Fire AKA Drazn
Loves Games
- Gender
- Male
Been working on a PSO project as the title suggests, that involves rooting around in the giant mess that is enemy, weapon and player stats, and reworking it all from the ground up hoping to establish some order and coherence
The goal is to stick to the original feel of the game as much as possible, but to also not avoid changing glaring balance problems. As such the game should (hopefully) feel both fresh and nostalgic.
A general list of changes that will be implemented in the final version can be found here. At the moment it is not complete and subject to further changes.
Expect this to change quite a lot.
GENERAL GOALS
Complete rework of Weapons and Tech Damage with the goal of raising techs up to the level of physical attacks, as well as better balancing weapons against each other promoting a wider variety of weapon use.
These changes also allow for bosses to be far more durable at endgame, and as a result much more challenging paired with the other changes.
These changes also allow for bosses to be far more durable at endgame, and as a result much more challenging paired with the other changes.
1: The damage dealt by every attack type, and their accuracy (Light, Heavy, Special & Sacrificial) has been changed significantly, this is the main way in which player damage has been reduced allowing many enemies especially bosses to be far more durable.
2: Special Attacks now deal very slightly more damage than a Heavy attack, resulting in failed triggers being far less punishing.
3: Every weapon in the game has been reworked around the new rarity system. Weapons of a higher rarity are now always strictly better than lower rarity ones in terms of raw stats.
4: Weapons now have a damage range from their listed ATP to zero, making damage far more random overall. This has the side-effect of also making Shifta affect your entire ATP (though S/D/J/Z have also been nerfed significantly, see techniques section)
5: Weapon restrictions per class have been changed, notably Hunters and Forces can no longer use Mechguns, while Rangers and Hunters have a greater access to formerly Force exclusive weaponry (Such as Canes and Rods.)
See the Weapon Availabilty section of the Reborn spreadsheet for more information.
6: All Force weapons as well as a great deal of rare items in general now provide Tech Boosts thematic to the item (for example weapons with an ice, fire or lightning theme will boost the damage of those types of tech.)
These tech boosts will be present from the beginning of the game until the very end, ensuring a much better Tech Damage progression for anyone capable of using them.
7: The total amount of Attribute %s a weapon can have added is now limited to 20%, and the costs greatly increased. Items can drop with up to 30%.
These changes reflect the general reduction of player damage at endgame, but also reduce Attributes to a powerful Min/Maxing option rather than an absolute requirement for using certain weapons on specific classes
8: S-Rank weapons have been rebalanced and are now equivalent to a somewhat weaker 12* weapon with requirements to match. Their base ATA has been improved to compensate for their lack of HIT%, making them usable at endgame outside of the leverage of their specials.
9: Weapons that cannot combo have been given a massive ATA buff. Their attacks should now always be as accurate as the final attack of a normal combo.
10: The Charge weapon special has been removed from the game due to the numerous balance problems it causes. Vjaya remains the only weapon with this special.
11: The Fire damage and Lightning damage weapon special series has been removed from the game due to a lack of tools to improve their damage, along with the enemy resistances changes, rendering these specials obsolete serving only to confuse players.
See the Weapon Stats section of the Reborn spreadsheet for more information
2: Special Attacks now deal very slightly more damage than a Heavy attack, resulting in failed triggers being far less punishing.
3: Every weapon in the game has been reworked around the new rarity system. Weapons of a higher rarity are now always strictly better than lower rarity ones in terms of raw stats.
4: Weapons now have a damage range from their listed ATP to zero, making damage far more random overall. This has the side-effect of also making Shifta affect your entire ATP (though S/D/J/Z have also been nerfed significantly, see techniques section)
5: Weapon restrictions per class have been changed, notably Hunters and Forces can no longer use Mechguns, while Rangers and Hunters have a greater access to formerly Force exclusive weaponry (Such as Canes and Rods.)
See the Weapon Availabilty section of the Reborn spreadsheet for more information.
6: All Force weapons as well as a great deal of rare items in general now provide Tech Boosts thematic to the item (for example weapons with an ice, fire or lightning theme will boost the damage of those types of tech.)
These tech boosts will be present from the beginning of the game until the very end, ensuring a much better Tech Damage progression for anyone capable of using them.
7: The total amount of Attribute %s a weapon can have added is now limited to 20%, and the costs greatly increased. Items can drop with up to 30%.
