Fixer: The Unused Skills

[________________Crin]

Ok, I just hit level 99 and was trying to decide how to distribute my IP points. It almost made me cry to see how fast they went. There is a lot of dark blue in dem skills. It was then that I took notice of some of my more IP friendly skills like Concealment, Perception, Breaking & Entering, and Disarming Traps. Not only do these skills get more mileage out of the IPs fed to them, but I also get extra points due to my high base stats, Sense and Agility. On top of that, I even get some pretty nice buffs for these skills and they fit nicely with the Fixer's description. So why haven’t I touched them in over 50 levels?

They aren’t good for anything. I could have a million points in them and my character wouldn’t be any better. Well I’m lying a little. With a million points I could sneak through missions, but Funcom has stated that the ability to sneak missions will be removed in the future so my conscience is still clear. Does Funcom plan on ever using these skills or will they become a running joke like Swimming?

Concealment
Funcom has stated that they are not done with Concealment and that it will have some use in PvP. I just don’t want Funcom to forget the Fixer when they make the changes. I’ll never get off an aimed shot, so unless this skill has some other use, I’m screwed.

They should also remember that the skill should give some partial benefit. If it is made absolute then one of two things will happen. 1) Unless you have it maxed it will be useless. OR 2) Professions that can buff this skill to a high level will be penalized because the extra skill will not be needed. The Concealment skill should determine the speed that you can move while sneaking or the length of time that you can stay hidden before the skill can “recharge”. Then every point placed in Conceal will have meaning.

Perception
If Concealment will eventually be useful against players, then Perception will then have a purpose because I assume it will be the skill that is checked against. My concern here is that is it enough? Remember that every point put in one skill can’t be used for another. Will Perception be worth giving up a Full Auto gun or maybe duel wielding Gamma Ejectors to raise it?

I have not even mentioned PvE. Right now there is no use for Perception in PvE. If Funcom wanted to give me a present (and I know they do), have Perception used as a modifier for your chance to get a critical hit or have mobs that have high Conceal and can sneak up on or retreat from players.

Breaking & Entering
What can I say about this? Picking locks is a trivial skill and really isn’t worth the investment. There are just too many empty chests. I do have hope for this skill. It looks like it is going to become the Fixers trade skill. It’ll be one of the skills required to modify our Maussers to use chemical damage. Hopefully, we will see more items that can be hacked in the future and maybe even make it a requirement to use some items. I read on these boards about an item that was the drop from a named NPC that required B&E to use.

Trap Disarm
It isn’t worth the effort to disarm a trap. They don’t do enough damage to kill you so why bother. If it goes off, just heal back up and continue on. Direct damage based trap will never be made harmful enough to kill a player because it wouldn’t be fair to professions that couldn’t easily raise this skill. Because of this, I would like to see other types of traps:

• Alarm traps: For each trap that goes off the mobs in the dungeon become more alert, increasing their aggro radius and chance to detect concealed players.
• Poison: If trap goes off all members in area of effect will get a DOT.
• Lock down: Additional doors in the mission will be locked and the exit will be closed for a period of time or until a security switch located elsewhere is thrown. Of course all the locks including the exit could be picked.

These traps won’t kill a person outright, but will give a nice incentive to have someone who could handle them around. I still have problems justifying investing IP into this skill, because traps would only be in missions. A player will only put points a skill if it will improve their character more than the same IP points put into another skill. The fact that this skill would only have an effect part of the time makes it hard to justify using it over another weapon skill or evade which is useful all the time.

[__________starknaked]

Agents have the same issues. We do have a use for concealment, but the others...

I have never even tried to disarm a trap once, never raised this skill. Why bother? Oh no, I hit a trap, a rollerrat is running around, how terrible! Or, Oh no, I hit a trap, it did 1/3 of my hit points to me. Takes me 1 second to sit, hit my treatment kit, and I'm all healed up.

I gave up on breaking and entering, because it's not worth it for me to bother opening chests anymore. No time when you are sneaking/blitzing missions.

Perception, mostly useless.

Agents also have all these skills green (or aqua). We also have green sneak attack and throwing knives skill (whatever this one is called).

If you fixers ask really nice, maybe you too can have a green skill for throwing knives (which don't exist in the game) and sneak attack skill to use for backstabbing using these non existant knives.

