An Agent's future..

[navycut]

You don't know how big of a Burst the devs are talking about. Soldiers can hit insanely high Bursts.. makes sense that Agents can do a high Snipe Shot too. Also details aren't worked out yet, it could be that secondary AS will be much easier to land for example.

Yeah but nerfing AS to the damage (of even a good soldier burst) is a big nerf though, any sort of idea what compensation to that kind of dmg nerf is planned? Or is the compensation with the new shadow prof?

[Lupusceleri]

mawu: Looks good, but like you've said real details (also for other profs) aren't out there yet. So I think we'd be better off with relative numbers, like "two agents make up for one doc in a raid" or "ability to heal a 210 enf tanking an inf mission". Or for SP Enf, that you get 3/4 of the taunting ability the real deal has, along with about 1/2 the absorbing utilities.

Yeah but nerfing AS to the damage (of even a good soldier burst) is a big nerf though, any sort of idea what compensation to that kind of dmg nerf is planned? Or is the compensation with the new shadow prof?

Secondary is the keyword. You keep the AS everyone gets (3s exec time, def check, etc) but along with that you get Snipe Shot. Just like Shades/Adventurers get access SneakAttack + BackStab at the same time.

[zorxer]

Secondary is the keyword. You keep the AS everyone gets (3s exec time, def check, etc) but along with that you get Snipe Shot. Just like Shades/Adventurers get access SneakAttack + BackStab at the same time.

is that secondary gonna have checks then?

[Kinkstaah]

I look forward to having more useless mimics/nanos/actions that I do not use.

[Lupusceleri]

is that secondary gonna have checks then?

No idea, it's still being worked out.

I look forward to having more useless mimics/nanos/actions that I do not use.

Hoping to get it all viable, of course you can have your preferred Mimic but it'll be purely your own choice to stick with only one Prof.

[Ebondevil]

Looks good to me.

Can't help but make the association between Shadow Profession to my suggested Phantom (synonym) Profession. Do I get Epeen for a halfway taken idea?

Ebon has been a huge help in working with us on some of the new ideas for Agents, and quite a few of them have come directly from the various suggestion lists posted through-out the years.

Draw your own conclusions.

[Tlatoani]

You keep the AS everyone gets (3s exec time, def check, etc) but along with that you get Snipe Shot. Just like Shades/Adventurers get access SneakAttack + BackStab at the same time.

Now I am intrigued. Menas said about AS this:

Aimed Shot will likely:

- Become a 3ish second "opener" that can be interrupted by any melee attack. In PVM this will be repeatable without a conceal check (Concealing successfully will likely add bonus damage).
- Damage will likely be increased to account for the additional time it takes to execute and for the vulnerability of the player who has to stand still to execute it.
- Aimed Shot, Full Auto and Sneak Attack will likely share the same cooldown to make it possible to balance between different professions and setups.
- A secondary attack action (on the same timer as AS/FA/SA) with an instant execution time will unlock and scale at specific levels of Aimed Shot skill. Higher investment in AS skill will yield better results.

Never did I read that AS will have a defense check, in fact as the quote suggest I expected the secondary attack (the one with the temporary name: Snipe Shot) to be the one to get the defense check.

Can you confirm that Aimed Shot is in fact getting a defense check? And if you can confirm it, is Snipe Shot getting a defense check too?

[Cyberleet]

• Aimed Shot: Agents exclusively will get access to a secondary Aimed Shot special, sort of like Backstab. Name will probably be Snipe Shot, and it won't deal more damage than a Burst. I have no other details yet, it's a work in progress.
• Ruse of Taren: size reduction and Concealment buff will be separated, and size reduction can be cancelled at will (about 1 NCU for the -size).
• Detaunts: revampage, apparently for all levelling ranges. No details.
• Bailing nanos: they're getting a revamp, again not much details.. especially durations will be changed.
• Damage over Time: they will be "fixed", but noone has a clue how that's going to work out.
• Snares/roots/stuns: shorter duration, faster casting, and they'll finally work in the Shadowlands.

Thats SO awesome!

What do I miss?

1. Agent get perception-itemization, so this is what I miss in the list.
   
2. We got 2 conceal buffs, one for team without shrinkage and additional buffs, and then ruse line. I would like to see both developed further in their own distinctive direction instead of one being practically useless.
   
3. Since detaunts finally gets revamped, then our pvm-damage must be thereof. Shade got none.
   
4. Consentration and Sureshot-line should also get tweaks.
   
5. Will lowbie-agents be able to use their toolset under FP? (Roots, snares, critbuffs, dots).
   
6. Pointless perks (Toxic Shock f.x) getting revamp.
   
7. The nanoline that removes snares and roots on self and target lacks attention.
   
8. Debuffing-abillity getting enhanced, heal-debuff f.x

And of course, there's no upgrades to holograms and similar things here.

