Development Cycle Archive
Thread: In Concept 1-1: Combat Roles; Bounty Hunter
Listen up here no Combat class should be Uber in PvP this is really stupid since it would just ruin the diversity in SWG. And thats whats makes games fun to play if we make one proffesion the King of PvP then everyone sooner or later is bound to be one. I want all ELITE combat classes this includes the Hybrid ones to have an equal chance in PvP depending on the way they chose to play it out (A Rifleman going up at melee range against a TKA should be screwed big time). For destinction Bounty Hunters really really need Player Bountys we need to hunt merchendise and not the boring PC ones (OMG they are so boring). Furthermore(and I know this idea prob wont be shared by many) BHs shouldent be aligned at all. almost all the BHs in SW are in it for the credits except for Kenix Kil as far as I know. and I have yet to see a Rebel BH fighting to free the Galaxy in a SW book. in my opinion BHs arent bad in PvP at all infact the times I lose in PvP its becouse of my own errors in correctly analyzing the situation. To sum things up:
- We need Player Bountys!!!!!
- BHs shouldent be factionaly aligened unless they are payed to
- BHs are often loners and therefore we should be able to handle alot on our own (Not tanking krayt dragons and dark Jedis)
This maybe a bit of topic cuz im really tierd and cant focus my thougths all that well. if it is just delete it.
1-on-1 and ambush tactics. The bounty hunter should be an all-out agressive class. In situations when it gets to initiate combat, it should be an opponent to fear. Per the text cannon, bounty hunters are no small concern when they are pursuing a target.
What basic combat elements should they possess?
Suprise. First strike capability. Rapid takedown.
A bounty hunter should be able to strike from a hidden state, strike hard, and extract with their target.
What offensive abilities?
Offensively, a Bounty Hunter should be able to reliably strike its foes with a very strong, or debilitating initial volley, but taper off in protracted combat. Ranged, or guided remote attacks should be possible, in order to keep with the cannon materials.
What defensive abilities?
Armor. Bounty Hunters should be able to take advantage of armor more effectively than other classes. In the movies and books, bounty hunters relied on personal armor and running like there was no tomorrow for their defensive capabilities.
What unique abilities?
Player Tracking
Player bounties
Bounty Hunter mission bounties : Tef ONLY to the player they have a bounty on, and the people they are grouped in after the second volley of fire.
Should add what advantage or asset in group combat?
In group combat, a bounty hunter should be similar to an armored line trooper - they do not specialize in group combat...in fact it is anathema to their concept. They should not add much more than they do now: an extra weapon firing.
How could/should they interact with other professions?
Bounty Hunters should rely on other classes much the same way they do now. Armorsmiths, Weaponsmiths, Droid Engineers, Bio-engineers, and Doctors.
A Bounty Hunter's interaction with a Creature-handler should be limited for materials, and Architects as well. Additionally, bounty hunters represent an opportunity to remove a large portion of the money in the economy by paying dues and percentages to maintain their bounty hunter faction.
What interaction / dependencies should exist with other combatants?
Bounty Hunters should be deployed along flanks, in defensive natures, or picking off stragglers. In larger unit combat, Bounty hunters Should be about equivalent to Master Marksmen - versatile, but no master of the trade.
What should be their unique role in the Galactic Civil War?
Bounty Hunters provide an ecology of sorts - removing stray or obvious jedi, as well as picking off undesirables. Perhaps using them in place of the well-meaning /citywarn command. Additionally, a bounty hunter is a good way to remove materials and money from the game in non-renewable tools and travel expenses.
What defines theBounty Hunterrole in combat?
What basic combat elements should they possess?
As many have stated, a BH is a jack of all trades. A hunter of others. Should accel in 1v1 combat, but not a dud if there are a few others. Should not however be a one man army, but should have some advantages over other templates with similar skillpoints spent, and some disdvantages.
What offensive abilities?
Should be mainly offense focused, being able to penetrate foes defenses, etc.
What defensive abilities?
This would be the balancing factor, lots of other classes have defenses. A BH shouldn't have much defense, but its offense should make up for it.
What unique abilities?
Target stature manipulation, stuns, dizzies, blinds, etc. State effects galore and damage. A strong offense is a good defense 
Should add what advantage or asset in group combat?
