Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: Make them Want a Combat droid
In a way you're right, there aren't that many reasons for people to want a combat droid (hence the upcoming DE revamp lol), but they do have some great uses.
For instance, they are awesome for Bounty Hunters when fighting jedi because they give extra DPS (even while your healing or KD'd), they provide an annoying distraction to the jedi, and even tempts them to waste their damage on the droid instead of you (while you continue to pound the jedi). And one GREAT thing about them: even once "broken" (incapped, w/e), they can simply be healed via Medic / Doc / CM heals, a stimpack, or the best thing: Droid Repair Kits, which can hit for as much as 2300 hp heal, with little cost to the users pools. They have no triple incap, so you don't have to worry about them getting the crap torn out of them.
Personally, as my alt is a MBH, these droids are a huge help, especially when equipped with a single 110 Med Module that boosts my healing from a little over 1100 (MCM) to over 1600. This also makes a big difference, allowing you even more time to deal damage and states out instead of healing.
They aren't really needed by CL80 folks simply because the inconvenience vs. the reward isn't good enough, but I'm not sure how the XP works on lower levels. So basically, BH's can definitely be great folks to sell this too, and many don't even realize how much they help out!
I use one especially now I have dropped CM 4000 and gone with medic 0020 in my fighty, shooty toons template (rest of it is MCarbs, M SL, BH 0003). It is great, I refer to it as an extra bleed every combat round
1) Make them able to keep up with or ride in a vehicle.
2) Eliminate XP reduction. Any thought that this would cause a glut of solo players with droids is easily corrected by pointing out the benefit is still nowhere NEAR being in group.
3) Increase armor slightly, decrease attack power slightly more. A combat droid should be a little repetitive sting, not a big blast IMHO.
4) Increase the number of color/appearance options for customiation.
5) Make them able to deal different kinds of damage. You could sell a heat weapon droid, an ice weapon droid etc. Assuming they don't alreayd have this of course.
6) Give them a cease fire command.
7) Let them eat cake. Okay, maybe not that one so much.
Point is, the target auduence is only limited to your imagination. Yes, these droids have limitations, but if you can present tactics and ideas on how to effectively use such a droid in combat, your market grows. We have repair kits that heal the majority of a droids health in one shot, maknig it able to handle MOBs higher than it's CL. A probot can be a great supplemental damage dealer for a high-level toon, because it will hardly ever draw aggro. A creature handler can effectively handle a total pet combat level of 100 (a CL 30 droid and a CL 70 pet). It will sacrifice itself to make sure a low level toon can get away from a dangerous MOB.
You're dreamin rasal. It's really quite simple to see if you note the huge uproar at the recent XP changes. XP reduction is a big fat no go with this game. Until they remove the XP reduction, the market for combat droids is going to be virtually insignificant. And that's just the first step.
If you're wanting to make droids for DEs what weapons are for WSs, there's a LONG way to go. Truth hurts but it's true nevertheless. You can argue the supposed merits or reasons behind xp reduction till you are blue in the face, just like the devs did with the xp changes. And just like with those changes, it won't do you one speck of good. Cut people's XP and they simply. won't. bite. It's just the facts man.
There's nothing you can do to make a market for combat droids while the xp is reduced. Nothing.
Lamgwin wrote:You're dreamin rasal. It's really quite simple to see if you note the huge uproar at the recent XP changes. XP reduction is a big fat no go with this game. Until they remove the XP reduction, the market for combat droids is going to be virtually insignificant. And that's just the first step.
If you're wanting to make droids for DEs what weapons are for WSs, there's a LONG way to go. Truth hurts but it's true nevertheless. You can argue the supposed merits or reasons behind xp reduction till you are blue in the face, just like the devs did with the xp changes. And just like with those changes, it won't do you one speck of good. Cut people's XP and they simply. won't. bite. It's just the facts man.
There's nothing you can do to make a market for combat droids while the xp is reduced. Nothing.
I'm going to rethink my answer on this one, instead of a brainless flame. Which you are obviously trying to stoke.
First, I don't remember mentioning anything about XP in my post. This thread is for ideas on how to market combat droids. Your XP opinions were heard and acknowledged over in the other thread, and I do not wish to continue that here. If you do not have anything constructive to add to this thread's train of thought, please don't post here.
Message Edited by RasalTheWise on 09-15-2005 05:23 PM
Lamgwin wrote:
"Which you are obviously trying to stoke."
I'm not trying to "stoke" some kind of "flame". I didn't say you said anything about XP. I DO have something constructive to add. You can't tell me not to post here because you take disagreement as some kind of attack. You guys don't LIKE my opinion so you call it a flame. Well if you want to be that way that's fine, there's nothing I can do about it.
All of your ideas for constructive ways to increase the market for combat droids are dreaming. You cannot create a market for combat droids while XP is reduced. You can't do it. You CAN'T do it. And it's obvious if you would just take a moment to examine the evidence. People went nutso over pub22 right?? And why did they do so? Because their XP was reduced.
It was reduced reasonably. It was reduced for the right reasons. It shouldn't have been that high anyway. And yet. ... here we are.
As a DE with a vested interest I have the right to say in a thread about combat droid markets that you are dreaming if you think you can get past the pub22 quitters based on the flimsy reasons for xp reduction. And XP reduction is currently the ONLY facet of combat droids that makes any difference whatsoever.
You cut people's xp. They. WON'T. Buy. Your. Product.
It's simple, it's true, it's fact, and it's not flaming. I resent your assertion that I am trying to stoke a flame. And anyway, the fact that my opinion would stoke a flame in your opinion is an indication of a problem on the part of the would-be flame writers, since apparently their only response to a legitimate criticism or contribution is a flame. I think upon review of the other thread in question you'll find I was more than reasonable and was MORE than unreasonable "flamed" in return.
You keep saying this is a fact, yet I sell lots of combat droids. Unless you're trying to power grind, the XP loss is really insignificant. Even if you are, the fact that you can kill faster more than makes up for the "loss", so where's the issue?
You agreed in the last thread that we needed to drop this since we obviously can't agree on it, yet you hijacked this thread with the same issue. If you're not trying to stoke a flame war, why keep slinging all the vitriol and attacking anyone who disagrees with you? If you'd like to have a nice adult discussion on this subject, please keep it isolated to a single thread. That way anyone who cares can comment and the rest can peacefully ignore your rants.
Skizzik- wrote:
Lets not make this another XP discussion though.
Back to the topic:
The calling delay & no calling in combat is in my opinion one of the biggest problems, followed by the fact that droids cant keep up with a player, running/driving or riding.
Increasing the damage dealt would make them more viable too, but i dont think we can get that to the DEVs.
Random Idea:
A Aggro module or something. makes the droid get as much aggro as possible and speed away with the mobs following ^^