It looks like a great step into the right direction tho

Mimic Changes

I think it is great, cause they needed some balancing when they got so effective.

If we wanna excell in FP-abillity without limiting the core-profession then this is a great tradeoff. I guess you were right Lupus, even I got impressed by these changes.

You may only have one stun currently available,

Shame on you! We got 2... nano-stun and perk-stun.

I can't see why our perk-stun should be decreased when you can use a Free Movement.
You know, active fighting vs passive fighting... :>

How about temp-immunity after 1 stun instead? Cause this is a step into making stuns pointless.

PS/

Lupus, the poll-options are a bit unserious. Also, do we like the name "shadow profession".?

[Lupusceleri]

Will lowbie-agents be able to use their toolset under FP? (Roots, snares, critbuffs, dots).

About that: there is talk to make a few Agent nanos check VisualProfession, and vastly improve them, in order to make not FPing at all a viable choice as well. We'll have to see how that works out.

Kintaii told me earlier there will be heavy changes to the nanoinit debuff attached to FP/AP/MP/SP, and that it might even be removed entirely and be compensated for by different debuffs (see the beginning post). Removing the nanoinit debuff is a huge step in the right direction for lowbie Agents, since that's what restricts us to using our FPed casting only in non-combat situations.

Lupus, the poll-options are a bit unserious. Also, do we like the name "shadow profession".?

Actually no, poll options are completely serious. I have seen several Agents state in the past they just want Mimic Doc to be good, and that they don't care at all about the rest. It's essential to know if these changes are good enough to make them reconsider, and if they aren't good enough, to tell us what would need to be changed still.

You've also got to keep in mind Agents will have a very different playstyle if we are no longer solely locked into Doc, having to overhaul your (finished) main's setup to take advantage of the new Mimic stuff isn't a very attractive idea for some of us. Because that's what removing the Doc cookie mold would mean.

As for the name, I find Shadow Profession as good as any but perhaps Ayria's Phantom Profession would be a better fit. Or another name someone comes up with.. as far as I understand nothing's set in stone yet.

[Cyberleet]

Removing the nanoinit debuff is a huge step in the right direction for lowbie Agents, since that's what restricts us to using our FPed casting only in non-combat situations.

It's also great for a more in-charracter IP-scheme.

I have seen several Agents state in the past they just want Mimic Doc to be good,

Was about the wording, I have indeed heard about those agents by now. :>

I find Shadow Profession as good as any.

What is a "shadow profession"?

From an RP point of view the naming doesn't make sense, and lacks debth. Not that it doesn't sound cool.

[Ebondevil]

What is a "shadow profession"?

From an RP point of view the naming doesn't make sense, and lacks debth. Not that it doesn't sound cool.

I may be best to answer that since I kinda slapped the name on it while collecting ideas and passing suggestions along to the devs, at the time I needed a better name to to refer to when compiling ideas for a potentially new 4th level of False/Assume/Mimic Profession. 'Shadow Profession' was a lot easier than saying 'new 4th level of False/Assume/Mimic Profession'

As Lupus mentioned in the OP, the new 4th set will be intended for Endgame agents, which are, at least in my mind, those with Shadowlevels. Shadow Profession makes sense based on that.

From another perspective if you think about when you are shadowing someone you are effectively following closely behind them which also fits with the concealment and deceptive side of Agents. Since Shadow profession is intended to be an upgrade on Mimic, when using Shadow profession we should be even closer behind the profession we would then be Shadowing.

So to my mind it does make sense both from the 'Shadow'lands perspective of endgame Agents, as well as the whole Concealment and Duplication which are key to Agents and the line it will be extending.

I did consider using Ayria's coined 'Phantom profession' when thinking of a name to use in reference, but for the above reasons I felt Shadow profession was more fitting, and it's easier to say you're Shadowing a Doc than saying you're of Phantoming a Doc, though that's minor but people do refer to it.

All in all I felt Shadow was the best Option which is why I used it and it seems the Dev's liked it, though I'm sure they'd love to hear some other ideas.

[Lupusceleri]

Was about the wording, I have indeed heard about those agents by now. :>

So what should be changed then?

What is a "shadow profession"?

From an RP point of view the naming doesn't make sense, and lacks debth. Not that it doesn't sound cool.

Could ask the same about a "False Profession", or "Assume Profession", or "Mimic Profession". I don't see much sense there either, other than Mimic being supposedly the most refined version of a copy-cat.

