Technology Tree Comments

[Vae Victus]

A while back it was indicated that comments on the technology tree would be welcome. I have beaten the game on normal and am mostly through on hard. I have been examining what I use v. what is not used. If you have a way to track use of gear, you probably have a better feedback mechanism, but hopefully this is helpful.

These comments will likely expand over time.

War Gear

For the Captain:
Level 1 has Adept Pilot Kit at +2 Melee; +1 Parry
Level 1 has Reinforced Pilot Kit at +4 Armor; +1 Parry (Note, the in-game writeup for it has armor after parry- I think the style elsewhere is alphabetical, so that should be flipped).
Why Not Add a Level 1 or Level 2 Pilot Kit for +2 Ranged to mirror the Adept Pilot Kit? (Call it Pilot Sensorkit and rename the current one with that title Targeting Sensorkit [since the current one also does additional Damage])

Understandably, the new pilot kit couldn't be as good as the current Pilot Sensorkit at +2 Ranged, +6 Damage (Level 4)... but that brings up a bigger issue.
The Pilot Sensorkit sadly does not make much sense to use. Obviously, we use it to boost Ranged attack... but by Level 4 there are much better options. The damage boost is okay but in comparison to Force Pilot Kit's +12 damage, it's weak. I would suggest either making the Pilot Sensorkit +3 Ranged and +6 Dmg OR +2 Ranged and 8 Damage.
This would free up tree space to add a Level 1 or Level 2 pilot kit for +2 Ranged-something that is missing in the current advancement chart.

Even if the above advice is not taken--Pilot Sensorkit is clearly weaker than Force Pilot Kit. Both are Level 4 unlocks BUT you always get to Force Pilot Kit's +12 Damage FIRST. Force Pilot unlocks under the Captain tree 3 down--Pilot Sensorkit can only be taken after it, at 4 down. I would suggest at a minimum to switch the two war gear on the technology tree.

As a larger re-work, I think there could be value in adding a new tree line for Captain to reflect a specialty in using technology, like war gear. Possibly call it the Wired Captain; Technologist Captain; Captain Engineer; Tinker Captain; Technophile Captain; Enthusiast Tinkerer, etc.; This would probably require the tech levels that have the gear taken from them to be made cheaper (but of course, the additional levels will absorb the cost and end up being greater RP-sinks for players). I can work on thinking this line out if it conceptually seems like it might be worthwhile.

[fallen]

Vae Victus - thanks for the feedback!

I have introduced a Scoped Pilot Kit as starting gear, which mirrors Adept Pilot Kit.
I have changed the Multi-Target Ocular into the Security Ocular which boosts Counter-Attack, Auto-Block, and Hardness.
I have updated the strength of Pilot Sensorkit to match Prowess Wiring which is given at a parallel point in the tree, to melee Captain.
Also tweaked Prescience Sense starting gear.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Vae Victus]

Surprised! That was fast. Thank you!

Re: the new Scoped Pilot Kit "which mirrors Adept Pilot Kit"... given that +2 Ranged is more powerful than +2 Melee since striking from afar doesn't expose one to damage-- I hope this means it is just +2 Ranged rather than +2 Ranged; +1 Parry, which could be too powerful. In fact, on further reflection maybe it should be only +1 Ranged if it is a level 1 gear? If it is level 2 starting gear, however, +2 Ranged seems fair.

A bigger question is : How much is +Melee valued against +Ranged. Are they equal? I think Ranged is more valuable in a 1:1 ratio since going into Melee risks damage (at least at low levels before the defenses are raised--but ultimately that seems more expensive an investment than researching ranged)... you may know better, though.

[fallen]

+1 Ranged Acc, +1 Dodge.

[Cory Trese]

You're overlooking the impact of Melee as a defensive ability. Your Templars are primarily using Ranged attacks, but the Xeno primarily use melee.

[En1gma]

Along the lines of the Pilot Kit, I'm only seeing level 2, 4, and 5 Gear options between Scouts and the Captain. Is this intentional, or would there be any way to perhaps drop/raise the cost of a few so that there can be more options to pick at any given level? There aren't any 3 gear cost options and it would be nice to have them.

