Development Cycle Archive

* What do you think the strengths of professions mix and match are?
Ability to do dual comabt role or combat / crafting role.
* What do you think the weaknesses of professions mix and match are?
The ability to take 2 similar masteries and have the resulting attributes stack to an unhealthy level.
* How do you think we should maintain the unique skillset flavor the game is built on?
The skillset flavor is good but the possibly make it to where a person can only have a single mastery up a particular line. i.e. Cannot master Swords then take Master Fencer. They must choose 1 elite amongst the Brawler professions. Not saying they cannot master Swordsman / Pistoleer. This would reduce the "Dfense Stacker" templates.
* What are some neat combinations that would be good for the game?
Ranged / Doctor, Melee / Ranged, Melee / Doctor, Combat / Crafter
* Anything else you want to say on this subject?
The ability to drop and reuse points should always be in the game.
The loss of XP due to death should be thought about as a possible consequence.
Eliminate the "stacking" of defenses. Make them specific to the weapon weilded at the time of attack.
Provide a Ying / Yang to the professions. Each profession at their highest level should have one or two weapons that based on a special move do equal damage. I.E. A TKA using the best knuckler in the game should do equal damage to a Pistoleer using the same "Mastery" level weapon.
Provide weapons that can ONLY be used at the Master level of a profession pushing players to fully master a profession.

My hybrid character is designed to be a "Roleplayer's Bounty Hunter"

-Novice Bounty Hunter with Carbine Tree enhanced with the last 2 trees of Carbineer (a bounty hunter should be reasonably proficient with at least one weapon... I chose carbines)
-Novice Ranger with Player Track and Conceal (the ability to sneak up on someone you are trying to track down is a must for the hunters of the galaxy)
-Novice Creature Handler with level 3 of the last tree (I have a nearly perfect battledroid as a "partner", and I enter battle with an exploding droid... first strike can make or break ya in a battle)

I am contracted to the Rebellion to take out the Empire... my favorite "dirty little trick" would be to set up a series (3?) of faction scanners as a "net" on a path that is known to be travelled by my prey and bring them overt. After that, it is up to my skills as a warrior. Here's the thing though... I've never actually implemented this on a player (I'm not entirely sure if it is "legal") I've been brought overt travelling by a faction base and killed by NPC's, so I really can't see why I shouldn't be able to... other than the fact that I am actively hunting a player with the goal of sending them to the cloning center, whether they want to enter PvP or not)

I'm nearly positive that someone will disagree with this tactic, but consider this... bounty hunters aren't necessarily the nost noble of people to begin with. Faction bases do the same thing, but mine is portable /evilgrin Add in a shifting faction alignment (keep your faction points at over 200 per side and switch from side ot side depending on who is contracting you to "eliminate" another player)and you have a business model even Boba Fett can appreciate.

I would be VERY interested to hear what the devs/CSRs think of this tactic... for legal reasons. I don't want my character deleted for "unfair play" or some other non-sence.

1. Less template/skill mix variation (ie, everyone will go combat prof + doc in order to be more self sufficient)


2. Every class will come back whining that XXX class always gets into groups and their class doesn't get into groups because they are either not specialized enough to provide max dmg, or max healing, max etc

Changing this game to grouping-required also means changing the mobs, because now groups of people will take these mobs on, and if you are invincible solo, you certainly are in a group, but once again you won't ever find yourself in that group if you are a less desirable group class.

Making this game into a group-required game means changing MOBS so that they can handle groups as well, and as a result, the solo guy can certainly not handle the mobs anymore, and the crafter who has some combat ability but not specialized definitely definitely cannot handle mobs solo, and he certainly wont get into a group that can handle them because he's not contributing enough to the group. In an effort to raise interaction, you would in fact kill it.

THE Strength of this game is its community and allowing people to have fun and progress through many different avenues, no class isforever pigeonholed into one activity in order to make money. Once that changes, the casual player is gone forever in this game. When I recently started playing this game, I simply could not fathom how different the community was from EQ. EVERYONE I met in this game is helpful, and this is simply not so in EQ, where you need to be in a guild to ensure a spot in any kind of a good group, sure there are a few few random people who will givea helping hand, but its not much help to total strangers. In this game, the new guy, the stranger is made very welcome, and that simply is not found in other games.

My Reply:

• What do you think the strengths of professions mix and match are?




• Jedis: Lightsaber damage is moderate to high in level when it comes to statistics. They can damage andblock most damage typesfrom gun and melee attackers. Damage of a lightsaber should almost beequivalent or greater, but not by to much. Lightsabers should also have special abilities, unique only to this form of weapon.Force powers will have defensive, offensive, andNon-attacking capacities. Offensive Force abilities deal damage in unique ways varying from type and name. Defensive Force Abilities will provide defensive abilities to their statistics and other types. Non-attacking capacities should be force abilities that don't do damage, or defend from damage. It's a number of Force abilities that affect what you do with objects and their surroundings instead of combat.


