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Avuras

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  1. Isn't there a holonet terminal on the fleet (at least Republic-side) which was used as part of the story mission arc for Ilum, back when SWTOR first launched? As a hypothetical scenario: if this were to be leaked on the holonet somehow, being able to read up on it in-game from a holonet terminal could be a nice way to flesh out the galaxy a little, or at least be used as part of (or to start) a mission arc for Dantooine. In other words, the holonet could be used as an in-universe method of reading articles like these, with an out-of-character reason being an additional way for players to stumble across them if they don't frequent the official SWTOR website.
  2. Regarding the idea of "minor" Set Bonuses in my previous post: I've given it some further thought, and I think that would work best if the general ability-based bonuses were restricted to armor-based Set Bonuses (and Tactical Items, obviously), with "minor" Set Bonuses restricted to Earpieces and Implants with a 2-piece/3-piece bonus structure focused around specific stat boosts. One bonus might give a small Critical Rating buff, another a Force/Tech Power buff, a tank-focused one might give a minor Energy/Kinetic damage reduction increase, with yet another providing a slight Internal/Elemental damage reduction buff. And if Tactical Items are added to specific armor Set Bonuses, I think having any 8-piece bonus (presuming the usual seven armor pieces plus a matching Tactical Item) remain focused on the ability modified by the Tactical Item would be best. Even if the previous bonuses remain similar across multiple armor sets, the Tactical Item-focused bonus would almost certainly be unique if designed around that specific ability. Personally, I think "balancing" one stat bonus with a separate stat debuff like this would be best to do with Set Bonuses rather than Tactical Items. If split incrementally between 2-piece, 4-piece, and 6-piece bonuses, then different armor sets with the same stats can be used to further personalize a PvP build.
  3. If they were to implement Tactical Items which require equipping an entire armor set to get their full bonus from (such as the planetary Set Bonus idea I suggested in my last post), I think this way would be the easiest method of doing so. The "generic" Set Bonuses we already have from random Artifact-quality armor piece drops on Ossus would indicate this is possible, due to the way they have distinct 2-piece, 3-piece, 4-piece, and 5-piece bonuses, compared to the usual 2-piece, 4-piece and 6-piece bonuses from class-specific armor sets. If there's no upper limit to how many items can be part of a gear set, and if those items can be something other than armor pieces, then adding Tactical Items to those Set Bonuses should be fairly simple (hypothetically, of course -- I know full well how complicated programming can be, and that's not taking into account how complex it can become when MMORPGs are involved). Or, as a change of pace, create "minor" Set Bonuses which involve non-armor equippable items and a Tactical Item. For example: an Earpiece, an Implant, and a Tactical Item might all be part of a 3-piece Set Bonus which is completely separate from any armor-specific Set Bonuses.
  4. I had some further thoughts on potential Tactical Items and Set Bonuses, and how to provide reasons for collecting them: A general trend I've seen since the introduction of Makeb is the implementation of a reputation faction with that planet and just about every other one afterward. If reputation bonuses can be adjusted to allow a specific bonus to a particular faction rather than just being general, why not create a general Set Bonus for each planetary reputation faction which provides a bonus to any gained reputation for that faction as one of its benefits when worn? With level scaling involved, any such gear sets could be adjusted to be on-level for that specific planet, and have the full set potentially provide some sort of additional benefit or protection when facing that planet's World Bosses, to create an optional "soft" gear progression through content on a particular planet. And with the existing loot table systems demonstrated in lockboxes and Locked Supply Crates, a daily mission tied to completing repeatable missions on that planet could provide a chance to have a piece of the "planetary set" to drop, with a weekly mission which allows a guaranteed method to obtain a desired gear piece from that set (similar to Ossus, but without any random rolls involved). Once a player reaches the Legend rank for that planetary reputation faction (or perhaps Hero), access could be granted to Tactical Items from the reputation vendors with a heavy thematic element associated with that faction and planet. Such items could potentially have a unique effect or be the same as another Tactical Item acquired elsewhere, but have completely unique audio or visual special effects. Additionally, Tactical Items could have a chance to drop from World Bosses which could be general in nature or class-specific, but only provide part of their bonus when equipped unless the full planetary Set Bonus is active, at which point they become quite noticeably stronger or spectacular in their results. As for reputation factions which are not heavily associated with a specific planet, Set Bonuses and Tactical Items could be introduced in other ways: for example, reputation factions tied to specific Conquest events (ie. The Gree Enclave, T.H.O.R.N.) could provide Set Bonuses through reputation vendors instead of quests, with Tactical Items providing some additional benefit such as a method of countering the mutated Rakghoul strain debuff from certain World Bosses or other various things. Finally, Crafting Schematics could be provided through reputation vendors to allow specific pieces in a planetary Set Bonus to be more easily acquired, but have both the schematics themselves and the gear pieces crafted locked behind a reputation requirement, with the requirement not present on gear pieces acquired through mission rewards. This would provide multiple methods of completing a Set Bonus, with the process made considerably easier for anyone who had finished up reputation for that faction at an earlier point of time (such as planets from previous expansions). And lastly, Achievements could be added to the game which are tied to acquiring the complete gear set for a planet this way, with potential Legacy Titles to match for completing large numbers of Set Bonuses.
