Squad Leader Archive

SOE Squad Leader Correspondent Report #3

Monday, November 10, 2003

Introduction

Squad Leaders were implemented into this game with the description of "a soldier whose very presence in a group provides benefits to all group members." While the Squad Leader barely maintains this description, the class has been completely untouched and plagued with bugs and problems since Beta. Two previous correspondent reports of mine have been released - both unanswered and untouched. This is a revised attempt to correct the imbalances and problems with the profession to make it both fun and worthwhile to play.

General Breakdown

Squad Leaders have maintained a poor reputation amongst both the people who play SL’s themselves and the surrounding player characters. The recently released numbers of players who play Squad Leaders is a pitiable 0.46% of the total population. Squad Leaders simply do not provide groups with a substantial amount of enhancement that make them desirable nor are they an entertaining class to play. A Master Squad Leader has no more purpose than to run around in PvP groups where is is next-to-useless. Squad Leaders can clearly be labeled as the bottom of the barrel in profession choices.

Bugs and General Problems

• Volley fire does not work with Commando Weapons nor the Laser Lightning Cannon. Volley fire is not an ability that modifies the weapon itself, but simply serves a non-mechanical purpose. Please include all forms of weapons in the volley fire ability.


• The HAM costs for Squad Leader abilities are far too high. When paired with the fail rates (see below), it creates more of a nuisance than assistance and causes Mind bars to be quickly drained to zero.


• The fail rates for Squad Leader abilities are extraordinarily high. It seems to everyone that the fail rate is higher than the success rates.


• Retreat doesn't scale properly with HAM costs when doctors have buffed the user.


• Squad Leader XP was inadvertently and unexpectedly changed about a month ago and became phenomenally lower. It was then changed again and again and at this point is rewarding so much that it is possible to get Master Squad Leader in less than 5-6 hours time. Although there is not a specific formula I can personally recommend, I am content that it should count: group size and the use of SL abilities.


• The Novice Squad Leader box grants no ability than /sysgroup. Simple fix. Create something in this box that alleviates the problem Novice SL’s are having getting to be the leaders of groups because the only ability they have is to spam system messages.


• More than one squad leader in a group promotes a lot of arguing and fighting over whom should be the group leader. Either allow co-leaders or allow both SLs to get XP.


• /group commands continue to be bugged since Beta. /autosplit would be a miraculous fix and highly welcomed. If this isn’t fixed please make a system message that says who looted the mob and, preferably, what they looted.


• /boostmorale should balance damage, not wounds, as it is described to do in the manual and in-game.


• There is very little noticeable effect of the Squad Leader group passive bonuses.


• Fix /assist to make it immediately select the target of the person you are assisting.

Ideas and Suggestions

• Ability which allows the Squad Leader to instantly queue up /follow on the Squad Leader to anyone within the range of him. Or, if this would promote AFK problems, make a dialogue box appear that reads: "Squad Leader Vemnox has ordered a march. Would you like to autofollow him?"


• Group movement bonus out of combat. 5% at novice, then 5% more in each mobility skillbox, then 5% at Master for a total of 30% increased runspeed out-of-combat.


• More passive abilities. The SL’s passives should be so substantial that other groups scramble and beg SL’s to join their groups. The most highly sought-after ability is a HAM cost reducer. Similar to the runspeed idea above, this will increase 5% per level and will reduce all HAM costs by that % so long as the SL is the leader of a group.


• /sysgroup should include a color command such as "/sysgroupred" would make text appear in red and "/sysgroupgreen" would make green text.


• /sysgroup needs to be more noticeable. Bigger font, different font, default brighter color … anything.


• Allow the creation of "subgroups" in that a SL can lead more than 20 people at a time on a "raid" and speak to them all at once with /sysgroup.


• Allow the SL to create waypoints that immediately activate on all group members’ screens. For example: "Ok guys, we’re headed here." SL then creates the waypoint and it immediately comes up on the groups’ display.


• Allow a SL to see all of his group member’s active waypoints or the coordinates to them.


