Seven Deadly Sins
~hallelujah~
Hey there everyone, this is the third committee-based SotG, and we’ve got a lot of stuff to cover. The following mechanics have now been implemented.
Committee Members:
Seven Deadly Sins
DarkSlay
Alchemator (filling in while Kaxtar is on leave)
Flora
Tortferngatr
Venser
smashlloyd20
GoldenKnight
Rising_Dusk
Athenodoros
Acklow
Implementations:
1) Substitute
Let’s face it, right now Substitute is a ridiculously effective move. Since you’re able to set the amount of HP used, you can basically tailor-make Substitute to screw over your opponent. This makes it extremely powerful, and it’s an attack that every single Pokemon in the game gets (other than special cases like Wobbuffet).
After talking to people on IRC, I settled on nerfing it down to a fixed 15 HP. This makes it sturdy enough to survive average STAB attacks- Pokemon with 8/9 BP STAB attacks will need 2/3 ranks of attack difference to break a sub, and Pokemon with a 10/11 BP STAB attack will need at least 1 rank of attack difference to break the sub. This gives Substitute more of a specialized use- you can use it to block status while giving a non-insignificant advantage (taunt blocks status, but it doesn’t give you the advantage of having a sub up), you can use it to give a buffer for charge moves like Focus Punch, and you can use it against Pokemon that lack a powerful STAB to break the substitute with. Substitute becomes a much more niche move, similar to how it is in-game, but still keeps it useful.
2) Field Effect Duration
As it stands, temporary field effect moves last for an absurd amount of time- 5 entire rounds to be exact. A single field effect move has a legitimate chance to last for the entire duration of the match, and with how powerful these field effects are, they simply last for too damn long. I propose reducing them to 6 actions. This would affect the following moves: Rain Dance, Sandstorm, Sunny Day, Hail, Trick Room, Gravity, Lucky Chant, Magic Room.
3) CounterCoat and Metal Burst
I recall that the consensus was largely that these moves DO need to be tweaked, but we weren’t able to decide exactly how. That should happen during this SotG.
4) Bumping the battle cap up to 4
Let’s face it, battles go a little slow, and 3 battles is too few. Bumping it up to 4 would probably be a good idea.
Well, discuss away!
Committee Members:
Seven Deadly Sins
DarkSlay
Alchemator (filling in while Kaxtar is on leave)
Flora
Tortferngatr
Venser
smashlloyd20
GoldenKnight
Rising_Dusk
Athenodoros
Acklow
Implementations:
A Pokemon will receive 1 additional MC per battle when both its EC and DC are full at the start of the battle.
No Attack that can hit multiple targets can strike more than 3 opposing and 2 allied Pokemon at once in any multi-battle format.
A Pokemon may target itself with any attack where such an action is physically possible. Ability descriptions have been edited to account for self-directed attacks. A Self-targeting attack is defined as any attack a Pokemon launches at itself that would ordinarily be used on any other target. An allied attack in doubles is not a self-directed attack.
Round:
A Round is generally composed of two or three actions depending on the battle format. In each Round, players alternate their actions. Rounds end prematurely only in the case where all Pokemon on every side of the field except one are knocked out. Effects that are based on Rounds (Weather, Field Effects) are weaker in Triples+ Battles, while effects that are based on Actions (Magnet Rise, Taunt) are stronger.
Action:
An Action is an Attack, Command, or Combination that is executed during a Round. Because of the massive variation in attacks, the actual time to complete a single action is not bounded. If you must have a standard of time, ask yourself if an attack could be executed to completion within 20 seconds. The overwhelming majority of Attacks, Commands, and Combinations comfortably fit in this timeframe. Combinations combine two Attacks into one Action, and cause the second Action to be spent doing nothing.
What few exceptions usually involve using physical contact attacks by slow Pokemon over great distances. A Pokemon with 35 Spe is unlikely to be able to Brick Bream an opponent 20m away, however a Pokemon with 125 Spe should not have such an issue, unless the attack is very powerful or complicated, like a Focus Punch.
A Round is generally composed of two or three actions depending on the battle format. In each Round, players alternate their actions. Rounds end prematurely only in the case where all Pokemon on every side of the field except one are knocked out. Effects that are based on Rounds (Weather, Field Effects) are weaker in Triples+ Battles, while effects that are based on Actions (Magnet Rise, Taunt) are stronger.