Just the way it has been imlemented and the nature of the profession, it should be solo mainly, people generally cant help us on bounty missions, so should be fairly self reliant. Maybe in the way of high damage output, but thats about it.
How could/should they interact with other professions?
Fight them to the death.
What interaction / dependencies should exist with other combatants?
Should be dependant on artisans and merchants, maybe doctors, other than that mainly self reliant.
What should be their unique role in the Galactic Civil War?
being between factions, ie siding with the side thats willing to pay most. Perhaps a Hutt faction?
The Bounty Hunter excels at finding and capturing or restraining a single humanoid target.
What basic combat elements should they possess?
Bounty Hunter combat skills should be based around control and concentrated on a single target. They are not damage dealers or good against groups.
What offensive abilities?
The offensive abilities of Bounty Hunters include state change attacks as well as humanoid traps for effects that generally are not attributed to weapons. They can restrain and ultimately capture their target, although it takes their full concentration to keep their target in custody.
What defensive abilities?
Bounty Hunters don't enter combat without already having the upper hand. Their main defenses are those that allow them to escape combat when not under the best circumstances. A group of enemies is bad news for a Bounty Hunter as well.
Game terms, extra burst run efficiency would be good, as would an area effect style warning shot to scare a group away long enough for the Bounty Hunter to get away.
What unique abilities?
* Humanoid traps
* Humanoid tracking should be the forte of the Bounty Hunter and not the Ranger.
* A new control ability for Bounty Hunters that allows them to restrain and then capture their target, but do nothing else but move while doing so. It would be the ultimate control attack, and would allow for real bounties instead of assassinations.
* A group attack that slows or scares the targets (warning/threaten shot-ish)
* Ability to temporarily sign up for a side (or the other side) in the GCW to hunt faction enemies (including PCs). See below in the GCW paragraph for details.
Should add what advantage or asset in group combat?
Groups will seek out Bounty Hunters for their control. Hunters will be able to apply states to control or even restrain/capture individuals in battle while others deal damage.
How could/should they interact with other professions?
Due to the skill points needed to achieve Bounty Hunter, they are the ultimate consumers. They rely on all the other professions for equipment and services, but can do their job in the field alone.
What interaction / dependencies should exist with other combatants?
Bounty Hunters are the control kings in combat. They will rely on others to do the heavy damage if killing large targets is the focus of the mission.
What should be their unique role in the Galactic Civil War?
Bounty Hunters work for either side, but are not barred from enlisting. A Bounty Hunter can see a recruiter about taking a bounty on an opposing faction member (NPC or high ranked PC). This would temporarily enlist the Bounty Hunter in the recruiter's faction, thus opening him or her to PVP. This would also allow for limited player bounties, but with targets controlled by NPCs, there would be no worry about grief.
That's how I would see the Bounty Hunter as a profession.
Oh, and I'm Artisan 0000, Brawler 1000, Entertainer 0111, Marksman 4443, and Scout 4040.
What defines the Bounty Hunter role in combat?
First, let's define what a bounty hunter is.
A bounty hunter is a person who is sent out to arrest (or kill) usually for payment. In Star Wars, we know that bounty hunters often filled the role of assassin. This is not to say that bounty hunters are assassins.. just that the role of BH covers assassination attempts.
Bounty Hunter is a profession, a full time profession.
In combat, a Bounty Hunter is going to have to know how to take down his mark quickly and effieciently while maintaining a level of effectiveness. A Bounty Hunter is going to use many tools and tricks of the trade. The skills that a Bounty Hunter learns usually won't, and shouldn't, apply to open warfare (vs. many opponents).
What basic combat elements should they possess?
The ability to take on a single opponent with confidence. A Bounty Hunter should have neat utilities/tools to take down their marks. A Bounty Hunter should be great at taking down a mark not by going head on with brute force but with interesting tactics using equipment.
What offensive abilities?
The use of traps, tools, and equipment to track and hopefully take down his target. Open battles are something a Bounty Hunter should avoid. He's an effecient combatant when he uses stealth and strikes quickly.
The Bounty Hunter is more offense than he is Defensive but his offensive capability is like an alpha strike.. he comes out of nowhere, he does his tricks, and he gets his mark. This does not mean he's a commando where he releases a LOT of damage at one time... but that doesn't mean he can't 
Tools/Traps.. that's the key to his success.
