Martial Arts Rebalance for Panzer Kunst

[Hymore246]

Summary

SUMMARY: Balance "Martial arts rebalance for Panzer Kunst"

Purpose of change

Partially implements #32422
Update for the martial art: Panzer Kunst

Describe the solution

Panzer Kunst or "Armor Art" is a futuristic martial art devised for cyborgs fighting in zero-gravity environments.

Current Buffs, Techniques, and Special Abilities

Name	Level Available	Type	Effect
Arm Block	Unarmed 0		Needs Arms Alloy Plating CBM
Leg Block	Unarmed 0		Needs Legs Alloy Plating CBM
Schatten Folgen	Melee 1	Static Buff	+1 Dodge
Einsatzrhythmen	Melee 3	OnMove Buff	Enables "Ausstoß", +1 Block, Dodge skill increase by 12% of Perception. Last 1 turn
Verschlag	Unarmed 6	Unarmed OnHit Buff	Enables "Herz Nadel". Last 1 turn
Ausstoß	Melee 4	Unarmed Dodge Counter	Requires "Einsatzrhythmen", +20% Bash damage, +10% Cut damage, +30% Stab damage
Ellbogen Blatt	Melee 2	Melee & Unarmed Tech	75% move cost, +20% Bash damage
Herzschlag	Unarmed 5	Unarmed Crit Tech	200% move cost, +100% Bash damage, bypasses all armor
Geschoss Schlag	Unarmed 3	Unarmed Tech	Rapid
Herz Nadel	Unarmed 6	Unarmed Tech	Requires "Verschlag", 150% move cost, +50% Bash damage, Stun duration: 3
Mehr Umdrehungen	Melee 5	Grab Break	AoE: Spin, Knockback distance: 1

Panzer Kunst is all over the place. It's strong style that has a bit of everything but is held back but good number of problems.

Problems and issues

• Herzschlag's armor bypass doesn't work.
  "target_armor_multiplier" is a technique attribute found in bonuses.h. However, at no point in the game's code is this ever checked or used. In otherwords, the attribute does nothing.

• The restrictions on Verschlag, Herzschlag, and Geschoss Schlag don't work.
  Bionic Claws and Monomolecular Blade are considered unarmed weapons and that means they can be used with unarmed techniques and buffs.

• Grab Break techniques don't work that way.
  Grab Breaks and Feints always have the "defensive" attribute. The effects of a "defensive" technique are hardcoded into the game and the defensive attribute is used to prevent a technique from being randomly selected as an attack. So while Mehr Umdrehungen might have an AoE and knockback, it is never "triggered" the traditional sense. Furthermore, even if it DID work, AoE attributes are coded to only trigger if the conditions are right to execute the AoE attack. This Grab Break would only trigger if you had more than one enemy next adjacent to you. Lastly, all technique attributes only apply to initial target during an AoE attack. This technique apply it's special effects (stun, downed, knockback, etc) the opponent that "triggered" the technique but all other opponents would be unaffected.

• A lot buffs and techniques are not accurate to the source material.
  There are a lot of inaccuracies and I don't think it is worth going into detail here to explain them all. I will address them with my changes.

Rebalance Goal
First of all, I have never watched Alita: Battle Angle or read any of the manga. I originally didn't want to include Panzer Kunst in the rebalance for multiple reasons such as not wanting to deal with mods and not being able to contact author. However, after looking into the style and the source martial, I realized the style has a lot of mistakes that need to be fixed. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the work Photoloss put into making the style and the MMA mod in #29150 but there is enough wrong with the style that I decided to include it in the rebalance.
With all that said, Panzer Kunst is a mobile, aerial, martial art used by futuristic cyborgs with a set amount of "special moves". These move vary from passive effects, to strikes, to shooting a bullet out of your mouth with a hidden gun (Kugel Keit). It can be a bit difficult to find what the style is focusing on and what is can be used in CDDA. Using the original design as a base, I've added new things and some armor penetration, removed a few things that didn't mesh well with the game and moved a few things around to make the style less confusing. The style still uses Perception as it's key stat.

