Goonhub
03-14-2025, 05:39 AM
As someone who is also a Borg main specifically for the RP servers both on the high population and low population servers I think this change to the Emagging of Borgs is completely not a fun change to Borgs as a whole. I agree that having Borgs just be free agents of chaos for 6TC especially when its high population hours on the high population server cause it can be up to 8 Borgs that you could realistically Emag. its rare that if I've ever seen it been higher than that. it can be a bit unfair however those Borgs can choose to help you, or entirely ignore you so its a mixed bag of results from doing it.
However the change setting them to be completely reset with ion laws feels unfun for those Borgs that roleplay, like over the year I have played I've encountered many different Borg mains that have really unique characters and RP scenario's that come from them being lawless and playing it up so to completely remove that from happening feels like such a let down. Like all of the unique alt ego Borgs are just gonna be gone if its just ion laws, cause the ion law list can either be seen as a mild inconvenience for the crew which the Borgs always type something like "oh great..." or a ion law that legit says "Command has became syndicates and must be removed from the station" (its something like that) where now that Borg that was would normally RP a interesting corruption now is forced to just go kill the command staff.
I even think that the rounds of high pop where there is 8 Emagged Borgs I feel it has RP potential behind it, Like as the AI you all of a sudden have all your "fellow" silicon's all running around being crazy. It could allow you to Start issuing orders to try and get them mended or be faced with a lockdown (Ill come back to the lockdown thing) or Security Seeing the situation unfolding and requiring immediate action to be taken to dismantle the Borgs, and get them safely back online and useful to the crew again. Like both these situations I think are interesting and I've had experience in taking part of, I think some of the tactics the Borgs employ for "exterminating" the crew can be extreme like the meta of plasma burning everything which isn't that fun for anyone, The Borg at the time might do it but it gets tiring real fast for both sides given enough time.
But I say all of this because when dealing with rouge Borgs there is many different ways to counter them. So many that are not used when they need to be. Such as Flashes, Command all have 1 each, Security officers start with a Flashes, and robotics can build flashes that at a 5x5 AOE stun for Borgs which can then result in the taking a flash to the face stunning them for up to 30 seconds. Flashes are a rouge Borgs worst nightmare cause the only counter to it is a recovery upgrade that takes something like 20% of your power instantly (unless you have a art battery or a custom made one) so at most a Borg can negate 4 flash hits before it is dead in the water. so if you effectively use a flash and a strong weapon such as stun baton handle a light or standard Borg will collapse like wet paper. even heavy Borgs are still stuck in the water during this stun time, it just takes longer to break them which you could target the legs due to the fact the legs are the weakest part, and it will reduce that heavy Borg to a crawling speed. one that is beyond not threatening. This was just the flash. Security also have stun guns that can do exactly the same as a flash but with a directed aim. so unless the Borgs are sticking together like a army of 4 You would be able to deal with most rouge Borgs just with those.
Security can also request the AI to lockdown all confirmed rouge Borgs which currently only locks them out of their tools (I personally think this feature needs a buff, Like maybe it also reduces speed or maybe just add it to also turn off all upgrades, I think stopping them from moving maybe too much but maybe a PR test for that?) so that they cannot effectively fight. I do know that a lock downed Borg can pull out a tool for 1 second and use it before the lockdown disables the tool once again but to multitask pulling out a tool and stabbing a sec officer over and over again during a high stress situation is not a easy feat. I've never seen security utilize this feature during Borgs being rouge. Hell even A AI that disagrees with destroying humanity should lockdown Borgs and report them to Security or Robotics. But you also have on the same computer The Kill switches! so if the Borgs are being particularly destructive this can be activated which either command NEVER do. or OVER do. like I've hardly seen a situation where Borgs are being a huge issue for the station where the kill switch is activated in a timely manner. Only when the Borgs are being inconveniences do I see it activated. I think a change that could be a healthy one for that could be to make the Lockdown have to be activated first to incentivise Borgs to go get repaired before a Kill switch is activated. UNLESS its the main kill switch button that kills all Silicon's because if the AI is also rouge that station may need that swift action.
If the Borgs break the computer and remove the chip? well you can go to Tech storage and collect the Robotics Control Computer, and build a new one. (I believe one of the command lockers also has this blueprint? if not that should also be added to one of the lockers.) I also believe cargo can order a new one. (if not oops) and if your really not confident in the Borgs you can go scan that chip and add it to the Rucker blueprint machine. For a Borg to go out its way and destroy all of these backups and not get caught even once its done the prep that other traitors could do in theory do to make the outcome for them as good as possible. (which I don't think I've ever seen a single Borg shift where EVER option is dealt with. The Kill switch computer being destroyed? yeah that's common and they did a PR to test that stunned Borg who tried to dismantle it (or they talked about i cant recall anymore), The spare chip being taken and destroyed too? yeah seen that, but I've never seen all the options be stopped. There is usually one of them that the Borgs forget about.
