Entertainer Class proposal

They said long ago this game was going to be about combat.

SWG was another game for another time, let it go (or play it on the private servers they still run)

If they are full-on part of the SIS, or so on, than why not make it an Operative class? Make the person an Operative disguised as an entertainer, rather than entertainer doing Operative work on the side.
It provides more options, not just mechanically but narrativly.

True, it's not subtle, but it doesn't need to be, and more to point, Star Wars is very seldom about subtlety. You said that the entertainer can get places the other character can't.
I stand that a team of soldiers can get anywhere they want.
And by the way, they are actually all soldiers. Every one of them (Minus 4X) has an alliance rank.

There's the Jedi Covenant, and Jedi are capable of hiding their Force Sensitivity.


Consistency IS the key. Any good game you have ever played or heard of has been consistent from beginning to end.

They still need to not look and feel like the exact same class. It also shouldn't be the same story from either perspective.

Except I don't lose out on not being able to play certain content by making that AC choice. I still have all the same options

Players want features and options, yes. They don't want alternative game styles. They want things to look, feel, and behave the same throughout the game. This is why nobody does Social Classes without being a complete Second Life social game.

Find me a quest that my Trooper can't do. Show me a warzone that a Imperial Agent can't participate in. Show me a Sith that can never join Operations.
True, not all characters are players are going to do everything but they MUST have the option to.
It's not just unnaceptable to me. It's unacceptable by any means of good game design. Find any book on game design and they'll tell you the same thing.






But that's not what you said. You said it was to encourage breaks.


And dancing will be any better? As soon as they get the buff they're gone. This is why I say its not ACTUAL socialization: it's spectating.
I also don't think a buff to Pressence is going to be very highly sought after. The only time that works is when you have a companion out and it doesn't even contribute that much. If you're doing a flashpoint, operation, warzone, or group quest, it becomes completly bunk.
If you want something to increase actual socialization, you want something that its active rather than specatating, and something that can be used no matter what.

How about making entertainer/dancer a profession, as opposed to a full class?

I played SWG, and while I loved it, SWG had non-combat content - SWTOR doesn't. But, I think making it a profession would really get people into cantinas. As of now, you hardly see anyone in them. Making a profession that could give buffs or maybe mix drinks/prepare food would be cool, and introduce a little more flavor into the game.

+1 love the idea.

Story could easily be a holostar climbing to the top. 1st companion could be part of your entourage, fanclub, or needing to hire added security. There's tons upon tons of source material to draw from already. Tooooooooons. Shadow Games immediately comes to mind.

No thanks, this is a different game. They said clearly that they will not be following SWG in certain areas.

What does either of these have todo with the class or suggestion exactly. bioware and the writers will be able to create the story and how they fit into the game if wanted as it has already been approved by lucas. Im actualy lost as to why your trying to make me create a whole back story for them ?

And again all those, Bringing space isnt consistent, we dont have space now, we have mini games. they are bringing in pazzak, we dont have anything like pazzak so where is it. Show me where the whole of the playerbase have stood up and said dont make an alternative, show me where bioware have said its got to be consistantly this class but not this class. Explain to me how you can state it isnt a valid gameplay when lucas has said it is.

Also the reason why no one bar swg in this market is probably the same reason no one did player housing. That answer is world of warcraft, every game creater followed the design of wow because wow made all the money and everyone has to have a bit of that pie.

And obviously 'people' want an alternative, i want an alternative, others in here do. And if bioware were ever to put a poll it would show that a section of the playerbase want this. Also whats so bad about having social features in the game exactly from other areas of the multiplayer world, if they make money from it then that is a proven feature.

So ask bioware and the bioware writters what story they would do for them.

Now are we judging this on player skill and dificulty of content, guild they are in or gamestyle they play. As a player you chose what you want todo, what your stating is to re design the whole of the game to incorperate this into main classes instead of doing one bit of development aimed at a specific market of players just like arenas are aimed at a specific group of players and how space is.

Show me someone who wants to complete all content and ill show you people who only want todo one part of the content.

All players would be able to, not all classes will. It is designed as such and its a choice you will make just the same as gamestyles is a choice.



Please explain to me how players leveling up in the combat gameplay and getting a bonus for taking a time out in a rested zone for a buff and gaining rested xp for doing it is not encouraging breaks.

And the people who are entertainers shall stay, the people playing the entertainers wont be spectating.