What defensive abilities?
I think unique BH armor (NOT MANDALORIAN ARMOR.. NO, NO) offering special evades and more than the usual defense should be available to Bounty Hunters.
What unique abilities?
Ability to use traps and other tools whereas the other professions can't really do so.
Also, a special faction. If wants to hunt bounties then he joins the Bounty Hunter Guild. If he's not in the guild, he can't do bounties of any kind, he can't wear the unique BH armor, use the unique BH weapons, or other tricks. The Bounty Hunter Guild's faction perks can consist of the BH unique armor and other stuff (not player made I suppose)...
How could/should they interact with other professions?
Droid Engineers for tracking droids and possibly unique combat droids (BH unique).
BEs for darts and other traps?
What should be their unique role in the Galactic Civil War?
but good) just look at boba fett, he is a god. An immortal. Given the basic considerations listed above, please answer the following questions:
What defines theBounty Hunterrole in combat?
Their function as a humanoid hunter. As many people have said, they should be optimized for attacking humanoids on their terms. Their goal should be quick takedowns.
What basic combat elements should they possess?
BHs should have all basic ranged abilities and some amount of melee abilities for use in tight situations such as taking a mark in a cantina.
What offensive abilities?
Strong offensive abilities. The ability to do high (but not highest like Commando or Rifleman) damage quickly. The ability to control an opponents movement in order to prevent their escape.
What defensive abilities?
The ability to survive the first few minutes of combat and then a very strong defense/escape in case fight is not going well, but not defense in the sense of toe-to-toe combat for long periods.
What unique abilities?
The ability to track specific humanoid targets/marks over the vast distances of the Galaxy.
Should add what advantage or asset in group combat?
Group combat should not be a BH's forte, but because a BH is skilled at controlling the movement of a target to prevent escape, that would help a group (if a BH knockdowns target while others are applying damage, that would be an unintended but valid use of BH abilities).
How could/should they interact with other professions?
Buying weapons, armor, tracking droids, medicines, buffs, and spices. Perhaps buying information from smugglers needed to track player bounties like they currently get information from spynet operatives on NPC bounties.
What interaction / dependencies should exist with other combatants?
Should need others to "tank" in prolonged combat, since they are not accustomed to that. Should serve as a good "first strike" class, since they are used to suprise attacks and high damage at outset.
What should be their unique role in the Galactic Civil War?
Somewhat on the outskirts of the GCW, perhaps skilled at tracking down and capturing/killing individual high value members of the opposite faction. A captured Imperial General might be a valuable source of intelligence for the Rebellion
Someone said that they shouldn't be as good at pistols as a pistoleer, as good at carbines as a carbineer, and it would make sense not to be as good at rifles as a rifleman, although not important currently. The only issue with this is that any character only uses one weapon at a time. So if pistoleers are guaranteed to be better with pistols than a bounty hunter and pistols are relatively balanced with other ranged weapons, then this effectively means that a pistoleer is better at ranged combat than a bounty hunter. So unless you add some really cool unique abilites to counterbalance this, a BH should be comparable to weapon specialists with their weapon. Make sure a BH is worth the skill points it costs, or nobody is going to want to continue to spend almost all their skill points on this profession.
Request For Comments:
The community is invited to make commentsthrough April. At that time, the thread will be closed to further comments. Feel free to comment on any or all of the above items. Please stay on topic.
Given the basic considerations listed above, please answer the following questions:
What defines theBounty Hunterrole in combat?
Soloist, relying on supporting henchman in rare instances where a target has proven particularly hard. Handy withthe wide variety of weapons at their disposal(including Rifles! See: ESB- Bossk, 4-Lom, IG-88, etc). Not an expert in any weapon, but profficent in nearly all. Able to track and stalk Humanoids like a preditor hunts prey, watching and waiting for an opening, and able to take full advantage of a weakness on a studied foe (aim bonus to dmg?). Not particularly defensive- forced to rely on armor, rather than skill, to get out of tight spots. Best when they have the inititive. Not excelling in open combat, but able to take advantage of every opening.
What basic combat elements should they possess?
Strong opening attacks, ability to sneak up on even alert (agrro) targets, able to target any pool (to hit weakest). Best attacks/results from opening shots on unsuspecting tasrgets.
