Make Doctor Buffs Dependent on Resource Quality

Make Doctor Buffs Dependent on Resource Quality
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
I propose that we reintroduce the dependency of doctor buffs on resource quality. This change would involve making buffs consumable items, where the strength of the buff is determined by the quality of the resources used.

There are many different ways to implement this and im probably not the most creative minded for it, but options could be:
  • Standard Nutrient Injection buff adds X health, similar to how it is now. You introduce an Injector tool which could inject those standard buffs but you introduce a powerup which adds Y amount to the original buff. These powerups would be crafted by other professions like artisans or chefs, using resources of varying qualities.
  • Implement it in through the medic droid: Introduce a cartridge which adds x % to the buff of the medic droid, this is consumed by the droid similar to a battery pack. The cartridge is dependant on resource quality and craftmanship by Droid Engineers or Artisans.
  • Use a similar system as pre-CU where, if I remember correctly, the whole buff is a consumable thats used by the doctor.
Justification
Reintroducing resource-dependent doctor buffs will revitalize the role of doctors in the game, allowing them to build reputations based on the quality of their buffs, similar to how weaponsmiths and armorsmiths operate. This change will also create new market opportunities for resource gatherers and crafters, fostering a more dynamic and engaging economy. Additionally, it will enhance player interaction, as customers will seek out skilled doctors for high-quality buffs, rather than relying on AFK bots. This proposal does not aim to eliminate AFK buffing but to add depth and choice to the system, making the game more immersive and adds incentive for more interaction.

[Edit] To clarify as discussed below in the comments:
Im not looking for super buffs like in pre-CU. Just that the buffs are in the crafting eco-culture in SWG. So if a current buff adds 10 health, make it so that the standard buff would be 8 health and there is an option to add between 0 and 2 health using a cartridge. With 2 health the max amount if you use max resources.

That way you dont have to change the balance of the game, which is a huge undertaking ofcourse.
Motivation
In the early stages of Star Wars Galaxies, the strength of doctor buffs was influenced by the quality of the resources used, making them consumable items. This system was changed to a fixed attribute increase, resulting in all doctors providing buffs of the same strength. This change has diminished the excitement and depth of the game, as doctor buffs no longer contribute to the dynamic market system that exists for other professions like weaponsmiths, chefs, and armorsmiths. Currently, doctor buffs are often provided by AFK bots, making the interaction feel mandatory and devoid of meaningful player engagement.
Obligatory AI picture of multiple players working to create the best possible doctor buff on the server:

Three beings in the Star Wars Galaxies game era_ a hooded Zabrak gathering resources from a ha...jpg
 
So your proposal is: standard buff as is now. For an additional buff, a "powerup" crafted by Docs, artisans, or DE?
I'd like to see medical crafting back in SWG. Currently medical crafting is done by Bio Engineers. Docs get no experimentation or assembly skill. The CU vision for Doctor is that it is a combat class. Unless you are going to rework Doctor to be a crafting class again, you probably want Bio Engineers to be the crafters of this new "powerup". Though DE is an interesting idea. You will want a different name than "powerup" though. Already we have two different "powerups" in the game that causes confusion over which is being referred to. A third would be chaos.
 
Jeah indeed, keep doctors the way they are now but add some form of medical crafting. Done by either DE, Bio Engineers or chefs for materials. You could even have some sub components created by proffession X which is needed to make the buffs by proffession Y.

Maybe a "Cartridge" or "Injector" is a better name. Or you could burn it on a chip by DE?
 
The number one reason why SWG needed the CU was to nerf the hell out of Doc buffs. It wasn't Jedi that ruined SWG it was Doc buffs.
Making Doc buffs stronger is a big concern. No way we want to get back to pre-CU levels, nor anywhere close. In the end, the Doc buff can't be thought of as essential. You get it because, why not, but the reality has to be that you could do the content without it.

Still, I'd like to see medical crafting back in SWG. Healing by "casting spells" doesn't sit right with me for a Star Wars game.
 
Still, I'd like to see medical crafting back in SWG. Healing by "casting spells" doesn't sit right with me for a Star Wars game.
This exactly, im not looking for super buffs like in pre-CU. Just that the buffs are in the crafting eco-culture in SWG.

You could even say: just redistribute the total amount of buff, dont increase it.
Say, right now you get 10 health, make it so that the standard buff would be 8 health and there is an option to add between 0 and 2 health using a cartridge. With 2 health the max amount if you use max resources.