These changes reflect the general reduction of player damage at endgame, but also reduce Attributes to a powerful Min/Maxing option rather than an absolute requirement for using certain weapons on specific classes
8: S-Rank weapons have been rebalanced and are now equivalent to a somewhat weaker 12* weapon with requirements to match. Their base ATA has been improved to compensate for their lack of HIT%, making them usable at endgame outside of the leverage of their specials.
9: Weapons that cannot combo have been given a massive ATA buff. Their attacks should now always be as accurate as the final attack of a normal combo.
10: The Charge weapon special has been removed from the game due to the numerous balance problems it causes. Vjaya remains the only weapon with this special.
11: The Fire damage and Lightning damage weapon special series has been removed from the game due to a lack of tools to improve their damage, along with the enemy resistances changes, rendering these specials obsolete serving only to confuse players.
See the Weapon Stats section of the Reborn spreadsheet for more information
Complete rework of Defence Equipment, opening up almost all defensive items to every class and better defining their differences allowing for greater defensive
1: Forces can equip Armour and Shield type equipment.
2: Frames and Barriers generally have better EVP, and have more options for increasing resistances
3: Armour and Shields generally have much better DFP.
4: Defence equipment has a better progression right up to level 200, with Rare armours following a logical progression after the normal armours based on their rarity
2: Frames and Barriers generally have better EVP, and have more options for increasing resistances
3: Armour and Shields generally have much better DFP.
4: Defence equipment has a better progression right up to level 200, with Rare armours following a logical progression after the normal armours based on their rarity
Complete rework of base and max Class Stats with the goal being to better define important differences between classes, while reducing other extreme variances that are an obstacle to better monster design.
1: Class stats have been strictly tiered to ensure a near equivalence in total stats, with certain allowances for the sake of class diversity.
2: The variance between classes of certain key stats (ATP and ATA) has been narrowed significantly both to better fit into the new monster designs and to allow more competition between certain min/max classes (RAcast & HUcast) and other less focused classes (HUnewearl & RAmarl.)
3: Weapon focused Forces (FOmar & FOmarl) have been moved into a central position in the ATP vs ATA dynamic, having less ATP and Hunters and less ATA than Rangers. Their less focused weapon options also prevent them from outclassing their Hunter and Ranger counterparts, while having less MST than the tech focused Forces. This position should allow these classes to be useful in ways that were simply impossible in original PSO while still performing their incredibly important support role.
See the Class Comparison Graphs sections of the Reborn spreadsheet for more information
2: The variance between classes of certain key stats (ATP and ATA) has been narrowed significantly both to better fit into the new monster designs and to allow more competition between certain min/max classes (RAcast & HUcast) and other less focused classes (HUnewearl & RAmarl.)
3: Weapon focused Forces (FOmar & FOmarl) have been moved into a central position in the ATP vs ATA dynamic, having less ATP and Hunters and less ATA than Rangers. Their less focused weapon options also prevent them from outclassing their Hunter and Ranger counterparts, while having less MST than the tech focused Forces. This position should allow these classes to be useful in ways that were simply impossible in original PSO while still performing their incredibly important support role.
See the Class Comparison Graphs sections of the Reborn spreadsheet for more information
Complete rework of enemy resistances and Tech availability allowing techs to be a useful part of anyone's arsenal (for those that can use them) and providing more options for group support.
1: In general Techs and Physical attacks have had their damage per second (DPS) roughly equalised when assuming identical ATP/MST, allowing Tech users to finally pull their own weight rather than having to resort to a sword or gun.
2: All classes that learn Attack techs now learn the max level of that attack tech. HUnewearl now learns max level Jellen/Zalure, and RAmarl learns max level Shifta/Deband, providing more ways for groups to obtain the all important support buffs/debuffs.
A list of techs obtainable by each class can be found in the Tech Availability section of the Reborn spreadsheet.
3: However, the power of the support techniques has been reduced significantly compared to Vanilla (from 10%-50%~ to 5-20%), reducing them to important and powerful Offensive and Defensive bonuses from "you-do-no-damage-without-S&D"
4: Enemy resistances are now a set value depending on their Tier and do not increase as you progress due to how percentages naturally scale anyway. Certain extremely tech resistant enemies will exist, but there will always be a way to circumnavigate their defences while still using Techs.
5: Enemy Light resistance in particular has been reduced a huge amount rendering Grants a useful tech. Dark type enemies are particularly susceptible to Light damage, rather than being the most resistant.
6: Enemy Dark resistance has been changed to bring Megid in line with instant kill weapon specials. Generally Megid works more often due to being slower to cast, averaging out to around the same amount of time-to-trigger. Dark type enemies are now Immune to instant kill in general to compensate for their new Light weakness.
