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Messages - Gaignun

21
FFT Arena / Re: FFT Arena Balance Discussion Thread
March 30, 2017, 11:12:08 am
Thank you for the quick response as always, Andrew!

CHEER UP
A 3 direction AoE would be awesome, even if its JP cost must go up by ~50 to compensate.

REFUTE
Its accuracy dropped awhile ago, huh? +5% accuracy would be lovely if only to keep up the pace of matches. (Watching a Mediator spend 2~3 turns trying to remove a status ailment on a friendly unit is a little wearing.)

BATTLE SPEECH
MA+45% accuracy sounds OK with me. If it comes to pass that this accuracy boost enables extreme XA stacking strategies, we could even keep its accuracy low at MA+35%, but remove its CT.

EXCALIBUR
I see. Though it might no longer be the best GC weapon, I suppose it's not so bad, as you said.

SAMURAI BOAT
It depends on what we want, I suppose. Dropping Bizen Boat's multiplier nerfs Bizen Boat. Dropping Samurai's MA nerfs Samurai, but keeps Bizen Boat as the go-to powerhouse skill.  Seeing that Samurai took an HP hit this patch, I'm leaning toward the former option.

SPELLGUNS
You're certainly not wrong about the elemental strengthening. I just never felt that they were terribly powerful in their last form before being removed in spite of that (4 Range and lower raw damage than Stone Gun - before Pilgrimage kicks in, anyway). Oh well.  There is always Healing Gun.  (Even a hypothetical Demi or Demi 2 gun would be nice. This gun would have the ability to heal, deal damage, and be Counter Magicked as before, but wouldn't have the same runaway damage problem.)
22
FFT Arena / Re: FFT Arena Balance Discussion Thread
March 29, 2017, 12:30:39 pm
I have had some time to play around with 1.41. I like many of the changes. However, there are a few things that are nagging me:

Cheer Up
I think that this skill could use an AoE buff (like Yell) to make it more useful.

Refute
Was the accuracy of this skill always (MA+55)%?

Battle Orders & Pathos Speech
Currently underwhelming in comparison to their Sing predecessors for several reasons:

  • Lower success rate than Sing (<66%) even under optimal conditions (e.g., 15+ MA and Best compatibility)

  • Does not target the user

  • Is not a performing skill, so it does not continue to charge after being executed.


I never felt that the Sing skills were particularly powerful to begin with, so these changes are particularly discouraging for me.

Excalibur
What happened to this weapon? It took a big WP nerf, and now it is only worth using in combination with the Two Hand support ability. The Grand Cross Excalibur build is no more.

+1 Move on Samurai
I understand that the +1 Move tremendously helps the male melee Samurai out, but it helps the female Draw Out samurai just as much.  Before we had to settle for Draw Out Geomancers if we wanted 4 base Move. Now we can stick with Samurai and use their secondary skill slot for whatever we please.  Female Samurai have become much more effective as a result (and they were already pretty effective to begin with).  This is just something to keep an eye on.

And speaking of Draw Out...

Nerf Bizen Boat
MA*8, element-boostable, BrFa-piercing damage is too high.  The synergy of Bizen Boat and Crystal Helm on the now fleet-footed Samurai is incredible.
Chirijiraden took a damage hit from MA*9 to MA*8. Bizen Boat should take a hit, too, if only to keep Draw Out internally balanced.


Peacemaker
I am puzzled over why Stone Gun got its one-handed property back. Stone Gun was made Force-2H because it eclipsed crossbows. The new Peacemaker with Attack UP beats Gastrafitis with Concentrate hands down: Peacemaker delivers similar damage, but requires none of the PA stacking that Gastrafitis does. If Peacemaker remained Forced-2H, at least you'd have to give up your shield for this extra equipment freedom.

Spellguns
I am sure I will take heat for this, but I miss the fire, ice, and lightning spell guns. These three guns served a unique role: Healing high-faith friendly targets with high M-EV.  As a bonus, these guns could trigger Counter Magic, so with the right equipment the spellgunner could also heal herself in the process. On the flipside, White Robes were effective at defending against these spellguns. Flare Gun feels a little lackluster in comparison: It cannot be used for friendly healing, and it cannot be mitigated by White Robe. Perhaps Flare Gun is a slightly more consistent offensive weapon, but it is not nearly as versatile as its predecessors.
23
I think that would be very interesting, and also educational.

