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Thread: Crat profession analysis

  1. #1

    Crat profession analysis

    A couple of weeks ago I was encouraged to do this by an ARK on test after we had a nice discussion of some of the problems with crats (and most specifically with some crat nano lines). Several of the more prominent crats on the forums have weighed in on it with very helpful comments and suggestions. Any errors are completely mine.

    Crat Analysis

    Nanos
    -------
    Useful lines:
    Pets: Nowhere near as powerful as engineer or MP pets and that’s how it should be. They are useful in conjunction with mez for staying alive.

    Mez: Crats are the best mezzers and the only one with AoE. After charms are history, mez still works well. The lowest AoE mez is ql 126.

    Nukes: Good damage, speed and resistance levels.

    Baton: Great line after it was enhanced to +3,6,9%. Very nice and useful.

    Pet heal and taunt: Both are less powerful than their MP and engineeer equivalents, but that is how it should be. Both are used by most crats.

    Useful for a while or at times:
    Stable Charm: The heart of the profession. This is a crat’s lifeline and, from Funcom’s descriptions, why crats were created in the first place. It is also useless from around level 110 to at least level 160. By level 110, the only effective way to get XP is in teams. But charms have a Psyche check to prevent them from being cast on the level of mobs that one faces in a team. In fact, the charm nano that you will still be using by then (Captivated Thoughts) will not even grab greens. Psyche checks were a very poorly thought out nerf to a previously overpowered line, they did not take into account title limits, debuffs, and the need to charm in teams. Crats must get within 15m to see if they can charm a mob, at higher levels if they can’t then they are usually dead before they can get a mez off. Overall, a very, very poorly thought out nerf. Does not work in PvP.

    Unstable Charm: these are charms with very high resistances that last less than a minute. They are last-second, save-my-tail kind of nanos. They are interspersed between the stable charms and unfortunately the Psyche checks scale through them also, so there are times when all you have is something that is resisted against 190% of their resistance and lasts only a few seconds. But after level 110 you don’t even have that. Does not work in PvP.

    Motivational Speeches: There are three categories: crit buff, nano resist buff and AMS/DMS buff. The AMS/DMS is the only one ever used. The others are very underpowered for their NCU.

    Root: Rarely used but there if you need it. AoE is useful when hunting and things get really ugly.

    Snare: Can be used to pull targets and seems to last through more attacks on a mob than root. AoE is extremely useful in hunting and perhaps in team missions.

    Stun: Not available until level 130+. Would be used if they had a reasonable recharge rate, but they don’t.

    Buffs: crats get several isolated, minor buffs that they cast once in a very blue moon: +20 Pistol is useful for awhile because it is available early; +50 Psychology is cast when you have one of the 8-10 items in the game requiring the skill; +86 Conceal (no, we don’t know why we have that). The lack of good buffs is especially problematic since that is what the Rubi-Ka economy currently revolves around.

    Completely useless:
    Nano recovery: You ever notice how some people just stop trying? That is what happened mid-way through designing this line. Who could have thought that an increase of +6 in your nano recovery rate was worth 12 NCU at a low level? Or that +12 would ever be worth 28 NCU? At a similar level NTs are getting +131 nano every 15 seconds for only 31 NCU! I don’t think we should be as high, but do they really expect anyone to use the crat version?

    Fear: People rarely used them before psyche checks and with the checks they rank right up there with Lend Nano. Does not work in PvP.

    Demotivational Speeches: Useless. Mez is essential. These speeches send out an attack nano every 20 seconds which breaks the mez. I died a lot before I realized why my mezzes were no longer working.

    Cut/Red Tape: Red Tape is a level 116 nano that reduces initiatives by 30. Cut Red Tape is a level 159 nano that increases all of your initiatives! By 30. For 49 NCU. Seriously.

    Tradeskills
    ------------
    Funcom’s publications still list Tradeskills as an advantage of crats. When pressed for an explanation to this we were told, and I’m not making this up, “You have CompLit.” Ahem. But seriously folks, they promised us over 6 months ago that we would get Paperwork Tradeskills based off Psychology. Then just a couple of weeks ago, we were finally asked for ideas on it. In other words, don’t hold your breath.

