Limited Stats

[EmptyPepsiCan]

It might be more interesting of mechwarriors had a cap on how many stat points they could earn. Right now they top out at 40/40 and basically become wizards. Sure, there's some variability in which special skills they get, but eventually they all gain every bonus available.

What if mechwarriors topped out at 25 or 30 skill points and had to make some choices about where to put them, rather than just grinding till all the boxes are checked?

And, as always, the change should be tied to a difficulty level checkbox so it's optional.

 

[Prussian Havoc]

Great idea.

Some people take instinctively to being Pilots, some have an affinity for Gunnery, others have an Iron Constitution, and some almost have a sixth sense when it comes to Tactics.

Right now, if a MechWarrior simply perseveres and stays alive (read: isn’t Dekker!) he’ll eventual be 10/10/10/10.

Going with your suggestion, @EmptyPepsiCan, BATTLETECH would breathe some live and distinctiveness into its MechWarriors as each comes to self-actualize according to individual potential.

I like it.

And yes, of course, a Difficulty Setting. :bow:

 

[Corraidhin]

Great idea.

Some people take instinctively to being Pilots, some have an affinity for Gunnery, others have an Iron Constitution, and some almost have a sixth sense when it comes to Tactics.

Right now, if a MechWarrior simply perseveres and stays alive (read: isn’t Dekker!) he’ll eventual be 10/10/10/10.

Going with your suggestion, @EmptyPepsiCan, BATTLETECH would breathe some live and distinctiveness into its MechWarriors as each comes to self-actualize according to individual potential.

I like it.

And yes, of course, a Difficulty Setting. :bow:

I like the idea, but would prefer that it isn't as rigid as a hard limit. Perhaps a baseline multiplier on the skills XP cost that increase with the warrior's experience.

Becoming a legendary warrior should still be possible, but with an increasing learning curve as you progress. I'd also consider leaving the multiplier at 1 for the commander, your character should be a 'natural' to be in the command position. This doesn't help career scoring either, since the commander XP don't count.

 

[EmptyPepsiCan]

The number of possible skill points could also vary by mechwarrior. The player could have access to the approximate number to simulate a pre-hire screening. It could be represented as a range of numbers - 28-32 - or as a growth potential descriptor - Low, Moderate, High, Extreme.

Obviously that would make some pilots more valuable than others, but that could be offset by making some of them veterans and others rookies. Do you want to hire John Smith 5/3/5/6 (20-25) to get immediate utility at the cost of long term excellence, or take Sally Jones 2/3/2/2 (30-35) and babysit her as she grows toward mastery? Maybe both? Or how about adding experience influencing traits like Quick Study or Poor Student? Do you want a pilot with immense natural ability who takes forever to level up because of his poor work ethic, or an obsessively hard working pilot with potential to become above average very quickly but no chance to grow beyond that? There's a ton of potential for interesting complexity.

Having said that, I think that the most realistic option is a one-size-fits-all number with a checkbox. I wonder if there's modding potential there...

 

[Donvale]

I would have a base line (say 30) and then have a variety of traits that add or subtract from that, make it so that if a mechwarrior happened to have the five positive traits and no negatives they could indeed become "legendary" but in general not so much.

 

[EmptyPepsiCan]

The baseline could also be on a difficulty slider. The current system could be the default, then players could lower the number of available skill points from there.

 

[mAIOR]

Totally agree with this and one of my biggest gripes with the game. I would also suggest lowering the bonuses granted on some trees. Like the extra 25% accuracy (!!!) On the gunnery tree or the call shot mastery values. That cpupled with removing called headshots except for knocked down or shut down mechs would make the game much more interesting imho. Late game with a crew of legendary pilots you wreck anything thrown at you.

 

[Mad2342]

Not a difficulty setting, but you can try SoftExperienceCap somewhere in the open mod space.