  5. To organize them a bit more easily, I'll list my ideas on an ability-by-ability basis. I'll post again at a later point with ideas for set bonuses, but for now I'll focus on Tactical Items: Force Melt This ability already has an Area-of-Effect aspect thanks to the Burning Sweep passive allowing Force Sweep to spread it to other targets, so any such effects on a Tactical Item would be fairly redundant. I do see some other good possibilities, however. Conflagration: Force Melt deals all of its damage instantly instead of as a burn effect, causing the ability to always do either its minimum damage possible (no crit) or absolute maximum damage possible (crit), rather than somewhere between the two. Timing this with the use of Zen could have some fairly explosive results for the unfortunate target, as well as allowing the other 5 charges from the Zen buff to be expended on more ticks of Cauterize or Overload Saber. If the animation for this ability and the visual effect on the target could also be modified to reflect all this damage being done at once, even better. Searing Winds: If any target is struck by Force Sweep while the Force Melt burn effect is present, up to 8 enemies within 5 meters of the target will be hit by an Area-of-Effect Force attack which deals moderate elemental damage. This is triggered individually for every target with an active Force Melt burn effect from that specific character and is handled separately from the burn effect being spread by the Burning Sweep passive (avoiding conflict with that passive ability), enabling additional sustained Area-of-Effect support from the Watchman Discipline through this ability synergy. Walking Bomb: Force Melt no longer places a burn effect on the target, but instead "primes" them for detonation, with the "trigger" being Force Sweep. When triggered, any enemies within a 7 meter radius of the target are hit for a heavy amount of elemental damage, which also removes the "priming" effect from the target. Has anyone seen this sort of thing from the Dragon Age series? It's kind of like that. This essentially converts the spreading burn aspect of the Burning Sweep passive into an instant Area-of-Effect attack instead, while also enabling a certain degree of tactics in permitting the player to choose when the detonation effect is ultimately triggered (or not at all, if the "priming" effect is allowed to time out on the target). Cauterize This ability also already has an Area-of-Effect aspect due to the Burning Sweep passive, but I do see an opportunity: Searing Slash: Cauterize hits up to 3 targets in a frontal Area-of-Effect, dealing all its elemental damage instantly instead of as a burn effect, with the elemental damage reduced slightly to compensate. Any active charges of Zen are still consumed to allow the elemental portion of the damage done to each target to automatically crit. This provides an alternative to Cyclone Slash when faced with a lower number of enemies, dealing a greater total damage in those situations. Merciless Slash I do not see many ways to directly improve this ability through Tactical Items aside from lowering its cooldown somehow, but I do see potential through synergy with other abilities: Zealous Precision: Merciless Slash consumes all remaining Zen for additional damage, with each charge consumed allowing the ability to ignore a certain percentage of the target's armor. Consuming all six charges ignores 100% of the target's armor. No Mercy: Merciless Slash refreshes any Cauterize, Overload Saber, and Force Melt burn effects on a target on a successful hit, refunding 1 focus for each burn effect refreshed, and dealing additional moderate elemental damage for each burn effect currently present. Combined with the Focused Slash Sentinel passive, Merciless Slash refunds all 4 focus if all three burn effects are present on a target. Overload Saber This ability seems to have the most potential when used as a self buff, and I have some ideas in regards to this: Unstable Energy: Overload Saber no longer causes melee attacks to place a burn effect on the target, but instead allows the next 3 melee attacks to ignore 30% of the target's armor. Searing Ward: Overload Saber no longer causes melee attacks to place a burn effect on the target, but instead grants 3 charges of Searing Ward, which increases melee and ranged defense by 15% for 6 seconds. Every incoming attack successfully parried or deflected while this buff is active will consume a charge and place a moderate burn effect on the attacker, which can stack up to 3 times.
  6. If there are any drawbacks at all from equipping a Tactical Item, I think it would probably be best to limit that based on the strength of the item's buff and its quality, if at all. Personally, I'd say this sort of thing would fit best on lower-quality Tactical Items which also have a fairly strong buff, and much less likely on higher-quality items.
