[Nerf] Changeling Forms

[YoukCat]

The Final part of the Changeling Split Ideas I've been making, and the worst part in my opinion due to how hard it is to change the Changeling

CHANGELING FORMS
Conscious Survival
The Changeling no longer has passive space walking. Instead, one of their forms grants the ability to space walk.

Second Chance
Every single Changeling Form can produce a Headspider.

IT BURNS!
The Changeling takes double damage from fire. Ow.

FORMS
Combative
This is what you have to watch out for. In this form, the Changeling has access to all of their combative moves. These include:
Shambling Abomination
LSD Sting
Muting Sting (Nerfed Nuerotoxin Sting, it just makes the victim unable to talk for a while.)
Arm Changing Power
Acid Spit
Speed Regeneration
Handspider

Protective
For if the Changeling has to make an escape or if it's dragging you off to space to eat you after it's subdued you in it's combative form. This includes:
Passive Cold Resistance and no need for Oxygen (space walking)
Stasis/Feign Death
Speed Regeneration
Takes normal fire damage instead of double fire damage.
Absorb.

Transformative
This is the stealthy state the Changeling has, in a way. In this form they can transform, transform others, and unlock their own genetic code... It includes:
Handspider
Genetic Changes (will be talked about later)
Transform
Transforming Sting
Shambling Abomination
Monkey Form :o
Absorb

Form Swap
The Changeling has a power to change forms. Changing forms provides an obvious message to everyone near you, but other than that it has no drawback. 

Genetic Changes
Due to the Changeling both having lost it's primary form of attack (Nuero) and it being much less effective in battle (having to change between forms to get different powers), the Changeling is much weaker. However, this both makes sense for the Changeling and could potentially balance it a bit. When this is used, it will bring up the Genetics Screen with every single gene unlocked. The Changeling can activate or deactivate the genes their current form has. They lose these genes whenever they transform.

Example due to me wording that sentence badly: John Fosters has Comic Sans speech, Fire Resistance, and Deafness.
the Changeling transforms into John Fosters.
The Changeling uses Genetic Changes and activates Fire Resistance and Comic Sans Speech.
The Changeling changes into YoukCat Kitterson.
The Changeling loses Fire Resistance and Comic Sans Speech.



Thank you for reading this. The reason I had so much trouble with this is that every single power the Changeling has is thematic and makes sense for the Changeling to have, however they all make the Changeling such a powerful foe. So I tried to do this in a way that kept all of the powers, but made the Changeling much less powerful.

[ferriswheel1]

These are neat, but I don't really like the removal of the neurotoxin sting. It's the ling's signature move and primary method of attack, and although this proposal has some direct combat powers, there doesn't seem to be an easy way for it to knock it's targets out. The changeling's massive effectiveness at taking down lone targets is one of the defining aspects of the gamemode, and I'd hate to see that ditched.

I quite like the idea of genetics changes, but the RNG nature of genetics means that lings can potentially acquire a hilariously broken combo platter of powers right off the bat (Fire resistance and SMES human, you're immune to most stuns and your primary weakness). The ling out of nowhere suddenly becoming resistant to tasers sounds incredibly frustrating for sec.

[NateTheSquid]

These are neat, but I don't really like the removal of the neurotoxin sting. It's the ling's signature move and primary method of attack, and although this proposal has some direct combat powers, there doesn't seem to be an easy way for it to knock it's targets out. The changeling's massive effectiveness at taking down lone targets is one of the defining aspects of the gamemode, and I'd hate to see that ditched.

I quite like the idea of genetics changes, but the RNG nature of genetics means that lings can potentially acquire a hilariously broken combo platter of powers right off the bat (Fire resistance and SMES human, you're immune to most stuns and your primary weakness). The ling out of nowhere suddenly becoming resistant to tasers sounds incredibly frustrating for sec.

this. maybe just increase neuros cooldown, i still hate that you can sting 2 people before the first stung wakes up. tox damage is also insane but thats for another thread

[awfulworldkid]

I quite like the idea of genetics changes, but the RNG nature of genetics means that lings can potentially acquire a hilariously broken combo platter of powers right off the bat (Fire resistance and SMES human, you're immune to most stuns and your primary weakness). The ling out of nowhere suddenly becoming resistant to tasers sounds incredibly frustrating for sec.

I'm pretty sure that 90% of the good mutations have a chance to appear as potential, so the chance of getting a good combo like Radioactive + Radiation Resistance, Thermal Resistance + SMES Human, or Gamma Ray Exposure + Musculature Enhancement is actually pretty high, especially if you can get a look at the Genetics console and specifically target someone with good potential.

[Ed Venture]

Neurotoxin sting currently acts like how Acid spit used to work except with after effects cause it's a chem. Seeing how everyone wanted acid spit nerfed but no one bats a eye at neurotoxin being the exact same thing baffles me. It's just as OP as Acid Spit was and yet no one calls for it to be nerfed.

[Musketman12]

Neurotoxin sting currently acts like how Acid spit used to work except with after effects cause it's a chem. Seeing how everyone wanted acid spit nerfed but no one bats a eye at neurotoxin being the exact same thing baffles me. It's just as OP as Acid Spit was and yet no one calls for it to be nerfed.

