Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: TC focus thread
Drashk wrote:
Armor Effectiveness
Armor Effectiveness is influnced by both the Armor Modules that are installed and the number of Combat Modules that are installed. Armor Modules have a direct 1k per level ratio. (IE Level 1 = 1k and Level 6 = 6k)
Combat Modules provide 1k of Armor Effectiveness per module installed, up to 3k, or 3 modules.
Armor Effectiveness can be stacked to provide a maximum rating of 9k.
Unfortunately, the Armor Effectiveness rating changes after the first time that te droid is called. To reproduce this effect, call the droid from a deed and store it. Call the droid a second time and inspect the datapad listings. The Droid will update to the below listed stats. Armor Effectiveness that is solely from Droid Armor will reverty toa 0 rating. Armor Effectiveness that is given by a combat module will revert to the following
CL10 = 0
CL15 = 0
CL20 = 20
CL25 = 783
CL30 = 1217
The Probot on which i experiemented got a Armor Effectivness of 9000, the non-experimented got 7000.
this morning i made a few R5's to see if there was a differance in experimented modules and non-experimented modules. when i called them out in the datapad there was a differance.
It seems to be like this (tested without installed armor):
CR AE
-------------------------
0-50 500
50-100 1000
100-150 1500
150-200 2000
200-250 2500
250-xxx 3000
I'm seeing slightly different numbers. Not tested across the whole scale yet, but just at the very bottom.
I made 4 R5 droids each with one combat module and no armour.
The combat rating of the combat modules were: 7, 16, 54 & 61.
The stats on the first three droids were all the same:
CL: 5
Health: 594
Armor Eff: 500
Damage: 30-185
Def Val: 21
To Hit: 21
The last droid, with a 61 CR, was:
CL: 10
Health: 1715
Armor Eff: 1000
Damage: 45-240
Def Val: 38
To Hit: 38
From those numbers I would say the difference between jumping 5 levels is a rating of 55 on a Combat module, which is half of it's 110 max rating. We would need to go up the levels to be sure.
So what I can see atm:
Armour Effectiveness = (100 * CL) [combat modules only]
5 CL every 55 CR
Stats on combat modules DOES matter, but it's so simplified it's pointless. Why does it have to jump by 5 CLs? Why can't it be 1 CL every 11 CR? That's an easy straight forward change.
At least put some sort of challenge into it.
Message Edited by Obo_alCan on 06-13-2005 02:08 PM
Message Edited by Obo_alCan on 06-13-2005 02:09 PM
Well, I can't test any of this myself because I already have too many characters to make a new one, but from what I'm reading, sounds bad.
Expirimentation has no effect on Health? Jeez, thats the only thing it had effect on in the first place, how could they remove that. We can't effect movement speed, reaction time, or anything that we should be able to. Bio Engineers, the closest crafting profession to DE, can expiriment on Health, Health Regen, Attack Speed, Defense Value, Aggro Rate, Critical Rate, Critical Save rate. And once Publish 18 hits,creature special attacks will be back in, so thats another thing they can change, though not with expirimenting.And now DE's get nothing?
Combat efficiency maxing out with level? No longer dependant on combat modules for the stats, you just max it out using armor and then add 1-2 combat modules so it has an attack command? What the heck is this? We need stats dependent on the number of combat modules, and more importantly, the combat rating granted by the modules. Its the only thing that makes the different droids unique (well, that and the innate combat effectiveness for the Probot and DZ-70, which I guess are gone too).Its the only thing that makes quality combat droids different from some random respec guy who has a bunch of crap resources.
Armor modules effect resistance initially, then revert back to a pre-determined value based on level? Assuming its a bug, and needs to be fixed. Giving droids 50% armor will go a LONG way to making them effective tanks. A lot longer than increasing the level to 30 would ever do. And they should be, if you make them to be. Maybe not something like a Probot, but the Astromechs and the LE Repair should be, for sure.