New Buffs, Techniques, and Special Abilities

Name	Level Available	Type	Effect
Arm Block	Unarmed 0		Needs Arms Alloy Plating CBM
Leg Block	Unarmed 0		Needs Legs Alloy Plating CBM
Schatten Folgen	Unarmed 0	Static Buff	Dodge skill increase by 12% of Perception, +1 Dodge attempts
Kumai Sharin Kyaku	Unarmed 0	Unarmed Tech	+20% bash damage
Einzug Rüstunge	Unarmed 2	OnDodge Buff	+1 Accuracy, gain armor penetration equal to 50% of Perception. Lasts 2 turns
Geschoss Schlag	Unarmed 2	Unarmed Tech	Rapid
Grab Break	Unarmed 3	Grab Break
Ausstoß	Unarmed 4	Dodge Counter	+20% damage
Herzschlag	Unarmed 5	Melee & Unarmed Crit Tech	120% move cost, +50% Bash damage, +10 bash armor penetration, stun duration: 1

Important Changes

• All buff and techniques are learned by Unarmed skill.
  While Panzer Kunst does use weapons, it's shown to be an unarmed martial art the majority of the time. Thus, everything use Unarmed instead of melee. In addition, everything can be used unarmed or with style weapons.

• Ellbogen Blatt replaced with Kumai Sharin Kyaku.
  "Elbow Blade" is a technique that should not be usable without the Monomolecular Blade CBM. The wiki states that Alita can generate elbow blades anytime she wants to but a CDDA player cannot. This is enough of a reason to remove it. I replaced it with Kumai Sharin Kyaku which is a somersault kick.

• Removed Einsatzrhythmen. Dodge skill bonus moved to Schatten Folgen.
  Einsatzrhythmen is supposed to be a technique that completely negates an opponent attack. You could argue that dodging "kinda" does that but it would make more sense to reduce the damage to zero with reduced block damage. I ultimately decided to remove it because the only way to block with Panzer Kunst is with CBMs and it would be a useless buff until the player installs those CBMs.

• Removed Verschlag and Herz Nadel.
  Due to the limitations of the CDDA's martial arts systems, all buffs are carried by the player. As a result, Verschlag cannot function correctly by implanting a shockwave in an opponent. This leads to a similar situation that old Boxing had with Cross Counter where you could activate the buff against one opponent and then use it against a completely different opponent. Because Herz Nadel requires Verschlag to function, I had to remove that too.

• Herzschlag gains bash armor penetration and stuns.
  I couldn't think of a pratical way to allow Herzschlag to have 100% armor penetration so I instead gave it +10 bash armor penetration instead. When combined with Einzug Rüstunge (see below), you can bypass a lot of bash armor. Herzschlag "can be used to destroy or at least disrupt function of the brain or heart", so I added a 1 turn stun to it. This also helps mitigate the lose of Herz Nadel somewhat.

• Mehr Umdrehungen changed to a normal grab break technique.
  As mentioned above, grab breaks don't "trigger" like normal techniques. Mehr Umdrehungen was never doing anything beyond what a normal grab break did and because of that, it made sense to changed Mehr Umdrehungen into a standard grab break.

• Add Einzug Rüstunge OnDodge buff.
  I removed a lot of stuff from Panzer Kunst, so how about I add something instead. Einzug Rüstunge is an OnDodge buff that increases Accuracy by +1 and increases bash, cut, and stab armor penetration based on your Perception.

Advantages

• Armor penetration is really useful against late game enemies.
• Perception boosts both your defense and offense.

Disadvantages

• As a mod martial art, you have to have the mod enabled to use it and you pretty much have to take it at character generation or you will never see it in-game.

Describe alternatives you've considered

If the style is too strong...

• Reduce the bash armor penetration on Herzschlag.
• Reduce the armor penetration on Einzug Rüstunge.
• Remove the Accuracy bonus to Einzug Rüstunge.

If the style is too weak...

• Add Einsatzrhythmen back in as a Static Buff that reduces block damage by 50% of Perception.
• Remove the increased move cost on Herzschlag.
• Increase the bash armor penetration on Herzschlag or Einzug Rüstunge.

Additional context

References:
Panzer Kunst wiki page
Alita bar fight scene
Alita Mirror Punch scene

[Nacarbac]

If CBMs can be made the requirement for manoeuvres, it may be more appropriate for it to have more techniques gated behind them? It's true that in the canon an extremely badass human is just about capable of using vibration attacks, but here the Sonic Resonator might be a more appropriate requirement. Perhaps if they can cost bionic energy as well?

