Squad Leader Archive

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However with Squadleader (and I know everyone thinks it doesn't give any real abilities) Your accuracy and defense will increase, along with your dmg.

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Sure, a MSL gets the bonuses:

General Ranged Speed +15,
General Ranged Accuracy +30
Melee Defense +55 (or a total +85 when grouped)
Ranged Defense +55 (or a total +85 when grouped)

But i dare to mention that the Master Rifleman could instead choose:

- BH (same costs in skillpoints):

General Ranged Speed +40
General Ranged Accuracy +85
Melee Defense +95
Ranged Defense +120

- Carbineer (no need for scout, so less skillpoints to invest):

General Ranged Speed +20
General Ranged Accuracy +105
Melee Defense +60
Ranged Defense +75

- Pistoleer (again no need for scout, so less skillpoints):

General Ranged Speed +25
General Ranged Accuracy +105
Melee Defense +80
Ranged Defense +85

Each alternative second profession in numbers beats the SL badly, so we're down to the abilities which can and should make the difference. Unfortuanately at the moment they simply are not up to the level which a full sized profession should have. I agree that good leadership makes a very big difference in a PvP fight, but i also dare to say, volleyfire and the bonus on healthare the only things which reallymake the difference between a MSL and a MasterMusician leading a group in combat...

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Imid wrote:

For me, its not the abilities though that makes my groups semi successful. Its actually leading. I don't do the most dmg, or heal the most. Or get the most death blows. I make sure everyone is doing their job, correctly. I do deal a lot of dmg now. Trust me, I am not lacking in that department. But the system message helps every stay together. You just have to know how to use them. Master Dancer could lead a group sure, but...then again, why would a master dancer lead a pvp raid? =) It does work. me and a group lasted twice as long against stacked odds. Its all in the ability in ourselves (i'm not new to PvP anything) i don't really care if i don't do the most dmg or have the best specials. Its making sure we all get to exp PvP without the frustration of chaos. Its just controlled chaos now =) if you are on eclipse sometime and want to see what i mean, check me out =)

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Unfortunately i am not on Eclipse, but perhaps i'll create me a toon there to check you on that... (don't expect something great though... will be a lv. 1 dude.)

I did my share of leading already, though not in PvP, and i personally came to the conclusion that a good team can do well without /sys... while with a bad team, all /sys messages of the world won't help at all. Thus the ability sure matches the idea of the SL, but it's nothing which is absolutely essential. I personally play SL and stick with it, as i love the idea and image of the profession... but i really hate to know that in terms of game mechanics i could be more beneficial, not only for me, but even for the complete team, if i would choose another profession.

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Thats what the other people are for, the ones I've had the pleasure of leading. They do the killin, i Keep them together, and get them out alive if I can. Thats the fun of it. Guess i'm a big roleplayer Group PvP'er. Even PvE is some what more entertaining.

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Guess i'm somewhat in between then. I love leading a team, have a rather good record on PvE activities but no PvP experience yet. I also know that i could squeeze a good deal more out of my skillpoints (the entertainer doesn't help me in combat at all, but i have the habbit of occasionally smuggling myself into a musician group in a cantina and have some fun there and also the hunting branch of the scout could perhaps give more combat power if invested elsewhere...) but i accept that my decissions in that part make me a tiny bit weaker than i could be in combat powers.

What i dislikeis that many peoplesee the SL as a bad choice, especially since both the pure numbers and the functionality of the specials prove them right. (Although, i also think, if people would only SEE the bonuses we give, especially the passive ones, our class would see much more demand...)

I also think that with a few small fixes, the profession could be right on track...

Edit: and as a sidenote the faction rank "Colonel" doesn't command respect in my eyes. Matching to the SL, i would love to bear something like "Lance Corporal" or "Sergeant", is much more matching for the SL in the field than the "Colonel", but game mechanics in the run of time simply force you to go for the later.

Message Edited by Sylow on 06-16-2005 07:43 PM

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What is the Squad Leader's weapon of choice? Our SquadMates, of course.

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This is true from the SLs point of view. But take the approach from the other side, who would the team prefer? And once too often i heard from players that SL doesn't help a lot, a full sized combat templatewould be better to use that spot in group. Sure, if you're guilded and have friends there, they happily take you into team and you can work well with them.

I dare to assume that part of the problem is that the bonuses we give are not shown. I occasionally "lead" groups which just formed up for a quest or hunt. (I put the lead in quotation marks, as i admit that those groups usually are somewhat chaotic. Can't press discipline into people you know only since a few minutes...) Much too often people then ask what SL actually does and doubt when i tell them about the passive bonuses. They don't see them anywhere, so they are not there for them... and thus continue to claim that SL is worthless. (Except volleyfire, that is.)

The effect is, you easily get into a team when it's only half-full... if they are already 6 or 7persons the SL can expect to be rejected as the team hopes for "real" fighters. The profession has a serious reputation issue and that urgently has to be fixed. It's not necessary that we'll be "the one" superior class, but other people have to perceive us as worthwhile.

Message Edited by spoiledbrat on 06-17-2005 02:13 PM