What offensive abilities?
KD, DOT, Dizzy, and stun, but not strongest.Better chances at Stuns, Blinds, KDs, and Dizzys if the opening shot, less powerfulllater. The ability to incap quickly, before fighting drags on to long.
What defensive abilities?
Less than other offensive classes. Perhaps armor is worn due to aneed for armor to take up the slack for less defense? Open combat should be the BH weakness. Able to kill in a few moments, but vunerable in a drawn out battle= lower defense.
What unique abilities?
A ranged KD that allows for a fast incap early in combat. The ability to do additional damage to a target's lowest pool if the target has been studied for a long time- perhaps mechanically a dmg bonus to attacks following successfull "Aim"? Add 2 or 3 tiers where Aiming twice in a row at tier two increases bonus, 3 aimsfor tier 3. Bonuses for 1 on 1 combat, but not good vrs groups.
Should add what advantage or asset in group combat?
Weapon versitility, but not generally good at aiding the group. Should be able to strike at weakpoints or quickly weaken individual foes. Best for taking down an enemy's leader while the others are busy dealing with the rest of the BHs group, for example.
How could/should they interact with other professions?
Riflemen/Carbineers: Potential henchmen for taking on the guards of an advanced target; Smugglers: Spice, slices, INFORMATION; Rangers: Tracking targetsaswell as, and later better than, droids; Jedi:Elite targets for Imp BH (Dark Jedi BH missions from Reb terms?!);Commando: Hired gun for the toughest of marks and their vehicles, also good for demolition of defensive facilities; squad leaders: none!; most others: obvious.
Overall, the BH should represent a client to all other professions, one with expensive needs and the csh to back it up. It should be very possible for a member of many of these professions to be "in the employ of" a BH full time!
What interaction / dependencies should exist with other combatants?
Specialists (carbineers, rifleman, commando) can provide much needed back up, either to soften a target or provide exit/entry. A BH is normaly only getting paid to kill one target. Anything that can make it easier to kill that single target and get out is helpfull.
What should be their unique role in the Galactic Civil War?
BHs played an important and visible role for the Empire in ESB, tracking down and seting up know rebellion operatives for the greater good of the Empire. BHs should provide constant services to the Empire, as the Empire is the largest poster of public bounties. These services should include the killing or capture of known rebel operatives, defectors, and prime targets that would be unable to be successfully eliminated in a military operation, or are not of a nature the military can obviously persue. Offering a bounty on the confirmed death of a known "terrorist" allows the Empire to rest easier, as the BH needs to provide proof of termination, whereas a military campaign might destroy or overlook evidence and leave the targets whereabouts "unknown".
BHs should also provide a much needed service to the Rebellion! While not as public, the Rebellion is known to have posted bounties on Imperial targets, including individuals helping the empire from both within and outside of official stations. Rebellion Bounty missions should be made available through coordinators and/or terminals.
Thought I'd chime in. KaiRan has a very good idea that I'd like to expound upon.
First off, I'm not a Bounty Hunter, have yet to play one. However, I do play D20 Star Wars (the true Star Wars RPG), and one of the special qualities of a Bounty Hunter in d20 is called Target Bonus. This basically grants a bonus (between +1 and +5 to a Bounty Hunter's attacks against his/her target). Now, since Galaxies is not based off the D20 format, perhaps a Target Bonus would grant a temporary and additional bonus to Accuracy or Speed when using a weapon against a target.
Here's a general suggestion for you "Devs." While Galaxies is a whole 'nother venture compared to D20 Star Wars, it might serve you guys well to talk with Wizards of the Coast and perhaps implement some of their areas of expertise. The fact of the matter is, I only play Galaxies because it's Star Wars, not because it's a good MMO, because right now, it's not. In fact, the pen and paper D20 RPG for Star Wars by Wizards is far more satisfying and fun--and to my knowledge, is also far more successful.
Just a tip for you Devs. Wizards has some great resources that would really bolster this shell of a game we have.
What defines theBounty Hunterrole in combat?
From my point of view combat has to be split up generally in PvE and PvP.