For accessibility, it might be best to have the scripts written in a custom, higher level language, then have them parsed and compiled into ASM. If the scripts must be written in ASM, then I do not believe there will be enough people that know ASM (and can write the scripts without bugs) to even run a tournament.
24
FFT Arena / Re: Team Design Tool
March 20, 2017, 07:51:11 am
Version 1.06 is released for compatibility with FFTA 1.41.

So many things have changed this time around, so there are bound to be a few inaccuracies. Let me know if anything is wrong or broken and I will get on it.
25
Small addenda:

A safer damage formula for an evasion-piercing Titan would be MA*8, and not MA*9 as presented three posts ago.  If we go MA*9, then non-piercing Cyclops and even Zodiac will likely become the new unused summons. (For example, I personally would never trade a MA*9, evasion-piercing Titan for a MA*9, +1 AoE, non-piercing Zodiac unless I'm doing some sort of spray-and-pray Mime strategy.)

A MA*8 Titan would be only slightly stronger than the IRS (Ifrit, Ramuh, Shiva), so in this case I would suggest we keep Titan affordable (e.g., 30~40 MP, 200~250 JP) and usable (e.g., 4 CT).

I would suggest we also make Leviathan evasion-piercing, but drop its damage from MA*8 to MA*7, to keep Summon Magic internally balanced.  Then, moving up from the IRS, one can either spend a little extra MP, CT, and JP for +1 damage multiplier (Titan) or +1 AoE (Leviathan).

These two changes ought to make Titan and Leviathan more popular choices, but also prevent the other choices from becoming redundant.

26
FFT Arena / Re: SCC Tournament, Season 3, Formal Thread
February 13, 2017, 01:22:38 am
Dancer a go go, baby.  Prepare to succumb to low probability -- Probability as low as my likelihood of making it through round 1.
27
Thank you for the input!

Time and Yin Yang Magic would counterbalance Summon Magic.  If teams stack Magic Defend UP and/or Setiemson in fear of Summon Magic, then they would become vulnerable to status magic. Thus, magic evasion would still serve a role.

I believe Geomancy was broken due to Counter Flood.  140 damage with 1 AoE isn't much, but with Counter Flood you can do 140 damage one or two extra times per turn (and, crucially, during the opponents turn, so they don't get a chance to heal the damage)

Here are some reality-check calculations using the above parameters:
Test unit: Wizard (F), 241 HP, 127 MP, 17 MA, Faith Rod, Magic Attack UP (a veritable glass cannon)

Shiva: 155~218
Salamander: 178~248
Titan: 200~280
Zodiac: 245~343 (!!)
Bahamut: 267~374 (!!)

You are right about the ridiculous Bahamut damage.  In retrospect, no summon that pierces MEv should have a multiplier higher than around 9, no matter what its MP and CT costs are.  So let's focus on the summons up to Titan. Mind you, this is an extreme case. The Wizard is made of paper. As soon as she dies and loses the Faith status, the damage becomes

Shiva: 121~169
Salamander: 138~194
Titan: 155~218

More sensible. I imagine a low-faith team of Mystic Knights or Samurai could handle the damage. Keep in mind that most of these summons have an element, so elemental absorption is another line of defense.  Furthermore, if we put Titan at around 50 MP, then the Wizard will be able to cast the spell only 2~3 times before she needs to take a break, during which time the enemy team can either recoup its losses if it fared miserably through the loincloth buttslams, or go on the offensive if it didn't.  If she replaces Magic Attack UP for 1/3 of MP, then the damage will drop even further:

Shiva: 93~131
Salamander: 107~149
Titan: 120~168

At that point you are probably better off spamming Geomancy.

Anyway, perhaps an agreeable solution at some future point in time is to meet halfway.  Devote the low- and mid-tier summons (i.e., from Shiva to Titan) into costly, low-damage, evasion-piercing magic, and leave the big fish (e.g., Bahamut and Zodiac) alone.
28
FFT Arena / 【PROPOSAL】Evasion-piercing Summon Magic
February 06, 2017, 07:36:12 am
I would like to propose a new design concept for Summon Magic: Evasion-piercing.  That's right. I'm going old school on your derriere and taking you back to vanilla FFT.

