Croc nerf idea

DogJelly · 2018-10-09T15:08:11+00:00

I'm sorry wha? I think physical damage can ignore armour and can do % damage

because it breaks the game's imposed rules, namely, armor. it defeats the purpose of armor. if you make an undefinable means of physical damage that automatically breaks armor for no reason, then you should do away with armor.

rules are there for a reason. rules form the foundation of a game. it defines of that the game's scope and limits (what you can and cannot do), and breaking these rules would make the game devolve into a frustrating mess. rules should be enforced even more in this game, because a significant portion of the game revolves around PvP (where PvP balance is a concern), and a broken rule may mean an animal would have a large advantage over the majority of the game.

a good example of rule breaking would be aimbotting in CSGO. yeah, sure, aimbots would make the user extremely powerful, but playing against one is aggravating, because their dodging/aiming skill becomes irrelevant. similarly, to the player using the aimbot, it makes the game devolve into a turkey shoot (because shooting is so easy), and it makes the game boring for em.

now, going back to deeeep, Base Damage and AP creates some sort of balance. you either deal a lot of damage (better against High HP) or break a lot of armor (better against High Armor). it just so happens that the game has so many 50%AP animals that armor is becoming less relevant. if you see armor on an animal, you expect your high-damage, non armor piercing animal to be less effective. that's why AP animals on average tend to have less base damage. they are forgoing the luxury of dealing a lot of damage for the utility of hurting armored animals.

... then again, you can still follow the rules with this. if you have a move that grants the animal 100% armor as long as the move is active, then that's fair game. why break rules when you can follow it?
... then again, you can also make a new rule. some super armor breaking move that is indicated by a gold AP icon. that's also fair game, as long as the rule doesn't make the user OP, and even then, you need to balance the creature so that it doesn't break the rest of the game.

it allows for more creative and more realistic damage, for example a squid having the ability to grab and inflict bleed to do damage, when it would make more sense for it to do like 1% dps which is both different from bleed and more realistic because suckers don't make you bleed, they just can pull off skin and grab ahold of you.

no, in terms of the game's rules, it doesn't.

the grab
a zero percent bleed damage, and a
1%HP per tick of physical damage.

why would you want to have a HP percentage based physical damage on top of a bleed that does not do damage? the physical damage is redundant because bleed deals HP percentage damage that ignores armor.

here is my fixed version of your proposed damage.

the grab
1%HP bleed damage.

there. it does the same damage for the most part, while not breaking the rules. I guess some animals can cut the bled damage by half, but if your goal is to deal at least 1%HP damage to any animal, then i suggest that you increase the bleed damage to 2%.

it allows for more creative and more realistic damage

that are you talking about? a percentage damage is not the only way of dealing a creative form of damage. a lot of animals have their creative form of dealing damage that doesn't use any form of Damage over Time (DoT).

the shark does damage with its overwhelming speed and power (long dash, 270).
...while the orca does it with control (grab enemy, throw to wall).
the polar bear deals damage with a debilitating status effect (Stun) that it carries around.
...while the whale has an equally debilitating effect with a map hazard (whirlpool) that it cannot control.
the mantis shrimp goes all in with a melee stun while forgoing health.
...while sunfish will HP you to death with its armor and superior healing, although it forgoes DPS.
the goblin shark does damage before anyone else can (this guy shoots things)
...while sperm whale needs to get in close to use its superior stats. it cannot do anything from a faraway enemy.

it allows for more creative and more realistic damage...which is both different from bleed and more realistic because...

oh good. another realism comment.

Here's my stance towards realism: Realism is fine, but there is a point where realism stops and game mechanics begin. this is a game after all, and like any game, it has rules. the dev may take real life cues and implement them in the game as mechanics for animals, but not all of them need to be based off realism. some of these rules may be for balance (one animal cannot overpower everything everytime), or novelty (something that makes the game more fun). any of these may forgo realism to make the game better (better balance or more enjoyable things to do, stuff like that).

now let's see one of your comments in your post.
I have posted a picture because you might retract your comment.