• Allow the SL to queue targets.


• Allow the SL to "paint" targets as the one the group/raid members should be on.


• When a person in a group goes out of a certain distance from the SL, a message will display indicating so. For example: "Bob has left the group’s range." Basically if he is out of range of SL abilities, the group will be told so.


• Implement a Squad Leader fortification/bunker that could be crafted via assistance from an architect. This bunker would provide various different bonuses and et cettera. Please see the entire thread for this idea at:

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=squad_leader&message.id=8197

…and also another thread at:

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=squad_leader&message.id=5405

• Unique abilities that can only be unlocked if a SL is the leader of your group. An incredible addition that would make SLs highly desirable w/o taking something away from someone else. Three different examples of this:

1. Basic stat increases such as +10 artisan assembly for artisans and +10 general ranged aiming for marksmen.


2. Advanced abilities for each class such as a special style for pistoleers, a unique camp for rangers (or group mask scent), the "bunker" idea for architects, or a mind heal for doctors.


3. A simple universal XP increase. 5% per level increase to all XP types while the SL is the leader of the group. Worried about a SL being AFK grouped in a cantina or something? Simple … make it only work in combat.

• Squad Leader mission terminals.


• Mind healing or increased regen rate with SLs in the group.


• Allow a SL to train any starting profession skills, but they do not reward apprenticeship points.


• Allow a SL to serve the same purpose as faction recruiters but perhaps provide discounts to the recruiters. Also, allowing a SL to get increased faction points when grouped would be a novel idea.

I am posting this as my final report on the correspondent forums, until we at least get a piece-by-piece acknowledgement. If you have any comments or additions you would potentially like to see, please comment as so.

One more thing...

This is intentially a blunt and condensed report to console my fears that the original may have been too broad of a read for the Dev's. I know I didn't touch on every single thing we've mentioned, but these are the primary concerns and the most frequently listed ideas.

This also the state of the profession report.

Very nice. Thanks Cap. Hopefully this does some good. This time. Again.

Good stuff

I'd like to be able to make use of my "Commissar" title more, but I suppose that's a rather unrealitic goal.

This is why you're the best there is, Cap'n /tiphat

Thanks Captain! That is nicely concise and effective. As you say there are many more ideas out there, but it's difficult to put much effort into the discussion of them before we get some sort of *ahem* POSITIVE developer response.

I'll hijack this thread momentarilly for a brief self-promotion. Following are links to two threads that I've started that include further discussions on some of the topics mentioned in this report as well as even more new and improved ideas. My personal favorite is the /aimfor command.

Lots of new ideas are at: http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=squad_leader&message.id=7174

Discussion of the Squad Leader mission terminal is at: http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=squad_leader&message.id=7031

Other new ideas worth mentioning and discussing at: http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=squad_leader&message.id=7691

And, as previously mentioned, the Fortifications discussion at: http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=squad_leader&message.id=8197

There! Now hopefully I won't have to keep bumping for people to notice these things!

Again, Great Job, Captain! Thanks for your tireless work...maybe we'll get the serious attention we need soon! We can hope at least ("Hope...the human delusion that simultaneously comprises mankind's great strength and greatest weakness")

hurrah!

Look's good, nice job

nice one capt....lets just hope we get a reply....crossing all fingers and all toes

My only complaint is that I believe you should have asked more strongly for a mind-heal. Mind-heal makes the most sense in squad leader and given the combat mechanics of the game, is needed. The combat medic mind heal is useless since it causes too many wounds and battle fatigue.

---

novamarine wrote:
My only complaint is that I believe you should have asked more strongly for a mind-heal. Mind-heal makes the most sense in squad leader and given the combat mechanics of the game, is needed. The combat medic mind heal is useless since it causes too many wounds and battle fatigue.

---

The Dev's alreadys tated this is the best we're going to get.

On the plus side...a CM in a large group that heals mind can count on his SL to distribute the mind wounds amongst everyone. Don't get me wrong, boostmorale still blows...this is just one of those times our FOURTH TIER ability becomes useful.