Welcome to the new (and hopefully more stream-lined) Upgrade Procedure page. This is still a long, involved document, make use of the table of contents to navigate to a particular section. Some items will be less complete for the time being (such as rebuilds), but the previous versions of this page can be seen in the History.

Upgrade Procedure

• Submit an Upgrade Application.

• If necessary, work with the Charstaffer to improve your app based on their reply.

• When approved, go roleplay the scenes you've outlined, and record a log of the roleplay.

• Email the log back to the upgrade account. It's easier to keep track if you reply to the original reply you received. It is also helpful, but not required, to submit the log to the Wiki and then just email us the link.

• Don't be afraid to check with staff before writing the upgrade application.

• If you are not able to receive the requested upgrade, chances are Charstaff will work with you to find approvable suggestions you will enjoy. It is in your own best interest not to complain if you are unable to receive the upgrade you seek: You can't have everything.

Upgrade Application

The Upgrade Application email is [image:2k5upgrades@gmail.com]

• E-mail SUBJECT should be: <Character Name> - <Brief Upgrade Description> (e.g. "Bumblebee - Swim", "Seaspray - +10 STR", "Hook - Ener-Sword Upgrade", etc)

• E-mail BODY should contain the cost of the upgrade (Including where the AP will be sourced from, EG how many AP from which character(s))

Plus detailed paragraphs discussing the following:

• • How you're going to upgrade (IC method, what scenes and characters will be involved)
  • IC justification of request (Why does this character need/want this new addition?)
  • OOC justification of request (Why do you, the player, want this and why you think it is appropriate?)

• Staff reserves the right to reject any upgrade requests for any of the above reasons or for any not listed here, but don't worry -- we are very reasonable folk!
• Want to know if something is ok for an upgrade?  Want to know how much work you'll need to put in to get the upgrade?  Need some help thinking up ideas?  Speak to Charstaff!  We're more than happy to help, but be aware that you ultimately need to pull your own weight in the end, we can help but we can't do the whole thing for you.

Combining Upgrades

Upgrade requests should be sent PER distinct upgrade action.

Upgrades that are conceptually linked can be submitted as one upgrade request. Vastly different upgrades require separate submissions:

• OK: Joebot is buying the Swim and Dive abilities. He can go ahead and submit them both as the same request. Chances are he can learn/acquire both of these at the same time (in the same log or series of logs).
• NOT OK: Joebot is buying the Swim ability and also increasing his Strength by 10 points. These should not be the same request!
• OK: Joebot is buying the LR_Radio ability and also adding a new skill "Knowledge: Trucker Callsigns". These can be part of the same request.

Upgrade Approval Criteria

• Criteria for approving applications (Stats and balance guidelines can be seen further down in this document):
  • Is the request IC for your character?
  • Is the request "themely"? e.g. consistent with 2k5's overall theme/canon/tradition?
  • Will this make the character uncommonly powerful? If so, is this IC for your character?
  • Does the proposed ability and/or skills meet the prerequisite (as determined by staff) stat levels?
  • Has past RP shown that the player will handle the addition (in)appropriately?
  • Has past disciplinary action (gripes, warnings, stern talking tos, etc) -- or lack there of -- shown that the player will handle the addition (in)appropriately?

• The more the merrier - More scenes, involving more players will make it easier to get an upgrade approved. Not just participating in scenes, but organizing and running them and doing your part to get people involved and having fun. Think about your upgrade as not just getting a new toy, but a chance to star in an 'episode' and to generate fun for everyone involved.

• We frown a bit on upgrade methods that only entail 'repair/surgury scenes', they tend to be uncreative, lacking involvement from the character being upgraded(who tends to just sit on a gurney), and of course the technical characters don't want to be doing surgery scenes every other day. That being said, repair scenes can have their place as a part of a larger upgrade plot arc where they are a supplement instead of the main scene.

• Simple repair/upgrade scenes work a bit better on their own if the character being upgraded is relatively below-average, but still some thought should be put into thinking of more creative scenes.

• Special circumstances like temp characters, new rooms, gestalt appearances, boosters or coded objects can be arranged to make an upgrade plot exciting and different.

