Squad Leader Archive
Thread: Why fixing Squad Leader can fix other professions too.
Thulium wrote:
Got another idea to throw out there. Yes, this does come close to the squad "puppeteer" type idea, but bear with me...
/getinposition
This new Squad Leader skill allows the Squad Leader to direct a member of his/her squad to a position at the ideal range for their weapon.
Melee fighters usually have the idea of getting into range as their first priority already, so perhaps a quick burst of speed is what would help them the most. But for all the ranged combatants, this command would move them forward or back from their target until they are at the ideal range for their currently equipped weapon.
A smart fighter may already know what their weapons ideal range may be, so this will most greatly benefit inexperienced people in your group...but speaking as a Pistoleer, I think I would appreciate if my Squad Leader had the ability to push me in the right direction to get the most out of my gun.
Nice one. Thought I think forceable moving players without warning could be confusing. Instead after typing the /getinposition command, a waypointis created unique to each player that directs them to a location that not only spreads them apart from other ranged players, but is optimize to their weapon's ideal distance. An automated /sys message popups on each player's screen with something like, "Your Squad Leader Is Ordering You To Move This Position For Best Results."
Squad leader!!!reading this thread I have seen a lot of great ideas.
I think the /aimfor command that has been talked about isn't nearly as powerful as people claim it to be. I think its what vollyfire should have been in the first place. Vollyfire as stands is a great thought but no real benifit. It costs a SL a lot of action and mind for something that has a 50% chance of faliure, it only effects ranged attackers, no special moves can be stacked with vollyfire, it halts all affected targets untill the group reforms and fires together on a single target, and it lasts only once.
If /aimfor did the same as vollyfire but all attacked one HAM bar is it really that grossly overpowered?
Another thought was giving a SL regeneration abilities. this is not a bad idea. Something like a TK's medataion? Obviously it can't be that good but it would help out the group a nice solution to the massive HAM costs for special moves without having to figure in a special move cost reduction, also passive to hit modifers could be useful
I see range and melee midagation why not have a group version of this for a SL. It would make having a squad leader very feared!
Maybe group modifiers like resisit knockdown, dizzy, stun, blind, ect.
Why can't formup include the removal of blind and intimidate if you have a SL he shoudld be telling you what direction to fire and why should you be fearful of the enimey when you have a sqouad leader. Also why shouldn't SL beable to put out troops on fire its not rocket science to stop drop and roll.
Why not SL commands to help benifit the melee fighters something like a charge where melee fighters get the benifits of the center of balance with out having to activate them. as a melee fighter the HAM costs to use center are pretty steep. or a combo of burst run and centerof balance for melee fighters.
also what a bout a passive time dely reduction for special moves. it may not increase the fire rate of a weapon but it will increase the damage rate at a cost
Squadleaders are key targets in battles I think SL should get resist posion,and desiese some personal deffence modifiers Why should taking down a SL be as easy to take down as a Chief
Well I hope my suggestions/questions inspire new and better ideas or are seriously concidered.I have a lot of faith in the SL profession and i think it should be respected not so easily cast aside like it is now.
"Death to those who appose the cause" a qoute from Captain Eugine Ravenwood.
later peeps from Seclus
Thulium wrote:
1. If you give Squad Leaders the /healmind ability, Combat Medics will no longer be THE deciding factor in PvP.
2. If Squad Leaders are given the ability to /extinguish, the Commando weapons that are are meant for Large targets and/or large groups will finally have a counter/balance.
3. If Squad Leaders are given EFFECTIVE group mobility bonuses (ie. not just retreat, but actual SPEED increases), we can help all the Melee classes keep up with the ranged weapons crowd by actually being FAST enough to get within 5meters of their target.
4. If you give us a /distributeRations ability, Chefs might have something people would buy!
5. If you give us a Squad Leader exclusive repair droid (think Episode I), we can help the D.E.'s business and provide a great battlefield service.
6.If you give us our own Mission Terminal, it will give the SoE writers a focused place for advanced, high-concept adventures and answer the cry for more and better content.
7. If you give us Fortification kits, we can add value to the Ranger's camps by making them continue to be useful when Combat ensues.
And Finally, and most importantly: If you give us anything at all worth having and actually make us theElite Hybridprofession that we're meant to be, and people actually begin LOOKING for Squad Leaders, and having some reason other than a Holocron to learn the profession.... It will promote GROUPPLAY which was supposedly something the developers have wanted to be a feature that set SWG apart from other MMORPGs.
P.S. I'm intentionally being self-centered here, but the truth is there are a LOT of things that need to be fixed in this game. Instead of using that fact for an excuse to put off fixing Squad Leader, why don't they think of US first when trying to find a solution?!? We SHOULD be the most valuable profession in the game, bar none. The fact that our abilities are mostly or entirely only available to us when we are leading a group should be the only disadvantage to our class. To quote from the strategy guide: "The Squad Leader can turn a motley crew of amateurs into a serious fighting force.... Be it on the battlefield or in the wasteland frontiers, a group always functions better with a Squad Leader running it." Right now, the best we can do is turn a serious fighting force into a xp farm, and make a group function hardlyat allwith the broken /rally command.
