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I am not sure why PGI doesn't give us a skill system with diminishing returns, where we get less and less for currency invested, but we can opt out of skills we have no care for. I would much prefer a system that allows me to simply pick up a skill and invest however many points I feel like into it. This isn't Diablo III, where I get every skill eventually - I am forced to pick up nodes I have no care for, or that do literally nothing for my chassis, all for the sake of "commitment" and "price to pay for getting all those bonuses". Doubling and sometimes even tripling the effective cost of nodes isn't the way to go.
Let me to explain with numbers:
Diminishing Returns over dead nodes
Firepower
- General Branch
- - Cooldown (11 nodes possible) [Max total value: -7.7%]
- - Range (10) [Max: 15%]
- - Heat Generation (8) [Max: -8%]
- Specific Branch
- - Missile/Projectile Velocity (5) [Max: +10%]
- - Laser Duration (10) [Max: -10%]
- - LBX Spread (5) [Max: -10%]
- - UAC Jam Chance (5) [Max: -5%]
- - Missile Spread (5) [Max: -5%]
- - Missile Crit (5) [Max: +15%]
- - Gauss Charge (5) [Max: +1.25]
- - Ballistic Mag Size (2) [Max: +20%]
Cooldown, in 10 steps, based on 8% max (both adjusted for simplicity of calculation):
1 node: -0.96% (-0.96% change)
2 nodes: -1.92% (-0.96% change)
3 nodes: -2.80% (-0.88% change)
4 nodes: -3.68% (-0.88% change)
5 nodes: -4.48% (-0.80% change)
6 nodes: -5.28% (-0.80% change)
7 nodes: -6.00% (-0.72% change)
8 nodes: -6.72% (-0.72% change)
9 nodes: -7.36% (-0.64% change)
10 nodes: -8.00% (-0.64% change)
Change metric: 1.2, 1.2, 1.1, 1.1, 1.0, 1.0, 0.9, 0.9, 0.8, 0.8
UAC Jam Chance, in 5 steps, based on 5% max:
1 node: -1.2% (-1.2% change)
2 nodes: -2.3% (-1.1% change)
3 nodes: -3.3% (-1.0% change)
4 nodes: -4.2% (-0.9% change)
5 nodes: -5.0% (-0.8% change)
Change metric: 1.2, 1.1, 1.0, 0.9, 0.8
That way, we would be able to spec into the skills we like, while having incentive to go wide over hyperfocussing. If we want to hyperfocus, we can, and if we do, we get punished to some extent. If we don't, we would get rewarded for diversifying. Boating and mixing both come away with something to show for their choices - boats can have their specific weapon systems maxed out, and mixed platforms can have multiple weapon systems perform above bar without losing all that much elsewhere, because the big payouts are in the beginning of a skill progression.
Example spec (40 points spent in firepower)
For a theoretical Dakka build with Laser support
Firepower
- General Branch
- - Cooldown ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
- - Range ▰▰▰▰▰▱▱▱▱▱
- - Heat Generation ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▱▱▱
- Specific Branch
- - Missile/Projectile Velocity ▰▰▰▱▱
- - Laser Duration ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▱▱
- - LBX Spread ▱▱▱▱▱
- - UAC Jam Chance ▰▰▰▰▰
- - Missile Spread ▱▱▱▱▱
- - Missile Crit ▱▱▱▱▱
- - Gauss Charge ▱▱▱▱▱
- - Ballistic Mag Size ▰▰
Thoughts behind it: Cooldown benefits all weapons, is maxed. Heat Gen, Velocity, Laser Duration have their least effective nodes nipped in favor of mag size to be able to save on tonnage, velocity to make the dakka more snappy and range for, well, range. UAC Jam Chance is a crucial skill and thus also maxed, despite the diminishing returns. Through an effective leveling of what is wanted and what is secondary, the player can mix and match weapon systems and still has to make conscious choices. Anywhere he focusses, he gets less and less of an effect, anywhere he dips and diversifies, he gets more for his initial investment.
Suddenly, all choice have meaning and you still have a price to pay for commitment. Adapt as applicable to the other skill tabs.
/discuss
Edited by Ced Riggs, 26 April 2017 - 05:19 AM.