I like the reworked style, though the wiki and movie aren't great sources. Kugel Keit is little more than a cute trick used by one survivor of a different school (though I'm sure Gunther Hermann would approve). Kumai Sharin Kyaku may be from Chapter 1 of the series, but it's an aerial strike against either a large opponent or one attempting to drop on you - and it involved a ten-metre jump, a flip and a nearby wall to smash their brains across. It's basically a drop kick - Unarmed 0 is way too low for that to be used effectively in combat.

[Hymore246]

If CBMs can be made the requirement for manoeuvres, it may be more appropriate for it to have more techniques gated behind them? It's true that in the canon an extremely badass human is just about capable of using vibration attacks, but here the Sonic Resonator might be a more appropriate requirement. Perhaps if they can cost bionic energy as well?

I like the reworked style, though the wiki and movie aren't great sources. Kugel Keit is little more than a cute trick used by one survivor of a different school (though I'm sure Gunther Hermann would approve). Kumai Sharin Kyaku may be from Chapter 1 of the series, but it's an aerial strike against either a large opponent or one attempting to drop on you - and it involved a ten-metre jump, a flip and a nearby wall to smash their brains across. It's basically a drop kick - Unarmed 0 is way too low for that to be used effectively in combat.

There is no way to directly check for a specific CBMs in the martial arts system in regards to techniques and buffs. I also don't want to lock stuff behind specific CBMs because of the random nature of CDDA. You might start with Panzer Kunst and never come across the CBM you need to get the most out of the style. Anything dealing with bionic power would come directly from the CBM itself instead of Panzer Kunst.

Wow, the wiki failed to mention any of that about Kumai Sharin Kyaku on the Panzer Kunst page. Would swapping it with Kumai Sharinraku make more sense?

[jeremyshannon]

"target_armor_multiplier" is a technique attribute found in bonuses.h. However, at no point in the game's code is this ever checked or used. In otherwords, the attribute does nothing.
That seems like a bug that should be fixed.

[Hymore246]

"target_armor_multiplier" is a technique attribute found in bonuses.h. However, at no point in the game's code is this ever checked or used. In otherwords, the attribute does nothing.
That seems like a bug that should be fixed.

I honestly have no idea what the design intentions were for it. I'm guessing it was going to be a percentage version of the normal Armor Penetration attribute, but I could be wrong. It would take a fair bit of work to make it usable in game, that's for sure.

[jeremyshannon]

I'm guessing it was going to be a percentage version of the normal Armor Penetration

That'd be my guess, too. I'll make a note to look into it, see what would have to be done to make it work.

[crazykiddeath]

If CBMs can be made the requirement for manoeuvres, it may be more appropriate for it to have more techniques gated behind them? It's true that in the canon an extremely badass human is just about capable of using vibration attacks, but here the Sonic Resonator might be a more appropriate requirement. Perhaps if they can cost bionic energy as well?
I like the reworked style, though the wiki and movie aren't great sources. Kugel Keit is little more than a cute trick used by one survivor of a different school (though I'm sure Gunther Hermann would approve). Kumai Sharin Kyaku may be from Chapter 1 of the series, but it's an aerial strike against either a large opponent or one attempting to drop on you - and it involved a ten-metre jump, a flip and a nearby wall to smash their brains across. It's basically a drop kick - Unarmed 0 is way too low for that to be used effectively in combat.

There is no way to directly check for a specific CBMs in the martial arts system in regards to techniques and buffs. I also don't want to lock stuff behind specific CBMs because of the random nature of CDDA. You might start with Panzer Kunst and never come across the CBM you need to get the most out of the style. Anything dealing with bionic power would come directly from the CBM itself instead of Panzer Kunst.

Wow, the wiki failed to mention any of that about Kumai Sharin Kyaku on the Panzer Kunst page. Would swapping it with Kumai Sharinraku make more sense?

