Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: Etrxa! Extra! Post all about it!
please see my latest revision..... v1.3a (scroll down)
http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=droid_engineer&message.id=57315
thanks
-duck
Drashk wrote:
Well, since it has had positive feedback, I'll add my idea to here as well.
Over the last few days I have been banging my head against the wall, trying to find a solution to the Droid Commander/Droid Cert/Droid Engineer conflict that has been brewing. I've stated that I believe that a Droid Commander profession would best serve the Droid Engineers in the long run and have earned a lot of flak for this. The people that have spoken against me have a right to do so, just like I have a right to state my opinion. My opinion and my representation of this community are at conflict, but as many have become aware, I am able to set aside my own feelings in the matter and fight for the community. One of the big concerns that people had before I became the Correspondent was that I would no longer be a vocal part of the community, which was one of the strong factors that brought me to where I am today. The saying goes that action speaks stronger than words. Fortunately, for me, words are the action that I can take and I think that the Cert System that I proposed and the information that GnomeAd 'leaked' from the Correspondents Forum speak very clearly what my actions are for the community. Here is another such example of letting my actions speak. I think that I may have stumbled upon an idea that may bring about a bit of a compromise for all parties, I hope.
The DEVs have stated they feel that a Cert System will not work and that a Droid Handler Profession would be the best route. The Droid Engineers have responded that they wish to see everyone get the ability to use Combat Droids. Droid Engineers have also stated that they would like to remain the crafting profession that it is. I am here to propose a three part compromise.
The Droid Engineer
In the beginning there where Droid Engineers and for a time it was good.
Droid Engineers would gain +2 Max Droid Levels at each Tier 4 skill. At Master Droid Engineer an additional +2 Max Droid Levels would be gained as well as +1 Additional Droid and +2 Stored Droids. A Master Droid Engineer would be able to have any combination of droids out as long as they did not exceed a total of Level 20.
The Droid Level Certs
The Droid Level Certs would be a new system that would be available to all Professions, but would come at a Skill point and Experience cost, as follows.
Level 1 +1 Max Droid Level
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 15000 Combat Experience / 100 Apprenticeship Points
Level 2 +1 Max Droid Level
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 25000 Combat Experience / 150 Apprenticeship Points
Level 3 +1 Max Droid Level
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 35000 Combat Experience / 200 Apprenticeship Points
Level 4 +1 Max Droid Level
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 45000 Combat Experience / 250 Apprenticeship Points
Level 5 +1 Max Droid Level / +1 Stored Droid
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 55000 Combat Experience / 300 Apprenticeship Points
Level 6 +1 Max Droid Level
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 65000 Combat Experience / 350 Apprenticeship Points
Level 7 +1 Max Droid Level
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 75000 Combat Experience / 400 Apprenticeship Points
Level 8 +1 Max Droid Level
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 85000 Combat Experience / 450 Apprenticeship Points
Level 9 +1 Max Droid Level
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 95000 Combat Experience / 500 Apprenticeship Points
Level 10 +1 Max Droid Level / +1 Stored Droid
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 105000 Combat Experience / 550 Apprenticeship Points
At Level 10 any PC would be able to control 1 Level 20 Droid at a total cost of 600000 Combat Experience, 20 Skill Points, and 3250 Apprenticeship Points. The Levels gained would be stackable with those gained by a Master Droid Engineer, so a Master DE with a Level 10 Droid Cert would be able to call up to a Level 30 Droid and have a total of +4 Stored Droids.
The Droid Commander
The Droid Commander Profession would be the pinnacle of efficiency, when dealing with Combat Droids. Droid Commanders would have the ability to command a greater number of droids and at greater levels. Just as the Droid Level Cert System would be new to SWG, the Droid Commander tree would also be something new - a mini-Profession.