That way you dont have to change the balance of the game, which is a huge undertaking ofcourse.
 
Upvoted. Doctors are nothing more than nameless afk bots on this server. In vanilla, great doctors were known far and wide and were paid well for their top-tier buffs. Additionally, I don't know why the wound and battle fatigue system is virtually non-existent. It was another of SWG's wonderful and essential gameplay loops. It made doctors and rangers important (wound care/camping) so people could keep fighting.
 
Downvote.

Doctors don’t make medicine, they prescribe it. They diagnose, and treat based on symptoms. They don’t make medicine.

Bio-engineers make stims, close enough. Bio-engineers making doc buffs for docs to administer is just an unnecessary step.


To add to the healing by magic;

Bacta bomb and bacta spray and bacta jab. They’re all literal items in the ability. The same way crit shot and torso shot are different, but at the end of the day, they’re both shots that come from a blaster and there’s no real difference in animation.

People gotta pick their battles and draw the line on when it’s just a game, to literal comprehension and realistic expectations.

If we’re gonna force docs to stock up on med buffs for realism… perhaps we should make everyone carry ammunition magazines and guns run out of blaster shots?
 
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Bacta bomb and bacta spray and bacta jab. They’re all literal items in the ability. The same way crit shot and torso shot are different, but at the end of the day, they’re both shots that come from a blaster and there’s no real difference in animation.

People gotta pick their battles and draw the line on when it’s just a game, to literal comprehension and realistic expectations.
Well, your Torso shot does 1000 damage while my Torso shot does 400 damage. Because you spend the time and energy in crafting a custom-best-resources-weapon and I just bought the cheapest thing on the Bazaar. Thats the beauty of this game -> the crafting system adds real depth and is neccesary to the ecosystem, allowing for choices in strategy to players.

Lets reverse the logic: in that sense all weapons/armor/stims should not be craftable as its an unnecessary step. The players should just use the same weapons/actions, effectively making this a system as used in WoW.

This proposal is precisly that: a request to redraw that figurative line you are talking about to a system thats in line with the other crafting. And doing so in a way that doesnt impact the balance by keeping the max buff amount the same. You'd "just" have to add an extra crafting line just like the vehicle customization line was added last patch (Emphasis on the word "just" as it would still mean a great amount of work and its up to the devs to see if that fits in their planning and roadmap).

Its not "neccesary" or "realistic", its just more fun for the playerbase. Noone is forcing you to use the vehicle customization, just as noone will force you to use the latest buff cartridge to gain that extra performance.
 
I feel the same way about the CM poisons and diseases. I enjoyed the crafting portion of the process back in the day.
 
Well, your Torso shot does 1000 damage while my Torso shot does 400 damage. Because you spend the time and energy in crafting a custom-best-resources-weapon and I just bought the cheapest thing on the Bazaar. Thats the beauty of this game -> the crafting system adds real depth and is neccesary to the ecosystem, allowing for choices in strategy to players.

Lets reverse the logic: in that sense all weapons/armor/stims should not be craftable as its an unnecessary step. The players should just use the same weapons/actions, effectively making this a system as used in WoW.

This proposal is precisly that: a request to redraw that figurative line you are talking about to a system thats in line with the other crafting. And doing so in a way that doesnt impact the balance by keeping the max buff amount the same. You'd "just" have to add an extra crafting line just like the vehicle customization line was added last patch (Emphasis on the word "just" as it would still mean a great amount of work and its up to the devs to see if that fits in their planning and roadmap).

Its not "neccesary" or "realistic", its just more fun for the playerbase. Noone is forcing you to use the vehicle customization, just as noone will force you to use the latest buff cartridge to gain that extra performance.
The reverse logic is a bit of a stretch.

It would be necessary for end game content, and would force Docs to equip themselves further to be effective in yet another support role.

It’s possible you could also see AFK docs benefit more from this, as they don’t need to equip themselves as vigorously as one that would enter heroics for example. They’ve already benefited from the extended buffs purchased from a droid, which also caused a portion of my next point.

It’s also possible you could see a decline in those playing doctor, when a clear effort has been made to make it valuable again. Improvement on buffs makes it easier to not have doctors in groups.
 
Materials for buffing was a nightmare on live. If you want docs charging 25k for buffs, feel free to add mats back to them. Oh and that is 25k min, and devs need to add a cover charge to the docs so they can get it. You would see afk docs vanish.
 
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