P.P.S.Hey, we still got /sysgroup.
Well Dammit... If that isn't the best post I have EVER read on these forums... Wow. I hope that something resembling these gets published before I decide to quit... May make my chosen title of Master Squad Leader worth something. Mainly, I just see things like this making this game and combat MORE FUN. More options means more possiblity, and when possibility istaken to the nth degree by the players, that means more ... FUN. Period.
Thanks again Thulium! Wonderful Post.
Thulium wrote:
I finally realized this one last night. There is a SINGLE ability (probably Master Squad Leader only) that could finally give us the status we deserve as the Hybrid Elite profession of Choice. This ability WILL make it so that EVERYONE will want a Squad Leader helping them and Master Squad Leader's will start holding their heads up high. This could very well be THE most powerful command in the game and it should RIGHTFULLY belong to Squad Leaders:
/AIMFOR
What does /aimfor do? This very simple command is a bit of a hybrid of /volleyfire and /steadyaim allowing the accomplished Squad Leader to point out the specific weakpoint of the enemy. This focuses fire on the specific HAM bar giving all combat pros the ability to target HAM, even if their profession didn't allow for it previously. You thought /volleyfire sounded good (in theory, at least)? Imagine if that entire volley was aimed right at your HEAD (mind)....or your heart (health)...or your legs (action).
This ability makes sense for the Squad Leader. We've all seen that the best attribute of a good leader is his ability to point out the weakness of the enemy. This even happened in Star Wars: Episode II, when Anakin directs the fire in the Battle of Geonosis to take down the heavy installations. Again this happens in Episode IV, again and most famous in Episode V ("Use your harpoons and tow cables"), and yet again in Episode VI ("Target all weapons at the main reactor!")
The major victories in Star Wars occassionally are due to the efforts of single Heroes, but more often than not they come from the hard work of the Leaders. This single ability will put Squad Leaders where they are supposed to be: On the map and at the head of the classes.
Wow... Get out of my head would ya? I couldn't have said this better myself. 
This would truly make us unique and useful. Would go to the description of SL's I read in the holocron or somewhere about a group with a SL at the helm cuts through enemies quickly and efficiently.
I suppose the greater issue from the Dev's perspective with this would be, how do we balance the SL's ability? To that, I would say, You don't. From a PvP perspective, factionally speaking, you force the sides to become more selective in their attacks perhaps, or maybe just force each side to have a SL at the helm? Or I suppose if you implemented /aimfor you would have either a large HAM hit or a large loss of your defense modifiers making the leader the target? The possibilities are endless... I just hope they see the potential here.
I actually really liked the idea of 'toughing up' the SL to lead the charge exsample. I don't care if a SL gets offensive bonuses, let the passives handle that, but giving them either a small percentage HAM increase and/or decreasing HAM costs (for everything) by a percentage. That would be the only personal bonus for SL, making them 'tougher'. You can even stagger it through out the tree and make the decreased HAM cost given a Master.
Speaking of 'Charge', I am really suprised they don't have something like that. I suggest making it a high level version of /Rally that last 30 seconds or so that gives a bonus to not only ranged but melee attacks, and a increase to damage. Easy a level 4 skill. Could even make it a combo with /Rally, /Steadyaim, or /Volley to enhance these.
I also think the passives should be increased, sort of like Rifleman. Let's face it, Rifleman has better defences to Melee than what is given by SL (+40 for MRM and +30 for MSL???). But a Rifleman with a SL can have up to +70 (or more)to Melee defence and who knows how scary the Ranged Defence is. I also want to see these passive traits stack, not held seperate clusters.
i.e.:MRM Bob is shot at. First his +40 defence is held against the shot, then the MSL +30 is given a shot if it gets through.
Make it one bonus of +70 and be done with it. If it is allready pardon my ignorance.
Another idea I have is to increase the duration of the few skills we get and let them combo up to increase the over-all effect. /Rally leads to /Steadyaim leads to a devisating /Volley. This combined with the decreased HAM effect of my first idea would be very important.
Alot of problems I have with SL can very easily be fixed by tweaking the numbers that allready exsist. Makeskill costcheaper, longer, or easier to do. That and giving them more followers. 5 total, or see my post on the follower's thread.
Vec Prybrom
Master Marksman
Master Squad Leader
Carbineer 0/4/2/2
Novice Rifleman
I totally agree with you when you say : "a well rounded group using strategy and tactics with no squad leader should be more successful than an unorganized group with a master squad leader any day"
But I consider the ability to stop a fight as totally pointless. As you say, this must be up to every member to make the group effective and "stop fighting" is a perfect example of what every member of a "good" group must know.
Abilities of Squad leader must give something that cannot be replaced by skills !!!
Giving such abilities to SL (like sysmessages or stop fighting) has NO CHANCE to fix the profession. Even volleyfire can be replaced by an effective assist.
Hope SL situation will change one day 
Katerina-Falco wrote:
Even if the whole profession gets "fixed", I feelone thing should never change. That a well rounded group using strategy and tactics with no squad leader should be more successful than an unorganized group with a master squad leader any day.