Teras Kasi Archive
Thread: Fun Poll: Defenses vs Offense vs Meditation
Tempestorm
Fri Sep 24, 2004 2:14 pm
#14
It depends entirely on your view of your character what "defines" you as a Teras Kasi master. I have seen where several people have said we should be more defensive... that martial arts are defensive seems to be the common theme here. I would like to point out however that people are using a blanket statement and blanket statements are "almost" always incorrect.
Martial arts varry greatly between styles (Granted TK is a style unto itself but I like to think that different people still play it differently thus giving them their own style to the skill). Some styles ARE completely defensive... Akido is a very defensive style of martial arts. It uses your opponents energies against them to turn their attacks to your advantage. However, Kempo is a very aggresive powerful style that relies more on offensive techniques.... Yet still others are combinations that blend offensive and deffensive philosiphies.
Personaly my fighting style relies on a hard offense... it is my opinion that there is no such thing as a block for every block, is in actuality, a strike.
I am in no way trying to fault anyone for their views on the martial arts as a defensive form... It is a defensive art even when it is at its most destructive, so long as it is used for the right reasons. I simply wish to point out that there are different ways of looking at things. Your view of making us more defensive could be lowering our power and giving us better resists to attacks/dodge/parry/etc. All the while the next persons view of making us more defensive is to make us faster and harder hitting... afterall your opponent can't hit you if they are laying on the ground now can they? See... defensive.
SITHDUKE
Sat Sep 25, 2004 6:28 pm
#15
Personally i'd like to see variation in what a Teras Kasi artists specalize in. So players are different and aren't all like Teras Kasi clones come off a shipping line. Here are my ideas...
Proposal (1)
A Teras Kasi canlearn specific trees/brances toSpecialize in the proposed ways. Either bybeing very evasive at cost to the damage. Some could training more into damage but take hits more often and harder.
Proposal (2)
Maybe damage and dodge/block/counter could be defined in a different way. Much like a person sets their title (Teras Kasi Student ect) or language.They could choose a fighting stance to use which will define their abilities. One would be a power stance increasign the damage output butmaking the player hit more often or take more damage. The other could be purely defencive and offer greater dodge/block/counter abilities at a cost to their damage output.
Just my ideas really feel free to throw your own back.
Iawo
Sat Sep 25, 2004 9:26 pm
#16
This kind of goes with my vision of what center of being should be in the first place. It should greatly increase your evasive skills at the cost of damage output. Of course it would have to be worth using (like Fencer) before the penalty goes into place, but you get my point.
SITHDUKE wrote:
Personally i'd like to see variation in what a Teras Kasi artists specalize in. So players are different and aren't all like Teras Kasi clones come off a shipping line. Here are my ideas...
Proposal (1)
A Teras Kasi canlearn specific trees/brances toSpecialize in the proposed ways. Either bybeing very evasive at cost to the damage. Some could training more into damage but take hits more often and harder.
Proposal (2)
Maybe damage and dodge/block/counter could be defined in a different way. Much like a person sets their title (Teras Kasi Student ect) or language.They could choose a fighting stance to use which will define their abilities. One would be a power stance increasign the damage output butmaking the player hit more often or take more damage. The other could be purely defencive and offer greater dodge/block/counter abilities at a cost to their damage output.
Just my ideas really feel free to throw your own back.
Ryutek
Mon Sep 27, 2004 7:23 am
#17
Teräs Käsi Fun Poll
Sorry it took me so long to get my answers in here, been a rough week
The questions:
Sorry it took me so long to get my answers in here, been a rough week
The questions:
- Which aspect, Defense, Offense, or Meditation, defines TKs (if you had to choose one) and why?
Under the Current system Meditation is our defining attribute. It is what truly sets us apart from other professions, and is what represents our ability to focus our inner energy according to the Star Wars Galaxies Universe. Realistically, however, It still does not define the profession, it only allows others to recognize who we are aside from titles or watching us fight. It is an invaluable skill, but not a definition of who we are. One of the problems that I see with the game is that we, and pretty much all professions, have no defined role.
