Hey everyone. I want to have a brainstorming session on character development. Specifically, protoss characters. Int the past, I've never been worried about protoss characters being 'under tuned'. Them being too powerful has always been the concern. However, I have been making lots of NPCs and test characters recently, and have found some room for alarm with high level protoss.
There has undoubtedly been a little power creep the last few months in regards to PCs. This isn't unintentional; I've been wanting higher level characters to be able to make a bigger impact in the game, and be less of a wind-shield splatter against the levels 20+ creatures and vehicles.
Terrans have received a massive number of additional specializations, including the very powerful master specializations. More recently, infested terrans gain directives as the level up as well. Terran are getting a ton of new options in the nearly-completed Advanced Terran Training Manual, and there is early work on Advanced Directives for the ITs in the next zerg book. But what about protoss?
Protoss gain next-to-no skill focuses, lack weapon and armor upgrades, and have a static number of augmentation crystals they can benefit from. They recently received their first few renown classes in Dominion Intel Briefing, but these classes are not exactly super-powered compared to their regular classes (just new options). What protoss do have, however, is overwhelming psionic power. This has always been what they have fallen back on.
However, now terrans and zerg are catching up in psionic prowess. Terrans will have no rules for ghost characters, heavy psionic specializations of all kinds, and spectre rules. It is now easier to get an infested terran with extreme psionic prowess with the directive change, and that is BEFORE the advanced directives. With all that, what leg to the protoss have to stand on?
Granted, protoss still do have A LOT of power from their classes. I don't want to imply that they are just bad right now. They are certainly not. But could they stand to be better.
The change I am proposing is to give protoss skill focuses once they complete a class. Whenever a class is finished, the character will be given a choice of a skill focus between 3-4 skills important to the class. For example, finishing Psychic Warrior might give you the option of a skill focus in Defensive Training, Durability, or Melee. This allows protoss characters to have numbers closer to match those that terrans have, while allowing terrans to still be the overall masters of skill focus.
What are your thoughts? Good idea or bad? Discuss!
So to an extent that is kinda what this does -- by giving focus skills that allows them to focus their skills more in what is best for their class(es), but they don't get as many skill points per purchase as terrans, so they wont usually be as well-rounded.
That sounds decent from a balance-only standpoint, but my image of the protoss has mostly been very strong at what they do but with much less versatility than terrain or zerg. I'm not exactly sure how to translate that in terms of balance, but I think the best way to emulatr that would be to have less skill but more strength in what they do.
It sounds like it makes sense but the one protoss player I've had only played for the very first session then he couldn't make the game anymore so i have not gotten to test any protoss PCs. The skills seem to carry a lot of weight in the game's systems so this might be pretty awesome for them.