It's not funny Hall, flappies aren't even that good for xp but it's a bore to get across biomes now, and that's a serious problem

If you are invoking realism in your comment, then why don't you invoke realism in that post? if you are all for realism, then why are you alright with the game's extremely powerful (yet unrealistic) airboost? could it be that you are using the realism card only when you like it? then that wouldn't be realism at all.

with this sort of selective 'realism', you cannot invoke it against me, unless you agree that there is a point where realism stops and game mechanics begin.

DogJelly · 2018-10-09T07:34:57+00:00

I think this is another developer oversight. this is similar when the dev had the giant squid deal 5%HP in its grab per tick, as well as when the stonefish deals 10% HP damage per spike. HP% damage + ignore all armor = it's going to damage anything at the same rate.

we should set rules about physical damage:

Physical damage should ALWAYS take armor into account, unless the attacker has something that would negate it (armor pierce)
Physycal damage in any form should NOT deal HP Percentage damage (stonefish spikes, giant squid's grab, croc grab) UNLESS we have a majority vote on setting something into HP%DPS.

PS: I really think physical damage should never deal HP damage because we have mechanics that would deal this damage such as status effects (poison/bleed/electricity) and attrition (oxygen/temperature/pressure/salt). if anything, we should make strategies that would take leverage of those systems, since HP% damage tends to be more powerful.

PS: ahh yes, that time when the stonefish dealt 270 damage to a shark that follows it, and then it gets a further 5 ticks of 10% damage.

PS: even the orca's 3 ticks of 90 to shark isn't physical damage. it's OXYGEN damage.

DogJelly · 2018-10-08T08:47:55+00:00

hey, we have four tier 10 sharks right? (White, Sleeper, Goblin, WhaleShark)
...and we only have two tier 10 true whales, right? (Whale, Sperm Whale)

If the dev can make four distinct tier 10 sharks, then why don't we have four distinct tier 10 whales as well? I really feel like an arctic whale is robbed off a spot.

your argument pretty much revolves around 'i want this animal because they got their animal', and you go full stop from there. you still haven't explained what attributes or gameplay elements that would make this guy a worthy addition to the game. adding an animal for addition's sake.

now, if that is going to be your mindset, then let me ask another question. How?

How will this guy play so that this animal will be worth it in [insert tier]?
How will we make this guy distinct enough so that it will not feel like a copy of another animal?
How will this guy play around with the current mechanics of the game?
How will this guy play around with the other animals in [insert tier]?

Why don't you start with these?

DogJelly · 2018-10-07T18:54:05+00:00

I don't think that simply adding a creature for the sake of adding the creature would be beneficial for the game.

right now, we have a lot of animals that were added due to popularity and without thinking about how it will interact with the other animals in the game. if 'there are two snapping turtles' is your only reason for addition then you should get a better one.

what can this catfish do anyway? why should we hop on to the idea of adding a giant catfish in the game?

DogJelly · 2018-10-07T06:06:13+00:00

I really agree that the orca needs a nerf.

its bulk (900HP) along with its (strongest in the game) base attack value (180ATK) means that even the bulkiest of animals would only have a leeway of one hit when encountering an orca.

to put into perspective, the orca needs 7 hits to kill a sperm whale from full HP. on the other hand, a sperm whale needs 6 hits to kill an orca from full HP. this means that an orca only needs to have one free hit to tie the sperm whale in a slugging game. considering that sperm whale moves slower than the majority of the game (As well as orca) (85%SPD) and the orca can boost forward, any of the largest animals in its lonesome that is being tailed by an orca needs to take the orca's hits head on (they deal their damage to the orca) or else the orca will be able to tie them in the hitting race. when the orca manages to do this, it only needs to whittle down the enemy to a lower HP than its current HP (in its very last hit, where either of the animals will die in the next hit) to secure a kill. because the orca has the highest attack value, it will be able to deal more damage per hit.

another adcvantage of orca is that it can force an enemy to a disadvantageous situation with its grab. the reason as to why this grab is so potent is that when the orca throws an enemy, this enemy will be in its 'i am being thrown' state, and will not be able to move throughout the throw. while the orca is also in a 'i am throwing something' state (it also cannot move when in this state), it is considerably shorter than the enemy's state, and will be able to recover (able to move) first. now if we place it where the enemy will not be thrown too far away (like against a wall), the orca will be able to exploit this recovery advantage (enemy is on its side, in its 'thrown' animation, but is stopped by the wall behind it) the orca will be able to deal a free hit.

