Gundarks, Guns, and Money

In less depressing news than Kabam's general ineptitude, Captain Winter Vos has a recent post in the Uprising Forums, "Gundarks, Guns, and Money: Force Powers, Standard Abilities, and Melee Play." In his post, Winter reiterates two key concerns that -- if you recall -- he expressed to the Kabam Game Team awhile back; namely, that 1) Force Powers are "merely alternatives to Standard Abilities" and generally aren't as effective against Bosses, and that 2) a Rank 1 Standard Ability Set for ranged combat works almost as effectively as a very pricey Force Power melee build.

Winter's bigger point, though: "As far as I can tell, the larger issue at stake is that Uprising has hardly ever been kind to melee players." If I've made this point once, I've made it a million times over the past year or so. You're welcome, Winter! What's particularly on point about this larger issue, though, is his suggestion that Force Powers "should prove more powerful than they are currently." I absolutely agree.

But this isn't about making Force Leap do more damage or extending the range for Dark Poison. "I mean to suggest," Winter explains, "that Force Powers should give players significant melee and block bonuses when equipped." Good point. Such a change would not only begin to bridge the obvious gap between ranged and melee play, but it would also incentivize the investment in Force Powers above and beyond any cool factor.

Think about it. Doesn't it make sense that budding Jedi receive melee bonuses from equipped Force Powers, especially considering that they're finally ready to put down that blaster and really use their lightsaber as a primary weapon rather than merely carry it around for the PR increase?