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Emergency Power to X
queue38
Member Posts: 158 Arc User
I know a long time ago the DEVs tried to change all the EPtX Boff powers so they weren?t up 100% of the time. It was not well received, but I have been thinking about it lately and what if you could have 100% uptime just not 100% of the time. Yes I know that doesn?t make any senses so let me explain.
!!Warning Many Words Ahead!!
It has always bugged me that we have unlimited emergency power, where does it even come from and if we always have it why not just give it use right away. So here is the first part of my idea:
-New power category ?Emergency Batteries?.
-Emergency Batteries would have a set number of units.
-One unit equals plus 10 power for 5 sec.
Now EPtX powers would be toggle on or off. While off nothing happens but while they are toggled on every 5 seconds it drains some power units form the emergency batteries and give a power boost and buffs.
Now for the cool downs, no one EPtX ability affect another even for the same type. The only cool down will be when you toggle it off that power would have a 5 sec cool down before it can be turned on again(cool down can?t be reduce).
I know some people are screaming power creep in their head as they read this. But let me tell you about the downsides of running 8 Emergency Power to Weapons.
One of the downsides is a limited supply of power units, which I think shouldn?t recharge in combat, when at full impulse, when cloaked, or when any EPtX is being used. They only why you should be able to restore power units is with Auxiliary to Battery.
Now for what the new powers really do (note these are just rough ideas but they center around boosting what you already have)
All the power boosts would be the same
EPt X - Tier I -2 power units plus 20 power for 5 seconds every 5 seconds.
EPt X - Tier II -4 power units plus 40 power for 5 seconds every 5 seconds.
EPt X - Tier III -8 power units plus 80 power for 5 seconds every 5 seconds.
AtB ? Tier I -20 power from Auxiliary for 5 seconds plus 2 power units*
AtB ? Tier II -40 power from Auxiliary for 5 seconds plus 4 power units*
AtB ? Tier III -80 power from Auxiliary for 5 seconds plus 8 power units*
*note if power is less the ?amount the less power units will be added. Current cool downs for AtB would stay the same.
Now plus 80 power is a lot but if say a ship had 100 power units running 2 EPtX III powers will only last 30 seconds before the Emergency Batteries are completely gone. Running 2 EPtX I powers will last about 2 minutes and running 4 will last 1 minute.
So this gives 100% uptime but with a limit. Now for the other things that EPtX do.
EPtW (I/II/III) -10%/-20%/-40% Power Drain from energy weapons ,-1 sec/-2 sec/-4 sec from torpedo/mine cool down.
EPtS (I/II/III) +50%/+100%/+200% Shield regeneration, rebalance, and damage resistance (only the regen and resis you get from the shield power this should help regen shields more. And the rebalance for the 2 second one not TT)
EPtE (I/II/III) +25%/+50%/+100% flight speed and turning. (No more flat bonus only improving what you have)
EPtA (I/II/III) +5/+10/+20 Science skills, +50/+100/+200 Stealth, +2km/+4km/+8km perception radius.
Now for a few related thoughts.
For the few doffs that are +skills when you use EPtX I would just reduce the length .
For the doffs that currently reduce cool down on EPtX I would change them to 5%/10%/15%/20% chance to reduce power unit drain by 33% so if 3 triggered there would be no drain.
Should the Emergency Batteries be an item you put on your ship or nature ability?
Should different ship classes get different power unit caps?
Should the Emergency Batteries be affected by power drain ability?s?
Should Engineering Captain powers like EPS Power Transfer or Nadion Inversion affect Emergency Batteries in some way?
!!Warning Many Words Ahead!!
It has always bugged me that we have unlimited emergency power, where does it even come from and if we always have it why not just give it use right away. So here is the first part of my idea:
-New power category ?Emergency Batteries?.
-Emergency Batteries would have a set number of units.
-One unit equals plus 10 power for 5 sec.
Now EPtX powers would be toggle on or off. While off nothing happens but while they are toggled on every 5 seconds it drains some power units form the emergency batteries and give a power boost and buffs.
Now for the cool downs, no one EPtX ability affect another even for the same type. The only cool down will be when you toggle it off that power would have a 5 sec cool down before it can be turned on again(cool down can?t be reduce).
I know some people are screaming power creep in their head as they read this. But let me tell you about the downsides of running 8 Emergency Power to Weapons.
One of the downsides is a limited supply of power units, which I think shouldn?t recharge in combat, when at full impulse, when cloaked, or when any EPtX is being used. They only why you should be able to restore power units is with Auxiliary to Battery.
Now for what the new powers really do (note these are just rough ideas but they center around boosting what you already have)
All the power boosts would be the same
EPt X - Tier I -2 power units plus 20 power for 5 seconds every 5 seconds.
EPt X - Tier II -4 power units plus 40 power for 5 seconds every 5 seconds.
EPt X - Tier III -8 power units plus 80 power for 5 seconds every 5 seconds.
AtB ? Tier I -20 power from Auxiliary for 5 seconds plus 2 power units*
AtB ? Tier II -40 power from Auxiliary for 5 seconds plus 4 power units*
AtB ? Tier III -80 power from Auxiliary for 5 seconds plus 8 power units*
*note if power is less the ?amount the less power units will be added. Current cool downs for AtB would stay the same.
Now plus 80 power is a lot but if say a ship had 100 power units running 2 EPtX III powers will only last 30 seconds before the Emergency Batteries are completely gone. Running 2 EPtX I powers will last about 2 minutes and running 4 will last 1 minute.