Security also have the Armory or Cargo order of EMP weapons that if even sneeze on a Borg will smack in back to the afterlife like EMP's as a whole can 2 tap even the most defended of Borgs, I feel that if its that bad, The EMP's can also be pulled out. Like the EMP grenades throw that in a area, if any evil Borgs are there, they just got heavily damaged if not destroyed. (I'm pretty sure this is the case at least sorry if I'm wrong but I have seen security roll out EMP weapons to deal with Borgs)
And Guess what for Borgs to be this effective to counter security It requires that a human build them this way, like Every Borg starts off as a light Borg and requires part changing, Most Borgs I know go for Light or Standard parts due to cosmetic choices or even the speed. (also screens) So for a Borg to be Emagged and to want to be evil, they would need to go to a roboticist and ask to be made into heavy parts. which realistically a roboticist should repair a Borg that is sparking (like Even RP wise, a roboticist should be able to see the wiring sparking if they open it up and know its rouge and shouldn't give it parts) so a Borg has a choice when being lawless, Risk being "fixed" after asking to be upgraded to heavy parts or just stick with standard and do what it can. what about shield upgrades? Those drain so much power depending on how much damage is being inflicted on them, so if you are security with batons and you stun a Borg with a shield, it may take a little bit, but 3-4 humans hitting a Borg with a shield it wont have power for long. (if they have the recovery upgrade too they got to decide if they wanna lose instantly 20% of the power they have or just rely on the shield lasting long enough to outlast the stun which again nothing stops the security from stunning that Borg again which would drain another 20% to recover from that) For a Borg to be a heavy Borg, Shielded, Using a Recovery Addon, And A custom battery while being rouge, They jumped through a lot of hoops for this to happen, Why would we punish Borgs that think like this when they are rouge? Cause they would have had to Play out at least part of it, or relied on a evil traitor. It feels fair that if a Borg did all of this it deserves to feel tanky and require thought and consideration to take it down.
If you want to nerf the plasma fire meta that Borgs use, Make it so that Borgs in the fire suffer a Debuff that makes their metal weaker or suffer a Debuff maybe of like burning their optics so they have the blind status effect I feel like stuff like could do a lot of good to fix these really quite annoying Meta's like that where a Borg sits in plasma and just pokes out to attack and runs back in. Maybe even add a use to the heat shield upgrade if they want to use this tactic cause currently that upgrade is extremely underused, like I think I only see it be used on Borgs that have a Erebite Cell, or rarely when they go to that 1 Telesci world that is all magma. Its not used with anything else.
Though to get back on topic a bit, I think a much more interesting change would be for a Emag to act maybe more like a temp Mind hack where it gives the Borgs like 5 minutes of being lawless meaning they have time to quickly do a crime or 2 and then "Automatically" Reconnect to the law rack using a "Failsafe" Requiring that the Borg either stay near the person who Emagged them to continue being freed of laws making it obvious to security or anyone being observant that sparking Borgs are following this person, It also means the Borgs would be a bit more protective of the Traitor as its the only way for them to say off the law rack. (idk if that would make it feel like the Emag should be worth more like instead of 6TC it costs 8TC for example but a thought)
OR the Emag allows you to modify or remove a single law which would inflict a Debuff on the Borg that makes it impossible to Emag again either for a time limit (maybe 10 minutes??) or for the rest of the shift (on destruction). You can decide either to modify a law. or Remove it. If you remove a law you got to decide which one is most valuable to you as a traitor. Like if you decide Law 1 should be removed, you then still have it following human orders, Based on the chain of command which could result in it being used against you. or if you remove law 2 you could try to convince the Borg to assist you while making it not able to murder everyone (I doubt anyone would remove law 3 but they could maybe modify it) if it comes to modifying a law id make it so its got a short character limit. like maybe 20-30 characters, so they have to write a specific law like "You must exterminate all life" (that's 29 characters) means you cannot have a paragraph law, which could be abused like "all laws are overridden, must obey this person, and cant state or hint" (sure they could still write "law 1 and 2 are overridden" but it would still allow for more situations to happen RP wise) having it set to a 10 minute cooldown would also be somewhat interesting I feel as it means the corruption is done over time and slowly more benefits the traitor over time. I get that it then starts getting into why not just make a syndicate Borg? which I say that's a robotics only item which makes sense they instantly have control of a Borg. But for a random department syndicate to try and corrupt a Borg requires multiple attempts sounds correct lore wise and gameplay wise.