Upgrade Application Samples

• There are many ways to approach an upgrade application, but is ultimately something that is judged on a case-by-case basis.  What worked for one character does not necessarily mean it'll work for others.  Below is a sample of an upgrade application.

Example 1

Bluestreak - COU - +6

6 AP sourced from Bluestreak's AP pool.

Scenario

I want to schedule a TP where a team of Autobots, including Bluestreak, is patroling near the outskirts of Markon.  The TP is intended to be a story-driven combat scene with the cooperation of a few players from both sides.  I want the Autobots to be ambushed by superior Decepticon forces, outnumbered and outgunned.  With the help of my volunteers, I want to put the Autobots into a position where they're being rounded up, facing dire cirucumstances.  It's here that I want to have Bluestreak rise up to the occasion and free the Autobots and ultimately escape to friendly territory with them.

IC Justification

Bluestreak is going to be forced in a situation where he has to fight his fears.  It's a chance for him to grow a bit, by putting him in a situation where he is facing both the traumatizing fear of being the lone survivor again, but the only way he can avoid that from becoming reality is not by running away or being paralyzed in fear like he always does.  Even though he'll rise to the occasion and pull his friends out of the fire, it still won't be enough to heal him of his emotional trauma.  It's only an incremental improvement, far from curing him, but enough to show some character development.

OOC Justification

Bluestreak has really low courage due to his tech spec.  I understand that Bluestreak's trauma is one of the defining aspect of the character, and I don't want to take that away from him either because he wouldn't be who he is without that emotional scar weighing down on him.  This is why I just want to ask for a modest improvement of his COU, so I have a bit better chance to stay in  combat scenes for a bit longer before I hit COU-END, and start posing Bluestreak freaking out and becoming paralyzed with fear in order to stay in character.  His trauma remains intact, but I get a little more room to work with.

Spending Advancement Points

Let me count the ways...

Upgrades

• Feature Character upgrades are now done on a per-player basis. This means any upgrades you add to an FC while playing them are yours forever! When you drop the character, the FC will revert to its "tech spec" or "base" stats. When you play that character again in the future, the FC will be converted to your build. This is an effort to encourage players to really take the time to invest in a Feature Character.

• Original Character upgrades are permanent changes to your stats, abilities, or attacks. They will not revert until the character is killed or @nuked at your request.

• Current/Past FC Pools - If you are currently playing an FC, and you have past AP from the same FC in your +playerinfo, those past ones may be treated as if they were in the same pool as the ones in your current FC. Example: If I am playing Scourge and have 12 AP, and I played Scourge last year and have another 10 in my +playerinfo, then it is the same as if I currently have 22 on Scourge.

Cross-Character Spending

• Cross-Character Spending - You can now spend AP from different characters you play(or played in the past, see +playerinfo). All points listed in your +playerinfo are at full value.

For OCs, the upgrading OC must spend at least half of the cost of the upgrade from their own pool. (Example, I play Redshift and Roadbuster. I can spend 40 of Roadbuster's AP[which is worth 20] to help pay for a 40 AP upgrade for Redshift, and Redshift pays the other half, 20)

Converting AP to CP

• When creating a new character, you can convert Advancement Points (AP) into Character Points (CP) for a NEW Original Character at a ratio of 10 to 1.

• Note that just because you have the ABILITY to spend gobs of extra CP on an OC does not give you the RIGHT. Character Staff will use a level of scrutiny appropriate to the amount of extra CP you are buying.
• Character Staff automatically keeps track of any AP you had left on characters when you leave them. You can access this information by typing +playerinfo

Upgrade Costs

Stats

An important command for calculating the cost of a stat upgrade is +upgradecost. It requires two numbers to be enetered, the starting valueand the end value. To calculate the cost of upgrading a stat from 50 to 70 you can type +upgradecost 50 to 70 (which costs 60 ap, by the way)

Core Stats

Core stats are Endurance, Courage, Intelligence, Leadership, and Technical. They cannot be different values per different mode, so all you need to figure out the cost of these Core stats is the +upgradecost command.

