Squad Leader Archive
Thread: Reconcieving Pets Giving Squad leaders a helping hand
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Kade_Deveron
Fri Jan 30, 2004 10:43 am
#1
I've been thinking about the issue of DEs and the proposed Droid Commander profession and it occurs to me that there may be a better way of introducing combat droids to the game. I submit this solution here, inthe core systems forums, because it impacts many professions and significantly changes the dynamics of how we see pets.
Reconceptualizing the professions
One of the real problems with the current pet system is that different dynamics play out to obtain and use different pets. Creature handlers can get and manage their own pets. These pets never "die". DEs make droids, and anyone can use them. They have limited deaths before they die permanently. Faction pets rely on faction points to be bought, but when they die, they stay dead.
Fixing this system, in my mind, takes a fairly radical set of changes to balance things out. So here it goes.
Bio-Engineers - Two major changes to bio-engineers. First, they should gain ALL of the taiming abilities of CHs. Second, they should gain the ability to heal creatures with increasing levels of results up to master.
Droid Engineers - One major change. They should gain the ability to repair droids, again scaling against their levels and abilities.
Creature Handlers - Lose the ability to tame pets or make them mounts (yes, yes, I can hear the screams of nerf!). However, they gain the ability to manage both creatures AND droids. This class would be renamed to something else more appropriate, but for this discussion I will call them Handlers. Handlers would require the engineering tree of artisan and the hunting tree of scouts as pre-requisites to their profession. They would function much as they do now, with level and number limits, but could use mixes of droids AND creatures. Handlers would have some limited repair abilities for their droids and creatures. Handlers have two sets of caps, a cap on how many pets they can manage at one time, and a higher cap on the number of pets they can store.
While radical, these changes would create a more balanced enconomy and system. BEs and DEs fit within a proper role of creation and repair, and the handler profession gains the role of managing these creations. While MANY will see this as a major nerf for CHs, consider this. Handlers under this new system now have access to creatures to use for tanking AND droids which will likely be ranged units that carry secondary features (crafting stations, medical abiility, etc..). This will make the handlers much more powerful in the long run. All creatures and droids would operate under the same death rules. For the economy's sake, my belief is that after x deaths, pets should STAY dead, leaving DEs and BEs with a regular stream of business.
The last peice of the balance relates to faction pets. Unlike droids or creatures, faction pets arent "created". However, a similar system can be implemented for faction pets.
Rank - Rank should be used to determine the total "level" of support personnel available to an individual.
Squad Leader - With increased levels in squad leadership, squad leaders gain the ability to lead more and more faction pets up to their rank cap.
Faction pets that die follow the same death process as pets in other professions, they have x number of deaths and then they are dead for good.
For non-squad leaders or handlers:
For folks that arent in the two "pet" professions, the old rules apply. One pet up to a max of level 10. Faction pets are an exception, as their rank limits the power of their pets. However their pets can only engage in faction combat so this is fairly self-balancing.
So, I am curious what everyone thinks about this proposal and its implications for gameplay?
Wystery
Fri Jan 30, 2004 12:05 pm
#2
I personally hate CHs only because they kill me a lot 
but I think they are all about creatures and not droids. These changes might balance the game more, but it would kill what the professions actually are. DEs are getting revamped and need more stuff, BEs I think should not tame anything because they are essentially scientists and well, bio-engineers they know nothing of taming wild animals. They engineer them to be docile. I think there could be more interaction, like CHs helping BEs get their stuff, DEs having more power with droids. The SL change is great though and I believe it will happen sometime this year, but nerf or not I think these changes are like having the San Francisco Rams and Indianapolis Cardinals 
but I think they are all about creatures and not droids. These changes might balance the game more, but it would kill what the professions actually are. DEs are getting revamped and need more stuff, BEs I think should not tame anything because they are essentially scientists and well, bio-engineers they know nothing of taming wild animals. They engineer them to be docile. I think there could be more interaction, like CHs helping BEs get their stuff, DEs having more power with droids. The SL change is great though and I believe it will happen sometime this year, but nerf or not I think these changes are like having the San Francisco Rams and Indianapolis Cardinals
irott
Fri Jan 30, 2004 3:52 pm
#3
I'm tired of playing Pet Wars. I want to play Star Wars.
One "handler" profession is even too much for me and the addition of 2 more would be overkill. The idea of a Droid Handler profession keeps me totaly boggled. A NPC Squad Commander is even worse.
CH pets need a higher rate of vitality decay and permadeath when they reach 0 (that might be how it is now... not sure), DEs should be able to have multiple droid pets out... but only one combat droid at a time. The utility droids are what needs work, not the combat ones.
And Squad leaders... The best they should get is a reduction on FP price for faction pets... and uniforms ^_^.
Rank should be the determining factor for how many Faction pets out at once... and max it at three, the perk for being a Surface Marshal.
Wystery
Tue Feb 03, 2004 2:26 pm
#4
3 pets for being a Surface Marshall? Aren't Surface Marshalls supposed to command entire fleets of the Empire? Hell Admirals command fleets Surface Marshalls command everything. If you get there you should have a lot more than 3 faction pets, no more pets but just more perks.
irott
Tue Feb 03, 2004 4:13 pm
#5
I agree.. a surface marshal should command more than just 3. But remeber this is a game and it needs balance.
The idea I like the best is being able to control the NPCs of a PC base. They would only function within a certain radius. This way a SL does not become a handler that goes out and raids bases by themselves with 10 pets helping them. This is just a defensive measure and provides that extra bit of firepower to hold off the enemy.
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