What's wrong with my current Summon Magicks?
Nothing, really. It has a job. It does its job. It works 9-to-5 with a co-worker called Black Magic. They do the same stuff.  Occasionally, Summon Magic steps in to take care of that touchy feely healing stuff, and other times it leaves the heavy lifting to Black Magic. There's nothing wrong with a bit of cooperation. But here's the problem: Nobody is working the night shift.

Night shift? What are you talking about?
A competitive game needs to spin like the Earth needs to spin.  Lock your planet in geosynchronous orbit and people on one half of the planet will freeze. Right now the world of magicks is in geosynchronous orbit. It is always sunny in the land of magic evasion.  Are the skies looking stormy with black magicks, summoned beasts, and feudal warriors walking around in funny armor that looks like it is made of papier-mâché? Put a shield in your hand and a mantle on your back to keep yourself dry.  Is the pollen of status magic blowing in the wind? Hold that shield in front of you and wrap your face in that mantle to filter the air.  Magic evasion is living in the sun, growing its hair long, and walking around barefoot while whistling John Lennon songs. Meanwhile, magic defense is freezing its pants off on the far side of the globe, burning coal in its log cabin, and nobody visits even for Christmas.

Nobody likes magic defense? You're being silly. I was playing Smash Bros at its log cabin just last week.
Yes I am silly. Magic defense is good. I would not hesitate to introduce magic defense to my parents if we were dating.  But magic evasion is even better. There's a reason why there were 28 pieces of evasion-boosting accessories used last tournament, but only 6 Setiemsons. Magic defense protects you from the odd Holy and Chirijiraden. Magic evasion does that and even more. When Time and Yin Yang Magic come to town, magic defense leaves you for a better mate.  But magic evasion? That girl (guy) stays with you to the end.

What does any of this have to do with my Summon Magicks?
Basically, it's time we rain on magic evasion's parade. One can listen to only so much John Lennon. Right now, the sister planet of physicks is spinning freely. The rotation of this planet has been initiated by a support skill called Concentrate. On this planet is a country of people who spread evasion on everything like mustard.  But then day falls to night and those from a neighbouring country with better Concentration come and steal all their mustard.  Back on our first planet of magicks, there is no equivalent "Concentrate" support skill. This means that its world of cuisine is inundated with the smell and taste of mustard.  The only ways of washing out the sour taste of this condiment is with the fashionably constricted Geomancy and the fashionably unfashionable Lore spells.  I say that we add Summon Magic to this list.  Think of it as the easily-boostable Geomancy you always wanted but couldn't have, or the Lore you always had but never wanted.

So what exactly are you proposing here?
In a sentence: Weak-to-mid damage magic AoE spells that ignore evasion, but have high MP and/or CT costs.  Summon Magic will essentially become Black Magic that trades offensive potential for reliability, or Geomancy that trades consistency for offensive potential. Auxiliary healing functionalities with Moogle, Carbuncle, and Fairy will be retained.  Rough categories would look something like the following (note that no number is final):


Low-tier summons:
Ifrit: MA*7, 2 AoE, 28 MP, 3 CT, Fire element
Shiva: MA*7, 2 AoE, 28 MP, 3 CT, Ice element
Ramuh: MA*7, 2 AoE, 28 MP, 3 CT, Lightning element
Silf: MA*7, 2 AoE, 32 MP, 3 CT, +DA/DM, Wind element
Leviathan: MA*7, 3 AoE, 32 MP, 5 CT, +Debuff, Water element
Salamander: MA*8, 2 AoE, 32 MP, 5 CT, +Poison

Mid-tier summons:
Titan: MA*9, 2 AoE, 48 MP, 5 CT, Earth element
Cyclops: MA*9, 2 AoE, 54 MP, 5 CT, +Blind, Holy element

High-tier summons:
Odin: MA*7, 2 AoE, 48 MP, 6 CT, +Death, Dark element
Bahamut: MA*12, 2 AoE, 60 MP, 6 CT
Zodiac: MA*11, 3 AoE, 60 MP, 6 CT, +Sap

Unlisted spells (Moogle, Fairy, Carbuncle, and Lich) are unchanged.