Action:
An Action is an Attack, Command, or Combination that is executed during a Round. Because of the massive variation in attacks, the actual time to complete a single action is not bounded. If you must have a standard of time, ask yourself if an attack could be executed to completion within 20 seconds. The overwhelming majority of Attacks, Commands, and Combinations comfortably fit in this timeframe. Combinations combine two Attacks into one Action, and cause the second Action to be spent doing nothing.
What few exceptions usually involve using physical contact attacks by slow Pokemon over great distances. A Pokemon with 35 Spe is unlikely to be able to Brick Bream an opponent 20m away, however a Pokemon with 125 Spe should not have such an issue, unless the attack is very powerful or complicated, like a Focus Punch.
Consecutive Moves do cross over rounds. If the first action this round is the same as the last action in the previous round, the Pokemon will incur the consecutive moves penalty.
Mid-Battle Evolution shall no longer be available after a KO Counter is gained, however a Pokemon can still evolve upon initial release in a match.
Codifying Beginner Battles:
A Beginner Battle can be codified with the following ruleset:
1. Pokemon must be able to evolve
2. Pokemon with 4 rarity cannot be used.
3. Rarity Cost of Pokemon on one side of the field cannot exceed # of Pokemon + 3
4. 1 Rarity is added to the rarity of a 2nd stage Pokemon in a 3 stage line.
5. A Pokemon with full EC or full DC cannot be used in a Beginner Battle.
In the battle tower thread, These rules will be added to the Battle Tower OP.
A Beginner Battle can be codified with the following ruleset:
1. Pokemon must be able to evolve
2. Pokemon with 4 rarity cannot be used.
3. Rarity Cost of Pokemon on one side of the field cannot exceed # of Pokemon + 3
4. 1 Rarity is added to the rarity of a 2nd stage Pokemon in a 3 stage line.
5. A Pokemon with full EC or full DC cannot be used in a Beginner Battle.
In the battle tower thread, These rules will be added to the Battle Tower OP.
Kricketot will be moved to 1 Rarity Cost.
Implementing a Ref Apprenticeship Program:
Reffing quality is very important in ASB. With so many members now, it can be difficult to find a willing ref. Between RPs, Tournaments, and up to 3 battles each, reffing becomes exponentially harder unless a new, good quality ref is picked up for at least one out of every 3 new battlers. Therefore in order to streamline the process, an apprenticeship program is outlined below:
Reffing Levels: Head/Tutor Ref, Registered Ref, Apprentice Ref.
Head/Tutor Refs: The job of a Head or Tutor Ref is to guide Apprentice refs through an apprenticeship program. There will be additional compensation for Tutor Refs as a function of helping Apprentice Refs.
Registered Ref: This is any ref that has passed the apprenticeship program. Continuous active, high quality reffings will allow a Registered Ref to apply to become a Tutor Ref. The exact process by which this will be done will be decided at a later date.
Apprentice Ref: This is a ref going through the apprenticeship program.
Apprenticeship Program:
The Apprenticeship program is very simple. It pairs a Tutor Ref with an Apprentice Ref. An Apprentice Ref takes on a battle in the Battle Tower thread, and maintains private message contact with the Tutor Ref.
Before posting the thread original post and before each round, the Apprentice Ref sends a PM to the Tutor Ref to look over. The Tutor Ref makes notes about post formatting, calculations, and any field effects added in or other circumstances of the match. Once the notes are completed, the Tutor Ref PMs the notes back to the Apprentice Ref with the original reffing. The Apprentice ref makes any necessary adjustments, and then posts the round.
An Apprentice Ref should make PMs to their tutor ref in the following format:
Player A vs. Player B (Original Post) for the initial post.
ex: Deck Knight vs. Flora (Original Post)
Once the OP is looked over, the match title should be posted:
Player A vs. Player B. (AR: <Assistant Ref>, TR: <Tutor Ref>)
ex. Deck Knight vs. Flora (AR: 1337H0FFA, TR: Its_A_Random)
The same process occurs for each round, using the following format for the PM:
Player A vs. Player B (Round 1) for the round posting.
ex: Deck Knight vs. Flora (Round 1)
The round will be looked at and audited for calculations, effects, etc. and PMed back to the Apprentice Ref. The Tutor Ref will also be looking at things like consistency in effects over rounds, any creative elements that could be added/subtracted, and generally anything else that might be important.
Implementation: Flora will be in control of the first slate of Tutor Refs. Once she determines who should be considered a Tutor, Registered, and an Apprentice, the Apprenticeship program will start.