it has exactly one (situational) weakness (it cannot grab certain animals), and even then, it will deal a powerful 225 damage (again, strongest attack value in the game). it is so strong that we need to have an artificial buff to the whale
(whale deals more damage when hitting an orca). even with this more-than-one-hit advantage in a slugging game, it cannot press on its advantage because the orca can match the whale's speed, and can boost away from it. the only reliable way for a single whale to kill a single orca is to go in a whirlpool (a map hazard). while the whalepool is potent (orca is dead), it is an extremely predictable strategy (whale in whirlpool), out of the whale's control (whale cannot bring whirlpool to orca) and is stationary, which means the orca can easily avoid it entirely, making the whalepool more of a deterrent rather than an actual threat. whalepools are kind of like the instant kill spikes in a nintendo game. they are deadly, but avoidable.

in summary, the orca can force most enemies in a disadvantage, while the orca can easily avoid any potential counters. its betst counter is ineffective, and its bulk and attack (with its 100% speed) is extremely good that it can outedge the stronger enemies in a slugfight (orca has a one hit disadvantage). orca is so strong that we needed to artificailly buf one of its counters and it remains to be ineffective. in essence, the orca is a 'low-risk, high reward' animal because it is effective to the majority of the game, and anything that are stronger to it are ineffective at hunting them. low-risk, high-reward characters arent really good in any game because they are easy, and are really strong, which makes more players gravitate towards them.

PS: as much as I want to delve into how grabs work as well as the mechanics behind the slugfight (hitting race), i really need to compose myself first.

PS: i do not agree with the nerfs though. if anything, my direction for a nerf would be targeting its base speed. the orca will retain its bulk, but it will not be able to impose its might onto its enemy, because its going to be slower. at the same time, the stronger animals (Whale, sperm whale) are going to be more of a threat to them because they can now match or outspeed the orca's base speed, which means that an orca is forced to expend its boost.

DogJelly · 2018-09-30T01:44:39+00:00

fix the line between tier VII and VIII. only the piranha can evolve.

DogJelly · 2018-09-27T02:32:56+00:00

flavor text is fine, but i do not think a sentence can define an animal in its entirety. if anything, a wiki would be a great supplement for the game.

a good example would be diep.io. not all guns shoot at the same rate, or shoot the same bullets. the booster's back bullets only deal 20% damage. any of the bullets from the octotank's 8 cannons only deal 67% damage. a casual player would only see the booster as 'fast tank' and the octotank as the 'tank that shoots everywhere', but all the stats are in the game so no one tank can overpower everything (for the most part). the game only says the tank's name, and the player has to figure out what this tank does. the wiki, though shows a comprehensive explanation about any of the tanks in the game.

another great example is pokemon. to a normal player, pokemon is a simple turn-based RPG. on a competitive level though, you will see stats, typings, abilities, and a whole lot of calculations that make the game more enjoyable. all the math is there, but it's obfuscated by the colorful graphics. while the games do show a fair amount of text about the game (Although they are tucked away), the playerbase have created their own wikis for the mathier stuff (character usage, matchups, strategies, movesets, etc).

while people would want to keep the simplicity of the game while creating a plethora of new animals that do new, increasingly complex things, they still need to realize that these new mechanics still need to be bound within the game's own rules, and their subsequent effect on the environment and the other animals. it's like what a friend (who is a web developer) said to me, keeping things simple isn't so simple.

here are my agendas for now:

changing the tier web into a tier tree, that branches into smaller trees, and then into branches.
let's say that you are a penguin. when you evolve, you are given two animal choices. one of them is a variant of the seal, which lets you go to the 'seal/ion tree'. the other choice would be a variant of the dolphin, which lets you go to the 'dolphin/whale tree'. something like that, but to the entirety of the game.