    Weapons
    ----------
    Pistols are the only weapons that is light blue for crats but, as opposed to other professions, they haven’t gimped us. They provide a little damage to add to our other sources and/or provide nice little nano and attribute bonuses.

    Grouping
    ----------
    Several months ago, Funcom listed several changes for crats (Savant announced it, if that will give you any idea of how long ago). One of the focuses of the changes was to try and make crats more desired by groups. The things that were supposed to achieve this were: enhanced Baton, Speeches, and Paperwork tradeskills. About the same time they instituted Psyche checks, doing away with our main attack form when we are in groups at high levels. So we got a great Baton, generally worthless speeches, and no paperwork and had to give up charms. I am glad to say that we are still welcome by players that understand the value of crowd control and how our different forms of damage add up, but we very much need to be able to cast charm and would still like to see useful speeches and Paperwork skills.

    Final Analysis
    ----------------
    Cons: Low weapon damage, no tradeskills, no buffs, no charm from level ca. 110-160.
    Pros: Very good mez, adequate pets and nukes, Baton, good general crowd control

  2. #2

    Thumbs up Aye

    One word: PAPERSKILLS !

    BUMP !
    Varviton,

    Keeper of the Unredeemed.

  3. #3

    Talking Explanation

    +86 Conceal (no, we don’t know why we have that).



    You don't think bureaucrats don't wish they had this when slipping out the back door of their secretaries flat?

    Good article, only played Crat for short time but I love analysis of the different classes.

    Randalpho 49th Level MP
    Contentment is three Pets
    Happiness is three Red Pets

  4. #4

    Thumbs up

    Very well written article. I follow you on every point and agree. The only thing is, Funcom has stopped something crucial. It's called customer relations.

    Whoever is running things up there now has got an idea that by ignoring people, they will stop bothering Funcom. It is true, that does work, but is it any way to run a business?

    I can understand that dealing with a large volume of people wanting to address alot of issues could be a major challenge, but does that mean "let's not even try?"

    I am to the point now that I have about 3 or 4 major issues that I have been pressing along trying to just get an answer to no avail.

    So I went to check out StarWarsGalaxies (referred to as SWG after this) to see what all the hype was about. As it turned out, they were having a developer's chat the next day! I went and sat back and watched. People routed their questions to a moderator, and certain ones were selected and put out for all to see and the developers to answer. I loved it. The dev's were some cool guys.

    Has Funcom done anything remotely close to this? Maybe in the past?

    You have to wonder, with 1.) the story going to dookie and 2.) no response to any major issues (Camping, DD-Nano unfairness, People pissed about the story, PvP, etc), does Funcom have anything planned for the future? Or are they trying to fix immediate "balance" problems and then just ride out the money train as long as they can because SWG is gonna whip this game's butt so bad?

    I'm sorry for the negative tone, but enough is enough...I've had my share of patience.
    "Your village called...their idiot is missing"

    Psilex (Agent)
    Smokegirl (Nano-tech)
    Tylerdurdon (Bureaucrat)

    Proud Member of:
    Omni-Tribunal
    Omni-Pol

  5. #5
    Fixers who are supposed to lurk in the shadows and hide well while trying to break and enter somewhere (no idea where), have of course only a whooping +40 conceal buff.

    And as Fixers are considered half soldiers by Funcom, they of course have a "superior" +7 smg/burst buff, while a pencil pusher like a crat got a "mere" +20 pistol buff.
    RK1 Guild Apocalypse

    Dillon "Duradas" Belote, Fixer
    Kiyoko "Selarana" Vallone, Meta Physicist
    Donald "Jorman" Dublin, Bureaucrat
    Burl "Gnorrg" Marinos, Enforcer
    Florence "Florania" Aronstein, Doctor
    ----
    RK3, Arnold "Gideon" Reineman, Enforcer

  6. #6

  7. #7
    Don't forget the Fixer Sneak Attack buff ImaGideon! That
    has to rank right up there with the 'Crat Conceal buff under the
    what were they thinking catagory .

    But enough on fixers - Scorus put a nice post on fixing them
    over in that forum, and I'll bump this post because Fixers aren't
    the only ones who could use some help.

    Salantha
    semi-retired fixer, and part-time enforcer until the fixer fix

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