Novice Droid Commander - Prerequisite Level 10 Droid Cert
+3 Max Droid Level / +1 Additional Droid / +2 Stored Droids
Skill - Overload 1
Cost - 75000 Combat Experience / 600 Apprenticeship Points / 8 Skill Points
Droid Commander Branch 1
Droid Chassis Enhancement I
+3 Max Droid Level
Skill - Supercharge 1
Cost - 50000 Droid Command Experience / 6 Skill Points
Droid Chassis Enhancement II
+3 Max Droid Level
Skill - Supercharge 2
Cost - 100000 Droid Command Experience / 4 Skill Points
Droid Commander Branch 2
Droid Combat Enhancement I
+3 Max Droid Level
Skill - Overload 2
Cost - 50000 Droid Command Experience / 6 Skill Points
Droid Combat Enhancement II
+3 Max Droid Level
Skill - Overload 3
Cost - 100000 Droid Command Experience / 4 Skill Points
Droid Commander Branch 3
Droid Tactics I
+3 Max Droid Level
Skill - Suppression Fire
Cost - 50000 Droid Command Experience / 6 Skill Points
Droid Tactics II
+3 Max Droid Level / +1 Additional Droid
Skill - Tactical Fire
Cost - 100000 Droid Command Experience / 4 Skill Points
Droid Commander Branch 4
Droid Command I
+3 Max Droid Level / +2 Stored Droids
Skill - Speed Boost
Cost - 50000 Droid Command Experience / 6 Skill Points
Droid Command II
+3 Max Droid Level / +2 Stored Droids
Skill - Accuracy Boost
Cost - 100000 Droid Command Experience / 4 Skill Points
Master Droid Commander
+3 Max Droid Level / +1 Additional Droid / +2 Stored Droids
Skill - Overload 1 / Supercharge 3
Cost - 200000 Droid Combat Experience / 620 Apprenticeship Points / 2 Skill Points
- Overload 1 - Increases the damage output of 1 Droid by 10% on its next 5 attacks. After the 5th attack, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid every 90 seconds.
- Overload 2 - Increases the damage output of 1 Droid by 30% on its next 5 attacks. After the 5th attack, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid every 90 seconds.
- Overload 3 - Increases the damage output of 1 Droid by 50% on its next 5 attacks. After the 5th attack, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid every 90 seconds.
- Overload 4 - Increases the damage output of 1 Droid by 70% on its next 5 attacks. After the 5th attack, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid every 90 seconds.
- Supercharge 1 - Increases the HAM pools of one droid for 10 minutes by 15%. After the 10 minutes, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid once every 90 seconds
- Supercharge 2 - Increases the HAM pools of one droid for 10 minutes by 30%. After the 10 minutes, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid once every 90 seconds
- Supercharge 3 - Increases the HAM pools of one droid for 10 minutes by 45%. After the 10 minutes, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid once every 90 seconds
- Suppression Fire - Causes all droids under the DCs command to fire at a single target to reduce the targets chance to hit for 5 seconds. The targets chance to hit is reduced by 10% for each droid involved in this action. This ability can only be performed once every 90 seconds.
- Tactical Shot - Causes all droids under the DCs command to attack a single target as if they were firing a single shot. 5% is added to the total damage for every droid that is included in the shot. This action can only be performed once every 90 seconds.
- Speed Boost - Increases the Speed of 1 Droid by 25% for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid once every 90 seconds
- Accuracy Boost - Increases the Accuracy of 1 Droid by 25% for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid once every 90 seconds
*None of the listed skills, costs, or benefits are absolute values. I just wanted to get this idea out on the forum for everyone to consider.
Clarifications about the Droid Commander Profession.
- The Droid Commander will only be able to gain droids by acquiring them from a Droid Engineer, Faction Recruiter, or Quest. Droids will not be acquired through 'taming in the wild'.
- The Droid Commander is not required to program a droid. The programming options will remain as they currently are.
A Master Droid Commander would have a total of +40 Max Droid Levels, +10 Stored Droids, and +3 Additional Droids. The total cost from Novice to Master would be 800000 Combat Droid Experience, 50 skill points, and 1220 Apprenticeship Points. The Droid Commander Profession would be stackable with Master Droid Engineer, so a Master DE/DC combo would give a total of +50 Max Droid Levels, +12 Stored Droids, and +4 Additional Droids. Total Skill Point Cost for a Master Artisan/Master Droid Engineer/Master Droid Commander would be 210 Skill Points.
I believe that this three step system would allow for
- Droid Engineers to remain primarily crafters
- Everyone to have a Level 20 Combat Droid at the cost of 20 Skill Points
- The creation of a Droid Commander Profession.