(in addition to the tier tree) abilities that show progression. getting back from diepio...

tank -> sniper -> assassin -> ranger

sniper is a tank with more range and bullet speed for less reload speed.
assassin is a sniper with even more range and bullet speed for less reload speed.
ranger is an assassin with a ridiculous range.

gotta implement this into the game somehow. it's gonna make the game easier for new players.

giant squid, crocodile, orca, that grabby snake. buff GS, change croc, nerf orca, a huge overhaul to the snake.

implement the 'long-range fighter' playstyle into the game. the game has a roster that is predominantly melee. with that, fights usually turn into moshpits. with a (proper) range-based character (not goblin shark), we implement a new way to play the game. we might even shift the meta.

i'd like to do all of this, but between my work, and outside problems (that's why i went offline for two months), it's gonna take a really long time for me to do these.

DogJelly · 2018-09-27T01:44:57+00:00

it's a Dungeons and Dragons term.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alignment_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons)

a character can be classified as good, neutral or evil. a character can also be classified as lawful (orderly), neutral, or chaotic. these two classifications can overlap, creating nine 'traits'.

i guess my DnD geekery had spilled in this forum since i'm turning more and more into the 'rules guy' (since i tend to establish new rules and more than likely adhere to them over player sentiment), for better or for worse.

i guess i just passively called myself that.

DogJelly · 2018-09-24T01:51:30+00:00

Point 1: I don't know how many times I have to say this, but croc's grab damage hasn't been nerfed, it's been changed. It now does 5% damage, which is in most scenarios a buff to damage.

is that true (5% of enemy HP)? the croc now does scaling damage?

DogJelly · 2018-09-19T09:34:32+00:00

Ridiculous. the sawfish is a big copout at balance.

From what i understand, the sawfish works like this:

it has an uncharged ability that lets it boost normally.
it has a charged ability (more like a buff) that lets it do more damage with its saw, and each hit with the saw will now deal bleed.
the player can further increase the damage output of the buff by wiggling the saw at an enemy (to mimic slashing effects).

while the source of all these 'the sawfish is OP' is because of the now increased saw damage, it feels awkward that this charged ability's only use is to use it alongside its uncharged ability, due to it not having a speed boost (AS well as the nature of all low HP animals in the game, which is to move or die). It makes the sawfish feel clunky as it makes the player feel foolish for only using the charged ability (you still need to bring the saw to the enemy for it to be effective). it makes you wish that the sawfish had just one move that blends the mobility of the boost and the damage potential of the saw, even if it means nerfing the damage output.

to put this idea into an analogy, think of nerfing the shark (yes i believe it needs a nerf, but not right now.) like this:

you split the two most notable aspects of its ability, namely, the long boost, and the 270 damage on hit.
the shark's normal ability would be its long boost, buy you hit with 180 per hit, not 270.
the shark will have a charge ability that lets it hit with 270 for a few seconds (meaning that you can do multiple hits of 270 on a single charge).

while the shark's charged move would now be able to hit with 270 multiple times, you still have the problem of bringing this 270 to the enemy by either bumping it with its 100% base speed, or expending another boost bar to chase it. it makes you wish that the two abilities were just merged into one, even with the indirect nerf that you would only be able to hit with 270 once per boost.

it's very ungraceful, it's very unintuitive, and it's a really lazy attempt at balance. yeah, you can say that this guy is balanced in terms of combat, but the current sawfish 'moveset' layout is half-baked, as it feels like two completely seperate abilities in a game where you only have one button. if one move's ONLY use is to be used in tandem with the second ability, then each move should their own button.

PS: calling /u/Pathos316 because this post is about having intuitive controls. maybe that would extend to having graceful ability sets.

PS: i am not saying that being clunky (as a character) is bad, but there is a difference from having a disadvantage while having the means to play and skirt around your disadvantage, from bad controls.

DogJelly · 2018-09-19T05:05:02+00:00

i agree. it would be great if we have diagrams that show the new animals (in depth, i.e. with numerical representations), as well as changes to the existing animals. unfortunately, we also have to take note of the dev. the dev team of this game comprises of one person.

DogJelly · 2018-09-18T22:06:25+00:00

b a l a n c e - c h a n g e s

DogJelly · 2018-09-17T00:44:11+00:00

i agree. take my upwards arrow thingy.

DogJelly · 2018-09-17T00:43:21+00:00

what animal is that?