- Which aspect is most important (limited to one)?
This one is a very tough question, and I asked it for that reason. All of us will have a different answer based on our playstyle. One of the things we have to look at, however, is that with the Combat Balance we will most likely lose what we think of as a currently balanced profession. Whether we are ramped up on Offense and subsequently lose Defensive ability or vice versa, or even lose two abilities and are pushed into being "the" damage dealers or "the" tanks of the game (depending on what the Developers may decide), we should have some type of agreement on which direction the Teräs Käsi profession should head. Will we have a choice? I have no clue. Let's be ahead of the game and have an idea though.
I despise "blanket" statements as much as anyone else, but when you compare the professions (Unarmed versus Armed) I think by description and weapon use alone we should be "the" Defensive Class of the game. Being unarmed we do not have to worry about the encumberance of a weapon, therfore avoiding attacks easier than other professions. However, as a tradeoff we should not have as high of a damage output (especially against armored opponents) because of our lack of a weapon.
Basically, I choose Defense as the most important aspect of the profession.
- Do these abilities define us or should we define ourselves (i.e. role)?
As with any RPG, we define our role within the mechanics of the game. Our abilities should guide us and give us the skillset we need to fulfill a particular role, but with 250 Skillpoints to spend we obviously should be using templates to define our characters and create the type of character that we want to play. We define our role through those means, but on the same note, the opposite side of the coin if you will, we have to be given something with each profession that we choose to help define our role. Otherwise you encounter the same thing we have now. Multiple combative professions who vary only in offensive and defensive capabilities who lack any type of role aside from caombat or non-combat.
Ryutek
Mon Sep 27, 2004 7:33 am
#18
Stickied in the Discussion Thread, so removing the standalone sticky
RoninGaiden
Mon Sep 27, 2004 9:00 am
#19
I would have to say that Meditation defines the TK. Everyone knows a TK by the Meditative stance they take. I would have to say that Meditation is the best thing for me. I find myself playing my 2nd toon, which doesn't have meditation yet, and having to always go to a doc to get healed up for the wounds. I sometimes can't see how the other profs get along without it.
As far as defining goes, as a profession, meditation defines the prof as a whole. Individually, we define ourselves. Vauge, isn't it 
Ramona_Garcia
Mon Sep 27, 2004 12:34 pm
#20
From the three options I'd say meditation. Though IMHO, what defines TKA is the self-sufficiency. You don't need a weapon, nor a doctor, nor armor to hunt. Unarmed damage, unarmed toughness and meditate work together to enable you to stand alone (well, unless we are talking high end mobs).
OnlyMaestro
Mon Sep 27, 2004 4:07 pm
#21
The questions:
- Which aspect, Defense, Offense, or Meditation, defines TKs (if you had to choose one) and why?
- Which aspect is most important (limited to one)?
- Do these abilities define us or should we define ourselves (i.e. role)?
1) In my opinion, with the current format of the game our offensive power is what truly defines the TKA. We are flexible for PvE and PvP options, with a very powerful vanilla HAM hit (Unarmed Hit 3) a great overall move that still seems to work wonders (Combo1) and pool specific hits, a hit for every pool that no other class can claim. We have strong offensive damage output, despite our single damage/AP type.
Meditation is key, arguably the best "skill" in the game, but there is a good quote that rings true on most servers..."Everyone is a TKA...but not everyone is a TKM." People grab only 4/0/0/0 for the Meditation line, and use no other TKA skills. They get it for PB, wound healing, and cures. In retrospect, while others might disagree with me...I wish wound healing was moved to Master, because it is such a powerful ability. Meditation is probably our most "used" overall skill. Imagine for instance...if all the Rifle Speed were from a Single line, and in that same line you had Head Shot3. (this is just my opinion on the matter)
2) Of all our 'aspects' most important to me is our offensive ability. With the current design we can deal health, action or mind damage, and a lot of damage. If grouped with all Rifleman, we can use headhit to assist them. Our Unarmed Toughness, while a defensive skill in nature helps out greatly with our offensive abilities. With the current game format, while defense stackers are tough, unless you have that strong offensive force, you're nothing but a tank that can't do damage. That seems to be why every major template has TKA in it in some fasion, whether just for defenses, or just for meditate, or to get TKM.