- A system that could be added in stages that would allow everyone to see what kind of effects that it would have on game play.
[Edit] To reduce an overpowering situation that could be produced by having a Master Droid Commander/Master Creature Handler/Faction membercombo, it is suggested that the maxium number of Pets/Perks/Droids that a person can control at one time be limited to a total of 5. This would allow a player the ability to have more Pets/Droids/Perks then the sum of a single profession, but would reduce the need to re-balance either Profession or Faction system.
Awsome, I am down with that homie! What are the chances of getting this to go with the devs do you think? If it is done this way, I would be fine with a droid commander profession. I am happy.
Drashk wrote:
Well, since it has had positive feedback, I'll add my idea to here as well.
Your idea is good...but...
I still think there needs to be a co-player maintenance system. This goes for all crafting/providing professions.
Warriors help eachother in battle. Medics heal warriors in and out of battle. Entertainers provide mind relief to warriors.
To balance out this idea across the board, you need to expand it to more than just the combat side of this game.
As I said with my post...rather than have the droid Gain effective % with leveling. Open up new attachments which it can have applied by a DE.
This goes for every crafting profession:
Architects: Perhaps make it where if you have a house, you must have the structure updated, re-roofed, etc...by an architect at certain intervals. Perhaps if a house or building drops below minimum maintenance, only an architect can come repair it so you may maintain maintenance again. Perhaps add a function for Architects that they have to service & repair crafting stations once in a while for customers.
Armorsmiths/Weaponsmiths/Tailors: Give them a boost to repair the items they craft. Or perhaps allow them to dye the clothing they sell, or upgrade the weapon with a new "power cell" or something to make it more effective.
BE: Make it a necessity for their creations to REQUIRE a Bio-Engineered shot once per week or something in order to keep tame. If the Master of the creature fails to provide this shot, the beast goes rampant on its master and/or leaves the owner, stays on the current planet it is on, and possibly spawns some youth if not taken care of properly.
Chefs: Make eating a NECESSITY. A lot of games have this. I think it is a keen idea. If I am out slaughtering nasties...I am gonna get hungry...and thirsty. LOL. And, I think we all can agree the Chef profession needs a little help
Design Artist: For individuals with hair, make it a necessity to get it done once in a while. You can't go out, get all sweaty, bloody & stuff without messing up your hair. Perhaps cross the idea for dying clothing to a different color into this profession. Or maybe dying colors of furniture. I know I would rather have that big, half-circle couch a different color than Yellow. LOL.
DE: Rather than using your idea of having the droid be able to be more powerful with its level increase...allow it to have additions added to it by DE. Weapons, sockets, etc...
With this, I think it would bring a lot of professions back. Once aperson has a pet, he/she doesn't need the BE ever again. Once aperson has a med droid, he/she doesnt need the DE again. Once a person buys a house, he/she doesn't need the architect ever again. With armor/weapons/clothing, people usually only buy another one if theirs falls apart (which can be pretty well fixed if you have the proper repair kit with good experimentation), if they need an upgrade b/c of their own progression or because they just want to have something that looks different (I have tons of clothing in my house, I hate looking at the same colors all the time).
This would make the crafting profession a LOT more exciting. To create a consistent customer base, perhaps give a crafter a boost to effectiveness of upgrade/maintenance if that item came from him/her. I will know more about a droidI built than I will about one Bob built, right?
I would just like to see a solution to the fact that once someone has something from a crafter, they never have the need to return to that or another crafter. This is "Massive Multi-Player" right? So, let's get the players helping and more dependent on one another.
The easiest way to solve the Combat droid problem would be to make high level combat droid PVP only.
In the real world everyone does not take an assault weapon with them to work, so why should everyone have access to high level combat droids. an easy fix would be to have combat droids of level 10 -20 available to Rebel or Imperial players actively engaging in the GCW only.
Arebellion and imperial player gets adroid control unit from his faction leader. They then contact a Droid Engineer and purchase a combat droid. If the droid is above level 10 and the person does not have a Control unit then the droid will not tame. If the user has a controller unit then the droid will then be able to be used for GCW combat. These droids can only target opposing faction targets and should use the same control requirements that the faction pets and AT-STs use.
