Droid Engineer Archive

There has been a rather lively debate about Combat Droid and Certifications and figured I'd throw in my 2 credits.

Where are the Droids?

As things stand now you rarely see Droids used in Combat. It's all Grauls, Rancors, Sludge Panthers and other assorted Creature Handlers Pets. While there were many creatures in the Star Wars theme, Droids had a much larger place than they do in SWG. The setting requires a larger role for Droids in the Galaxy.

That being said there should be a CL10 Combat Droid available for anyone to use just as there are CL10 (Presently CL15 but going to change) Pet that is available for anyone to use. These CL10 Combat Droids shouldn't be more difficult to maintain than a Creature. Not being able to heal them cripples their long-term effectiveness.

Any and all solutions related to Droids effectiveness must address their inherent flaw. They can't be healed. Just like a Creature can be healed using Medical Skills a Droid should be reparable using Engineering Skills. Introduce Droid "Stims" to Engineer and Droid Engineer just as People and Pets can be healed using Medical and Doctor stims.

Now, before I hear the inevitable "How can you heal a machine! It's not realistic!" I'll ask how realistic is it that someone who is on the ground pummeled to negatives in health can be back on their feet after a novice administers a single stim? I really don't see it as any more or less realistic to be able to tend to damage done to a droid.

To Certify or not to Certify (For Combat Droids >CL10)

There is a need for some sort of controls on the levels of pet's people can use. While this doesn't always make sense it is a game balance issue. If everyone could use Uberbots then what would be the point to using anything but Uberbots? If anyone could have an Uberbot everyone would have an Uberbot.

There will be no Combat Droids with a CL>10 introduced into the game unless they are subject to Certification. You can argue this until you are blue in the face but this is the direction SOE has been taking. Saying that Combat Droids with a CL>10 should be available to everyone is saying there should be no Combat Droids with a CL>10.

Droid Engineer Certifications

The simple way is to just have the certifications based off of the Droid Engineering skills. There should be no Droid XP earnings from using them in battle and overall they shouldn't be as powerful as Creature Handler pets. (i.e.: maybe CL50 max instead of CL70) Making them slightly less effective will discourage wannabe's who would rather have the useful skills that lead to Creature Handler than a bunch of boring crafting stuff.

Economic Impact of Combat Droids with Droid Engineer Certifications

There will be an increase in the Droid Engineer population associated with the Combat Droids. Of course given how many have fled the profession or been discouraged from entering it due to the myriad of issues, this doesn't come as a surprise. If they do introduce CL10 Combat Droids that do not require certification there will definitely become a market for them.

There will be some who will aspire to the profession with the intent of wanting the Advanced Combat Droids. I don't think this would result in a oversupply of droids in the short or long term. There may be some who enter the profession for the shiny pets but may not really be inclined to make them for themselves let a lot others to sell.

Summary

• Options to be able to Repair Droids (Engineer & Droid Engineer)


• CL 10 Combat Droid options without any required Certification


• CL 10+ Combat Droid based off Droid Engineer skills for Certification


• Overall CL for Droid Engineer should be less than that of Creature Handlers (75%)

Conclusion

The first step towards establishing minimal parity between Droids and Creatures is to be able to Repair Droids. Having a 5000 HAM Droid without any means to repair it is folly at best. The second step is to introduce a CL10 Combat Droid that anyone can use without a Certification Requirement. The final step is to introduce CL10+ Droids with Droid Engineer Certification Requirements.

Game balance demands there to be some type of Certification and the most logical person to have this Certification is the Droid Engineer. While it is true that Droid Engineer is a crafting profession I don't see how that precludes having some measure of Combat Viability. To reflect that they are not Combat make the Combat Droids a bit weaker (75%) that of Creature Handlers. The versatility of the Combat Droids and the Droid Engineer could cover the shortfall in combat prowess.

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