2: All classes that learn Attack techs now learn the max level of that attack tech. HUnewearl now learns max level Jellen/Zalure, and RAmarl learns max level Shifta/Deband, providing more ways for groups to obtain the all important support buffs/debuffs.
A list of techs obtainable by each class can be found in the Tech Availability section of the Reborn spreadsheet.
3: However, the power of the support techniques has been reduced significantly compared to Vanilla (from 10%-50%~ to 5-20%), reducing them to important and powerful Offensive and Defensive bonuses from "you-do-no-damage-without-S&D"
4: Enemy resistances are now a set value depending on their Tier and do not increase as you progress due to how percentages naturally scale anyway. Certain extremely tech resistant enemies will exist, but there will always be a way to circumnavigate their defences while still using Techs.
5: Enemy Light resistance in particular has been reduced a huge amount rendering Grants a useful tech. Dark type enemies are particularly susceptible to Light damage, rather than being the most resistant.
6: Enemy Dark resistance has been changed to bring Megid in line with instant kill weapon specials. Generally Megid works more often due to being slower to cast, averaging out to around the same amount of time-to-trigger. Dark type enemies are now Immune to instant kill in general to compensate for their new Light weakness.
Complete rework of Monster/Player dynamics, including the introduction of a new monster "tier" system that will provide both fairer and more varied monster encounters, as well as a total overhaul of weapon specials (including Megid) and their interactions with these new monsters
1: Monster stats have been reworked significantly to avoid the massive spikes in difficulty found in original PSO when changing difficulty (especially from Very Hard to Ultimate.)
2: Monsters now fall into tiers relative to their intended difficulty and have stats to match. The tiers are:
Standard (e.g Booma class)
Veteran (e.g Gibooma class)
Elite (e.g Gigobooma class)
Leader (e.g Barbarous Wolf class)
Champion (e.g Hildebear class)
Miniboss (e.g Chaos Bringer class)
Boss (e.g Dark Falz class)
3: Weapon specials that involve some sort of crowd control (e.g Freeze) have been made harder to trigger the higher the tier of monster, with Minibosses being near impossible.
4: Weapons that involve Instant Kill or HP Reduction have been totally reworked, with Instant kill being most effective against lower tier enemies while HP reduction being most useful vs higher tier ones. In general Instant Kill is also somewhat harder to trigger bringing it in-line with Megid. Dark type enemies are now immune to Instant Kill.
5: Weapon specials on higher difficulties (Very Hard and above) assume the use of a V50X unit, requiring players that want to focus on weapon specials to obtain these units and providing a open slot for those that don't.
See the Monster Rebalance section of the Reborn spreadsheet for more information
2: Monsters now fall into tiers relative to their intended difficulty and have stats to match. The tiers are:
Standard (e.g Booma class)
Veteran (e.g Gibooma class)
Elite (e.g Gigobooma class)
Leader (e.g Barbarous Wolf class)
Champion (e.g Hildebear class)
Miniboss (e.g Chaos Bringer class)
Boss (e.g Dark Falz class)
3: Weapon specials that involve some sort of crowd control (e.g Freeze) have been made harder to trigger the higher the tier of monster, with Minibosses being near impossible.
4: Weapons that involve Instant Kill or HP Reduction have been totally reworked, with Instant kill being most effective against lower tier enemies while HP reduction being most useful vs higher tier ones. In general Instant Kill is also somewhat harder to trigger bringing it in-line with Megid. Dark type enemies are now immune to Instant Kill.
5: Weapon specials on higher difficulties (Very Hard and above) assume the use of a V50X unit, requiring players that want to focus on weapon specials to obtain these units and providing a open slot for those that don't.
See the Monster Rebalance section of the Reborn spreadsheet for more information
Complete rework of Mags and Mag feeding aiming first to remove the artificial difficulty of not knowing what items will raise which stat and by what amounts, and second to speed up the process of raising a Mag by a reasonable amount.
1: Mags now gain the same stats from the same items no matter the mag type. Items also generally only raise a single stat and lower the rest giving you far greater control over how your Mag levels.