I believe that a good option that should be allowed is that if you are a combat profession or hybred character( DEs should also be included in this )and you get the master of your profession (combat/hybreds/DE) you should have to option to be able to be able to use a level 15/20 droid instead of your level 10. This would reflect your ablity to control higher level droids.
Also they should implement Droid restraining bolts and memory wipes. If you have a smuggler, they should be able to attach a restaining bolt to a droid to disable a sentry combat droid. they should be able to disable (2-5 minute stun) player combat droids. This could help smugglers gain alittle respect they deserve in the GCW.
As to memory wipes if you change sides in the conflict your droid would be stuck on the wrong side. Enter memory wipes: Wipe the memory clear the controller and now it is fight for you again not against you. This should only be able to be done by a Droid Engineer.
This is just some of the Ideas that I came up with, because I would like to see the focus on utility droids and this seems the fastest and easiest way to fix the Combat droid issue.
Ok, initially I was against one Droid profession, then against 2 separate professions...for different reasons. I wanted to see droids for all.
Now, I think DE should be reworked with a Droid Commander tree put it place of one of the crafting trees. Put the combat modules (MODULES ONLY)in the same tree. Increase the crafting xp in the other 3 trees by 50% per box to discourage 9000+ DEs. Put ALL of the Droid CL skillmods in the 4 Commander boxes and Novice DE - maybe 10-30% each box depending on level. Droid combat xp should be astronomical to attain. Make it 2 times the requirement of a similar CH box. NO extra Commander skills for Master DE- just make some new combat chasis's available. Make the xp required to advance through that tree HIGH - higher than per box in CH, much higher in fact.
This gives us ready DEs with Commander tree done by patch time to supply the needs. It makes it a very difficult tree to advance in as well, and discourages tons of crafting DEs due to the huge crafting requirement DE already has. Make the profession Uber hard to skill in, harder than it is now.
Combat characters who want a droid advantage will now have to give up 48 skill points to be a 'Droid Commander' - a significant investment.
Drroid levels should top out at CL45 with a max of 2 combat droids out with a COMBINED CL60 level.
This makes it a 'branch profession' more likely to be prusued by the weajer crafter types, further involving more combatents in the war. It would also be enough balance (with maybe a tad more tweaking) to not be more powerful than a MCH, but still be a valuable team member in combat.
ALL CL10 pets need some help to make them 'useful' both as droids and creatures. Light Armor would be a nice addition for non-CH pets - maybe some one useenhancement that BEs could make and sell? For droidswe have decent armor maxing at Medium Armor with 40% resists, thats not bad really. I'd like to see some HAM increases though, maybe 10-20% more effected by experimentation. Going from 820 to 828HAM on a Probotwith 10 experimentation points now is sorta a joke. No need to overpower them, just raise them to a usefull level. Speed of attack would be another area that could be improved too...
Combat Droids have been outlawed? OH NO! SO, friggin what?!?!
I've never been bothered for having my Probot, have you?
Rebels are illegal too - yet the Empire can't get rid of them either - droids would be 'contraband' right? It fits in your new content. Just because something is illegal to make, does not mean nobody will make it. Ask any drug dealer....
I propose this as it fits in as a compromise solution, making everyone happy.
It creates a 'Branched Profession' not a full new one and rewards the current loyal DEs with combat abilities, yet allows combat characters a reason to try crafting to get Droid Commander skills.
It creates more interaction among Crafting and Combat types and reliance on each other as well.
It also lets some of us bored Engineers participate more in the GCW, where many of us have been left out due to being bound to the Merchant tree with little skills left over other than maybe Carbine 3 or 4 and Ranged 2 or the bit of scout we often need.
Well, since it has had positive feedback, I'll add my idea to here as well.
Over the last few days I have been banging my head against the wall, trying to find a solution to the Droid Commander/Droid Cert/Droid Engineer conflict that has been brewing. I've stated that I believe that a Droid Commander profession would best serve the Droid Engineers in the long run and have earned a lot of flak for this. The people that have spoken against me have a right to do so, just like I have a right to state my opinion. My opinion and my representation of this community are at conflict, but as many have become aware, I am able to set aside my own feelings in the matter and fight for the community. One of the big concerns that people had before I became the Correspondent was that I would no longer be a vocal part of the community, which was one of the strong factors that brought me to where I am today. The saying goes that action speaks stronger than words. Fortunately, for me, words are the action that I can take and I think that the Cert System that I proposed and the information that GnomeAd 'leaked' from the Correspondents Forum speak very clearly what my actions are for the community. Here is another such example of letting my actions speak. I think that I may have stumbled upon an idea that may bring about a bit of a compromise for all parties, I hope.
