Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: Simple fix to the Droid Engineering dilemma.
MstrArtsn reminded me of the dilemma confrunting DE's and Battle Droids. With the current system, they can be used by all. This is not exceptable for the Dev's if they add powerfull Droids. Here's what i think.
I dont see anything wrong with using the current CH format. Why not allow all non-combat droids be usable by all, then have combat droids follow the CH rules.
If they add lot more combat droids like they say they will, then split them up by level. CH's can sell lvl 15 pets to anyone. Why cant we build lvl 15 combat droids (ie: Probot)for anyone, but leave the stronger combat droids to DE's alone. As you progress up the DE line, your able to build and use the more powerful combat droids.
This would be a simple way to fix their issue. Simply put, only Droid Engineers can use powerfull combat droids. Problem solved.
On a side note. Certification will kill our profession. I dont see how a Bounty Hunter or any other combat class would be able to use a droid we built and programed so to speak, and not be able to use it ourselves. Thats completely unrealistic.
So i beg you, stop throwing around idea's of how a Certification system could work and jsut say NO to the Dev's on that idea.
The combat here is far too much like AO and I did not care for it there, I play to be what I am a DE. The only time I fight with my droid is when something jumps me while I am going to or from my harvesters.
The droid market has already shrunk badly and prices have been driven so low I am not sure things will ever return to a point where I can make a profit.
(Why do people not understand that profit is why we chose a artisan path and not a combat path?)
Well I have another 300,000 resources I need to get to go to Master DE, so I guess I should head back
The reason why DE should not be lumped into the same system as CH is because DE is a crafting class while CH is a combat class. This is why the CH certification system will not work for DE. What if designers just decided that Houses were too easy to get for newbies and made it so that you had to be an Architect to get one. One it would ruin the Architect business (just like it did DE) and Two it would anger everyone else that just lost their houses.
The Certification system that works has to be based on Mastering a skill. The only reason SOE nurfed the Probot was because newbies that had only played 1 day were able to Kill anything in the game because they could quickly make enough money to buy a probot. The best fix for this is to require everyone to have two LVL 4 skills (IE. Master Unarmed Specialist, Engineering 4 Complex Systems, etc.) before the person was skilled enough to use a Combat droid or use a high lvl Combat droid. This will satisfy both SOE in keeping people from power lvling themselves and still give the DEs the ability to make money from what they build.
Regards,
Tzsu Umail - Master Droid Engineer
Trusty_McGee wrote:
There is a minor problem with this idea. I know I for one do not play the game for the combat side.
The combat here is far too much like AO and I did not care for it there, I play to be what I am a DE. The only time I fight with my droid is when something jumps me while I am going to or from my harvesters.
The droid market has already shrunk badly and prices have been driven so low I am not sure things will ever return to a point where I can make a profit.
(Why do people not understand that profit is why we chose a artisan path and not a combat path?)
Well I have another 300,000 resources I need to get to go to Master DE, so I guess I should head back
This will by no mean force you into becomeing a combat class. Improvements are needed throughout the DE line. That includes the non-combat droids. Once those improve your market will improve. Even the way things are with non-combat Droids, you can still make a decent living as strictly a crafter.
This also doesnt mean there wont be improved combat droids for non-DE's. We dont even have a droid that can compete with a lvl 15 CH critter. This fix is for the more powerfull combat droids that only a DE would/should have the ability to control.
Im sorry SirWalter, your wrong on a couple account's. your also adding an issue that doesnt need to consern us atm. As it is now, anyone can have a lvl 15 pet, even the newbie on their first day. Does that mean DE's need a certification? No. Read my post a bit closer. Is a DR profession a combat class? Not necessarly. They can gain MMD simply by camping in a medical center. You define a class by how you use it.
You make a comparison to Architect's. Cant architects use homes as well. Your certification would strip us of the ability to use a Droid we created. Please dont throw the Weaponsmith excuse at me. All other classes can use their products. It makes more sense that a DE should be able to use a droid better than anyone.
With the above system, a DE can be strictly a crafter if they wish, or, like a Doctor, they can choose to be more involved in combat.