And whilst leveling or doing dailys you will have a companion out and not doing flashpoints, operations, warzones or group finder. But you hit on a good point, people in the group finder q could quite easily spend there time waiting for it in cantinas talking and interacting with entertainers until there group finder pops, the whole time they are gaining rested xp at an increased rate.


Its a defunked point, the spectators shall be the people gaining the buffs who will be the combat classes. the entertainers shall be socializing and encouraging socialising by having a presence within cantinas which can be used aslong as entertainers are within that cantina.

I am still waiting for you to explain to me why your rules break down btw as smugglers dont smuggle and bounty hunters dont catch bountys.

hold on,,lemme fetch an article from the wiki to describe how i envision gameplay for these classes,especially the dancer,to work(note to obvious resemblences to a certain something,and how i altered the text to fit...this is ONLY for the purposes of demonstrating the power of this idea,so dont gripe at me about it being similar to something in particular please)

The basics of Entertainer classes are similar to past entries in the gameplay; each mission is framed around the killings of one or more individuals, which the main protagonist (The player) must accomplish. Standing between him/her and success are armed guards, security checkpoints, possible witnesses and other obstacles.

The player guides The Entertainer(dancer,or what have you) through the game's levels with the help of a satellite map which can be accessed at any time. The map indicates the layout of each topographical area of the level, the whereabouts of The player's main targets, and other CPU-controlled characters. In order to carry out his/her mission, The player may use any method at his/her disposal to eliminate his targets, regardless of witnesses or excessive violence done to bystanders. Beyond rewarding stealth over bloodshed as is traditional in the gameplay, Entertainer class gameplay includes features that directly penalize the player for making too much noise and/or being too violent, either toward their targets, bystanders, or both.


This post introduces many new features to the class gameplay. These include the capability to climb through more obstacles, improved unarmed combat, the ability to use an NPC as a human shield (and use a weapon to knock them unconscious after their purpose had been served had they not been killed yet), the ability to dispose dead bodies into containers, improved character animations (face, eyes, etc.), and the ability to upgrade skills and equipment.


Every level contains some sort of method to make the target's death look like an accident, for example, tampering with someone's reactor to make it explode when turned on, rigging a chandelier to fall on a target, or simply pushing the target off a balcony ledge. There are also improvised weapons, such as nail-guns, a child's air rifle, kitchen knives, screwdrivers, stilettos, cane swords, fire extinguishers, and even a pair of hedge clippers.


A gameplay feature new to the Entertainer class gameplay was also added, the "Notoriety" system. If the player, during a mission, gets caught on CCTV or is witnessed committing murder, the character's notoriety will rise. Conversely, if the player executes the mission perfectly with none of the aforementioned events occurring, the cyharacter's notoriety will be minimal.

However, if the only factor affecting the player's notoriety in a certain mission is the fact that he was recorded on CCTV, the player may enter the location in which the drive that recorded him is located, usually in disguise, and retrieve it, thus eliminating that factor; if the player retrieves the drive before being recorded, this entirely eliminate the risk of being recorded in the first place.

The higher the player's notoriety is, the easier it will be for NPCs to identify him/her. Players may use the bribery system to negate accumulated notoriety. Notoriety gained in early missions will affect later missions.
At the end of each mission, a holo clip article is displayed regarding the hit, in which the content varies depending on the investigation results and the player's notoriety.

It will detail the weapon most frequently used, how accurately it was used, the number of security, and civilians killed or injured, and if there were any witnesses. Any injured people will be counted as witnesses, who affect your notoriety. Sketch drawings are also sometimes visible of the player's face, which grow progressively more accurate as the player's notoriety grows. The holo clip itself rebukes the player for making too much noise by announcing on the headline how many people were killed in total, whereas executing your target without any problems will simply have you as 'wanted by republic/imperial intelligence'.

The holo clip's title relates to the player's mission rating. "Siren", in which you assassinate the targets as cleanly and quietly as possible, and draw no unnecessary attention to yourself (blow your cover, leave no extra bodies, etc.), is the best rating possible on all missions. On higher difficulty missions, even something as simple as the player exiting the level in a disguise rather than his/her original suit will adversely affect the player's notoriety, as well as deduct credits from their payment for the mission. As you advance further into the gameplay, more and more newspapers containing the headline from your last mission will be scattered around levels.


entertainer class gameplay also has a new melee weapons system in this instance, allowing the player to lethally throw certain weapons at NPCs (i.e. kitchen knives, stilettos, meat cleavers, etc.) Once thrown into anyone, however, the weapon cannot be retrieved. There is an exception for the hammer, which can be retrieved even though thrown into a victim.


