arcadia:administration:design_mavericks

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======= Designing Mavericks =======

The goal of this page is to help users who are unfamiliar with creating mavericks (for use in personal story missions or just for others to have fun with) to create mavericks. The details mentioned here are not rules and should not be treated as such. Instead they are more like guidelines to show the various conventions we use and tips to help users come up with ideas.

===== Appearance =====
Mavericks often take an animal shape, especially those that give new weapons. This can also help for naming... (more on that later). 

If they have an animal type then you can use that to help figure out how they would look. Since this gives you a basic idea of their body type. Like if they're a Bear type maverick they're likely going to be taller (over 6-7 feet easily, likely closer to 9 or 10 feet, since real life bears can often hit 8-9 feet tall on their own.) and heavier (real life bears can weigh as much as 1500lbs for larger species like the Kodiac or Polar) than others.

This also means they might have certain defining features like claws (instead of fingers) or a muzzle. Which can also come in handy for creating attacks/powers.

Also don't forget that because they are machines they can have metal plating, crystals, metal spikes, hoses/tubing or even exposed circuitry/internals to help expand on the design. Though you can certainly add effects like fur or scales (depending on the maverick) to them to help vary their appearance.


===== Attacks =====

When it comes to designing a maverick, one of the easiest ways to start is to think of their weaponry. Start with their powers and then build the rest of the maverick around that. 

(Though if you have a name picked out, it can help figure out moves since you have a basic idea what the maverick will look like and what it could do based on it's appearance. So you can use that to help create moves. EX- An alligator type maverick might have large jaws which can crush enemies so for one potential power... if it slams it's mouth shut quickly it can create a sonic boom.)

Mavericks will generally only have 4-6 special attacks. Though more powerful mavericks may very well have more than that. (Like Lumine who had 8 special attacks.) But these more powerful mavericks, especially humanoid reploids, often do not grant their special attacks upon defeat (see Stats for why).  


Mavericks that grant players new moves typically follow a pattern for their attacks. They will have:
  - A weapon that would be fired from a buster.
  - A weapon that would be used from a saber.
  - A weapon that would be used from a knuckle type.
  - A overdrive attack.

They generally won't deviate much from this pattern.

==== Buster ====
Buster type moves (those that would need to be fired from a buster) are often projectile based abilities. These are often the long range moves the maverick would have access to.

==== Saber and Knuckle ====

Unlike Buster moves, saber and knuckle moves are often the heavy hitters. They're more apt to be slower with a shorter range (than a buster) but have devastating effects nonetheless.

They're typically the melee type abilities that a maverick would have. And very often include abilities that affect the maverick/hunter's defensive capabilities also. For example a particular maverick move could grant an electric aura to the user, making getting close to them while the move is active more dangerous. 

They also tend to be more environmental type weapons, like the ability to punch the ground to cause beams of energy to impact. 

Though (Knuckle types more than saber types) are also known to spawn projectiles that can be flung. Like a move may create an orb of energy that explodes.

==== Overdrive ====
Like Hunters's Hypermodes, Mavericks have a single extremely devastating move except they can typically reserve it's use for when they're nearly defeated. This is very often because this type of move requires certain conditions to be fulfilled. Perhaps they need to have taken a certain amount of damage or they need to have built up a certain amount of energy during the fight. 

Alternatively these moves may be held back until the very end because they are a last ditch type move that uses a considerable amount of energy from the maverick (which used at the beginning of the fight would put the user at a disadvantage).

These moves are typically a lot stronger (and flashier) than their other moves. They often have a wider range than other moves so they may strike an area rather than just a single target.

And unlike the Buster, Saber and Knuckle types //**the Overdrive move is not up for Old Generation reploids to acquire**//. (Old Generations only get to pick between the Buster, Saber and Knuckle types.)


===== Background =====

Mavericks don't really need a very elaborate background explaining who they are. Most of the time a short piece explaining how they became a maverick is more than enough. And keep in mind [[megamanx:maverick#how_mavericks_are_created|how mavericks are created]]. (Though avoid Force Metals because it just isn't something that would have been very common and Force Metal use was shut down pretty quickly.)


Though when creating mavericks, avoid making mavericks that are very old (like ones that have been around since before X7). Remember that Hunters are fairly proficient at killing mavericks and they have a worldwide operation too. So most mavericks aren't going to last very long (especially on their own).


===== Name =====

Maverick names can be one of the easiest or hardest things to come up with.

==== Animal ====
A good pattern that I've used (for animal type mavericks) is to try to have <elemental descriptor> <animal> name. So for example:
Shock Scorpion, Titanium Tortoise, Dust Dragonfly or Electron Echidna.
Alliteration, like with the 4 mavericks listed above, (two words in a row that start with the same first letter/sound) in the name isn't necessary. It's just something I like to do to help the name roll off the tongue and be a bit more memorable.


If you already have an element picked out (and moves created for this maverick) then you can often use a [[http://thesaurus.com/|thesaurus]] to help find words that might have a slightly different sound (but still mean the same thing as like "Fire") to help give names a bit more difference. (Since seeing a dozen mavericks named "Burn" <animal> might be a bit disconcerting/dull. Unless they have a particular reason for it.)

If you don't have any moves picked, sometimes this makes it easier to actually create a maverick. If you start with the name following the convention of: <element> <animal>.  That gives both the element and animal shape (helping to figure out their shape and attacks too.)


==== Humanoid ====
Though the <element> <animal> scheme doesn't work so well if you intend to have humanoid mavericks. But the naming conventions on Humanoid mavericks are different. Sometimes they don't have an element indicator. They might have a name like: Lumine, Sigma or Redips. 

Good places to look for names include:
  - Greek Alphabet (Avoid Omega, Epsilon and Gamma since they are used for official characters)
  - [[http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-name.php|Seventh Sanctum's Name Generators]]


===== Stats =====
Mavericks come in 3 ranges for stats...
==== 40 - 45 ====
Mavericks that have 40-45 points are considered the most common. They're usually the ones in charge of attacking an area and have a bunch of mechaniloids to help them out. 

Most hunters can go 1 vs 1 with this range of maverick. (Though Hunter HQ doesn't like to take chances, which is why they often send whole teams. Plus they don't always know which maverick will be appearing where/when.) 


==== 45 - 55 ====
Mavericks that have 45-55 points are considered the upper range. They are often a lot tougher and more experienced. A single hunter will struggle against a 45 point maverick (they can win, but the toll of victory might be high). Against a 50+ point maverick though a single hunter's chances are much lower. (At 55 though a single hunter might not stand much of a chance though.) 

This level of maverick often necessitates that 2 hunters be present to fight them.

==== 55 - 60 ====
These mavericks are extremely rare. These are typically the highest level of maverick and thusly the most powerful. A single hunter fighting one of these mavericks will almost always lose. 

These mavericks also tend to modify their weapon modules to prevent them from being copied. (Often times using small explosives to destroy their weapon modules to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.) 

Maverick Hunter HQ prioritizes these mavericks over others (because they are stronger) so when one of these is found they work to ensure it is eliminated.  This keeps the stronger maverick population down, minimizing casualties from these maverick's attacks and ensuring that any maverick groups won't have nearly as many strong forces at their disposal. 

Out of Character-wise they tend to be the "final boss" level for individual character's story. They shouldn't appear for other purposes because they are much tougher than an individual hunter. Which means they do require at least 3 people to fight them.
Trace: • tristy • vasas • arcadia • tanja_yuko • variable_weapon_system
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