Make Squad Leader Great Again!

Make Squad Leader Great Again!
This idea/suggestion is Open. You can respond to ask questions or discuss the idea and either vote it up or down if you believe it should or should not be implemented, respectively. Popular suggestions and ideas will be considered by the development team to become reality in-game.
Proposal
As for how to make the Squad Leader profession shine, I have one general suggestion (1.) that I fully believe should fully implemented, another suggestion to be implemented in order to prevent the exploitation of the Squad Leader profession via its powerful buffs and abilities (2.), as well as an additional suggestion in order to help incentivize playing the Squad leader profession and to reward players who fully dedicate themselves to the profession (3.).

  1. Firstly, allow Squad Leaders to use their group buffs and other abilities even when group members are outside of the 100m radius, but do not allow those outside of the 100m radius to receive the benefits of the buff. This is by far the most restrictive of the conditions for Squad Leaders to utilize their abilities and I believe to be one of the simplest and most effective solutions to the problem of the profession being weakened. As it currently stands, Squad Leaders already have a 100m radius where group members who move outside of it lose the benefits of the buffs but regain said benefits once they reenter the radius; but so long as one member of the group is outside of that radius, the Squad Leader cannot use ANY of its abilities with the sole exception of Paint Target. I would simply propose the ability for Squad Leaders to use their abilities regardless of the distance of group members, but only allow those within the 100m radius to receive the benefits of these abilities.
  2. Implement the Leadership skill as intended. For those unaware, the Leadership skill gained from the Squad Leader profession is intended to affect the power of one's buffs and abilities. As it stands, however; all Squad Lead abilities grant the full benefits of the ability regardless of your Leadership skill. I feel this would be a major balancing factor for the profession as it would prevent players from simply taking a single branch "dip" into the profession for major abilities such as High Yield (which grants a +25% damage buff to a single ally) or Steady Aim (Grants +250 Accuracy to the group). By implementing Leadership as intended, this would mean only Master Squad Leaders would be able to grant the full benefit of their abilities while preventing those who would exploit the profession's abilities from gaining a powerful edge over other templates and professions. This would also have the added benefit of the Squad Leader bracelet that grants additional Leadership, Group Burst-Run Efficiency, and Called Shot Bonus to become a viable option for players who do not wish to full commit to the profession to enhance what abilities they gain from it. However I also strongly support a hard cap of 125 to the Leadership skill, as this is the amount granted by mastering the profession, to prevent Master Squad Leaders from enhancing their abilities to absurd degrees while also ensuring that reaching the skill cap is fully accessible to all players.
  3. A bit more of a controversial proposal that I am sure will be heavily debated, but allow Squad Leaders to use their buffs and abilities in solo-play. The possibility of this change being exploited by both PvE and PvP players would be all but certain, however I would propose locking the ability to buff one's self without a group behind the Master Squad Leader skill box in order to prevent its exploitation. By doing so, it would ensure that only players fully committed to the profession and willing to commit 121 (58 of which are used on prerequisites) of their total 250 skill points would reap the full benefits and abilities of the profession. Additionally, I have received and agree with feedback that should a Squad Leader solo-buff; their buffs should have a reduced effect in order to incentivize group play. As for how much these effects should be reduced, I believe that is a decision to be discussed between the dev team and the Hybrid profession senator, Though I would suggest a 20% reduction. Squad Leaders being able to buff themselves without a group also has precedent dating back to Live SWG and the Combat Upgrade as evidenced on the Pre-NGE SWG Wiki here. In order to prove the legitimacy of the precedent of Squad Leaders being able to use their abilities outside of group play, I have provided a screenshot of the wiki page's history as well as the time and date of the writing of this proposal below in order to prevent tampering with the wiki page to either prove or disprove the legitimacy of the former precedent.