This is isn't exactly right, acid spit used to insta-ko you allowing the ling to eat you on the spot, neurotox however takes some time to take affect and shows some signs you've been stung before you pass out. I have definitely called out some lings a couple seconds before I collapsed from neurotox. Also acid spit you could deploy from range and was homing to the target, neurotox you have to be right next to the target.

[Ed Venture]

Neurotoxin sting currently acts like how Acid spit used to work except with after effects cause it's a chem. Seeing how everyone wanted acid spit nerfed but no one bats a eye at neurotoxin being the exact same thing baffles me. It's just as OP as Acid Spit was and yet no one calls for it to be nerfed.

This is isn't exactly right, acid spit used to insta-ko you allowing the ling to eat you on the spot, neurotox however takes some time to take affect and shows some signs you've been stung before you pass out. I have definitely called out some lings a couple seconds before I collapsed from neurotox. Also acid spit you could deploy from range and was homing to the target, neurotox you have to be right next to the target.

Takes about a few seconds to knock you out and while those few seconds are happening you get the full force of everything else. Vision goes, movement goes and all while you are fighting the changeling most of the time. So by time you get breathing room to call for help you are than knocked out before you can send the call for help out and then die. Oh and you have a few moments when you have no idea you've been attacked till the effects hit you and sometimes you are attacked before the effects so with everything stacked up like that most of the time you don't have a chance unless other people are around to save you. So with all of that considered it's just as bad as Pre-nerfed Acid Spit in my opinion.

[Superlagg]

Neurotoxin sting currently acts like how Acid spit used to work except with after effects cause it's a chem. Seeing how everyone wanted acid spit nerfed but no one bats a eye at neurotoxin being the exact same thing baffles me. It's just as OP as Acid Spit was and yet no one calls for it to be nerfed.

This is isn't exactly right, acid spit used to insta-ko you allowing the ling to eat you on the spot, neurotox however takes some time to take affect and shows some signs you've been stung before you pass out. I have definitely called out some lings a couple seconds before I collapsed from neurotox. Also acid spit you could deploy from range and was homing to the target, neurotox you have to be right next to the target.

Takes about a few seconds to knock you out and while those few seconds are happening you get the full force of everything else. Vision goes, movement goes and all while you are fighting the changeling most of the time. So by time you get breathing room to call for help you are than knocked out before you can send the call for help out and then die. Oh and you have a few moments when you have no idea you've been attacked till the effects hit you and sometimes you are attacked before the effects so with everything stacked up like that most of the time you don't have a chance unless other people are around to save you.

Idea! Make neurotoxic sting not knock you out, but debilitate the heck out of you. Drains your stamina, slows you down, makes your speech weak and hard to understand; stuff where you are super easy to take down with even the meagerest of robustness, but able to get out of the situation if the ling doesn't follow up or you get lucky.

Cus permastuns suck, and by the time the warning effects set in you barely enough time to blurt a short message on the radio. That, and I can accomplish almost the same results with a toolbox. I want to *feel* like there was something I could've done to avoid being linged, even if there was no realistic chance.

[Dr Zoidcrab]

It's not a permastun, its 50? units of neurotoxin. Which of course takes forever to wear off and causes massive brain damage and vision blurring. Half as much would be more than enough.

[NateTheSquid]

It's not a permastun, its 50? units of neurotoxin. Which of course takes forever to wear off and causes massive brain damage and vision blurring. Half as much would be more than enough.

Pretty sure it's 90u. brain damage is nothing, its the tox damage that kills you unless you have completely full health even if the ling doesn't eat you.

[Roomba]

It's 50u, depletes at 1u per tick and does 1 tox + brain damage per tick. So that's about 50 tox damage if you have to wait out the whole thing, which is pretty debilitating but not lethal. The brain damage is probably more of an issue because people often forget to treat it and it's hard to get your hands on mannitol if you can't get medbay access.

[Superlagg]

It's not so much that it causes a lot of damage, but that it makes you utterly helpless for the duration whether the ling's linging you or not. One poke and you're at the mercy of the ling, the crew, and your typing speed. Not my idea of an interesting interaction.

Now something that's almost as debilitating, but without the unconsciousness, would be what I prefer. Maybe make the Acid Spit stun again, but only on weakened crewmates. Maybe they're easier to grab and knock down, allowing just as much incapacitation as the Neuro Sting if the ling moves on them, but also giving a faint chance to escape. Maybe it causes them to lose their breath and mumble incoherent whispers into the radio in between gasps.

[cyberTripping]

I think an easy fix to the genetics thing would be to essentially nerf trouble combos in a thematic way. Like muscular enhancement doesnt work because the muscles have no definite form, and fire resistance only makes the ling as susceptable to fire as everyone else (as opposed to weaker) on account of it being in conflict with the natural weakness.

[awfulworldkid]

I think an easy fix to the genetics thing would be to essentially nerf trouble combos in a thematic way. Like muscular enhancement doesnt work because the muscles have no definite form, and fire resistance only makes the ling as susceptable to fire as everyone else (as opposed to weaker) on account of it being in conflict with the natural weakness.

This works only as long as the nerfs only apply to lings, and as far as I can tell of the inner workings of Genetics that would be literal cancer to code.