Also, question: Are there any characters, especially among the ones with less than 20 base total, that you think I should take an especially close look at or that had a quirk that wasn't represented very well?
I've been fairly happy with how the characters are represented, but if there are a few minor things to just bring up, then sure:
- Should Akutsu get a small stat point? He's among the better MSers but hasn't had a chance to show his improvement in the World Cup yet, like how others have. Don't want him falling behind too much.
- This might be pushing it, but I wouldn't mind Oishi gaining something to his Doubles Master like "If Support Level is lower than 3, it increases by 1." It would better highlight his specialist role on the World Cup team.
- I remember from last season that Kenya Oshitari's stamina decreasing Autos proved good. I'm not sure if they were too good though.
-Baron [Auto]:
Mental cannot decrease. When checked by an opponent's ability, Stamina returns at +9 and Mental returns at +9.
-Second Face [Auto]:
During the first three points, Speed decreases by 1. During the last four points, when checked, Speed returns at +1. After an opponent unsuccessfully activates an ACE effect, if that opponent's Mental is 5 or less, their Mental permanently decreases by 1.
-Underhanded Serve [Serve - Lv 5]:
Data: Technique increases by 2. Opponent's Speed decreases by [number of times Cannon Ball was used before].
Extra: ACE if every opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than [11 - number of times Underhanded Serve was used before].
-Cannon Ball [Serve - Lv 6]:
Data: Power increases by 4, Technique increases by 2. If Mental exceeds an opponent's Mental, their Speed decreases by the difference.
Extra: ACE if any opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 9. If Underhanded Serve was used before, ACE if any opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 10 instead.
-Skill Adaptation [Special - Lv 7]:
Activation: Cannot be negated. Copy a Serve/Special with Lv <= 6 and increase its Lv by 1. After activation, Stamina decreases according to that Serve/Special's Activation.
Data: When copying a Serve/Special of a character an opponent has a [Support Lv | Rival Lv] with, that opponent's Mental decreases by [Lv | 2].
Extra: When copying an opponent's Serve/Special and that Serve/Special's ACE effect activated successfully, that opponent's Mental permanently decreases by 2.
So I'll explain the idea behind the concepts for the two German pros. Let's start off with the names because those are very simple. After seeing how Konomi turned John Fitzgerald into Jean Fitzgerald and Harry Christian Hopman into Chris Hopman, I'm expecting the Germans to be called Boris Franz Becker and Michael Detlef Stich, with those two being two of the most prominent German ATP players. This isn't really relevant for their playstyles, but I wanted to throw it out there nevertheless.
As far as abilities are concerned, I was thinking that if Volk has Sanada's role and QP has elements of Yanagi and Kirihara, what about the other Rikkai members from the Kanto tournament? It then occurred to me that the one piece of information we have about Pro D is that he likes sausages, something that could be likened to Marui's interest in sweets. Based on that, I decided to mesh the respective doubles partners into the two pros - Marui and Jackal for Pro D and Niou and Yagyuu for Pro B.
This was pretty easy for Pro D because Marui and Jackal both have clear-cut strengths (well, slightly less so since Marui achieved Wonder Castle, but still) and that's why I gave him two 8s with the rest being "only" 5s. The two Specials are also clear references to Myougi and Nezumi HanaBEAT. Champion of Order is a reference to Marui and Jackal being Rikkai's strongest doubles specialists and I decided on Afterburner after reading Marui's Speed description in the fanbook again. Detlef's Wrath is not based on anything, but the image of him getting really mad after being hit by a ball in the face popped into my mind when trying to imagine him in a match, so I just rolled with it.
As you can probably tell by the time it took me to create him, this was significantly more troublesome for Pro B. This was mostly because while fundamentally Yagyuu is the straight-forward guy and Niou the trickster, the line can get pretty blurry with Yagyuu relying on tricks himself multiple times. So overall I found it difficult to find a good middle-ground. Eventually I settled on Yagyuu's type of copying, but with Niou's intentions. To go into a little more detail, when Yagyuu copies someone, the copy is imperfect, but not on purpose. You can see this most notably after Kikumaru loses consciousness (he touches his collar which is something Niou doesn't actually do) and when hitting Kaidou's Boomerang Snake (the hitting form is completely different and resembles that of the regular Snake more). Niou's copies are of course perfect down to the last detail. So for Becker I went with intentionally imperfect copies to incorporate the moves into his own style, rather than just imitating someone else. If you've read/watched Kuroko no Basket, this resembles Haizaki, just without him rendering the move useless for the original user which I thought didn't work well for tennis.
Complementing the copy ability is Cannon Ball, a Laser Beam knock-off but as a serve to reference the real Becker a bit. The Underhand(ed) Serve I added to make Niou's influence more evident in this part of the moveset too.
-Child of God [Auto]:
Negated if Stamina is less than 1. Opponent's Serves/Specials are negated. Whenever a Serve/Special is negated this way, copy that Serve/Special's Data and at the end of the point, Stamina decreases by [0 | 1 | 2] if Serve/Special's Lv is [<=4 | 5 | >= 6].
-Yips [Auto]:
Negated when partner's Sixth Sense activates. When checked, Speed returns at +1, Mental returns at +1, Technique returns at +1. In the Extra step, when not copying a Serve/Special, every opponent's Mental decreases by [5 – opponent's base Mental] and ACE if every opponent's Mental is less than 5.
-Desire for Victory [Auto]:
During decisive points, Mental increases by 2 and the first time this activates, Stamina increases by 1.
