rijackson741 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 12, 2017 4:10 am
Variable DR on an item is an interesting idea, but not consistent with the way other stats behave. When you equip an item the only stat that has a variable value is AD. All others are fixed at a specific number. If we have variable DR, why not variable BC, and AC, and CM, and CS?
This one is gonna get long, so apologies, and a forward of saying that I don't mean to offend or badger, just discuss my point of view.
I would argue that BC and AC and Criticals are already variable, and that DR is actually the only stat that
isn't. Your AC and BC represent a chance to do something, as do your critical stats, as does your AD, with the only difference being that AC, BC, and Criticals are bounded 0-1 (boolean) while AD is bounded to a range. Your DR is the only stat that has a guaranteed effect, not a chance, but an absolutely guaranteed value that does not vary based upon your opponent's natural stats (status conditions aside for now). The Critical Multiplier is an interesting thought to be variable, but since it already varies somewhat with AD, there isn't a lot of point in it. However, having a weapon that had a 2.5x-3x critical would be interesting though, I think.
When I think about AC and BC, I think about it like this:
AC and BC are the end result of a pile of other calculations and variables, (how well I can see my opponent, how fast they move, how fast I move, how heavy my equipment is, how accurate my attacks are, etc.) resulting in an end chance. There isn't reason for them to be variable because they already are. If I have a 60% chance to hit, then making that a 55-65% chance with even distribution doesn't make sense, because that's still just a 60% chance in the end anyway. Introducing variation to variation doesn't really make more variation.
DR, however, is
solid. It is saying that, no matter what the enemy's circumstances, I will resist this particular amount of damage. My opponent is not capable of changing that resistance without inducing some kind of status effect. There is currently no mechanic for armor piercing on the initial hit, and any modifications to DR from status effects are pure numbers again. Thus, "My armor covers every square inch of my body, perfectly uniformly. Chaotic curse makes my armor slightly thinner all around." Not to mention the fact that it doesn't ever make sense to me to have DR go negative, but I digress. Anyway, I think that a variable DR would be my way of saying, "Yes, there are flaws in my armor, and places where I might be less protected, and for accurate modeling, those deserve to be calculated on the defensive side, not the offensive." What it really makes me think of is a uniform magnetic field through which someone is moving an electromagnet and receiving perfectly constant resistance.
However, I'm a simulation engineer. I simulate things for a living, so I'm always one who will push for things to be more accurate to life when possible.
Also, completely aside, variable AC would have a lean to the negative at above 50% hit chance, and a lean to the positive at below 50% hit chance, and that would just make life really, really confusing.