Justification
I have addressed the justification for each of my points above but to reiterate:
  1. By allowing Squad Leaders to use their abilities without requiring everyone in the group to be within their 100m radius, it vastly frees up a Squad Leaders ability to function in a group without having to purposefully reposition and possibly put themselves and others in danger for the sake of being able to effectively use the abilities players have made a heavy investment into.
  2. By implementing the Leadership skill as intended, it would introduce a major balancing factor to the profession in order to aid in preventing players from exploiting the profession and its abilities. By linking the power of a Squad Leader's abilities to their Leadership skill, this would effectively prevent players from granting the full benefits of their Squad Leader abilities without investing further into the profession or investing in special equipment that grants bonuses to Leadership.
    3. By allowing Master Squad Leaders to use their abilities in solo-play, players who fully commit to such a group-oriented profession would no longer be punished for doing so and would in fact be rewarded to a reduced degree. By also locking the ability to solo-buff behind the Master box, it would prevent players from exploiting the profession by taking a dip into it for a single ability to only use in solo play.
Motivation
As it currently stands, no other profession is as restricted as the Squad Leaders when it comes to the ability to use their bonuses and abilities to the point that the profession is often relegated to a player's 2nd character as a pure buff-bot paired with Master Doctor or Combat Medic in order to follow their 1st character and grant buffs and heals. It may also be worth noting that as of the 2021 Restoration 3 Retrospective, Squad Leader is the 4th least mastered profession overall (not including Chronicler) and the least mastered combat profession. By implementing the proposed changes above, I fully believe that the profession would not only grow in general usage but also viability in both PvE and PvP spaces. If I have put half of my skill points in acquiring and mastering a profession, why can I not gain any benefits or abilities from it without jumping through hoops and having to play babysitter to ensure the entire group is in range of me in order to use any of the abilities granted by my profession?
As it current stands, there is a general consensus among the few dedicated Squad Leaders I have spoken with on Restoration 3 that the profession is far too restrictive. For those unaware, Squad Leaders are able to utilize a single group-wide buff, one single-target buff applied to one member of their group, as well as a targeted debuff applied to enemies in order to better support their groups in combat. However, Squad leaders are only able to apply these buffs and debuffs so long as ALL of the following conditions are met:
  • Squad Leaders must be the leader of a group with at least 1 additional player character.
  • No droids or holograms are members of the group (with the sole exception of Paint Target).
  • EVERYONE in the group must be within 100 meters of the Squad Leader in order to utilize ANY of their abilities (with the sole exception of Paint Target).
If so much as a single one of these conditions are not met, a Squad Leader cannot utilize any of the abilities gained from their profession. The third condition listed above is especially punishing in both group PvP as well as group PvE content, as a single group member incapacitated as the battle shifts away from them could quickly cause a Master Squad Leader to no longer be able to use half of their template. This is especially hurtful in group PvP or higher end PvE content where a single group member being deathblown and cloning effectively gimps Squad Leaders by preventing them from applying new group and single-target buffs as well as the preventing the use of the Called Shot ability. For a profession that requires 121 skill points to master (effectively half of all the skill points available to a character), the Squad Leader profession is extremely limited in terms of using its abilities and gameplay features outside of well coordinated groups.
 
