I remember the old Prima strat guide had a little blurb before each set I guess (like Force Mulitplier or Operative) that told you a bit about them.
It's just that looking at the game now, I just see some new player going, wow Trauma Surgeon sounds cool! What's it do though? What should I be expecting when I play it?
Maybe something like these examples:
Even so... referencing WoW (which I dislike to do honestly) when I picked Druid or Paladin, I knew sort of what to expect, what this specific thing is going to let me do.
Let's look at the descriptions for Kung Fu and Rifles for example:
Kung Fu: This advanced melee combat style has a small advantage in accuracy and defense.
Rifles: This advanced ballistic combat style is well balanced with a small advantage in accuracy and defense.
Ok, so Kung Fu and Rifles do the same thing, but one with a Rifle and the other with Kung Fu? If I want to be a sort of balanced operative (I don't like hacker or coder, or sneaking around) what's going to make me choose Kung Fu over Riflemen (or, what is going to make me want to specialize in one over the other)? Or what if I've been an Assassin all my time in the Matrix and I want to try something different, where do I choose to invest my $info?
Let's look at two Hybrid classes in WoW and what I can look up as their class role (couple clicks from the main page):
Druid: The Druid has three potential roles in a group. When in their normal, biped form, they act well as a healer and can give support in the form of buffs and debuffs; they also have limited crowd control against dragons. Their Bear form gives them offensive and defensive power enough to step up to a monster and take the hits (we're looking into aggro management for the form). In Cat form, the Druid becomes a damage dealer. This trio of roles in one class gives the Druid a diverse feel and allows them to perform nearly any role perceived as "needed" in a party. We're not telling you how to play the game - one of the fascinating practices of this genre is the ingenuity exercised by the players every day!
Paladin: Paladins are the consummate knights in shining armor, meant to be in the thick of things. Their defensive abilities allow them to stand toe to toe with monsters and take a beating - they are tanks overall. This is not the sole purpose of a Paladin, of course; their auras, seals, heals and resurrection spells give them the chance to act as a support healer. We're not telling you how to play the game - one of the fascinating practices of this genre is the ingenuity exercised by the players every day!
Ok, apart from the corny last lines, I know what to expect from these classes.
Let's come back to MxO and the question I ask myself a lot: as a Force Multiplier, am I meant to be very survivable, is it intended, is it something that is going to be taken away from me?
All I really know about FM is: it's a Patcher centered around team buffing, I don't know if it's meant to take damage, I don't know what this tree is supposed to be giving me.
I look at my Druid and I know, ok, I'm meant to be a top-notch healer, I lack utility, but if I feel I'm not accomplishing that role, I know there's something wrong.
If one day I log in and I'm paper as a Force Multiplier, I have no clue if they fixed a bug, if they added a bug, if that tree has been "reinvisioned"... I have no vision to test the tree against, no theoretical bar that I'm supposed to reach for roles X, Y, and Z.
Those vision documents have to be around there somewhere guys, why don't you show them to us?
It's just that looking at the game now, I just see some new player going, wow Trauma Surgeon sounds cool! What's it do though? What should I be expecting when I play it?
Maybe something like these examples:
- Ballista: The Ballista tree is centered around single-target Viral damage. It is designed to be a DPS class, with only moderate crowd-control/debuffing. It meshes well with the other Virologist trees by giving them single-target direct damage abilities.
- Trauma Surgeon: The Trauma Surgeon is tree designed around group healing with some survivability. In terms of offense it depends mainly on using Melee or guns instead of the Viral attacks of Physician. The tree also contains bonuses to your Heal and Buff Radius making it a strong tree if you wish to support a large group.
- Aikido: The Aikido tree allows the red-pill to maintain control of an opponent through the Powerless and Enrage states, it also has self-buff abilities that allow it to soak up or avoid damage. It is the most durable of the Martial Arts trees, but lacks the raw damage potential of Karate.
Even so... referencing WoW (which I dislike to do honestly) when I picked Druid or Paladin, I knew sort of what to expect, what this specific thing is going to let me do.
Let's look at the descriptions for Kung Fu and Rifles for example:
Kung Fu: This advanced melee combat style has a small advantage in accuracy and defense.
Rifles: This advanced ballistic combat style is well balanced with a small advantage in accuracy and defense.
Ok, so Kung Fu and Rifles do the same thing, but one with a Rifle and the other with Kung Fu? If I want to be a sort of balanced operative (I don't like hacker or coder, or sneaking around) what's going to make me choose Kung Fu over Riflemen (or, what is going to make me want to specialize in one over the other)? Or what if I've been an Assassin all my time in the Matrix and I want to try something different, where do I choose to invest my $info?
Let's look at two Hybrid classes in WoW and what I can look up as their class role (couple clicks from the main page):
Druid: The Druid has three potential roles in a group. When in their normal, biped form, they act well as a healer and can give support in the form of buffs and debuffs; they also have limited crowd control against dragons. Their Bear form gives them offensive and defensive power enough to step up to a monster and take the hits (we're looking into aggro management for the form). In Cat form, the Druid becomes a damage dealer. This trio of roles in one class gives the Druid a diverse feel and allows them to perform nearly any role perceived as "needed" in a party. We're not telling you how to play the game - one of the fascinating practices of this genre is the ingenuity exercised by the players every day!
Paladin: Paladins are the consummate knights in shining armor, meant to be in the thick of things. Their defensive abilities allow them to stand toe to toe with monsters and take a beating - they are tanks overall. This is not the sole purpose of a Paladin, of course; their auras, seals, heals and resurrection spells give them the chance to act as a support healer. We're not telling you how to play the game - one of the fascinating practices of this genre is the ingenuity exercised by the players every day!
Ok, apart from the corny last lines, I know what to expect from these classes.
Let's come back to MxO and the question I ask myself a lot: as a Force Multiplier, am I meant to be very survivable, is it intended, is it something that is going to be taken away from me?
All I really know about FM is: it's a Patcher centered around team buffing, I don't know if it's meant to take damage, I don't know what this tree is supposed to be giving me.
I look at my Druid and I know, ok, I'm meant to be a top-notch healer, I lack utility, but if I feel I'm not accomplishing that role, I know there's something wrong.
If one day I log in and I'm paper as a Force Multiplier, I have no clue if they fixed a bug, if they added a bug, if that tree has been "reinvisioned"... I have no vision to test the tree against, no theoretical bar that I'm supposed to reach for roles X, Y, and Z.
Those vision documents have to be around there somewhere guys, why don't you show them to us?