Something that is difficult without skill has a low skill floor
No it’s not. Skill floor refers to how skilled you need to be at minimum. And the skill ceiling is how skilled you can be at maximum
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The only NK you can reliably win with is Reaper, and that’s only if they play well. Possessor never makes it to late game and Sorcerer would never turn on Unseen/Cult to win with Merc. And even in a Reaper game, the odds of Reaper winning over BD/Unseen/Cult are not that good.
So it’s rare because the odds of you being alive in the late game where a Sorc is willing to turn on Unseen/Cult, a Possessor is still around, or a Reaper looks like they might win, are exceedingly rare.
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It’s intuitive and in the name
A skill cieling limits maximum effectiveness based on skill
A skill floor limits minimum effectiveness based on skill
Having skill floor be minimum skill based on effectiveness is backwards and weird
The odds are exceedingly rare because most Merc players do not play the scenario properly when it arises. This is because the idea goes around that Merc is an extension of BD, which is not the case. Been unironically accused of gamethrowing and reported for fucking with BD after cult was wiped out early. That’s how deeply misunderstood this class is.
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Ok I see what’s going on. The difference is in the Graph we are using.
I am talking about skill required for X effectiveness while you (and the person in the video) are taking about effectiveness acquired by X skill
I think you’re greatly overestimating the odds of:
- Merc being alive in the late game (this is not actually an easy thing at all).
- Unseen/Cult being defeated.
- BD not having significant numbers when that happens.
- NK being actually able to take the remaining BD out.
- You successfully turning on the people who have been keeping you alive throughout the game.
And for… what exactly? Unseen/Cult are dead, you already won, what do you gain by trying to give the win to NK? Reinforcing the toxic Neuts Out philosophy? I just don’t follow.
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Yeah, hence why I suggest it on the Reaper, whose soul mechanics make him rather powerful. You can even give him a discount/boost on some of his soul abilities (like if the “ignition” naturally bypasses death immunity, then you can lower the cost of Icy Touch to 1 and have Gather Darkness allow the reaping to bypass visiting prevention and occupation).
The Reaper’s mostly fine right now. I wouldn’t mind the soul cost being halved, but its killing style right now doesn’t need any adjustments. The Arsonist is a bad NK as it doesn’t contribute any KPN, which makes the game more BD-sided when compared to other NK killing patterns. If we really want to add in an arso-styled NK then it’d be better to create another NK instead of messing with an already balanced one.
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Yeah I don’t argue the Reaper isn’t balanced, I’m just saying the reaping mechanic isn’t fun. It feels worse than being killed off, on account of your body still being there and not being able to use healing to prevent the reaping. Every time I get a Reaper game I straight up have less fun unless I’m the one playing the Reaper or we take the Reaper out early.
For the Sorc rework, I propose something like this.
Ultimately the problem with the Inquisitor/Sorcerer cat-and-mouse game is that the Inquisitor is too damn useless to do anything on his own and the Sorcerer can only be reliably found by BD classes. My rework basically makes the Sorcerer pretty much impossible to find via Princesses, Butlers, and whatnot while also improving the Inquisitor and adding a few counters to him.
For the Possessor, he basically needs a day ability to mess with voting powers along with a way to counter immune players as he is powerless against the MM, Kings with guards, and is extremely vulnerable late game.
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It’s not just a matter of hoping that kind of outcome comes to pass, it’s how the Merc behaves in the early game. More often than not, Merc (wrongly, in my view) gives their life for important BD classes and protects important BD classes like Prince, Phys, etc. This is often why Mercs get killed early. It doesn’t need to be that way.
When playing Merc, the only BD I will actively protect are Sheriffs and Paladins. No-one else serves my interest. The rest of my resources go to neuts (other than Sellsword/Sorc if Unseen/Cult remain in play).
Typically, in a midgame where there BD and the evil faction barely reach majority, the evil faction will often put more effort into finding the NK. NK dying at this stage often seals BD’s fate (a loss). It’s at this point that I get rowdy and talk myself into a swift death to buy NK (and sometimes, BD) an additional day. NK has high odds of hitting the evil faction at this stage and BD could potentially find another. Most mercs just sit there and quietly follow the votes like an average BD sheep.
Merc is a pretty easy class to win with, but I find the games where BD are struggling that making sure you have options on who to side with will yield a greater win rate. Going all-in on BD isn’t the ideal way to play IMO.
Anyways. Reaper is in a really good spot right now. He’s a meaningful force throughout the game and is something to be feared as the game goes on.
He is the only NK who created an oppressive atmosphere (which feels really cool for everyone). Combine that with his balenced winrate and you get one of the best Neuts period
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You have yet to provide a reason why it’s in your best interest to allow the Cult/Unseen/NK to kill off BD classes and jeopardize your own win condition. You always win when BD wins. You always lose when Unseen/Cult wins. You do NOT always win when NK wins, because Sorcerer wins with Unseen/Cult, so very often Sorcerer wins with Unseen/Cult and you lose.
Your highest chances of winning are by aligning yourself with the highest win rate faction you have available to you, which is BD. Playing an aloof Merc that doesn’t actively work to help BD will a) get you executed by Prince/Good King/Knight more often than not, and b) reduces your chance of winning the game.
The only reason you are providing for playing this way is “to not be a BD sheep”, which seems like a personal preference thing rather than the optimal play.
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The Reaper basically is the only NK that creates a meaningful threat by himself. The Sorcerer’s win rate is only there because she can be carried by the Unseen/Cult and the Possessor relies too much on having the right circumstances align up for him to win.
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Reasoning is simple: The class that has the highest chance of assisting my win condition is Sheriff/Paladin.
All other BD classes are dependent on who is piloting them. Sheriffs/Paladins that have a minimized risk of being converted/attacked are of more use to me as a Merc than other BD classes. Not only are Sheriff/Paladin more effective at killing the faction I’m against, there is very little cross-contamination in regards to Neuts. Obs/Butler/etc are more than capable of catching players I am not against.
I’m really not bothered if I’m killed or a Prince executes me. I win in death and in life.