Genjutsu is the one skill everybody fears, but very few actually practice. And the narrow margin of people who actually practice Genjutsu know that the current system is garbage. For those of you who haven't peeked at the Genjutsu system or who like Genjutsu but don't know how Genjutsu works currently on Gladius, let me give you the rundown:
Genjutsu currently requires a certain amount of posts it needs to be kept active before it can actually cause its desired effect to the victim. Here is an example of a pretty standard C-rank Genjutsu below:
As it states in its description, the technique requires two full rounds to pass by before the user is rewarded with a payload of psychological damage to the target.
This is unlike Ninjutsu, where once the technique is cast it has the tenacity to cause damage in the same round. It may even be a rank stronger, or two if collaborated with the right element. But Ninjutsu aside, this is what Genjutsu looks like in its current state:
1.) You perform hand signs like you would any other technique
2.) You need to pray that your opponent foolishly looks at your hand signs (and doesn't totally metagame)
3.) If you are lucky and your opponent plays along, you must maintain your technique for two rounds which winds up costing you an upkeep
4.) Assuming you weren't interrupted in that duration, your opponent takes some light mental damage.
To me this seems like a large waste of time and a retarded alternative to Ninjutsu. It's an impractical skill. Its value only shines through KKG, but the canon ability is just a joke. There are a variety of ways we can tackle Genjutsu which primarily focus on the major flaws previously mentioned and buffing them to where the skill can be practical in a serious fight. The options are:
A.) Become a tad bit more liberal with triggers, make Intel identification a static system, and overall give Genjutsu a single post to set in.
Becoming a bit more liberal with the triggers is helpful to prevent the super obvious metagame characters go through to avoid Genjutsu. It'll help the Genjutsu game overall become viable as a primary fighting skill versus a fancy toy to use every once and a while.
I think with Plan A removing the whole "post system" for Genjutsu will be a great for business. I feel Genjutsu should work as I stated above. You land your Genjutsu, you opponent has one post to negotiate it and if they don't, they face whatever effects follow. This obviously doesn't include specific Genjutsu that can be utilized with an upkeep for sustained torment or a sustained illusion. There will be case-by-case Genjutsu as there are Ninjutsu. But the general principle is there should only be one round for a victim or their allies to remove the Genjutsu because the damage is done.
This goes hand in hand with the Intel identification system. I feel Intelligence should be one of the main ways to negotiate with Genjutsu, and because of that it should just be a static system of "If the victim's Intelligence is one tier below the user's, the victim can recognize they're in a Genjutsu."
B.) My second plan is to go with the exact same thing as Plan A, however the Intel identification system would be tweaked just slightly. This is primarily because I don't want an entire skill to be based on Stat vs. Stat comparison, when technique plays a huge role. Plan B would involve the same Intel Identification system, however instead of being static for simplicity, the rank of the Genjutsu determines how difficult it is to break. So for a quick any dirty:
D-rank Gen: Can be recognized if the victim has 3 tiers of Intel below the user
C-rank Gen: Can be recognized if the victim has 2 tiers of Intel below the user
B/A-rank Gen: Can be recognized if the victim has 1 tier of Intel below the user
S-rank Gen: Can be recognized if the victim has equal Intel of the user
This version still rewards Genjutsu users for investing in Intelligence and still encourages them to use powerful technique not only to yield a power effect, but to overcome opponents with closer Intelligence to their own.
I would like to hear others input on Genjutsu, because I feel it is a skill worth fixing.
Genjutsu currently requires a certain amount of posts it needs to be kept active before it can actually cause its desired effect to the victim. Here is an example of a pretty standard C-rank Genjutsu below:
Name: Demonic Illusion: Descending Hell Technique
Rank: C
Activation Cost: 5
Range: 0 - 20 m.
Speed: N/A
Element: N/A
Skill: Genjutsu
Classification: Open
Requirements: N/A
Parent Technique: N/A
Hand Seals: Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram
Description: This technique is triggered by the target observes the user's hand signs. Once triggered, this technique causes the illusion of a tremendous ball of fire falling from the sky into a designated area. The targets involved in the illusion literally feel the ball's hot temperature getting closer and despite all efforts, cannot outrun or evade the attack as it crashes into the ground catching them in the flames.
This technique takes two posts to set in and deals C-rank psychological damage.
Weaknesses: N/A
As it states in its description, the technique requires two full rounds to pass by before the user is rewarded with a payload of psychological damage to the target.
This is unlike Ninjutsu, where once the technique is cast it has the tenacity to cause damage in the same round. It may even be a rank stronger, or two if collaborated with the right element. But Ninjutsu aside, this is what Genjutsu looks like in its current state:
1.) You perform hand signs like you would any other technique
2.) You need to pray that your opponent foolishly looks at your hand signs (and doesn't totally metagame)
3.) If you are lucky and your opponent plays along, you must maintain your technique for two rounds which winds up costing you an upkeep
4.) Assuming you weren't interrupted in that duration, your opponent takes some light mental damage.
To me this seems like a large waste of time and a retarded alternative to Ninjutsu. It's an impractical skill. Its value only shines through KKG, but the canon ability is just a joke. There are a variety of ways we can tackle Genjutsu which primarily focus on the major flaws previously mentioned and buffing them to where the skill can be practical in a serious fight. The options are:
A.) Become a tad bit more liberal with triggers, make Intel identification a static system, and overall give Genjutsu a single post to set in.
Becoming a bit more liberal with the triggers is helpful to prevent the super obvious metagame characters go through to avoid Genjutsu. It'll help the Genjutsu game overall become viable as a primary fighting skill versus a fancy toy to use every once and a while.
I think with Plan A removing the whole "post system" for Genjutsu will be a great for business. I feel Genjutsu should work as I stated above. You land your Genjutsu, you opponent has one post to negotiate it and if they don't, they face whatever effects follow. This obviously doesn't include specific Genjutsu that can be utilized with an upkeep for sustained torment or a sustained illusion. There will be case-by-case Genjutsu as there are Ninjutsu. But the general principle is there should only be one round for a victim or their allies to remove the Genjutsu because the damage is done.
This goes hand in hand with the Intel identification system. I feel Intelligence should be one of the main ways to negotiate with Genjutsu, and because of that it should just be a static system of "If the victim's Intelligence is one tier below the user's, the victim can recognize they're in a Genjutsu."
B.) My second plan is to go with the exact same thing as Plan A, however the Intel identification system would be tweaked just slightly. This is primarily because I don't want an entire skill to be based on Stat vs. Stat comparison, when technique plays a huge role. Plan B would involve the same Intel Identification system, however instead of being static for simplicity, the rank of the Genjutsu determines how difficult it is to break. So for a quick any dirty:
D-rank Gen: Can be recognized if the victim has 3 tiers of Intel below the user
C-rank Gen: Can be recognized if the victim has 2 tiers of Intel below the user
B/A-rank Gen: Can be recognized if the victim has 1 tier of Intel below the user
S-rank Gen: Can be recognized if the victim has equal Intel of the user
This version still rewards Genjutsu users for investing in Intelligence and still encourages them to use powerful technique not only to yield a power effect, but to overcome opponents with closer Intelligence to their own.
I would like to hear others input on Genjutsu, because I feel it is a skill worth fixing.
