Adjustments to force storm

[Delmi N'jork]

What about those of us who don't have/want Absorb?

[Phillip Braden]

thats their problem ;D

Dunno, they are in trouble if they don't WANT it.

[Alkur Tekeil]

thats their problem ;D

Dunno, they are in trouble if they don't WANT it.

That really doesn't justify anything, Phillip.

[Mazik Darza]

Then use defense 3?

Or make protect more effective against lightning at higher levels?

[Phillip Braden]

Then use defense 3?

Or make protect more effective against lightning at higher levels?

That fixes the problem there, We know Def 3 helps with lightning, that case is closed I think =D.

Unless you are thick and didn't know that

[Alkur Tekeil]

Then use defense 3? :s

Or make protect more effective against lightning at higher levels?

I haven't seen my SD4 do much against Storm.

And what if I don't have/want Protect either?

[Garik Kelzim]

You don't expect to defend yourself against lightning with only a lightsaber, right? Only very experienced Masters would be able to do that.

[Arendur]

Ravensoft pulled Protect, Absorb, Rage, and Drain out of their gaming rear-ends, yet we totally accept those powers without question.

Dates are when they were used 'outside' of video games.

Protect (1993)
Drain (1991-1992)
Absorb (1998)

Rage was developed first in Jedi Outcast and has since been 'incorporated' into canon. But it did not exist (or was not coined) until then.

Rage

Then there's the good old Dark Forces 2 'Force Destruction' which really hasn't been seen anywhere else (yet that game was developed in-house by Lucas Arts).

Destruction

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Lightning

After reading the above article, I think Absorb 5 'reflecting' instead of just absorbing lightning would be a great deterrent. Similarly, Saber Defense 5 could produce the same result.

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I think the lightsaber defense is a great alternative for those who do not want or have absorb. If Saber Defense 4 isn't showing results, perhaps that should be the change made (to negate lightning while not swinging at Saber Defense 4).

If that also doesn't fit into a character's design, then it is inherit that the character is vulnerable to lightning and would be overcome by a user of it. The issue is how many users there seem to be!

[Alkur Tekeil]

When defending with SD3+ against Storm, your FP depletes faster than the Storm-user's, so, eventually you do get hit.

And its not about the role playing aspects of it, it is a matter of pure game mechanics. There needs to be alternatives to having to super power a power template just to defend against lightning bolts.

[Zeak Dystiny]

Hmm, I didn't notice my Force depleting when defending against it. Something to pay more attention to next time I suppose.

[Arendur]

When defending with SD3+ against Storm, your FP depletes faster than the Storm-user's, so, eventually you do get hit.

Ah I didn't know that. It would only make sense that you could much more easily defend against such a strong power than a user could maintain it.

[Tomoran]

If anybody wants to hop on the server, at any time, when I am on to test storm mechanics in regards to their abilities and how to play against it, I am more than willing. I've gotten a lot of experience in spars with it, both in a diminished state (against lower level knights and in very rare cases students) and all out (against Cyril, Aknaross and a few others, against whom it was almost entirely useless) so if you feel like testing it, please, hop on and ask me.

[Dixo Xan]

hat all noted, you're talking about altering a power to suit your own OOC criteria, and failing to take into account the fact that this is not how it works ICly. The books, the movies, the games ALL have Force Lightning/Storm as a power that can be tapped into instantly, all with the same ease as standard Telekinesis, and requiring only a higher level of concentration and the invariable input of emotional energy keyed with a decent understanding of the Force itself.

Seriously, I'm against this, because you guys have NO IC basis for the change, and are simply asking because you see it the skill as overpowered and/or unnecessary. I note nobody's thought to consider altering Defense 3+ or Absorb to balance the counter to the skill, such as not to render this completely useless by your suggestions, either.

After doing a quick count I have come to that 15/30 JK/JM's have lightning in their template. That is an absurb number. Half out of the teaching body of our academy knows force storm . Decide for yourself if its relevant for this discussion. My thoughts are these, if we are alright with half of the knight population having the ability to cast lightning is it so that everyone can use it instantly, while moving ? I find that highly unrealistic. If you put aside some time to watch the movies you will notice that Dooku in EP2 actually are quite slow to apply his force lightning. Watch this scene, then get back to me. Watch a few scenes with Palpatine, rarely does he instantly cast lighting. Usually there is a short delay in forms of hands raised slowly, etc. Whether this is a 'charge up' is of course debatable. But watch it. At any rate: think a delay/charge up time of 1-2 seconds is perfectly reasonable within canon.

..But... yes, all in all I want to balance the game out. JKA is our platform and it should be balanced. Lightning is not balanced. Lightning is an I-win button that needs reworking. Accepting the fact that HALF of the knight population knows force lightning is it realistic that everyone can use it without any limitations ?


And a final note: Aslyn, during the Yavin evac missions there was complaints on your use of lightning. You were infact knocked down several times during this mission (the times I watched after staying still while casting lightning). If lightning had some limitations to it would you have altered your gameplay ? I know I would. Adjustments to lightning does not equal nerf. [/quote]

[Cyril Feraan]

I have to say that personally I don't have too many problems with Storm as I've always had (since being a Knight) some degree of higher saber defense or absorption.

If approached from a perspective of 'what do I do if I don't have/want these powers', I'm sort of at a loss for what to tell you. For students, you can probably do nothing and should do nothing, you're not going to be able to do much unless you happen to have Defense 3. For Knights, I don't think it's unreasonable to purchase Saber Defense 3 if you're concerned about your own defense. Saber Defense 3 will counter up to Storm 5 at this time in RPmod.

Canon-wise, Storm (or whatever you call it) was much rarer than the percentage who have it within JEDI. Either Jedi knew how to counter it with a lightsaber, physically counter it, or didn't know how at all. We run into this problem moreso because we're actually using it more than in the context of one bad guy on a mission or an extremely experienced Jedi Master.

Perhaps the only two flaws I see at this time are that Storm can knock you down if you're swinging while it hits, and that it drains FP faster from the defender than the user. But blatantly taking these away just risks making Storm a flashy power with no firepower when in reality it should destroy.

I'm open towards slight alterations of the power. It probably should be slightly downgraded in some scenarios, or at least provide for more or better defenses. But also, everyone on both ends of the power could keep in mind what it should be. Trying to make it mainstream is difficult because of its very nature unless we want to radically change the power.

edit: I agree with what Dixo just said -- notice how many people have it and then think about whether this is altering the discussion.

[Tomoran]

Force absorb, also known as Force absorption, Absorb Energy and Dissipate Energy was a Force ability, that enabled the user to absorb energy, in just about any form, and re-channel it to another location/destination, use it to power one's own abilities, or regain one's strength. It was said to be a rare ability among the Jedi.

Cut to over 75% of everybody in the order having force absorb.

End discussion of 'rare' powers being prevalent.