• Rifleman: Should be one-hit killers. They are the snipers and hunters of the group. They dominate at long range attacks, killing somebody almost instantly pre-shot.


• Pistoleers: Their advantage is to eliminate targets at close range while stationary or moving. In addition to that, they can attack two targets at once by using two pistols at one target, or two.


• Carbineers: The ranks of an armor consist mostly of carbineers. They are the players with semi-machine laser rifles, and full automatics. They excel at speed and rate of fire. Their range is only good up to 30 to 40 meters. They are by far the fastest gun-shooting Profession in the game. The basic necessity to mowing down ranks with hot sheer laser fire.


• Commandos: These are you AT-ST, AT-AT, Bunker, and other moble tank hunters. They could also be used to shoot down a transport ship hovering over land with troops in it. This Profession is by far the most devasting profession because of it's massive firepower. They excel at making things go boom, especially big things.


• Bounty Hunters: They are a profession that excels in killing other players. This profession should be strickly PVP either against Jedis, or other players of PVP Factions. They diversify themselves in all forms of combat, gun and melee alike. A hybrid Profession that uses other professions to hunt players down. To place them in-check for rewards made by other Players.


• Teras Kasi Arist: These Melee type Profession is like a kung fu type profession. They should emphasize on unarm attacks that could either be extremely fast, or low to moderate damage. This profession also provides abilities that strengthen a players attributes, defense and other aspects that are non-combatian. A TKA player could take up the art of using Vibroknuckles, a weapon used in hand to hand combat, or assasinating somebody by stabbing them in the back.


• Fencers and Swordsman: Not also do I think these two professions should be combined into one, they should emphasize on the use of different types of slicing/blunting weapons with one or two hands. They could do moderate damage. Combat with these weapons show players' swords hitting eachother like a real sword fight. There weapons will have different results in combat.


• Pikeman: Just like Swordsman/Fencer, the pikeman is a worth adversery in hand to hand combat. They emphasize on the amount of attacks they can hit somebody, or switch to having attacks that will damage players all around them.


• Brawler: Brawler is the typical thug, or basic style to fighting. Every Great Profession has it's beginings.


• Marksman: Introduction to the Gun-type Professions.
  


• What do you think the weaknesses of professions mix and match are?




• Jedi:




• Invulnerable to Heat, Blast damage




• Lightsabers can't block these types of damage


• Invulnerable to blaster fire




• heavily damage by gun type professions if they don't block


• Force Power being drainresults in the following:




• Force stats temporary decrease in value


• less chances of blocking incomingattack


• become extremely invulnerable to damage and attacks


• Force Power can be drained while using lightsaber




• offensive moves


• defensive moves


• Special abilities


• Some force moves lag in the following:




• Leaves you open to incoming attacks without defense




• Force Lighting


• Force Choke


• Force Throw


• Force Meditate


• Mind-Blast


• Jedi MInd Tricks


• Force Run


• Rifleman:




• Melee professions can interrupt attacks


• Low Speed Rating




• 8 to 10 second statistics on speed


• One shot per cycle


• Invulnerable to multiple attacks


• five second lag after moving to shoot


• must be kneeling or prone to shoot


• Low defense against attackers under 30 meters


• PIstoleers:




• melee profession attacks interrupt gun attacks at close range


• disadvantages at accuracy over25 meters


• melee professions can interrupt attacks


• one shot per cycle


• Low speed statistics




• 6 to 9 seconds


• Additional weapon per hand decreases accuracy and speed


• Carbineers:




• Melee profession attacksinterrupt attacks


• negative modifiers to accuracy


• disadvantages to accuracy over35 meters


• one shot per cycle while running


• Low speed statistics




• 5to 8 seconds


• Must be stationary toshoot2 shots per cycle


• Commando:




• Required to be stationary to shoot weapons


• 5 second lag after moving to shoot with heavy weapon


• defenseless against attacks at 20 meters or less


• Attacks at close rangeinterrupt commando attacks against melee profession player


• grenades only have 10 meters


• Long reload time:




• 8 to 15 seconds speed statistics


• Bounty Hunters:




• Suffer the same rules as with any combination mix of combat professions


• Constantly in PVP


• Teras Kasi Artist




• Low on damage statistics compared to guns


• no defenses against gun type damage


• Fencers/Swordsman




• Low to moderate damage statistics compared to guns


• no defenses against gun type damage or Lightsaber damage


• slower than Teras Kasi Artist in speed


• Pikemen




• Low to moderate damage to statistics


• Slower than Teras Kasi Artist in speed


• no defenses to to gun or lightsaber damage


• Brawler




• No defense against lightsaber or gun type damage


• low damage rating


• slower than Teras Kasi Artist


• Marksman




• Slower compared to melee type combat professions


• get interrupted by melee profession attacks


• Interrupted attacks won't be able to attack


• suffer the same penalties from the use of rifleman, pistoleer, or carbineer skills and weapons
  


• How do you think we should maintain the unique skillset flavor the game is built on?