All summons pierce evasion and are smart-targeting, but cost around twice as much MP as competitive Black Magic. In this way, Summon and Black Magic work different jobs. Specifically, Summon Magic interacts with the crotchety high-evasion customers, and Black Magic interacts with the freewheeling low-evasion customers.

Any thoughts and suggestions about the foregoing are much appreciated.
29
FFT Arena / Re: SCC Tournament Round 3
January 13, 2017, 09:02:32 am
1. Holy Swordsmen
2. Hydra
3. Whatever isn't unpopular enough for CT5Holy
30
FFT Arena / Re: Barren's Mini AI Tournament
December 22, 2016, 01:34:55 am
Some quick and dirty stats.


         Primary  Secondary    Total
Squire     00        06       06  (09%)
Chemist    05        04       09  (14%)
Paladin    03        05       08  (13%)
Archer     01        03       04  (06%)
Monk       06        03       09  (14%) 
Priest     02        13       15  (23%)  Most popular skill set
Wizard     02        01       03  (05%)
Time Mage  04        05       09  (14%)
Summoner   01        06       07  (11%)
Thief      02        04       06  (09%)
Mediator   08        03       11  (17%)
Oracle     05        01       06  (09%)
Geomancer  06        01       07  (11%)
Lancer     05        00       05  (08%)
Samurai    03        07       10  (16%)
Ninja      07        02       09  (14%)
Scholar    02        00       02  (03%)
Bard       01        00       01  (02%)
Dancer     00        00       00  (00%)  Least popular skill set
Mime       00        NA       00  (03%)




Flame Shield        01
Ice Shield          00
Gold Shield         00
Wyvern Shield       00
Dewdrop Shield      00
Round Shield        01
Platina Shield      00
Diamond Shield      01
Genji Shield        00
Aegis Shield        05  Most popular shield
Swift Plate         04
Kaiser Plate        02
Crystal Shield      01
Secular Shield      00
Escutcheon II       04




Elemental Resistance (Rs)
=============================
      Fr Ic Lt Wn Wt Er Hy Dk
Ab    14 02 10 02 05 05 09 07
Nu    00 00 00 02 04 04 02 00
Hv    06 06 06 07 07 07 00 00
-----------------------------
Rs(%) 27 08 20 12 20 20 17 11

Explanation:
  Resistance represents the average resistance toward an element.  It is given by
    Rs = [(Ab+Nu)+0.5(Hv)] / n
  where
    Rs: resistance of a given element
    Ab: number of units that absorb the element
    Nu: number of units that null the element
    Hv: number of units that halve the element
    n:  number of units in total (here 64)

  Rs ranges between 0% and 100%.  A value of 0% means no unit resists the
  element, so the element is always effective for offense.  A value of 100%
  means every unit completely resists (absorbs or nulls) the element, so the
  element is completely ineffective for offense.



Code-free versions

         Primary  Secondary    Total
Squire     00        06       06  (09%)
Chemist    05        04       09  (14%)
Paladin    03        05       08  (13%)
Archer     01        03       04  (06%)
Monk       06        03       09  (14%) 
Priest     02        13       15  (23%)  Most popular skill set
Wizard     02        01       03  (05%)
Time Mage  04        05       09  (14%)
Summoner   01        06       07  (11%)
Thief      02        04       06  (09%)
Mediator   08        03       11  (17%)
Oracle     05        01       06  (09%)
Geomancer  06        01       07  (11%)
Lancer     05        00       05  (08%)
Samurai    03        07       10  (16%)
Ninja      07        02       09  (14%)
Scholar    02        00       02  (03%)
Bard       01        00       01  (02%)
Dancer     00        00       00  (00%)  Least popular skill set
Mime       00        NA       00  (03%)


Flame Shield        01
Ice Shield          00
Gold Shield         00
Wyvern Shield       00
Dewdrop Shield      00
Round Shield        01
Platina Shield      00
Diamond Shield      01
Genji Shield        00
Aegis Shield        05  Most popular shield
Swift Plate         04
Kaiser Plate        02
Crystal Shield      01
Secular Shield      00
Escutcheon II       04


Elemental Resistance (Rs)
=============================
          Fr Ic Lt Wn Wt Er Hy Dk
Ab      14 02 10 02 05 05 09 07
Nu      00 00 00 02 04 04 02 00
Hv      06 06 06 07 07 07 00 00
-----------------------------
Rs(%) 27 08 20 12 20 20 17 11