After the feedback I received for the previous concept and the latest chapters, I also revised Yukimura a bit. He can't self-destruct with Child of God now and I added a small Mental drop again, although I'm still very reluctant to go any further with that than this.
Also, is the notation "if [x | y | z] then [a | b | c]" clear?
- Should Akutsu get a small stat point? He's among the better MSers but hasn't had a chance to show his improvement in the World Cup yet, like how others have. Don't want him falling behind too much.
I could give him a bit more Mental, but then I'd remove that boost from his Auto (and probably replace it with something else, so it'd still result in a small net gain). I'd only be willing to go beyond that at this point if I were to do the same thing for all the others that haven't had WC matches yet, but the main problem is that I don't really know what to boost and by how much there.
- This might be pushing it, but I wouldn't mind Oishi gaining something to his Doubles Master like "If Support Level is lower than 3, it increases by 1." It would better highlight his specialist role on the World Cup team.
Now that you mention it, I believe we did discuss that before. I'm currently thinking the best way to handle it would be to turn it into a static -1 (for the whole match) if he's by himself and a -2 if he's partnered with Yuushi. That way it would translate directly to reducing the number of abilities an opponent can use by 1 or 2 respectively (other modifiers excluded).
-Athlete [Auto]:
Negated if opponent is Echizen. Mental decreases at +2. Partner's Mental decreases at +1. Support Lv cannot decrease.
-Monster [Auto]:
If opponent is Echizen, at the end of every point, Speed permanently increases by 0.5, Power permanently increases by 0.5 and Mental permanently increases by 0.5.
-Formless Tennis [Auto]:
Cannot be copied. Speed increases by 1, Technique increases by 1. In the Extra step, when not activating a Serve/Special, ACE if every opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 7.
-Fighting [Special - Lv 3]:
Activation: Requires Formless Tennis. All opponents' Serves/Specials with Lv <= 3 are negated.
Data: Speed increases by 4.
-10 Ball Strike [Special - Lv 4]:
Activation: Only activates in Singles.
Data: Speed increases by 3, Technique increases by 3.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's Speed is less than 4, their Mental is less than 4 or their Technique is less than 4. If ACE, all opponents' HP decreases by the difference between 10 and that opponent's combined Speed and Mental.
-Lucky Sengoku [Auto]:
Cannot be copied. Team always serves first. Wins points in case of a tie. During decisive points, Mental increases by 1.
-Lucky and Unlucky [Auto]:
Only activates with Akutsu as partner. During decisive points, partner's Speed increases by 1, partner's Power increases by 1, partner's Technique increases by 1.
-Motion Vision [Auto]:
Cannot be copied. Opponent's Speed decreases by 1. Opponent's Speed increases at -1, opponent's Power increases at -1. When checked, Speed returns at +1.
-Comeback [Auto]:
When winning a point after not activating a Serve/Special and partner not activating a Serve/Special, every opponent's Mental permanently decreases by 1.
-Kohou [Serve - Lv 1]:
Data: Power increases by 1, Technique increases by 1.
Extra: ACE if any opponent's combined Speed and Mental is [7 - number of times Kohou was used before].
Akutsu: Pretty much what I described before. One extra point in Mental and an improved Athlete. I also changed Monster a bit since I wanted to reflect his obsession with Ryoma (and maybe Ryoga now?) a bit more and he's gotten pretty reasonable where Ryoma isn't involved.
Sengoku: Not much of a reason for this change, I just wanted to give him a little credit for his influence on Akutsu as well.
--- Double Post Merged, ---
Someone? Anyone? This post is getting pretty long.
-Seigaku's Golden Pair [Auto]:
Only activates with Oishi as partner. Mental increases by 1. Partner's Mental increases by 1. Mental decreases at +2. Partner's Mental decreases at +2.
-Oishi's Spirit [Auto]:
Negated with Oishi on the same team. May activate Oishi Territory, Moon Volley.
-Acrobatics [Auto]:
When checked, Speed returns at +1. ACE if every opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 6.
-Australian Formation [Formation]:
When serving or partner serving, every opponent's Speed decreases by 1 and server's partner's Technique increases by 1.
-Kikumaru's Sealed Step [Special - Lv 3]:
Activation: Cannot be negated through Specials. Activate up to one Formation (negates pair's other Formations, can activate in Singles).
Data: Speed increases by 4.
Extra: Opponent's Specials' ACE effects cannot successfully activate against partner. ACE if every opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 7.
-Synchronization [Special - Lv 3]:
Activation: Only activates with Oishi as partner. Cannot be negated.
Data: Mental increases by 2. Support Bonus increases by 2.
-Doubles Master [Auto]:
Only activates in Doubles. Mental increases by 1. If Support Lv is < 3, Support Lv increases by 1.
-Oishi Territory [Formation]:
Only activates if partner's Speed is 3 or higher. Mental increases by 1, Technique increases by 1. Opponent's Specials with Lv <= 3 are negated.
-Moon Volley [Special - Lv 2]:
Data: Technique increases by 3.
Extra: ACE if every individual opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 7. If Oishi Territory is active, ACE if partner's total exceeds every individual opponent's total instead.
-Synchronization [Special - Lv 3]:
Activation: Only activates with Kikumaru as partner. Cannot be negated.
Data: Mental increases by 2. Support Bonus increases by 2.
