TA Captain's blade and movement thoughts

[slayernz]

Another thought or two for the day ...

First up, why is the Force Gauntlet able to do 8DP, but the best captain sword (the Devastator) only does 7DP. I know that there is a higher damage bonus for the sword, but I don't understand what the bonus does (not mentioned in the help).

Also ... here's a thought thrown out for discussions and feel free to abuse me.

Since the captain is kind of envisaged as a hulk carrying a large sword (rather than a hulk carrying a large amount of ranged weaponry), what do you think of:
Captain bonus: Successful blade strikes cost 0AP. Similar to the cost of a Neptune strike, but you're not locked to the same square after movement.


Actually extend this thought a little ...
What do you think of making turns (left and right) zero AP cost? The only cost for AP would be actual movement forward or backwards, or for firing weapons (excluding captains blades or Neptunes).

This would provide more of a balance for captains, who are awesome with blades, but are limited because of the lack of range.

Turning shouldn't really cost an AP because if you are walking to the corner, you would begin to turn as you step forward, so it is really only one movement anyway.

[Cory Trese]

An AP cost for turning is a HUGE part of the game design and we won't be removing it from TA.

A future TA-engine game will include a lot of the rule softening people suggest, but the effort that we put into the mathematical analysis of AP cost vs. level design ... some of these things I would rather take the game off the market than change.

In the upcoming campaign there is a hidden weapon -- a Templar Fleet Command Blade that puts all other weapons to shame. Legends says this blade was carried into battle by the Prophet Shalun himself...

[slayernz]

Ooooo ... with a chain blade, edges sharpened down to the atomic level, and LEDs customizable for Christmas-style theming. The blade is so large that during quiet periods you can stand it up on its hilt and put presents under it. Unfortunately sticking stars on the top is a challenge because the blade is so sharp, it cuts through anything resting on it, even if the only force acting on the object is gravity.

[slayernz]

Oh oh oh again ... understood about turning = 1 AP cost, but what about the suggestion for 0AP cost for successful strike with a Captain sword?

[Cory Trese]

Dec 20, 2012 21:19:14 GMT -5 slayernz said:

Oh oh oh again ... understood about turning = 1 AP cost, but what about the suggestion for 0AP cost for successful strike with a Captain sword?

That one is really interesting ... but we were kinda saving it for melee specialists.

[slayernz]

But ... isn't a sword quintessentially a melee weapon? I mean, it's pretty much zero range (not even diagonal attack), theoretically very fast (because of the Attack Bonus), and only wielded by the ultimate of bad asses. So - make carrying a sword the ultimate melee weapon that it is designed to be. In other words - make it better than just using a souped up gauntlet

[ncaoa]

Perhaps only a chance sword strikes cost 0Ap? Like Veterans, only every strike has a chance besides the first. It would help sword usage while letting the melle specialist keep his unique bonus.

[fallen]

I think Cory and I have some solutions that we like now, which are inclusive of the upcoming Berserk Templar type, the Berserk Captain type (red-eyed sword master), and help expanding the fighting abilities for sword-bearing captains of other professions. It will take a while to get through these, but we've got a backlog of changes.

Thanks to all the good feedback on this thread. We are working on all the different weapon qualities / balancing (see latest update, allowing an arc of fire for Neptune) -- but we will take one step at at time!