Bile Bomb Change
Champlo0
Join Date: 2012-04-17 Member: 150617Members
Join Date: 2012-04-17 Member: 150617Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Not a nerf</div>While I do not believe it really needs to be argued that bile bomb is a problem that will always be a problem I will present this small case as a precursor to my main suggestion:
Lerks are (as I see them) a class that disrupts and disorganizes marines so that their team can have an easier time attacking the marines. To do this, the lerk has spores, which deny area and block the marines; spikes, which allow them a form of damage, and bile bomb. Bile bomb is an AoE DoT ability that can be used from range or as a lerk flies by; the DoT enables the lerk to decrease its exposure to retaliation by the marines and the AoE enables it to seriously damage marine structures on the solo operation of the lerk. While the lerk is a disruptor it is not a one man building destroyer; the lerk is a class that should go in and lay down crowd control for his team, he should not be the main damage output because that is not his intended role (as I see it).
Thus the bile bomb should be changed, not nerfed, but changed, and this is how I propose to change it-
Primarily, remove the damaging mechanic altogether. The bile bomb should be an ability that does strong crowd control effects, not a nuke. Here are all of what I believe would be an ideal replacement.
<u>Arcs</u>
<!--fonto:Garamond--><span style="font-family:Garamond"><!--/fonto-->-Slows arcs by 70%
-Makes arcs take 2 times as much damage<!--fontc--></span><!--/fontc-->
<u>Structures</u>
<!--fonto:Garamond--><span style="font-family:Garamond"><!--/fonto-->-1.5 times as much damage when under effects of BB
-Slows welding speed by 30%
-Stops construction
-Makes turrets stop functioning<!--fontc--></span><!--/fontc-->
<u>Marines</u>
<!--fonto:Garamond--><span style="font-family:Garamond"><!--/fonto-->-Removes effects of nano-shield (nano stays on, just is nullified)
-Bile bomb slows marines by 30% and makes jet pack fuel be consumed twice as fast.
-Halves the effects of med-kits and armory healing<!--fontc--></span><!--/fontc-->
By implementing these effects as a replacement of the current effects of BB, the lerk would become reliant on his team to capitalize on the effects of bile bomb. It also creates counters to certain things like med kit spam and nano as well as arc trains, and has anticounters such as spacing out ARCs so that your train can't be focused down by bile bombs. Commanders would have to decide whether or not it would be worth it to spend their res trying to save the marines affected by bile or trying to shield the ones who aren't and would also require the commander to micromanage who is affected by bile which thus increases the amount of decisions that a player has to make therefore these changes would raise the skill ceiling.
<i>The overall effect of this would not nerf the bile bomb, as I see it, but change its function to fit the role of the lerk and increase its utility as well as raising the skill ceiling of the game.</i>
Lerks are (as I see them) a class that disrupts and disorganizes marines so that their team can have an easier time attacking the marines. To do this, the lerk has spores, which deny area and block the marines; spikes, which allow them a form of damage, and bile bomb. Bile bomb is an AoE DoT ability that can be used from range or as a lerk flies by; the DoT enables the lerk to decrease its exposure to retaliation by the marines and the AoE enables it to seriously damage marine structures on the solo operation of the lerk. While the lerk is a disruptor it is not a one man building destroyer; the lerk is a class that should go in and lay down crowd control for his team, he should not be the main damage output because that is not his intended role (as I see it).
Thus the bile bomb should be changed, not nerfed, but changed, and this is how I propose to change it-
Primarily, remove the damaging mechanic altogether. The bile bomb should be an ability that does strong crowd control effects, not a nuke. Here are all of what I believe would be an ideal replacement.
<u>Arcs</u>
<!--fonto:Garamond--><span style="font-family:Garamond"><!--/fonto-->-Slows arcs by 70%
-Makes arcs take 2 times as much damage<!--fontc--></span><!--/fontc-->
<u>Structures</u>
<!--fonto:Garamond--><span style="font-family:Garamond"><!--/fonto-->-1.5 times as much damage when under effects of BB
-Slows welding speed by 30%
-Stops construction
-Makes turrets stop functioning<!--fontc--></span><!--/fontc-->
<u>Marines</u>
<!--fonto:Garamond--><span style="font-family:Garamond"><!--/fonto-->-Removes effects of nano-shield (nano stays on, just is nullified)
-Bile bomb slows marines by 30% and makes jet pack fuel be consumed twice as fast.
-Halves the effects of med-kits and armory healing<!--fontc--></span><!--/fontc-->
By implementing these effects as a replacement of the current effects of BB, the lerk would become reliant on his team to capitalize on the effects of bile bomb. It also creates counters to certain things like med kit spam and nano as well as arc trains, and has anticounters such as spacing out ARCs so that your train can't be focused down by bile bombs. Commanders would have to decide whether or not it would be worth it to spend their res trying to save the marines affected by bile or trying to shield the ones who aren't and would also require the commander to micromanage who is affected by bile which thus increases the amount of decisions that a player has to make therefore these changes would raise the skill ceiling.
<i>The overall effect of this would not nerf the bile bomb, as I see it, but change its function to fit the role of the lerk and increase its utility as well as raising the skill ceiling of the game.</i>
Comments
I would add, in addition to what you have outlined, that structures become unusable when under this effect. I.e. you cannot buy stuff at armory (or even heal) while its under this effect. Maybe allow flamethrowers to clear it as well?