The DEVs have stated they feel that a Cert System will not work and that a Droid Handler Profession would be the best route. The Droid Engineers have responded that they wish to see everyone get the ability to use Combat Droids. Droid Engineers have also stated that they would like to remain the crafting profession that it is. I am here to propose a three part compromise.
The Droid Engineer
In the beginning there where Droid Engineers and for a time it was good.
Droid Engineers would gain +2 Max Droid Levels at each Tier 4 skill. At Master Droid Engineer an additional +2 Max Droid Levels would be gained as well as +1 Additional Droid and +2 Stored Droids. A Master Droid Engineer would be able to have any combination of droids out as long as they did not exceed a total of Level 20.
The Droid Level Certs
The Droid Level Certs would be a new system that would be available to all Professions, but would come at a Skill point and Experience cost, as follows.
Level 1 +1 Max Droid Level
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 15000 Combat Experience / 100 Apprenticeship Points
Level 2 +1 Max Droid Level
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 25000 Combat Experience / 150 Apprenticeship Points
Level 3 +1 Max Droid Level
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 35000 Combat Experience / 200 Apprenticeship Points
Level 4 +1 Max Droid Level
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 45000 Combat Experience / 250 Apprenticeship Points
Level 5 +1 Max Droid Level / +1 Stored Droid
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 55000 Combat Experience / 300 Apprenticeship Points
Level 6 +1 Max Droid Level
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 65000 Combat Experience / 350 Apprenticeship Points
Level 7 +1 Max Droid Level
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 75000 Combat Experience / 400 Apprenticeship Points
Level 8 +1 Max Droid Level
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 85000 Combat Experience / 450 Apprenticeship Points
Level 9 +1 Max Droid Level
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 95000 Combat Experience / 500 Apprenticeship Points
Level 10 +1 Max Droid Level / +1 Stored Droid
Cost - 2 Skill Points / 105000 Combat Experience / 550 Apprenticeship Points
At Level 10 any PC would be able to control 1 Level 20 Droid at a total cost of 600000 Combat Experience, 20 Skill Points, and 3250 Apprenticeship Points. The Levels gained would be stackable with those gained by a Master Droid Engineer, so a Master DE with a Level 10 Droid Cert would be able to call up to a Level 30 Droid and have a total of +4 Stored Droids.
The Droid Commander
The Droid Commander Profession would be the pinnacle of efficiency, when dealing with Combat Droids. Droid Commanders would have the ability to command a greater number of droids and at greater levels. Just as the Droid Level Cert System would be new to SWG, the Droid Commander tree would also be something new - a mini-Profession.
Novice Droid Commander - Prerequisite Level 10 Droid Cert
+3 Max Droid Level / +1 Additional Droid / +2 Stored Droids
Skill - Overload 1
Cost - 75000 Combat Experience / 600 Apprenticeship Points / 8 Skill Points
Droid Commander Branch 1
Droid Chassis Enhancement I
+3 Max Droid Level
Skill - Supercharge 1
Cost - 50000 Droid Command Experience / 6 Skill Points
Droid Chassis Enhancement II
+3 Max Droid Level
Skill - Supercharge 2
Cost - 100000 Droid Command Experience / 4 Skill Points
Droid Commander Branch 2
Droid Combat Enhancement I
+3 Max Droid Level
Skill - Overload 2
Cost - 50000 Droid Command Experience / 6 Skill Points
Droid Combat Enhancement II
+3 Max Droid Level
Skill - Overload 3
Cost - 100000 Droid Command Experience / 4 Skill Points
Droid Commander Branch 3
Droid Tactics I
+3 Max Droid Level
Skill - Suppression Fire
Cost - 50000 Droid Command Experience / 6 Skill Points
Droid Tactics II
+3 Max Droid Level / +1 Additional Droid
Skill - Tactical Fire
Cost - 100000 Droid Command Experience / 4 Skill Points
Droid Commander Branch 4
Droid Command I
+3 Max Droid Level / +2 Stored Droids
Skill - Speed Boost
Cost - 50000 Droid Command Experience / 6 Skill Points
Droid Command II
+3 Max Droid Level / +2 Stored Droids
Skill - Accuracy Boost
Cost - 100000 Droid Command Experience / 4 Skill Points
Master Droid Commander
+3 Max Droid Level / +1 Additional Droid / +2 Stored Droids
Skill - Overload 1 / Supercharge 3
Cost - 200000 Droid Combat Experience / 620 Apprenticeship Points / 2 Skill Points
- Overload 1 - Increases the damage output of 1 Droid by 10% on its next 5 attacks. After the 5th attack, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid every 90 seconds.
