Significant System Updates: Ideas On The Board

[Vio]

Hi, everyone! Here we are again, but this time with something completely different that we wanted to pitch to you all, so fasten your seatbelts because I’m about to morb talk us through it all. Let’s start with where we are right now:

Currently, BV’s systems do a great job of enabling character versatility and rewarding progression. There’s a nice feeling of success for reaching those thresholds and unlocking more possibilities. Overall, the X-Poinz system has worked wonders, and we hope you all feel the same, but as of recently we’ve come across a bit of a snag—a point of contention that has made us re-evaluate where the system is at. It’s also given us plenty of opportunity to consider the options available to players and where they fall short or are too valuable compared to alternatives, so here’s what we’ve been brewing, which we’ve been referring to as Overhaul 1.5.

Character Creation & Development Goals
The aim of this whole project is to improve the versatility of characters even further and open up much more freedom in character growth and development. In particular, it’s aimed at enabling fresh characters to “come online” with their builds from the very start and to help players realise their most basic visions for their characters. To do this, we’re aiming to massively improve the streamlining and functionality of the various subsystems so that no single method outweighs or outperforms another in terms of its build efficiency.

Another issue our current system runs into is complexity. While the basic premise is pretty simple, we’ve noticed a trend of newer players (and some veterans) getting tripped up over things a little too often for our liking, so we’re also aiming to reduce the level of complexity involved in creating and upgrading characters, and to do that we’ll need to tackle the system’s dependency on scaling costs to help improve accessibility and make it easier to understand.

So, here’s the breakdown of our ideas:

Idea #1: Condensing Aspects, Traits, Etc.
Bon Voyage has so much terminology right now that it’s a little confusing to new players. On top of that, we’re running into a problem involving blurred lines between what separates one type of upgrade from another—Passive Qualities are the chief offender and the effective instigator of this whole idea. Passive Qualities initially seemed like a great idea, but we’ve found it very difficult to accurately define individual cases despite the basic premise being very simple and logical.

To tackle this, we’re completely reviewing the various enhancement subsystems—that means Aspects, Traits, Equipment Qualities, Passive Qualities, and other types of Advancement—and have found that it may just be more efficient to bundle them all into one category, which we’re using the name “Aspects” for as that was the Overhaul’s original core concept for this type of thing. And to tackle any concerns, we’re not really going to be nerfing Aspects, but rather buffing Traits and such to bring everything closer together.

Aspects can now represent active principles of a Fighting Style, the qualities of a weapon, passive improvements to a character’s physicality or equipment (similar to Traits and PQs), or even benefits from specific races (such as a Mink’s “Electro”). These will even cover the abilities afforded by Devil Fruits, including things like additional Zoan Forms. Ideally, this opens up so much more potential for characters without any single option beating another in terms of efficiency, especially as all of these Aspects will now follow a two-tier system.

Additionally, Physiology Traits will be erased from the system. If you’re a Fishman with multiple arms, then that’s what you are—no need to spend an Aspect on it! Similarly, Octopus Fishmen might be able to produce ink, which could be taken as an entire Aspect, or just as a Technique. We’ll also be stripping away Negative Traits from the system and instead be providing everyone with a “Narrative Guidelines” post to help keep certain facets of the world in mind, such as how Merfolk tend to be less mobile on land, how Giants are easier to hit because of their sheer size, and more!

Idea #2: Aspect Tiers & Durability
By default, an Aspect is considered to be Tier 1, which is roughly on par with what Aspects are capable of now. Generating flames, cutting stone or steel, having incredible strength, and so on and so forth will all fall under this banner. Tier 1 Aspects will have a static global cost of 200 XPz. Stepping it up a notch are the Tier 2 Aspects, which are the really extreme improvements to those Tier 1 Aspects: We’re talking late game enhancements and the like. Tier 2 Aspects are probably going to sit at 400 XPz per instance and are specifically upgrades to existing Tier 1 Aspects, such as making the flames you generate even hotter. Access to Tier 2 Aspects will be locked behind a threshold of 3,000 X-Poinz (possibly subject to change but this is the ballpark figure we’ve agreed on).

