Burn wrote:Unless there's a way for a bot to increase it's natural abilities in a natural way to counter a bot with outside forces boosted abilities then I see some people who like to role-play their characters at a disadvantage.
I can see what you're saying Burn, but as far as I understand it, HMW is not a true RPG game. In a true RPG, you're actually playing the role of a character or characters, interacting with other players who are playing the role of their characters, and basing your results on a "game master". HMW is closer to something you get for an Xbox or PS3, and powerups have been a staple of those games since Mario first started eating mushrooms, if not earlier. Again, that's just how I see it, other may have another view.
I have an idea for how Minicons could work in the game:
1. Minicons could be limited by a bot's rank or level. Just as an example, a Minicon upgrade would only be available to those bots who've had their rank upgraded to 5, or reached a level of five.
2. A Minicon upgrade could both help
and handicapp a bot that's bearing one. For example, a bot with a Minicon upgrade could bear two or more weapons, but the weapon with the higher damage ratio wouldn't work unless the Minicon is "powerlinked" with said partner. Using the Armada cartoon as an example, Starscream had three weapons: his sword, a set of laser machine guns in his chest, and the null-laser cannons on his shoulders. The null lasers were arguably the most powerful weapons in his arsenal, but he couldn't use them unless Swindle was powerlinked with him. Same concept here; a bot with a disruptor rifle and a fusion cannon can only use the disruptor unless their Minicon is attached; that can be a problem if their Minicon has been stasis locked.
3. Minicons can be used as autonymous units for their partners, taking pot shots at the enemy for example, or even repairing allies depending on the alt. The only hitch is that the damage they incure is less than that of their partner 'bot, say, 1/3 just to throw out a number. For example, if a Minicon is partnered with a bot with 3 FRP, the Minicon has the invested firepower of 1. The damage they incure on a target is also affected by the opponent's level of armor and endurance.
By the same token, the damage a Minicon can take is also less than the damage that their partner can take and are considered valid targets. Minicons are smaller than the average Transformer, about the size of an average human if one goes by the cartoon, which, while they're a more difficult target to hit, also means they have lighter armor and less endurance, so they take a greater degree of damage. This could be affected by the partner's armor and endurance levels, but always on a smaller scale, like the aforementioned 1/3 ration for their relative firepower.
One issue I can see with autonomy would be that a Minicon could continue fighting even after their partner has been stasis locked. This could be solved by having the Minicon "retreat" if their partner is stasis locked before they are, though the same wouldn't be true if the Minicon is stasis locked first. Since the Minicon is the power up, if your character dies, you "lose" said powerup.
4. The time a Minicon and its partner are "powerlinked" is limited; this can be affected by the main bot's level of Endurance. For example, a bot with 5 END is going to be able to maintain the powerlink longer than a bot with 4 or less END.
5. Going back to the idea of a Minicon as a valid target, players could pay a higher CR cost for a Minicon-equipped character than for a character that's not equipped with a Minicon. Considering that the Minicon would be considered a target along with its partner, any damage it takes would add to the cost of repairs. Just to throw a number out, the cost could be as high as 10% more than the average cost for a bot without a Minicon;
if the Minicon's been stasis locked during the course of the mission.
These of course are just some ideas I had.
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