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Okay, time to dump my ideas that had just been sitting around in an inactive usergroup forum (for the curious, it's called the Megaman Battle Network Evolution Wishgroup) at Capcom Unity for the past year.
Regarding Charged Attacks Alright, regarding charged attacks...
To be fair, in 2-3, the charged attacks were quite well balanced. Each of the elemental charged attacks from the various styles had clear advantages and disadvantages to using them. - Heat had decent range and dealt the most damage in a single hit, but using it pins you to the spot for about a second. - Wood dealt the most damage total and could stun non-SuperArmor wearing bosses for about a half-second afterwards, but it was inaccurate. - Aqua charged the fastest and did not have any range limitations, but the damage is not that great. - Elec can paralyze the target and did not have any range limitations, but it takes quite long to charge up and deals the least damage out of them all.
By the time the Soul/Cross system replaced the Style system though... Charged attacks were no longer really balanced, and most, if not all, were aimed at causing damage rather than inflicting status effects. It soon became very clear that certain Souls/Crosses had their charged attacks deal damage -much- better than others. Compare much of the Gregar crosses (especially Elec, Erase, and Slash - especially Slash) compared to just about every other Soul/Cross (especially those from Falzar), for example.
Also, some may feel that being forced into doing one specific charged attack is limiting. So, for the sake of variety, I'm thinking that there should be at least two types of charged attacks for each form. For example...
(The first attack for all of the forms listed below already exists in the games. The second one obviously does not.)
Normal - Charged Buster attack. You all know what this does. Does not cause the target to flinch. - Charged Sword attack. Charges at the same speed as the first and deals about three times more damage, but it will only hit a target directly in front of you.
Tomhawk Cross: - 2x3 Axe Slash attack. This does not cause the target to flinch. - The ability to toss your axe three panels forward, in a Yo-Yo type attack. This one charges 1.5 times slower, but deals about 50% more damage (total, this can hit your target twice).
Aqua Cross: - Bubbler attack. This charges very quickly, does not flinch, and does not have a range limitation, but the attack power is quite weak. - Aqua Blade attack. This takes about two times longer to charge, and results in a Aqua-type Longsword attack that deals three times more damage than the first.
(Here are examples of charged attacks from possible future forms for a better idea of what I mean, at least in the balance and variety sense.)
"Elec" Form: - A magnet-style attack that pulls everything on your target's side of the field to the front row. - A slow-moving attack that can follow your target, pierce Invis, and inflict paralysis. This takes about an additional second to charge compared to the first, but inflicts more damage. Think Magnetman's orb attack (in the sense that it only tracks down your target if the target is anywhere in the rows in front, not all directions like the Thunder chips), and you have the general idea on what this is like.
"Aqua" Form: - An Aquawhirl-style attack strikes everything around you. If this hits any of your targets, the panels in which they are standing on will turn into Water or Ice panels (if both types of panels exist in the game, then Water). - An attack is launched that strikes everything on your opponents side of the field that is on the same column that you are facing. All targets affected are frozen or trapped in a bubble (which one depends on what the other attack does in regards to panels). This deals about 3 times less damage than the first, and takes about 2 times longer to charge.
"Wind" Form: - A Windrack-style attack that forces everything on your target's side of the field towards the back row. It does not flinch. - A Tornado-type attack is generated on all three panels forward. The tornadoes strike four times, and cause the same amount of damage total as the first. The fourth hit flinches. The tornadoes act like regular tornadoes in regards to attack bonuses from certain types of panels. However, this attack takes about 1.5 times longer to charge.
"Fire" Form: - A bomb is tossed three panels ahead that results in inflicting damage on everything in surrounding panels in a + shape (Think Cross Bomb from EXE 1 and 2). This attack flinches. - A Fire-Arm style attack is launched that affects all three panels ahead of you. This can pierce Invis, but this attack also flinches. If this strikes your target, it blinds them. There is a 0.3 second delay between letting go of the button and the attack being launched. This inflicts about 40% less damage and takes about 30% longer to charge.
