This post is fully updated as of: 6/7/2017
Recently I found out that there's a huge update coming soon. Although I was hyped at first since a big update was long overdue, this update simply introduces too much content, and it's updates like these that make Town of Salem not feel like Town of Salem.
First and foremost, I would like to talk about the Coven update being an expansion rather than a new gamemode. So, here are the pros and cons:
Pros:
- It's entirely optional to play and is just meant for fun
- There will be less inexperienced players and cheaters
- There's a lot of (forgive the word choice, but there's no other way to say it) cool stuff being added that will make the game interesting and relevant again
- The new roles and their crazy abilities will make the game more difficult and encourage players to think more
Cons:
- Not everyone will be able to get the expansion since it costs money
- The new gamemodes don't seem to be very balanced
- The Covens are too weak to compete with the new Town roles, especially with the Psychic
So, anyway, moving on! I won't be talking about the Coven gamemode itself or its roles in this post because I think that the Coven roles deserve to be ranked in a separate post. To summarize my experience with the Coven roles in a few sentences, I like all of them except for the Hex-master, and my favorite is the Potion Master.
- GOOD roles:
- Tracker- the Tracker is a simple but effective concept, and I'm glad it's finally being added.
- Ambusher- it seems like a really strong Mafia role; it does have a lot of potential, but requires skill to be used effectively.
- Trapper- the Trapper is the well-rounded Protector that we've always needed. The Trapper can only lay down traps every other turn, but those traps are permanent until they are activated. When activated, they give useful information to the Trapper, though it isn't too useful. These traps allow the Trapper to protect important Townies without having to stay on them every night, and they are Mafioso-proof, but the Mafia can get around this by sending a Mafia Support/Deception to someone they suspect is trapped. Traps will also be triggered if a Townie visits, so they aren't too powerful. This role has its ups and downs, but overall, I'd say it's balanced.
UNCLEAR roles: - Juggernaut- I've seen the role's description, but since I've never seen it in an actual game, I cannot make a clear conclusion about it.
BAD roles: - Crusader- I haven't seen too much of the Crusader yet, but I think it's under-powered. My main concern with this role is that it uses RNG to select which visitor it kills. In my opinion, it should select the visitor based on reverse-priority. The other flaw of this role is that it's too weak. Since its attack is Basic, the only scum attacker it can kill is Mafioso (it can take out an Ambusher, but it loses its life, too). This role is great against Covens, but in vanilla game-modes, there's only 2-3 scums it can actually kill as compared to all of the visiting Town roles it can kill. No TP role should be this unreliable.
- Hypnotist- unless I misunderstood the description, this is RNG! RNG is always bad because it often leads to unbalance. RNG is especially bad in this case because the Hypnotist is a Mafia role. If the RNG selects an impossible message, it could reveal that there is a Hypnotist in the game. For example, if a player gets a notification that they have been attacked + healed, but Town Prot and RT are both dead, they will know it's likely that Random Mafia is a Hypnotist, which makes the Hypnotist's ability semi-useless for the rest of the game if this information is disclosed.
- Psychic- this role is at this point blatantly overpowered. I honestly don't know what BMG was smoking when they made this role; it breaks all the "laws" of To$ roles. It uses RNG not once, but twice--and on every single turn--and it auto-confirms Town members. It's just OP that you can know that at least one of three players is evil, and keep getting information of this sort every other night. If two of the players for any reason die and aren't scums, then the last scum is screwed just because they had bad luck. The only weakness of this role is that it's extremely easy to fake, but that's about it. Imo, this role shouldn't get nerfed; it should get scrapped. There is no possible change to this role that could make it non-RNG, so the only solution is a full-on rework.
- Guardian Angel- this role is pointless and it harms the game more than anything. NB roles are supposed to be able to choose their side, but this role is forced to be biased towards one randomly chosen player. I know that you could say the same about Executioner, but all of the Executioner's targets are Town, and he isn't Benign. This role's influence on the game varies wildly depending on the role of the player it's assigned, and it can potentially provide Town with another healer. Another problem is that it can't even protect its target that well. It only has two heals, so they have to be used wisely, or else their target will most likely die. Their target could disconnect, leave, get killed at night, be caught by Town as a scum, etc. The GA is powerless to stop the rest of the server from attacking their target, and also, their target may be a bad player, which leads to the GA losing for something that isn't their fault.
- Plaguebearer- Even after the buff, this role remains unbalanced. I get that the role was UP, but I don't think that we should be building on a structure that is already flawed. This is a role that starts out as UP, but then becomes OP, making it structurally flawed; two wrongs do not make a right. However, I still think that it's an UP role altogether, and there is no buff or nerf that can fix this. In a quiet Town, this role might see some success, but in the VFR world that we live in, the Plaguebearer will most likely be lynched before it can even dream of becoming a Pestilence. And even if it becomes a Pestilence, it isn't really all that powerful! When a PB becomes a Pestilence, it's announced to the whole Town, which makes it easy for the Town to lynch the PB the following day. And even if they can't lynch them on the first try, smart Townies won't visit when they know there's a Pestilence, which makes the PB's rampaging attacks pretty much useless.
HORRIBLE roles: - Pirate- oh boy, where do I even start with this one? The Pirate role is broken beyond repair, and it has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. This role chooses a player to duel every night, and the player's life depends on a stupid Rock-Paper-Scissors game. I know that RPS isn't technically RNG, but since you have no idea what the other player will pick, it basically is RNG. The worst part about this role is that it can easily screw over the entire game based on luck! It can potentially kill players back-to-back, AND it RBs them! SO MANY LIVES SHOULDN'T DEPEND ON DUMB LUCK! And as if this wasn't bad enough. after the Pirate gets its two kills, it becomes a stupid king-maker, free to do whatever it freaking wants to, and it can keep causing chaos for the entire game's duration. I honestly don't get why BMG hasn't apologized for this role yet...
And that was my opinion on all of the roles. Anyway, moving on! This is what I think should be done to fix all of the roles:
- Tracker, Trapper, and Ambusher- Nothing.
- Hypnotist- Make an interface that allows the Hypnotist to select their message instead of having RNG choosing the message.
- Crusader- The Crusader attacks players based on priority, not luck.
- Pirate- The Pirate loses its ability to plunder once it gets two kills, and (optionally) it also loses its ability to RB.
- Guardian Angel and Psychic- Either a full rework or the role gets scrapped.
- Neutral Chaos Roles (Vampire, Pirate, and Plaguebearer)- Can no longer appear as the Any in Ranked-based game-modes.
- Juggernaut- Will have the same chance of appearing as the other Neutral Killing roles.
NOTES:
Spoiler:
So, BMG, I hope you're happy.
*sigh* what am I even doing with my life?
I judge these things so strictly, and yet I still put hours into this game. After the update... will I still play ToS? Yes. Will I play it a lot? Yes. Will I buy the expansion? Yes...
Oh, boy, I think I need to go outside more or somethin'...