To help clarify all of this, we’ll also be establishing what durability actually is. Tier 1 durability (in the physical sense) is stone and standard metals such as iron and steel, normally unbreakable by standard means without sufficient strength and persistence—a single blow from somebody capable of smashing stone isn’t necessarily going to break it into pieces instantly, either. Think of it more as balancing the scale, rather than directly overpowering. Tier 2 durability would be the monstrous resilience of much more sturdy materials (and people), though do remember that some things such as Seastone are considered indestructible.

Idea #3: No Class, No Rank
That’s right! Class will be a thing of the past, as will Ranks. Neither of these really hold weight in this update we’ve envisioned, which includes Traits being replaced by Aspects and the removed limitations of when Aspects become available. Instead of these thresholds, we’ll be introducing fixed periodic thresholds at every 1,000 X-Poinz a character earns, granting that character access to a single free Aspect slot, in a similar way to how Traits are awarded in the current system.

You might then ask: What happens to Techniques…

Idea #4: Techniques & X-Techs!
Techniques will now have a static cost of 50 X-Poinz. With Rank no longer mattering, there’s not much of a need for scaling costs. This means that Techniques that use Aspects don’t have a higher cost. Simply put, you can make any Technique at a standard cost, provided you have the Aspect(s) to warrant it. However, there’s a single main exception:

If you want a fancy one-off Technique that technically would require an Aspect, but have no intention of investing in more Techniques of that style, you can instead purchase what we’ve been calling an X-Technique! These cost 150 XPz (the base 50 plus an additional 100), but basically have a built-in Aspect. A prime example would be Luffy’s Gomu Gomu no Redhawk, and later Red Roc. In terms of cost efficiency, this is ideal, and if you later decide you want to take that route as an Aspect, you can pay the difference to upgrade!

X-Techniques will cover a fair few bases. Rokushiki (and its clones) can be done through this method, through individual Aspects, or World Government operatives can invest in a “Rokushiki Training” Aspect if you’re intent on taking three or more of those Techniques. Similarly, the previous “Variable Ammunition” type Aspects will be removed in favour of this system, because it makes more sense: It’s a bit unfair to have a catch-all type of Aspect, after all, and helps put everyone on a similar playing field.

Idea #5: Haki & Awakening
As previously mentioned, Tier 2 Aspects will be kept behind a threshold of 3,000 XPz, and this will actively include Haki and Awakenings, which follow a similar system. Devil Fruit Awakenings are considered a Tier 2 Aspect of the standard Devil Fruit Aspect and so are a direct upgrade. Haki is set to work in a slightly different manner, with Raw Haki being considered a Tier 1 Aspect with a special cost of 100 XPz, because it functions more like a new X-Technique. Subsequently, it can be improved to its full basic proficiency, and later upgraded with various Tier 2 Aspects, such as “Future Sight”, “Ryūō”, and more. Yes, this means Haki could potentially become available earlier than it can currently, but it should be noted that you would still need to have sufficient roleplay evidence for awakening Haki abilities.

Idea #6: Overdrives
We’ve been a bit on the fence on this one, but there’s two schools of thought we have. The first is to simply make Overdrives work as Aspects will, with no particularly special nuance. The second is to make them another form of Fighting Style, with its own Aspects, which actively improves existing Techniques and offers access to more unique ones in exchange for being a limited and exhaustive power in most cases. For example, Luffy’s Gear Second would have an Aspect that enhances his attack and movement speed.

Idea #7: NPCs, Ships, Bases
Without much doubt, it’s going to be cleaner if we use the system design outlined above in regards to each of these, as it helps to keep everything clean and balanced. We’re still debating Ships and Bases, but NPCs will definitely work more effectively like this. It might be a bit more costly initially, but because costs will now be static, investment quickly outweighs the early costs in favour of a substantially less costly late game. Unlike OCs, NPCs will gain free Aspects after every 1,000 XPz spent on them, because they themselves do not earn X-Poinz.

Idea #8: Account Rebate & Technique Vouchers
Rebate itself has often been a confusing point for newer members and adds an additional layer of numbers to track, which can rapidly become tedious as characters grow. When we opened up Rebate to be a more general resource, this alleviated some of the complexity, but it still hasn’t been enough. As a result, we’d be erasing that from the core system in favour of a far simpler “voucher” for a Technique each time you purchase an Aspect with X-Poinz.