I think the simplest solution at the moment would be buffs falling off if out of range and buffs only apply to those that are in range so you can still buff those in range.
I don't like the idea of squad leaders being able to solo buff themselves and adding diminished effects for how many you have in the group is overly complicated, especially in pvp where you may have 4v6. It would make the team of 4 even less able to pull it off if the group of 6 SL abilities are 25% more effective.

Hsskor has a BH/CH/SL combo that works well because he can high yield his pet, which was awesome
 
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Doesn’t anyone remember when groups were 20 players instead of 8? Make that a master squad leader benefit. That’s their job. Make buffs restricted to 100 meters for everyone, but make the actual attacks usable no matter if grouped or not. Or if there is one idiot that’s more than 100 meters from the group, he should be Penalized and miss out on buffs, instead of gimping the rest of the group.

Anyone else think it should have been called Field Commander instead and squad leader be one of the minor titles? Lol
 
Doesn’t anyone remember when groups were 20 players instead of 8? Make that a master squad leader benefit.
This was part of the Pre-CU era and I feel it could very much disrupt the balance of Restoration. This would allow SLs to buff more than double the amount of people they currently can and could potentially cause groups to very easily over-power one another.

Make buffs restricted to 100 meters for everyone, but make the actual attacks usable no matter if grouped or not. Or if there is one idiot that’s more than 100 meters from the group, he should be Penalized and miss out on buffs, instead of gimping the rest of the group.
This is effectively at the core of what Im proposing. I still feel that if SLs are able to solo buff they should at least be penalized by a reduced buff effect in order to urge those who play SL into using it as a group centric role, as well as rhat the ability to solo buff should be reserved for the Master Squad Leader box in order to ensure that only players commited to the role have the ability to do so. As it currently stands the profession feels like an active detriment outside of groups due to 121 skill points being put into a profession that cant use any of its abilities.

Shattrd, if you refer to the replied message below, this is essentially exactly what ive been proposing for months now that has had nothing but pushback from the 2 senators in this thread whereas every other Squad Leader ive spoken to has spoken on favor of these changes:
Good OP by Gonk, here's how I think it should work to prevent loopholes regarding what actually constitutes being "solo" as a Squad Leader, and also to address the concerns brought up by Kazhar.

Scenario 1: SL is not in a group
Current: SL is unable to use their buffs
Proposed: SL is considered to be solo, and may use their buffs with reduced effect.

Scenario 2: SL is in a group but with only a Droid
Current: SL is unable to use their buffs
Proposed: SL is considered to be solo, and may use their buffs with reduced effect.

Scenario 3: SL is in a group, but all members are out of range.
Current: SL is unable to use their buffs
Proposed: SL is considered to be solo, and may use their buffs with reduced effect.

Scenario 4: SL is in a group, but there is at least 1 member out of range and at least 1 member in range.
Current: SL is unable to use their buffs
Proposal: SL is considered to be grouped, and may use their buffs at full strength.

This would prevent cheesing the solo restriction by grouping with your own alt on another planet, but remove the frustrations regarding group members being out of range or Droids being in the group.

As for solo SL being potentially overpowered, the solo buff penalty % can simply be increased until the point it becomes balanced. Another way to possibly temper its effectiveness is to prevent the SL from being able to cast single target buffs on themselves.
 
The officer class in Legends is exactly how SL should be. Those abilities, broken out into 4 trees Pre-NGE style. Job done.

NGE ruined a lot of what CU was, but the officer class abilities as they stands in Legends right now are excellent.

My 2 cents.
 
The officer class in Legends is exactly how SL should be. Those abilities, broken out into 4 trees Pre-NGE style. Job done.

NGE ruined a lot of what CU was, but the officer class abilities as they stands in Legends right now are excellent.

My 2 cents.
For those of us without experience in neither the NGE nor Legends, could you please explain further so that we can have actual perspective. The main matter of this player voice is allowing SLs to use their buffs so long as at least 1 other group member is within the 100m range even if other group members are outside of the range, proper implementation of the leadership skill, and allowing SLs to use their abilities in some capacity outside of a group environment
 
Indeed. All of those things happen with the officer class in Legends, They are almost exactly the same abilities, implemented in the way being advocated here. R3 is an NGE reverse engineer afterall,

I would implore anyone that is serious about making SL great again to just spend a couple of hours playing officer over on legends. It will be a bit of an eye opener on how broken on R3 it is.

Dont get me wrong, I am not here to promote legends, there is a lot that sucks balls (insta-jedi, premade professions etc) they just have officer right is all.
 
A lot of the concern with sl buffs being too powerful seems linked with the concern of people going something like x2xx for high yield letting people too easily get that buff in their build. This also seems to be an issue with letting sl buff itself. I really do think the combination of leadership actually working and the solo effectiveness reduction together would be enough to solve these problems. Though I disagree that getting msl should give you the hard cap of leadership, I think you *should* have to gear for it if that's what you want.

For transparency, I really love the idea of sl, I love the idea of a buffing class. I made my sl for group play, but the problem is I can't always get into a group. The restrictions make it feel like my SL is essentially unavailable when I want to do anything alone or don't have a choice but to do something alone. You were able to get around this by having any other account in your group but just now that's just been removed as well.

Frankly, the reason sl is the least mastered profession isn't because it's not fun, or because it's not strong, because it is both of these things in the right hands and in the right situation. The problem is the restriction of play, the "barriers of entry" to fun. When you have 3 character slots nobody wants a character that is only effective and fun when you have one other person in your group, this is especially true for players who play at odd hours compared to the rest of the server population. On live, even without hard restrictions like we have here, SL and the nge Officer were some of the least played classes because they were more effective in groups yet not required for groups like your classic healer might be.