Explanation:
  Resistance represents the average resistance toward an element.  It is given by
    Rs = [(Ab+Nu)+0.5(Hv)] / n
  where
    Rs: resistance of a given element
    Ab: number of units that absorb the element
    Nu: number of units that null the element
    Hv: number of units that halve the element
    n:  number of units in total (here 64)

  Rs ranges between 0% and 100%.  A value of 0% means no unit resists the
  element, so the element is always effective for offense.  A value of 100%
  means every unit completely resists (absorbs or nulls) the element, so the
  element is completely ineffective for offense.
31
FFT Arena / Re: FFT Arena 1.40 ASMs
December 05, 2016, 04:37:02 am
So, if I am understanding this correctly, do Cover Fire and Bullrish assign some Fury data to a register that is used by unrelated skills, like magic, later on?
32
FFT Arena / Re: FFT Arena Balance Discussion Thread
November 30, 2016, 09:32:35 pm
Thank you for your comments, silentkaster.  I think you're right to worry about Monks losing bags if Earth-strengthening clothes disappear.

I need to correct my spellbook proposal.  I got confused over the Master's guide.  Spellguns have tier 3 animations, right?  Yet they are written as casting tier 2 spells.  Anyway!

Spellbooks revision
Omnilex: 14 WP, 3 Range, Cast Fire 2 [Dmg_F(WP*10)]
Heptameron: 13 WP, 3 Range, Cast Ice 2 [Dmg_F(WP*11)]
Picatrix: 12 WP, 3 Range, Cast Bolt 2 [Dmg_F(WP*12)]
Necronomicon: 11 WP, 3 Range, Cast Bio 3 [Dmg_F(WP*11)]

Damage with MAtk UP and (without→with) elemental strengthening .
Faith is not factored in.

Omnilex: 180→220
Heptameron: 187→231
Picatrix: 192→240
Necronomicon: 154→187, 20% add Undead

Elemental strengthening costs up to 65 max HP (i.e., Brigandine→elemental robe) or the accessory slot (i.e., anything→108 Gems). The damage is roughly the same as current spellguns, but the books have shorter range, can miss, and can be equipped by only slow, squishy Priests and Summoners.  All in all, spellbooks should be much less potent than spellguns.
33
FFT Arena / Re: FFT Arena Balance Discussion Thread
November 30, 2016, 03:33:28 am
I'm looking for ways to avoid preparing for an exam, so here's a survey of the proposed elemental armor along with my predictions on the metagame.

Shirts
Black Costume   100   10   Absorb: Dark, Fire
Mirage Vest      100   10   Absorb: Holy, Wind
Rubber Suit      100   10   Absorb: Lighting, Earth
Aqua Suit        100   10   Absorb: Ice, Water

Robes
White Robe    80   50   Half: Fire, Ice, Lightning
Black Robe     65   40   Boost: Fire, Ice, Lightning
Cultist Robe    65   40   Boost: Holy, Dark

The elemental meta is flattened
Until recently, each element had its own niche:
  • Fire, Ice, and Lightning are easily defended against thanks to White Robe and elemental clothing. (Two of the most common elemental defenses in S5 were Fire and Lightning.) They are also easily boosted thanks to Black Robe, rods, and Mace of Zeus.

  • Water suffers from a lack of solid weapons and skills, so it is probably the least threatening element of the bunch. Teams that defend against water usually do so incidentally (e.g., they use Flash hat to protect themselves from Earth, or Wizard Mantle to protect themselves from Don't Act.)

  • Earth, in contrast, has some great weapons and skills in its repertoire (e.g. Kikuichimonji, Quake, and Earth is Slash). Furthermore, it is the easiest element to simultaneously boost and absorb thanks to Earth Clothes.  Together with Black Robe, Earth Clothes is the only armor to boost elements, but unlike Black Robe, you got absorption as a two-for-one deal.  Furthermore, Earth Clothes granted a whopping +25 HP over Black Robe. Altogether, Earth-absorption teams are the easiest to design. For that reason, earth protection is important in the metagame.

