Report 623

Report #623
Skillset: Psychometabolism Skill: New-Accelerate
 Org: Nekotai Status: Rejected Dec 2011
Furies' Decision:
We strongly oppose the idea of having psionic abilities operate on anything
other than psionic balances. We reject this report outright.
Problem: Psionic channel recovery times are balanced for TP/TK mages using
offensive skills on multiple channels simultaneously. On the other hand, Psymet
use channels to activate & lock multiple defenses. Skills like Cell Adjust,
Shift, and Suspended Animation suggest that Psymets should be oriented towards
locking two channels and leaving the third channel open for active abilities .
There are a variety of other Psionic skills that would be utilized through this
strategy. However, this is not feasible due to hefty recovery times associated
with single channel use. We propose allowing use of active skill by increasing
recovery time AND preventing psionic / kata combinations by moving to
equilibrium. An open channel mechanic is naturally balanced against the
increased effectiveness of disruption scrolls aimed the the two remaining locked
channels. I hope this report would do for Psymet what HighChant did for Harmony.
FInally, this report serves as a pinion solution to address individual concerns
with both Cell Adjust and Shift by addressing overlapping issues of recovery
time.
Solution #1: Create a new skill in Psymet called "Accelerate" to place single
 channel use on a 3 second equilibrium recovery. Syntax:
 ACCELERATE PSI <channel> <skill> [<argument>]. Moving psi/psy
 abilities to eq would naturally prevent multi-channel use and
 kata combos.
Solution #2: Solution 1, but limit Accelerate to Sub & Super. Super channel on
 3s eq, BUT lower Sub channel to 2s eq (essentially halving normal
 psi channel recovery). This is an acceptable fix for CellAdjust.
 Also appropriate for the Discernment-like abilities contained
 within Sub.
Solution #3: Solutions 1 or (more appropriately) 2, but Accelerate becomes a
 locked defense. Although this would immediately increase
 protection against disruption scroll, it would diminish the
 potential for Solution 1 & 2 Accelerate to be used to re-def
 after disruption.
Player Comments:
---[Janalon on 11/22 @ 11:25 writes]:
After thoroughly analyzing the potential impact of Accelerate upon Psymet, I
suggest remove Shift from Sub in regards to Solution 2. Also would need to
further evaluate Hyperhidros, but that could be moved into TP/TK spec to
eliminate imbalance as a result of any accepted solutions.
---[Janalon on 11/22 @ 11:50 writes]:
Http://pastebin.com/EiER04Vv An easy-read resource for Envoys / Admin to review
Psymet abilities and channel designations in regards to this report.
---[Janalon on 11/26 @ 13:27 writes]:
There are several implications for this report. Multi-channel def up is most
optimal. Solution 1 & 2 Accelerate would provide an simplified, and sub-optimal
method of def up. There are instances where a monk would need to (re)raise a
single defense. With this in place, it would be possible to reexamine disruption
scrolls to balance TP/TK and aspects of Psymet (read REPORT 260 for background).
Ideas might include channel targeting or knowing which channels get unlocked.
I'll leave other ideas to a future report. Solution 2 would single-handedly
solve issues with psymet CellAdjust and Shift (which I could parse out upon
request). Finally, monks would gain the mechanics to use open channel abilities
for single channel use, which accounts for 1/3 of the skill set. This provides
alternates when leaving one channel open for CellAdjust, Shift, or
SuspendedAnimation. As such, I support Solution 2 or Solution 2 + 3.
---[Wobou on 12/14 @ 03:27 writes]:
While more flexibility is rarely a bad thing I don't think your solutions will
increase the usage of celladjust and shift much. I personally run around with
all three channels locked, and will unlock if I foresee the need to suspend.
Basically if your solutions require that I sacrifice a locked channel such as
Sol. 3 then there's a 95% chance I won't use it at all which, if others feel the
same way, will take us right back to our starting point in terms of these
abilities being rarely used. So while I'm not against this report per se I think
that the ratio of coding time vs. benefit isn't very favorable. Especially when
there are other smaller and more specific solutions like removing or increasing
the cap on celladjustment that may have a similar impact.
---[Janalon on 12/14 @ 11:26 writes]:
I've analyzed the CellAdjust issue over and over. The one main problem with
removing the cap and/or having accessible on bal/eq (but not requiring either)
is comes down to the fact that several monk races have high ego-- most notably
illithoid. Removing psi balance (or even my proposed eq) restraints on
CellAdjust means high-ego races have near limited healing. Not a good thing
considering psymet/harmony regen plus high DMP from psymet/tats. In contrast,
warriors traditionally have low mana so their free use of Transmute isn't as
accessible. Shift just has a very niche use of being applied to mage locked
doors during village revolts. Although Shift & CellAdjust could possibly be
further Envoyed, putting priority on the Accelerate mechanic first would give me
later direction how to approach these skills. Finally, this report doesn't hinge
solely around Shift/CellAdjust, there is a whole myriad of other benefits such
as single channel defup (especially as it relates to disruptions scrolls, which
also relates to refining checks against Pheromones/Forced Symmetry). As far as
the ratio of coding time I don't think any of us can assume what amount of
coding time would be required. I did see the past practice of HighChant for
Harmony, and considered it might take a similar coding approach. So although
this doesn't appeal to your particular style of gameplay, I can read into your
comments and infer that you might support solutions 1 or 2, but not 3?
---[Janalon on 12/15 @ 11:31 writes]:
So it is explicit, I prefer solution 2, and solution 3 (with a solution 2 half-
balance). I don't believe solution 1 would solve all the issues I listed.
---[Iytha on 12/17 @ 22:45 writes]:
Tentative support for Solution 3. I assume you'd lock accelerate on Id in order
to get 3s EQ for active Sub/Super powers? The alternative would be to lock the
channel you want to accelerate, which would be a bit too harsh given disruption.
---[Janalon on 12/18 @ 14:25 writes]:
@Ithya no. Locking "accelerate" into Id and then requiring Sub or Super channels
would drop a Psymet down two locked defenses. I envisioned locking Accelerate
into Super (let's say) and have any active Super actions be shifted to an EQ
balance. This way a Psymet would have three locked defenses to better protect
against disrupt, and also require full psi channel recovery if the monk decides
to re-lock Accelerate.
---[Wobou on 12/22 @ 01:46 writes]:
Ah I should've clarified the solutions I supported more clearly my apologies.
All of the solutions sound fine to me because they won't hurt anything, the main
concern that I was expressing is that I don't think this will make these skills
as useable as you think, then again you've talked about further envoying so I
can see that argument.
---[Janalon on 12/22 @ 11:14 writes]:
By "near limited" I meant "near limitless" on the 12/14 @ 11:26 comment.
---[Shuyin on 12/26 @ 20:39 writes]:
Solution 3 sounds good
---[Akui on 12/28 @ 22:37 writes]:
I'm personally of a "lock 3 and go" mindset, and unlock if something is
intensely necessary. That said, I don't object to the report at all, though I
lean towards solution 3, as it seems the least disruptive from a balancing
standpoint, creating something of a tradeoff as it does.