Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: Proposal for Battle Droids and a new Profession
I’d like to propose a way to improve the Star Wars feel and help promote the GCW. I am proposing the addition of 3 new battle droids, a droid command station and a new profession called Droid Commander. This proposal also promotes the needs of novice crafters that typically are left out of the economy of an established server.
The Droid Commander will be very similar to that of a Creature Handler. At the master level the droid commander will be able to actively use up to three concurrent battle droids. The special feature of this profession is that they are the only profession that will be able to use the basic Battle droid. A Droid Commander will be able to command from 2 to 20 battle droids by the time he or she reaches the master level. Here’s the catch, Battle droids are meant to be expendable. If they are killed in battle they are gone for good. This is good for game balance and to help keep all the crafters in business.
I would also like to propose that battle droids be counted separate from utility droids. Since droid certification is a messy area with a skills based game, I think the best way to use battle droid certifications are to assign a minimum spent skill points for each. I think Probots should stay how they are and allow anyone to continue using them. For the new class of battle droids there needs to be a minimum amount of skill points used.
I’m proposing as part of this plan that all battle droids have to be repaired. Droid Engineers would be able to make a Battle Droid Repair kit that anyone can use. Just like Armor or a weapon there’s a chance that the repair will fail and eventually the droid will wear out. I really don’t think that will be that big of an issue, just give the droid enough condition that they will last a good four or six months of heavy use and good luck with repair kits.
Battle Droid: Requires Droid Commander Certification. The Battle droid requires a Mobile Droid Command Station to be within 256 meters. The Battle droid must be spawned from the MDCS. The battle droid is the only expendable droid. The Battle droid is an inexpensive droid that will be suffer a permanent death.
Data
Health: 4000
Action: 4000
Mind: 4000
Condition: 10,000 – 15,000
Weapon: Level 1 Battle Droid Rifle. (Weaponsmith with Intermediate Firearms Crafting)
Damage: 50 - 100
Attack Speed: 3.0
Shield: May use an optional PSG MK1.
Certification: Novice Droid Commander
Schematic: Blue Prints II
Super Battle Droid: This is an improved version of the Battle Droid. They use an advanced droid brain and are not required to be controlled by a Mobile Droid Command Station. Non-Droid Commanders may use this droid, but are limited to the standard one droid out and maximum of 5 that may be stored in the data pad. This droid does not suffer a perma-death penalty.
Data
Health: 4000
Action: 4000
Mind: 4000
Condition: 30,000 – 40,000
Weapon: Level 2 Battle Droid Rifle. (Weaponsmith with Expert Firearms Crafting)
Damage: 100 - 150
Attack Speed: 2.0
Shield: May use an optional PSG MK2.
Certification: 100 skill points
Schematic: Blue Prints III
Droideka: The Droideka is an aggresive Battle Droid with heavier weapons and shield generators. They use an advanced droid brain and are not required to be controlled by a Mobile Droid Command Station. Non-Droid Commanders may use this droid, but are limited to the standard one droid out and maximum of 5 that may be stored in the data pad. This droid does not suffer a perma-death penalty.
Data
Health: 4000
Action: 4000
Mind: 4000
Condition: 45,000 – 60,000
Weapon: Level 2 Battle Droid Rifle. (Weaponsmith with Expert Firearms Crafting)
Damage: 150 - 200
Attack Speed: 1.5
Shield: May use an optional PSG MK3.
Certification: 150 skill points
Schematic: Blue Prints IV
Mobile Droid Command Station: This is the command and control for the Battle Droid Platoons. These are expendable command centers just like a scout camp. An architect would make the MDCS. All battle droids must be activated from the data pad within the MDCS. While in the MDCS the droid commander can bring up a special version of the radar screen. The radar screen would be a much larger screen covering a detailed 256m radius from the command station. With this tool the Droid commander can communicate with other droid commanders to take control of the battlefield.
There are five levels of the MDCS. The first is a basic command center used at the novice Droid Commander level with the ability to support up to 2 battle droids all the way to 20 battle droids at once.
Basic MDCS: This is the basic command center to be used at the Droid Commander novice level.
Droids supported: 2
Command Hit Points: 2000
PSG: None
Turrets: None
Schematic: Architect Buildings I
Improved MDCS: This is the command center that is used at the Command Center Intermediate level.
Droids supported: 5
Command Hit Points: 5000
PSG: MK I
Turrets: None
Schematic: Architect Buildings II
Advanced MDCS: This is the command center that is used at the Command Center Advanced level.
Droids supported: 10
Command Hit Points: 10,000
PSG: MK II
Turrets: None
Schematic: Architect Buildings III
Forward Command MDCS: This is the command center that is used at the Command Center Expert level.