- Overload 2 - Increases the damage output of 1 Droid by 30% on its next 5 attacks. After the 5th attack, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid every 90 seconds.
- Overload 3 - Increases the damage output of 1 Droid by 50% on its next 5 attacks. After the 5th attack, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid every 90 seconds.
- Overload 4 - Increases the damage output of 1 Droid by 70% on its next 5 attacks. After the 5th attack, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid every 90 seconds.
- Supercharge 1 - Increases the HAM pools of one droid for 10 minutes by 15%. After the 10 minutes, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid once every 90 seconds
- Supercharge 2 - Increases the HAM pools of one droid for 10 minutes by 30%. After the 10 minutes, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid once every 90 seconds
- Supercharge 3 - Increases the HAM pools of one droid for 10 minutes by 45%. After the 10 minutes, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid once every 90 seconds
- Suppression Fire - Causes all droids under the DCs command to fire at a single target to reduce the targets chance to hit for 5 seconds. The targets chance to hit is reduced by 10% for each droid involved in this action. This ability can only be performed once every 90 seconds.
- Tactical Shot - Causes all droids under the DCs command to attack a single target as if they were firing a single shot. 5% is added to the total damage for every droid that is included in the shot. This action can only be performed once every 90 seconds.
- Speed Boost - Increases the Speed of 1 Droid by 25% for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid once every 90 seconds
- Accuracy Boost - Increases the Accuracy of 1 Droid by 25% for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, the Droid's battery is depleted. This skill can only be used on 1 droid once every 90 seconds
*None of the listed skills, costs, or benefits are absolute values. I just wanted to get this idea out on the forum for everyone to consider.
Clarifications about the Droid Commander Profession.
- The Droid Commander will only be able to gain droids by acquiring them from a Droid Engineer, Faction Recruiter, or Quest. Droids will not be acquired through 'taming in the wild'.
- The Droid Commander is not required to program a droid. The programming options will remain as they currently are.
A Master Droid Commander would have a total of +40 Max Droid Levels, +10 Stored Droids, and +3 Additional Droids. The total cost from Novice to Master would be 800000 Combat Droid Experience, 50 skill points, and 1220 Apprenticeship Points. The Droid Commander Profession would be stackable with Master Droid Engineer, so a Master DE/DC combo would give a total of +50 Max Droid Levels, +12 Stored Droids, and +4 Additional Droids. Total Skill Point Cost for a Master Artisan/Master Droid Engineer/Master Droid Commander would be 210 Skill Points.
I believe that this three step system would allow for
- Droid Engineers to remain primarily crafters
- Everyone to have a Level 20 Combat Droid at the cost of 20 Skill Points
- The creation of a Droid Commander Profession.
- A system that could be added in stages that would allow everyone to see what kind of effects that it would have on game play.
[Edit] To reduce an overpowering situation that could be produced by having a Master Droid Commander/Master Creature Handler/Faction membercombo, it is suggested that the maxium number of Pets/Perks/Droids that a person can control at one time be limited to a total of 5. This would allow a player the ability to have more Pets/Droids/Perks then the sum of a single profession, but would reduce the need to re-balance either Profession or Faction system.
These have been said before by many people in many places. But I'll repeat them here in case this has better visibility:
1. Any kind of Droid Handler/Commander/Master profession will be blocking the niche that belongs to CHs. However they differ, the niche is still: The guy who brings pets to the fight. Two different professions trying to fill identical niches will lead to problems.
