Entertainer Archive
Thread: What we are good for?
Well, after playing SWG for 2 weeks now and enjoying my entertainer/musician profession really much, I start to think about what our profession is good for.
People and PAs drooling for good armorsmiths, weaponsmiths, master architects, general crafters, powerfull gunmen, tanks, meleers and so on. But an entertainer? Well, looks like entertainers are a given "furniture" inside cantinas so you can heal up a bit faster.
I don't see any real use for us in the next stages of the game when it comes to bigger missions and events. While the battle crowd and the medics going to take out a huge imperial/rebel base for example, we are left back in the camp waiting for our glory warriors coming back from fight?
I know, there are more profession paths to take, i.e. musician and pistoleer. But I would love to concentrate on my musician and get the max out of him.
From what I could recon so far, we are close to useless in the battlefield at our current state. Imo we need to be able to fatigue and mind heal out in the field (even at a lower rate) and, most important, we should be able to regen real wound damage (i.e. slow heal over time, or constant faster hp regen).
What's your opinions?
You said Events.
Ever seen a large guild hall with a nice theatre inside it? Talk about opportunity. The devs said something about how they would help organize player run events... see where I'm going?
"From what I could recon so far, we are close to useless in the battlefield at our current state. Imo we need to be able to fatigue and mind heal out in the field (even at a lower rate) and, most important, we should be able to regen real wound damage (i.e. slow heal over time, or constant faster hp regen)."
If you want to be good on a battlefield, pick up some combat skills. Entertaining is used _after_ combat... 
Actually, the only thing we can't do in a field camp is battle fatigue, we can heal mind wounds and damage in a camp. I think we're fine, it would be silly to see some guy running along in the middle of a firefight wailing away on a slitherhorn. Entertain in the camps and cantinas, not while the blaster bolts are flying.
"we can heal mind wounds and damage in a camp"
Hmm excuse my noobishness, but I always thought we are limited to mind wounds with our songs? On my few performances in field camps I didn't see the HP bar moving faster when I played a song...
Anyways, I played an EverQuest bard long time, and maybe I am too focussed on the concept of bards there (also "mind wound" = mana regen, but also very nice combat buffs and HP regen).
"Entertaining is used _after_ combat..."
Well, look at the concept of military musicians in the past couple of centuries ... the drummer boys actually joined the fighters in big battles. But in modern times, music in battles has gone, and so it sounds logical that no more music is needed in future battles. But on the other side, SWG has lotsa fantasy elements and also sword fighters and stuff, so a true battle musician wouldn't look too weird in SWG battles. Maybe if he starts to build up his Nargalon on the corpses of the enemies
We can heal anything in camps except BF. You have to be in a cantina, player home/guild hall, or a hotel to heal BF.
I think that to a PA, a good Entertainer is worth far more OFF the field than we ever could be on. The key is to *not* become a fixture in a PA building when the city is built. Continue to play a local cantina. Continue to travel to other areas. I have learned many wonderful secrets during my entertaining, and they could be helpful to a PA, if I ever were to join one.
I disagree, though, with allowing healing of BF anywhere but in the places it is already. It costs 100c and takes very little time to train up a few levels in Music or Dance. Then the scout can build his camp, heal himself, AND heal battle fatigue, and would have no reason to enter town and gain help from those who make a career of Entertaining.
Granted, with advanced heals, I can heal him faster, etc, but you would still see a lot of people not coming in. Even now, those who took novice entertainer to heal their own mind wounds in the field sometimes wait days and days, coming in with 500, 800, even 900 BF. They tip nicely then, in general, but if they could do it themselves, they'd never let it get that far.
Just a bad idea for career entertainers, IMHO.
But if entertainers could cure BF in camps, there could also be some advantages ... a split of the loot from missions, a chance to see some more of the sites, you could pick and choose who you dance for instead of putting up with some of the rude behavior many have experienced.
On the flip side, right now the advantages of being an entertainer in townoutweigh the advantages of dancing in the field, even without the BF issue. Dancing with a group in a cantina gives you a chance for much larger skill increases. There are advantages to the fighters with BF, also - they heal faster if they have more people to listen to and watch.
I'd even be happy if they made it something that could only be done by people at the higher skill levels.
Actually AdaraX, the humorous part ofthis for me is I was a Scout/Marksman who did take Entertainer really as a RP element. All my characters have some artistic ability. I thought the loner scout who loves music would be great for RP. Ienjoyed entertainer so much that now I am an Entertainer with some low lvl scout and marksman abilities.
I have noticed that a number of people come in to socializeat theend of their sessions regardless of not having wounds. I think that if everyone did take entertainer there would still be a role for us - though maybe not as big.
You areright though in an Entertainer does not belong on the field. Even those like me thathavecombat skills should not be on the main field as we do not have the level of specialization needed tofight a primarily combat char.
Anyway just thought it was interesting that the opposite of your post happened to me.
Rasorow
The role of the entertainer in the long run will really be up to the entertainers. If the only thing we do is hang out in the cantina and perform then that's the only thing we will do. I really think the key to entertainers in the long run is going to be hooking up with the faction PA's that build and defend the faction bases. Those players that are high visability PvP and aren't overt 90% of the time will be the ones that need healing away from the cantinas. The faction PA's will need safe havens for healing of all kinds and will support the medics and entertainers that support them.
PVP = more deaths, more deaths = more wounds, more wounds = more healing needed
Overt faction members will find it extremely difficult to slip into a public cantina or med center to heal in peace.
At this time in SWG most players are learning their skills and working up in levels so pvp is something that is done from time to time and not a constant. Once fighters are maxed out in skills they will turn more towards constant pvp and that will mean less covert factioners and more need for safe havens outside of towns.
Marrnos wrote:
Anyways, I played an EverQuest bard long time, and maybe I am too focussed on the concept of bards there (also "mind wound" = mana regen, but also very nice combat buffs and HP regen).
"Entertaining is used _after_ combat..."
Well, look at the concept of military musicians in the past couple of centuries ... the drummer boys actually joined the fighters in big battles. But in modern times, music in battles has gone, and so it sounds logical that no more music is needed in future battles. But on the other side, SWG has lotsa fantasy elements and also sword fighters and stuff, so a true battle musician wouldn't look too weird in SWG battles. Maybe if he starts to build up his Nargalon on the corpses of the enemies
An entertainer by itself it not designed to be anything like an EQ bard. The beauty of the game though is that you can choose what to mix your entertainer with... you can have any combination of skills you want, up to your skill point cap of course.
I think a lot of people forget as they are grinding through the entertainer/musician/dance trees that once they reach master, they will still have a lot of skill points left to do something else.
Actually, I think some high end entertainer "missions" or such might be something like pulling gigs at themeparks and working all your healing skills THERE, in the theme park. Be Jabba's dancer or musician and heal all the cronies and players stopping in from Jabba's missions. The same goes for the Emperor's retreat, etc, etc. Work your way up into more exclusive and exciting venues. Get PAID by the themepark owners after an hour or so of pulling a gig.
Leave battlefield bards to EQ.