2: Items, and what stat they raise/lower is as follows:
Mates = ++POW, -Everything Else, ++Sync
Fluids = ++MIND, -Everything Else, ++IQ
Antiparalysis = +DEX & MIND, -Everything Else, +Sync & IQ
Antidote = +DEX & POW, -Everything Else, +IQ & Sync
Sol Atomiser = ++DEX, -Everything Else, +IQ & Sync
Moon Atomiser = --Everything
Star Atomiser = +++DEF, --Everything Else, +++IQ & Sync
3: Recommended Mag levels per class have also been provided in the Class Stats & Leveling Curve section of the Reborn spreadsheet
2: Items, and what stat they raise/lower is as follows:
Mates = ++POW, -Everything Else, ++Sync
Fluids = ++MIND, -Everything Else, ++IQ
Antiparalysis = +DEX & MIND, -Everything Else, +Sync & IQ
Antidote = +DEX & POW, -Everything Else, +IQ & Sync
Sol Atomiser = ++DEX, -Everything Else, +IQ & Sync
Moon Atomiser = --Everything
Star Atomiser = +++DEF, --Everything Else, +++IQ & Sync
3: Recommended Mag levels per class have also been provided in the Class Stats & Leveling Curve section of the Reborn spreadsheet
Complete rework of "Stat Maxing" including:
1)The removal of the consideration of Units and Materials for capping stats.
2)The reduction of stats granted by Units as a result, while keeping them relevant while leveling.
3)Materials have been made incredibly rare, and all characters now can use 250 of stat boosting materials and 100 TP/HP materials. Since no consideration is made for these stats, materials provide a way to level incredibly powerful characters at the cost of extreme investment or just as a cool minor boost otherwise.
Complete rework of EXP gain that aims to provide a faster leveling experience earlier on compensated by an even longer leveling experience late game, allowing you to hit your character's stride faster without losing PSO's famous grind to 200.
Complete rework of area progression making PSO more akin to other ARPGs such as Diablo, where the Episodes are your "Acts" you should complete before ascending to the next difficulty. Progression will be Episode 1 > Your choice of Episode 2 or 4 > Episode 1 on the next difficulty > Repeat
1: Ep1 and Ep2 are the most complete experiences. Ep4 is a more optional (and somewhat harder) alternative to EP2 after having completed the VR sections.
2:After reaching Ultimate mode the game's progression opens out and all Episodes become fair game. All final areas and bosses in Ultimate mode are roughly the same level/difficulty.
3:See the Recommended Areas Per Level document for more information
2:After reaching Ultimate mode the game's progression opens out and all Episodes become fair game. All final areas and bosses in Ultimate mode are roughly the same level/difficulty.
3:See the Recommended Areas Per Level document for more information
Complete rework of Solo and Online modes where Online Mode is balanced around a group of 4 People (but still do-able with less) and Solo mode has access to all formerly Online exclusive quests.
Complete rework of Item Rarity and drop-rates allowing for a better progression of vital items earlier on, while providing extremely powerful "chase" items to hunt for later on.
1: Item rarity is now also a good descriptor of the item's quality. Higher rarity items are also generally only usable by higher level characters.
2: Item drop rates follow a "soft curve" dictated by their in-game rarity value. 9 Star items are fairly common, while finding a 12 Star item will undoubtedly be the result of a long grind. Finding an item of the new 13 Star rarity is rather like winning the national lottery, and such items are not required to progress. But they do make you cool as heck, at least in my eyes
3: In general drops rates for vital items are much fairer than original, with certain important items dropping much sooner, while providing plenty of opportunity for hunting extremely rare and valuable items.
2: Item drop rates follow a "soft curve" dictated by their in-game rarity value. 9 Star items are fairly common, while finding a 12 Star item will undoubtedly be the result of a long grind. Finding an item of the new 13 Star rarity is rather like winning the national lottery, and such items are not required to progress. But they do make you cool as heck, at least in my eyes
3: In general drops rates for vital items are much fairer than original, with certain important items dropping much sooner, while providing plenty of opportunity for hunting extremely rare and valuable items.
Complete rework of player Invincibility Frames and Knockdown threshold that will be fairer to characters who specialise in defensive stats, while also speeding combat up by completely removing Knockdowns, which in turn also makes combat MUCH more dangerous.
Introduction of non-free for all drops using the instanced drop system provided by the latest version of Tethella that will not be penalised in an attempt to remove barriers to group play.
My current progress Is continually updated in this Edit Log. Check it out if you want to see the current state of the project
Here is the list of Google docs and other materials I've found or made and I am currently using/editing/reviewing while making these changes.
Once complete, all of the files required to install these changes into a Tethella PSOBB server will be provided. Depending on what happens in the future I may setup my own server with these changes, however I have no plans to do so as of right now.
Until then any and all constructive feedback is welcome. Any help, advice or encouragement doubly so.
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