[____________Ejeckted]

just a couple comments,

Originally posted by Crin


Breaking & Entering
What can I say about this? Picking locks is a trivial skill and really isn’t worth the investment. There are just too many empty chests. I do have hope for this skill. It looks like it is going to become the Fixers trade skill. It’ll be one of the skills required to modify our Maussers to use chemical damage. Hopefully, we will see more items that can be hacked in the future and maybe even make it a requirement to use some items. I read on these boards about an item that was the drop from a named NPC that required B&E to use.

Chests do have a minimum required B&E skill to open now.
(as of a patch or two ago)
One player created a script that attempted to pick locked
traps thousands of times over, with no success.
I would also suggest that you are mistaken in thinking
that all the loot you find in non-empty chests doesnt
add up quickly . . rings.. bracers .. arul saba gems (soon) .. etc
and all the usual weapons/armor that sell nicely on the shop channel.
Maybe you have enough money that you dont care about this stuff,
but I wouldnt call it a wasted skill.
Also, B&E is used to hack requirements off various items.
(hopefully we'll see more hackable items soon)

Trap Disarm
It isn’t worth the effort to disarm a trap. They don’t do enough damage to kill you so why bother. If it goes off, just heal back up and continue on. Direct damage based trap will never be made harmful enough to kill a player because it wouldn’t be fair to professions that couldn’t easily raise this skill. [/B]

While I agree there could be more uses for this skill,
I would like to share a story in which out whole team died
in a mission due to a chest exploding and bringing in
3 red mobs from the surrounding rooms.

And dont get you get bombs off the locked chests?
Those might be useful eventually. . I seem to remember
some player said they were able to use it on the door
of a shop and it did AoE damage all in the area when
the first person tried to pass thru the door. .
but that was a long time ago and I havent heard of
anyone doing this since so maybe this 'feature' was
removed. . also, some time ago I did encounter a
bombed door that did instantly kill me,
. . but that hasnt happened since either.

I think FC has been playing with this stuff on and off
throughout various patches and not telling us.

[________________Crin]

Don't get me wrong. I'll admit that the skills do have some value. The point is that Fixers have a Black Hole of IP points that are our DARK BLUE NANO SKILLS. Is it really worth it to divert points from your nanos to put in the mildly helpful spying skills?

[Xaielao]

I agree.. I upped braking and entering till bout 30th lvl then slowed way down. As to concealment.. at my current level (35th) I can handle orange MOBs without to much trouble.


However.. there is evidence that Perception effects what you find in chests and/or how many items you find. This makes sence if you think about it.. I have run tests myself.. and after running 3 missions with someone who has never upped Perception where as mine is nearing 200.. about 75% of chests contain something for me.. and usually 2-5 items. My friend who has never increased Perception.. about 80% of his chests are empty and if they have something in them.. it's never more then 2 items.

[____________larsonny]

All these posts and I can't believe that no one has disarmed a trap. So far as I've found, disarming traps is one of the biggest 'trade-skill' experience bonuses in the game.

Putting together implants or building a complete item doesn't give you 2000+ points at lvl ~29ish that successfully disarming a trap does. Find 3 or 4 trapped chests in a mission, ... and thats a really nice bonus.


Remember Perception helps you find the trap, Disarm Trap is the 'money-maker'.

.... Popping the lock (B&E) .... is for amatuers.

[Xaielao]

Well your statement is funny. I do infact carry a trap-disarming kit in my backpack.. I just never bother to use it lol. Traps are miniscule now.. either blinds you for 10 seconds.. releases a non-agro rollerrat or explodes for roughly 1/4 your health. Anyone remember when people down to 2/3rd there health were dying from trapped chests? Everyone was complaining about it and it was ah.. de-nurfed? I think now it's a bit to week. At higher levels even-con missions are cause to worry in and of themselves (my 92 soldier can take light oranges but gets his arse kicked bye 2 yellows) but below about 80th lvl missions are a brease for 75% of classes at even-con.

Now that I know that.. I think I'll put that search icon on my hotbar and make some xp . I do infact put points into disarm trap now and again.. simply because I play my Fixer a lot and.. well it's just part of the class (RP wise that is.)

Anyone else that has tested and can conferm my hypothasis about perception?