For Oishi, I just went with Seakay's suggestion and added another ability to his Doubles Master. Also, I decided to transfer the Golden Pair Auto over to Kikumaru - this doesn't have any practical effect, but I found it more fitting on him because Oishi will be more of a general doubles specialist going forward. Beyond that, I felt Kikumaru was a bit underpowered last season, so I tried to rectify that and hopefully I didn't overdo it. Yes, he counts as his own partner in singles and will receive "partner's" benefits from the Formations.
Finally, I changed Synchro a bit since the ACE effect wasn't too well-received.
-Doctor [Reserve]:
Yanagi's Speed increases by 1, Yanagi's Power increases by 1. Yanagi's Data Tennis affects opponent's Serves/Specials with Lv <= 4.
-Data Warrior [Auto]:
Negated after losing a service game for the first time. Mental increases by 3. If negated, all other abilities are negated.
-Data Tennis [Auto]:
If Mental is equal to or higher than every opponent's Mental, Speed increases by 3, Technique increases by 1 and all opponents' Serves/Specials with Lv <= 2 are negated.
-Waterfall [Serve - Lv 3]:
Data: Power increases by 3, Technique increases by 1.
Extra: ACE if any opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 7.
-Data Doubles - Probability: 100% [Formation]:
Only activates if both partners activate Data Tennis. Data Tennis is negated. Partner's Data Tennis is negated. If every opponent's Mental is less than 6, both partners' Speed increases by 3, their Technique increases by 1 and all opponents' Serves/Specials with Lv <= 3 are negated.
-Data Tennis [Auto]:
Opponent's Serves/Specials with Lv <= 3 are negated. If a Serve/Special is negated this way, Speed increases by 1.
-Master [Counter]:
Triggers whenever an opponent activates Data Tennis. Mental increases by 1.
-Data Doubles - ...is what you wanted to say, right? [Formation]:
Only activates if both partners activate Data Tennis. Data Tennis is negated. Partner's Data Tennis is negated. Opponents' Serves/Specials with Lv <= 4 are negated. If a Serve/Special is negated this way, both partners' Speed increases by 2.
-Utsusemi [Special - Lv 3]:
Data: Technique increases by 4.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 7.
Also, a small update for Inui and Yanagi. They now support each other when one of them is in reserve as well, making them very flexible if you can get both of them. Obviously based on the No. 17 match.
-Neo-Scud Serve [Serve - Lv 3]:
Data: Power increases by 4.
Extra: ACE if any opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 7.
-Roaring Thunder [Special - Lv 3]:
Activation: Only activates on opponent's serve. Negated if opponent activates a Serve or opponent's SB is >= 3.
Data: Power increases by 3 + [opponent's SB].
Extra: ACE if every opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 8.
-Special Training [Reserve]:
When checked by an ACE effect, stats return at +1.
-Perfect Scenario [Auto]:
Cannot be copied. Cannot be negated. Predict opponent's line-up. When predicted correctly, Mental increases by 1 (max. 1) and the Lv of that opponent's Serves/Specials decreases by 2.
-Data Tennis [Auto]:
If Mental is equal to or higher than any opponent's Mental, that opponent's Speed decreases by 1 and their Serves/Specials with Lv <= 2 are negated. If Mental is equal to or higher than every opponent's Mental, Technique increases by 2.
-Data Doubles - Weak Point Exploitation [Formation]:
Only activates if both partners activate Data Tennis. Data Tennis negated. Partner's Data Tennis is negated. Mental increases by 2. If Mental is equal to or higher than any opponent's Mental, that opponent's Speed decreases by 1 and their Serves/Specials with Lv <= 3 are negated. If Mental is equal to or higher than every opponent's Mental, Technique increases by 3, partner's Technique increases by 3.
The two that got a brief mention but no proper screen time. I gave Ootori a scud return, basically, but it doesn't work if the opponent's serve is too good. I might give him an Auto still if I can think of anything good, but he doesn't have much to work with that's not already part of the HGP Auto Shishido has. And then Mizuki is back. Perfect Scenario can be used regardless of whether he's part of the line-up or on the bench, but if you nail the predictions he's quite good in his own right.
I'm not sure if Syncho needs to negate other formations. I liked it just as a sizable boost to the Doubles Bonus. Although if you wanted to add something extra to it beside an ACE effect, I guess the formation negation is possible or maybe something with "when checked."
Mizuki is a good character to have around. He adds another element to the game with his Prediction, kind of like how Niou's Illusion does too. I wonder how good Mizuki and Dorgias would be on the same team. Prediction and Hidden Tactician should work well together, so maybe drafting one is an incentive to draft the other earlier.
I'm not sure if Syncho needs to negate other formations. I liked it just as a sizable boost to the Doubles Bonus. Although if you wanted to add something extra to it beside an ACE effect, I guess the formation negation is possible or maybe something with "when checked."
-Synchronization [Special - Lv 3]:
Activation: Only activates with Oishi as partner. Cannot be negated. Opponent's Formations are negated.
Data: Mental increases by 2. Support Bonus increases by 2.
Extra: When checked by a Special, Speed returns at +1.
There's a bit of justification for that in PP4: "It's a state that can only be invoked with Oishi, where they completely understand each other's movements. They can invoke it at will." So you could argue that their court coverage improves. I'm strongly against letting it affect Serves or granting direct boosts because the players' individual abilities remain the same. And like I said, I don't feel strongly about the Formations - I think it might be effective against some and useless against others.
-Overthrow the Top [Counter]:
Triggers at the beginning of the first point if total is lower than opponent's total. Mental permanently increases by 1.
-Next Generation [Counter]:
Triggers when Mental is 0. Mental becomes 4 (5 if Gekokujou activated) and cannot decrease.