[Cory Trese]

Jul 21, 2016 11:01:39 GMT -5 En1gma said:

Along the lines of the Pilot Kit, I'm only seeing level 2, 4, and 5 Gear options between Scouts and the Captain. Is this intentional, or would there be any way to perhaps drop/raise the cost of a few so that there can be more options to pick at any given level? There aren't any 3 gear cost options and it would be nice to have them.

Thanks for the feedback. We'll continue to try to improve!!!

[fallen]

Also, it would be sad to miss comparing the weapons ... big difference in all stats between Swords and Pistols.

[Cory Trese]

Jul 21, 2016 12:19:07 GMT -5 fallen said:

Also, it would be sad to miss comparing the weapons ... big difference in all stats between Swords and Pistols.

Which has a big impact on the relative value of these buffs from gear.

[Vae Victus]

Jul 21, 2016 9:18:09 GMT -5 fallen said:

+1 Ranged Acc, +1 Dodge.

That sounds good! Possibly a little powerful with the dodge, but I can see good arguments either way.

[Vae Victus]

Jul 21, 2016 9:48:33 GMT -5 Cory Trese said:

You're overlooking the impact of Melee as a defensive ability. Your Templars are primarily using Ranged attacks, but the Xeno primarily use melee.

Ranged is always better on a 1:1 ratio when buying gear unless a Melee Gear/Class is doing more damage or is significantly more accurate than Ranged.
I see you're getting at action economy, though. With good parrying, you can get a lot more actions in. But you also run a far higher risk of dying unless you make expensive investments in Health, Auto-Block, and Dodge, which come at the expense of higher attack that will kill enemies faster.
Thus, Melee gear available at the same technology level as Ranged gear should almost always be better than the Ranged gear.

I ran a thought experiment below:

At level 3 or so:
As the captain:
I can shoot twice and potentially parry, so I get 3 actions (or more if I get attacked by say 4 xeno on one turn).
I can kill 2 enemies before they even get close enough to do me damage.
I can maybe Auto Block or Dodge and suffer no damage and then maybe kill on a Parry.

Sure, I can level up my dodge and auto-block and health, but that's leveling up two or three stats to do one thing when I could instead just focus on buying damage-dealing gear--focusing on one stat that does one thing--and kill 2 enemies before they get anywhere near me to make their attacks. Thus, until I have enough class points to level up those defenses, It makes more sense to go with Ranged gear. Melee can be done and done well- but it's like Expert mode for the game at low levels.

As a class without a sword:
I can shoot twice and not parry, so I only have 2 actions.
I can kill 2 enemies before they even get close enough to do me damage.
I can maybe auto Block or Dodge an enemy that attacks me on that same turn.


As a paladin (or a class with only a sword; or a class like soldier being played to only focus on the sword):
I can melee twice and parry, so I have 3 actions (or more if I get attacked by say 4 xeno on one turn).
BUT- I can only hit enemies adjacent to me when I am meleeing. Someone who can shoot can reach many more targets. So, I usually waste some actions.
I can kill 2 enemies BUT they have a chance to parry against me while I am striking them and damage me.
Until I get up my auto block and armor and dodge, a melee class doesn't make as much sense to use as a ranged class--because I'm taking more damage and I have more risk to 'waste' actions than a ranged class does-- I might not be close enough to an enemy and I cannot move to a "safe" location where I won't take damage from that enemy's four friends--I may have to tactically open myself to more risk than a ranged character does. A ranged attacker is far more forgiving to play than a melee is unless the melee is compensated by doing significantly more damage, or having additional health.

Of course, other players are far better than me, so they may have different experiences.

The prime point here is: Melee buffs on their own are not as powerful as Ranged buffs standing on their own because Ranged is useful and has no risk. Melee always has a risk of getting damaged. Melee's benefit is that through parrying one can have more attacks, but it's expensive to 'insure' a Templar to not suffer for those risks--Melee options seem like good choices at high level when one can spend more class points to buff up defenses; but at low levels, Ranged Gear is a better trade for character classes that have the option of using melee gear or ranged gear.

[Cory Trese]

Very good!