Ranger Archive
Thread: /conceal as it applies to PvP and on the usefulness of Rangers
Reference plate 1:
http://207.254.38.169/photosa/photo37.html
This suit would serve exactly as /conceal and the camo kits already do, but it also has the added benefit of making the Ranger actually *appear* like a rock, or a shrub, or a small bush or tree.
Think about it: you crawl along the ground as a bush, lying in wait for your prey, a man, and then fire with your rifle. He sees the shot, but can't quite see where it came from. Looking around, he just sees a bunch of rocks. He hits tab, trying to find his target, but nothing comes up, meanwhile he's being shot at.
Maybe he'd actually have to click on you to target you, and it wouldn't be that difficult once he figured out what was going on, you'd be the only clickable rock or whatever. But that small amount of time would give you the advantage you'd need to prevail.
I believe that this, with the addition of making conceal take you off the radar, would be priceless in PvP. It would give us an entirely new level of play.
If you like this idea, help keep it bumped so that either the Ranger Correspondent or the devs see it and possibly implement it.
Just as it does to sniping or cover or whathaveyou.
This would only be viable against a group if you were REALLY good at relocation and mobility et al. Otherwise number alone would get you eventually.
Surprise is only maintained for so long, and even against 2 people, your chances would be greatly reduced, forcing the ranger to choose his targets wisely.
It would work, I like it, and I asked for one a while back.
As to "breaking concealment" - after each shot, the target would get a base chance of finding the shooter (depending on relative factors for NPCs). Players, same thing... shooter is discovered and is now a target, arrowed and all.
Appears all the weapons here leave a visible trail, except for the projectile weapons. As tracers work both ways - about anything more than one shot and your location is compromised. But thats for the Devs to mess with.
Once you make Master Ranger you get a schematic on your datapad that can be transferred to a Master Tailor, who if he/she has the correct materials, could make the Ghillie for the Ranger. Not unlike a bowcaster. Other classes could use it, but at severe disadvantage... like using weapon you are not certified for, why bother? Or the Master Ranger could make it, wow, actually using the the station in the HTFB and and his crafting tool, or the weapon, droid, general specialized tool most Rangers have figured out they need by now at the master level.
Just random thoughts
JB
who actually has made Ghillie suits, not hard, just long and tedious
"some sort of Guille suit schematic"
This has been suggested before, and a similiar idea is already on the list.
Namely, combining a tailor made overcoat (duster, cloak, etc) with a camo kit to produce a long lasting camoflauge.
"I believe that this, with the addition of making conceal take you off the radar, would be priceless in PvP."
The idea would indeed be priceless, until your opponent begin hacking their clients to redisplay your dot on the Radar.
If the client has enough information to target you, it has enough information to display your dot as red on the Radar.
A suggestion regarding staying concealed against players while not moving or attacking is on the list.
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The idea of a "free" first shot is interesting, and would probably make our skill set mandatory to competein combat...
Whether that is a good thing or not is up to the developers. 
The idea of the suit is great...but doesn't lend itself to all forms or combat.
Not all rangers are gunners. I myself am a master swordsman as well as master ranger, which means i have to get really close to my target. Now, while the site of a rock or bush hacking at you with a sword would surprise people in PvP, I don't think it would give much of an advantage. Here is my solution.
First off, stop with the idea of the suit being made by a tailor or whatnot. Rangers are supposed to be solitary creatures who make whatever they need. The devs tried to force relationships with others players once already (flora parts for camo kits) and it failed badly. Also, if a gullie such as the ones used by Army rangers is to be used as an example, you must realize that these suits are not manufactured and each soldier must build his own with no schematic. If the suit fails to conceal the troop in simulated combat, he must rebuild and try again.
Now, lets put all the reality junk aside. This is a game based in fantasy and technology; a shredded burlap sack with leaves sticking out of it seems a little weak in SWG. Why not let rangers build crude cloaking devices ("no ship that small has a cloaking device"...screw the flicks). These devices would bend light (much like the idea in Predator) to reflect the surrounding terrain and create an area of interference to block radar. Now comes the problem of everybody whinning about being killed by invisible players. To solve that issue the cloak must have a detection radius. At 10 meters your image shimmers and you become visible to any players within that radius, however; the conceal does not drop and players beyond 10 meters still cannot target you. The conceal should however drop if you decide to send in a pet (which can't be concealed) to do your dirty work. Invisible players commanding stormtroopers, AT-STs or critters would be very annoying and unfair. Like the current camo kits, these units should be appliable to other players, but with a quicker decay rate and a time period before another unit can be applied. Also like current camo kits these should be planet specific and built from said planets resources.
On a side note, the code for this may already be written. I have often entered a building and returned to find myself invisble to all those in in my group (and sometimes myself), so it seems to be in the game in some form or other. Hehe.
Well those be my thoughts, NRaas keep up the good work.
Funniest thing I've read all day
Agramon wrote:
Now, while the site of a rock or bush hacking at you with a sword would surprise people in PvP,
Good post too
My thoughts exactly.
I still like the idea of a suit, though.
Unless you're macguiver, I don't see you building a temporal phase shifter out of stuff you forage out in the field.
"devs tried to force relationships with others players once already (flora parts for camo kits) and it failed badly."
The primary reason the flora requirement didn't work out was because there was no way to use /conceal without having the flora to create the kits.
The approach with the camo overcoat still allows Rangers to use the camo kits directly...
While adding an optionto use the kit on anOvercoat for greater effect.
they tried this with agents in AO. It doesn't work, cuzplayers learn what the models are and how 'real' environmental objects are distributed. With that knowledge it becomes almost trivial to identify the players using the 'guise' in the field. The people who use it end up just looking stupid.
Nice idea, but no thanks.
I far prefer having camo kits give me a significant defense mod in PvP whenever I'm not standing or moving.
monkeysan wrote:they tried this with agents in AO. It doesn't work, cuzplayers learn what the models are and how 'real' environmental objects are distributed. With that knowledge it becomes almost trivial to identify the players using the 'guise' in the field. The people who use it end up just looking stupid.
Nice idea, but no thanks.
I far prefer having camo kits give me a significant defense mod in PvP whenever I'm not standing or moving.
That's why learning to use it effectively will be the key.
Just because it failed in AO doesn't mean it is doomed to fail here. We'll never know until we try. It could end up being the coolest thing about Rangers.