Panzer Kunst is a martial arts designed specifically for cyborgs, you see exactly one baseline human able to use one technique through out the entire run and the moment he actually fights anyone actually strong he gets beaten to a blood pulp (Alita) and gets his arm ripped off (Sechs) and even his Herzschlag just isn't on the same level as what a cyborg user can do.
I think locking most of the techniques behind CBMs is perfectly acceptible under those circumstances, if you really think it would be an issue, just be sure to mention it in the description for it at the character creation menu.

[Hymore246]

If CBMs can be made the requirement for manoeuvres, it may be more appropriate for it to have more techniques gated behind them? It's true that in the canon an extremely badass human is just about capable of using vibration attacks, but here the Sonic Resonator might be a more appropriate requirement. Perhaps if they can cost bionic energy as well?
I like the reworked style, though the wiki and movie aren't great sources. Kugel Keit is little more than a cute trick used by one survivor of a different school (though I'm sure Gunther Hermann would approve). Kumai Sharin Kyaku may be from Chapter 1 of the series, but it's an aerial strike against either a large opponent or one attempting to drop on you - and it involved a ten-metre jump, a flip and a nearby wall to smash their brains across. It's basically a drop kick - Unarmed 0 is way too low for that to be used effectively in combat.

There is no way to directly check for a specific CBMs in the martial arts system in regards to techniques and buffs. I also don't want to lock stuff behind specific CBMs because of the random nature of CDDA. You might start with Panzer Kunst and never come across the CBM you need to get the most out of the style. Anything dealing with bionic power would come directly from the CBM itself instead of Panzer Kunst.
Wow, the wiki failed to mention any of that about Kumai Sharin Kyaku on the Panzer Kunst page. Would swapping it with Kumai Sharinraku make more sense?

Panzer Kunst is a martial arts designed specifically for cyborgs, you see exactly one baseline human able to use one technique through out the entire run and the moment he actually fights anyone actually strong he gets beaten to a blood pulp (Alita) and gets his arm ripped off (Sechs) and even his Herzschlag just isn't on the same level as what a cyborg user can do.
I think locking most of the techniques behind CBMs is perfectly acceptible under those circumstances, if you really think it would be an issue, just be sure to mention it in the description for it at the character creation menu.

Firstly, locking the techniques behind CBMs gives the style a worse version of the problem Niten Ichi-Ryu had. Warnings don't matter, you are going to be spend most of the game not being able to use the style with "luck" being the only key factor in it's function. Even if this is a mod, I am willing to bet a lot of people would avoid it just because they can't use for most of their game.

Secondly, as I mention above, there is no code to support to restrict techniques and buffs based on installed CBMs. Limb blocking with the Alloy Plating CBMs is completely different than implementing this sort attribute. There is also no way to drain Bionic Power using techniques.

Lastly, even if I did restrict the techniques with CBMs, I wouldn't be buffing the techniques to compensate for it. Panzer Kunst needs to be balanced on it's own and not on a bunch of external factors. Also, what happens if a required CBM is removed from the game and there is no appropriate substitute? Would the technique would need to be removed? That would be a huge nerf to the style to completely lose a technique.

[crazykiddeath]

If CBMs can be made the requirement for manoeuvres, it may be more appropriate for it to have more techniques gated behind them? It's true that in the canon an extremely badass human is just about capable of using vibration attacks, but here the Sonic Resonator might be a more appropriate requirement. Perhaps if they can cost bionic energy as well?
I like the reworked style, though the wiki and movie aren't great sources. Kugel Keit is little more than a cute trick used by one survivor of a different school (though I'm sure Gunther Hermann would approve). Kumai Sharin Kyaku may be from Chapter 1 of the series, but it's an aerial strike against either a large opponent or one attempting to drop on you - and it involved a ten-metre jump, a flip and a nearby wall to smash their brains across. It's basically a drop kick - Unarmed 0 is way too low for that to be used effectively in combat.

There is no way to directly check for a specific CBMs in the martial arts system in regards to techniques and buffs. I also don't want to lock stuff behind specific CBMs because of the random nature of CDDA. You might start with Panzer Kunst and never come across the CBM you need to get the most out of the style. Anything dealing with bionic power would come directly from the CBM itself instead of Panzer Kunst.
Wow, the wiki failed to mention any of that about Kumai Sharin Kyaku on the Panzer Kunst page. Would swapping it with Kumai Sharinraku make more sense?