Tutor Rewards: A Tutor shall receive a reward equal to half the RC the match gives to the Apprentice Ref for that match.
Reffing quality is very important in ASB. With so many members now, it can be difficult to find a willing ref. Between RPs, Tournaments, and up to 3 battles each, reffing becomes exponentially harder unless a new, good quality ref is picked up for at least one out of every 3 new battlers. Therefore in order to streamline the process, an apprenticeship program is outlined below:
Reffing Levels: Head/Tutor Ref, Registered Ref, Apprentice Ref.
Head/Tutor Refs: The job of a Head or Tutor Ref is to guide Apprentice refs through an apprenticeship program. There will be additional compensation for Tutor Refs as a function of helping Apprentice Refs.
Registered Ref: This is any ref that has passed the apprenticeship program. Continuous active, high quality reffings will allow a Registered Ref to apply to become a Tutor Ref. The exact process by which this will be done will be decided at a later date.
Apprentice Ref: This is a ref going through the apprenticeship program.
Apprenticeship Program:
The Apprenticeship program is very simple. It pairs a Tutor Ref with an Apprentice Ref. An Apprentice Ref takes on a battle in the Battle Tower thread, and maintains private message contact with the Tutor Ref.
Before posting the thread original post and before each round, the Apprentice Ref sends a PM to the Tutor Ref to look over. The Tutor Ref makes notes about post formatting, calculations, and any field effects added in or other circumstances of the match. Once the notes are completed, the Tutor Ref PMs the notes back to the Apprentice Ref with the original reffing. The Apprentice ref makes any necessary adjustments, and then posts the round.
An Apprentice Ref should make PMs to their tutor ref in the following format:
Player A vs. Player B (Original Post) for the initial post.
ex: Deck Knight vs. Flora (Original Post)
Once the OP is looked over, the match title should be posted:
Player A vs. Player B. (AR: <Assistant Ref>, TR: <Tutor Ref>)
ex. Deck Knight vs. Flora (AR: 1337H0FFA, TR: Its_A_Random)
The same process occurs for each round, using the following format for the PM:
Player A vs. Player B (Round 1) for the round posting.
ex: Deck Knight vs. Flora (Round 1)
The round will be looked at and audited for calculations, effects, etc. and PMed back to the Apprentice Ref. The Tutor Ref will also be looking at things like consistency in effects over rounds, any creative elements that could be added/subtracted, and generally anything else that might be important.
Implementation: Flora will be in control of the first slate of Tutor Refs. Once she determines who should be considered a Tutor, Registered, and an Apprentice, the Apprenticeship program will start.
Tutor Rewards: A Tutor shall receive a reward equal to half the RC the match gives to the Apprentice Ref for that match.
1) Substitute
Let’s face it, right now Substitute is a ridiculously effective move. Since you’re able to set the amount of HP used, you can basically tailor-make Substitute to screw over your opponent. This makes it extremely powerful, and it’s an attack that every single Pokemon in the game gets (other than special cases like Wobbuffet).
After talking to people on IRC, I settled on nerfing it down to a fixed 15 HP. This makes it sturdy enough to survive average STAB attacks- Pokemon with 8/9 BP STAB attacks will need 2/3 ranks of attack difference to break a sub, and Pokemon with a 10/11 BP STAB attack will need at least 1 rank of attack difference to break the sub. This gives Substitute more of a specialized use- you can use it to block status while giving a non-insignificant advantage (taunt blocks status, but it doesn’t give you the advantage of having a sub up), you can use it to give a buffer for charge moves like Focus Punch, and you can use it against Pokemon that lack a powerful STAB to break the substitute with. Substitute becomes a much more niche move, similar to how it is in-game, but still keeps it useful.
2) Field Effect Duration
As it stands, temporary field effect moves last for an absurd amount of time- 5 entire rounds to be exact. A single field effect move has a legitimate chance to last for the entire duration of the match, and with how powerful these field effects are, they simply last for too damn long. I propose reducing them to 6 actions. This would affect the following moves: Rain Dance, Sandstorm, Sunny Day, Hail, Trick Room, Gravity, Lucky Chant, Magic Room.
3) CounterCoat and Metal Burst
I recall that the consensus was largely that these moves DO need to be tweaked, but we weren’t able to decide exactly how. That should happen during this SotG.
4) Bumping the battle cap up to 4
Let’s face it, battles go a little slow, and 3 battles is too few. Bumping it up to 4 would probably be a good idea.
Well, discuss away!