Droids supported: 15
Command Hit Points: 15,000
PSG: MK III
Turrets: None
Schematic: Architect Buildings IV
Command and Control MDCS: This is the command center that is used at the Command Center Master level.
Droids supported: 20
Command Hit Points: 20,000
PSG: MK III
Turrets: Yes
Schematic: Master Architect
The MDCS is vulnerable to attack and if destroyed all battle droids that are currently deployed will go into standby mode. The MDCS requires one Droid commander to be in the structure at all times. This means for optimum performance there will be three droid commanders for each command station. Yes this does mean you cannot use battle droids solo. Battle droids are meant for full-scale battles.
Droid Commander
Droid Commander’s are a hybrid class derived from a master artisan and master marksman. The skill trees are broken into four areas of expertise, Droid Management, Battle Tactics, Command and Control, and Battle Droids.
Droid Management deals with some of the more advanced droid commands and abilities such as higher droid storage and multiple active droids.
Battle Tactics allow the Droid Commander to use advanced group formations and special moves.
Command and Control allows the Droid Commander to deploy a Mobil Droid Command Station to control multiple battle droids on the battlefield. Larger installations allow the Droid Commander to control a higher number of droids plus the installation is more fortified.
The Battle Droids skill tree allows the Droid Commander to use multiple battle droids. Note: This only allows the Droid Commander to use the basic battle droid not the more advanced Super Battle Droid or the Droideka. The Droid Commander gets to use one battle droid at the novice level and increases by one at each of the four Battle Droid skill levels. At Master Droid Commander they get an additional five Battle Droids. The maximum amount of droids allowed out is ten, so if the Droid Commander has three advanced droids out he will only be allowed to call seven battle droids.
Intriguing idea, I like it.
I'm sure a lot of people will chime in with "But DEs deserve to have that already!". And they don't. It's a crafting profession, like Bio-Engineer. Bio-Engineers, to my knowledge, can't have eleventy thousand tamed rancors out at their command.
The addition of this kind of profession would allow people who love droids to still enjoy combat and to make a difference in PVP and PVE, but allow others who love droids to make a difference in the crafting world -- the proposal plays to the strengths of the game and the existing players.
Just so it's clear -- I'm pretty dismayed with the state of DE, I'm very nearly to master, but I don't want to automatically fall into negativity as a response to every idea and event and bugfix.
Like I said, this is an intriguing and fun idea, and adds more dimension to combat. It complements DE rather than stepping on already-well-stomped DE toes.
MadCat0911 wrote:
Please, no new profession, I don't want a new profession to be able to do what I should be doing now...
MadCat,
Since you didn't explain further, I'm not sure what exactly about this idea you think you should already be doing. I assume you mean that you should be able to call and command multiple battle droids at once. As Droid Engineers we are busy making and selling droids, not leading them into battle. If you notice I made sure with this proposal to work it out so not only master DE's would benefit, but DE's and other crafters even at very early levels.
I don't disagree that as DE's we should be able to store more and call more utility droids at once, just not lead many into battle.
I please urge people to give constructive feedback. Constructive feedback is NOT listing something you don't like, rather it's listing something you don't like AND providing a possible solution to help further the good of the profession.
I didn't elaborate on this one because I, and many others, did on a previous post when the dev's said the word "Droid Handler." I for one don't want to become another Bio-Engineer type class, it's not my thing. When I chose DE, it was with the idea in mind that in the future, I'll be able to go out a bit more without combat skills. Not on the level of CH mind you, just at least an adequate control over multiple droids and tactics.
As it stands, the class depends on medics and crafters who want the stations and med modules in the droids. Once we sell one, the guy will probably never really return. Probots are nice, but people want creatures first. BH droids are nice, but not in high enough demand for my tastes. I don't want to have to depend on a "droid handler" to be useful. Why not combine the two? We've got a whole column of useless skills, our experimentation line. Why not add something there to make the class have a little more of a "droid handler" feel to it. I'm not asking to be Uber or L33T, I just want to have fun being the class I chose to play.
With all due respect, a BE is a scientist, trained in the art of tissue cloning, he is not trained in the art of creature training.
A droid is a robot that does what you tell it to. There aren't any skills that make any difference, tell droid to do something, droid does it.
DE's should be able to fully utilize all droids. Quite honestly, if they tried to take that away from DE's, there wouldn't be any. I think it's very safe to say that after everything else the DE's have been forced to take, that would be what pushed them to quit.
MadCat0911 wrote:
I didn't elaborate on this one because I, and many others, did on a previous post when the dev's said the word "Droid Handler." I for one don't want to become another Bio-Engineer type class, it's not my thing. When I chose DE, it was with the idea in mind that in the future, I'll be able to go out a bit more without combat skills. Not on the level of CH mind you, just at least an adequate control over multiple droids and tactics.
