Entertainer Archive

Introduction

My sexy female character was a novice dancer with Dance Healing III and Dance Knowledge II, amongst other professions (Medic, Surveyor, Advanced Pistol/Rifle/Support, Scout). The AFK argument for and against the musician and dancing lines of the entertainment profession has good arguments for both sides, but there's another thread debating that subject in detail. I want to address the entertainment profession overall with some great suggestions based on experience.

I am a novice fencer, Medic and ranger with the Field Base camp, which is immensely impressive and useful as a support skill for a small, or large party. Tonight I grouped on Lok (yes, Lok - not exactly your grandma's backyard) with a Doctor/Master pistoleer and the most amazing Image Designer / Master Dancer / Pistol-Marksman, and a Creature Handler. The Image Designer/Dancer wasn't sitting back in some cantina with her macro running (although I'm sure a macro was probably used to help get to Master Dancer), but she was out on one of the roughest planets you can imagine making a contribution to the FUN (huh? Oh yeah, this is a game) and holding her own against some nasty mobs.

Inspiration to Improve the Entertainer

First of all, Image Designers have the ability to make other players feel REALLY great about their character. During our down time I'd pitch a camp and while Stims were being crafted, all my vain desires were made to happen. She had an incredible talent for color matching, muscle toning and hairstyles, and I tipped her 4000 credits over the course of the hunt on Lok. I cannot overstate how much this contributed to everyone's level of entertainment, and how important that is for breaking the grind. Not only that but tonight, I discovered the meaning of mind buffing. Those foraged foods I've been eating are NOTHING compared to the 500 mind that got added for ten minutes right before our next battle! Mind wounds were always taken care of swiftly. But this is the limitation of the entertainment profession and here is where I propose new additions.

Proposed Improvements to Add Versatility

1. Make entertainers valuable in the field

- Dance bonuses: By Novice Dancer the leg muscles have developed, and a Novice dancer should be able to run uphill at the same rate as a Scout's Exploration I. As a scout I wouldn't feel jealous or offended, as now my entertainer is better able to keep up with me, and it's only a marginal improvement. A Master Dancer should have developed leg strength and be able to run uphill at the same rate as a Scout's Exploration II.

- Musician Bonuses: By Novice Musician, the lungs are better developed from playing instruments for a long time, and it would make sense to give them a slight efficiency increase to burst run. A master musician should have a slightly better efficiency in Burst run. In no way am I suggesting that the above two skill additions compete with scouts who are working on the tree. This is a beneficial addition to make travel with groups in the field more appealing to the group and to the entertainer.

- Entertainment Healing: Battle Fatigue - this comes up in the Ranger forum too. Entertainers must be allowed to heal Battle Fatigue in some form in a Ranger's camp (and only in a ranger's camp), even if it's a reduced rate (like 25% effectiveness vs. 100% in a Cantina). While this allows a party to stay out longer, it also requires at least Novice in Ranger and Novice in dancer be present (face it, there's WAY too many partial scouts and partial entertainers running around; we're talking about making professions useful here).

- Exp Modifier: While healing effectiveness should be most effective in a cantina, exp gain should be increased while in a scout camp. This benefit and increased risk has many side effects: (a) small scout camps eventually disband and only Ranger camps really offer protection against aggressive creatures in the environment. When the camp disbands the entertainer should no longer be able to heal (that's a bug) (b) it encourages grouping, exploration and risk-taking, (c) Kill missions are an excellent form of monetary gain depending on the level of risk and the location and entertainers are having a hard time with cash. (d) Getting out of the cantina WILL reduce bordom and increase interaction.

- Battle Fatigue and Wound Penalty: Battle fatigue in my opinion, as a melee and ranged class, does not impact my character enough. I can be incapacitated several times on Lok and rezzed by a doctor if killed, and after 4 hours still only have a BF of 140 which is nothing. Increasing battle fatigue will increase the demand for entertainers

- Master Image Designer Mesmerize/Dazzle/Distract Skill: A master Image Designer is so charismatic that she can dazzle or enthrall a humanoid so it doesn't attack for a period of time, just like a mez in EQ or DAOC, and a means to make it fit well within the parameters of the Star Wars Universe. (This skill could be called Infatuation )

2. Monetary Gain - Crafting, Tipping

- Scouts make tents and traps, but Rangers will be gaining the ability to craft camoflouge packs that other players can use to disguise themselves against the environment on a specific planet (Tatooine packs for Tatooine, etc.). This gave me some ideas:

- Music Box Crafting: (Just throwing out an idea here - run with it if there's any merit) When the music boxes are played, they add mind buffs much like some foods and drinks do. We don't want to take away from Chefs, so how could this be made unique, useful and turn a fair profit? Perhaps these items can only be used by other entertainers to enhance their abilities (for instance, only scouts can use tents or traps regardless of whether it's yours or someone else's)

- Incentives for Tipping: Sorry again to hit the sore point of the AFK issue. I will say that AFK macros have definitely hurt the tips, as people have "/say Gimme phat tipz!" every 120 seconds in their macro X 5 people doing it per Cantina and it suddenly becomes background noise. Absolutely the best way to encourage tipping, and I spent a lot of time socializing while dancing, and I made about 20,000 doing that per week. Really, if you spend time with people they WILL tip you, but to encourage payout, here's what I came up with for a game mechanism:

- Maybe entertainers need a way where they can set a fee for the group (watch any member in the group and get a dialog). Now you take your dance band to Lok, where mind healing is rare, and charge 2000cr for people to watch. (That would be a good price on Lok).

3. Advertising Services

- The bazaar is used to sell material goods, and a top notch vendor can be found on the CTRL-V world map under the Vendor tab. But there's no mechanism to advertise your services - something Image Designers, Surveyers, Dancers, Musicians, and Slicers could all really benefit from! While I think word of mouth works well in the game and is very effective (I pass out waypoints and contact info for almost everything, but only to reputable people I've dealt with), a Services Directory Terminal would be a great addition to the game. "Surveyor offering services to track down minerals for Droid engineers and Architects. Send an E-Mail to Yoda." ; "Corellia Night Owl Dance Troupe will play for your private or PA party."

I hope that my suggestions inspire new ideas, and help reinforce old ones that the devs can apply to make increase the demand for the entertainer class. You professionals need to make it happen! Trust me, a Ranger, Doctor, and Master Musician or Dancer is a very powerful support crew in a group, and on a place like Lok or Yavin or Dantooine, you can end up pitching a lot of tents, crafting a lot of stimpacks and dancing alot to heal mind and buff it.

Pick up a blaster, Rifle or Carbine and get it to LEVEL IV. Then work up Expert Ranged Support to get Warning Shot which can "fear" creatures away and save your butt! There's no need to be narrow focused in this game. When you're not in camp, help out the strongest combat people by firing your blaster - there's no need to take aggro or initiate an attack yourself if you don't feel skilled enough to handle it. But I will guarantee this adds to the fun. Make some scout friends and go out with them to experience the galaxy.

Cynti - Radiant