As for Account Rebate? Well, we’re very happy with how that’s turned out and have no intention of removing it, though it will be exclusively locked to Techniques and likely get renamed to Account Poinz (or APz for short). Keeping it in play also makes the conversion of Grading NPC threads much cleaner and won’t complicate matters anymore than is necessary.

On the topic of Account Poinz…

Idea #9: Soft Resets
Without Class benchmarks, Soft Resets would have found themselves in a bit of a quandary, but the aforementioned 1,000 XPz thresholds will take over from the retiring Class benchmarks to help keep Soft Resets accessible. Characters that get Soft Reset will regress to the last 1,000 XPz mark, and any excess XPz beyond that will be converted to Account Rebate, as normal.

Idea #10: Disassembling Dials
Dials have long been an unusual subsystem, albeit one that’s worked pretty well, but narratively they hold a much more specific place than the system suggests. On top of that, they’re diverse enough that “Variable Ammunition” and similar concepts of the current system follow the same trend, so we’re looking at stripping them away as a particular thing and blending them into the Aspects, Techniques, and X-Techs systems to help avoid confusion.

This means that the “Dial Modification” Quality of Equipment will be stripped away, as it offers far too much versatility as a standalone Aspect in this new system. A weapon heated by a Heat Dial could just as readily be heated through other means, which would just be an Aspect, while individual Dial usage could be flavoured as Techniques (or X-Techniques for the particularly potent ones such as Reject Dials). Hopefully, this draws less of a focus on “strange shells from the sky do magical things” and lets players narratively depict some variety for achieving the same goals.

As an aside, cloud-producing Dials would no longer require an Aspect or anything of the sort to function at lower altitudes, though certain types may be considered worthy of X-Techniques. This opens up more possibilities for characters that focus on these Dial types.

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There’s a fair bit to ingest with this one, but we think this may help significantly in many ways, from facilitating member ideas to hastening the approval processes a little! It’ll also enable us to make everything much more concise and easy to reference. What we really want is for everyone to share their thoughts and opinions on the matter, because this affects you first and foremost! Broadcast your thoughts and concerns in the Discord’s Site Development channel!

[Vio]

Howdy, folks!

We’ve been hard at work in the kitchen after the feedback we got from the initial proposal, so let’s highlight where the initial pitch seemed to raise some concerns to start, which quite neatly packages itself into two main points:

• ^{You want some sense of a progressive element: Something that makes each and every step worthwhile.}
• ^{You want something to differentiate the baser capabilities of characters.}

With these two points in mind and the general design ethos of “simpler and more accessible” we had coming into this, we’ve crafted something a little more worthwhile. So, let’s start with the fundamentals of this idea, which revolves around…

Three Tiers of Aspect
With the two-tier system not appealing so well, we decided to bump it to three tiers instead. Tier 1 will represent the general capabilities and basic unusual skills and abilities developed by characters, falling roughly into place with where Traits stand in the current system, but with a much greater degree of versatility and flexibility based on the character. Enhanced physical strength, abnormal resilience, high speed; resistance to certain types of damage, the ability to generate electricity, and more; all of these are prime examples and borrow the concept of an Aspect that we wanted to fundamentally enable.

• ^{Example: Tier 1 Inhuman Strength would enable a character to bust down brick walls, smash sturdy timber, and achieve other feats of incredible strength, but things like solid steel and hefty stone probably aren’t going to budge. It’s perfectly feasible for persistence and continuous assaults to eventually break down something, but it’s not within the realms of a character’s reality to knock their way through it in one move.}

Tier 2, which is currently proposed at being locked behind the 1,000 X-Poinz benchmark, would represent the next level. A Tier 2 Strength Aspect would enable a character to brute force their way through solid stone more readily, and even start putting a dent in steel, or active applications that could enable a swordsman to cut steel. Alternatively, it could represent much hotter flames, or the greater control over your flame-producing ability to create complex shapes with more particular effects.

Beyond that is Tier 3, the pinnacle of ability and the final step. Tier 3 Aspects are the truly absurd heights of One Piece, such as steel-shattering strength, or flames so hot that they have no issue melting their way through solid rock (it’s easier for flame to melt metal than it is rock). These absolutely monstrous abilities are secured behind a proposed threshold of 4,000 X-Poinz.

