Level Up Bonuses

[Destination]

So, the one all of you have been waiting for. What you read is what you get, so I won't waste any more time...

Levelling Up: Stat and Burst Points

Level of Bonus	Stat points earned by choosing bonus
1	10
2	10
3	15
4	25
5	70
6	100
7	130
8	160
9	190
10	Nil (Game Clear)

See below post for an elaboration on how you earn points when you upgrade new skills or EAs chosen via Level Up bonus.

Level	Burst Points required for Level Up
2	300
3	400
4	500
5	700
6	1000
7	1500
8	4000
9	10000
10	100000

Level Up Bonuses

Taking feedback into consideration, these are the rules and things to take note:

-- Admins/Mods/AT will set the 4 choices of bonuses (Emulating how the system gives you the choices, reducing risk of OP-ness.)

-- 4 choices are the following:

• Low level Enhanced Armament, complementing a weak characteristic.
  
• System Passive Skill, complementing a weak/medium characteristic.
  
• System Active Skill, complementing a weak/medium characteristic.
  
• Enhancement of avatar specialty, improving on the strength of the avatar. (Basic choice by default, aka specialisation choice.)

-- Bonuses can be chosen mid-battle. One full post of complete inaction by your character is required while you choose the bonus from your 'menu.' Their effects apply instantaneously and no further penalty is applied.

-- The stat points from bonuses are tied to specific stat attributes and cannot be moved around freely. I.e choose a bonus and accept that the stats will be distributed in the way the bonus restricts it so.

-- Additional types of bonuses:

• Level 4 Bonus (aka UNF bonus) - Character chooses one from three options given by the system: Movement Expansion bonus, Enhanced Armament bonus, or System Bonus Skill.
  
  For example, Lime Bell gained her UNF only move 'Acoustic Summon' to call Enemies in the UNF to her, or perhaps you could gain an equipment to perfom repair on your weapons.
  
  
  
• Level 5 Bonus (aka Legion Master Bonus) - A point-blank system skill will have the additional property of Judgement Blow applied to it when targeting a Legionnaire, or an ex-legionnaire who has left the legion no longer than two months.
  Avatars that do not have a sufficiently close-range system skill will gain the point-blank Killer Move 'Judgement Blow,' costing 100% KG.

So a typical Level Up Menu for say, Lightning Gadget (because I have your PM on hand too) would look like this:

Level Up Bonus Menu: Lightning Gadget:
WHAT WILL YOU IMPROVE?


• GADGETS AS LIMBS (SKL +10)
  
  - When the passive skill 'Gadgets as Limbs' is executed, Gadget limbs can move 10% faster and reattach in 12 posts (120 seconds) instead.
  
  
• HARD LIMBS (AMR +10)
  
  - Increases overall armor on the gadgets for increased resistance to damage.
  
  
• GUNNING WRISTS (SDF +10)
  
  - System Skill that builds in blasters attached to my hands to be able to shoot a metal bullet (read: piercing damage), useable once per Gadget As Limbs / disassembly command.
  
  
• ENHANCED ARMAMENT: HOVER SHOES (AGI +10)
  
  A weak EA attachment, equippable, to my shoes that allows me to float via a magnetic field so that if and when I'm falling from a height I can trigger the shoes to ease myself into a gentle landing. They won't allow me to fly but hover about 10 centimeters off the ground and will only last for about 20 seconds tops. Cannot be used while Gadgets as Limbs is active.

The layout is quite clear here. Gadget As Limbs, the first option is the enhancement of the avatar's attribute of splitting himself up into sentient gadgets, and so they gain increased mobility and lower cool-down time. Hard Limbs is a reinforcement of the Limbs' durability. Gunning Wrists adds an Active skill to his movelist to use. Hover Shoes is a weak EA that grants him extra mobility option as a whole.

The first option increases his avatar's specialisation, while the other three improve on weaker attributes of his avatar.

[Destination]

A word on choosing different bonuses:

Besides avatar specialisation by choosing the bonus that improves an avatar's specialty, there is also specialisation of other bonuses; that is to say, if you choose a bonus that improves on your avatar's weak attribute, on your next Level Up the same option will appear again, along with the default option of specialising yourself.