Here's what I see that needs to happen:
~ Armor modules need to keep the values given upon first unpacking the droid. What might work, is now that the Health is the same for all droids, leave it that way (expirimented on again, of course). Instead, lower the defensive value of the armor modules, and add innate bonuses to the astromechs and the LE Repair Droid. Maybe a level 6 armor module adds +2000 to the armor value. Astromechs have an innate +2000 to armor value, and the LE Repair Droid has a +6000 innate value. Adds uniquness to the droids and also keeps it similar to the pre-patch thinking of the astromechs and LE being tanks while the Probot and DZ are for damage.
~ Put back in Health experimentation. We need this, and honestly we need more than this to expiriment on. I would like to see experimenting on Movement Speed, Attack Speed, Battery Life, and Aggro Bonus (especially for tanks). I would also like to see some ability to change damage type (Energy and Kinetic are obvious, but Heat damage and such being added), and also some way to add 1-2 special attacks to a droid. Not pet type special attacks, I'm talking giving the droid a player-oriented special attack, EG Quick Draw (marksman skill). There would be no way to trigger it, the droid would use it on it's own every once in a while. But at the VERY least, we need to retain our Health experimentation.
~ Put back in damage experimentation based on the combat rating granted by the combat modules. Give the DZ-70 and Probot innate damage bonuses again, to fit them into a damage dealing role. We have so little that is effected by quality, Combat Effectiveness is one of the main ones. Again, you get uniqueness because different droids hold different numbers of modules, so you have different combat abilities. And you continue to have a defining line between combat droids and non-combat droids, rather than having just 1-2 slots needed for combat modules and then filling the rest with anything else the customer needs, eliminating the need for additional droids (which is our only droidbusiness without any sort of Decay).
With those 3 things happening, I could see a vast improvement of the combat capabilties of droids, and retension of the unique aspect of each, however small it may be.
But, I'm thinking a bit negative to these changes. Consider this: The developers intended to get rid of Health experimenting, and make combat level determine armor, damage, and Health. This is because there are complaints that droids no longer have healing, and in order to be good tanks they have to have full combat modules to do enough damage to tank. In order to be an effective tank, they have to have Auto-Repair Modules, and if they do they are unable to do enough damage to keep aggro. So, to fix the problem, they are taking the easy way out (of course). They are allowing droid level to be maxed very easily, so that the damage (which is based on level) can be high enough to tank, while still allowing the droid to have enough space for Auto-Repair Modules.
I hope not, but it wouldn't surprise me honestly 
Gah, double post, bad!
Message Edited by Electro5 on 06-13-2005 07:30 AM
Droids, and pets in general, are not effected by the CL of anyone that they are grouped with. Droids keep the CL that they have, regardless of grouping conditions. It was made this way so that CHs wouldn't have 3 CL80 pets and 1 CL80 Droid, if they were a maxed out template and grouped.
The CL change that you are seeing on a droid, when grouped, is a display error issue.
Drashk wrote:
Droids, and pets in general, are not effected by the CL of anyone that they are grouped with. Droids keep the CL that they have, regardless of grouping conditions. It was made this way so that CHs wouldn't have 3 CL80 pets and 1 CL80 Droid, if they were a maxed out template and grouped.
The CL change that you are seeing on a droid, when grouped, is a display error issue.
It may not change any of the stats, but it does change the damage multiplier now that pets are subject to it. Try using your level 18 droid against something that is level 80 and watch it get completely destroyed. Then group it, and watch it still lose badly, but it won't be taking 1k+ damage each hit at least, and it won't be doing 20 damage a hit.
Drashk wrote:
CL 10
1715 Health
45 - 240 Damage
38to Hit / 38 Defense Value
These are the exact same stats that my all of my CL10 /tamed pets have.
I bet if we compared all of the droids, to a /tamed pet of the same CL, the stats would be exactly the same, however Droids do not regen themselves, at the same rates.
If the droid changes are intended, with the removal of health and damage experimenation, then this fact needs to be pointed out.