-Attack Rush [Formation]:
Negated if either partner's Stamina is 0. Both partners' Speed increases by 2, their Mental increases by 1, their Technique increases by 1. At the end of each point, both partners' Stamina decreases by 1. If a Serve's ACE effect was activated successfully during a point, Stamina does not decrease instead.
-Martial Tennis [Special - Lv 2]:
Data: Speed increases by 2, Technique increases by 1.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's Speed is less than 4.
-Kobujutsu Stroke [Special - Lv 2]:
Activation: Opponents' Serves are negated.
Data: Technique increases by 1.
-Viper [Auto]:
Only activates with Kirihara or Momoshiro as partner. The Lv of Specials increases by 1.
-Next Generation [Auto]:
After losing two consecutive points, Mental permanently increases by 1. When checked by an ACE effect, stats return at +[number of times that ACE effect was activated before].
-Short Snake [Special – Lv 2]:
Activation: Only activates when not serving. Playstyle changes to Serve and Volley. Opponent's Specials with Lv <= 3 are negated.
Data: Technique increases by 2.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 5.
-Tornado Snake [Special – Lv 3]:
Activation: Cannot be negated when activated through Gyro Laser. If negated for the first time during a point, activate Gyro Laser.
Data: Power increases by 1, Technique increases by 3.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's combined Speed and Technique is less than 6. If activated through Gyro Laser, also ACE if every opponent's Mental is less than 4.
-Gyro Laser [Special – Lv 3]:
Activation: Counts as Laser Beam. Cannot be negated when activated through Tornado Snake. If negated for the first time during a point, activate Tornado Snake.
Data: Power increases by 3, Technique increases by 1.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's combined Speed and Power is less than 6. If activated through Gyro Laser, also ACE if every opponent's Mental is less than 4.
All Specials stayed the same, but I modified Next Generation for both of them to more closely represent what Atobe and Tezuka were trying to pass on to them (I hope). Also, Kaidou's other Auto had to change because the Mental +1 is exactly what Rival bonuses are supposed to be at the moment.
-Iron Will [Auto]:
Mental cannot decrease. When checked, Mental returns at +2.
-Advanced Australian Formation [Formation]:
Technique increases by 1. Partner's Technique increases by 1. Opponent's Speed decreases by 1. When checked by an ACE effect, both partners' Speed returns at +2.
I was going back and forth regarding the Technique boosts, but I figured since Kikumaru's version has one, it doesn't really make sense to exclude it here.
--- Double Post Merged, ---
Question: Would you be interested in me putting weaker characters back into the game and exaggerate their characteristics a bit to make them at least somewhat usable in specific situations (e.g. Yuta actually being competent against left handed players and not just slightly less bad)?
--- Double Post Merged, ---
To specify, the characters potentially affected here are:
Chinen, Kai, Yuuta, Higashikata, Minami, Hitouji, Konjiki, Ibu, Kamio, Kadowaki, Mukahi, Sakata
Them aside, there's like 10 characters left to look at I think (there's more I haven't posted about, but that I have no plans for), so I'm going to be carefully optimistic here and say we can start the next season in January. Whether it's going to be early or late January will probably depend on how fancy I want to be with the formatting this time around as there are a few improvements I want to make in that regard as well.
--- Double Post Merged, ---
And to give an example of what I mean by exaggerating their characteristics:
-Lefty Killer [Auto]:
If any opponent's dominant hand is L, Speed increases by 1, Mental increases by 2, Technique increases by 1.
-Brother Complex [Auto]:
If partner or opponent is Shuusuke. Mental permanently increases by 1.
-Super Rising [Special - Lv 1]:
Data: Opponent's SB decreases to 0. Opponent's Technique cannot increase through Serves.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's Speed is less than 3.
-W Twist Spin Shot [Special - Lv 2]:
Activation: If an opponent's dominant hand is L, Lv increases by 1.
Data: Power increases by 1, Technique increases by 2.
Extra: ACE if any opponent's combined Speed and Technique is less than 6. If an opponent's dominant hand is L, ACE if that opponent's combined Speed and Technique is less than 8 instead.
--- Double Post Merged, ---
Some more because I felt like making them. Again, we don't have to use them, but if we do they'll look like this:
-Supervised Super Training [Reserve]:
Only activates with Byoudouin on the same team. At the end of the round, one stat permanently increases by 2 for the rest of the season. Stats increase in the order Stamina, Speed, Mental, Technique, Power.
-Super Foil [Auto]:
Only activates with Atobe as partner. Mental decreases to 0. Partner's Mental increases by 2.
-Super Tennis [Auto]:
At the end of the Extra step, ACE if combined Speed, Power and Technique exceed every opponent's combined Speed, Power and Technique.
-Silent Killer [Auto]:
If an opponent's Technique is 0, that opponent's Serves/Specials are negated. Every time an opponent's stats decrease, Mental permanently increases by 0.5.
-Devoted [Auto]:
Only activates with Tachibana on the same team. Mental increases by 1. With Tachibana as partner, Mental increases by 2 instead.
-Kick Serve [Serve - Lv 2]:
Data: Technique increases by 3.
Extra: ACE if any opponent's combined Speed and Technique is less than 6.
-Spot [Special - Lv 3]:
Data: Technique increases by 1. At the end of the Data step, if an opponent's total is less than 20, that opponent's Technique permanently decreases by 2.
Extra: ACE if any opponent's Technique is 0.
