Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: non-DE droids?
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RazorBluewing
Tue Sep 02, 2003 7:59 am
#1
Why are there no non-DE droids? There are non-CH pets....
Seems like a vicious droid of destruction would be an interesting incentive to actually become a DE rather than just buy what you need. If players could own/control any pet in the game, would there be nearly as many CH today? I doubt it.
C'mon SOE.... give DE something all their own!
Seems like a vicious droid of destruction would be an interesting incentive to actually become a DE rather than just buy what you need. If players could own/control any pet in the game, would there be nearly as many CH today? I doubt it.
C'mon SOE.... give DE something all their own!
Droid_Engineer_Rho
Tue Sep 02, 2003 8:12 am
#2
I suspect that this is the core issue behind the probot nerf. Essentially, it was realized that the VERY best combat machine a DE could make could be purchased and given to the lowliest newbie.
So probots were brought down to one designer's idea of a 'reasonable' level, and we've been promised newer better droids and a certification system.
Then in a classic case of right-hand/left-handism, we were all given the ability to use creature pets that are actually MORE powerful than an old probot.
More internal communication between subsystem designers, combined with a very strong and knowledgable overall game designer can deal with these sorts of issues.
Dyna_Jones
Tue Sep 02, 2003 8:50 am
#3
There are non-DE droids. A non-DE can build a droid with a faction schematic.
RazorBluewing
Tue Sep 02, 2003 11:42 am
#4
Bleh. I went back and re-read what I wrote and realized that I didnt say what I was thinking...
Why are there no DE ONLY usable droids. All the droids now are non-DE really.
Maybe not even whole droids, but modules. Like non-DE's can only have up to level X module... everything over that and it is too complicated to operate and only a DE can use it. This way DEs could compete with CH in the hunting/PVP arena. Like a probot that would deal damage in the 200-400 range with 9k HAM. Or assassin droids that hunt down a target and explode (one shot). Or even droids that do something nobody else can do in game. Shield droids that put up a protective barrier around the owner and all within .5k of them. Healer bots that follow you around in combat and heal damage automatically.
You get the idea.
Why are there no DE ONLY usable droids. All the droids now are non-DE really.
Maybe not even whole droids, but modules. Like non-DE's can only have up to level X module... everything over that and it is too complicated to operate and only a DE can use it. This way DEs could compete with CH in the hunting/PVP arena. Like a probot that would deal damage in the 200-400 range with 9k HAM. Or assassin droids that hunt down a target and explode (one shot). Or even droids that do something nobody else can do in game. Shield droids that put up a protective barrier around the owner and all within .5k of them. Healer bots that follow you around in combat and heal damage automatically.
You get the idea.
Yabari
Tue Sep 02, 2003 1:19 pm
#5
Icarus-6, you had good presentation, but some flawed points.
1. Harvestors don't try to eat us, but every Greater Desert Womp rat or Mountain Squill on the way there or spawned around our extractors do.
2. CH's can have 14 pets stored on their datapad, not 5. Thats at Master.
And as for your other points, their pets can't act as droids can, so that's why they buy droids and have the same options, in addition to pets, as everyone else does. they have pets they can sell, as well as pets that only they can use.
No real arguement here, just some issues to consider.
1. Harvestors don't try to eat us, but every Greater Desert Womp rat or Mountain Squill on the way there or spawned around our extractors do.
2. CH's can have 14 pets stored on their datapad, not 5. Thats at Master.
And as for your other points, their pets can't act as droids can, so that's why they buy droids and have the same options, in addition to pets, as everyone else does. they have pets they can sell, as well as pets that only they can use.
No real arguement here, just some issues to consider.
Icarus-6
Tue Sep 02, 2003 2:04 pm
#6
Yabari wrote:
1. Harvestors don't try to eat us, but every Greater Desert Womp rat or Mountain Squill on the way there or spawned around our extractors do.
I knew someone would bring that up.
Yes, but they are incidental to the process rather than being a direct portion of the process. Creature Handlers also have to deal with the Greater Desert Womp Rats and Mountain Squills trying to attack them (though they are better suited to deal with this) when they are trying to gather creatures as well as the creatures they are trying to tame (and which is more difficult? Dealing with a group of Womp Rats around your harvester or dealing with a couple of Rancors so you can tame their pride and joy?)
