Your Captain’s Traits ◄ Suggestions Welcome! ►

[Sinocelt]

Sept 19, 2017 9:41:08 GMT -5 fallen said:

The Traits list has been completely overhauled since Captain Professions were assigned their starting Traits.

We'd love to hear suggestions from players as to what Traits they'd like to see for their starting Captains.

BOUNTY HUNTER =============================

Bounty hunters are navigation and riffle experts; they unerringly track down their targets to execute death warrants.

A captain whose first job is Bounty Hunter will gain the following traits:
● Menacing: 20% chance of gaining a permanent +1 Intimidate Skill Bonus when leveling (max. 12)
● Sharpshooter: +10% Ranged Accuracy

EXPLORER ==================================

Be they facing the xeno in space or leading crews onto hostile worlds, explorers keep pushing the boundaries of the known universe.

A captain whose first job is Explorer will gain the following traits:
● Device Freak: If captain or officer, gains a second Gear slot
● Adventurous: [Resilience]% of recovering 3 to 5 Morale whenever exploring

MERCHANT ==================================

Merchants can sniff out the right market for the right trade, and in finance as in politics, they can negotiate the best deals.

A captain whose first job is Merchant will gain the following traits:
● Gossip: 20% chance to learn a Rumor when Spicing
● Charmer: +3 Charisma

MILITARY OFFICER ==========================

Military officers command with an iron spine and the authority of years of service. Be the battle on land or in space, they’re ready to take charge and roar orders.

A captain whose first job is Military Officer will gain the following traits:
● Inspiring: +2 Charisma, 15% chance to resist Debuffs
● Tough: +3 Fortitude, +10% Armor

PIRATE ====================================

Pirates are the terror of the shipping lanes; they’ve become experts at blockading worlds to intercept, cripple, and capture ships.

A captain whose first job is Pirate will gain the following traits:
● Terrifying: +10% credits when blockading
● Dead Aim: +15% Critical

SMUGGLER ==================================

Equally adept at navigating the stars as they are negotiating their way through the underbelly of the Faction worlds, smugglers profit by flouting laws, dodging taxes, and sniffing out rich trades in black markets.

A captain whose first job is Smuggler will gain the following traits:
● Focused: +1 Strength, +1 Quickness, +1 Fortitude
● Shrewd: +3 Wisdom, +1 Quickness

SPY =======================================

Spies are masters at sneaking in and out of places, gathering intel and completing missions without leaving a trace.

A captain whose first job is Spy will gain the following traits:
● Charmer: +3 Charisma
● Sharp-Witted: 25% chance of gaining double XP each time XP is gained

ZEALOT ====================================

Zealots are the worst enemies of their Faction’s enemies. Accomplishing missions allows them to move quickly up military ranks.

A captain whose first job is Zealot will gain the following traits:
● Fearsome: -2 Charisma, +15% Damage
● Concentration: +2 Wisdom, +1 Resilience


For potential profession combos, click here.

[fallen]

The Traits list has been completely overhauled since Captain Professions were assigned their starting Traits.

We'd love to hear suggestions from players as to what Traits they'd like to see for their starting Captains.

[Sinocelt]

Unique Traits, such as the Explorer's second Gear slot, also make a Profession more unique.

[fallen]

Menacing, Device Freak, Sharp Witted are definitely the best 3 in in the bunch.

[Sinocelt]

Sept 20, 2017 9:22:04 GMT -5 fallen said:

Menacing, Device Freak, Sharp Witted are definitely the best 3 in in the bunch.