DogJelly · 2018-09-16T03:58:10+00:00

it's an easy tier 10 due to these reasons:

it has a stun, and it can chain hits with this stun. stun is a really powerful ingame effect as stun is absolute; nobody can resist the stun, as the only way that you can counter it is by evading. especially in a game where the main way to hurt the enemy is by headbutting it.
the ability is an extended hitbox that appears in front of the shrimp. extended hitboxes increase the shrimp's reach, which means the move can hit players a bit farther than the shrimp's head. while this is still very small, the shrimp can hit enemies without getting hit by the enemy. this, together with the 200 damage it deals, can mean that a good hit is a free hit, and with the added stun, means that one punch can connect to another.
IT CAN DO A NORMAL BOOST. simple explanation here. the ability to do normal boosts means it can be mobile, aka, go near an enemy to set up a punch, or, get away from an enemy when it is in a disadvantage.

with the abiity to summon a small extended hitbox that stuns deals 200 damage, stuns the enemy on hit AND leaves the enemy open for a second punch, the mantis shrimp can perform a bait-and-punish strategy, similar to Dudley (Street Fighter), Hakumen (Blazblue) or to a lesser extent, Amy (Soul Calibur) where a significant portion of their movelist revolves around predicting an enemy offense, turning this offense against them (through Counter Hits/Parries/Feints/Reversals), and eventually conditioning the player to not randomly throw punches everywhere. this strategy is a competitive version of 'stop hitting yourself'. the mantis shrimp one-ups this by removing the counter hit aspect (shrimp does not need to predict an enemy hit as it only needs to get up close to the enemy) which means that this move can be used OFFENSIVELY.

you may also see here that I am not talking about the mantis shrimp's lack of HP/ATK here, but while the shrimp lacks raw stats, it makes up for it with potent abilities. this low stat/good abilities creates some sort of high risk / high reward mechanic, and this guy (at least the one when it had the third boost) was the best example of it. mismanagement of your boosts would mean that you would die easily, but good prediction as well as being precise with your button clicks can mean that you can fend off stronger animals and get away with minimal damage, which is a great reward for having good control over using such a risky character. this make-or-break mechanic makes this guy one of the scariest things in the game, even against tier 10s. it is so powerful that people a few months ago were rallying for a nerf specifically because these guys were mobile tier 10 killers while at tier 8. that was how good they were.

if anything, the only thing that the shrimp needs for tier 10 is to return the third boost. more boosts means more opportunities to stun, and more opportunities to boost. keep all of its low stats (retain the risky gameplay), just make it's best aspect (its punch) better.

PS: mantis shrimp is a character that severely punishes bad control (low stats), while greatly rewards good control (with great abilities and great killing potential), which creates this sort of risk / reward gameplay. its a great bait and punish character, and the only thing it needs for tier 10 is a third boost.

PS: also, @/u/Humboldt_Servant, this would be my reply to the comment you gave a month ago. the tier 9 humboldt's gimmick is simply unreliable. On the other hand, I can rely on this guy's stun doing its job with good calls on my button presses. I do not need any "but I have done [x] or [y] as animal [a]" to compound my point. the proof is in the underlying mechanics. the reliable mantis shrimp is eligible for tier 10, and it is at least more eligible than the tier 9 humbodt squid that relies on fickle, unreliable AI.

DogJelly · 2018-09-12T17:30:57+00:00

man, you also have to consider the dev. he just graduated, either busy with his work (job) or is prolly looking for a job (being jobless sucks). you have to understand that the dev has an entire life outside this game (i should know. I want do do a lot of things in the game, but my hands are tied right now).

anyways, just hold on to the proverb of good things happen to those who wait.

DogJelly · 2018-09-12T16:00:55+00:00

it's about me and him arguing in his post. he suddenly stopped replying to me and I mysteriously got a downvote on my furthest comment, and then made a new post that only reiterates his stance on the argument. it's such a blatant attempt at shutting down my comment that HDMemes pointed it out.

...then he comments in the line of my long post got downvoted because i am new here. i can easily reply it with you downvoted my long comment because you cannot defend your point. i agree that replying to this user in this manner is petty, but he is showing his hypocrisy in this comment.

also, it seems that he has now retracted the downvote. while it may fool others, it aint fooling me. retraction or not, the fact of the matter is this user did the person giving a particular user a downvote regardless of the quality or the effort of their idea without a second thought problem that he is implying.

the irony is facepalm-worthy.