Reusing Lightning Gadget as an example, say that he chooses Hover Shoes at Level 2. His Level 3 bonus choices will then also include an upgrade to Hover Shoes, but it will add only 10 stat points to AGI again as though he had it as an initial armament that starts at Level 1. The reasoning is, when you pick a new skill / EA, it is treated as Level 1 skill / EA, and it makes little sense for it to be just as powerful as an initial skill / EA, which is supposed to be your specialty at Level 1.

In other words, the stats you earn at each level for choosing a bonus don't apply automatically, you have to keep choosing the same bonus type to get more stat points with each Level. This system rewards specialisation more than balancing.

So if Gadget upgrades Hover Shoes again at Level 3, he earns just 10 stat points, and 15 stat points at Level 4 if he chooses Hover shoes for a third time. So he has earned 35 stat points to AGI by choosing an extra EA at Level 2 and upgrading it, but he'd earn 50 points by upgrading Gadgets As Limbs from Level 1 to 4.

Therefore, your initial skills / EA, if upgraded from 1 to 9 faithfully, will earn 700 points. A new bonus besides improving Gadgets As Limbs picked up at Level 2 and upgraded until Gadget becomes Level 9 can only earn up to 520 stat points, and for Level 3 new bonuses that were upgraded until Gadget is Level 9 can only earn 360 points.

It's because of such a system like this, I conjecture, that the actual statistical difference between Crow, a Level 1 and Pile, a Level 4 who took new moves with each Bonus, was actually much smaller than thought, and that accounts for Pile's apparent ineffectiveness against Crow.

As with the stats system, I'll answer all questions posted here.

[Royal Duke]

Eh, I'm not fully sure on the mechanics behind this.

To be honest, the feeling I got between the difference of Cyan Pile vs Crow is that he has way too many situational one-time nukes and no reliable means of attack.

Let's do a comparison between the two possible extremes.

First, if Cyan Pile had invested all his upgrades into his Pile Driver, both the charging time for the Pile Driver as well as the power of his ability <<Perforation>> would have massively increased. If Silver Crow at Level 4 could fly at 500 mph, and if same level/same potential rule applies, he would have a pretty goddamn powerful attack that no one can be ever sure to tank. Possibly even a glancing blow from Perforation could lower your Health Gauge by a 10-15%.

However, this build is not without weakness. Even with his great stamina, a long range with enough dakka or a well positioned sniper could make short work of him before he manages to get up close, as well as mid-range AoE skill users due to the pitiful 1 metre range of his attack. He would have to squeeze his brains out or go all out as he did against Dusk Taker at all times and reduce to a bare minimum mistakes made in combat, which is no laughing matter.

Current Cyan Pile has all his bases covered. Spiral Gravity Driver has been shown to be a potent resource against defensive barriers, be it geographical or set up by the opponent; Splash Stinger is a point blank surprise attack for those who bypass his Perforation attack, and Lightning Cyan Spike allows for a much needed range extension. To be honest, Cyan Pile isn't half as bad off as the story portrays him to be, if he alone manages to fend off his opponents off-screen during Territorial Battles.

However, what is gained in versatility and firepower is lost in overall availability. In a shooter game, he'd be equipped with three rocket launchers and a basic sidearm. Sure, they are potent and they can be used to get out of tight situations, but with that out of the way his basic weaponry is low tier, to the point where defensive enough opponents just laugh at whatever he throws pointing out 'as if you blue softies could harm me'.

Let's assume each level up bonus gives you 50 points. It's up to you wether to accumulate them into a single place and get an overpowered main weapon and try to compensate for its weaknesses with skill and tactical knowledge alone, that is, until you fight a similarly skilled opponent with affinity scaling in his favor, or make an all rounder build.

That said, allow me to remind you of Aristotle's words of wisdom: in the middle point lies virtue. My personal guess is that smart enough players specialize into a single focal point of their build, while giving themselves one or two last resort type moves that complements their strengths. Only insecure people attempt to have everything at the same time, while secure fighters acknowledge the fact that their combat style has inherent flaws and instead of bitching about it go out there and attempt to figure out new ways to reverse them, or to predict the opponent's actions through them (Such as Silver Crow being well aware that the moment he fills his KG his opponents will expect an attack from above and/or seek cover inside buildings, and perfecting in response a technique that only needs a little KG and can be used inside buildings, Aerial Combo, as opposed to Dive Kick).

This again is my personal opinion and in no way anything official. Just sayin'.

[Destination]

The ability to form an official System-recognised Legion is now adjusted to Level 5. Good luck.

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