Change SCP-966 (a myriad of mostly buffs)

Dec 25, 2023
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What does this suggestion change/add/remove:
Generally this changes SCP-966's gameplay to be less uninteresting and more unique - as currently once his presence is known and people start to put on NVGs he plays like a much weaker version of any other simple melee SCP (think SCP-076).

Firstly, let's go through some changes I think should happen to SCP-966 that will make him more fun overall (after I have breached as it and fought against it many times):

It's damage - Currently with 1 attack SCP-966 does approximately 60 damage, which means to down a full health and full armour combative it takes 4 hits (with a 5th hit to actually kill them). The issue with this is simple, it means SCP-966 is very quickly called out on his first kill (as 5 hits is easily enough time to write /c 966 CB) and as soon as SCP-966 is called out people start to don NVGs causing another problem on this list to occur.

My solution to this? Simply increase SCP-966's damage.

It is fairly straight forward - increase SCP-966's damage to allow him kill (not down) targets easier, making it not only harder to call him out but also to allow him an actual chance at actually doing any real damage to any one of the tankier jobs (ERT, Juggernaut, Type Blue, OS, even D-Class Brutes).

Positives:
- SCP-966 isn't called out instantly
- SCP-966 is actually able to harm the higher HP roles

Negatives:
- Dying to a force that is unseen can be annoying, so a stronger SCP-966 may be annoying

A fairly simple one, SCP-966's current movespeed is only slightly faster than a human, meaning that with potent or really any speed chem means that SCP-966 is completely unable to attack the person - and that the person can attack SCP-966 back easily enough.

My suggestion here? Increase his movespeed to that slightly below potent duloxetine levels - meaning that he can at least stay on their level while trying to creep after them, but without being so powerful that he can chase them down during combat.

Positives:
- SCP-966 wouldn't be massively outran by people on potent duloxetine
- Makes SCP-966 slightly feel like he could be anywhere on site (/in the map) instead of just always wherever he is called out at

Negatives:
- People on potent duloxetine could no longer massively outrun SCP-966

With the bad, comes the good: I think SCP-966's HP is too high for what his playstyle should be in my opinion - which is silent killing of people who are alone.

For this, if the other obvious buffs were to happen, I would want for SCP-966's HP to be fairly reduced. I think it would make sense for him to be physically stronger but easier to kill (HP wise).

Positives:
- Easier to kill SCP-966 (is a positive for the non-966 player)
- Would act as a trade off for the other buffs

Negatives:
- Easier to kill SCP-966 (is a negative for the 966 player)

This is simply the issue that SCP-966 is quickly recognised, mostly through checking his SCP box and seeing he is breached (creating the problem with people mass wearing NVGs).

My simple solution for this is to make him a silent breach, as well as to make his box not say "containment failure" when he is breached. Both of which ideas would mean he would actually have to be caught attacking to be recognised as breached.

Positives:
- Massively reduces all of the other negatives of SCP-966's playstyle
- Means he cannot be realised by just a quick peak of his box

Negatives:
- Harder to realise he is breached, making E-11s job harder
- Would cause other SCPs to want a similar feature

Now, many of the above problems may not be problems at all - if only SCP-966 wasn't so easy to recognise as breached and to for people to mass weak NVGs to, so that brings me to my final problem with SCP-966:

NVGs take away the only interesting part of his kit and make him quite weak. Although I cannot expect such a critical change as "make SCP-966 unable to be seen, even through NVGs" to be made, I would like it and I think it would make him more interesting instead of just acting as a mild nuisance to have to grab NVGs to fight a weak SCP.

My solution to this, change the range for how far NVG wearers can see SCP-966 to be much smaller, close to melee range for SCP-966. I offer this change as I think it would mean that SCP-966's gimmick (its invisibility) isn't instantly lost when the site realises it is breached and starts to mass wear NVGs.

Positives:
- SCP-966's gimmick is not instantly lost
- SCP-966 isn't just a weaker version of every melee SCP when NVGs are included

Negatives:
- SCP-966 is harder to spot, and kill (although with HP changes I don't think this would be a massive problem)
- Dev time (although many of the others are just number changes on sweps / roles, this one I believe would require some kind of actual dev time (although I don't truly know))

Has something similar been suggested before? If so, why is your suggestion different?:
I've seen a suggestion about a different SCP-966 buff, although not like this.

Based on the Positives & Negatives, why should this suggestion be accepted:
The overall changes this suggestion reccomends are:
- Higher damage (to kill, not down)
- Higher speed (slightly lower than potent)
- Much lower HP
- Harder to realise as breached
- Harder to see with NVGs (but still a bonus from no NVGs)

I believe that all of those ideas together would create a better, more fun, and more unique SCP-966 breach. A breach focused on sneakily killing people without being noticed, and if you get noticed being more easily killed, due to much lower HP - and a uniqueness that isn't lost as soon as NVGs are wore.

One thing I think the server misses quite heavily for SCP-966 (and maybe a few other SCPs) is an actually unique breach and playstyle, whilst although it's certainly unique prior to being found out it quickly becomes just a weaker melee SCP when people start to realise it's existence and don NVGs, which is quite fast, as it takes so many hits to actually kill a person.
 

Alex/John Dingle

Civil Gamers Expert
Donator
Sep 7, 2022
203
30
111
+Support, Making it so 996 is actualy like a silent assasin SCP will rework its playstyle. Right now 966 is only good at flanking and even then he isnt the best, he should be able to easily sneak past large groups and kill single targets in 3 total hits (2 to down and 1 to finish off) so yeah i totaly agree with this suggestion, 966 rn is just a glorified 079 guard
 
I did also suggest a change previously regarding 966 of:
  • Make turrets not target it
  • Make NVGs unbearably bright when the lights are on - you shouldn't be able to see much
CT denied it based on them not wanting 966 to just instantly run to surface and that the turrets and teslas prevent this. Which kind of makes sense, except for the part where teslas don't affect 966 because it can just walk through the side door, which they clearly didn't even know, and at no point did they ever address the NVG part, they just ignored it entirely and denied the whole suggestion. So I expect you'll get some response like "Denied - We don't plan to buff 966's movement speed." that doesn't provide reasons and doesn't address most of the suggestion.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Emilia Foddg
Dec 25, 2023
177
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Completely agree on this point, but what amount of damage do you think is fair? 2 hits to down seems like overkill, but 3 is barely an improvement if we're basing this on time to call the breach out.

All other changes in mind, this looks like fun

In my mind, a good number would be 2 for unarmoured and then 3 for armoured (so like 80~ damage, I dunno how downing/armour really works). However 2 hits to kill a fully armoured person would be perfectly reasonable imo assuming 966's HP was massively reduced.
 
-Support

It's literally invisible and can run through doors. It's not supposed to rush at a hoard of people like 076, that was never It's gameplay loop. It's meant to pick off people, like people not wearing NVG with AA. There's plenty of over powered or annoying SCPs as is, we don't need another.
It can't even do that, though. As it is, 966 CB gets called out and then everyone on the server is wearing NVGs within 2 seconds of the callout, so you can't even walk around to find a target without 3 people seeing you and shredding 20% of your health before you can get away because you're barely faster than them.
 

Jeffrey Nut

Civil Gamers Expert
Oct 6, 2023
170
20
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+/- Support
Yeah if you wanna add all these things might as well make a ruling that he just cant keep running away when hes breach, aka 966 hiding when hes breached is not fun and never will be