Battling Dragons NDR - Reality's End

draggy1234, Mar 15, 2008 19:04

Curiosities and Clarifications...and Excitement!

Well...as the subject already indicated, reading this has made me excited for its release! ^_^ Maybe after this update I can have more of a use for the few excess opportunities for my Nidhogg and Ryu to learn stuff (even though they already maxed out their tech lists currently). I think I know which category the Devour tech is likely to fall into. XD Also, added chances for last-ditch attempts in losing battles via Desperate and Wild abilities. YAY!!!

...All right, aside from the above excited and jumbled exclamations, there are a few questions I currently have (and probably more coming later, although I'd imagine the FAQ would end up answering them :p ):

1. Do battles start with both monsters in a sort of "neutral" Aura state, or are their Auras determined initially by their grid setups (i.e. number of each different type of tech/spell)?

2. Is the Aura modifier separate from the Cast/Banish/Arcane/Virtue modifier, or does the Aura take precedence? Take, for example, a holy Nidhogg in a fight (wow O_O). Would that Nidhogg still be taking somewhat decent damage from banishments due to the Arcane/Virtue aspect, or would the Aura issue start making castings more viable?

3. How are Auras affected if, say, both monsters are using holy techs or both are using evil techs on each other? Would each monster's Aura be affected by both its own and its opponent's actions, and therefore be doubly affected?

...Yeah, I know the questions are all related to Auras, but these are right off the top of my head just minutes after reading these news. Nevertheless, I'll be looking forward to this, with curiosity and excitement! :D

THREE WEEKS! ^_^ Reply

MintMan, Mar 15, 2008 23:58

Aura 'n' More...a

Well, the above was meant as an overview. And it was rushed out so that something would happen on the Ides (unless Piecemeal Mage is rushed out ere midnight). I guess I can go into it more here, tho'.

1) Monsters have two auras, Black and White, which are rated from 0 to 30 each. Every level of respective techs slotted (or the battle skills White and Black aura) increase the initial, respective aura by said amount. Thus, if a monster found some way of slotting Holy techs across all bars and grids, it would start with the maxed-out 30 Aura! Using an aura -- either for defense or offense (which is instantaneous and not a choice) reduces the aura's points. Using techs increases an aura, although I cannot remember if it is by the Spell Level or Spell Level Squared. My notes are elsewhere.

2) Aura modifiers and stat modifiers have no precedence; they are taken together. The damage formula now uses them. Before, it looked something like

[ (2*User Arcane + Enemy Virtue)/3 ] : [ Enemy Arcane ]

Now, Arcane and Virtue defend less, whereas before, that was really their primary function (completely used instead of 2/3's used). So, expect something like

[ User Arcane + Magic Aura Bonus (if applicable) ] : [ (Enemy Arcane + Enemy Same Aura - Enemy Opposing Aura)/2 ]

or something like that. Opposite styles for Banishment. Thus, a Holy Nidhogg, if it had no remaining Evil Aura, would have about average defense against banishments.

3) Evil vs Evil (or the opposite) would reduce the enemy's aura, but the increases would keep up their respective auras, so essentially, they would defend against one another. It would be like the old system of casters vs casters. So, no double effective. Dunno where that comes from. Reply

draggy1234, Mar 16, 2008 23:52

More, Please?

Ah, I see, so monsters have two separate Aura amounts instead of a single spectrum from one end to the other like I'd initially thought. I also get the third point now (I'd originally thought that Auras would be reduced only if the monster was hit by the opposite type, due to my interpretation of "opposing magic" and initial view of the Aura system).

A couple more things I'm interested in learning more about (grid-related this time):

EDIT: On looking over the descriptions again, I think I might be misinterpreting the effects. Is the Magic Bar bonus more of an amplifier for Casting/Banishments techs, and therefore subtly different from the Power Bar bonus?

1. Are the Power Bar and Magic Bar damage bonuses typeless for normally non-damaging moves? In these cases, would the extra damage still go through the hit/miss/critical checks?

2. Can the Magic Bar cause both increased Casting and Banishment bonuses at the same time if the monster has a substantial amount in both Auras?

If my questions are getting tiresome, just let me know and I'll be quiet...at least for a while. ^_^' I'll probably end up reading through everything again anyways once they're released. Reply

MintMan, Mar 17, 2008 12:03

Re: More, Please?

Don't mind the questions -- it tells me just what I need to put in the FAQ. I mean, how else could I make an FAQ without ever having received a Q on the new version?

I think you are misunderstanding the Magic Bar's bonus. It is simply an increase the techs typified as good or evil -- that's it. It won't tag extra damage to anything else like the Power Bar. And any amount of aura increases the effects -- the amount of the increase depends on the amount of the respective aura, so yes, both Castings and Banishments could be increased. Think of this as effectively having X more Arcane or Virtue just for having an upped Aura. Thus, a Degen wouldn't suddenly cause Casting (or any other instantaneous) damage to the opponent; it would just degenerate better (and thus have no hit/crit chance).

Power, on the other hand, isn't an increase to the rate of effect but rather a plain ol' plain Attack of small amount tagged onto anything enemy-targeting in the Power Bar. This is an Attack, thus it uses Strength and Defense. This is sort of BD's way of representing the stock RPG's Fight command. Also, this forces Strength to be useful to every monster now (besides the Scare resistance). Before, Strength was the one category a monster could ignore by instead slotting special moves into the Power Bar; Arcane and Virtue were at least used as defenses.