• expand it by adding additional trees to each profession.


• add more context and skills to each tree focusing onX type ofaspect
  


• What are some neat combinations that would be good for the game?
  


• Anything else you want to say on this subject?




• Change damage reduction from 75% to 50%


• One shot-kills can be controled in the following:




• Lower chances of successful hits by weapons


• melee professions can stop players with guns from shooting at close range


• Gun professions have slower speed statistics compared to melee professions


• Melee professions will have less damage compared to guns or lightsabers


• Majority of the Gun PRofessions require the player to be stationary before firing


• Some Gun weapons lag for 5 seconds after moving in order to shoot the weapons


• Lightsaber weapons will be controled in the following:




• Saber vs. saber duel will be 3/4 deflecting and locking blows


• 1/4 of combat will be attacks against other jedis


• Jedis drain force bar with blocking and attacking with lightsabers


• Sabers block the following:




• Energy


• Kinetic


• Cold


• poison


• restrain


• electrical


• Sabers can't block the following types:




• stun


• flame


• blast


• Armor can't block lightsaber damage


• PSG block all of Lightsaber damage


• PSG are invunlerable to electrical damage


• players can block lightsabers with their weapons




• condition of the weapon gets damage with lightsaber damage


• damage from saber affects condition or weapons, armor, or hand weapons


• Jedis have slower regeneration rate

What do you think the strengths of professions mix and match are?
this is obvious creating hybrid templates that the players enjoy

What do you think the weaknesses of professions mix and match are?
i dont see any weaknesses

How do you think we should maintain the unique skillset flavor the game is built on?
give us more professions , example give professions a boost ,once you master said profession give the a elite skill tree ,if you master marksman AND riflemand then you can spend more skil points to be a elite rifleman

What are some neat combinations that would be good for the game?

i think that professions like dancer should affect profession like fencer , and Teras kasi.
musician couldenhance a doctors healing , crafting couldenhance a smugglers ability to slice,medic woulsd enhanve a bio-engineers skills ,ect ect create more of a WEB of skills than the tree system

Anything else you want to say on this subject?

fix the pistoleer specials , award master professions, and award dabblers equaly

'nough said

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Thunderheart wrote:

...

• What do you think the strengths of professions mix and match are?
  

I like the fact that I can build exactly the kind of strengths in my character that I enjoy playing with, and evolve to something else as my interests change.

• What do you think the weaknesses of professions mix and match are?
  

The difficulty in maintaining balance between certain combinations of skills. For a while everyone and their brother was a commando/TK or a CH/BH. Then as combat changes go into effect there is a migration to other perceived uber-templates. The system lacks that categorization you describe of the 'tank', or the 'healer', and focuses instead on the ability to make a single character all of those things in one. There is a co-op team sense to the 'tank' or 'healer', where people will develop those characters, fully knowing that they will not be able to tackle advanced dungeons by themselves, and will depend on the abilities of others. That co-op feel is missing from SWG, I think, because of the mix/match. If I don't have to depend on someone else to provide those abilities in a group setting, I'm not going to.

I've seen you battle with this in creating the unrealistically challenging Corevette missions, where a complete group of maxed out combat professions has a miniscule chance of being able to defeat the dungeon. I also see it in building in class dependencies, where an armorsmith can't make his product without the tailors synthcloth. Or the entertainer requires players to heal or image design.

• How do you think we should maintain the unique skillset flavor the game is built on?

A tough one. A radical change would be to only allow one basic profession at a time. Then you will truly have the Brawler 'tank' or the Medic 'Healer'. But in doing that you'd be removing the systems greatest strength.

I say the system works as-is and should be left alone, barring some profession tweaks.

• 
  
  What are some neat combinations that would be good for the game?
  

I dunno. Commando/Rifleman always seemed like a neat combination to me, but not very complementary as it currently stands.

• Anything else you want to say on this subject?

Uh. How about instead of an oft-delayed, sweeping combat revamp, you go a profession at a time, and bring that profession closer in-line with the universe. It was that way for a while with doctors, CHs, DEs, etc. But it kinda trailed off with the focus on Jedi. I liked knowing that publish 8 was the Droid Engineer publish. I'd like publish 11 to be the politician publish, and publish 12 to be the commando publish.

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