Doctor Archive

So I've been out of skill points for quite some time now, doing the old 'which to forget so I can advance' dance so that I could master Doctor. And, luckily, I managed it.

However, my combat skills aren't all that great, just good enough to 'get-by'. And why is that? Because there just isn't enough skill points to do any more.

But then I got to thinking...

After looking at what skills I had, I realized that the ONLY reason I have artisan(15 points) is so I can use the survey tools to find a nice spot to place my harvesters. It costs me 15 Skill Points just to be able to find a spot to place my harvesters? What the heck is that about?

So, my idea here, since the CHs recently were given their own stimpacks/vitality packs for their pets since they didn't want to have to spend 15 points on medic...why don't we get our OWN survey tools? Or, at the least, cert the tools so that anyone with novice artisan or novice medic can use them?

This gives us an additional 15 skill points to use, and will mean I can finally give up all ties with the artisan profession.

Feedback? responses? hell..at this point I'll even take trolling.

I think this deserves an answer.

Doc & BE are clearly crafting classes dependent on harvesters for much (if not all for Doc) of thier resources.

Either make it a requirement, or give us a wayto survey (even if that gives us a dependency). Esp. with the ODD and advanced planet requirements you can't pay someone to regularly survey the all the planets you need for the resources for Doctor and new pet stims in BE. Due to the obscure materials requiredby the schematicsits impossible to consistently find resource suppliers or surveyors who you can depend on. Ergo, you are forced to take artisan. I'd also add that since you can't secure trade waypoints, it makes it hard for surveyors to sell survey services.

Some suggestins have been:

- bring back miners

- DE survey driods

- Org. Chem. line granting some survey like bonus

I have heard medical forage was the fix for this, but I think consensus is that it is inadequate.

only BE's can make the packs to heal pets. Take a look at the resources involved in making one, they arent being made for that reason. It has the effectiveness of a stimp pack A but infinitely more resources. I've talked to BE's about it and they all are charging nearly 3k credits or more as a complaint about how broken their class is (until they get some attention).

Long story short, CH's still need some medic skills to have any efficiency. So i wouldnt hope about getting any built in survey.

Mahz

Wait, wait, I could've sworn they said that, since they didn't want CHs to have to pick up medic, they were making pet-only stims available to them.

But instead of giving it to the CH...they gave it to the BE? And, just like everything else in the BE profession, it too is broke?

Oh that's just rich

But still, it doesn't negate the fact that we have to literally waste 15 skill points simply to move our harvesters to a good spot.

I added BE to Doc, yes for that reason.

The BE stims are also based on the same advanced components as medic/doc stims plus thier own obscure items as they go above A. I did not add CH. They are not a crafting class, if one wants to buy Medic and do the crafting side then they are .. but by nature of having bought medic.CH is a red herring here.

I don't mind being dependent on someone to survey. But I can't. No one wants to survey for all he odd doc (and now BE) items. And as I said, you can't secure trade waypoints (not to mention mailing them is better) - the surveyor then has to trust the payer on payment. There is*no* good in game way to BUY surveying service. There for we are forced into do-it-ourselfing. I have also been onthe other side of the fence - as a surveyor I would have loved to sell waypoints. I can find more nice spots than harvestors. Since weapon smiths can outbid Docs for raw materials .. guess what my harvestors got placed on?

Allow players to give survey missions.

Allow survey points to be sold on the bazaar.

Allow survey driods to be bought and purchased (should have limited "charges").

I'm goign to go back to making suggestions. They said they wanted to discourage dabbbling. That 15 point cost is there for a reason. We're *supposed* to hate it.

Yes, we're supposed to hate the 15 skill point cost...but at the very least, give us a working alternative. Some way we can reasonably obtain our materials without having to waste 15 skill points if we choose not to.

It's not so much a 'dabbling' issue as it is an almost mandatory need to survey.

Just give me an alternative to wasting the 15 skill points...

Personally, nearing the end of my skill point days (after I get Master Pistoleer, will not be able to afford even a novice skill) it makes me wish I could survey.

If they don't implement this however, just get a guildie crafter with Surveying, and I think you'll be fine.

Best part about being in a guild, most things are free.

oops i posted this in someone else's thread too...

---repost from similar thread in medic---

I'm assuming you only want /survey...

not /sample

...the trouble here IMO is...

The reason that novice skills are so expensive is because they hold all the fundimental commands for that profession.

If we want /survey (and not the rest of novice artisan)... what will we pay for that... it can't be free...5... 2 points... 1 point?

The second problem is...

If we get /survey... Why can't another professions request /healdamage.. /healwound /diagnose... or any of our novice skills for free (or even 5 points too)... the answer "but we need it" is jsut as true for them as it is for us.. .we don't NEED survey. .we can play without it (though we may not like it)

It sets a precident.

BTW I'm in the same boat... keep survey 4.. or even novice artisan.. or get mroe gun skills.... 15 is a lot of points.

I think the solution to this problem is not stealing a /skill from another novice profession.


The solution to this is (drum roll):

Player missions.


We already have NPC survety missions... Would it take too much more work to impliment player survey missions (whenever we get player missions)...

terminal lists...

paying 1000cr. for 80% spot of liquid petro fuel. Player surveys it (automatically blocks out surveys in no-build zones)... Mission completes. player gets his payment. We get an e-mail with waypoint.

Solves 2 problems

1.) we need to know where to place harvesters.

2.) low level artisans need goods/services they can actually sell (there is nothing to sell until PAST the novice block of the advanced professions.. even then it is hard to sell without all 4 boxes in crafting/experiment).



I dunno... we will probably disagree on this (lol surprise)...

but swipign a skill from another novice box, will set a very bad precident, and degrade a very fundimental design choice (which can be argued to be good/bad itself, but unlikely to be able to be changed without a total skill system re-write) of expensive novice skills which have great value in several/many... basic "/" commands that jsutify that cost.

-T

Also with this...

I think there should be an "information terminal"

Which lists all the schematics in the game, and also lists the current materials and their stats (on each planet).

This would eliminate the inability to see quality.. and would include meat/hide bone resources as well.


We coudl also then have player missions (like explore teminal missions). Harvest 1000 units of Brevin corellian herbavore meat for 4000 cr.

-T

I thought there was a "Data" area on the Bazaar where you could see things like resource waypoints. Is that working or not? If it is, what would it take for us to get other people to start using it?

Medics should have *something* in one of their trees that gets them a way to at least locate resources. (either that or give us a way to make money).

I had an idea that would at least help us out...

Why don't harvesters/farms/extractors/vaporators let us know what they're harvesting?

If I see a harvester, I should be able to examine it and find what's there. If it's something I need I could drop my own harvester nearby.

Just another stop-gap measure until the devsrealize that medics are poor, and can't just buy stuff on the bazzar like they envisioned.

One thing you can do is use the harvestor to survey for you. Plant it, and scroll down the resources. It isnt cheap but it will work. You can almost always find personals for under 1k. That and only planting near other harvesters of the same type and you would get a crude but not impossible way to find resources.

BTW I'm in the same boat. Right now I'm holding onto artisan just for survey. It hurts thinking how that 15 points could be put to alot better use. But right now its the most practical way to go. I also agree giving this skill for free would undermine people that mine for a living. Its a tough balance.

I'm against adding survey to our skill lines, we've got enough stuff as it is.

BUT

I'm all for allowing the selling of waypoints, or some way of getting waypoints from surveyors that is good for all involved. Right now I just build up my reputation as a good and honest guy and get artisians to survey for me. But that's just me.