-IQ Tennis [Auto]:
Cannot be copied. Counts as Data Tennis. Opponent's Serves/Specials with Lv <= 4 are negated.
-Synchronized Swimming [Special - Lv 2]:
Activation: Only activates with Hitouji activating Synchronized Swimming as partner. Cannot be negated. Opponent's Formations are negated.
Data: Mental increases by 1. Support Bonus increases by 2.
Extra: After winning a point, opponent's Mental permanently decreases by 0.5.
-Comedy Tennis [Formation]:
Only activates with Hara, Hitouji or Kurobane as partner and only if Support Lv is 2 or higher. After winning a point, opponent's Mental permanently decreases by 1.
-Data Doubles - Genius Version? [Formation]:
Only activates if both partners activate Data Tennis. Data Tennis is negated. Partner's Data Tennis is negated. Opponent's Autos are negated. Opponent's Serves/Specials with Lv <= 5 are negated. Opponent's Formations are negated.
-Imitation Prince [Auto]:
Opponent's Support Lv decreases by 1. If opponent's Support Lv is 0, opponent's Formations are negated.
-Synchronized Swimming [Special - Lv 2]:
Activation: Only activates with Konjiki activating Synchronized Swimming as partner. Cannot be negated. Opponent's Formations are negated.
Data: Mental increases by 1. Support Bonus increases by 2.
Extra: After winning a point, opponent's Mental permanently decreases by 0.5.
-Copycat [Special - Lv 3]:
Activation: Copy a Serve/Special with Lv <= 3 from a character on the opposing team.
-Comedy Tennis [Formation]:
Only activates with Amane, Konjiki or Taira as partner and only if Support Lv is 2 or higher. If an opponent's Mental is less than 2, that opponent's Autos/Serves/Specials are negated.
-Tennis Cyborg [Auto]:
Opponent's stats increase at -[Mental] through Serves/Specials. Serves/Specials with Lv <= Mental are negated.
-Scope Shot [Special – Lv 4]:
Activation: Cannot be copied. If this were negated, stats increase at 50% instead.
Data: Technique increases by 5.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's Speed is less than 5.
Frankensteiner felt a bit undertuned last season if memory serves and just simply not that interesting with only one (passive) ability, so I added a Special for him. Nothing extraordinary, but it has a nice gimmick against negation at least.
Question: Would you be interested in me putting weaker characters back into the game and exaggerate their characteristics a bit to make them at least somewhat usable in specific situations?
I do like this idea, especially if the energy system will be used again. It gives a reason to legitimately consider using characters drafted in later rounds, aside from letting better characters sit out a match.
If those exaggerated characters are included with the new WC players, does that get the roster close to 100 then? I know there was about 80 in Season 3, so having a larger pool should be interesting.
Kaoz said:
Frankensteiner felt a bit undertuned last season if memory serves and just simply not that interesting with only one (passive) ability, so I added a Special for him. Nothing extraordinary, but it has a nice gimmick against negation at least.
I always thought Tennis Cyborg had potential to be quite scary if Frankensteiner could partner with someone boosting his Mental. Him and the S3 Shiraishi looked like a scary pair because of Praising, for one example. That said, Frankensteiner getting a little boost is probably fine too.
If those exaggerated characters are included with the new WC players, does that get the roster close to 100 then? I know there was about 80 in Season 3, so having a larger pool should be interesting.
Yes. If we include the six I posted above, we should be at 95 total. I want everyone to draft a team of 11 next time around and have 7 players per round.
-Tennis Robot [Auto]:
On the 1st point, if an opponent's Speed is less than 5, that opponent's Stamina decreases by 1. At the end of the Extra Step, ACE if every opponent's Speed is less than 4.
-Payback [Auto]:
If opponent is Oni, or a character lost against this season, or a character that has a support with either of them, Mental increases by 2. Whenever an opponent successfully activates an ACE effect, during the following point, Mental increases by 1.
-Immortality [Counter]:
Cannot be copied. Triggers whenever HP would decrease by 3 or less. HP decreases by 0 instead. Opponent's Mental permanently decreases by 1.
-Cord Ball [Special - Lv 3]:
Data: Technique increases by 2. Opponent’s Speed decreases by X where X is the number of points since this was last activated.
Extra: ACE if opponent’s combined Speed and Mental is less than 7.
I wanted to add something to Payback that represented his exchange with Oni before the team shuffle and it's a bit more inclusive, so that it actually has an impact throughout the season and isn't just there. The Continuous Cord Ball [Special] -> Tennis Robot [Auto] conversion and the subsequent change to Cord Ball was mostly to limit the amount of Stamina he can drain. On the plus side he doesn't have to pay Stamina for the ACE effect anymore, on the minus side he loses the Technique boost, so overall his level is still similar to last season I think.
-Fake Deity [Auto]:
If every opponent's Mental is less than 7, stats return as 7 when checked.
-Illusory Smoke [Auto]:
If an opponent's Mental is 5 or less, that opponent's Speed decreases by 2.
-Ninjas of Japan [Special - Lv 4]:
Data: Speed increases by 2, Technique increases by 4.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's Speed is less than 4, their Mental is less than 4 or their Technique is less than 4. If ACE, opponent's HP decreases by 4.
-Lessen Destruction [Special - Lv 4]:
Activation: Extra of opponent's Serves/Specials with Lv <= 4 is negated.
Data: Opponent's Power and Technique do not increase through Serves/Specials with Lv <= 4. At the end of the Data step, if Mental exceeds an opponent's Mental, that opponent's Speed decreases by the difference.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 8.