Of course, should a Power Bar have an Attack or Force tech already slotted in it, the bonus Attack would be merged into the damage so that only one hit/crit chance is required. I mean, "Torgo uses Bite. Critical strike! It misses Usagi." What?! Yeah, that whole mess will just be avoided... Reply

draggy1234, Mar 20, 2008 00:02

Re: Re: More, Please?

OK, I think I got all that. ^_^

Four more things come to mind now, if it's not too bothersome:

1. The last part of the bullet point talking about Scare techs has the phrase "until it dies from fright". So, is the Scare status effect like a lesser Degeneration combined with the opponent's reduced damage output? Also, does Scare stack the same way like Degeneration currently does?

2. Can Barriers stack? Also, do Barriers protect the monster from everything (including stat decreases, dispels, degenerations, aura reductions, etc.), or solely from damage? Finally, how can the relative strength of a given Barrier be estimated?

3. Do Feed techs steal life proportionately to the damage done, or by a fixed amount based on the actual Feed tech used?

4. If you don't mind revealing it, is there a sort of life "benchmark" at which Dire abilities become at least as good as similar non-Dire regular techs?

Thanks in advance. :) Reply

MintMan, Mar 20, 2008 10:49: More, More, More... More

1) Scaring actually flat-out damages an opponent. However, the amount an opponent is scared is recorded, and when a scared monster damages its foe, it will cringe (do less damage) but overcomes some of its fear (regains life equal to what it did not cause). So, it isn't like a lesser Degeneration at all; I always thought of it as a reverse-Degeneration -- all of the damage starts there but it ticks away with time. Scaring does stack, and it is also considered a Special tech, so it cannot miss.

Or something like that. Maybe the damage wasn't realized until the inflicter attacked, too. There was a lot of ways for it to work on paper, and some RPG simulations are needed to decide on one. Scaring to death, however, is going to be there.

2) Barriers do stack. Their protection is the same as a Healing, which is the same as damage against an average defense. And yes, they protect against any offensive measure -- damaging or special -- except Dispels (which effect a Barrier the same as they affect any other charm) and Scares.

3) Feed techs don't "steal" life, per se; they just give a better illusion of it than the current method. The current idea is that it is a flat-flat amount of life (equal to damage with average defense and offense at a given SL) multiplied by the percent effectiveness of the attached component. Water Attack against a high-defense Thunder Monster? Little healing. Critical Banishment against a Nidhogg? Lots of healing.

4) Dire abilities become average at 50% life. Their usefulness is a piecewise linear function, starting its increase at 75% life and maxing out somewhere around 10% or 20%. Reply

Afiag, Mar 16, 2008 10:14

Oh frabjous day!

Sweet. This is like an early birthday present for me. New techs will be released, right? You should give us the one-time opportunity to trade in old techs for the newly available ones. Number of swaps correlates to monster level, such as my level 4 monster gets one or none, and my level 20 one gets 3 or 4. Reply

MintMan, Mar 16, 2008 14:12

New Techs

For the most part, techs are going to be changing, thus the reason for this early announcement. For example, a heap of Bennu techs are going to be becoming Desperate/Dire. A list of all changes will prolly be announced.

Since so few new will be released, no such swappitude shall be programmed, especially because of the amount of work needed to do something so little. Reply

Afiag, Mar 16, 2008 22:15

Re: New Techs

That's good then. Reply

draggy1234, Mar 16, 2008 23:53

Bennu's Dilemma

To heal or not to heal? XD

Although I'd imagine that Bennus would still have a plethora of non-Desperate techs to choose from, at any rate. Reply

MintMan, Mar 17, 2008 12:25

Re: Bennu's Dilemma

Well, not really. I'd imagine that probably one-quarter of Bennu's abilities are going to be desperate now. You must remember that it was heavily centered around its own death.

However, another consideration is that it will have Dire Healing techs, which -- needless to say -- will be very useful. 'Bout time BD found something comparable to a stock-RPG Revive spell. Reply

draggy1234, Mar 20, 2008 00:06

Bennu's OPPONENT'S Dilemma

Oh boy...is it likely that someone facing a spectacular active Bennu user, who is properly utilizing these Dire Healing techs, would have to aim for the Bennu eventually hitting the healing cap as opposed to outdamaging the Dire heals? Reply

MintMan, Mar 20, 2008 10:37: Dire Healing TO THE MAX!

Um... no. That would be horrible game design, wouldn't it? The Dire bonus is only 150% or so. It isn't like the things will return to full life or however drastically you're acting.

When the Bennu is best at using its Desperate techs is when it is about to kick the bucket; in order to stay alive, it'd need to use a lot of healing, little of which the Bennu has in any amount greater than SL1. Even if you didn't manage to kill it off because it healed so much, it'd probably heal itself right into a lower Dire bracket, healing less with every heal!

The only way your scenario could happen is if the Bennu user had a ton of Dire Healing, too, and a lot of Dire techs is something very stupid to do since for most of the match, they are worthless (< 100% effectiveness when > 50% life). You need to slot something to use for the first half of the fight (not to mention actual damaging techs). Sure, they'd rock towards the end, but their opponent would barely be scratched, giving them more than enough of an edge to pull off a victory. Reply