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Stabilis -> Energy Skills (11/10/2013 12:35:31)
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Are energy skills balanced? Well, let us see here...
Static Smash, a % of Strike damage is removed from the energy of a target while increasing the user's energy by the same amount.
EMP Grenade, a constant amount of energy is removed from a target.
Battery Backup, a constant amount of energy is added to the user.
Assimilation, a constant amount of energy is removed from a target and given to the user, while damaging a target for 85% Strike damage.
Atom Smasher, a % of Strike damage is removed from the energy of a target.
Static Charge, a % of damage dealt from Strike is given to the user as energy.
Energy Parasite, a % of a target's energy is gradually removed, and that amount times 1.5 is given to the user.
It is very clear, that these skills can never be balanced without doubt because they all calculate energy with different variables! For example, Static Smash's variables are:
Primary damage, Strength damage, and in percentage format.
EMP Grenade's variables are:
Technology, and in constants format.
Is Technology convertible with Primary damage? No.
Is Technology convertible with Strength damage? Barely (Strength damage -> Strength points -> stat points / Technology points -> stat points).
Is a percentage convertible with a constant? No (unless the percentage is a % of the constant).
Is a percentage of Strike damage as energy gained and lost convertible with a constant amount of energy removed according to Technology? NO.
The fact that these skills are not comparable is a balance problem between classes, and therefore they need to be redesigned so that they can be balanced together.
Solutions
Each skill should be on equal terms. This does not mean that they have to do the same thing.
The concepts can be kept. This means that for each skill, the total energy that is changing is
the same amount, which will be represented by X. This is the law of equilibrium. It is simple
math, the equation states that the left side equals the right side.
So, using these energy skills as an example, the amount of energy removed plus the energy
gained by Static Smash is equal to X. The amount of energy removed by EMP Grenade is
equal to X. This is the most important step to ensure that we have something to balance these
skills by.
To summarize:
Static Smash: Energy removed + energy gained = X
EMP Grenade: Energy removed = X
Battery Backup: Energy gained = X
Assimilation: Energy gained + energy removed = X
Atom Smasher: Energy removed = X
Static Charge: Energy gained = X
Energy Parasite: Σ(Energy removed + [energy gained] * 1.5) = X
The only complex skill is Energy Parasite, because it is a DoT-style skill. We can keep it as is, it only makes calculations more difficult to work with.
Now, we have some common factors between all of these skills. They are: energy cost, cooldown, and warmup. Requirements are irrelevant as
they do not change the efficiency of the skills. Ideally, it would be best if we gave energy skills the same cooldown, the same warmup, and
preferably the same energy cost. This ensures that the efficiency of any of these skill does not become an outlier, because if it did, we would have
to defile the equilibrium by changing X, and that is not allowed. So, if these skills all shared the same cooldown, what would it be? And if these
skills all shared the same warmup, what would that be? Honestly speaking, I do not know. The number could be 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or different. Since
these skills are balanced in their own category (energy skills) across all classes, it does not matter! We can make the cooldown and warmup
any number we wanted to! But, to be respectful to the standard range of any other skill, the number would preferably be between 0 and 4. So for
example, the cooldown could be 4 (same as Field Medic), and the warmup could be 0.
So, now we have an equilibrium and even a cooldown and warmup defined.
Energy Change per Turn = x * (X / (Cooldown + 1)) - (X / [Cooldown + 1]) * Warmup
The little x represents time, or turns.
But, what about the energy cost? This is problematic, because if any skills had an energy cost, it would skew the efficiency of the energy skill. And if
we gave all energy skills the same energy cost, that would change the neutrality of energy skills, would it not? Instead of being free skills, the
energy for using these skills would slowly approach zero, preventing their use. Except, of course, if an energy gain is greater than the energy cost,
then unless the energy is removed, the player would never run out of energy. This is optional. We can put energy costs onto energy skills, or we do
not have to. The only difference is that it becomes possible for skills to be unusable if we choose to have costs. But, just so that we do not render
any energy skills that gain energy useless, let us opt to not have energy costs.
To summarize, energy costs are optional, but to be fair to energy gaining skills, we will not place energy costs.
We are for the most part finished with energy skills. But we have not assigned any value to X, which means we cannot assign a value to energy
removed, or energy gained.
