I wonder why there hasn't been a new Zealand guys designing a set. Hard to communicate with the time difference maybe? Personally I have heard set 6 referred to as the perfect storm, but I would rather just see us stay far away from that realm of possibility.

Although I don't think the designs are getting stale I do hope we get some fresh faces in the mix. Keeps things flavorful and new ideas tend to spring up with newbies. Also, I'm happy this topic got tabled again, hope "everyone" can keep it away from the salty.

I do have to say that in the last couple of sets we have Had at least 2 new Designers. Jake K, and Laura. Yes Laura is Jason's Wife, but that doesn't mean she is not a new Designer as she has a very different mindset and opinions from Jason. Also the plan is for there to be a new designer for the next v-set, as they are working to try through the application process.

I would not be opposed to anyone from New Zealand being on the Design team, but i wonder if there would be a timing issue. Some of the responses may not happen as quickly due to time differential. That's not to say that they would be unwelcome or not listened to. I personally think they have a strong hold of the META and would be very welcomed.


The Thing with set 6 to look at, (As i was last night) is that the pieces are hit or miss. Alot of the High powered pieces of the set are over the top. (Daala, Snowtrooper officer, Zygerian) but other pieces i feel were well designed that are still in play.(IE: Talon, Durge, Luke HOE, Luke & Lei on speeder) Many of these pieces brought in great squads they differentiated the META.
For Example: Talon made it so that there are now competitive tier 1 Fringe only squads. That was simply unheard of before.

Luke HOE: makes alot of the Older Lukes more playable.

Luke & Lei on speeder/Durge on speeder: Decent piece that can be boosted, but not Too powerful to fail. They are still beatable and have weakness's

i think I might have mixed up Leshippy's comment and darkdracul's if i did, I apologize.

SPRY!!!!

He is the man, easy to work with but always wants to do the right thing, I hope he has the time (if he is interested).

Glad to know the invites have been given out though.

Who is the "we universally agreed"? I would seriously like to know. Not that I want to do anything about it, just curious.

I have been a staunch supporter of having leaders of the community (voted on after each gencon to keep it fresh) that make decisions, I just wish those decisions were more openly made. Secret behind the scenes discussions and things creates an elite group if you will.

Is there a committee to discuss banning pieces? Who is on it? How does it work?

I would LOVE if there was like a pinned thread that just outlined these things.

These processes in particular: (I think the first 3 or 4 have been outlined somewhere)

1. How designers are chosen
2. How the "draft" for pieces is formulated
3. How the playtesting works
4. How the the focus for a vset is determined
5. How changes are made to already existed pieces
6. How Public opinion is put into above decisions (since a committee will be used to make final decisions)
7. How the community can be involved with above processes (this sounds like it should not need to be said)
8. If you have a problem or complaint use a process above to get something done so things stay civil, in other words, no complaining just to complain

On my way to work but I'll just throw out a few points that should be made.

For the record Laura went through the entire ( not unsubstantial) application process, submitted stats and was chosen based on merit. She has been an excellent addition to the design team.

TJ ( flying arrow) is the new designer on set 11. He also went through the whole application and stat submission process.

As far as the New Zealand crew, they were strongly encouraged to apply. 100% of the designers would be thrilled to have a Kiwi on the design team. Things like time zone difference are negligible and each and every one of us would be more than willing to work around that minor inconvenience. Unfortunately no one from New Zealand submitted an application.

That aside, I'm very happy to say that we have some excellent submissions for our new round of applicants and the finalists are all very qualified and each would make an excellent designer.

No doubt there are others out there who might make excellent designers but if they aren't willing to put in an application they won't be chosen. We have very qualified active members who have submitted excellent applications. As long as we have qualified applicants I can't imagine getting new designers through any other process.

Admittedly the process that we used to have was nebulous at best. I really feel we have made great strides in making a more public process that is structured and based on merit. All applications will be considered. All are free to apply.

I do agree that in general more structure is better. We've come along way since we first started but we certainly can still improve in other areas.

I agree in not liking the the PV scouts or another path to ysalamiri, and they have both been used to devistating effect. PV scouts aren't seen as much but have been successful. Clearly Talon has been dominant.

I was against the general concept of the vehicles subset. Taking two of the most dominant abilities in the game (strafe and gallop), that are also two of the biggest NPEs in the game, and puting them on beefier pieces was something I didn't want to see. As an avid and successful Lancer player, I know how devastating it can be, and also how much of an NPE it can be for the opponent.

Many of the vehicles were toned down considerably through play testing and extensive conversations. That coupled with multiple counters released in the subsequent sets has certainly helped.

I agree that NOW for the most part everything is fine. But it took considerable effort, including steps we've never had to take before, to get it to this place. There is clearly some residual animosity, and we've been working hard to cleanse that.

It's common knowledge that the way playtesting was handled was a giant mistake (designers have publicly apologized), and though it took awhile, we have worked hard to build back up the playtester base and it was fantastic for last set.

Bottom line is that mistakes were made, and I sincerely hope that we as a design team have learned from them and will not repeat them.

@timberb123

Thank you for giving us some insight. Transparency really helps the community understand and be less resentful about past mistakes. It's amazing how owning our mistakes can help us grow and create an even better game than we have now, which is the ultimate goal... Keeping the dream alive.

You're used to playing a version of the game where the best WOTC squads are de-powered (no Mas, Mara neutered, no tempo control) and it's a different power level. Half of the things you mention above aren't even really tier 1. Backlash in Sith isn't a problem, I've played against Death Watch with furious assault and it seems Tier 2 to me, Boba in Thrawn swap is very strong, but I don't think it's any better than Cad Bane in Thrawn swap. They're reasonably interchangeable, and you can play either; you choose between more damage with Cad and accurate with Boba. I don't have a problem with Evazan either - he's relatively fragile, and has to get adjacent to do his thing. Resol'nare is just a way for Mandos to keep up with some of the crazy movement that WOTC left the good factions with. Out of that list, the only things that bother me are the Neo-Crusader Officer and Talon's Ysalamari.

I like that some things in the v-set are getting looked at, but I don't think the overall power level of the v-sets is ever going to change much - touching the WOTC pieces has been sacrosanct so far, and it's unlikely to change, as it would be met with community resistance. The errata like the CDO are more like cleaning up some non-uniques that have slipped through playtesting and turned out stronger than planned. It will hopefully help a shift that makes Jedi more playable, and puts more focus on uniques, but there will still be very strong game mechanics to keep up with - Thrawn's boardwide swap with Ozzel's tempo control, Dodonna with a big Han cannon shot at the end of the round, and Yobuck killing all your fodder then swapping to safety.

My overall perspective is that the v-sets did a great job for the first five sets, then a few things have slipped out in more recent sets that have pushed the balance too far for Jedi to compete. If the meta goes back to how it was back in 2012 and 2013, I'll be happy.