What charged attack you want to use can be switched during battle in the custom screen. If they ever find a way to have both be used during combat (like having two different buttons for charged attacks, or pressing a button to switch charged attacks), then that would be even better.
"Active Defense" armor system and new NaviCust programs Alright, so you know how in Star Force, you could equip different types of busters with varying stats? And in Battle Network 1, you had different kinds of armors that reduced elemental damage. Everything involving the busters will be left to the Navi Customizer - it's the armors that that I have been thinking about.
Think of this system as another layer of customization specializing in "Active Defense". - Active Defense consists of defenses that can trigger each time you get hit.
The Navi Customizer specializes in "Passive Defense and Abilities". They consist of: - Defenses that are triggered at the beginning of battle such as Barrier. - Defenses that require a button combination such as Shield and Reflect. - Non-defensive upgrades that are always present such as buster improvements, custom+ slots, and increases to HP. - Defenses that activate under special user-specific circumstances like UnderShirt.
For the purposes of this system, SuperArmor should no longer be a Navi Customizer program. Instead, it should become an Armor Part.
The Armor system will be a bit more straightforward compared to the Navi Customizer. The only thing that dictates which combination of armor parts you can equip at the same time is how much MB you have, and whether or not certain armor parts can be equipped with certain others. (I was thinking that MB should be given another use besides setting up a Regular Chip.)
- Like with certain parts in the Navi Customizer, it is possible to compress some of the Armors below, reducing the amount of MB taken up by 5. - The only parts that cannot be compressed are the ones listed in the "Other Armor" section. - If we're going by the usual EXE MB system, the max MB you can have is 50.
- Different armor parts that are listed in the same category cannot be equipped with each other. - For example, you cannot equip two different kinds of "Elemental Armor" at the same time. - The only armor parts that are exempt from this rule are those listed in the "Other Armor" section.
Here are a few armor parts that I made up to help demonstrate:
Elemental Armor - 20 MB: -- All Elemental armors reduce damage taken from the listed element by 50%. However, if struck by an attack that the listed element has a weakness against, you will take double damage. The effects of these armor parts will not be active when transformed. - Fire Armor - Aqua Armor - Wood Armor - Elec Armor - Armor Pierce Elemental (NaviCust Program): If the target is wearing an armor part that would normally reduce the effectiveness of your elemental attack, the attack will break through and cause full damage.
Attribute Armor - 20 MB: -- This is pretty much the same as Elemental Armor, but for the EXE 6 attribute chain instead. - Blade Deflection: Reduces Sword Damage taken by 50%. - Stone Wall: Reduces Wind Damage taken by 50%. - Diamond Shield: Reduces Cursor Damage taken by 50%. - Ghost Form: Reduces Breaking Damage taken by 50%. - Armor Pierce Attribute (NaviCust Program): If the target is wearing an armor part that would normally reduce the effectiveness of your physical attack, the attack will break through and cause full damage.
Status Armor - 15 MB: -- All of the Status Armors prevent you from being affected by the listed status condition. This does not mean that it is impossible to be affected by that status conditon, as status effects from attacks that have a "Status Pierce" effect can still affect you. - Steady Armor: Protects you from being Paralyzed. Note that this does not protect you from paralysis caused by being counterattacked. - Shade Armor: Protects you from being Blinded. - Clear Armor: Protects you from being Confused. - Slick Armor: Protects you from being Trapped. You may still take damage from Trap effects depending on what the Trap does, however. - Status Pierce (NaviCust Program): If the target is wearing an armor part that would normally negate the status effect from your attack from taking place, the status effect will break through their armor and affect them.
Think of "Trap" effects as being caused by an attack that pins you to one spot. Magnet Bombs in EXE 2 just pinned you to the spot. Vines in EXE 3 not only pinned you, but they also prevented you from doing anything while you took damage over time.
(One can argue that time-freezing attacks always have a trap effect associated with them since you cannot move - but since your opponent and the custom bar does not move as well, the Slick Armor will do nothing in this case.)