An idea that hasn't been discussed here is the introduction of the reinforcements mechanic that was present on live. Basically officers could summon a "pet" humanoid npc that changed appearance based on your character's faction and you could buff it with your abilities. You could make this the msl feature that allows you to buff while solo. Make it take up your companion slot like a droid or creature, but innately less powerful than either as sl is not really a pet class, it's a group class. There are a number of ways you could implement this, but I will give a couple of examples here:

1. MSL required "Reinforcement pet" (heretofore referred to as "slpet") summonable only while ungrouped and out of combat, banished when joining a group or when a group member enters range (approx 60-100m). The slpet is groupable and a valid group member for activating sl buffs. Similar or lower effectiveness than the super battle droid, buffs have reduced effectiveness.

-Perhaps the simplest implementation. This allows the sl to "simulate" group play but only as msl. In solo pve play, this is still probably not as good as a solo oriented character with a droid, but you can actually use sl abilities solo without making it a pet oriented class like ch. Also, in pvp this gives enemies a counter in killing the pet. A slightly more complex implementation would be to make it so if the slpet dies the buffs are lost but the CDs are reduced or reset so if someone joins your group in the middle of combat your buffs. Also since the buffs are reduced still, group play is still encouraged to reach your full potential.

2. SLpet skill line. This would be much more difficult to engineer mechanically but would elevate the slpet into a more core part of sl. Adjust the skill tree to have a line dedicated to the slpet (not granted at novice) that gives access to the pet to allow solo buffing as well as increasing its effectiveness or granting it some limited abilities as you level the line. Ultimately the pet would be about the same or better than super battle droids, but far away from ch. The slpet becomes part of the sl class identity, the sl preferring it to be almost always active. The slpet can be grouped with for solo buffs or ungrouped to function like a battle droid.

-This is a much more radical way to implement which would change the playstyle of sl across solo and grouped pve or pvp. The skill line approach would allow people levelling sl first to actually be able to progress through solo levelling content like legacy at a similar pace to others, but leadership would also be part of the slpet's stat calculation so you still need msl to have a good pet instead of using a droid. As far as class identity goes, I think this is a really strong implementation.

3. Similar to either previous idea but give the pet a more important role. Make slpet novice sl, but make it a requirement for buffs, like a sort of standard bearer. If the pet dies the buffs go away.

-Basically a way to curb SLs power in pvp by introducing a method of hard countering them. Even if they can revive the pet like CH can it provides an opening for the enemy to attack a group without SL buffs. This also makes "dipping" sl a lot less appealing.

Maybe the idea is outside of the scope of this thread, perhaps outside the scope of pre 1.0 or even 1.0 itself, and require a lot of balancing, but I think it's worth considering. I think it goes without saying but I'll make my stance clear that buffs should have a max range, and preferably if someone leaves the group the buff should fall off and possibly reset the cooldown (though this could create a situation where people tactically drop to change the active buff..., though I don't know who could change it from high yield.) but when you have group members nearby nothing should stop you from buffing them.

There's also the matter of how the SL abilities themselves work, like how you can't just switch the buff to someone else because the CD is so long and they chose to do that instead of a system where it will automatically remove the buff from the previous target, but that is absolutely outside of the scope of this thread.

I think the argument that sl shouldn't be able to do anything without a group is silly. Yes, we know, this is R3. But this is player voice, where people come to make suggestions for changes to R3 and it seems a lot of SL (MSL I should say) players want changes to allow them to play solo if they wish or have no choice. It's no different in spirit than support classes on other games (priests on WoW for example) wanting to be able to do some things solo even if at a slower pace than another build. I do not mind if my sl isn't as good at soloing as other characters, but it is annoying to feel as though I am playing half a character when I do so. What if I want to do legacy or one of the other questlines or badge hunting on that character? Who can I get to follow me around for hours doing that? Nobody.
 
A lot of the concern with sl buffs being too powerful seems linked with the concern of people going something like x2xx for high yield letting people too easily get that buff in their build. This also seems to be an issue with letting sl buff itself. I really do think the combination of leadership actually working and the solo effectiveness reduction together would be enough to solve these problems. Though I disagree that getting msl should give you the hard cap of leadership, I think you *should* have to gear for it if that's what you want.