  • Wind is earth's retarded cousin: It is represented with a similar set of skills and is countered by the same equipment (Flash Hat), but is harder to boost. Wind-themed teams have been taking a backseat ever since their only self-absorbable AoE spell (Tornado) was nerfed to be weaker than Black Magic's Fire spell and Wave Fist became Holy elemental. (Seriously, only 3% of units used Wind offense in S5 -- by far the lowest of all elements.)

  • Holy is currently the offensive superstar: Easily boosted thanks to Golden Hairpin and easily accessible and destructive due to the presence of its eponymous skill on White Magic.  Meanwhile, Holy absorption gear is hard to utilize (i.e., the only Holy-absorbing armor is on a robe, and Magic Ring is underwhelming compared to superior accessories like Diamond Armlet.) Consequently, Holy-absorption teams are uncommon. (Holy was the most effective offensive element in S5: 20% of units used it, but only 11% blocked it.) With White Magic Holy users abound, you can count on equipment like Dracula Mantle and Chameleon robe to save your bacon.

  • Dark is Holy's dark twin (heh), as it is boostable by the same means (Golden Hairpin). However, Dark is more easily absorbed due to Black Costume, so more teams shy away from Dark-themed offense on average.  Dark was by far the most absorbed element back when Golden Hairpin gave +1 MA and you were stupid to not run a Draw Out Kotetsu unit.

With the introduction of the new clothes, the absorption of every element becomes equally accessible.  So, instead on banking on Holy and Earth, you might as well just pick your favourite color.

Earth teams take a hit
The loss of Earth Clothes means that Earth is now no easier to use than any other element.  Earth strengthening is now only practical with Crystal Helmet and Prismatic Rod.  Furthermore, a second piece of equipment is needed to absorb Earth.  Crystal Helmet wearers have access to only Diamond Armlet, which severely restricts design freedom.  Also, users without helmet or rod access can no longer strengthen Earth natively.  The biggest losers that comes to mind due to this are Monks.

Holy and Dark teams take a hit
Shifting holy/dark strengthening from Golden Hairpin to a new piece of armor means that units without access to shields can no longer boost and absorb Holy and Dark without using their accessory slot.  And the accessories that absorb Holy (Magic Ring) and Dark (N-Kai Armlet) are lousy in my opinion.  Furthermore, the Holy/Dark boosting robe has very low HP.  Flimsy armor + no accessory freedom means Holy/Dark teams will be pretty fragile.  Furthermore, the loss of Chameleon Robe means that Grand Cross Excalibur Paladins go extinct.

Lightning is the new Earth
With Earth Clothes gone, Mace of Zeus becomes the only piece of equipment that both boosts and absorbs.  Slap that on a mage, pick and mix your armor and accessories, and have some fun.
34
FFT Arena / Re: FFT Arena Balance Discussion Thread
November 28, 2016, 01:14:53 pm
Quote from: Andrew on November 25, 2016, 02:49:07 pm
Muramasa: What if it was PAx9 and had more vertical going for it, since Attack's vertical is only 2?


I don't think even 9*PA would make much difference seeing how most two-handed weapons have at least 16 effective WP.  Extra vertical would be nice, but then the skill would be very situational.

Quote from: Andrew on November 25, 2016, 02:49:07 pm
Murasame: I hope that (MA+PA/2)*X is at least a step in the right direction.  Originally, it was *12, not *13.


Let's see.  Currently Murasame is MA*10 and cannot be boosted with MAtk UP (i.e., its output value is immutable).  Turning it into (MA+PA/2)*10 would add a flat 5*PA.  Going from there to (MA+PA/2)*12 would be equivalent to first buffing the current Murasame to MA*12, then adding a flat 6*PA on top of that.  I'm sure you can see by now how strong of a buff that is.

How about we start with XA = (MA+PA)/2 as a guide? Most classes have somewhere around 7 XA. The top scorers are the Dancerbard (10) and Monk, Geomancer, Samurai, and Scholar (9). To uphold the healing "floor" (e.g., 110 healing by an 11 MA female samurai (famurai?)) the formula XA*(11~12) would be appropriate.  To uphold the healing "ceiling" (e.g., 180 healing by a MA-stacked Geomancer), the formula XA*14 would be appropriate.  Upholding the floor knocks down the ceiling, and upholding the ceiling lifts up the floor.

Next, let's consider XA = (MA+PA/2) as originally suggested. Now the average XA is around 12~13, and the top scorers are the Bard (16), female Samurai and Scholar (14.5), and Dancer (14).  The appropriate formula is then around XA*8 (floor and ceiling).


