Changelings, and why they're just too damn powerful

[BaneOfGiygas]

Whoops, my keyboard hates me.

What appendage does a disguised changeling even use to do the stings? An extended needle, their fingernail, what? We're never really given any indication of what the hell one uses to sting people and just sort of accept that they sting people.

[Frank_Stein]

The Ling is basically a free form ball of flesh. It could sting with any part of it's body.

Also, I don't know why it hasn't been mentioned, but a changeling doesn't even need to monkey to get free of cuffs. Just resisting makes you shrink your hands and slip out of them.

[Natsumehack]

The Ling is basically a free form ball of flesh. It could sting with any part of it's body.

Also, I don't know why it hasn't been mentioned, but a changeling doesn't even need to monkey to get free of cuffs. Just resisting makes you shrink your hands and slip out of them.

I am just picturing the Ling as a giant Deadly Meatball. Chefs Beware as the kitchen is no longer safe.

[Iatots]

Also, I don't know why it hasn't been mentioned, but a changeling doesn't even need to monkey to get free of cuffs. Just resisting makes you shrink your hands and slip out of them.

I know, right? I Updated the wiki on that like 3 days ago, I guess nobody ever gets cuffed as a ling by anyone since a) It's better to kill them and b) People powergame and assume the ling could get away as monkey, even though monkey form is really bad.


Also, nerfing a role such as ling is not easy, longer cooldowns are lame, a changeling can still charge up three spits and kill YOU every x minutes instead of every x/y minutes.
Adding too much cooldown will mean rounds will get worse because it becomes the waiting game for the antags to run the cooldown down and for the crew waiting for something to happen.
And yes changeling can use weapons, but that's not something you should wish for.

What I think can improve the situation is:
Give people a tiny chance with acid spit and have it mute, partly blind and confuse people instead of instant KO. Can't scream on the radio, which is the worst, and keeps the massive disadvantage in a fight.
Have neurotox's dosage be lowered, so people don't die. Mental and motor-skills impairing is still A-OK, but choking for 10 minutes in maint and then dying is lame.

Hallucinogenic sting I never used as a changeling, but if the knockdown from what I assume is dragons and spiders pounding on you is that bad, I might start to use it.
Also yes, they have a health problem. I witnessed a changeling tank a mining drill for minutes, no limbs lost, like 3k brute damage.

Also: omnious warning
/tg/ tried to revamp their changeling too, they thought that their acid spit analogue was too powerful, but instead of thinking like sane people and maybe start by removing the ability to use it with ranged sting, they proceeded to: up the cooldown, reduce the knockdown, reduce the knockdown again to the point it is almost useless, further split it into paralisys sting and mute sting honestly to up the chem cost, and the grand finale, phasing it out entirely in a "reinterpretation" of the role. The result is a neutered antagonist with bad skills that leave it marginally above a traitor without uplinks.
Also over there absorbing people you are not tasked to kill is "rude" apparently. For fucks sake. At least they added an blade arm and spider puke after a couple months.
https://tgstation13.org/wiki/Changeling

[BlakeJohnson]

/tg/ ling is maximum fucking ass

[Dauntasa]

An good nerf for the ling would be removing the homing spit that is literally impossible to avoid unless you run the fuck away several screens would be change it to a green spray, similar to the janitors spray. Same recharge, no homing, only a 3x1 line in-front of you. Maybe a cool effect would be a mass effect damage in that the first person that gets hit in that row would be downed as normal, but anyone behind 2 tiles behind him in that spray would get a blurred screen for 3-5 seconds.
Would be better? y/n

this isn't a bad idea except for the "in front of you" bit.

You should be able to aim it freely, I think, like it's a wizard spell. But yeah the whole "inanimate goo blob homes in like a stinger missile" bit has always been slightly dumb

[Sundance]

That's what I meant, exactly like the janitor spray in that manner. It should be like the wizard warp spell which when chosen, grants a crosshair change for you to aim.

[Buzzbomb]

Maybe a simple fix like ensuring the changeling is the only antag' that round or at least the only changeling?

This would take care of the changelings getting headspidered after eating each other annoyance and would assure (kinda...) that the crew would be a unified front against one overpowered player.

*shrug...I dunno, just don't make it to lame if it gets nerfed.

[Archenteron]

A blade arm sounds kinda metal, though.

[APARTHEID]

That's what I meant, exactly like the janitor spray in that manner. It should be like the wizard warp spell which when chosen, grants a crosshair change for you to aim.

Well, this thread's back and Sundance just threw up this suggestion, so here's this idea again:

Revamp Hallucinogenic Sting into a chemical dump sting that allows you to pump any and ALL chemicals currently in your bloodstream into another player

You can't die. You can't have a heart attack and fade away. You can practically eat all the horrible poisons you want (if you really want) and still keep on shambling. Why can't I transfer all the beer I drank at the bar into someone else?

[Roomba]

Because a changeling could proceed to annihilate the station with a few brainburgers.

[APARTHEID]

Because a changeling could proceed to annihilate the station with a few brainburgers.

You have to eat an entire brainburger to get enough to sting.

You have to wait for the sting to cool down.

You need brains for the burgers.

And other hypothecials.

[Ali0en]

That's wat more OP than hallucine. Just NO.

[Natsumehack]

That's what I meant, exactly like the janitor spray in that manner. It should be like the wizard warp spell which when chosen, grants a crosshair change for you to aim.

Well, this thread's back and Sundance just threw up this suggestion, so here's this idea again:

Revamp Hallucinogenic Sting into a chemical dump sting that allows you to pump any and ALL chemicals currently in your bloodstream into another player

You can't die. You can't have a heart attack and fade away. You can practically eat all the horrible poisons you want (if you really want) and still keep on shambling. Why can't I transfer all the beer I drank at the bar into someone else?

Space Jesus no.

That is terrible, and far too OP.

We don't need to make the Changeling even more powerful.

The silliness of injecting people with beer, or trying to gimmick as a medic changeling mass injecting people with healing chems is out weight by the pure of amount of abuse this will get as we have changelings Injecting Atomic Cocktails of pure death into people with out them even knocking.

It is Pretty much a Sleep Pen that has more in it, and is refilled with worst things then a sleep causing chem.

[DyssalC]

That's what I meant, exactly like the janitor spray in that manner. It should be like the wizard warp spell which when chosen, grants a crosshair change for you to aim.

Well, this thread's back and Sundance just threw up this suggestion, so here's this idea again:

Revamp Hallucinogenic Sting into a chemical dump sting that allows you to pump any and ALL chemicals currently in your bloodstream into another player

You can't die. You can't have a heart attack and fade away. You can practically eat all the horrible poisons you want (if you really want) and still keep on shambling. Why can't I transfer all the beer I drank at the bar into someone else?

Built-in sleepy pen that can't be found by sec and has an even higher capacity, with the only downside being the metabolizing of the agents in your bloodstream putting a time constraint on the time of ingestion and injection.

A bit much, though it would be a rather interesting thing if someone were to propose an entire Changeling overhaul and revamp which honestly seems like the best idea to me but idk I don't play ling.