Making Bodyguard Good

[lobsterpaw 174 / 3,327]

I like bodyguard as a role. I think that it can fit well into the set of roles we have, both thematically and mechanically. However, the way it is now, it's kind of just a glorified innocent who's given an arbitrary task to do to keep them busy. It just doesn't really feel like a bodyguard, and I know that I'm not alone in this feeling. Here are some of my suggestions for how to potentially address that issue-

 

1. Give the bodyguard armor. This seems to make the most sense to me, since the bodyguard is (hopefully) going to be putting themselves in harm's way for their contractor. I don't know if you can spawn a role with armor or if it'd have to be through a shop, but either way, it'd be a good addition.
2. A shop. This is #2 because I think armor is a lot more core to the bodyguard as a concept, but I do think that a few items in a shop would also be a good addition. The items I have in mind are just body armor, a sandwich, and the UMP. I think that both the sandwich and the UMP would also be really good additions for the bodyguard, with the sandwich providing healing for both the bodyguard and the bodyguard's contractor, and the UMP providing a more active way of defending the contractor via disorientation of the attacker. Bodyguards will also naturally come across credits, whether it be from killing attackers or from contractors dying. 
3. This is largely based on word-of-mouth from staff, and isn't in writing, so I may have completely misunderstood/misremembered- I think that bodyguards shouldn't have license to kill except people who attack their target or otherwise obviously pose an immediate threat . I've been told that while they technically can, it's not in the spirit of the role, and you may accidentally be killing one of your target's allies. I don't see the point of this- it effectively makes the current bodyguard into a randomly assigned, slightly worse pirate. It just leads to confusion, and doesn't make much sense for the role. 

 

I play a good amount and do my best to listen to player feedback on new additions, and these are just some thoughts that have been brewing since bodyguard's release. I'd appreciate feedback, and thanks for reading!

 

e: one more minor thing that's already been talked about plenty- a target tracker/radar. i discluded this because idk how difficult it would be to code and i assume it's been passed on already, but i figured it was worth mentioning after all

Edited March 10, 2021 by lobsterpaw

[Rhysin_ 540 / 13,218]

I agree with #1 #3 and the target tracker depending on how hard that'd be. 2 is a bit iffy to me cause i just dont like giving more roles shops
Also not really "glorified innocent" because its not always innocent.

[Burriss75 34 / 2,096]

Problem with 3 is if you know who the ts are you absolutely should be allowed to shoot whoever you want because if you let every single inno shoot first before helping the person ur protecting is gonna get murdered before you do anything

[lobsterpaw 174 / 3,327]

3 hours ago, Burriss75 said:

Problem with 3 is if you know who the ts are you absolutely should be allowed to shoot whoever you want because if you let every single inno shoot first before helping the person ur protecting is gonna get murdered before you do anything

i agree, but i think the solution isn't to give the bodyguard carte blanche to kill whoever they want (typing this as i died to a bodyguard who's gone on a killing spree). bodyguard just shouldn't be able to see all the traitors. if bodyguard is shooting reactively to whoever their target is attacked by, then there won't be an issue. 

this does include the caveat that traitors should be able to see their fellow traitors' bodyguards, which i think they are able to do.

[Jdot. 43 / 1,475]

15 hours ago, lobsterpaw said:

I like bodyguard as a role. I think that it can fit well into the set of roles we have, both thematically and mechanically. However, the way it is now, it's kind of just a glorified innocent who's given an arbitrary task to do to keep them busy. It just doesn't really feel like a bodyguard, and I know that I'm not alone in this feeling. Here are some of my suggestions for how to potentially address that issue-

 

1. Give the bodyguard armor. This seems to make the most sense to me, since the bodyguard is (hopefully) going to be putting themselves in harm's way for their contractor. I don't know if you can spawn a role with armor or if it'd have to be through a shop, but either way, it'd be a good addition.
2. A shop. This is #2 because I think armor is a lot more core to the bodyguard as a concept, but I do think that a few items in a shop would also be a good addition. The items I have in mind are just body armor, a sandwich, and the UMP. I think that both the sandwich and the UMP would also be really good additions for the bodyguard, with the sandwich providing healing for both the bodyguard and the bodyguard's contractor, and the UMP providing a more active way of defending the contractor via disorientation of the attacker. Bodyguards will also naturally come across credits, whether it be from killing attackers or from contractors dying. 
3. This is largely based on word-of-mouth from staff, and isn't in writing, so I may have completely misunderstood/misremembered- I think that bodyguards shouldn't have license to kill except people who attack their target or otherwise obviously pose an immediate threat . I've been told that while they technically can, it's not in the spirit of the role, and you may accidentally be killing one of your target's allies. I don't see the point of this- it effectively makes the current bodyguard into a randomly assigned, slightly worse pirate. It just leads to confusion, and doesn't make much sense for the role. 

 

I play a good amount and do my best to listen to player feedback on new additions, and these are just some thoughts that have been brewing since bodyguard's release. I'd appreciate feedback, and thanks for reading!

 

e: one more minor thing that's already been talked about plenty- a target tracker/radar. i discluded this because idk how difficult it would be to code and i assume it's been passed on already, but i figured it was worth mentioning after all

 

Agreed

[hdscorpio 90 / 1,438]

There does need to be a more clear distinction between bodyguard and pirate. The bodyguard really should be only allowed to attack people who attack his subject, when I last played (and correct me if its different now) the Bodyguard cant actually see who the fellow Ts are. This has led to bodyguards RDMing Ts whilst on their spree (happened to me). I think it should only differ if the subject is KOS'd evil (SK, Jackal, hell even T) as everyone then becomes a threat. 

[Alexis 578 / 12,012]

Pretty sure the body guard isn't supposed to go around killing everyone. They're supposed to follow and defend their person.

[lobsterpaw 174 / 3,327]

On 3/11/2021 at 2:46 PM, Alexis said:

Pretty sure the body guard isn't supposed to go around killing everyone. They're supposed to follow and defend their person.

if this is the case, and i hope it is, it needs to be a LOT more clear. there are plenty of players right now who are under the impression that BG has free reign to kill whoever they see fit, and it happens often. i don't remember who it was specifically, but about a week after BG was added, i asked a staff member about this and was given a "well they shouldn't do that, but they technically can". another symptom of staff team not all having the same understanding of the rules. 

[Alexis 578 / 12,012]

Should be common sense, Bodyguard can't see exactly who is or isn't on the person they are guarding team all the time.

 

I'm sure @Sophie~ ♡ can make an announcement about it or something to help clear up confusion. 

[Sophie~ ♡ 176 / 2,841]

Thread locked because bodyguard was removed.