A new bonus added to Entertainer class gameplay ideas is the fact that if the player renders an NPC unconscious, either by using his/her syringe filled with sedative or knocking them out, they will not awaken for the entirety of the level, unlike previous posts. In addition, if both uses of the player's sedative syringe have been used and the player does not wish to use close combat (which increases their violence rating and by extension affects their mission rating), the player may take the person they wish to sedate as a human shield and merely knock them out with their weapon.


the players's ability to hide bodies has also been revamped in this post. In previous posts, the player had to drag the body to a secluded area without "hiding" it, and either eliminate everyone who could possibly see the body where he/her left it or be quick enough to finish the mission before the next person entered. Now, the player can dispose of unconscious or dead bodies in containers to instantly hide them from view of guards. If the container's lid is closed, no NPCs or guards will ever look inside it, thus ensuring the body stays hidden and the player's cover is not blown. In addition, if the player kills someone in an elevator by climbing the hatch and strangling them, their body is also considered hidden, and cannot fall out of the hatch, thereby preventing it from being found.


like the idea people?

Because you disagreed with me when I said that you can't make a 3 act story on entertaining and make interesting, and in fact what you have so far isn't even that. it's not about entertaining, its about being a cover operative.


True, space by itself isn't consistent with the rest of the ground game, because it's not the same game. However, all of the space combat missions are consistent with one another.
All of the class stories, while very differen narratives, function and are paced in a consistent manner.
All of the abilities are triggered in a consistent way.
All of the armor for each class is designed in a very consistent aesthetic.
All of the classes are consistent with each other
And than your class comes in and breaks up all of that.

Explain why games that came out before World of Warcraft didn't have them either?

They may want an alternative, but they don't want it to feel that way. They want it to work, look, and behave the same as everything else, and be able to do the same as everything else.
The Porshe Cayenne, an SUV, may be an alternative to the normal german racecar, but it is still expected to be and have everything that you would normally have with a Porshe.


I'd tell you, but you wouldn't believe me.


I'm stating to add dance and instrument macros into the class, which is around 1% of the work that is necessary to create two classes, two different story arcs, all of the voice-over and lip-synching work, all of the abilities, the armor and equipment, the mechanics, the new locations, and beyond.


That doesn't matter. The point is that they have to have the option to do any of it if they so choose. Next to nobody is actually do all of the content, but everyone needs to have the ability to do any of it.


The fact that not all classes will be able to do it is the problem, and I've said this so many time I feel like I'll get a better response talking to a wall.
I understand that's how you want it designed. What you don't understand is that it's a BAD DESIGN.

Because if their character is still logged in in the cantina, than they're still playing, and haven't really taken a break.
A legacy reward that increases the xp gain when you log off actually encourages breaks.


I'm missing how this is supposed to be "socializing". This sounds like two seperate games operating in the same space and nothing nomre.

They could also, and most likely are, actually doing stuff to level up their characters while they wait. Since they are returned outside the flashpoint entrance once they're done, there's no real penalty for jumping in the middle of something.
And there's the other concern. The majority of characters in this game so far are already at the max level. What incentive do they have?


I'm still missing how this is socializing. I can be social anywhere in the game. What's the big deal about it being in a cantina?
Their ability sets are associated with what their class does in a story. gunslinging, sneaking around, and such or using a great deal of tools to capture any target fits what you understand their class to be.
Where-as all of the dancers abilities are all about dancingn, all of the missions are actually about covert operations and subterfuge.
And by the way, The bounty hunter DOES track bounties for all three acts of his story.
http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=261596

The gameplay type is good but no weapons the reason behind none combatant is to remove the need to balance 1st tha class and then rebalance the entire game to it which is insane ammounts of work, they dont hold an edge in pve world gameplay and there main role is to be a social class.

We have seen example after example after example of combat classes being added to games and the games being totaly unbalanced by it especially in wow. the class becomes to powerful then they nerf it, now there to weak so they nerf everyone else. Its much easier and much simpler to just make there mainhand and offhand items to be intruments and there companion to do the bulk of there fighting and increase there companions power and health over the combat classes companions.

did either of you look at my post?