Fencer Archive

Someone mentioned this in a longer thread, but I'm afraid I don't recall the poster or the thread. Consider this a hypothetical discussion, not a proposal.

Basically, someone suggested that Fencers, rather than having AP2 weapons, should have the ability to lower an opponent's Armor Rating. I started thinking how this could be implemented in a fair way that wasn't overpowering in either PvP or PvE, but would be fair and offer utility to solo fencers and mixed groups, and how it might work in the game.

What if the ability worked somewhat like Warcry or Intimidate, a cone or area effect?

Successfully performing the special ability would cause Heavy armor to be reduced to Medium, and Medium to Light. Light Armor level would remain Light-- the Fencer would never eliminate the armor, just recognize how to best attack it.

The effect would have HAM costs, perhaps significant mind costs, and have a finite duration like Blind or Stun. Perhaps the success rate would go up until Master at which point the Fencer could detect a weakness in almost any opponent. This could be kept within reason by the fact that a high level mob with 90-100% resist across the board was intended to be basically untouchable and would remain so.

For atmosphere and game experience, landing the special would generate an area message similar to using Center of Being or Intimidate to you and your group: "You successfully detect a weakness in your opponent's defenses." It would be the in-game equivalent of a fictional scene in which the combat veteran tells his teammates—"The armor is weak below his arms," or "He leaves his midsection exposed when he swings." Call it something like "Combat Insight," or "Offensive Acuity."

Don't think of this as a proposal, just a discussion of how something like this might work and the impact on the playing field. Some questions:

Would it be balanced in PvP?
Because no player has greater than Light armor, it would have zero use in PvP.

Would it be balanced in PvE?
I think it would be, as long as Fencer weapons continue to remain at AP0 and 1. Solo, the best case would be to make Medium armor go down to Light, but then you still have to contend with resistances. The top-level effectiveness should be kept at Master Fencer, so any other class that decided to stack this ability with a higher-damage weapon would be paying for the ability in skill points.

Would it provide utility to the solo fencer or an entire group?
I definitely think this would add to the fencer's utility in a group, and it would be an alternative to simply putting Fencer damage output in line with other melee classes, or the current status quo as a buffed, centered, and armored dodger. Perhaps it would give the professions that claim the ability to "Solo Anything" an incentive to team with a Fencer, to make their job easier. It would make the Fencer the technical fighter as opposed to the power hitter, kind of like a "melee Squad Leader," though not as comprehensive as the Squad Leader profession.

Would it be a suitable compromise against all the medium and heavy opponents out there?
Again, I think the medium and heavy opponents are causing a lot of Fencers to second guess the philosophy of this profession with regards to AP weapons. This would be a credible compromise, and would add to the Fencer's arsenal of status effects, making Fencer a challenging tatical experience. And quite frankly, I would find this a lot more credible and a lot less tedious than tanking, popping synthsteak and aircake, and bleeding an opponent to death.

Is this a suitable addition to Fencers' role as a combat "debuffer"?
I think a lot of our status-changing abiliities are becoming less and less relevant-- blind and dizzy are harder and harder to land on higher level mobs, and when they do land they don't really do anything helpful. Finesse is becoming a less relevant concept.

Again, don't consider this a proposal, just an exercise in determining how this profession might demonstrate more finesse and tactics in combat. Rather than flaming this, please discuss why this would or wouldn't work, or how it should work. At this point it really wouldn't be useful to say "This could never happen," but I think it is definitely useful to discuss how something like this would work if it did happen.

Message Edited by Daigoro202 on 05-10-2004 09:27 AM

Message Edited by Daigoro202 on 05-10-2004 09:32 AM

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p897t98 wrote:

think of ideas to bring lesser professions up to par. i.e pike, carb

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I think it'd be a good move for pike! We're a defense based class so I dont see how you can justify lowering an opponents armour rating, but I think it'd fit nicely in pikeman