As it stands, the class depends on medics and crafters who want the stations and med modules in the droids. Once we sell one, the guy will probably never really return. Probots are nice, but people want creatures first. BH droids are nice, but not in high enough demand for my tastes. I don't want to have to depend on a "droid handler" to be useful. Why not combine the two? We've got a whole column of useless skills, our experimentation line. Why not add something there to make the class have a little more of a "droid handler" feel to it. I'm not asking to be Uber or L33T, I just want to have fun being the class I chose to play.
Madcat,
I think you are confusing something in my post. We would not be dependant on this droid commander profession, it would be the other way around. Everything I wrote about described the need for return business to the DE profession. I also mentioned that battle droids should be treated as a different class of droids so that every profession could have one utility and one battle droid out at once. Yes I do believe DE's should be able to have multiple utility droids out at once and maybe at the most two battle droids. But really leading many droids into battle is not the realm of a Droid Engineer who spends most of his time in a shop creating droids.
No, we'd be dependant upon them to sell our droids, just as much as they'd depend on us to make them. Yes, return business would be nice, but should we really ask for a wholenew class to give us this?
As for utility/battle droids for non-DE's, they only need one out. My Advanced Probots can do anything a non-probot can do. That's wrong in my opinion, but it's the facts. Why should they need more than one out at once.
And as for us being in the shop all day making droids, that's what factories are for, hands off droids. Plus, droids come programmed to obey commands, what does it matter if you have one or 100, they'll all do as you say. So why shouldn't someone who knows the ins and outs of droids be able to control more than one? I don't want to go overboard, I don't want 3 Probots. It makes sense that I should be able to call more, but if I suddenly get the ability to have 3 IG assassin droids or droideka's, can you imagine the amount of DE's you'll see?
I just want our class to have a few DE specific droids, with droids requiring maintenence or something for non-DE's so we have return customers. In my opinion, those will help out the class the most.
MadCat0911 wrote:
No, we'd be dependant upon them to sell our droids, just as much as they'd depend on us to make them. Yes, return business would be nice, but should we really ask for a wholenew class to give us this?
As for utility/battle droids for non-DE's, they only need one out. My Advanced Probots can do anything a non-probot can do. That's wrong in my opinion, but it's the facts. Why should they need more than one out at once.
And as for us being in the shop all day making droids, that's what factories are for, hands off droids. Plus, droids come programmed to obey commands, what does it matter if you have one or 100, they'll all do as you say. So why shouldn't someone who knows the ins and outs of droids be able to control more than one? I don't want to go overboard, I don't want 3 Probots. It makes sense that I should be able to call more, but if I suddenly get the ability to have 3 IG assassin droids or droideka's, can you imagine the amount of DE's you'll see?
I just want our class to have a few DE specific droids, with droids requiring maintenence or something for non-DE's so we have return customers. In my opinion, those will help out the class the most.
It's not about just telling a droid to do something, it's about battlefield tactics. It's also about skill point balance. You can't tell me that if you were allowed to wield 3 Droideka's and have 158 skill points still available that you wouldn't be overpowered?
What if a droid commander was an elite-elite profession from the DE profession would that work for you? It's still really not enough skill points used for this power. You should really stop dreaming that DE's are gonna command a bunch of battle droids at once, it's not gonna happen with the amount of skill points needed to obtain Master Droid Engineer.
Ok I don't know why you're arguing with me over the fact that you want to call more than one droid. I said I agree with that. This is more about creating a class that wants to use droids to fight in battle instead of a **edit** rancor, I mean this is Star Wars not pet wars. This would really be a win-win for everyone, I wish people would stop with the knee jerk reactions when they read a title instead of reading the entire post and understanding what is being proposed.
Mabinogi wrote:
It's not about commanding an army of droids. It's about being a knowledgable droid engineer. If I make something myself, it goes without saying that I know more about it than someone who doesn't even know how to make it. Following that logic, DEs should be able to at least call more than 1 droid out at a time. If there are DEs who want to use that advantage to go into combat, then power to them (I know I would and it was one of the reasons I was attracted to DE in the first place). There is also the issue of being able to use a power droid or repair droid (assuming they worked) on another droid. At the moment, you need to have two people to get this done. I do find the idea of a "Droid Commander" intriguing, and I definately want to see those battle droids introduced in a way as not to pull a 180 on balance issues, but I don't see this as a viable new profession. I do like Madcat's idea of utilizing our customization branch to include handling. It would be a good way for DEs to earn the right to call more than one droid.