3) We should be able to define ourselves. Expand the Meditation skill at Master, giving new abilities to make us more offensive, or more defensive for a short span. Of course these skills will probably come with a time, but hopefully it would not be like FoW. The idea of meditation is to cleanse one's mind and body, and seek an idea of "calmness." In this state, a true TKM should be able to temporarily alter themselves to fit the situation at hand. Adding a slight damage increase, or defense increase would not be gamebreaking or altering, but would add more panache to our profession.
SITHDUKE
Mon Sep 27, 2004 4:22 pm
#22
3) We should be able to define ourselves. Expand the Meditation skill at Master, giving new abilities to make us more offensive, or more defensive for a short span. Of course these skills will probably come with a time, but hopefully it would not be like FoW. The idea of meditation is to cleanse one's mind and body, and seek an idea of "calmness." In this state, a true TKM should be able to temporarily alter themselves to fit the situation at hand. Adding a slight damage increase, or defense increase would not be gamebreaking or altering, but would add more panache to our profession.
That's what i said =D We should be able to in some form or another enhance ourselfes to fit the opponent. A fencer has amazing dodge so i'd go for better CoB defences but some may not have much trouble with it and get a better damage output. It's a nice addition if you ask me and shouldn't be overlooked.
Chavabegga
Mon Sep 27, 2004 6:29 pm
#23
Meditate and Defense. We should be able to hold our own with offense but we really should be defense oriented. Meditate makes us unique and is truly wonderful skills. We should expand that and our defensive abilities at the cost of our offense.
Atama
Mon Sep 27, 2004 7:49 pm
#24
Meditation. Fencers focus on defense and health attacks, swordsmen focus on offense and mind attacks, pikemen focus on (I guess) area attacks and action attacks, while all that TKA has to distinguish it is being the jack-of-all trades and having meditation.
SITHDUKE
Mon Sep 27, 2004 8:00 pm
#25
Teras Kasi Dojos and uniforms *drools* ahem anyways What would you guys/gals choose to be our defining best ability? Offence/Defence/MindHits/KDs/States/Defences What would you guys choose to be the most important direction Teras Kasi can go?
(Sorry for thread-jacking just wanted to ask)
PeteCJ1970
Mon Sep 27, 2004 11:58 pm
#26
Ryutek wrote:
I wanted to start a discussion (keeping it generalized) about the different aspects of our profession and whether they truly define us, how important they really are, or whether we define those ourselves.
The questions:
- Which aspect, Defense, Offense, or Meditation, defines TKs (if you had to choose one) and why?
- Which aspect is most important (limited to one)?
- Do these abilities define us or should we define ourselves (i.e. role)?
Remember to keep flames to yourselves. If you want to debate a point that someone else made make certain it is a constructive debate. I'll post my responses in a bit (at work, so I can't take too long to post now)
1. Choosing 1 only, I'd say the Meditation. It is a unique and extremely useful skill, basically making you a scaled-down doc as part of a combat profession. I don't remember the last time someone (including me) used a wound pack on me.
2. Still gotta go with Meditation for the same reasons.
3. I strongly believe that all players in this game define themselves. Skills and abilities offered by the professions certainly create a finite set of combinations to choose from, but there is still a lot of variations to choose from. No two players are alike, even if they have the same skill templates. Variations come in the form of play styles, supplementary skills, complementary players in a group, and many other things. As an example, there have been as many threads entitled "TKA stinks at PvP" as there have been "TKA is too strong at PvP". It is largely how you play, what you want your character to be, and how you conduct yourself that makes a difference.