For transparency, I really love the idea of sl, I love the idea of a buffing class. I made my sl for group play, but the problem is I can't always get into a group. The restrictions make it feel like my SL is essentially unavailable when I want to do anything alone or don't have a choice but to do something alone. You were able to get around this by having any other account in your group but just now that's just been removed as well.

Frankly, the reason sl is the least mastered profession isn't because it's not fun, or because it's not strong, because it is both of these things in the right hands and in the right situation. The problem is the restriction of play, the "barriers of entry" to fun. When you have 3 character slots nobody wants a character that is only effective and fun when you have one other person in your group, this is especially true for players who play at odd hours compared to the rest of the server population. On live, even without hard restrictions like we have here, SL and the nge Officer were some of the least played classes because they were more effective in groups yet not required for groups like your classic healer might be.

An idea that hasn't been discussed here is the introduction of the reinforcements mechanic that was present on live. Basically officers could summon a "pet" humanoid npc that changed appearance based on your character's faction and you could buff it with your abilities. You could make this the msl feature that allows you to buff while solo. Make it take up your companion slot like a droid or creature, but innately less powerful than either as sl is not really a pet class, it's a group class. There are a number of ways you could implement this, but I will give a couple of examples here:

1. MSL required "Reinforcement pet" (heretofore referred to as "slpet") summonable only while ungrouped and out of combat, banished when joining a group or when a group member enters range (approx 60-100m). The slpet is groupable and a valid group member for activating sl buffs. Similar or lower effectiveness than the super battle droid, buffs have reduced effectiveness.

-Perhaps the simplest implementation. This allows the sl to "simulate" group play but only as msl. In solo pve play, this is still probably not as good as a solo oriented character with a droid, but you can actually use sl abilities solo without making it a pet oriented class like ch. Also, in pvp this gives enemies a counter in killing the pet. A slightly more complex implementation would be to make it so if the slpet dies the buffs are lost but the CDs are reduced or reset so if someone joins your group in the middle of combat your buffs. Also since the buffs are reduced still, group play is still encouraged to reach your full potential.

2. SLpet skill line. This would be much more difficult to engineer mechanically but would elevate the slpet into a more core part of sl. Adjust the skill tree to have a line dedicated to the slpet (not granted at novice) that gives access to the pet to allow solo buffing as well as increasing its effectiveness or granting it some limited abilities as you level the line. Ultimately the pet would be about the same or better than super battle droids, but far away from ch. The slpet becomes part of the sl class identity, the sl preferring it to be almost always active. The slpet can be grouped with for solo buffs or ungrouped to function like a battle droid.

-This is a much more radical way to implement which would change the playstyle of sl across solo and grouped pve or pvp. The skill line approach would allow people levelling sl first to actually be able to progress through solo levelling content like legacy at a similar pace to others, but leadership would also be part of the slpet's stat calculation so you still need msl to have a good pet instead of using a droid. As far as class identity goes, I think this is a really strong implementation.

3. Similar to either previous idea but give the pet a more important role. Make slpet novice sl, but make it a requirement for buffs, like a sort of standard bearer. If the pet dies the buffs go away.

-Basically a way to curb SLs power in pvp by introducing a method of hard countering them. Even if they can revive the pet like CH can it provides an opening for the enemy to attack a group without SL buffs. This also makes "dipping" sl a lot less appealing.

Maybe the idea is outside of the scope of this thread, perhaps outside the scope of pre 1.0 or even 1.0 itself, and require a lot of balancing, but I think it's worth considering. I think it goes without saying but I'll make my stance clear that buffs should have a max range, and preferably if someone leaves the group the buff should fall off and possibly reset the cooldown (though this could create a situation where people tactically drop to change the active buff..., though I don't know who could change it from high yield.) but when you have group members nearby nothing should stop you from buffing them.

There's also the matter of how the SL abilities themselves work, like how you can't just switch the buff to someone else because the CD is so long and they chose to do that instead of a system where it will automatically remove the buff from the previous target, but that is absolutely outside of the scope of this thread.