  7. So according to what I'm reading here, I'm assuming non-class specific Tactical Items alter the function of any "general" abilities, which also includes non-combat abilities. Given the way Discipline-specific abilities seem to be bestowed and removed, and the existence of Temporary Abilities, I'm also assuming it will be reasonably plausible to design specific Tactical Items which bestow entirely new abilities while equipped, and remove those specific abilities when unequipped. While this alternative approach is probably not ideal for actual Advanced Class/Disciple abilities, I can see this being a great deal more viable when designing Tactical Items for "general" abilities. With all that in mind, here's a list of possible Tactical Item effects I thought up: Area-of-Effect Harvesting (Ability Modification): When harvesting a resource, simultaneously harvest any other resource nodes also within range of the player. This may not be as useful when harvesting standard resource nodes, but for Bioanalysis and Scavenging? After clearing a large group of biological or mechanical mobs, this could save a decent bit of time. Area-of-Effect "Flurry" (Ability Modification): When using the standard "Flurry" ability each class possesses, damage is now split between up to three targets in a small radius centered around the selected target, with the base damage of the ability lowered to compensate. Damage is still split across several attacks. This effect is also overwritten by any Utilities which directly alter the "Flurry" ability (such as the one available to the Jedi Sage/Sith Sorcerer Advanced Class). Single-hit "Flurry" (Ability Modification): When using the standard "Flurry" ability each class possesses, damage is now dealt by a single attack instead of several, with an animation change to reflect this. This effect is also overwritten by any Utilities which directly alter the "Flurry" ability (such as the one available to the Jedi Sage/Sith Sorcerer Advanced Class). Area-of-Effect Recuperate (Ability Modification): When using any rest and recharge ability, whether class-specific or originating from the Cartel Market, everyone within a small radius is also affected. Shared Travel (Ability Modification): When using the standard travel ability while on a planet, anyone who is within a specific radius and in the same group receives an option to travel with them without incurring a cooldown. Player Revive Cooldown Reduction (Ability Modification): Lowers the player reviving ability cooldown by a certain percentage. This naturally does not benefit any Advanced Class with a passive ability eliminating said cooldown. As for Set Bonuses, here are some ideas: Crafting Mastery: Slightly increases critical chance or decreases time required to craft items for a specified profession, of a specific tier (ie. 1-50, 51-100, 101-150...). Mission Mastery: Slightly increases critical chance or decreases time required for missions of a specified profession, of a specific tier (ie. 1-50, 51-100, 101-150...). Gathering Mastery: Slightly increases critical chance or decreases time required for gathering skills of a specified profession, of a specific tier (ie. 1-50, 51-100, 101-150...). This only comes into effect for the "mission" style gathering, not when harvesting resource nodes. Minor Experience Bonus: Provides a minor bonus for any experience gained from a particular source, using similar mechanics as Legacy bonuses. Warzone Damage Bonus: Provides a percentage bonus to all damage done to other players inside of a Warzone or Arena, but decreases healing done to other players by a percentage equal to half of the damage bonus. Warzone Defense Bonus: Provides a percentage reduction to all damage received from other players inside of a Warzone or Arena, but decreases damage done to other players by a percentage equal to half of the damage bonus. Warzone Healing Bonus: Provides a percentage bonus to all healing done to other players inside of a Warzone or Arena, but increases damage received from other players by a percentage equal to half of the healing bonus. I may think of others later, but I do see some good potential when it comes to Tactical Items and "general" Set Bonuses.
