Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: Real Utility and Sales, Combat-bedarned! We need a real market!
I just want to state as a disclaimer that I am not a Droid Engineer, just someone who recently obtained a Publish 7 R3 droid and a bunch of repair kits for it and I believe that there is a market here for you guys.
I have as of now a full array of droids.My main fighting toon has a combat R3 that is giving my low level CH pets a run for their money, a 3PO surgical droid which has been an incredible field asset, and three Treadwell item storage droids which have their obvious uses.
Until Publish 7, I'd say that I was about done with any need for a DE, maybe beyond replacing my Probot whenits vitality was trashed beyond belief since just about any artisan can make a batch of batteries, but with the new arrangement, I'll be a regular customer coming back for droidstims, as I like to call them. My main character is a 2,2,2,4 CH with a pretty nice array of pets and the new kid on the block, R4-G3, is tanking with the best of them. I can't say I understand the mechanics of any issues you've had with repair tools, but the ten new ones I picked up from my guild's DE work wonderfully and I've been doing my damnedest to put the word out that these new droids are worth the money to replace the current droids.
My R3 has 1657 HAM, 124-137 damage attacks and 40% across the board resists. That alone is better than any non-CH pet out there, shy of bugged BE pets. Our DE put a load of these and some new probots on his vendor and they were gone the first day.
I've heard that a lot of Droid Engineers have had doubts about combat droids, because of the possible hybridization of DEs into a Droid Handler profession. Maybe they'll do that, maybe they won't, I don't know, but as much as combat droids might be a pain to craft, be assured they are a painful step worth taking. These things perform well enough that they will catch on if they are given a chance. If their popularity becomes more universal, then the ground you would need to stand on to make a case for having them easier to craft becomes more defensible. If other players are willing to spend the credits to buy them and use them, then there would be no need for a Droid Handler profession to keep them popular and keep you Droid Engineers with a purpose to fulfill.
Give the changes in Publish 7 a chance to play themselves out before getting up in arms. I was a Master Creature Handler before Publish 5, so I understand what it is to have the companions in your datapad go bust with a new patch, but its NOT the end of the world. Just as with Creature Handlers, new pets appeared to give us a chance to reclaim the status we had before, just as Publish 7 is offering Droid Engineers a chance to reclaim the status they had way back in the beginning when Probots ruled the galaxies. 
I would like to see droids be more of an option that a profession would wan't if they wanted slightly better results. For example:
Slicing a terminal: You could get a slightly better result, a little more money from it.
Harvesting: The output rate could be increased by 5-10% maybe even 25%, so if you were to harvest 1000 units you would get an extra 50, 100 or 250 credits (This in my opinion would be a brilliant use for droids, and would create a huge market for them). Also I think that this sort of thing is hinted at in the movie "I want a droid that can program binary moisture vaporators" or something like that.
Basicly what I think should be is that if you want that slightly better product you buy the droid to help you. Do not make it essential, just make it give that little extra edge for the people who want it.
I would much rather see this sort of thing than combat droids.
DavidHarper wrote:
Harvesting: The output rate could be increased by 5-10% maybe even 25%, so if you were to harvest 1000 units you would get an extra 50, 100 or 250 credits (This in my opinion would be a brilliant use for droids, and would create a huge market for them). Also I think that this sort of thing is hinted at in the movie "I want a droid that can program binary moisture vaporators" or something like that.
Some ideas for new droid capabilities:
Roving vendor: Keep the shop, but also allow a droid to come with you as a roving vendor. A modified storage module to act as the inventory with an interface like the vendors. Something of a novelty on the surface, but count on having some one out there come up with a use for it. Maybe a roving cantina vendor, or sampler for a starport patroller.
Slicing aid: The smuggler's best friend, a droid that could grant a 5-15% bonus on slices, depending on the module ratings and module stacking. Specialized modules for armor and weapons could open the market further.
Covert Scanner: Nasty little PvP aide, the ability to check for coverts in the area and TEF them.
Those are just the ones that come to mind for droids that other professions could use that could open a few markets for you.
Understand too, that on Kettemoor, the market for medical droids is incredible. Having a droid next to you in front of the Coronet or Theed starports is practically an advertisement for a buffing doctor.
utility utility utility
cant repeat that enough, with it DE's can be the most starwarsy prof in the game, without it were halfrate crafters that make a so so tank.
The big issues over and over again:
Faction combat droids:
More interdependencty on DE products for the larger economy
addressing those 2 will fulfill 90% of what people hate most about DE's i think combat is really a 2nd banana to good useful utility droids.