MERLANDESE'S PROFILE

Placebo Love
A lonely office worker is guided by a silent Muse to solve the mystery behind his two Doppelganger Soulmates.

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How to fix thief

author=Darken
I guess with the trademark Steal(tm) I'm still looking for something that feels slotted into the rotation (as in something I actually use 50% of the time that doesn't have you go into submenus) but has something to it that occasionally makes me opt for attacking instead based on the situation. It doesn't need to actually be a steal command, but just something suited for the thief that also doesn't make them a ninja wizard. Just thinking out loud though.


You could make it so the Mug command from FF (hit and steal at the same time) is the default Attack. Every normal attack has a chance to steal, but is weaker. Maybe it steals on a Critical Hit instead of doing extra damage, like a normal Crit would, and getting equipment to buff Crit improves chances to steal.

As for what you steal, it could be a rethemed debuff. In Vagrant Story, if you attacked body parts you could also handicap a stat. Handicap the body and reduce Physical Def. Handicap the head and reduce Magic Attack. Maybe for the thief, they can steal a piece of armor associated with the stats of the enemy, reducing the stat. Steal their Talisman, reduce their Mag. Steal their Boots, reduce their Speed. The flavor of stealing to make a debuff might be cool.

They tried really hard to make it the whole point in FF9 where some of the best equipment can be stolen by the main character.


Also just wanted to add my two cents on this design: FF9 took a weird step in Steal because Zidane is arguably one of the best characters for DPS. He has great strength, and he's super fast. I think most bosses are designed around this idea where Zidane is supposed to be "inactive" (not doing damage) for 2/3rds of the fight because he's trying to steal, and then once he has all the goods, he jumps in and turns the tide. It doesn't work, especially with the balance of the game being overall too easy, but there's a nugget of a good idea in there.

How to fix thief

I think a big part of Steal sucking is because of the relationship between battle systems and items systems in general.

Using items in most JRPGs is like a literal pocket that reaches outside the confines of the battle itself and borrows aid. The thief is a person who takes the item from in a battle an puts it outside, but for what? So you can bring it back in again. It's always going to be adding an extra step to a system of item/equipment juggling you might not love to begin with.

My fave "steal" variant ever is a really niche thing in Romancing SaGa 3 where if you counter an armed enemy, you have a chance to steal their weapon—handicapping them—immediately equip it for future use in the battle, and counter-attack with that weapon as soon as you trigger the steal. This bypasses the entire inventory loop where stolen items usually go, and that feels good.

Placebo Love

author=Hasvers
It's alive and it's so good!! Merlandese, you do not disappoint. Did my first playthrough in one sitting a few weeks back, in defiance of sleep and good sense. Will play again whenever the opportunity arises!

(also, while on the topic of gratulating, 1. Lure is currently the most played boardgame in my household, and 2. Prisha's lines were priceless)


Holy heck, I don't know what to be flattered about most right now, thanks a lot, Hasvers! Really glad you liked Placebo Love! I'm going to patch a little soon that might add some slight interactions post-max bond. Not exactly efficient but some people seem to want it, and honestly it was in the original scope (scope cut casualty).

And also super glad you liked LURE. We've been playing with a little house rule where you have a coin that moves to the most recent animal to arrive in the garden, and that animal costs 1 extra to collect while the coin is on them. Kind of mitigates people snatching a fresh animal before your turn can come back around. Try it out! :)


Weird and Unfortunate Things are Happening

author=unity
author=Merlandese
How many music tracks would you need to replace?


It'd unfortunately be a lot, like even if I reused tracks it'd have to be at least like twenty.


Only twenty!? That ain't a lot! I wonder if you could crowdsource the remaining pieces of the OST from the community. I'd pitch in a couple tracks and some SFX if needed/possible. Go panhandling!

Steam can be tricky, just DM me or Tweet at me or something if you need any help. I'm sure Housekeeping and the others can help, too. It's not as daunting as it looks.

Weird and Unfortunate Things are Happening

There's plenty of good quality of life and accessibility reasons for it to be on Steam. Even on Steam for free, or cheap.

How many music tracks would you need to replace?

Weird and Unfortunate Things are Happening

There's plenty of good quality of life and accessibility reasons for it to be on Steam. Even on Steam for free, or cheap.

How many music tracks would you need to replace?

Weird and Unfortunate Things are Happening

I've had some trouble finding a perfect answer for this so I'll just ask: The reason this gem isn't on Steam is because of the music?

Placebo Love

HASVERS! Been awhile, man. Sucks to hear you've put a coma on gam mak but that's life. Gam Mak is a fickle beast. I'm definitely adding some Mircea Eliade to my Goodreads list.

Thanks for all the hype, Benny! I know what you have in mind for your own vision of this style of game and I hope Placebo Love scratches that itch without taking your own best ideas.

Placebo Love should be done this year. It's really picked up steam and it's basically just down to the testing phase and the eternal polish stage. I'll pass some keys out when it's cleaner. ;)

Oneshot Review

Slick review. I agree that the original still has its own weight.

A Fond Farewell to Yanfly

Yanfly, you're a boss. Thanks for all the hard work, and take care of yourself. :)