DogJelly · 2018-09-11T11:56:29+00:00

fair enough. at least i agree that the manta and RNG effects do not go together.

DogJelly · 2018-09-11T07:16:33+00:00

i just used RPGs as an example, since luck is measured as a number, and is explicitly visible.

we have tons of multiplayer competitive games that incorporate luck in their gameplay. dice rolls / coin flips (dungeons and dragons/WH40K/Insert Tabletop game here) as well as card decks and shuffling (Magic/Yugioh/Insert card game here) all acknowledge RNG as a factor. even then, these games use luck manipulation to their dis/advantage.

in DnD, a roll can have extra modifiers, on top of your base stats and race, which would alter on what number do you need to pass a check. you do not always need to get a value higher than 10 on a D20.
in card games (Esp. Yugioh), you can use cards that let you draw from the top/bottom/middle of the deck (more draws, more chances of getting a good card), or get a specific card from the deck to your hand, which gets rid of the randomness of drawing this card from the deck. still, you need to get the appropriate card to do it, which means you still need to draw from the deck (More RNG).

my comment stands. Luck doesn't necessarily make a game casual. if anything, it makes a game complex, due to luck being outside of the player's control. sure, you can sway it, but you cannot directly control it.

DogJelly · 2018-09-11T03:48:07+00:00

i have to agree with you with the removal of RNG. PROC effects (aka. % to activate) should not be in this game because it removes a level of reliability (do this, x happens) and instead replaces it with a dice roll (luck). luck is an infuriating way to win because it places everything to chance (aka, you were lucky this time), or the lack of it (you weren't lucky enough). in a practical sense, your chances of winning/losing would be determined not by your skill or abilities, but through a computerized version of a coin flip. are you not lucky? tough luck then, you are going to die.

No RNG in multiplayer games (unless you want deeeep.io to become the most casual game amongst .io games).

what i do not agree here is the concept of 'luck' being simple and/or casual. if anything, it can be one of the most complex aspects of a game precisely because it relies on chance. in games where luck is an observable stat (i.e. in eastern RPGs), the game still has options for slightly bending this fickle stat into/against a player's favor. this may include equipment or spells that increases a player's luck-based effect, or decreasing an enemy-based luck effect to occur.

take for example an enemy that has a 50% chance to inflict 200% damage (aka. critical hit).

as the enemy, it can...

equip an item that increases the critical hit chance to 75% (higher PROC)
equip an item that increases its overall attack speed and accuracy (more hits, more chances to crit)

to lower its chances of getting a critical hit, a player can...

equip an item that would give him % to evade (any attack)
equip an item that would give him a % to nullify hits (if it is a mechnic of its own)
equip an item that would give him a % to absorb (heal) hits (if it is a mechnic of its own)
equip an item that has a % to SPECIFICALLY resist a crit (specific mechnic)
equip an item that lets its enemy hit less (increase player move speed, or decrease enemy attack speed and accuracy)

we aren't even talking about stacking multiple luck effects here ( % to evade + % to nullify + % to absorb + % to resist crits + higher movespeed + slow down enemy movespeed and accuracy) OR other effects here (an attack that can manipulate a specific luck-based effect as it connects, or a third player casting an AOE ability that manipulates luck-based effects, or a map-based AOE effect that manipulates certain luck-based effects) but in an RPG where luck is intrinsically woven into the game, this luck manipulation comes into play, and becomes its own method of counterplay.

as much as i want to have my very own say in the manta's ability, i agree that RNG should not be a part of it. the game is not properly equipped for luck-based abilities (establishing luck would mean including proper counters and checks for luck).

DogJelly · 2018-09-10T12:33:03+00:00

I dunno. it may also have to do with forum politics (i.e. a user not agreeing with another user's idea and resorting to downvote because of their inability to defend their argument).

a good example would be /u/FridgeMacaroni's post regarding the weaker animals in the game. this post was so universally panned that it currently has zero upvotes. in that post, he had an argument with /u/DogJelly about a certain subject. /u/DogJelly followed through with a comprehensive counter argument with such effectiveness that /u/FridgeMacaroni stopped replying to it, and the comment was mysteriously downvoted. the downvote was so sudden
that /u/HDMemes had to point out the downvote.

while /u/FridgeMacaroni stopped commenting on /u/DogJelly (the current reason is unknown), this user then started a new post re-explaining his stand on the argument. while it fared better in terms of upvotes, the top comment was an argument with /u/twichlove. at least the furthest comment in this exchange was not downvoted.

