Design Decisions: Beserker skills in Off Topic

ID:20765
 
Oct 11 2006, 7:22 pm (Edited on Oct 11 2006, 7:31 pm)
I have just finished implementing a skill that some units in Ultimatum will be able to use, which are skills with the 'beserk' trait, or units with the 'beserker' ability. A unit that uses the skill offensivly will fight until either the attacking unit or the defending unit is slain. Beserking abilities only activate when the unit attacks offensivly, and if the defending unit has something to defend with (to prevent cheap shots). Now, this works fairly well when the two units are balanced in their melee moves, but it doesn't seem too balanced if the beserking unit were to attack, for example, a mage with low melee damage.

If a berserking unit were to attack a mage (6->3 against 4->1), the beserker would always win in most circumstances without being hit with too much damage. What I need input on is to design a way to make the beserking attacks more balanced on weaker units. Here are some possibilities:

* The Berserking unit will be more vulnerable when defending against defensive hits, and will take more damage while in a berserker frenzy

* The Beserking unit will get damaged by a percentage of the damage that they inflicted on the defending unit

* Limit how many times both units can exchange attacks

I'm up for more suggestions, and any will be appreciated.
#1 Oct 11 2006, 9:31 pm
I say a LITTLE more vulnerable. Emphasis on the word little seeing as how they'd get owned by stronger units in one hit, knowing you. :\
#2 Oct 12 2006, 11:05 am (Edited on Oct 12 2006, 11:44 am)
I say leave it. I played a dude in Wesnoth (which I downloaded a couple of days ago) who used berserkers against me, and within about 5 minutes I discovered the perfect strategy against them: attack them melee with favorable units to force them to berserk until they die.

They can be just as useless as they are useful, depending on whether you and the person you're playing have a plan for/against them.
#3 Oct 12 2006, 12:34 pm
Yeah, I am not seeing the problem. They seem highly effective in favorable matchups but doomed in unfavorable ones. So they can be manipulated by canny opponents.
#4 Oct 15 2006, 12:22 pm (Edited on Oct 17 2006, 9:12 pm)
Gakumerasara wrote:
I say leave it. I played a dude in Wesnoth (which I downloaded a couple of days ago) who used berserkers against me, and within about 5 minutes I discovered the perfect strategy against them: attack them melee with favorable units to force them to berserk until they die.

What he said
#5 Oct 20 2006, 5:37 am
if the unit attacks like this, it'll be exhausted, and would use his next turn to rest(aka skip it)

(of course, this'll rq bersek as an option when you attack)
#6 Oct 20 2006, 8:49 am
Perhaps you could make it so Berserk can only be used if the unit did not move that turn.
#7 Oct 30 2006, 5:42 pm
That Beserker unit never met mikau's White Mage
#8 Nov 3 2006, 7:42 pm
Oh sure, everyone talks about his white mage, but nobody talked about my brilliant tactical skills that destroyed his other 2(3?) white mages with UNDEAD class!