Other Armor - Varying MB: -- Again, Armor in this category cannot be compressed. However, you can equip different kinds of armor within this category at the same time. - Status Guard (40 MB): Protects you from all Status effects, except for those effects associated with "Status Pierce" attacks. - Mirror Wall (30 MB): If an attack inflicts a status effect on the user, then the enemy who launched that attack will be inflicted with the status effect too (unless the enemy is using the armor part that blocks it). This does not apply to Trap effects. Using this armor part automatically unequips any Status Armor. - Fierce Will (15 MB): This armor protects you from losing Full Synchro if you are attacked, assuming that the attack does not inflict a status effect on you. - Super Armor (20 MB): Prevents you from being stunned, assuming that the attack does not have a Paralysis or Trap Damage effect associated with it that isn't blocked by other armor that you are using. - Solid Stance (10 MB): Protects you from knockback or being pulled forward.
If you become affected by a NaviCust bug that conflicts with the effects of a specific armor part, a message will pop up upon leaving the NaviCust menu saying that the armor has been unequipped due to incompatability. If you try to equip an armor part that conflicts with a currently existing NaviCust bug, you will not be allowed to save your armor settings.
Job Request Board Revamp Do you guys remember the job request system in EXE 6? The one with the request points and the point/ranking system? Scrap that system or completely overhaul/balance it.
It seemed very poorly thought out (and very annoying to see) when a significant amount of the job request missions that appeared in the first half of the game could not be done because you needed because you needed to be in the second rank or higher. You needed to do 10 first rank requests in order to gain access to the second rank - and the earliest that enough 1st rank missions showed up for you to get to 2nd rank was around the Elementman scenario, if I remember correctly. That's about 70% through the game already.
By the time you are able to access the second rank requests by doing enough first rank missions, there really was no point in implementing such a system anymore because:
1: There was a ridiculous amount of second and third rank missions to the point in which doing about half of them would take you straight to 5th rank in no time at all. The system loses much of its meaning after the inital 1st->2nd hurdle.
2: You only needed 10 points to gain access to each higher rank requests. The way the points were distributed is extremely imbalanced. 10 1st rank requests to get to the 2nd rank, 5 2nd rank requests to get to the third rank, 3-4 3rd rank requests to get to 4th, and so on until the 5th rank requests that are unlocked in the post-game.
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A lot of the job requests in the EXE games so far are generally optional, boring fetch quests, and a lot of them aren't even worth doing other than for the completionist's sake.
I think they should be kept optional - but at least improve how they are designed so that people don't end up asking themselves why they are doing this other than for things they might not use and for 100% completion.
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Here are a few examples of a few job requests, to give everyone an idea of what request system I have been thinking about. I will be making up the areas in those requests. You will still only be able to take one request at a time, and there should be special rules put into place.
The template for requests in list form is as follows:
(Request ID#) - (Request Name) - (Request Types)
When you select a request for specific information, you will see something like this:
(Request ID#) - (Request Name) (Request Types - Chip Trade, Delivery, Virus Busting, and/or Other) (Request Description) - (Name of Requestor) (Location of Requestor) - (Internet/Real World) "Accept this Request?" >Yes or >No
What the Request Types mean: Chip Trade: Self-explanatory. Delivery: This mostly involves either talking to the requestor first and delivering something to someone else, or finding and delivering something to someone else first and talking to the requestor afterwards. You might not even meet the requestor in some of these requests, as the requestor might e-mail the delivery item - and later your reward - to you. Combat: Self-explanatory. In some of these requests, you might never meet the requestor personally, as the requestor might opt to call you through the phone and e-mail your reward to you. Other: Usually a combination of all of the above, or something entirely different. The majority of the few Other requests should have multiple phases. Some of them may even take as long as completing a main story scenario, and some may even include areas not available by just playing through the main story. The majority of the Other requests tend to form a story with previous requests, and also tend to have a reward other than battlechips and upgrades, such as opening up shortcuts in various parts of the internet.
