2008-03-31, 03:44:26
Linearized Tank Growth
Upgrading the tank you are using is the only strategy in this game. Every other strategy is futile. That is why I am writing this post. I am not saying NEVER buy guns, but I am saying, rushing a tank is the best way to play in EVERY situation obviously getting 1 gun and possibly 2.
Example…~~10000 gold….light tank + 3 fire ball cannon (2 upgraded) VERSUS heavy tank + 1 swarm rocket upgrade….both worth 10000 roughly….winner without knowing anything is…heavy tank because he can instantly kill the light tank and also can farm as well due to having better abilities
This example is true for almost any situation given a better tank versus a smaller tank with more guns. There needs to be some sort of reasoning for spending gold on guns. Currently the ONLY reason to buy guns is the fact that something like an infernal tank requires armor upgrade 15. Currently one of the best strategies available is to rush a Demon Tank because it is fricking rediculous and requires no armor upgrades.
There needs to be some reason to get guns early game, Sure 1 or 2 low level guns is necessary to farm creeps, but past that you should never buy guns. I'm not sure how to tackle this problem except make abilties % based instead of HP based or change the basis of how abilities work. For instance, if the rocket attack abilties that most tanks have were % based instead of damage based...buying guns early would obviously be a viable situation.
My Suggestions (this has not been investigated thuroughly, but does contain SOME thought lol)
I would first like to say this is a very rough idea, and is just meant to maybe give the game editors some ideas on how to tackle this problem. Please do not take these ideas to heart, but comment and criticize.
1) % based attacks
Light tank Missle Attack
L1 -- Does 2% of max hp of target
L2 -- Does 4% of max hp of target
L3 -- Does 6% of max hp of target
L4 -- Does 8% of max hp of target
L5 - Does 10% of max hp of target
Heavy Tank Missle attack
L1 -- Does 4% of max hp of target
L2 -- Does 8% of max hp of target
L3 -- Does 12% of max hp of target
L4 -- Does 16% of max hp of target
L5 - Does 20% of max hp of target
In this case, there is a reason to upgrade to a new tank obviously because your abilities are stronger, but having the better tank does not mean an automatic win. This would place emphasis on buying guns because they are a solution.
2) Change the basic structure of abilities
Instead of everyone having something like 900 dmg + 0.5 second stun (which causes tank upgrades to be necessary because you HAVE to have enough HP to survive this attack), change things to like just a stun, or a 5 second snare to lower movement speed. Every tank having the direct damage ability makes the game very linear, and follow the same path. Not only is this boring, but makes the game have less strategy involvement in your build. There needs to be reason for buying tanks, not just get the best one you can afford. Currently the guard is one of the few tanks that has specific abilities that aren't just about doing damage. Maybe have tanks with more protective abilities like magnetic armor, or more utility stuff like protect from damage abilities (shell).
There just needs to be other motives for buying things other than to have abilities that kill because guns become more useless the more abilites there are like this.
Death Penalties
Part of the reason tank solutions are so viable is there is no death penalty. If someone is actively spending money on buying weapons and has a light tank, there is no pressure on his opponent to buy equipment to combat him. The person saving money knows well that low level kills mean less than high level kills, and he has no large penalty for dying so why not hold out for a huge tank and get those higher level kills? Maybe if he had a fear of death, he would equip himself properly to fight that opponent and not just rush a demon or a heavy tank. Possibly losing whatever his opponent gains would be incentive enough to equip urself properly for combat.
It does not have to be about money though, perhaps just having deaths last longer would be appropriate. Instead of roughly 1 second per level, perhaps it should be 2. Being dead cuts into EXP gain and money gain cause you cannot kill creeps. Either way, there needs to be more emphasis on death penalties in some manner.
Upgrading the tank you are using is the only strategy in this game. Every other strategy is futile. That is why I am writing this post. I am not saying NEVER buy guns, but I am saying, rushing a tank is the best way to play in EVERY situation obviously getting 1 gun and possibly 2.
Example…~~10000 gold….light tank + 3 fire ball cannon (2 upgraded) VERSUS heavy tank + 1 swarm rocket upgrade….both worth 10000 roughly….winner without knowing anything is…heavy tank because he can instantly kill the light tank and also can farm as well due to having better abilities
This example is true for almost any situation given a better tank versus a smaller tank with more guns. There needs to be some sort of reasoning for spending gold on guns. Currently the ONLY reason to buy guns is the fact that something like an infernal tank requires armor upgrade 15. Currently one of the best strategies available is to rush a Demon Tank because it is fricking rediculous and requires no armor upgrades.
There needs to be some reason to get guns early game, Sure 1 or 2 low level guns is necessary to farm creeps, but past that you should never buy guns. I'm not sure how to tackle this problem except make abilties % based instead of HP based or change the basis of how abilities work. For instance, if the rocket attack abilties that most tanks have were % based instead of damage based...buying guns early would obviously be a viable situation.
My Suggestions (this has not been investigated thuroughly, but does contain SOME thought lol)
I would first like to say this is a very rough idea, and is just meant to maybe give the game editors some ideas on how to tackle this problem. Please do not take these ideas to heart, but comment and criticize.
1) % based attacks
Light tank Missle Attack
L1 -- Does 2% of max hp of target
L2 -- Does 4% of max hp of target
L3 -- Does 6% of max hp of target
L4 -- Does 8% of max hp of target
L5 - Does 10% of max hp of target
Heavy Tank Missle attack
L1 -- Does 4% of max hp of target
L2 -- Does 8% of max hp of target
L3 -- Does 12% of max hp of target
L4 -- Does 16% of max hp of target
L5 - Does 20% of max hp of target
In this case, there is a reason to upgrade to a new tank obviously because your abilities are stronger, but having the better tank does not mean an automatic win. This would place emphasis on buying guns because they are a solution.
2) Change the basic structure of abilities
Instead of everyone having something like 900 dmg + 0.5 second stun (which causes tank upgrades to be necessary because you HAVE to have enough HP to survive this attack), change things to like just a stun, or a 5 second snare to lower movement speed. Every tank having the direct damage ability makes the game very linear, and follow the same path. Not only is this boring, but makes the game have less strategy involvement in your build. There needs to be reason for buying tanks, not just get the best one you can afford. Currently the guard is one of the few tanks that has specific abilities that aren't just about doing damage. Maybe have tanks with more protective abilities like magnetic armor, or more utility stuff like protect from damage abilities (shell).
There just needs to be other motives for buying things other than to have abilities that kill because guns become more useless the more abilites there are like this.
Death Penalties
Part of the reason tank solutions are so viable is there is no death penalty. If someone is actively spending money on buying weapons and has a light tank, there is no pressure on his opponent to buy equipment to combat him. The person saving money knows well that low level kills mean less than high level kills, and he has no large penalty for dying so why not hold out for a huge tank and get those higher level kills? Maybe if he had a fear of death, he would equip himself properly to fight that opponent and not just rush a demon or a heavy tank. Possibly losing whatever his opponent gains would be incentive enough to equip urself properly for combat.
It does not have to be about money though, perhaps just having deaths last longer would be appropriate. Instead of roughly 1 second per level, perhaps it should be 2. Being dead cuts into EXP gain and money gain cause you cannot kill creeps. Either way, there needs to be more emphasis on death penalties in some manner.