We Are Recruiting Balancers

[GuiKa]

As many of you know the balance in the mod is not great, a lot of weapons are not viable while others are overpowered.

Fixing these issues takes time and dedication and we need more people, we need your help.

We are going to recruit two or three people to help us with the items balance, anyone can apply for this role but you need to know the game pretty well.
We do not require our team member to work on schedules but we need at least some results.
The task would be to edit our items spreadsheet to make more items viable and less items overpowered, the more play style the mod allow the better.

Keep in mind that the mod is based on realism, so dont compare the balance with other mod's or native.
As a balancer you should allways stay impartial, hatred towards other weapons/classes would rather destroy the balance than fixing it.

Item TYPE(1h, 2h, pole...etc) balance will still be done by one of the main developers, so you would care about the items specific modifiers, such as weight, damage modifiers(shape bonus) etc, etc.

The balance is one of the most important aspect so you would have to be objective and wise.

To make an application simply post on this thread explaining your motivations, experiences and play style.

Accepted applications:

 

[Roran 13]

Snip.


I'm going to have to retract my application. With the new university year starting I noticed I will not have enough time to take this seriously enough.

 

[Roben_DuMarsch]

Spoiler: Application

Motivation: I am eager to help this young mod develop in any way I can, and I feel that the developer team have a good relationship with the community so far, however insulting and demanding it may have been, of which I undoubtedly have been a part more than once. I have so far, despite all my complaints, enjoyed playing the mod, and hope to help make it more enjoyable in the future.

Experiences: On the modding/developping side: none. I haven't worked on balancing items or anything related before, but I do have some personal knowledge (reenactment, personal interest) on the subject. I am willing to put this knowledge to good use and help shape the items into a more realistic scenario. I shall add that I do not claim my knowledge to be superior, and I am open to discussion to any suggestions I make.

Play style: I mainly play as a one-handed shielder or horseman in this module, but also frequently play with a pike/halberd or with a musket as a main weapon. I used to play as a reiter (cavalry pistoleer) before the pistol was removed a lot. I have played with a crossbow occasionally and played two-handed for quite some time.

There. I felt that if I was sort of obliged to make an application for this. If I can spend so much time in searching the shop for imbalances I'm ought to help improve the situation, or at least apply to do so, when the chance is offered.

Cheers for the good work so far.

A funny strip made by the above poster, following his discussion of the lack of balance between a side sword and a long sword:

Spoiler

Although what you are saying is funny and in good cheer, it sadly also reflects a lack of understanding of the way Warband handles different weapon types.

The relevant balance you made this comic on was the comparison between a 1h sword, and a 1 1/2h sword. He noted that the speed on the second sword was higher (98 v 94), and that the damage was higher.

Warband assesses a 35% damage and speed penalty to hand and a half weapons used in one hand, AKA in conjunction with a shield.
This will cause the 1 1/2h sword to be swung with 64 effective speed in conjunction with a shield, whereas the 1h sword retains its 94 speed.

The stat breakdown is as follows:
Side Sword 1h:
1.2 weight
95 Reach
94 speed
19 pierce
24 cut

Longsword in 1h:
1.4 weight
106 Reach
64 speed
19 Pierce
21 cut

The longsword, as you can see, is a sadly inferior weapon when wielded with one hand.
Hand and a half weapons are essentially weapons that can be used with a shield, but at great penalty. They should only be truly compared to 2h weapons, with the ability to be wielded with a shield representing a "perk" that should be built into the balance.

The closest weapon in balance to the Longsword is the 2h weapon, the German Bastard Sword (ironically, naming convention indicates that the German Bastard Sword should actually be a hand and a half sword.)

Longsword in 2h:
1.4 Weight
106 Reach
98 Speed
27 Pierce
32 Cut

German Bastard Sword in 2h:
1.7 Weight
106 Reach
95 Speed
29 Pierce
32 Cut

The only distinguishable difference is that the Longsword can be used 1h in nerfed form with a shield, and a difference of .3 less weight, 2 less pierce damage, and 3 more speed.

Is the 2 less pierce damage and .3 less weight a fair exchange for 3 speed, .3 less weight, and the shield perk?
Probably, and its close enough that we should let players decide. (Noting that the weight could be a good or a bad thing, as higher weight weapons are less likely to receive the parry "stun" on parry.)

My decision as a balancer would be: Balanced.

Hopefully this analysis goes to show my motivations and experience.
As a play style, I currently play Shield+1h and Arq.
I previously played 2h + Arq.
I am confident with other builds, and have played everything in over 2k hours of Warband, but I prefer the Arq because I can get other forms of gameplay in other Warband modules, but the Arq is unique to BoE as far as MP mods I have played.