Special rule - Chip Trade Request: Upon attempting to accept this request, the game should check your pack to see if you already have the battlechip. If you don't have it, you can't take the request. If you do have it, the game places a blue border around the battlechip that 'locks' it so that you cannot lose it by suddenly tossing it into the chip trader. This does not apply to sudden trade requests within the requests in the Other category.
Special rule - General: If you have never been to the location where the Requestor is at (or the location where the Requestor is asking you to go to), you cannot take the request. This does not apply to requests in the Other category or job requests where the location is not specified. Now, you're probably wondering why a request would ever show up involving areas that you cannot access - you'll see why in my examples later on.
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[The below is what the job request board should look like when you first gain access to it. For example purposes, there are four beginning requests. Again, they are all examples and are generally made up stuff.]
01 - Help with being a Medic! - Chip Trade 03 - And they're like, wanna trade? - Delivery 04 - A Problem with ACDC's Server - Combat 11 - Viruses stole my bike! - Combat
Now, you're probably wondering why there are gaps in the request ID numbers. This is because some of the job requests are chained - completing the first job request in the chain unlocks the second job request. Sometimes, the next job request in the chain will appear immediately after clearing the current request, but those might not be able to be taken depending on whether or not you have gained access to the area involved in the request. Other times, the next request will not appear until after you have cleared a specific main story scenario.
In my made-up job requests, request number 4 is involved in a very long request chain, with the last request being made available during the post-game. About 4 of the 7 quests in the chain are listed as 'Other' quests. I'll list the full description of all requests in the entire chain, if you guys are interested.
Why is there a special rule about having to have visited areas before taking the request? Each request, save for 05 and 07, all appear immediately after clearing the previous. So if you're trying to do each request as soon as possible, 05, 07, and 10 will involve areas that you do not have access to until clearing parts of the main story scenario.
Request 04 - A Problem with ACDC's Server Combat - ACDC Area 2 Last night, there was a virus attack on the server that held surveillance data monitoring the ACDC Areas. The daytime data from last week was stolen, and backup data destroyed - and we have reason to believe that another attack will be launched very soon for the nightime data as well. Can anyone help us defend the server? - Mr. Famous' Navi
Upon taking the request, Mr. Famous e-mails you the key data that allows you to go through the firewall protecting the server. The above request introduces you to the contest winner of the year's Create-A-Character contest. You have a chance to fight/him her while doing the request (the reward from this battle is only Zenny), but that's not what the 'Combat' part is for. You and Mr. Famous' Navi will end up being ambushed by viruses (3 fights in a row). The reward is the V1 battlechip of Mr. Famous' Navi.
Request 05 - Security Alert Other - Green Area 2 Rockman! I'm sure you and your operator are interested in finding out who launched those virus attacks. We don't know yet... But the surveillance data from the last attack showed that whoever launched those viruses did not come from the road where the firewall was placed. The viruses either found a way around the firewall without the surveillance picking them up, or gained entry from the real world. Only someone from SciLab would know where the servers are located in the real world. Rockman, while us Officials are doing an investigation, I need you to pick up some data from the Green Area server - and defend it if it gets attacked - as their surveillance picked up suspicious activity during the past few days. - Mr. Famous' Navi
Upon taking the request, Mr. Famous e-mails you the key data for the firewall to the server in Green Area. In Green Area, a mysterious Navi appears for a brief second before sending viruses at you. Rockman e-mails Mr. Famous and tells him about the attack afterwards. You get attacked two more times on your way to the Green Area server. During the last attack, the mysterious Navi drops something. (Rockman mentions that this appears to belong to a certain other Navi working for SciLab that you have already met in an earlier main story scenario.)
Mr. Famous' Navi arrives right as you are about to get attacked again at the firewall to the Green Area server, and defeats the viruses for you. Your reward, after delivering the data to the Green Area server, is a Reg Mem Up, an Anti-category type battlechip, and Mr. Famous' Navi will remain at the Green Area server should you want to challenge him/her to a fight.
(I never really finished this...)
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