Droid Engineer Archive

From what I understand about the new DE changes in development (or is it in concept?) those changes will turn you guys into another creature handler. Well, I personally never agreed with the CH being a combat class, but I never thought that there was any doubt that Droid Engineer was a crafter class. Still, I'm curious to know how you guys feel. Do most of you want to remain strictly a crafter profession, churning out usefull products for others to use, or do more of you like the idea of the droid engineer becomming the "creature handler" of droids?

I think it should be a crafter with perks. Of course, you can say the same thing for weapon smiths and armor smiths. Really though, you should be able to build a couple of bodyguards.

those changes and all intended changes will not take anything away from DEs!!!

DEs will just get new droid models and can use droids better than other classes like brawler.

just because we can kill some low lv mobs we are not unable to craft anything or sell anything. noone forces u to stop crafting just because u can hunt durnies.

it will be possible to sell the new droids to all players so we will get alot more business as they are now usefull. and just because u can use 2 or 3 droids urself ur not forced to sell none.

DEs just get a new feature u dont have to use it.

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It should be optional. Those that want to craft.. craft. Those that want to learn how to control tougher droids must learn how they work first.. thus have to achive some skill in droidengineering.

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Amen to that!

The more choices the game offers the more fun it is

My opinion on the matter is that we're a carfting class and nothing more. We're not droid controllers. We're not meant to be a member of combat teams. We make droids and supply them to the combat classes who use them in combat. If DE's want to play with guns, then go pickup a combat class and shoot people. And use a Probot/Combat droid while doing it

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Abanathie wrote:
I think it should be a crafter with perks. Of course, you can say the same thing for weapon smiths and armor smiths. Really though, you should be able to build a couple of bodyguards.

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I'd like you to point out one single Weaponsmith or Armorsmith that think's they're a combatant. And yes, you can build bodyguards... they're called Probots now. Seriously though, what in anyone's mind makes them think a Droid ENGINEER is, or was ever meant to be a combat class? We're in the ARTISAN category, and we're not a hybrid class. That alone should show the flaw in the logic of this discussion. A DE has plenty of skill points left over if he wants to play with guns. Pick up Pistoleer and run around shooting things.

Yes, this has been debated numerous times before.

The problem is, people like to polarize the issue into pure crafting or evil Droid Handler.

People look at things a certain way, completely segregate the facts, and resist seeing things any other way.

These two campsdo not have to be diametrically opposed, or mutually exclusive in any way.

People scream "We don't want to be droid handlers!"
Well, that's what combat droids are - the mechanical equivalent of combat creatures.

People say "We are a pure crafting profession."
Adding droid usage skills to the DE tree will not make us 'combat only'.

People say "I want to be a combat profession."
I don't think we would be a 'combat class' if the usage skills were implemented properly.

People say "I want an MDE uber droid!"
That would definitely make us a profession people master just to get combat droids.

My main concern if droid usage skills are put into the DE tree is that they will be spread all over the place like creature usage skills in the CH tree.

This would force people to spend alot of Skill Points just to use droids.

And if they've spent that many SP they'll have alot of other DE skills to use,might as well take most of the tree or master the profession.

This WOULD turn us all into Droid Handlers - people would take all these skill boxes they don't want just to use droids.

But if all droid usage skills were only in ONE branch of the DE tree, people would only need to spend a few SP in that one branch to use droids.

If they had no desire to take any other skills - if all they wanted to do was USE droids - they would not be forced to.

Most of the other proposals I've seen for certs in other professions, or certs ONLY in combat professions, did not seem to allow ALL players to use combat droids. Only certain professions would be permitted to use combat droids. Or certain professions would ONLY be allowed to use CERTAIN combat droids.

That did not seem to be a very good solution in my mind.

