Evade Combat Redux

Along with the many other changes in Combat Revision 2.0, the Evade Shield is also getting a workover. The current Evade Shield strength and use has often been a player complaint. With these changes, how players set up their characters and what tactics they use will have a larger impact on how the Evade Shield works.

First, let’s take a look at how your choice of Tactic will affect combat bonuses.

Excellent: High bonus to Attribute.

Very Good: Decent bonus to Attribute.

Good: Slight bonus to Attribute.

Normal: No bonus or penalty to Attribute.

Okay: Slight penalty to Attribute.

As you can see, the choice of Tactic affects both your chances of breaking an Evade Shield and how long your Evade Shield will last when fending off an attacker.

In addition, hits against your Evade Shield will reduce your current Inner Strength. The amount of Inner Strength “damage” you take is affected by the Forcing opponent’s bonuses. The calculations are set up so that the Evading opponent won’t be crippled by losing Inner Strength, but can give the Forcing player an edge if used properly.

Evade Shield Strength

Evade Shields no longer have a specific number of hits they can take before breaking. Instead, they have a number of points of “damage” they can withstand, which can be modified by the Evade Shield Strength Influence. If you have a bonus to that Influence, your Evade Shield has more “hit points”. If you have a penalty to that Influence, your Evade Shield has fewer hit points.

This also means that your Force Combat Strength directly affects the number of points you take off an Evade Shield when attacking. Thus, a high Force Combat bonus results in a lower number of hits to break a Shield.

Level Differences

Level differences are taken into account when calculating breaking an Evade Shield and how much Inner Strength damage is taken each hit. If the Evading opponent is higher level than the Forcing opponent, the Shield and Inner Strength damage is reduced. On the other hand, if the Forcing opponent is higher level than the Evading opponent, the Shield and Inner Strength damage will be increased.

Changing Tactics

Selecting and changing your Tactics can dramatically change the outcome of Forcing or Evading combat. Choosing a Tactic that takes longer to break an Evade Shield may allow you to peck away at your opponent’s Inner Strength. Switching to Block may give you enough time to heal or buff yourself before being drawn into combat.

Balancing Issues

As with all of Combat Revision 2.0, the Evade Shield changes will require balancing. Our goal is to have a system that isn’t as arbitrary as the current one and player choices can influence the outcome of a battle even before it begins. We look forward to your input once we have this new Evade Shield system in place.