Quote from: Andrew on November 25, 2016, 02:49:07 pm
Counter Comet: I originally thought 75 would be okay.  How about 80?


80 is better than 70!

Quote from: Andrew on November 25, 2016, 02:49:07 pm
Cone AoE stuff


The cone AoE feels like something I would see in Disgaea.  I am eager to listen to the possibilities this AoE hack would bring.  It feels a little thematically inconsistent on Draw Out, but definitely neat on Punch Art.

Spellbooks
Finally, let me close with a few formal spellbook suggestions.  As a common theme, every book is imbued with an element.

Omnilex: 14 WP, 3 Range, Cast Fire 2 [Dmg_F(WP*12)]
Heptameron: 13 WP, 3 Range, Cast Ice 2 [Dmg_F(WP*13)]
Picatrix: 12 WP, 3 Range, Cast Bolt 2 [Dmg_F(WP*14)]
Necronomicon: 14 WP, 3 Range, Cast Bio 3 [Dmg_F(WP*11)]

The book colors are coordinated with the spell elements (i.e., Omnilex is red, Heptameron is blue, Picatrix is yellow, and Necronomicon is an ominous green).  These books would replace the current ones.
35
FFT Arena / Re: FFT Arena Balance Discussion Thread
November 25, 2016, 02:10:29 pm
Quote from: Andrew on November 24, 2016, 11:27:27 pm
- Spell Guns: WP reduction or turn into books (Magical books that shoot... magic.  It makes sense!)


I'm glad you like the book idea!  We can do Harry Potter cosplay together.

My comments on the new ideas as a Discord outsider:


  • Bullrush & Counter Tackle causing 100% knockback: Sounds fun.

  • Yell casting Haste on user & target: Not in favour.  The AI will still eat up turns applying Haste to its team members one at a time.  Admittedly, Masamune suffers from the same issue, but at least Masamune has the strict range and height restrictions to keep the AI from going nuts.  I am still partial to silentkaster's idea (i.e., Heal (+ Buffs?), Critical only).

  • Muramasa becomes PA*8: I am afraid this will not produce its intended effect.  If a PA-stacked samurai comes within 1 range of its target, it will probably smack the target with its weapon rather than use Muramasa, seeing that its WP > 8 in most cases.

  • Murasame becomes (MA+PA/2)*13: I like the idea, but the formula sounds incredibly strong.  We'll need to discuss a balanced formula.

  • Counter Comet: 70 damage feels like a poor man's Damage Split to me.  Is somewhere between 70 and 100 damage too high?

  • MP Poison: Weren't we going to merge both types of poison into a single one?  MP damage could stay at 1/8 max MP if the poisons are merged.


The other items are OK to me.

36
FFT Arena / Re: FFT Arena Balance Discussion Thread
November 22, 2016, 03:41:04 pm
Thanks for the concept matches, dw.  You raise some good points!  An RSXM system would be hugely beneficial for units like monster truck monks with pointed sticks and mages with Hidden Knife.  As you kindly demonstrated, the current jobs and equipment aren't balanced to accommodate such a system.

Now that I think about it, opening up combos like Equip Spellgun/Magic Attack UP/Pilgrimage to every unit in the game would suck.  I hope spellguns get changed regardless, though.

Quote from: Andrew on November 22, 2016, 02:47:15 am
Instead of RSXM, what if we only had three Equip X support skills: Equip Armor, Equip Shield, and Equip Weapon?  Equip Armor would allow access to all armour except for headbands, Equip Shield would function just how it does currently, and Equip Weapon would allow access to *any* weapon.


I am personally fine with this. 
37
FFT Arena / Re: Barren's Mini AI Tournament Registration
November 21, 2016, 10:26:36 pm
I will stay out unless you're short on participants.

I look forward to seeing everyone's submissions.
38
FFT Arena / Re: FFT Arena Balance Discussion Thread
November 21, 2016, 02:25:06 pm
Here is something that has been kicking around the back of my mind for awhile.

RSM system redesign
How would people feel about replacing the RSM system with a "RSXM" system? The "X" in this new system stands for "Equip X."

