CRPG Theory: Singleton/Party Continuum of Strengths[G5]

[Slariton]

G5 has reminded me of an important distinction in CRPG play style that I used to ponder in my younger days. Defensive vs. offensive play style.

 

A party designed for offense aims to be more damage efficient than the enemy. If possibly you kill the enemy before they get to attack. Otherwise, you simply damage them more effectively than they can damage you. Typically, a larger party will be able to do more damage, faster, while still putting enough resources into healing to survive. The weakness of this style is facing strong attacks that take out a normal character in one blow, or that damage everyone at once.

 

A party designed for defense aims to control the battle. Typically this is done through the bottleneck of a single characer. Often a single PC is easier to armor up, easier to buff, and easier to heal. With sufficient defenses, attacks can be executed at leisure. The weakness of this style is facing efficient actual damage that leave the PC unable to both maintain its defenses/health, and attack, in the actions available.

 

The Geneforge series has tended to polarize these two strategies. You can potentially have eight characters with superb attacks; but you only have one character who can buff or heal, and his ability to be armored far outstrips the other characters.

 

* In Geneforge 1, a Shaper with pumped skills could create fresh creations starting above level 50 with all basic stats at 50 or higher, crushing the opposition. Offensive strategy was dominant.

 

* In Geneforge 2, Parry could deflect 95% of nearly all attacks. A solo Guardian could waltz through the game, while a Shaper would have to take pains to protect his creations (newly weak after the engine changes between G1/2). Defensive strategy was dominant.

 

* In Geneforge 3, Vlish could be made so obscenely powerful, for so little investment, that almost any enemy could be destroyed or incapacitated immediately. A Shaper could waltz through the game. Offensive strategy.

* Also in G3, a sufficiently strong Daze could immobilize almost any opposition for several rounds. An Agent with good reserves of Essence and HP could get through the game by reducing every combat to one-on-one with an advantage, or by abusing Speed + Daze to deny the enemy all of its actions. Defensive strategy.

 

A similar dichotomy existed in G4 as well, in much more balanced form. In G5, however, it's a little different. The nerfing of the Speed spell means that for most of the game, singletons can only count on *one* action per round. Combined with the better mind effect resistance many enemies acquired in G4, this makes Daze insufficient on its own to get a singleton through the game. Without manipulating the battlefield frame with tactics like Charm or Acid Shower, the singleton simply cannot reduce incoming damage enough to get by.

 

Offensive strategy, on the other hand, approaches (but does not quite reach) G3 levels. Pumped + levelled up creations blow through everything.

 

Just some thoughts.

[Delicious Vlish]

I just took down my first unbound, at possibly the lowest level I've ever done so.

 

Not even level 30 yet.

 

And you know what? It was easy... On torment.

 

G5 shaping feels like G1 shaping.

[Acky]

Originally Posted By: Slarty

Just some thoughts

Thats all we can ask.

[Slariton]

Originally Posted By: Delicious Vlish

G5 shaping feels like G1 shaping.

Really it's like G3 shaping. In G1, bonus levels from shaping skill gave +1 to each stat per level, which level ups produced only +1 every other level, so levels gained through shaping skill were strictly superior. Also, a shaper could get to 30 shaping skill in no time at all.

 

G5 is like G3, where creation level ups are important and shaping skill is also important, but at closer to the +10 point.

[Randomizer]

If you count item use as a second action to heal or toss a crystal, then you can get effectively two actions per round. This will let you reach the point where as a single character you can armor up to not need to heal each round and the occasional speed second action can now be used to heal. Even with 3 action point boosting items and speed, you aren't guaranteed two full actions per round, but it happens enough times for a single defensive character to work.

 

DV has taken the other extreme with a mob of attacking creations intend on killing the field before they die. Matching the mob so they can survive damage means he can let them swarm over the field without needing to control them to concentrate fire.

[Delicious Vlish]

And swarming is officially a viable strategy. At least, so far. So good. We'll see how long this holds out. When I get higher level creations and a trall or two, I think this will work out well in the end.

 

Pumping strength is useful. It provides a noticeable effect.