[Cyberleet]

So what should be changed then?

First of all a more mature wording and I don't think it's just a question about yes, or no either.

Now, that was just a feedback, it's great to see what other thinks of this

Could ask the same about a "False Profession", or "Assume Profession", or "Mimic Profession".

How so, aren't they spot on?

Pretending to be something we're not and assuming their roles.

Shadow profession...
Could replace the word "profession" at least with something else if they want shadow in there.

[Kinkstaah]

I had the idea before any of you likely started the game.
It matters very little what the name of the line is called. All that matters is how much we can complain about how terrible it is.

I see the following happening

1) They are not worth using, or ONE is, and the others are not worth uploading for any kind of gameplay
2) They are ALL viable (or, perhaps, a handful are) and there is no end of whining about how "all you need is agents" in PVM, and PVP. I personally think you should be able to do a raid/whatever with nothing but agents in appropriate mimics. However, I have a feeling the haters will not let that fly.

So I'm going with 1, in the end.

[Szyylin]

First of all a more mature wording and I don't think it's just a question about yes, or no either.

It could be called "Uncle Teddybear's Cauliflower of love" for all i care. There's much more for us and the devs to care about than having cool nano names.

[Cyberleet]

All that matters is how much we can complain about how terrible it is.

All that matters is to ONLY give feedback on what is related to pvp I take it....

As if it is more important

[sultryvoltron]

Basic changes are interesting, that's about where it ends for me.

• Shadow Profession: aside from the existing False, Assume, and Mimic Profession lines there will be Shadow Profession for endgame Agents.
• NanoInit: this particular debuff will be heavily modified on the whole line of nanos, and might even be completely replaced by other debuffs tailored for the Profession you're mimicking.
• Static (de)buffs: there will be static buffs and debuffs attached to each profession you choose to Mimic, for example Mimic NT could give you some %nanodamage and extra MatCrea, at the cost of attack rating. These bonuses scale as you level, until you hit the "upper limit" for your line and pretty much have to move on to the next version to reap higher benefits.

This is so great!

Give me a couple days and I'll kick around a few ideas about what buffs and debuffs should be in place. Also, props to Ayria for PP making it in game!

"Perk" actions: the Devs are looking into tying the Mimic lines together with the Specialization quests, you know, those books you've got to collect to cast certain Shadowlands nanos. Each specialization will mean you get access to another action, provided you're casting the right nano along with it - IE False Profession will get less actions than Shadow Profession, even if you do have the Specializations complete.

These actions will change based on the Profession you choose to Mimic, it could be a DD action but also in the sense of classic perks a defensive option like a heal or evades. Basically this is how we'll get access to nanos, perks, items, et cetera that the Devs don't just want to give us a direct copy of. Basically the thing we've all been hoping for, finally we can compete to a certain degree with the real deal.

That's pretty interesting. I imagine this will work something like Wrath. I'll be interested to test some concrete details on what this will do.

Another plan out there is making it a viable choice to *not* use a Mimic nano, and remain a normal Agent.

This is pretty great news.


Overall, I finally agree. Things are looking good. I'll be happy to play my Agent again instead of my Doc

[Lupusceleri]

1) They are not worth using, or ONE is, and the others are not worth uploading for any kind of gameplay

That's like saying "right now Engineers are the bestest profession, so noone plays anything but Engineers". Or "defense/AR/hp setup is the best setup, so everyone uses that setup".

It's not true. Other professions are played, various ways to setup a toon are used. These things can coexist, and you can choose to switch between them depending on your current situation.

2) They are ALL viable (or, perhaps, a handful are) and there is no end of whining about how "all you need is agents" in PVM, and PVP. I personally think you should be able to do a raid/whatever with nothing but agents in appropriate mimics. However, I have a feeling the haters will not let that fly.

Let them bitch. Sooner or later it'll dawn on them that Agents aren't anywhere near as effective at the jobs as the real deal.

[Esqi]

The rise of the MA agent?

[Kinkstaah]

That's like saying "right now Engineers are the bestest profession, so noone plays anything but Engineers". Or "defense/AR/hp setup is the best setup, so everyone uses that setup".

It's not true. Other professions are played, various ways to setup a toon are used. These things can coexist, and you can choose to switch between them depending on your current situation.

Only mimic doc is used now. 11 others are useless. They may as well not exist. There is no other real alternative.

Let them bitch. Sooner or later it'll dawn on them that Agents aren't anywhere near as effective at the jobs as the real deal.

Exactly, which means these nanos may as well not exist, which will make them useless/not worth using/only 1 worth using, etc.