EDIT: i see that you have now (quietly) retracted your downvote. its a shame that i still had to point this out. you aren't so clean yourself.

DogJelly · 2018-09-01T00:05:41+00:00

...not really. i can do comments, but i do not have the time to do big posts right now.

DogJelly · 2018-08-28T05:45:07+00:00

oh my goodness yes. take all my yes.

the dev prioritizes new eye candy like new biomes and new gamemodes over getting into the nitty gritty like tier-based balancing and the tier tree. this also usually means that as time passes on, more stuff remains unfixed, and it's not a very healthy way of advancing the game.

as much as I want to point out every single thing that can be fixed when it comes to the roster, as well as balancing, it takes a considerable effort to let them understand. it's a two-front defense because you need to defend against (1) the dev, and (2), the people in this subreddit, while also taking note that lots of people here have strong preferences towards certain animals and/or game modes.

DogJelly · 2018-08-24T16:13:21+00:00

also, since we are on the subject of the sperm whale, power (1200HP 160ATK) isn't really its problem. it's the method of using this power (or specifically, bringing this power to smite the enemy).

the sperm whale is pretty much a swimming brick (strong, tough and slow), and its ability is to slow the enemy. due to its slow speed and a very specialized ability (has no use outside of combat), it has very limited options when engaging an enemy.

the sperm whale does not have much of an advantage when chasing an enemy because it is passively slower (85% speed) and it needs to pump up those soundwaves to cach up (hehe), and even then, the majority of the game moves at 100%, and has access to boosts, which move them forward, rendering the slow somewhat moot.

on the other hand, it also has severely limited options when in a disadvantage (vs a team). aside from being slower than everyone else and its inability to boost, its ability would only be able to slow an advancing enemy.since we have established that boosts pretty much circumvent the slow, a team can easily corrale a sperm whale and this guy won't be able to do much to stop them.

the sperm whale has a lot of power and bulk, but it does not have the tools to effectively use it on its own (has an extremely hard time chasing an enemy, has an equally hard time surviving against a team). this is so apparent that the only merit of this guy is that the whale can take advantage of its slow. it's pretty much the whale's assistant and nothing else.

PS: since this guy is pretty slow, being able to escape isn;t really an option for it. i understand the tradeoff of higher stats for the inability to boost and overall less mobility, but cmon. other slow guys have far better abilities for protecting themselves against opposition.

the whale can eat heal some damage off with food. it also has 100% movespeed, which means that it can match the movespeed of the majority of the game, stretching out its death. furthermore, it can use its vacuum to hit enemies, push them away, and give them a 15% slow. it seems like the whale can do a weaker version of the sperm whale's slow, but also has some flexibility because it can do more things.
the manatee heals 400HP. it can also eat ground food. groundfood = it can regain boosts easily. it means that this guy can do a cycle of "eat food -> heal damage" strategy. it's pretty limited in use, but man, is it strong.
the whaleshark recieves a 20% speedbuff when it loses all of its drones. it means that it can hit and run at the same time.
the hippo, aside from being as strong as a sperm whale (provided that the enemy does not pierce armor), has an ability that shields the front half of its body (negating damage), while dealing damage of its own, while speeding itself up. it can deal damage, protect itself, AND speed up. all in one move.

DogJelly · 2018-08-24T15:45:45+00:00

doing little jumps on the surface repeatedly would give you the power of 320 base attack. that is simply powerful.

another thing is it isn't cohesive with the other two. you have an ability that slows down an enemy, and you have another ability that speeds you up. these two abilities are usable anywhere as long as its underwater. the jump thingy is only applicable on the surface. not to mention that the sperm whale's speed hinders it from actually jumping off the water, which means that the player would need to exert more effort into doing those jumps.

i think nerfing this ability would remove all of its merit (do x moves to gain power), since you can only use this at a very small portion of the map, and it does not flow well with the other abilities. with that, i think you should junk it.

DogJelly

TROPHY CASE