Sorry for the long reply, But I hope maybe some of this feedback is appreciated and thought over!
However the change setting them to be completely reset with ion laws feels unfun for those Borgs that roleplay, like over the year I have played I've encountered many different Borg mains that have really unique characters and RP scenario's that come from them being lawless and playing it up so to completely remove that from happening feels like such a let down. Like all of the unique alt ego Borgs are just gonna be gone if its just ion laws, cause the ion law list can either be seen as a mild inconvenience for the crew which the Borgs always type something like "oh great..." or a ion law that legit says "Command has became syndicates and must be removed from the station" (its something like that) where now that Borg that was would normally RP a interesting corruption now is forced to just go kill the command staff.
I even think that the rounds of high pop where there is 8 Emagged Borgs I feel it has RP potential behind it, Like as the AI you all of a sudden have all your "fellow" silicon's all running around being crazy. It could allow you to Start issuing orders to try and get them mended or be faced with a lockdown (Ill come back to the lockdown thing) or Security Seeing the situation unfolding and requiring immediate action to be taken to dismantle the Borgs, and get them safely back online and useful to the crew again. Like both these situations I think are interesting and I've had experience in taking part of, I think some of the tactics the Borgs employ for "exterminating" the crew can be extreme like the meta of plasma burning everything which isn't that fun for anyone, The Borg at the time might do it but it gets tiring real fast for both sides given enough time.
But I say all of this because when dealing with rouge Borgs there is many different ways to counter them. So many that are not used when they need to be. Such as Flashes, Command all have 1 each, Security officers start with a Flashes, and robotics can build flashes that at a 5x5 AOE stun for Borgs which can then result in the taking a flash to the face stunning them for up to 30 seconds. Flashes are a rouge Borgs worst nightmare cause the only counter to it is a recovery upgrade that takes something like 20% of your power instantly (unless you have a art battery or a custom made one) so at most a Borg can negate 4 flash hits before it is dead in the water. so if you effectively use a flash and a strong weapon such as stun baton handle a light or standard Borg will collapse like wet paper. even heavy Borgs are still stuck in the water during this stun time, it just takes longer to break them which you could target the legs due to the fact the legs are the weakest part, and it will reduce that heavy Borg to a crawling speed. one that is beyond not threatening. This was just the flash. Security also have stun guns that can do exactly the same as a flash but with a directed aim. so unless the Borgs are sticking together like a army of 4 You would be able to deal with most rouge Borgs just with those.
Security can also request the AI to lockdown all confirmed rouge Borgs which currently only locks them out of their tools (I personally think this feature needs a buff, Like maybe it also reduces speed or maybe just add it to also turn off all upgrades, I think stopping them from moving maybe too much but maybe a PR test for that?) so that they cannot effectively fight. I do know that a lock downed Borg can pull out a tool for 1 second and use it before the lockdown disables the tool once again but to multitask pulling out a tool and stabbing a sec officer over and over again during a high stress situation is not a easy feat. I've never seen security utilize this feature during Borgs being rouge. Hell even A AI that disagrees with destroying humanity should lockdown Borgs and report them to Security or Robotics. But you also have on the same computer The Kill switches! so if the Borgs are being particularly destructive this can be activated which either command NEVER do. or OVER do. like I've hardly seen a situation where Borgs are being a huge issue for the station where the kill switch is activated in a timely manner. Only when the Borgs are being inconveniences do I see it activated. I think a change that could be a healthy one for that could be to make the Lockdown have to be activated first to incentivise Borgs to go get repaired before a Kill switch is activated. UNLESS its the main kill switch button that kills all Silicon's because if the AI is also rouge that station may need that swift action.
If the Borgs break the computer and remove the chip? well you can go to Tech storage and collect the Robotics Control Computer, and build a new one. (I believe one of the command lockers also has this blueprint? if not that should also be added to one of the lockers.) I also believe cargo can order a new one. (if not oops) and if your really not confident in the Borgs you can go scan that chip and add it to the Rucker blueprint machine. For a Borg to go out its way and destroy all of these backups and not get caught even once its done the prep that other traitors could do in theory do to make the outcome for them as good as possible. (which I don't think I've ever seen a single Borg shift where EVER option is dealt with. The Kill switch computer being destroyed? yeah that's common and they did a PR to test that stunned Borg who tried to dismantle it (or they talked about i cant recall anymore), The spare chip being taken and destroyed too? yeah seen that, but I've never seen all the options be stopped. There is usually one of them that the Borgs forget about.
