Should faction bonuses exist?

I've thought about this a few months ago and it seems like that they are the ones that are causing the main problems. The way I see it, if they were removed, all the factions would maintain their unique flavour via certain abilities, spells, relics etc. (SL -- tough, scale dmg; ST -- high hp, resistances; UD -- high dmg abilities, SP -- sonic stuff and various utility; FW -- pretty obvious as is; KF -- high spd; FS -- nora gen via abilities/spells/relics; IS -- healing and righteous stuff + faction bonus kinda meh.)
Thoughts?

 

I like asymmetry in games and the racial bonuses are neat, gives different matches a consistent but different feel.

 

could make some kind of debuff for split decks.

 

I dont like any of it,, transfiguring shrines, fac bonus (poxbox's point is valid tho), even the dam font bonus,,
dont get me wrong , at face it's kool and all, and it may add flavor, but for me it
causes more problems then they are worth.
With these issues im a minimalist, leave the fight to the bg build, and how the players use the cards they have , all the rest of it is just ,,, gimicky I guess,, ill edit that word if I think of a better one.......
it just seems unnecessary, , pox cards have so much to offer without all this fluff.

agreed,, I was thinking to remove fac bonus...but if its removed, , how to debuff them?
hmmm.

 

reduction in nora gen, stat debuff, some kind of penalty for using not using runes from both factions in a balanced way (so for example if you use 3 runes of one faction in a row you get X penalty.) just some ideas.

 

I like them, it allows for thematic gameplay

 

the reduction in nora gen isnt to bad ,, at least something,


how is giving ST 10 hp thematic? this game is plenty thematic without any of that,,,
again im not saying all that stuff isnt quirky,,, they just bring more problems then they do to help game balance. less is more,
I understand that the TCG model is what fetches them more $$$( I suppose) ,
ive just always had the bad habit of thinking as pox as a serious tbs stragety , more then a ccg.
its all moot anyway , as poxbot said. those bonuses are tied into the runes. cant change that.

 

Raw hp gives benefit to units who are stationary/ space control.

It is tbs mostly, it's just balanced pretty poorly.

 

i understand what the hps do. I just dont understand how a factional 10 hp buff is thematic.

the game play is tbs of course,,, its the ccg aspect,,,
I guess im just getting to old to get excited about chasing cards. lol..

 

Because ice impedes movement and forces units to be weak on certain squares. Giving a unit flat HP makes him hard to remove from that square.


SL and ST actually overlap too much imo bonus wise.

 

its really not my feeling that the bonuses is what really separates these factions in such a significant way, and that removing would make them so similar.
in fact these facs play quite differently ,have there own flow even without a bonus.

true dat

but this is how I see it now,, when I look at a ST champ,, my mind adds 10hp off the bat.
I dont need to actually read it on the card to change my opinion.

I think some of the arguments may come from the fact that some bonuses are easily quantifiable while some are not.
If one wanted to remove the STbonus , just add 10hp to each champ and raise there cost by whatever the cost of 10hp, Ud , SL the same. easy to grasp.
But maybe its a bit different when it comes to bonuses like FW, FS, SP as they might not use the same guide, even if they do. its a bit harder to imagine on a card as opposed to say a dam increase.
still, the factions of pox nora play so uniquely and have so much individual flavor that saying the bonuses makes them so dissimilar is almost an insult to the game

so this is the thematic reasoning behind a 10hp increase?
wouldnt defense be more of an accurate bonus using your example then hp?.
just cuz something has alot of hp doesnt make it tuff. .. and what if were not on ice at all,,?
again I dont see how this is thematic..
A thematic ability for ST might be
:all ST champs recieve 50% less dam from all cold attacks.
And because they actually live in cold its relatable.
I dont know whateves

 

I see the +10HP more as a stamina effect, indicating that the arctic race are a "mentaly hardened" race because of the slower pace of life that is in the arctic. And the SL bonus as a resillience to the tougher conditions they are from.

On topic i must say i like the faction bonuses, i like the font effects aswell. It gives depths and uniqeness.

 

everyone agrees they can add a touch of novelty , no doubt.
although as I stated earlier,, for me ,they hardly define a factions identity, or make them so spectacularly unique, sl is a bit tuffer, wow tons of depth in that.

I think the point of the thread is,, do they bring more problems then they do satisfaction, ?, I think some would agree that some font bonuses are big help,, while some flat out suk..
so in these situations I would prolly err on the side of game play rather then flavor.
countless threads on fac bonuses being to strong for some facs,, while lacking on other.
and I mostly agree with those sentiments.
still to each his own of course

so say a polar bear,,,
you think a polar bear is mentally fit to survive in freezing temps as opposed to physically fit to survive in such a climate?
hmm interesting.

 

You might have a personal problem in valuing stats on runes, if you can't see how important faction bonuses are.

Most of the bonuses are very unique. The only two which are not are ST and SL, and you could maybe argue SP and FS are similar.

Raw hp has an advantage versus spells and relic damage, while sl damage reduction is better versus attacks for obvious reasons. Since spells and offensive relics exchange nora for an effect around a targeted square(s), it fits the theme of occupying a specific square on the board, where as SL has an option to retreat more successfully. These are coupled by the faction font bonuses.

In practice, the SL damage reduction tends to gain more value than ST even when standing still, since their champions also have high hp and defense. The two both have one of the best font bonuses in the game imo. With the worst probably being FW.

 

There isn't a best bonus. FW has a noticeably worse bonus than the rest of the factions, but that's about it. IS bonus is probably sub par as well.

SL bonus might be a bit above the curve as well. But SP FS UD ST KF all have a similar power level.

 

This is a joke right? if all factions are the same, what is the point of the game

 

faction bonuses are fine. they're never going to be equal, but the game is balance-able regardless. almost as if there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to game balance, and just one isn't the end of days

weird

 

well thats the point were discussing, , I just dont believe that the bonus is so defining of a factions identity, thats all.
if I think of ST,, I think of coldand ice , jakei,, , frost damge, , not 10 hp,, etc.
and to say that these factions need the bonus to play and feel differently, I just dont see it.
keeping in mind,, im certainly not here advocating for there removal.