# Gigs (combat roles)

Vision-level design for **combat identity**: what you bring to a fight, how you progress, and how you swap roles. **Shared progression framing** and **vocabulary**: [progression.md](progression.md). **Gigs ↔ skills seams** (gear, crafting, consumables, rep): [skills.md](skills.md). This file 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 — Skills and Progression Framework](../decomposition/epics/epic_02_skills_and_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

### Naming and theme

Project priorities: **fun first**, then **distinctly cyberpunk**. Gig names should be **good in voice chat** (short, punchy, hard to confuse) and **signal the fantasy** without reading as generic fantasy MMO or pure military sim.

**Cyberpunk flavor** here means: **street and contract work**, **net and security metaphors**, **hardware and software language**, **chrome and infrastructure**—not just “neon trim.” We avoid **Tolkien-adjacent** or **knightly** defaults unless we deliberately subvert them later.

Names below are **v1** after a theme pass; abilities and lore can still rename a gig if playtests demand it.

**First draft (v1):** **nine gigs**—**three** **damage**, **two each** **tank**, **heal**, **util**.

| Archetype | Gig | Cyberpunk read (why this name) | Draft identity (mechanical) |
|-----------|-----|-------------------------------|------------------------------|
| **Damage** | **Breach** | One clean **breach**—ICE, perimeter, or priority target—then exploit it. | Focused **spike**: burst windows, priority removal, short-to-mid range in kit. |
| **Damage** | **Cascade** | Failure **propagates** like a crash or outage—noise that hits **many** nodes at once. | **AoE / cleave** pressure, packs and lanes, close or mid space. |
| **Damage** | **Sightline** | **Optics** and **LOS**—control of angle and distance, surveillance-era violence. | **Ranged** DPS: spacing, line-of-sight play, back-line read; weapon-agnostic for now. |
| **Tank** | **Hardcase** | Street **chassis** attitude: you’re the **case** that doesn’t crack. | **Anchor** tank: stand ground, hard mitigation, hold space for the group. |
| **Tank** | **Drift** | **Slip** threat and **slide** the fight—ghost through damage, street motion. | **Mobile** tank: pick up strays, reposition, mitigation through timing and movement. |
| **Heal** | **Sawbones** | Classic **street doc**—already in-genre; visceral, human, grimy. | **Direct** healing: triage spikes, raw throughput. |
| **Heal** | **Patch** | **Patch** the body *and* the run—prevent the wipe like a hotfix before prod blows. | **Preventive / layered**: shields, HoTs, slow cleanses—flatten damage before it spikes. |
| **Util** | **Blackout** | **Kill the lights** on the enemy plan—casts, buffs, coordination. | **Shutdown**: debuffs, interrupts, punish windows—offensive support. |
| **Util** | **Relay** | You’re the **bus** that **amplifies** the crew’s signal and tempo. | **Enable**: group buffs, resource or tempo hooks—make the next team play bigger. |

**Roster scope (v1):** we **expect** to add a **fourth damage** gig eventually once a clear mechanical niche shows up in combat design (e.g. DoT, pets, or another distinct fantasy—**TBD**). **For now** the roster stays at **nine** gigs; no fourth damage row until we’re ready to name and kit it.

**LFG / niches:** the four **archetypes** still map to “need damage / tank / heal / util.” A **conditional** LFG tool ([Party, encounters, and recruitment](#party-encounters-and-recruitment)) can treat **archetype** as the coarse tag and **gig** (or loadout) as the fine print—**open**.

**Still open:** **weapon / gear families** per gig (especially **Sightline** vs **Breach** / **Cascade**), **sub-gig** pairings that feel bad, corp vs street **faction skins** on the same gig, future **fourth damage** gig definition, and other roster growth after launch.

## 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 ([progression.md](progression.md) **Why hybrid**).

- **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:** **main-gig–restricted** for equip; sub feeds **abilities** only. **Seams** (equip / deploy / activation, crafting): [skills.md — Seams](skills.md#seams-gigs-skills).
- **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 rules blocked** until we know **if** and **how much** PvP the game includes—see [PvE vs PvP](#pve-vs-pvp).
- **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 — combat encounter → gig XP, not skill XP:** the **fight loop** (encounters, clears—however combat resolves) grants **gig XP** on the **main gig** only, not **`SkillDef` / skill** XP. **Missions** may still **reward skill XP** on **turn-in** or **bonus** objectives—that is a **separate** payout from **combat → gig XP**, data-defined per contract. **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

**PvP scope is undecided**—how much player-vs-player content (if any) ships, and in what form, is still unsettled. Until that vision exists, **gig-specific PvP rules** (viability per gig, **sub-gig** in PvP, brackets, **templates**, **security-band** hooks—[overview](overview.md) risk stubs) stay **open with no deadline**, not a near-term design task.

**PvE** gig design proceeds **without** assuming a particular PvP answer.

## 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 | **9 gigs** (v1); **4th damage** likely later—parked until niche is clear | Draft |
| 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 | **Blocked on overall PvP vision**—open indefinitely until product direction on PvP is clear | Open (indefinite) |

## Next artifacts

- [abilities.md](abilities.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); stub until a dedicated doc ships).
- [Items](overview.md) — equip tags per gig; crafted vs dropped.
- [brainstorm/hack-bodyguard-missions.md](brainstorm/hack-bodyguard-missions.md) — group content where **gigs** hold security while **skills** run the hack (brainstorm).