-Kiritani Triple [Special - Lv 4]:
Data: Power increases by 5.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's Speed is less than 4 or their Power is less than 5. If ACE and an opponent's Speed is less than 4, that opponent's HP decreases by 6.
I went back to Hardy's suggestion from when I first posted about Kiritani and worked it into my original profile of him. Ninjas of Japan, Lessen Destruction and Kiritani Triple are all weaker versions of Byoudouin's world techniques, Tanegashima's Void Destruction and Duke's Duke Homerun respectively which I feel fits my version of him quite well. In a practical sense it also gives him a lot of variety though, so I'm sure he'll be an interesting character to use.
-The "Perfect" Kunimitsu Tezuka [Auto]:
When activating Pinnacle of Mastery or Pinnacle of Brilliance, name becomes Kunimitsu Tezuka, Support Lvs and Rival Lvs become Kunimitsu Tezuka's.
-Illusion [Auto]:
Copy up to one character each point, including their name, playstyle, dominant hand, supports, Autos and Counters (if trigger conditions are fulfilled). Copy up to one of that character's Formations and up to one of that character's Serves/Specials with Lv <= 3. At the end of each point a character was copied this way, Stamina decreases by 0.5.
-Trick Play [Special - Lv 1]:
Activation: Negated if any opponent's Mental exceeds Mental. Cannot be negated otherwise. After activation, Stamina decreases by 0 instead of 1.
Data: Opponent's Mental decreases by 1. If Mental exceeds an opponent's Mental, that opponent's Speed decreases by 1, that opponent's Technique decreases by 1.
Extra: ACE if Mental is equal to or exceeds every opponent's combined Speed and Mental.
-Laser Beam [Special – Lv 2]:
Data: Technique increases by 3.
Extra: ACE if opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 6.
-Pinnacle of Mastery [Special – Lv 4]:
Data: Power increases by 2. If Power exceeds an opponent's Power and that opponent's Power and/or Technique increases through a Serve/Special with Lv <= 5, Power/Technique increases by double that increase.
Extra: At the end of the Extra step, if Power/Technique increased based on an opponent's Serve/Special, copy that Serve/Special's Extra.
-Pinnacle of Brilliance [Special – Lv 4]:
Activation: Only activates in Singles. If opponent's Mental is less than 7, opponent's Serves/Specials with Lv <= 5 are negated.
Data: Mental increases by 2. If Mental is equal to or exceeds opponent's Mental, Speed increases by 2, Technique increases by 2.
--- Double Post Merged, ---
Need some input on which abilities to give Sanada. Black Dragon is a must of course, but what else? He hasn't used In throughout the entire series and Rai has been degraded to showing how strong the other side is. There are the four parts of FuuRinKaZan who he has honestly used to greater effect than the two ultimate parts. They could either be four separate abilities or just one, but chances are that if it's only a single one, it'll be kinda mediocre. And then there are a few different possibilities for Autos/Counters of course - Emperor, Slap Me and a pair ability with Yukimura come to mind.
As always, the total ability limit is 6. Any thoughts?
-Iron Will [Auto]:
Partner's Mental decreases at +1. Support Bonus cannot decrease.
-Right Rounder [Auto]:
Only activates in Singles. If Mental is less than 2 and opponent's Technique is 5 or higher, Speed decreases by 1, Power decreases by 1, Technique decreases by 1.
-All Rounder [Auto]:
If Mental is 2 or higher, Speed increases by 1, Power increases by 1, Technique increases by 1 and playstyle becomes AR.
-6 Ball Strike [Special - Lv 3]:
Data: Speed increases by 2, Technique increases by 2.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's Speed is less than 3.5, their Mental is less than 3.5 or their Technique is less than 3.5. If ACE, all opponents' HP decreases by the difference between 6 and that opponent's combined Speed and Mental.
-10 Ball Strike [Special - Lv 4]:
Activation: Only activates if playstyle is AR.
Data: Speed increases by 3, Technique increases by 3.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's Speed is less than 4, their Mental is less than 4 or their Technique is less than 4. If ACE, all opponents' HP decreases by the difference between 10 and that opponent's combined Speed and Mental.
-Leadership [Auto]:
Partner's Mental increases by 1. Lv of partner's Serves/Specials increases by 1. Support Lv increases by 1.
-Calm Perception [Auto]:
Cannot be copied. If any opponent's base total is 25 or higher, Mental permanently decreases by 0.5. Mental increases by 3. Opponent's Total decreases by [2 | 4 | 8] for each of their stats <= [4 | 2 | 1] (only highest decrease applies).
-Dream Blending Into Reality [Special – Lv 4]:
Data: Mental increases by 1. If an opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 8, that opponent's Power decreases to 0.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 8.
A new, possibly once again futile attempt to get Yamato "right" (or what I consider to be right at least). Other than that, I kind of designed these two as a pair, so Yamato is one of the guys that can turn Migihashi from a Right Rounder into an All Rounder, Special upgrade included. At the same time Migihashi negates the drawback of Yamato's Auto.
Besides Sanada and not counting any potential last minute additions, there is only one character left to go.
-Emperor [Auto]:
When activating a Special, if that same Special was activated successfully during the previous point, Mental increases by 1. During decisive points, Mental increases by 2. With Yukimura as partner, Mental cannot decrease and partner's Mental cannot decrease.
-Swift like the Wind [Special - Lv 3]:
Activation: Cannot be negated through Specials.
Data: Speed increases by 4.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's Speed is less than 4.
