To HCFrog - Re: Enhanced/Armored/Shielded Clothing & Resistances

**Symmetric** · 02/12/2006 08:21:53

Hello HCFrog,

Thank you and the rest of the dev team for all the hard work on CR2.0. While I appreciate many of the changes in the forthcoming combat revision, there is still a lot of concern about the way clothing buffs are going to work. Granted, I have no idea what your roadmap and future plans are for enhanced clothing, but I believe there is enough concern to at least warrant a message to you.

As stated early on, before the EP server even went live, it was mentioned that enhanced clothing would not make nearly as much an impact as it currently does now. However, in recent discussions, you brought up the fact that we are expected to have at least 200 points of damage resistance (at level 50) before damage starts being mitigated.

In searching my clothing library, I found that there are only Armored or Shielded versions of the following types of clothing:

Outerwear
Shirts
Pants
Footwear

There are no Armored or Shielded versions of Hats, Eyewear, and Gloves.

The highest-tier of these items each provide a +36 bonus to either Ballistic/Melee or to Viral/Thrown Resistance. With four of these matching pieces, you only get +144 resistance to either B/M or to V/T, and +0 to the other type. I have yet to find a combination of clothing to get it over 200.

The problem is, even if I were to find a complete outfit that were to raise just ONE of my resistances to over 200 to begin mitigating damage, my other resistances would be very low, or zero. This presents a problem in that if a player wanted to spread their resistances evenly, there simply is no combination of clothing that would allow them to do so. Conversely, if a player wanted to focus on beefing up one type of resistance, they'd be completely defenseless against other types of damage.

Therefore, I would like to suggest a few options for your consideration:

- A. Raise the resistances on armored/shielded clothing.
Make it equal to the player's level. i.e. Level 50 clothing should provide a +50 bonus to resistances. Level 30 clothing should provide a +30 bonus. With this, only four pieces of clothing would be required to reach that "magic 200". Not everyone wants to be forced into wearing hats and gloves, just so they can survive.

- B. Lower the "required" resistance.
In getting our resistance of one type up to spec, we're completely defenseless against other types of damage. Lowering the "required" resistance number allows us to spread out our resistances more evenly, or if we wish, sacrifice some resistance to one type of damage in trade for additional resistance to another type. Say the number were lowered to 100 - a player could wear two pieces of +50 Armored clothing, and two pieces of +50 Shielded clothing, and they would have an average defense rating. Enhanced versions of glasses, hats, and gloves could add an extra boost if they desired.

- C. Remove enhanced clothing altogether.
The Matrix is about individuality and style. With the current system, everyone pretty much wears the same clothing because of their buffs. I was hoping that with the new system, we would not be forced into shopping/farming for clothing that provided that extra required buff, but it seems to be going in the opposite direction. With this method, all resistances would be determined solely by the player's loadout and their attribute specs. For example:

Martial Artist

Melee Resistance - High
Ranged Resistance - Moderate to High
Thrown Resistance - Moderate to Low
Viral Resistance - Low

Hacker

Melee Resistance - Low
Ranged Resistance - Moderate to Low
Thrown Resistance - Moderate to High
Viral Resistance - High

A player can relieve some of the shortcomings of their builds by carefully putting points into attributes that suit their build. A Martial Artist could add points to Belief and Reason and get a little more defense against Hackers and Assassins, or they could pour more points into Focus and Perception and become a real "tank" against melee and ranged attackers.

Similarly, someone who likes to play a Hacker can put points into Focus and Perception to add additional defense against more powerful ranged and melee fighters, or they could put them into Belief and Reason to make them deal additional Viral damage.

With this system, players will not have to become overly dependent on enhanced items to determine their success. It all comes down to skill, choice of loadout, and choice of where they spent their attribute points.

Wow...this post got long.

Anyways, just a few suggestions from me on how to reduce or completely remove our dependency on enhanced items and help make this game more about individuality and skill.

I hope you at least take some of these ideas into consideration.

Best of luck with CR2.0! SMILEY

Message Edited by Symmetric on 02-12-200611:21 AM

**Mibli**

Well said, now I want to hear a reply....just curious if some of these things have already been in the works of some kind.

**ZaneZavin**

I think that awakened should grant a small amount to all resistances based on level.

**Shadow-SK**

One more option would be to raise the % bonus for Melee and Ballistic Resistance per Stat point.

**Asa**

Operatives should remember the resistances they get from having Combat Toughness fully levelled too.

HCFrog

Thanks for the great feedback, Symmetric, and check out the PvE board if you haven't already.

Short story: we've changed it so the bulk of your resistance will come directly from your level, and armor and shielding will be like a bonus on top of that.

**Symmetric**

HCFrog wrote:
Thanks for the great feedback, Symmetric, and check out the PvE board if you haven't already.

Short story: we've changed it so the bulk of your resistance will come directly from your level, and armor and shielding will be like a bonus on top of that.

Yep, I read it. Thanks for the changes - the majority of resistances coming from your level makes a lot more sense. I look forward to seeing these changes implemented in the next update. SMILEY