The exact paths you take, the number of possible branches, and more all depend on your character’s growth and intended potential. Each Tier enables a multitude of potential branches based on what you are aiming to achieve, but it should be noted that these must all stem from a reasonable “foundation” (a Tier 1 Aspect). Even then, we’d also allow people to effectively “skip a Tier” to grab Aspects of a higher Tier, by paying the full cost that they would have had to pay using a simple yet effective scaling cost system, outlined below:

• Tier 1, 100 X-Poinz
• Tier 2, 200 X-Poinz (or 300 X-Poinz Total)
• Tier 3, 300 X-Poinz (or 600 X-Poinz Total)

To further focus on the feeling of progression and maintain a system of “free upgrades” as a reward for hitting certain benchmarks, we’d also be including an “Aspect Voucher” system. You’d gain one voucher for every 1,000 X-Poinz that character has earned, and can subsequently trade them in for an Aspect based on the number of Tiers involved. Effectively, a voucher is worth 100 X-Poinz, so to purchase a Tier 2 Aspect you’d need to trade in two vouchers, or three if you didn’t already have a foundation Tier 1.

X-Techs, Version 2.0
The idea of X-Techs remains here in the system, because they neatly bundle together a basic idea. What we’ve decided to take is a progressive approach to them, rather than the static approach they had in the initial proposition. They will now have a scaling cost based on the Tier of Aspect that they replicate, and this is about the most complex the math in this system will ever get, which seems reasonable for what are intended as one off instances:

• Tier 1, 75 X-Poinz
• Tier 2, 150 X-Poinz
• Tier 3, 225 X-Poinz

Now, X-Techs cannot skip Tiers like Aspects can. In order to replicate an Aspect higher than Tier 1, the character must have a reasonable Aspect of the next lowest Tier to serve as the foundation. It would be impossible to create an X-Tech with a Tier 3 effect without first having a Tier 2 Aspect as a foundation. This prevents X-Techs from being a “shortcut” system to powerful possibilities without the character having naturally progressed towards that angle, helping them stay unique and special.

Overdrives
These only got a passing mention in the previously conceived idea, but now we have a solid idea of where they stand on the ladder as well as giving them that feel of being something special. We’re redefining them as a special type of FiSt, featuring a core of between one and three Aspects. Alongside these, the Overdrive Aspect is part of the parcel, with one instance for each Tier that the Overdrive gives Aspects at. This represents the drawbacks, negative effects, and other consequences of using said Overdrive, but also represents the fact that these Aspects can be applied to existing Techniques retroactively.

Characters can also upgrade their Overdrives in a manner identical to existing FiSts and Aspects, with one unique exception, which we’re calling Overdrive Efficiency. This special Aspect can be purchased in Tiers as well and represents a character mastering and overcoming the strain of using such an ability, thus enabling more controlled usage (such as how Luffy basically turns Gear Second and Gear Third “on and off” as necessary without the significant drawbacks he had before), while still enabling a character to go one step further in times of desperation.

Haki
Sitting in a strange place, we’ve decided that the best approach to Haki in this system is to compare it to Overdrives. Haki, after all, is a finite resource that can deplete if a person abuses it for too long without pause. Raw Haki will remain as initially pitched, being technically available from the start so long as a character can actively show moments of stress that would reasonably awaken their potential. What’s different is that a character’s backstory can be a reasonable indication of stress for awakening either Armament or Observation (but not Conqueror’s), though can only be cited as a single point towards these.

Haki will otherwise follow the same Tiered design and thresholds, with each Colour being considered a separate “Overdrive”. Tier 1 is considered the raw and uncontrolled version, Tier 2 being the mastered training and basic usage, and Tier 3 being the branching advanced applications of each respective form.

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Alright! This is round 2 of our proposed system, so have a read and tell us how you feel!

[Vio]

Hey, folks!