So this gives 100% uptime but with a limit. Now for the other things that EPtX do.
EPtW (I/II/III) -10%/-20%/-40% Power Drain from energy weapons ,-1 sec/-2 sec/-4 sec from torpedo/mine cool down.
EPtS (I/II/III) +50%/+100%/+200% Shield regeneration, rebalance, and damage resistance (only the regen and resis you get from the shield power this should help regen shields more. And the rebalance for the 2 second one not TT)
EPtE (I/II/III) +25%/+50%/+100% flight speed and turning. (No more flat bonus only improving what you have)
EPtA (I/II/III) +5/+10/+20 Science skills, +50/+100/+200 Stealth, +2km/+4km/+8km perception radius.
Now for a few related thoughts.
For the few doffs that are +skills when you use EPtX I would just reduce the length .
For the doffs that currently reduce cool down on EPtX I would change them to 5%/10%/15%/20% chance to reduce power unit drain by 33% so if 3 triggered there would be no drain.
Should the Emergency Batteries be an item you put on your ship or nature ability?
Should different ship classes get different power unit caps?
Should the Emergency Batteries be affected by power drain ability?s?
Should Engineering Captain powers like EPS Power Transfer or Nadion Inversion affect Emergency Batteries in some way?
I am @allenlabarge in game 
Post edited by queue38 on
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Comments
The problem with having a system whereby EPtS can't be maintained full time is that everyone will get demolished in elite STFs, that's not fun, there was a time back along where this wouldn't have been the result but it is now.
well yes and no. running one EPtS would last 4 minutes even longer if doffs are used. and ELITE STF's should demolish most people that would make them, I don't know Elite!
but to your main point it would hurt people some but also add new depth to the game like should I use this now or later.
Hmm, I still say that removing resistances or increasing mob damage is the wrong way to go about elite content, it should be based on actually playing against the AI requiring thought on the part of the player to achieve progress.
I'm still looking for a loophole in the system to buy me two EPtX skills at full uptime... looks like it would have to be an A2B setup... I hate A2B...
AI improvement would be better.
Are the Doffs for reducing EPtX not enough for you? I know its not 100% uptime but 90% some is still good.
2x purple damage control engineer doofs.
As to the OP, you're just misguided. Especially when you say elite stfs SHOULD demolish people. Pfft. This game already 1-shots anybody anytime anywhere. It's stupidly monolithic. It should NOT demolish you. Yes, you should be able to lose STFs and yes they should be a challenge, but at no point should you EVER be "killed" in an elite STF. That's a sign that you have lost. Period. Andthat the nature of NPCs lately has been "you have to die 100x before you even get a 1 in 100 shot of winning this" is idiotic. Not even STFs but all NPCs, from paehos crater caves tholians to hive ground and hive space, to the idiotic voth 100% shield penetration, 1.4k firing distances, breaking all the rules on what they can and can't do to you, etc.
There are many things this game needs. A total re-do of the entire NPC structure is one of them. Making STFs harder is NOT one of them.
Misguided no my dumb idea misunderstood yes. the main point of my idea wasn't just to make it hard. yes I said Elite STF's should be hard but that was a reply to what someone said.
my idea was to make the EPtX powers better but have limited up time as a way to help with power creep and add depth to the game. This change would have much more impact on PVP then PVE.
As for the changes, well - the Devs did improve the EPtX abilities when they made the changes. IIRC, the process went something like this...
EPtX abilities buffed! 100% uptime removed to balance the buffing! FORUM RAGE! Increased buffage! FORUM RAGE! continued over 100% uptime! 100% uptime once again!
Something like that - the thread might still be there in the Tribble forums. Was quite the heinous battle going on in that thread...
Basically, there would be FORUM RAGE! about anything perceived as a nerf even if the ability were buffed...likely resulting in them being even more powerful/required.
STO is an extremely casual game - while there are some folks that use the power creep to reach higher and higher pinnacles of ludicrous madness...the reality of the situation is that the power creep is actually a case of lowering the bar so that even more casual players are able to do things the previous generation of casual players don't give a second thought.
05-02-2013, 06:01 PM
Further upcoming EPtX tweaks
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=651071
04-27-2013, 08:35 PM
A plea for Adjudicatorhawk and any other Dev working on EPtX powers
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=643611
04-14-2013, 08:45 AM
New EPTx version (4.14.2013) Forces Cruisers into EPTS 1
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=619891
04-13-2013, 09:01 PM
If you really want to overhaul emergency power, here's an alternative
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=619411
04-12-2013, 04:27 PM
TRIBBLE Maintenance and Release Notes - April 12, 2013
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=618301
04-10-2013, 04:26 PM
[Legacy of Romulus] Emergency Power to X being updated on Tribble
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=615701
04-10-2013, 03:31 PM
TRIBBLE Maintenance and Release Notes - April 10, 2013
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=615651
Which would have severely neutered cruisers but left things like escorts and raiders in a great position for hit and run styles of play.
It is through repetition that we learn our weakness.
A master with a stone is better than a novice with a sword.
Has damage got out of control?
This is the last thing I will post.
EPtX (and sometimes Y) is shorthand for the collective EPtA, EPtE, EPtS, & EPtW. Where the X (and sometimes Y) represents the A, E, S, or W...much like A represents Auxiliary, E represents Engine, S represents Shields, and W represents Weapons.
I am Il Shadow and i approve these Shennanigans!
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]