# Gigs (combat roles)

Vision-level design for **combat identity**: what you bring to a fight, how you progress, and how you swap roles. Vocabulary (**gig**, **sub-gig**) and the **gigs ↔ skills** seams (gear, crafting, consumables, rep) stay in [skills.md](skills.md); this doc is the **gig** artifact proper.

**Implementation anchors:** [Epic 5 — PvE combat](../decomposition/epics/epic_05_pve_combat.md); gig XP/progression will need alignment with [Epic 2 — Classless progression](../decomposition/epics/epic_02_classless_progression.md) when data models split.

## What a gig is

A **gig** is the combat **role** on an outing: which **abilities** you run, how the party reads you (tank, support, control, damage, etc.), and tuning expectations. It is **not** a non-combat profession—**skills** cover gather/craft ([skills.md](skills.md)).

Fiction may say *contract*, *loadout*, or *job*; specs use **gig**.

## Gig roster

**Open:** final count and names. Start from a **small roster** with **clear party niches** so **recruitment talk** (chat or any future tool) and **encounter** design stay legible; grow over content seasons.

**Starter archetypes to cover (working labels, not final):**

| Niche | Job in a fight |
|--------|------------------|
| Mitigation / control | Hold space, reduce harm to the group |
| Healing / cleansing | Recover HP, strip bad states |
| Damage (single / cleave) | Primary threat removal |
| Utility / debuff | Weaken targets, enable others |

Cyberpunk paint (netrunner overlay, street sam, corp tech, etc.) layers on these **mechanical** niches—**open** which niches map to launch gigs.

## Main gig + sub-gig

**Agreed:** every loadout has a **main gig** and a **sub-gig** (FFXI-style). The sub adds **limited** cross-gig abilities without second-main power—a **large creative space** as the roster grows ([skills.md](skills.md) hybrid rationale).

- **Effective sub level:** at **main** per-gig level **X**, sub contributes abilities up to **⌊X / 2⌋**, capped by the **sub-gig’s own stored level** (see **XP** below)—exact `min` / rounding **TBD**.
- **Hub-only** changes to main or sub ([Hub swap](#hub-swap)).

**Still open:**

- **Combat gear:** almost certainly **main-gig–restricted** for equip; sub feeds **abilities** only—confirm in content pass.
- **Consumables (passive amp):** **Agreed** — **sub-gig** counts. **Passive** gig-tagged bonuses (e.g. extra healing from a med item when you’re a medic-type gig) apply if **either** **main** or **sub** matches the item’s gig hook. **Open:** if **both** match, **stack vs. single best** vs. **main wins**—pick at balance pass.
- **PvP:** gig + sub balance, brackets, templates—**open.**
- **UI:** two gig strips, sub ability styling, loadout summary for party—**open.**

## Progression

**Agreed:** **per-gig** level/XP (and later **mastery/perks** on that gig). No shared **combat rank** that levels every gig at once. **Maining every gig** on one character is allowed; **slow leveling** makes that a long-term goal ([skills.md](skills.md) seams).

**Agreed — gig XP award timing:** only the **main gig** earns **gig XP** from combat (and any other gig-level awards). The **sub-gig** earns **no** XP toward its own progression while equipped as sub—it only **reads** its stored level for ability unlocks. To level a gig you ran as sub, **swap** it to **main** at a hub and play with it primary. **UI** should make clear that **gig XP** (bars, flytext) applies to **main** only.

**Open:**

- **Curves:** same philosophy as **skills** (soft feel, more XP per level)—per-gig tables vs global template **TBD**.
- **Mastery/perks** on gigs vs flat level gates—**open** (E2.M3-style expression).

## Hub swap

**Agreed:** **no on-the-fly swap.** Changing **main gig**, **sub-gig**, or both only at a **safe hub**—**city**, **home base**, or other **data-tagged swap site**. Not in the field, not mid-combat.

**Open:**

- Which locations qualify (faction terminals, apartments, guild halls, etc.).
- Fees, rep gates, cooldowns, tutorial exceptions.
- **Loadout UX** after swap: auto-unequip invalid combat gear vs player-managed **presets** per gig pair.
- **Party:** what happens if someone swaps while grouped—**open** (session lock vs free swap at hub).