I'm glad someone decided to bring this subject again, but didn't want to bring it up myself because of the new blue glowy status. Polls of all types help me out in you would not imagine.A single poll gives me specific threads thatI can look to, in order to call up data for what ever a DEV asks me.I know that some will hyme and haw over the fact that this has been brought up time and time again, but we have to keep in mind that 'always changing is the future'. There are a lot of new 'faces' on the boards, mingled in with those of us who have been around for a while now. There are, for the most part,four catergories of DE right now. 1) The Beta crowd, 2) The 6 monthers (Release to Decemeber) 3) The Holo-drifters, and 4) The holiday crowd. There is nothing wrong with being in any of these groups. I just wanted to point out that because of the last two groups - including holo-grinders since their have been a number of them that have decided to stick with the DE path because of the little blue box - there is an insurge of new DE joining our ranks. I stickied the DE head count that Ty-Ren started for a reason - To give everyone an idea of how many DE are coming to the boards and how many of them are new to our ptorfession.

So, in order to help me out a little, can everyone post their views on the matter, without making this a personal flame fest.Polls are for people to state what it is they feel should be said and then left for the next person to state what it is they wish to say.Please, this is not a discussion.Now for my views as a community me member

I do not want the Droid Engineering profession to turn into a mechanized version of a CH.This does not mean that I don't want the ability to use the droids I build.I want to see combat droids usable by all professions, regardless of combat abilities, as long as the system is balanced accordingly. I am a crafter, but that does not mean that just because I am a crafter I don't want a droid to participate in combat with me. This can be said by all crafters that have ever run harversters.As a Droid Engineer, I feel that I should have a better working knowledge of the droids that I build, which allows me to command a droid a little bit better than someone that only knows how to dance. Someone that specializes in combat will know how to command a combat droid better than I, because they know the tatics of combat more indepth than I. A Droid Engineer that has advanced combat skills should be on par with a Master of an Elite Combat profession. This would allow for the most diverse set up and would ensure that our droids have a market place

Message Edited by Drashk on 01-09-2004 10:32 AM

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Niding01 wrote:

It should be optional. Those that want to craft.. craft. Those that want to learn how to control tougher droids must learn how they work first.. thus have to achive some skill in droidengineering.

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You don't get it dude... The current dev plan doesn't allow that to happen.

Droids don't decay, and without significant combat improvements they are worthless for everything but their crafting stations (ex: if you are in the field and want to heal someone's wounds you have to call a camp to call your droid...you can heal wounds in your camp without the droid). They are a novelty.

A while back DEs asked for more droid functionality, devs are turning us into CHs instead.

The problem is, unless several, substantially more combat powerful droids are available to EVERYONE, the people who want to craft will have nothing to sell. You will note that since the changes to non-CH pets (limiting them to ~900 HAM), no one is using them anymore. No one is going to buy a 45 HAM permadeath 3P0 with a gun... No one is going to buy a 500 HAM permadeath 3P0 with a gun... No one is going to buy a 900 HAM permadeath 3PO with a gun...

So you see...unless the devs change the current plan, crafters will have little to craft. See the whole picture? DE will become a combat-only profession...that is unacceptable.

By the way...my vote: Crafter.

We need combat droids to sell, not use.

If devs want to limit level 5 and 6 combat modules to DE's (1-4 usuable by everyone)...fine. However, we need new combat droid models to sell to give crafter DEs something to to.

If you want to control uber pets, become a freaking CH and leave the rest of us alone.You already have the meansto use pets, and shouldn't change the game for the rest of us just so you can do so without changing classes. DE has always been a crafter class, and should stay that way.

Artisan.

I want it to be a crafting class. I did not take DE to be an uber combat person. I took it to craft droids and sell them. And some day experimentation will work and I will compete with other DE's on my server for who makes the best whatever droid.

If I want to compete in combat, I will master a combat class.

I hear most people here saying crafter... and I agree, at least for my own playstyle

But consider this:

If droids are going to be truely useful in combat they will have to be powerful.. like upper level pets.

You can't just let everyone handle these powerful droids or you will totally whack current PvE balance.

So who gets to use these droids? A new profession?

Or perhaps, a single line in the DE tree... take the existing expermentation tree and spread it out into the other lines and use it for a DH line.

Is this enough point requirements for having powerful droids? Probably not without some upper end creature rebalance again.

Any other ideas?

im already both so either way is fine with me.