I think the argument that sl shouldn't be able to do anything without a group is silly. Yes, we know, this is R3. But this is player voice, where people come to make suggestions for changes to R3 and it seems a lot of SL (MSL I should say) players want changes to allow them to play solo if they wish or have no choice. It's no different in spirit than support classes on other games (priests on WoW for example) wanting to be able to do some things solo even if at a slower pace than another build. I do not mind if my sl isn't as good at soloing as other characters, but it is annoying to feel as though I am playing half a character when I do so. What if I want to do legacy or one of the other questlines or badge hunting on that character? Who can I get to follow me around for hours doing that? Nobody.
I love this. Mind if I post this in it's own PV?
 
I have conditions to add to the points in the main post to prevent SL being purely an alt in real group scenarios, pvp, invasions etc.
Along with the reduced buffs for soloing I think adding a few conditions to solo/group requirements will solve some of the problems people are concerned about:

1. If grouped with a player from a separate account AND an alt from the same account, the SL is being used as an alt and the buffs applied should be the reduced solo version buffs.

2. Solo/alt applied buffs do not work in PVP. Either the buffs fall off immediately upon engagement, cannot be applied while PVP bounty is in datapad, or fall off while SF etc. Not sure how to implement this techincally but the devs may have suggestions. Again, only solo situations (or while SL is an alt in group).

3. I still see potential issues with removing the 100m requiremets. Perhaps just increase it to 300m. Otherwise you could /invite a guildmate whose off crafting, be considered non-solo and go off and pvp solo or take on bounties using full SL buffs.

These would ensure that in group environments the SL is being used as a primary character and not just sitting offworld for the added buff for pvp fights. It also ensures that a single BH cannot just use his alt SL for added buffs pre bounty. The SL now has some use while being used solo but it truly shines while in a group.
 
As it current stands, there is a general consensus among the few dedicated Squad Leaders I have spoken with on Restoration 3 that the profession is far too restrictive. For those unaware, Squad Leaders are able to utilize a single group-wide buff, one single-target buff applied to one member of their group, as well as a targeted debuff applied to enemies in order to better support their groups in combat. However, Squad leaders are only able to apply these buffs and debuffs so long as ALL of the following conditions are met:
  • Squad Leaders must be the leader of a group with at least 1 additional player character.
  • No droids or holograms are members of the group (with the sole exception of Paint Target).
  • EVERYONE in the group must be within 100 meters of the Squad Leader in order to utilize ANY of their abilities (with the sole exception of Paint Target).
If so much as a single one of these conditions are not met, a Squad Leader cannot utilize any of the abilities gained from their profession. The third condition listed above is especially punishing in both group PvP as well as group PvE content, as a single group member incapacitated as the battle shifts away from them could quickly cause a Master Squad Leader to no longer be able to use half of their template. This is especially hurtful in group PvP or higher end PvE content where a single group member being deathblown and cloning effectively gimps Squad Leaders by preventing them from applying new group and single-target buffs as well as the preventing the use of the Called Shot ability. For a profession that requires 121 skill points to master (effectively half of all the skill points available to a character), the Squad Leader profession is extremely limited in terms of using its abilities and gameplay features outside of well coordinated groups.
I will love the skills works with CH pets. I did train SL just for that, but it didn’t work.
 
I will love the skills works with CH pets. I did train SL just for that, but it didn’t work.
Squad Leader has seen several changes since this initial post. Currently using any of your SL abilities requires the following checks all be met:

1). Grouped with at least one player character from a different account than your own
2). The leader of said group
3). Within 65 meters of at least 1 group member
4). No group members are inside of a different instance (i.e. they must be on the same planet as you or in the same instance as you on Kashyyyk or Mustafar). If 1 group member is off world or in space or just not loaded into your Rryatt or NK Necrosis instance yet, you cannot use Squad Leader abilities

As such im afraid you cannot use Squad Leader to buff yourself or a pet unless a of the previous criteria are met. Since the initial posting of this PV, ive seen SL used and abused countless times and i see now the dangerous potential solo buffing SLs bring to the game and how it can destroy the current balance of things should it nor be implemented properly. However defining what "proper implementation" is may take just as much time as it would to implement it.

Its a group based profession. Squad Leader is a lot of run to play, but unless you always have another player by your side its really painful to be one cause you otherwise just can never utilize the profession or its abilities
 
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