PvE
The bounty hunter is (at least now) an assasin (or duelist). One quarter of his skills are called "Investigation". Investigation should be more than just tracking a target. The bounty hunter should also be able to find out about his opponents weaknesses and use special items to gain davantage of those.
e.g. a "blinding" or "cloaking" device against rifleman
a speed modifier against melee classes
Most player mentioned those as traps. I agree with them.
The bounty hunter should prepare for ONE UNIQUE target in order to beat it as FAST and efficent as possible. He should concentrate on that target. As all of us know concentrating on one thing makes us blind for other things. Therefore he should be weak against all others once he concentrate at a target.
Facit :
Find out about the targets weaknesses
Track the target
Concentrate on target (it should be a kind of a skill that offers great advantage to ONE target while making the bounty hunter almost defenseless against ALL other targets.)
Bounty hunters should be REALLY weak to animals once they decided to concentrate on hunting humanoids.
PvE bounty hunting (hunting Jedi or other criminals)
Should be similar to PvE. Once the player is in a group or a creature handler the bounty hunter should avoid attacking him.
Plus i would like to see an option to use the "force sensitive" slot for being a Jedi OR for being a Jedi hunting capable bounty hunter. From my point of view they are a kind of opposit so i would let the players choose if the wantto be contraor pro jedi.
I would really love to see non jedi players being bounty hunted too. It would be a great choice for punishing rude players. Just put them onto the bount hunter terminal (option for CSR). And once the criminal faction is up there should be options to gian dirty money or something with the disadvantage of bounty hunter guild attention.
PvP as usual
Most players forget that PvP is an absolutly virtual kind of combat. Some people which normally would attack each other at once are deciding to longclick a player and challenge him. (There is no bounty or other reason for attacking him. its just the allmighty behind the screen)
Since this is a completly out of profession situation (for almost every profession) the PvP should be played in an absolutly different style than PvE or PvbountyP.
What basic combat elements should they possess?
Preparation.
Concentration (short intensive fight against ONE target)
Quick, effective ans exhausting abilities.
The wide variety of weapons is the right thing for the bounty hunter. This makes him able tofight all sorts of targets.
The bounty hunter should be weak against supported targets and almost useless in long lasting fights or big battles.
What offensive abilities?
His offensive abilities should be related to preparation in PvE and PvbountyP. If he doesnt visit his bat cave and get the right equipment before starting his fight he should not be able to be succesful.
As i said already. PvP should be a completly different thing but i am NOT familiar with it and the PvP related problems of a MMORPG.
What defensive abilities?
He shoulb be able to prepare his armor for his target.
e.g.
Smuggler
very strong with pistols (energy, heat, acid)
well unarmed fighter (kinetic, stun)
Therefore should be some kind of bounty hunter armor available. This armor should have basic amount of protection depending on quality and encumbrance. Once the bounty hunter knows the fighting abilities of his target he can put the protection pool to the needed protection types.
To prevent misuse of this armor it should only be preparable by special furniture that CAN NOT be placed easily by players.
He should be weak in general and unprepared fighting.
What unique abilities?
tracking
preparation
maybe a "you dont want to get involved" skil that makes people which are allied to the bounty hunters target less motivated to get involved.
Should add what advantage or asset in group combat?
The bounty hunter should gain disadvantages in group combat because its unfair if he has duel advantages wihtout any disadvantages. And its not a supporting profession its an independent one.
In stats if the bh is in a group his defense/accuracy or whatever will be decreasesd BADLY !
How could/should they interact with other professions?
They may want to spend their money on goodlooking Twileks for some entertainment
They are going to buy a wide variety of equipement to have optimal preparation options. And i would like too have charges on almost every preparation item to make at least one class come back to merchants over and over again.
Maybe they could be an indirect help by picking out one target of the opposing group and kill it to weaken the group off one important person (combat medic/doctor)
What interaction / dependencies should exist with other combatants?
They should not depend on other combat classes nor should they offer any benefits for other clases.
What should be their unique role in the Galactic Civil War?
GREAT ! Civil war ! There will be more criminals more people killing each other or at least want to and mainly MORE MONEY.
They should as someone already mentioned mainly interested in their bank account and less or not interested in factions.
On the opposit no faction want to be official related to any bounty hunter business. No one wants to. They are dirty, they are assasins.
Comments:
I am not a native speaker. I am from germany so maybe you think my text is styleless or horrible wrong.