Suggested Changes to Engineer's Skills Protection and Force Shield

[thequickone]

Just a thought but why couldn't shield do an aoe knockdown damage when it pops? Similar to the way tech armor works in mass effect 2

That's a very interesting idea, and would certainly put more "force" in Force Shield! Thanks for the response!
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I'm not sure I follow. If each Com had his damage reduced by a % before armor, then they get the same benefit, no?

I don't believe both the naked and desert Coms SHOULD experience the same effect. I think the Com, or character for that matter, with the highest Armor rating should get the greatest increase and effect. That way, the unique differences between the classes or experience levels would not be disrupted.

Why should that be the case? It's an interesting proposal, but it makes me think: should Empathy and Transferrence also heal higher hp characters more?

For the same reason as listed for the naked/desert Com example. I fear disrupting the unique differences between the classes/experience levels would cause STS to balk at considering the change. Empathy and Transference already provide massive heals, and have no problem keeping even the highest HP Coms topped-off. I understand your example, and see where you are going with it. However, I think the difference is the Engie's heals are currently scaling well, even with the highest stat-bearing classes, whereas Protection and Force Shield are not.

I would rather see the skill make its impact over a short period of time than do little (or basically nothing!) over a long period of time. I don't like having a skill that's used once every two minutes, but maybe that's just me.

I think we may have to agree to disagree regarding skill timing. For the Com, I feel brief skills with massive buffs are appropriate. I just don't feel the same for the Engie. I prefer to have my Engie bathing themselves and others in buffing/regenerative light that has a more lasting effect. However, I concede that Protection does not need to last quite as long, especially considering it cools down in 12 seconds and no longer stacks. I would gladly give up one minute of Protection's duration for increased effectiveness! Also, I wish to avoid blurring the lines between the different classes skills. I think the skill timing for Force Shield is perfect!

I don't think it should allow Engineers to tank anything. If it absorbed 75 damage (really absorbed it) it would provide some spike protection, but burst quickly if the Engineer had aggro long.

I strongly agree that the Engie should not tank anything! I do not intend to make the Engie a tank with the suggested changes, and if incorporated, I do not believe they would. Keep in mind, even if my suggested changes were made, a single blow from a boss/sub-boss or a critical hit would likely still take down the shield, even at skill level 6. What my suggested changes would do is prevent the shield from popping when I, and I believe many others, feel it should not. If you have spent any time playing an Engie, you have almost certainly experienced the moment your shield was taken down by a junk mob almost immediately after you cast it, which left you saying "Aww, man! That's BS!!". I seek to eliminate those moments.

As for the %, the more I think about it the more it sounds good. I'd leave the current 25...75 progression intact, and have it absorb a flat 50% of that. The remainder damage goes to the Engineer. So, if he's fighting Numa 1 burrowers who hit for 26 a piece, the Engineer would take 13 damage and his shield takes 13 damage. The level 6 shield would burst on the 6th hit (75+ damage dealt to the shield), with the Engineer taking 16 damage on the last hit. Fighting something like Guardian, who can hit for 150+ damage, the Engineer's shield would pop on the first hit, but absorb 75/xxx damage. That helps prevent the spike, but then the Engineer can't cast it again for 45 seconds.

This idea is growing on me, as well! And I also believe we should leave the shield's HP progression intact. From your example, the shield would be more resilient and would reduce damage. However, it would also side-step the Armor buff by reducing incoming damage directly, which I still think we should avoid. Maybe have the shield take 50% of the incoming damage and have the Armor buff (which I am proposing both scale and become more robust) be responsible for modifying the damage delivered to the shield-bearing Engie...

Thank you for the repeated feedback! I really enjoy the pleasant discourse.
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You're welcome dude. I like the bounce idea, too.

Thanks, again! The more I think about the "bounce" idea, the more I like it. Bring your calculator and do some math with us next time!
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I like your Idea, and I like it A LOT! Therefore you deserve a BIG +1

Thank you very much for the support! Let me know if you have any ideas or suggested improvements of your own. And I really appreciate the BIG +1!!
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What kamikazees said about the % absorb for shield is similar to what I had in mind. I was thinking more of a 25% absorb that lasts for the whole duration with no "pop", but either would be better than it is now.

A shield that doesn't pop, you say...... How radical of you to suggest such a thing! Still, I'd like to stay away from what could be viewed as side-stepping the shield's Armor buff. Also, a 25% absorb would only scale with increased enemy damage, which may prove to be less effective than a scaling Armor buff in the long run.

As far as Protection, 30% dodge is probably excessive. Even 2.5 dodge per point would be pretty good, for a total of 15% at level 6. If you dodge an attack, you take zero damage. So taking zero damage 15% of the time would be much better than the one or two points of damage mitigation that it offers now.

I still don't really see how the shield would increase dodge, unless... Is it a slippery shield?? Joking aside, I am liking the Dodge buff idea less and less.

Thanks for coming back for another round! Let's make it a trifecta!!
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Good suggestion would like to see this implemented.

Thanks, man! Your support means a lot to me. You are a man of few words, but each word is loaded with infinite wisdom.
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OK, I think it's time we switch gears a bit. I really appreciate everyone's feedback, hard work, and what I can tell has been the result of some serious thought! Now I think we need to start boiling down the content of this thread into some concrete conclusions.

First, based on Raulur's most recent response, maybe we need a consensus... Do you believe Force Shield should provide an Armor buff (scaling, of course) or absorb a set amount of damage? I think we need to make this distinction, as I do not believe the shield should be capable of doing both. Remember, this is an original game of its own, so don't let the performance/functionality of other games' force shields cloud your judgment. My vote is for......Armor buff! What, you're not surprised I'd vote that way?! Also, do we need a consensus regarding Protection?

Second, I have an idea regarding how to pose the suggested changes to these skills to the STS devs. Let's start with the existing skill descriptions for Protection and Force Shield and edit the language to reflect the changes we would like to see. For this exercise, I am using the skills' level 6 descriptions, which are:
Protection: 15 energy, 10 sec. cool-down, 12m range, 120 sec. duration, +60 armor value to all group members in range.
Force Shield: 10 energy, 45 sec. cool-down, 30 sec. duration, +120 armor value, +2 energy regen, (shield bursts when it takes 75 damage).
I'd like to set the following rule for this exercise: Try to keep your revised description to about the same length as STS's current description. That way, if you strongly feel the skill should have new functionality, you will have to give something up to get it!

Here's my edited language:
Protection: 15 energy, 10 sec. cool-down, 12m range, 60 sec. duration, +30% armor value to all group members in range.
Force Shield: 10 energy, 45 sec. cool-down, 30 sec. duration, +50% armor value, +3 energy regen, (shield bursts with a hit of 75+ damage).

Let's keep the ball rolling. Enjoy!

[kamikazees]

Protection: 15 energy, 10 sec. cool-down, 12m range, 60 sec. duration, +30% armor value to all group members in range.
Force Shield: 10 energy, 45 sec. cool-down, 30 sec. duration, +50% armor value, +3 energy regen, (shield bursts with a hit of 75+ damage).

My suggestions are similar but damage based for the level 6 skills:

Protection: 15 energy, 20 sec. cool-down, 12m range, 12 sec. duration, 20% less damage to all group members in range.
Force Shield: 10 energy, 45 sec. cool-down, 30 sec. duration, absorbs 50% damage, +2 energy regen, (shield bursts when it absorbs 75 damage).