  8. I find this Guild Perk concept to be intriguing, to say the least, and I also see a considerable amount of potential if implemented well. However, perks granting direct stat bonuses to characters come off as being redundant when compared to stats from gear and datacrons, alongside all the other arguments against their inclusion already posted here in this thread, and perks increasing the duration of adrenals and stimpacks are similarly not a good idea (the former especially for content balance reasons). From what I can foresee here, Quality-of-Life and indirect perk bonuses would work best for this type of system, with some unique ones thrown in where they can fit (the Group Resurrection perk is an excellent example of this). I would also extend this approach to perk sets, with set bonuses being much more broad and generic in scope with a lesser impact, as well as being arranged based on general play style. Finally, I would remove any restrictions related to where any specific perk can be applied on a Guild Flagship, for easier management and more freedom to customize a guild. Looking at the current tentative list in the original post, I would adjust that and recommend something along the lines of the following (ignoring active ability cooldowns and perk durations for the moment): PvE Set Bonuses: 2 Perks - All XP, CXP, and Rep gained in Flashpoints, Uprisings, Operations, and on planets increased by 2%. 4 Perks - All XP, CXP, and Rep gained in Flashpoints, Uprisings, Operations, and on planets increased by an additional 3%. Perks: Ossus Daily Quest - Adds Reinforced Components as rewards for Ossus repeatable quests. Increased Ops Crafting Drops - 5/10/15% chance for crafting kit to drop from bosses while in a guild group. PvE Conquest Objectives - Adds additional conquest objectives guaranteed to be related to planetary daily quests, Flashpoints, Uprisings, and Operations. This always adds daily objectives for completing an Operation or random Flashpoints using Group Finder. Daily Guild Flashpoint Reward - Adds a daily Reinforcement Components/Guild Commendations reward for completing a random Flashpoint using Group Finder for both Veteran and Master difficulties, with Master granting a larger reward. Daily Guild Operation Reward - Adds a daily Reinforcement Components/Guild Commendations reward for completing an Operation using Group Finder. PvP Set Bonuses: 2 Perks - All XP, CXP, Rep, Valor, and Ship/Fleet Requisition gained in Warzones, Arenas, and GSF increased by 2% (4% for Valor). 4 Perks - All XP, CXP, Rep, Valor, and Ship/Fleet Requisition gained in Warzones, Arenas, and GSF increased by an additional 3% (6% for Valor). Perks: Daily Guild PvP Reward - Adds a daily Reinforcement Components/Guild Commendations and Valor reward for completing two Warzones (wins count x2), as well as a daily larger reward for completing two Ranked PvP matches (wins count x2). Daily Guild GSF Reward - Adds a daily Reinforcement Components/Guild Commendations and Ship/Fleet Requisition reward for completing two GSF matches (wins count x2). Daily PvP Challenges - Adds a selection of randomly chosen daily "challenges" to complete during a Warzone or Ranked PvP match, granting a minor Reinforcement Components/Guild Commendations, Valor, and Conquest Points reward for each. These challenges involve things such as earning certain medals during a PvP match. Daily GSF Challenges - Adds a selection of randomly chosen daily "challenges" to complete during a GSF match, granting a minor Reinforcement Components/Guild Commendations, Ship/Fleet Requisition, and Conquest Points reward for each. These challenges involve things such as earning certain medals during a GSF match. PvP Conquest Objectives - Adds additional conquest objectives guaranteed to be related to Warzones, Ranked PvP matches, and GSF matches. Warzone Vendor Discount - Adds a 50% discount when buying items from Warzone vendors. This does not include Ranked PvP vendors. Crafting Set Bonuses: 2 Perks - All Crew Skill and crafting mission critical chances increased by 2%. 4 Perks - All Crew Skill and crafting mission critical chances increased by an additional 3%. Perks: Harvesting Yield - Adds minor chance to gain Reinforced Components while harvesting nodes. Reduced Harvesting Time - Reduces time to harvest nodes in the world by 15/30/45%. Crew Skill Efficiency - Increases efficiency for gathering/mission/crafting crew skills by 3/5/7%. Crew Skill Mission Discount - Adds a 5/10/15% discount for Crew Skill missions. Crafting Conquest Objectives - Adds additional conquest objectives guaranteed to be related to Crafting. Daily Crafting Quests - Adds a selection of randomly chosen daily crafting quests, granting a minor Reinforcement Components/Guild Commendations and Conquest Points reward for each. These involve depositing specific resources and crafted items where the perk is currently applied on the Guild Flagship. Suitable perks and set bonuses related to social situations and roleplaying are a bit unclear at the moment, but others posting here in this thread would likely have good suggestions for those. Aside from actual set bonuses, there's a lot of room for "generic" Quality-of-Life perks which either do not have set bonuses or have ones not tied to character progression, such as the previously mentioned Group Resurrection perk. Other ones such as mount and sprint speed (so long as it only works outside of Warzones), increased AoE loot range, Guild Bank summon, decreased Quick Travel cooldown, and so on would fit in this category. If changes like these were to be made to the Guild Perk system before it reaches Live, I think it would be well-received overall.
  9. Out of curiosity, would this also happen to include any crafted Artifact quality equipment?
  10. Just wondering, but can the hilts in crafted lightsabers (ie. Guardian Hilt 23) be potentially reverse-engineered to acquire an Artifact quality schematic of that item? As the hilts themselves are technically crafted along with the lightsaber itself, and are also only Prototype (blue) quality, I was thinking this is a possibility, but I wanted to make sure first before extracting them. Any insight on this?
  11. Are Custom (orange) items crafted at level cap using Biometric Crystal Alloys able to be reverse-engineered to get improved versions of those schematics, or do the items have no inherent stats and just rely on their item modifications (and therefore cannot be improved through reverse-engineering)?
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