Panzer Kunst is a martial arts designed specifically for cyborgs, you see exactly one baseline human able to use one technique through out the entire run and the moment he actually fights anyone actually strong he gets beaten to a blood pulp (Alita) and gets his arm ripped off (Sechs) and even his Herzschlag just isn't on the same level as what a cyborg user can do.
I think locking most of the techniques behind CBMs is perfectly acceptible under those circumstances, if you really think it would be an issue, just be sure to mention it in the description for it at the character creation menu.

Firstly, locking the techniques behind CBMs gives the style a worse version of the problem Niten Ichi-Ryu had. Warnings don't matter, you are going to be spend most of the game not being able to use the style with "luck" being the only key factor in it's function. Even if this is a mod, I am willing to bet a lot of people would avoid it just because they can't use for most of their game.

Secondly, as I mention above, there is no code to support to restrict techniques and buffs based on installed CBMs. Limb blocking with the Alloy Plating CBMs is completely different than implementing this sort attribute. There is also no way to drain Bionic Power using techniques.

Lastly, even if I did restrict the techniques with CBMs, I wouldn't be buffing the techniques to compensate for it. Panzer Kunst needs to be balanced on it's own and not on a bunch of external factors. Also, what happens if a required CBM is removed from the game and there is no appropriate substitute? Would the technique would need to be removed? That would be a huge nerf to the style to completely lose a technique.

It really depends on the CBM you'd choose to lock it behind, sort of like with the alloy plating. I wouldn't argue for any of the more esoteric CBMs to be used regardless as those don't really exist in BAA. As for balance, many martial arts are balanced around certain character builds and items, I don't see the problem with one (and one in a mod at that) being based around CBMs being any different. Can you tell me which martial art styles benefit an intel based build over a strength based build? If the answer is "yes" then you are making my point for me.

[Hymore246]

Can you tell me which martial art styles benefit an intel based build over a strength based build? If the answer is "yes" then you are making my point for me.

There is a big difference between putting points into Intelligence at char gen and scouting the world to find a Sonic Resonator CBM. In the end, this is a MMA mod style and it can be updated by anyone. I think the style works better this way but someone else is welcome to update it with restrictions and bionic power drain if they feel that would make the style better.

[crazykiddeath]

Can you tell me which martial art styles benefit an intel based build over a strength based build? If the answer is "yes" then you are making my point for me.

There is a big difference between putting points into Intelligence at char gen and scouting the world to find a Sonic Resonator CBM. In the end, this is a MMA mod style and it can be updated by anyone. I think the style works better this way but someone else is welcome to update it with restrictions and bionic power drain if they feel that would make the style better.

Yeah, one you can only do at the start of the character and the other anyone willing to spend time can do. Really I'm just sad because you hacked off a chunk of techiniques and if I'm honest, kind of making it generic, You are also basing the entire thing on the wiki and the first, what 2 books worth of material? (the film and the OVA only cover that). You say it's mostly an unarmed style but Alita then processed to use elbow blades, a long bladed knife and a pole arm for the next 7 books before she gets her intergrated elbow blades much much later.
Its a shame you can't restrict the melee techniques to the Monomolecular Blade CBM

[Hymore246]

Can you tell me which martial art styles benefit an intel based build over a strength based build? If the answer is "yes" then you are making my point for me.

There is a big difference between putting points into Intelligence at char gen and scouting the world to find a Sonic Resonator CBM. In the end, this is a MMA mod style and it can be updated by anyone. I think the style works better this way but someone else is welcome to update it with restrictions and bionic power drain if they feel that would make the style better.

Yeah, one you can only do at the start of the character and the other anyone willing to spend time can do. Really I'm just sad because you hacked off a chunk of techiniques and if I'm honest, kind of making it generic, You are also basing the entire thing on the wiki and the first, what 2 books worth of material? (the film and the OVA only cover that). You say it's mostly an unarmed style but Alita then processed to use elbow blades, a long bladed knife and a pole arm for the next 7 books before she gets her intergrated elbow blades much much later.
Its a shame you can't restrict the melee techniques to the Monomolecular Blade CBM

I just don't have time to read through the entire series and a fair bit of the techniques are very hard to make work in CDDA.