent time and money on additional quests, skill tapes and BE clothing would be highly dissapointed to have our profession lessensed in this way.
I'm sure you didn't mean to imply that anyone not disappointed by the loss of buffing isn't as committed to our profession.
Umi