-Quiet like the Forest [Special - Lv 3]:
Activation: After activation, Stamina decreases by 0.5 instead of 1.
Data: Technique increases by 4. Opponent's Technique increases at 50%.
-Invade like Fire [Special - Lv 3]:
Data: Power increases by 4.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's Power is less than 5. When checked by a Special's ACE effect, Speed returns at -2.
-Immovable like a Mountain [Special - Lv 3]:
Activation: If an opponent activates a Special and that Special's ACE effect does not successfully activate, after activation, that opponent's Stamina decreases by 2 instead.
Data: Opponent's Power increases at -2, opponent's Technique increases at -2.
Extra: When checked by an ACE effect, Speed returns at +2 and Mental returns at +2.
-Black Dragon [Special - Lv 6]:
Data: Technique increases by 6. Opponent's Speed decreases by 2. If an opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 12, that opponent's stats cannot increase through Specials.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's combined Speed, Mental and Support Lv is less than 10.
This is what I went with for now. If there are other opinions, feel free to voice them though. Decided to get rid of Rai because (1) I kinda don't think Sanada is ever going to score with it against a competent opponent again (unless it's some kind of special move tribute where he scores with each of them once or something) and (2) it would probably just be inferior to Black Dragon. Instead I opted to go for the individual parts of FuuRinKaZan which, as you can see, gives him a lot of variety for different situations in case he does want to use something other than Black Dragon.
For Zan I'm still contemplating whether to decrease the Stamina cost or not, but I felt doing so might be a bit too much given that it increases the opponent's cost too.
One possibility with Sanada is having his FuuRinKaZan be a better version of Yuushi's Combination Shot from the last season. If the combined increase is set to 4, that represents Fu, Rin, and Ka pretty well. If the increase would apply to Stamina too, then that makes some sense for Zan but that's not a common thing for abilities to do. Not sure about In and Rai right now though. That would give Sanada three abilities then (Emperor, FuuRinKaZan, Black Dragon) so Slap Me could return as an Auto maybe.
I did consider that, but the problem with that solution, in my opinion, is that it reduces it to a boosting ability when the boost is really the least important thing about these moves. After all, why use a +4 move when you can use a +6/-2 one? What makes FuuRinKaZan interesting in my eyes are the various additional effects the abilities have. Fuu can't be negated and I don't think there's an ability to prevent Speed boosts, Rin lets you conserve Stamina, Ka targets a stat not checked by Black Dragon and Zan can rob the opponent of Specials later on.
If all of them were combined into one move, it just wouldn't be feasible to keep all those effects. Just having them all automatically would probably be broken whereas linking them to specific boosts would make the whole thing pretty much unreadable.
I guess after this write-up, my position should be that FuuRinKaZan should either have four slots, one for each part, or not be part of Sanada's moveset at all. In the latter case, there is obviously room for In, Rai and Slap Me, but like I said yesterday, I don't see a good reason for Rai existing at this point in time (worse boost than Black Dragon and 2 Stamina cost).
Don't worry about the formatting, it'll look nice once the season starts. As you can see, I lifted the 5 supports per character limit, but still tried not to go overboard. That's why there might be a few supports missing that maybe should be there (although this took quite a while to do, so it's also possible I just missed one or two).
Fuji does have a Kikumaru support actually. The "Fuji" in his row should say "Kikumaru", I just mixed up the names.
As for the Fuwa - Kikumaru support, I have no idea about that either. But it was on last season's sheet and I figured I must've had a reason for it, so I copied it over. Doesn't help that Fuwa has pretty much no support options though.
Just wanted to give you guys an update that I'm hoping to put up the thread next week.
@Hardy or anyone else, if you want to impact the support list in some way - which I'm not opposed to since I realize it's far from perfect - the time to speak up is now.
--- Double Post Merged, ---
I'll be adding more of the general information over the next couple of days, but until then you can already check out the characters here: http://spotfan.site/
I made some last minute additions, so we've got a roster of 105 characters to work with. If anything is unclear, please ask.
That's a very nice site you have set there, props ^^
I wasn't going to impact it but was simply just wondering the logic behind some, got too lazy in the end sorry senpai
May I ask, which buffs did you make to Japan's selected MSers? I noticed Marui got a speed buff and now he is faster than Kikumaru who can almost be in 2 places at the same time '-'
New years late resolution, gonna be more active and post my shit more often \o/ Might even write some stuff, who knows.
May I ask, which buffs did you make to Japan's selected MSers? I noticed Marui got a speed buff and now he is faster than Kikumaru who can almost be in 2 places at the same time '-'
Flaring Ambition [Auto]:
From the 2nd point onwards, at the beginning of every point, Mental permanently increases by 1 (max. 7).
Pong Master [Auto]:
When checked by an opponent's ACE effect, Speed returns at +2, Technique returns at +1.
Neutrino [Counter]:
Triggers whenever partner negates an opponent's Serve/Special. Only activates if Stamina is 1 or higher. Speed increases by 1, Power increases by 3, Technique increases by 3. ACE if every opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 11. After activation, Stamina decreases by 1.
Burning Shooting Star [Special - Lv 6]:
Activation: Requires Mental >= 5. Extra of opponent's Serves/Specials with Lv <= 6 is negated. After activation, Stamina decreases by 0.5 instead of 1.
Data: Opponent's Power does not increase through Serves/Specials with Lv <= 6. At the end of the Data step, if Mental exceeds an opponent's Mental, Technique increases by the difference.
Extra: ACE if every opponent's combined Speed and Mental is less than 12.
