Squad Leader Archive

One idea we've tossed around alot here is to modify /volleyFire to let us target specific ham pools. Well, I just came up with an idea that I think might work a little better (pardon me if it's been brought up before).

I think a real key to our profession is a good /volleyFire with targeted HAM pools. My biggest gripe with group combat (PvP & PvE) is that the riflemen target mind, the pistoleers target health, and the carbineers target action. Why isn't there a way for the Squad Leader to tell everyone to target the head, or the legs?

A single /groupTarget health that would work like /rally

For the next 60s all damage dealt by my group goes to the health bar. I take a mind/action hit, and there's a percentage chance of failure roughly equivalent to /rally. All group members, irrelevant of class, target the specified pool. They can keep right on using specials, and they work just like always except the damage goes unconditionally to the pool I've specified. If the special they're using isn't meant for that HAM bar, then it takes a 25% reduction in output damage, and maybe a +1 delay time before the next shot. If the special is meant for that HAM bar, then they get an extra 5%-10% damage output, and maybe a slight speed bonus (like a +5 to speed).

This would not only reinforce group combat on big game like Nightsisters and Krayts (a 350K ham krayt can be the equivalent of a 1000K krayt when everyone targets a different bar), but it requires strategy on the part of the Squad Leader since he has to weight the professions in his group against the HAMs of the target and the target's resistances. If the target has 2x as much mind as health, but you have 4 riflemen vs 1 pistoleer, do you target Health or Mind? If the creature has a high mind, but no stun resist, do you target the mind to optimize your riflemen with their stun rifles? Or do you target the weaker pools and hope you can wear them down fast enough?

What's your thoughts?

The only problem is dealing with the "Pistols don't shoot mind" problem. Personally, I think its a winner of an idea, but the Devs have me.

Great idea!

Kicker that is in your favor is that when your not using your special attack for your weapon, your damage is random. Thus even a pistol can hit the Mind, the pistoleer just can't use his special shots or purposily target it.

I would tweak your suggestion that it is used just for general fire, that way it doesn't matter on what group you have with you. They can not use special shots while under your 'influece' (they are paused till your effect wears off), but after a 'focused fire' attack they can fire away.

That way, if you have your group of 4 Riflemen and 1 Pistoleer, you can allways call 'focused fire' on the Mind and the Pistoleer still gets his combat xp and still helps out on that and once weakened the Riflemen can finish it off, thus youuse the strength of your group.

I would still have it work like Volley (only 1 target) and give it a 30 second durration. I would put it in the Leadership tree and have it based off of the Leadership stat. I would also call it /Focus Fire and you can even spread it among the Tree, that health is novice or level 1-2, action is 2-3 and Mind is 4-Master and make them all seperate commands that you can just click on your tool bar.

BH pistols can hit mind a lot!

If the devs or others don't like the idea of a group targetting a specific pool, why not have each person target their weapon-specific HAM pool without the penalty? So every pistol hits health, every carbine hits action, every rifle hits mind but it does not cost anything to the squad just the leader.