[0.9.080-PUBLIC#4130] Booster Pack Tune-Up

[Theron]

Booster Pack (Smuggler 11) has fallen somewhat behind with the update to Wing/Jetpack Flight. If Levitation is supposed to be strictly superior to Flight, Booster Pack is strictly inferior.

1. Lift Off lasts indefinitely, Booster Pack lasts 4 turns.
2. Lift Off is free, Booster Pack costs 25 Energy. Levitate is 15.
3. Lift Off doesn't take a turn, which allows the extra shot from Shoot First if used in the first round. Booster Pack only gets it's one 'freebie' shot.
4. Sneak Attack/Aimed Shot vs Grounded targets applies to Wing/Jetpack Flight as well as Booster Pack. Fenoxo has previously indicated this is intentional.

The passive is fine. The active ability just needs something extra to be worth 25 Energy. Especially since a lot of Smugglers will want the Light Jetpack for the +10 (15) Evasion.

 

[Jacques00]

Adjusted for the next release, though some of it may be subject to reversion if there are any related balance issues.

I've nerfed the Lift Off/Landing so that now it will take up a turn each time it is toggled. I think that was supposed to be the intended action, but it hadn't been set up that way and my previous edit had retained that method.

As for Booster Pack, I made it so when that move is used, it will grant a temporary +15 evasion for the duration of the flight. There is already a follow-up attack, so I didn't want to go too crazy with the values. Hopefully that balances things out, but the evasion bonus may be reverted if it ends up being too overpowered.

 

[Theron]

I suspect Lift Off didn't take a turn because Levitate doesn't, and they were implemented about the same time.

+15 Evasion sounds decent-to-overpowered, but is likely to overcap by the time the player gets it. Remember Smugglers get +50% from equipment, +10% from Lucky Breaks and Passive Evasion caps at 50%. A Level 11 Smuggler with nothing has 20%. With the +15% from Booster Pack and Cloak & Dagger (+5% after basic attacks, auto-Level 10), you have 40%. At that point, anything more than +10% will put you over, though you are spending Energy for BP.

There's still an anti-synergy with Shoot First (and a smaller one with Alpha Strike). The optimal sequence is:
1. Shoot normally for the 3 attacks in the first round, and the first shot is normal Accuracy. (Alpha Strike forces Crits, not a hit.)
2. Booster Pack/Lift Off.

 

[Jacques00]

I suspect Lift Off didn't take a turn because Levitate doesn't, and they were implemented about the same time.

For now, the change makes all of them take a turn, which is what I thought it was supposed to be initially but was probably overlooked. Though again, if the team decides that is not the original intent, the changes can be reverted.

+15 Evasion sounds decent-to-overpowered, but is likely to overcap by the time the player gets it.

Yea, I realize the overcapping issue, especially for the Smuggler. I will also bring this to the team's attention.

There's still an anti-synergy with Shoot First (and a smaller one with Alpha Strike).

I will have to defer to Fenoxo for combat-related balancing.

 

[Fenoxo]

Hi, I've talked with J on and off about this while he was working on it, but it was on my to-do pile and got the lucky straw today!

So a fun quirk of percentile math is that the more you have of it, the better a single percentage point of it is. For example, if you have a 0% evade chance, adding +1% evasion chance adds 1%, right? That's a 1% decrease in overall damage taken.

Now lets say we're at 50% evasion and we score another +1% gain to it. We're going from taking 50% of the hits to taking 49% of the hits... which is actually a reduction of 2% of our incoming damage - twice as effective as it is on a less-evasive PC.

Now the smuggler class gets a lot of bonus evasion from feats and is highly encouraged to stack that with gear that also enhances evasion - making that boost from the perk do a lot more damage reduction than the 15% evade does for a psyker. Even if they do gear for evasion, they don't have the passive evasion boosts a smugglebro does.

Additionally, the smuggler's flight functions as an offensive enhancer and "set-up" for the pay-off of aimed shot and the like that increases their damage in the turns that follow - and is also the perk that allows you to get sneak attacks & aimed shots off from flying against non-flyers - so even if the jetpack flight is replaced by a quicker ascending flight, the ability still has value in unlocking sneak/aimed while flying.

In summation:

• Levtiate - Free Action, Costs Energy, +15 Evasion for a less evasive class
• Booster Pack - Action to lift off, costs energy, +10 Evasion, greatly boosts damage against non-flying foes (and does so if flying via other means as well)
• Lift Off (via Wings) - Action to take off, costs nothing, lasts until you land or hit an overpass.
• I think I am going to nudge the base smuggler evasion cap up to 60, but reduce the stealth field evasion cap increase from 40 to 30 (to maintain the 90% evasion cap under stealth field)