We’re back again with some new ideas after some extensive talks regarding Devil Fruits. Our beloved Zoans ended up being a lot more complicated to iron the wrinkles out of than we’d initially imagined, but we’ve managed to get on the same back and filter out the complexities in favour of the following…

Zoans, Redefined
In the new system, all Zoan-Class Devil Fruits grant the following benefits:

• ^{Classification of their original non-Zoan form as a Base Form, and a new Base Form in the “Full-Beast” transformation, depicted as a peak physiology version of the Zoan’s animal. This form loses access to capabilities specific to the user's original Base Form but has its own new set, based on the animal in question’s own capabilities. The “Full-Beast” Zoan Form is represented as a new FiSt on the user’s profile, with a Tier 1 Aspect built in that represents the Fruit's basic capabilities.}
• ^{Access to a hybrid “Half-Beast” Zoan Form, which allows access to both of the user’s Base Forms’ capabilities at once. A “Half-Beast” FiSt is added to the user’s profile, with a built in Tier 1 Aspect that represents the Fruit’s basic capabilities.}

Ancient Zoans gain the following:

• ^{A greater allowance for more impressive physical capabilities from their new Base Form, in accordance with the animal in question.}
• ^{A yet-to-be-named “prehistoric exaggeration”, along the lines of the Wano Arc’s “this is how [X] hunted in prehistoric times”. This can range from silly and nonsensical, potentially even dipping into Malleable Anatomy territory as an inherent part of the Fruit ability (though maybe limited to one aspect of the user’s physiology), such as a Triceratops using their frill as a propeller, to something more grounded, like a massively increased jaw strength capable of shearing through metal.}

And Mythical Zoans get the following:

• ^{Just as the prior classifications do, they now receive a new Base Form with some (basic) physical capabilities corresponding to their “animal”.}
• ^{A set of between one and three Mythic Abilities, based on (at least an interpretation of) their animal’s mythical capabilities. The exact potential and power of which may impact how many are available, which is how they function now for the sake of approval.}

Starting X-Poinz & Devil Fruit Costs
With the above ironed out, the next decision on the table is a bit more involved, so we’ve decided to pitch the idea to all of you to help figure out where to set the bar. In particular, we’ve been debating a new and slightly more simplified selection of X-Poinz cost brackets for Devil Fruits, as well as the effects it will have on the starting amount of X-Poinz, and we have quite a few options. So! Here are the new proposed costs:

200 X-Poinz	Zoan, Paramecia, SMILE
400 X-Poinz	Ancient Zoan, Special Paramecia
600 X-Poinz	Logia, Mythical Zoan

These numbers are mostly inflated to represent the rarity and power potential of Devil Fruits, while also working to clean up the numbers a little. While this is a value “nerf” to most Fruits, the increased affordability of Tier 1 Aspects in general does offset this, on top of the fact that you gain 1 Free Technique Voucher for every 100 X-Poinz spent on Aspects and Devil Fruits. Next, the question: Which of the following options do you feel makes the most sense to you in terms of simplicity, accessibility, and functionality?

#1: Exchange
Our first option keeps the starting budget of X-Poinz to 300 X-Poinz, but offers a unique option in that starting characters can choose to “exchange” one of their three Free Starting Aspects in order to afford an Ancient Zoan or a Special Paramecia. For clarity’s sake, Logia and Mythical Zoans remain off the table for fresh characters (outside of Soft Resets for obvious reasons).

#2: 400 X-Poinz Budget
This is as simple as it sounds! The amount of X-Poinz available to start increases to 400! This means that Special Paramecia and Ancient Zoans are affordable to start and doesn’t really muddy the waters much.

#3: Increased Budget 2
This one’s a bigger leap, increasing the amount of X-Poinz given at the start of a character’s “life” to 500! This is more drastic, but offers a decent budget, as well as keeping the current system’s little niche of starting you off at the “halfway mark” to the first major milestone. In this case, the amount given is half of what you’d need in total to reach Tier 2 Aspects. This also keeps Logia and Mythical Zoan just out of reach of fresh characters, but easily attainable after a short thread.

#4: Increased Budget, Lowered Freebies
This one’s being pitched because of a concern that an effectively affordable 8 Aspects fresh out of the gate seems a little extreme. This is the same as the above option, offering 500 XPz, but cuts the number of Free Starting Aspects down to two (from the currently proposed and maintained three).

Please think on these and share your thoughts in the Site Development channel! If you have any other suggestions, feel free to pitch them, too!