So what value do we assign to X? Well, it makes sense, that since X needs to scale by level while not being biased to any stat or class, that it should
have some relation to character level. So, does X equal character level? It can, but it is not required. It could be equal to [2 * character level], or it
could be equal to [character level + 25]. However, I have no reasoning to suggest that it should be any different, so we will use the base value of X
being equal to character level. But would about skill levels, you might be asking? X will increase with character level, but by how much? As long as the
increase is greater than 0, we can be fine with the increase. But what about the maximum increase? Where does X end? Certainly not infinity. We do
not want to break the game, so we should define our limits. A good place to start is base energy. The lowest base energy goes to both mercenaries,
at a total of 54 points. We do not want to overshoot our energy changes beyond the lowest possible energy count, so we will say 54 is our absolute
limit. This does not mean that skill levels will increase X up to 54, it just means that X will stop at and never exceed 54. Without over-complicating
things, a lean increase of 1 to X per skill level does not exceed 54 even at a skill level of 10. At the most, X will be equal to 45.
We have defined an equilibrium, cooldown, warmup, energy cost, X, and skill levels. Now all we need to do, is to apply this skeleton to each skill.
But, one last thing, we need to differentiate each skill so that they are not the same. Otherwise we would be inciting some unwanted redundancy.
Result
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For Static Smash, since its counterpart is Assimilation and the Tech Mages have Battery Backup, we can give it a higher energy gain than a removal. At a base 1:2 ratio
Static Smash would remove 33% of X in energy, and give 67% of X to the user. This also helps to differentiate from Assimilation.
Static Smash:
Smashes an enemy, absorbing twice the amount of energy drained from an enemy.
Energy Cost: 0
Cooldown: 4
Warmup: 0
Improves with: Level
Requirement: None
Class: Mercenary
Weapon: Club
Skill Level:
Level 1 = X
Level 2 = X + 1
Level 3 = X + 2
Level 4 = X + 3
...
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EMP Grenade:
Throws an EMP Grenade to drain some of your enemy's energy.
Energy Cost: 0
Cooldown: 4
Warmup: 0
Improves with: Level
Requirement: None
Class: Bounty Hunter, Cyber Hunter
Weapon: None
Skill Level:
Level 1 = X
Level 2 = X + 1
Level 3 = X + 2
Level 4 = X + 3
...
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For Battery Backup, to differentiate from Static Charge, one of these skills could be made into a DoT. Since EMP Grenade is not DoT, we will make Static Charge the DoT while leaving Battery Backup as an instant boost.
Battery Backup:
Immediately recharges the target's energy pool.
Energy Cost: 0
Cooldown: 4
Warmup: 0
Improves with: Level
Requirement: None
Class: Tech Mage, Tactical Mercenary
Weapon: None
Skill Level:
Level 1 = X
Level 2 = X + 1
Level 3 = X + 2
Level 4 = X + 3
...
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For Assimilation, to differentiate it from Static Smash, it will remove more energy than it will give. At a base 1:2 ratio, Assimilation will remove 67% of X as energy, and give 33% of X to the user.
Assimilation:
Jabs an enemy, absorbing half of the energy drained.
Energy Cost: 0
Cooldown: 4
Warmup: 0
Improves with: Level
Requirement: None
Class: Tech Mage
Weapon: Staff
Skill Level:
Level 1 = X
Level 2 = X + 1
Level 3 = X + 2
Level 4 = X + 3
...
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For Atom Smasher, to differentiate from EMP, it needs to do something else besides drain energy, so what we can do it make a DoT.
Atom Smasher:
Smashes an enemy, it burns their energy over a period of 4 turns.
Energy Cost: 0
Cooldown: 4
Warmup: 0
Improves with: Level
Requirement: None
Class: Tactical Mercenary
Weapon: Club
Skill Level:
Level 1 = X
Level 2 = X + 1
Level 3 = X + 2
Level 4 = X + 3
...
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For Static Charge, to differentiate from Battery Backup, will become a DoT.
Static Charge:
Adds energy to a target, over a period of 4 turns.
Energy Cost: 0
Cooldown: 4
Warmup: 0
Improves with: Level
Requirement: None
Class: Cyber Hunter
Weapon: None
Skill Level:
Level 1 = X
Level 2 = X + 1
Level 3 = X + 2
Level 4 = X + 3
...
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For Energy Parasite, the skill is unique in that it removes and gives energy as a DoT. However, it will change how it increases in order to be balanced with the other skills.
Energy Parasite:
Debilitates an enemy, siphoning the target's energy to the user over a period of 4 turns.
Energy Cost: 0
Cooldown: 4
Warmup: 0
Improves with: Level
Requirement: None
Class: Blood Mage
Weapon: None
Skill Level:
Level 1 = X
Level 2 = X + 1
Level 3 = X + 2
Level 4 = X + 3
...
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Questions, comments, suggestions?
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