However,
1. Since Explorers don't have fighting skills, their getting a second Gear slot through the Device Freak trait led me to believe that Gear could be used for other things than combat. I had to dig out an old thread to learn otherwise. [OK, so now there are Gears that can enhance any of the Attributes, which means my remark is no longer valid.]
2. Less confusing, but still a tad puzzling, is why an Intimidation bonus (Menacing) should be the hallmark of a profession that doesn't have the Intimidation skill (though yes, it is possible to be intimidating without trying to).*
3. From a game-design point of view, I'm not a fan of traits (here, Menacing) whose value depends on just a few dice rolls. I you're really lucky, you can end with +12; if you're really unlucky ... with +0. And unlike other dice rolls, those ones affect the captain's final build.*
4. Sharp-witted ... I don't know how I feel about it. A trait that makes progression faster but is no longer useful past level 32 (top level for officers) or 36 (top level for captains).**

-----
* I already mentioned this about Menacing in another thread. By repeating my arguments here, I do not wish to resume the discussion, but only to make the information available in this thread.
** Though, OK, I never reached level 36 myself (I reached 30+ on Basic and 9 on Impossible; my captain on Impossible is still alive, barely, safe in port ... with a skeleton crew, no money, and no fuel).

[Sinocelt]

Military Officer:
● Inspiring: +2 Charisma
● Tough:     +3 Fortitude, +10% Armor

Merchant
● Charmer:   +2 Charisma
● Gossip:    +20% chance of learning a rumor when spicing

I've read in this forum that the usefulness of rumors has recently received a boost, but still, I wonder if "+20% chance of learning a rumor when spicing "can compare to "+3 Fortitude, +10% Armor" (two bonuses that help a captain survive -- and that matters a lot even if you avoid combat, since once I had a captain killed during the very first round of ship combat, before I could even try to disengage). Would it be possible to replace this +20% by +[Charisma]%? It would increase the actual value of this trait somewhat, and it would increase its perceived value even more (because of it would create a synergy between the Charmer and Gossip traits).

By the way, the "+" in "+20% chance of learning a rumor when spicing" means there's already a basic % change of learning a rumor while spicing. Is that true?

[fallen]

Thanks for the feedback, not sure that Merchant Traits should be focusing on survivability, that would be traits for combat oriented Captains.

Removed the + from Gossip.

[Sinocelt]

Oct 5, 2017 12:43:15 GMT -5 fallen said:

Thanks for the feedback, not sure that Merchant Traits should be focusing on survivability, that would be traits for combat oriented Captains.

Removed the + from Gossip.

Survivability is important for any captain, since a couple "lucky" shots during unavoidable ship combat can kill a captain in the very first round, as I experienced. On the difficulty I was playing at, a dead captain meant game over.

That said, I wasn't suggesting adding a survivability trait to the Merchant; I was just wondering if the Gossip trait as it stands now was really worth the 3 Attribute points and +10% armor of the Military Officer or the 4 Attribute points of the Smuggler. The Smuggler is a better example than the Military Officer, I guess, since Merchant/Smuggler is a straightforward combo and you can decide which of the two professions you start with.

Also, there is some ... elegance?... in using the Merchant's primary attribute rather than a fixed number (20) for the Merchant-only trait, I thought.

[fallen]

Thanks for the feedback, we'll keep working on improving.

[Sinocelt]

> Tough: +3 Fortitude, +10% Armor

Is this "10% Armor" only useful during crew combat? Or does it also protect the character during ship combat?

[fallen]

Crew Combat only

[Sinocelt]

It's a little sad that our main character, the Captain, should be given traits inferior to those of his/her crew.

Erudite: +3 Wisdom, +1 Resilience (total: +4) Metascore: +1
Shrewd:  +3 Wisdom                (total: +3) Metascore: +1

[fallen]

Thanks for the feedback!

[Sinocelt]

One last comment on the subject: In the case I presented above, making erudite give "+2 Wisdom, +1 Resilience" would eliminate the feeling of inferiority born from comparing erudite (currently +3 wisdom, +1 Resilience) with shrewd (+3 wisdom).

To be clear, such inequalities only matter when the inferior trait has the same metascore as the superior trait and the captain only has access to the inferior trait.

[fallen]

Sinocelt - sure, will take a look. Traits are not meant to be 100% equivalent. Meta Score is a rough measurement, it is not a 1:1 comparison. +1 or +2 are wide categories of value.