Development Cycle Archive

I'd like to comment on the issue of armor. Armor in SWG is clearly too powerful. It encourages soloing to virtual exclusing of grouping, makes being unarmored an unviable option (esp in PvP), and creates a cookie cutter environment where everyone is wearing their 70%+ composite. It also leaves factional armor (and uniforms) unviable (the cost on faction armor doesnt help).

The fundamental problem is that the "penalty" for wearing armor isnt really a penalty. Buffs are so powerful and easy to get that everyone runs around in their armor and buffed. In order to balance armor, forget penalties to secondary stats. Try penalties to defensive skills (ie ranged/melee, KD, dizzy, etc..) or to weapon speed. Armor is cumbersome and should make players easier to hit as they are less mobile (but allowing the armor to absorb damaage of course), leaving unarmored players options for pvp or for, heaven forbid, factional armor.

BH's should also get dual wield

Things bothering me since the last patch...

* Spices that buff primaries no longer restore stats when the downer lifts. Instead the max is restored but you appear "white barred" or damaged - even if you were fully healed when taking the spice and took no damage in the full 12-15minute cycle.

* Buff icnos for food now clear on deat *BUT* this was done blindly without consideration for food whose effects last through death. So, the problem that everyone had with doc buffs and brandy pre-patch now exists in revers for foods like Synsteak (worse too, because theres no visible indication on when these effects are over now)

* NPC MOBs all thinking they're TKMs now... bad, very bad

I think that's all I got... my template is in mid-change so haven't been doing all that much fighting lately.

Duel wield Carbines would be nice.

The DE profession is on the verge of flatlining or has already flatlined... please listen to them...

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Kade_Deveron wrote:
I'd like to comment on the issue of armor. Armor in SWG is clearly too powerful. It encourages soloing to virtual exclusing of grouping, makes being unarmored an unviable option (esp in PvP), and creates a cookie cutter environment where everyone is wearing their 70%+ composite. It also leaves factional armor (and uniforms) unviable (the cost on faction armor doesnt help).

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I agree with your fundamental point, though I must admit I do enjoy the kind of solo viability armour and buffs afford me

That being said, I think this is a multi-angle issue. Adjusting encumbrances and including penalties to things like Defense vs. States is a good idea, but I think making factional armor more viable and, in particular, moving to a crafter-based faction armour system would be an effective means of addressing the problem, as well.

The fact that all mobs do Kinetic doesn't help, either - more variance in mob damage combined with revamping armour encumbrances, along with new crafted factional armours, would definitely work well together to address the situation.

Let Pikeman dual wield.