2. Droids do not need to match creatures in power. Focus on utility for all professions across the board (i.e. non-combat modules) FIRST, and use that time to carefully consider the role and power level of combat droids. That role should not be the same as the role creatures play.
3. Useful droids should be accessible to all experienced characters, not just one profession of them. While Skill Points may be necessary to get them, the Skill Points should not come from any particular profession. As an example, putting most of the droid use bonuses in Master profession boxes makes a predictable cap to how players can tweak their class profiles for droid use. Droid certs that are not cumulative prevents any form of abusive stacking. (i.e. both Master Pistoleer and Master Rifleman can use the Droideka, but having both professions does not give you the right to use 2 droidekas.)
Money sink for the droids? Paying maintenance on them? As if batteries weren't enough of a pain. Hey, I'd be all for adding a cost of ownership for droids. You have CoO for harvestors, weapons, clothing, housing, etc.
What don't you see a CoO? PETS! So there lies my gripe. I can have my Chicken out all day long with it helping transport me and pecking at critters and NPCs. Does it gripe about being hungry and wanting to play? Ya. What do I do? I ignore it and keep going. Now, let me pull out my Probot. I tell it to group and nothing happens. I tell it to group again and just happen to catch that it is "Low Power". So I feed it a battery. Now off to check harvestors. On the way back I get jumped by some Swoops. Chicken goes toe-to-toe while probot just floats in space. /attack. /attack. /attack GOD DAMNIT! It does nothing, but "Low Power".
A Master Droid Engineer who wants to be a crafter AND user of all his creations. As MDEs we should be allowed up to 3 droids out (2 Droidekas or 2 Roger-Roger & a Droideka -- or something similar)
>Not to bash...but this idea would then mean that only people with tons of money can >use them.
what, you mean like vehicles, harvesters, houses, or any of the other money sinks in the game? anyone can own a house. my casual artisan character has one. as long as the money sink isn't a serious black hole and is affordable for anyone, it can be done.
>You will see large PvP guilds with these.
they'll have them anyway.
>You will see miners with these.
isn't that the idea? droids for everyone, I believe the DEs are saying?
>What about the average every-day kinda people like Entertainers, Medics and the like.
cheaper droids = smaller money sink. "basic" (CL10 or so) droids will cost a pittance, if anything. besides, regarding Entertainers... how often does combat break out in a cantina? Heck, my Dancer character has more cash than my Artisan... she makes more in tips in one week than he does selling vehicles.
>What about newer people to the game? Are they going to have a chance to advance their skills if someone is taking all their kills?
err... I don't follow. people can have their kills taken now, droids or no.
>This would also make it so that once everyone has a droid, they have no reason to return to the DE.
and this is different from having a vehicle how? besides, you missed the part where I said droids will need repairs, and only a DE can do it. there's your repeat business.
>It will end up just like BE and CH. Once everyone has one, there is no need to return to the source, which then causes that source profession to fade away into the darkness.
so you advocate permadeath for combat droids, or making them disposable somehow? how does that make them a useful item?
on a first note, in discussion with alot of players in game, they feel that droid engineers should not benifit in anyway having these new droids first however i feel that as a proffesion that is mastered to create droids and live with them, it would only be logical that a droid engineer could also use these droids as they make them , but on this point some proffesions could make a commando and then take master DE and use the droids straight away.
as i have read further up, about mitigation and such vs droid qualities / frames , i put forth my idea
Master droid engineer combined with Master Architect should be able to createthe droids as they please through the tree's but having a strain linkking off from Marchitect and Mdroidengineer to the schematic levels, 10 SKP to learn 1-2 SKP for each skill giving the ability to use certain frames, and the ability to use extra commands and stratergies
this would prettymuch stop a player from deciding to take master commando and then droid enginner only to get all certs or abilities as some in-game players have protested against.
thus a combat proffesion has to aquire the extra droid strain as it were like the current ideas and gain the uses along with theyre good combat skills OR a droid enginer architect hybrid proffesion to be able to craft and modify the droids how they wish and usinging all the available droids BUT loosing the PC combat bonus taht the combat strains have.
appologies if this has already been said but ya know.
