80 lines
5.3 KiB
Markdown
80 lines
5.3 KiB
Markdown
# Skills & combat gigs (hybrid progression)
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Vision-level design for how characters grow. **Combat** leans **gig-style** (swap roles for grouping clarity). **Non-combat** stays **classless skilling** (gathering, crafting, and similar loops). [Epic 2 — Classless progression](../decomposition/epics/epic_02_classless_progression.md) (E2.M1–M4) still describes the **skill/XP machinery**; a **combat job layer** may sit beside or above it in data—decomposition should be revisited when this split hardens.
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## Why hybrid
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- **Gig-style combat** gives parties a readable answer to “what are you on this run?” without forcing alts. It matches **contracts, loadouts, and corporate muscle** as fantasy.
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- **RuneScape-style non-combat** keeps the **economy and crafting** surface wide: anyone can work the world’s jobs over time, and “street doc” can mean high medic craft + rep, not only a combat button pick.
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## Combat gigs (roles)
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**Gig** (job / role—final name TBD) is the **combat identity** you bring to a fight: ability access, baseline tuning band, and party expectations (tank, support, control, damage, etc.). Gigs are **swapped** under rules TBD—not necessarily mid-fight.
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- **Swap constraints** (out of combat only, hub-only, cooldown, consumable, story gate) are a major feel knob: permissive = FF flexibility; strict = sharper commitment per outing.
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- **Progression per gig:** separate level/track vs. shared “combat rank” with gig-specific unlocks—**open**; separate tracks support “I main tank but leveled medic for backup” at the cost of more balancing.
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- **Mastery/perks** can attach to **gigs** (combat expression) while **non-combat skills** use the same *idea* for craft depth (E2.M3-style), or stay separate—**open**.
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## Non-combat skills (classless)
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Everything **outside combat role resolution**—gathering, refining, crafting lines, hacking that isn’t the combat gig, etc.—uses **classless skills**:
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- **Any character can train any non-combat skill** over time (subject to world gates: discovery, rep, licenses—those expand content, they are not “you picked the wrong class”).
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- **Identity** for “what you do in the economy” is the **non-combat skill graph + reputation + gear**, not the combat gig you wore last night.
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- **Long-term:** avoid dead-end grinds; slow or expensive is fine, “wrong choice forever” is not.
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### What counts as a non-combat skill
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A **skill** here is a persistent, leveled capability improved primarily by **doing the activity** (chop, refine, assemble, etc.). Supplementary sources (books, training) stay optional. Skills stay **data-defined** (stable IDs, categories, prerequisites).
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### Categories (families)
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Categories group skills for **UI and balance** (e.g. *Gathering*, *Craft*, *Tech*, *Social*). They are **not** combat gigs and do not replace them.
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### XP, failure, caps, pacing (non-combat)
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Same principles as before, scoped to **non-combat** awards:
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- **Server-authoritative** grants with structured sources (node, recipe, mission payout, …).
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- **Failure XP** per activity where it helps fun and not exploits.
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- **Runaway mitigation** via diminishing returns, context, soft caps.
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- **Gates** (recipes, rep, licenses) should **add** paths, not fake classes.
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- **Pacing/catch-up** (E2.M4) applies across non-combat skills; combat gigs may use the same engine or a parallel one—**open**.
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## Seams (where the two halves meet)
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These need crisp answers so players and designers do not argue from different assumptions:
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| Topic | Question |
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|--------|----------|
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| **Gear** | Can any gig use any weapon, or do gigs restrict weapon classes? |
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| **Crafted combat gear** | Gated by non-combat skill, by gig level, or both? |
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| **Consumables** | Usually shared; gig might gate *deployment* (e.g. only medic gig applies this stim at full power). |
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| **Rep / story** | Almost always **character-wide**; gigs change how you *express* it in combat. |
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| **Alts** | Hybrid should reduce alt pressure; if gig swap is too free, maining “everything” becomes the new problem—tune swap cost or ramp. |
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## Player-facing readability
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- **Combat:** UI shows **active gig**, gig level/track, and combat abilities for that gig.
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- **Non-combat:** skill list, XP sources, categories—as today.
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- Avoid two different words meaning the same thing (“job” for both gig and trade skill) unless intentional in fiction.
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## Decisions log
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| Topic | Direction | Status |
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|-------|-----------|--------|
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| Combat vs. non-combat | **Gigs** for combat roles; **classless skills** for gather/craft/etc. | Proposed |
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| Classless vs. professions (economy) | No separate profession system; economy identity from skills + rep | Agreed ([overview](overview.md)) |
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| Primary non-combat XP | Do the activity | Proposed |
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| Failure XP | Per-activity; watch exploits | Open |
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| Non-combat caps | Prefer soft; hard only if economy/PvP needs | Proposed |
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| Gig swap rules | — | Open |
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| Shared vs. per-gig combat progression | — | Open |
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| Epic 2 doc split | Align modules when gig data model is chosen | TBD |
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## Next artifacts
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- **Combat gigs** — deeper pass: roster size, swap UX, party finder tags, PvP implications ([overview](overview.md)).
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- **Abilities** — which abilities are **gig-locked** vs. **item-locked** vs. **skill-gated** (non-combat).
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- **Items** — requirements that reference gig level vs. craft skill.
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