Big Changes with V.14
So as I brought up in the pinned post, .14 is the current system in development for DDA and has added more changes in a single update than any other edition previously. Besides some general balance changes there’s been a lot of big updates which I’d like to go over here. This is by no means a comprehensive list, .14′s updates are just that big, but this will be me going over some of what I see are the biggest, most important, and most fun updates to the system.
Effect Changes
Effects now work differently than they did before. This is probably the biggest change to the core system and as such I want to talk about it upfront.
Now, when rolling for Positive Effects, the user rolls Accuracy and counts the Successes. Then the target(s) roll Health and count the Successes. For every number above the TN set by the Accuracy successes, add 1 to the duration of the buff.
Single-Target Positive Effects now automatically hit for 1 duration no matter what you roll for Accuracy/Health. Your friends no longer dodge your high-five buffs!
Multi-Target Positive Effects can still miss on a roll of 0 for Accuracy.
Melee tagged Positive Effects can target the user, allowing for self-buffing builds.
Positive Effects do not lower Dodge Pools anymore.
What does this mean? For one thing it means you want passable Accuracy but Accuracy is no longer the end-all-be-all of a support build because you don’t want it to be massively higher than your Ally’s Health stats. It also means being in Defensive Stance is the best way for you to buff in general, as opposed to Offensive Stance from before this update.
Negative Effects work effectively the same as before; roll Accuracy vs Dodge, count net successes for Duration. However, there are a lot of cool changes and new effects for debuffers to work with now. Be sure to check out the changes in the book. Personally I’m a huge fan of Lag and DOT and can’t wait to use them someday.
Tamer Orders
Tamer Orders are a spiritual successor to the old Tamer Qualities. When you hit a certain tier of power, you unlock the ability to use a Tamer Order. These are special types of things your Tamer can do and give amazing bonuses to your Digimon without relying on Charisma to Direct. These can range from applying a Taunt to an enemy, to healing your Digimon, to allowing your Digimon to use your Fateful Intervention. There’s a whopping 15 Tamer Orders, so I can’t fit them all here. Be sure to check them out in the book.
Instinct/InForce
Too long has Weapon been the only way to build a Digimon. Instinct now stands out as a defensive alternative which buffs your Digimon’s Dodge, Health, and Movement. And later on you gain access to InForces; powerful mechanics you can now utilize to your advantage. Instinct cannot be taken with Weapon, so be sure to choose wisely what kind of build you want.
Twin Partners
There is now a system for having two Digimon at once! They progress differently than normal partners, and have their own special rules. However despite being much weaker early in the game they can be the most powerful Digimon by the time you reach endgame. They also have access to combination attacks by default, so be sure to check the rules out.
Signature Move Update
Signature Move is no longer just a way to apply Certain Strike and Armor Piercing (which have been changed by the way, check those out!). Now it’s a big attack with extra damage, but at a cost; you can’t use it until your third turn by default. This means the Quality is worth taking even if you don’t have Certain Strike and Armor Piercing on the move.
Naturewalk/Element Master/Domain Control
Naturewalk has been updated to a proper tree of Qualities. Naturewalks now can grant special effects and bonuses, like Naturewalk: Dark granting Darkvision or Naturewalk: Water granting waterbreathing. But now there’s more than just fluff reasons to take the Qualities; and it all ends with Domain Control. Domain Controls are powerful Qualities which last for a set period, but allow your Digimon to do even more cool things. Be sure to check the tree out in the handbook. Personally I’m the biggest fan of Shadow Vale, but there’s something for everyone in here.
Negative and Free Qualities
Something that never got fully implemented before: now you can take a small selection of negative Qualities in order to get a bit of DP back on your build. These can be incredibly fluffy, or ways to just add a bit of randomness to how you play.
Free Qualities are all neutral for benefits; each has a tied in downside and are mostly for fluff. However they can be excellent ways to make your build more fun to play with. Both Free and Negative Qualities require GM permission.
Stage Bonus/Limitations
Stage Bonus is now implemented as a mechanic, mostly as a way to create smaller and non-DP related bonuses for certain things, as well as to limit the purchase of certain Qualities such as Weapon, Instinct, Armor Piecing, Certain Strike, and the like. Rookies can no longer just take 2 ranks of Weapon and Armor Piercing to punch well above their level. This was a very welcome addition for balance.
Mode Change/Burst Mode
I fully admit when I picked up DDA, I wasn’t as versed in terms. As such I missed Super Ultimate/Ultra as a stage and made Burst Mode the final stage of the system.
This is no longer the case. Ultra/Super Ultimate are now the highest stages, and Burst Mode is the capstone of the Mode Change tree. It allows you to effectively re-build your Digimon for a high cost, and depending on your Tamer Build grants extra special effects, many of which are callbacks to .12, AKA Rocket Tag Party Edition ™. Two Weapons are back on the menu!
Stealth Build Update
Sneak Attack, Hide in Plain Sight, and Shade Cloak have always been somewhat undervalued, as the former is very all-or-nothing, however the Substitute, Glamor, and Illusionary Overlay have all been added to give this type of build some more love. As of writing this post it’s one of the more recent updates to the system, so I haven’t had the chance to play with it much, but I look forward to it a lot.
Combat Monster Update
Combat Monster has been sort-of nerfed, upfront it’s more limited in how big its bonus can get. However, it’s now a tree type Quality. You can either go down the old Berserker path, or you can take the Brave Heart path. Brave Heart allows Tanks to take a special Stance and get more bonuses, and it caps with One for All, which upon activation shares your Combat Monster bonus with all your nearby allies. This has made a very teamplay based Tank setup which has been very welcome in .14.
Quick Healer Update
Quick Healer has been updated as a line; Second Wind will allow your Digimon to heal themselves mid-combat, thus giving more reason to dip into the tree than just out of combat usage. Regenerator has also been adjusted, be sure to check it out.
Summoner Update
Summoners can now create much more specialized minions; ranging from one big one to smaller, scout-based minions. This creates amazing versatility to a previously fairly basic type of playstyle, and I encourage everyone to check it out.
Range Update
How far you can attack has been a big concern in previous editions. With .14 there is a hard defined limit for your Digimon’s range, instead of it just being a practical limit. This is adjusted based on your stage and Accuracy, be sure to look things up before blasting away. This has been an excellent way to stop people from just sitting back and using Ranged Strikers to win.
And More!
There is so much to go over with .14, and I’ve barely scraped the surface (another thing to check out for example is the Cross Counter Quality). It’s late while I’m typing this up, so I’m sorry if I’ve missed anything major, but I cannot go on enough about how much I love the changes to the system. If you haven’t picked up .14 yet, please do as soon as you can.
Coming Soon
There is also a Quick-start guide in the works, made to simplify things a bit for quick reference. The book is amazingly detailed but we’re doing our best to make it easy to look up what you need as well. Stay tuned for that update.