Currently, we have seven "Equip X" abilities.  In spite of this, only 20 units used an Equip X ability during Season 5, and over half of those (11) was Equip Shield.  I believe the reason why Equip X is hardly used is because its opportunity cost almost never outweighs its benefits.  When you use Equip X, you receive a very slight and/or team-specific bonus.  Meanwhile, you pass up on much better support abilities such as (Magic) Attack/Defense UP.

In this new system, we would group all Equip X skills into a single, new ability class.  Other underwhelming abilities (such as Maintenance) can also be thrown into this new class.  Reaction, support, and movement ability classes would remain unchanged.  Then, units can equip up to three abilities as before, but only one ability from each of the (now) four classes.  In other words, players can choose to sacrifice not only their support slot, but also their reaction or movement slots to accommodate an Equip X ability.

Implementing this new system should be possible without any ASM tinkering.  Right now, RSM abilities seem to be able to be scrambled and still work as intended.  So, the game should be able to handle a unit with, say, Attack UP in the R slot, Move +1 in the S slot, and Equip Heavy Blade in the M slot without any hiccups.  All that is required is the consensus of the community.

This redesign ought to open up plenty of new, unconventional designs.  Attack UP, Excalibur Grand Cross Monk? No problem!  Short Charge, Equip Armor tank mage? You got it!  Of course, these unconventional designs will come at the cost of the R or M slot.
39
Some concept teams:

Jumper Hound: Tries to make good use of Hyper Wrist
Holy Ship: Tries to make use Excalibur Grand Cross


Player: Gaignun
Team: Jumper Hound
Palettes: Green/Blue
Last Revision: 2016-11-22

================================

Jump
Male
Cancer
70
50
Lancer
Basic Skill
Dragon Spirit
Overwhelm
Jump +1
Holy Lance
Swift Plate
Genji Helm
Genji Armor
Hyper Wrist

Jump Range 6, Vertical Ignore
Heal

================================

Up
Male
Cancer
70
50
Lancer
Punch Art
Dragon Spirit
Overwhelm
Jump +1
Dragon Whisker
Swift Plate
Genji Helm
Genji Armor
Hyper Wrist

Jump Range 6, Vertical Ignore
Stigma Magic

================================

And
Female
Capricorn
40
70
Time Mage
Summon Magic
Abandon
Short Charge
Move-MP UP
Wizard Staff
Aegis Shield
Black Hood
White Robe
Dracula Mantle

Haste 2, Don't Move
Moogle, Fairy, Lich

================================

Get Down
Female
Capricorn
40
70
Summoner
White Magic
Abandon
Magic Attack UP
Pilgrimage
Mace of Zeus

Black Hood
White Robe
Genji Gauntlet

Moogle, Ramuh, Silf
Raise 2, Regen, Esuna

================================


Player: Gaignun
Team: Holy Ship
Palettes: White/Blue
Last Revision: 2016-11-22

================================

The Inspectah
Male
Serpentarius
70
50
Paladin
Basic Skill
Projectile Guard
Attack UP
Move-HP UP
Excalibur

Gold Helmet
Chameleon Robe
Germinas Boots

Grand Cross
Accumulate, Heal

================================

Poppea
Female
Serpentarius
40
60
Geomancer
Draw Out
Counter Flood
Magic Attack UP
Teleport
C Bag
Aegis Shield
Holy Miter
Wizard Outfit
Magic Ring

Water Ball, Hell Ivy, Carve Model, Local Quake, Kamaitachi, Demon Fire, Sand Storm, Blizzard, Gusty Wind
Bizen Boat, Murasame, Chirijiraden

================================

Fiore
Female
Serpentarius
40
70
Time Mage
Summon Magic
Abandon
Short Charge
Move-MP UP
Healing Staff
Aegis Shield
Black Hood
White Robe
Dracula Mantle

Haste 2, Stop
Fairy, Lich

================================

Fargo
Male
Serpentarius
40
70
Bard
White Magic
Counter Flood
Magic Attack UP
Pilgrimage
C Bag

Golden Hairpin
Wizard Outfit
Setiemson

Empty
Cure, Raise, Raise 2, Regen, Esuna, Dia

================================
40
Commendations to the hosts and contributors for persevering through this tounament to the bitter end.  You are the real champions.

This was the longest FFTA tournament of all, wasn't it?  To think we opened registration in the summer...