2. CH's can have 14 pets stored on their datapad, not 5. Thats at Master.
Ok. I didn't realize they number was so high but still, 14 creatures is a far cry from the roughly 1250 deeds a droid engineer -could- have (though it would be impractical). And that isn't counting what they could have in their vendors.
Icarus-6
Wed Sep 03, 2003 12:15 am
#7
Because Droid Engineers and Creature Handlers are similar but not identical classes.
I realize that most of the time we sit about and complain about how Creature Handlers can do things we can't (multiple pets out at once, no need to harvest resources, etc.) but they also have limitations that we do not:
They have to go and tame creatures, which is dangerous. When was the last time your harvester tried to eat you?
There in no 'deed' for for pets. They can store 5 pets in their data pad and that's it. They can't put them on vendors. They can't store them in backpacks to have backups in case one per dies.
When they tame a pet they have to wait for it to grow up. Combined with the 5 pet limit this can really slow them down. Our pets come out fully grown (such as it is).
They can only sell their lower level stuff. I suspect we will always be able to sell everything we make. That means our top pets will probably be weaker than the top Creature Handler pets, but usable to everyone when they finally come out.
Their pets can never allow medical healing outside of a med center, never function as a crafting station, and never store items for them.
Does that mean everything is balanced out and perfect right now? Of course not. The pets that they can sell to anyone are way stronger than our strongest probots. They can currently have multiple pets out and I see no good reason why people are limited to a single droid. There's lots of tuning to do still, though it is getting better.
In the end it will never be truly 'balanced'. There will always be some advantages they have and there will be some advantages we have.
For me, what I would like to see is DEs never to have a 'DE only' droid. I would like them to be able to produce a droid that's around CL45-50. It would be weaker than the ultimate CH pets but would be usable by anyone. Want someone for the party capable of controlling a nasty beastie that does obscene damage? Call a Creature Handler. Want to buy a pet for yourself that isn't as horrifying but that you can control yourself? Call a Droid Engineer.
And for those who thinks that DEs get left out of groups because of this, two points:
DEs aren't a combat class. If you wanted a combat class play a bounty hunter.
Assume droids are strong enough to be useful to hunting groups. Assume most people in a high end group have one or two to help out the CH and their pet.
Who's going to fix them?
I realize that most of the time we sit about and complain about how Creature Handlers can do things we can't (multiple pets out at once, no need to harvest resources, etc.) but they also have limitations that we do not:
They have to go and tame creatures, which is dangerous. When was the last time your harvester tried to eat you?
There in no 'deed' for for pets. They can store 5 pets in their data pad and that's it. They can't put them on vendors. They can't store them in backpacks to have backups in case one per dies.
When they tame a pet they have to wait for it to grow up. Combined with the 5 pet limit this can really slow them down. Our pets come out fully grown (such as it is).
They can only sell their lower level stuff. I suspect we will always be able to sell everything we make. That means our top pets will probably be weaker than the top Creature Handler pets, but usable to everyone when they finally come out.
Their pets can never allow medical healing outside of a med center, never function as a crafting station, and never store items for them.
Does that mean everything is balanced out and perfect right now? Of course not. The pets that they can sell to anyone are way stronger than our strongest probots. They can currently have multiple pets out and I see no good reason why people are limited to a single droid. There's lots of tuning to do still, though it is getting better.
In the end it will never be truly 'balanced'. There will always be some advantages they have and there will be some advantages we have.
For me, what I would like to see is DEs never to have a 'DE only' droid. I would like them to be able to produce a droid that's around CL45-50. It would be weaker than the ultimate CH pets but would be usable by anyone. Want someone for the party capable of controlling a nasty beastie that does obscene damage? Call a Creature Handler. Want to buy a pet for yourself that isn't as horrifying but that you can control yourself? Call a Droid Engineer.
And for those who thinks that DEs get left out of groups because of this, two points:
DEs aren't a combat class. If you wanted a combat class play a bounty hunter.
Assume droids are strong enough to be useful to hunting groups. Assume most people in a high end group have one or two to help out the CH and their pet.
Who's going to fix them?
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