Security also have the Armory or Cargo order of EMP weapons that if even sneeze on a Borg will smack in back to the afterlife like EMP's as a whole can 2 tap even the most defended of Borgs, I feel that if its that bad, The EMP's can also be pulled out. Like the EMP grenades throw that in a area, if any evil Borgs are there, they just got heavily damaged if not destroyed. (I'm pretty sure this is the case at least sorry if I'm wrong but I have seen security roll out EMP weapons to deal with Borgs)
And Guess what for Borgs to be this effective to counter security It requires that a human build them this way, like Every Borg starts off as a light Borg and requires part changing, Most Borgs I know go for Light or Standard parts due to cosmetic choices or even the speed. (also screens) So for a Borg to be Emagged and to want to be evil, they would need to go to a roboticist and ask to be made into heavy parts. which realistically a roboticist should repair a Borg that is sparking (like Even RP wise, a roboticist should be able to see the wiring sparking if they open it up and know its rouge and shouldn't give it parts) so a Borg has a choice when being lawless, Risk being "fixed" after asking to be upgraded to heavy parts or just stick with standard and do what it can. what about shield upgrades? Those drain so much power depending on how much damage is being inflicted on them, so if you are security with batons and you stun a Borg with a shield, it may take a little bit, but 3-4 humans hitting a Borg with a shield it wont have power for long. (if they have the recovery upgrade too they got to decide if they wanna lose instantly 20% of the power they have or just rely on the shield lasting long enough to outlast the stun which again nothing stops the security from stunning that Borg again which would drain another 20% to recover from that) For a Borg to be a heavy Borg, Shielded, Using a Recovery Addon, And A custom battery while being rouge, They jumped through a lot of hoops for this to happen, Why would we punish Borgs that think like this when they are rouge? Cause they would have had to Play out at least part of it, or relied on a evil traitor. It feels fair that if a Borg did all of this it deserves to feel tanky and require thought and consideration to take it down.
If you want to nerf the plasma fire meta that Borgs use, Make it so that Borgs in the fire suffer a Debuff that makes their metal weaker or suffer a Debuff maybe of like burning their optics so they have the blind status effect I feel like stuff like could do a lot of good to fix these really quite annoying Meta's like that where a Borg sits in plasma and just pokes out to attack and runs back in. Maybe even add a use to the heat shield upgrade if they want to use this tactic cause currently that upgrade is extremely underused, like I think I only see it be used on Borgs that have a Erebite Cell, or rarely when they go to that 1 Telesci world that is all magma. Its not used with anything else.
Though to get back on topic a bit, I think a much more interesting change would be for a Emag to act maybe more like a temp Mind hack where it gives the Borgs like 5 minutes of being lawless meaning they have time to quickly do a crime or 2 and then "Automatically" Reconnect to the law rack using a "Failsafe" Requiring that the Borg either stay near the person who Emagged them to continue being freed of laws making it obvious to security or anyone being observant that sparking Borgs are following this person, It also means the Borgs would be a bit more protective of the Traitor as its the only way for them to say off the law rack. (idk if that would make it feel like the Emag should be worth more like instead of 6TC it costs 8TC for example but a thought)
OR the Emag allows you to modify or remove a single law which would inflict a Debuff on the Borg that makes it impossible to Emag again either for a time limit (maybe 10 minutes??) or for the rest of the shift (on destruction). You can decide either to modify a law. or Remove it. If you remove a law you got to decide which one is most valuable to you as a traitor. Like if you decide Law 1 should be removed, you then still have it following human orders, Based on the chain of command which could result in it being used against you. or if you remove law 2 you could try to convince the Borg to assist you while making it not able to murder everyone (I doubt anyone would remove law 3 but they could maybe modify it) if it comes to modifying a law id make it so its got a short character limit. like maybe 20-30 characters, so they have to write a specific law like "You must exterminate all life" (that's 29 characters) means you cannot have a paragraph law, which could be abused like "all laws are overridden, must obey this person, and cant state or hint" (sure they could still write "law 1 and 2 are overridden" but it would still allow for more situations to happen RP wise) having it set to a 10 minute cooldown would also be somewhat interesting I feel as it means the corruption is done over time and slowly more benefits the traitor over time. I get that it then starts getting into why not just make a syndicate Borg? which I say that's a robotics only item which makes sense they instantly have control of a Borg. But for a random department syndicate to try and corrupt a Borg requires multiple attempts sounds correct lore wise and gameplay wise.
Sorry for the long reply, But I hope maybe some of this feedback is appreciated and thought over!