## Party, encounters, and recruitment

Earlier drafts implied a **dedicated LFG UI** (tags, filters). That is **not** decided. Players might use **chat only** (zone, guild, party ads), a **future matchmaking tool**, or a **hybrid** (e.g. hub board + chat).

**Design intent (UI-agnostic):** gigs still give **shared vocabulary**—“need mitigation,” “need cleanse,” “LF damage”—whether typed in chat or, later, picked from a structured browser. **Encounter** and **scaling** design can reason about **niches** without assuming any specific recruitment feature ships.

**Recruitment channel — deferred:** whether we ship **chat-only**, a **built-in LFG/matchmaking** tool, or a **hybrid** is **not** something to lock now. Revisit once **social, zone, and session vision** are further along; the **conditional LFG design** below stays ready if we build a tool.

**If we ship an LFG-style tool** (common in modern MMOs)—**agreed direction, conditional on building it:**

- Listings and search are **niche / archetype** oriented (mitigation, heal, damage, control, etc.)—not raw gig names as the primary filter.
- **Eligibility:** the game (or data rules) decides whether your **current gig + loadout** (main/sub, gear, etc.—exact inputs **TBD**) **qualifies** you to advertise under each niche. If you qualify for **several**, you may **select multiple** niches for your listing—**player discretion** among what you’re allowed, not forced single pick.
- **Open:** eligibility tables per gig/loadout template, caps on how many niches one listing shows, how **sub-gig** factors in, and UX copy.

**Open — rules / content (independent of LFG UI):**

- **Mandatory niches** in instanced content vs open-world flex.
- **Group scaling** ([E5.M4](../decomposition/modules/E5_M4_GroupCombatScaling.md)) vs gig composition—pass with encounters.

## PvE vs PvP

**Open:** whether all gigs are PvP-viable on launch, **templates** (PvP loadout subset), or **security-band** restrictions ([overview](overview.md) risk stubs). Sub-gig rules may differ by mode.

## Story

**Gig-scoped** storylines and **main-quest-style** arcs live per gig on one character; **faction rep** stays character-wide ([skills.md](skills.md) seams). **Open:** how much **mandatory** gig story vs optional.

## Gear & consumables (summary)

- **Combat gear:** **gig-restricted** equip; after hub swap, player **fixes loadout** for new main gig.
- **Crafting** combat gear: **no gig requirement**—**skills** only; can craft for trade.
- **Consumables:** anyone can use; **passive** amp checks **main or sub** (see **Main gig + sub-gig**).

Detail: seams table in [skills.md](skills.md).

## Decisions log (gig-focused)

| Topic | Direction | Status |
|-------|-----------|--------|
| Sub-gig slot | FFXI-style; ~½ main effective cap; hub change | Agreed ([skills.md](skills.md)) |
| Hub swap | Safe hubs only; not in field / combat | Agreed |
| Combat progression | Per-gig tracks | Agreed |
| Gig roster size & names | Small launch set; clear niches | Open |
| Gig XP award timing | **Main gig only**; **sub-gig** earns no XP (level that gig as main to progress it) | Agreed |
| Sub-gig + consumable amp (passive) | **Sub counts**; main **or** sub can trigger passive amp | Agreed |
| Recruitment channel | **Deferred**—revisit with broader game/social vision; options remain chat / tool / hybrid | Deferred |
| LFG tool *(if shipped)* | **Niche** listings; **gig + loadout** eligibility per archetype; **multi-select** among qualified niches (player choice) | Agreed (conditional) |
| PvP gig rules | — | Open |

## Next artifacts

- [Abilities](overview.md) — **gig-locked** kits, sub-gig ability rules, telegraphs ([Epic 5](../decomposition/epics/epic_05_pve_combat.md)).
- [Combat pillars](overview.md) — PvE readability, TTK, risk ([overview](overview.md)).
- [Items](overview.md) — equip tags per gig; crafted vs dropped.