DE should NEVER become a combat class. If they want to add certofications for combat droids in the combat classes so be it, but DE is an extension of artisan and should remain a crafting class. It is all moot if they don't give us something to bring back droid sales... heck.. a rollback to 3150 HAM probots would do it.
--Dolomite
If they implement a Droid Handler line, im done. I been screwed too much as a DE already. This would jsut be the iceing on the cake.
All hope shattered.
"There is a minor problem with this idea. I know I for one do not play the game for the combat side."
I do. If you don't, then simply don't create the advanaced combat droids that are DE-only.
I initially took this profession for the simple reason that I want to be able to create and use my own combat droids. This is much the same thing as, say, a Mage (Conjurer) in Everquest. They control elementals. I want to create and control droids. I will be very dissappointed if I am forced to take on an entirely new profession in order to do this after all of my work in the DE profession. It would likely force me to give up about one third of all my work so far. I would probably have to ditch Rifleman and/or Entertainer to use the droids I had assumed I could use from the start. That would infuriate me to no end.
To sum up, if you make a skill line or profession such as Droid Handler to house certifications for advanced combat droids, then you should also give out the very same certifications to Droid Engineers at high level of skill. It makes absolutely no sense that I can build a droid, give it its own brain, and command it to do things, yet disallow me from making any use of it. Droids are not guns. Droids have brains.Guns do not. Droids are independant. Guns are not.
-Raystonn
Let’s see if we can make a simple idea,
Look at this, and let’s brainstorm and see what becomes of it:
Engineering I – TinkeringDroid Operation +20 (allows for multi-droid usage)
Engineering II – Hardware Design Droid Operation +20
Engineering III – Advanced ConceptsDroid Operation +20
Engineering IV – Complex SystemsDroid Operation +20
Master Artisan, and *Master Bounty HunterDroid Operation +20
Rate all droids on a system like that of creature pets,
Let’s just throw out some numbers for an example of what I’m suggesting.
R2 Unit = 15 points (he he, just like creature pets, anything 15 and under is free to all)
‘Roger Roger’ battle droid = 30 points
Droidika = 89
K,…. now let make a fictional character for a demonstration, let’s say ‘Dood’ is a master dancer, and no matter how much dancing he does, he can never seem to lose the weight, so he seeks out his local DE and acquires a few droids.
A Droidika, 3 ‘Roger Roger’ droids, and an R2 unit.
‘Dood’ has been working for this for awhile and is proud to have made Eng IV.
Of course the first thing ‘Dood’ does is goes to his local mission terminal and picks out to close missions and then commences to call his Droidika,
>Here’s the math;
>‘Dood’ has aquired 80 Droid Operation points by making Eng. IV,
>The Droidika is a level 89 Droid.
POOF! He gets a failure message on his screen and a notice that his brand new Droidika has lost vitality!
‘Dood’ instantly sends a /tell to his favorite local DE and gets an earful for not doing the math. Now, newly educated he knows what to do.
‘Dood’ begins by calling a ‘Roger Roger’ droid
>the Math,
>‘Dood’ has aquired 80 Droid Operation points by making Eng. IV,
>The ‘Roger Roger’ is a level 30 Droid.
‘Dood’ Dances in Glee as his new ‘Roger Roger’ comes out to kick some butt on his behalf.
Now ‘Dood’ thinks that he may need some more firepower on the missions he’s about to face alone. So he does his math.
>80 points to work with, -30 for the first ‘Roger Roger’ , leaving 50 more points, enough for one more ‘Roger Roger’ but not for two more.
‘Dood’ now pulls a SECOND ‘Roger Roger’ with success and hurries off to play.
This is a simple solution for the Cert. process so that ALL players has access to all droids, plus makes some method of slowing down the droid armies, and creates a new avenue for people to have multiple droids (of any type) out at once.
The idea any good?
It makes no sense that you must be an engineer to order a droid around. Ordering a droid around requires nothing more than the ability to speak. Anyone other than a Wookie should be able to command a droid, unless that droid can speak Wookie (i.e. a 3PO unit.)
If you want to limit the use advanced combat droids, then make then take power in the same manner as a harvester, only at a much more expensive rate. Then droids will not be free and newbies will not be able to handle the maintenance on them.
-Raystonn