I couldn't help myself. Obviously won't be added to the roster for the on-going season.
-Maybe we could introduce Muga somehow? Like, if X character fits X requirements at the end of the standard season -before playoffs- said character will be able to copy moves he had to face in the past -as long as he has/fits the stat requirements. Of course, it has to be quite hard to achieve, unable to copy moves that can't be copied and not every character should be able to do it.
-Not sure if it would be too strong, just thought that it would be fitting for the concept of Synchro if the pair would unlock it during -and not after- decisive points of the 4th match they played together after having a support Lvl of 3.
-You'll have to word it properly, but you'll get the idea:
Tanegashima:
Carefree Switch [Auto]
Cannot be copied. Unless the coach instructs against it before the match, if Tanegashima is set to play S2 or S1, and his teammate in either S2 or S3 is in a base total stat disadvantage of at least 3, both teammates switch places in the lineup.
-This isn't really related to the Fan League, but I'd love the Americans to go back to being called Reinhardt and Valentine. But that's completely a personal bias that would make my life easier '-'
-Changing the name of the move back to Hadoukyu. Wtf Kaoz.
--- Double Post Merged, , Original Post Date: ---
Dude you forgot this for Hewitt:
COME ON [Auto]: Cannot be negated. After winning a point, it annoys the shit out of it's opponent and it's Mental permanently decreases by 1 '-'
-Maybe we could introduce Muga somehow? Like, if X character fits X requirements at the end of the standard season -before playoffs- said character will be able to copy moves he had to face in the past -as long as he has fits the stat requirements. Of course, it has to be quite hard to achieve, unable to copy moves that can't be copied and not every character should be able to do it.
I don't mind on principle, the main problem with Muga is that it's not actually good at the current top level. So while we could implement something similar, a faithful representation would cost a lot of Stamina for each copied move. Because of that I'm not sure how useful it would actually turn out to be.
-Not sure if it would be too strong, just thought that it would be fitting for the concept of Synchro if the pair would unlock it during -and not after- decisive points of the 4th match they played together after having a support Lvl of 3.
-You'll have to word it properly, but you'll get the idea:
Tanegashima:
Carefree Switch [Auto]
Cannot be copied. Unless the coach instructs against it before the match, if Tanegashima is set to play S2 or S1, and his teammate in either S2 or S3 is in a base total stat disadvantage of at least 3, both teammates switch places in the lineup.
-This isn't really related to the Fan League, but I'd love the Americans to go back to being called Reinhardt and Valentine. But that's completely a personal bias that would make my life easier '-'
-This isn't really related to the Fan League, but I'd love the Americans to go back to being called Reinhardt and Valentine. But that's completely a personal bias that would make my life easier '-'
I don't mind on principle, the main problem with Muga is that it's not actually good at the current top level. So while we could implement something similar, a faithful representation would cost a lot of Stamina for each copied move. Because of that I'm not sure how useful it would actually turn out to be.
Uhm, well, if someone with a ton of Stamina was able to use moves at the cost of them being only 0,5 more stamina draining, it could be quite worth it -even more if said moves only costed 0,5 to begin with. Of course, it depends on the scenario. Just like Muga in the manga, it sort of depends on the strategy and shouldn't be always used.
But that kinda ruins the whole point of the move being a Street Fighter joke u.u ... if it is, I actually always thought it was.
Edit: Stupid posting thingie keeps deleting parts of my messages ;-;
--- Double Post Merged, , Original Post Date: ---
Was talking to Kaoz about how I found Synchro a bit underwhelming. He remarked it gives a huge boost to characters that otw don't have anything around that power -12 points + a defensive boost is quite strong. As a comparison, he said Shiraishi + Frankensteiner -both decently strong characters- get only a total of +9 when using their specials at the same time.
My biggest gripe with it was its stamina cost. If both characters don't have at least 4 points in stamina to use Synchro for an entire match, it's usually not worth the effort of training them from support 3 to S -and definetly not worth having them in a main line-up.
So, I thought a great buff for it should be related to its stamina cost. My first idea was turning Synchro into a formation, but wasn't too fond of it. Then, I thought reducing its stamina cost should be definetly good enough.
Think about it, there isn't really a reason for Golden Pair to not be able to Synchro for almost an entire match. At the same time, it's a good contrast with Bestial Synchro -which is usually just better in the Fan League. After all, Chitose and Tachibana had to stop using it IIRC, but we never heard of anything like that from a regular Synchro pair.
Synchronization [Special ‒ Lv 3]:
Activation: Only activates with [S Support Partner] activating Synchronization as partner. Cannot be negated.
Data: Mental increases by 2. Support Bonus increases by 2. After activation, Stamina decreases by 0.5 instead of 1.
Extra: When checked by a Special, Speed returns at +1.
Bestial Synchronization [Special ‒ Lv 3]:
Activation: Only activates with [S Support Partner] activating Bestial Synchronization as partner. Cannot be negated.
Data: Speed increases by 1, Power increases by 1, Mental increases by 2. Support Bonus increases by 2.
Extra: When checked by a Special, Speed returns at +1.
Also, going back to my "characters learning Muga through the season" idea, maybe the same could be done with Tachibana's Beast Aura -maybe Muga's reeplacement if the player is in his team?. Characters that learn it would have to use stamina -as Kamio and Tetsu did- but Tachibana could have an auto that makes him immune -or it could at least have a lower cost- to stamina use from moves with "bestial" on it -yes, it would include Bestial Synchro, I'm trying to make that one worth it as well