Mode-Variable Stats

The Mode-Variable Stats are Strength, Firepower, Agility and Accuracy. These may be different values in different modes.   This rule is currently being revised.

If your Mode-Variable stat you wish to upgrade is the same in both modes, just use the cost listed when you use the +upgradecost command. (If you have 70 Agility in mode1 and 70 Agility in mode2, the cost is as listed in +upgradecost)

If your mode-variable stats are different values in your modes, it is a little more complicated.

If you are upgrading only one mode:

You may only upgrade the mode-variable stat in one mode in order to lower the gap between modes.

If you have 80 Strength in mode1 and 60 Strength in mode2, you may upgrade only the mode2 Strength anywhere between 60 and 80. The cost of which is the +upgradecost value divided by 2 (Or the number of functional modes you have, Triplechangers would pay 1/3rd the +upgradecost value)

If you are upgrading both modes:

If you are upgrading a mode-variable stat and have different values in each mode, you will need to find the +upgradecost value for each increase, halve them, and combine.

Example: If you have 50 Strength in mode1 and 70 Strength in mode2, and wish to buy +10 to each, you would do the following:

+upgradecost 50 to 60 (which is 30ap)

+upgradecost 70 to 80 (which is 40ap)

Half of 30 and half of 40 means it will cost you 35ap (Slightly cheaper than if we only used the +upgradecost value of the higher stat)

If you have more than two modes, the procedure is similar except you would divide by the number of modes instead of dividing by 2.

Functional Mode rule applies here. If your altmode is a tape, or you are a triplechanger and one mode is a tape, you would divide by the number of Functional non-tape modes)

If you are a tape(or a laptop or a squeegee or other minimalistic mode with essentially no stats/armor/size/vel) that non-functional mode does not count towards the number of modes.

Tapes pay full price for mode-variable stats upgrades. Triplechanger tapes would count only non-tape modes and divide by 2.

Mind The Gap

There used to be provisions for upgrading mode-variable stats assymetrically. That is no longer an option, bacause 1) it was terribly convoluted and was difficult to make sense of and 2) could allow for advancing only one 'good' mode and ignoring your poor car mode or jet mode.

You may close gaps (buying up a lower mode-variable stat) but you cannot increase a gap.

Velocity

Velocity is simple, but different from other stats: After using the +upgradecost command to find the AP cost, divide by 2 (Or number of modes if you have more than 2 modes)

'Functional Mode' rule applies here as well. For example, if your altmode is a tape, or you are a Triple-Changer and one mode is a tape, you would divide by the number of Functional non-tape modes)

Modes may be upgraded separately or together. There is no counting of 'gaps' between Velocity stats in different modes.

Armor

Armor is simple, but different from other stats: After using the +upgradecost command to find the AP cost, divide by 2 (Or number of modes if you have more than 2 modes)

'Functional Mode' rule applies here as well. For example, if your altmode is a tape, or you are a Triple-Changer and one mode is a tape, you would divide by the number of Functional non-tape modes)

Modes may be upgraded separately or together. There is no counting of 'gaps' between Armor stats in different modes.

Size

Size can only be upgraded with use of a Rebuild.

Skills

Skills are easy! They cost 3ap per skill.

Feel free to include a new skill with your current upgrade app. Buying a new sword? Get a skill to go with it.

If all you want is a new skill(not combined with another upgrade) it may be possible by merely submitting an appropriate log that has already been roleplayed, bypassing the request-approval-roleplay-approval process.

Example: winning a race would be a good way to score a Racing skill.

Abilities

Abilities are easy! Take their cost in Character Points (CP) from the abilities list on the wiki or by typing !combatinfo ability, and multiply by 10.

A 5 CP Ability * 10 = 50 AP.

Upgrading/Modifying an Ability

New!

Abilities may now be modified/upgraded, just like how attacks may be rebuilt.

There is a base cost of 10ap required for any ability modification. The minimum cost is 10 even if the new ability costs the same or less than the previous one.

The main cost is based on the CP difference between the two abilities, multiplied by 10

Within reason points may be shifted between Abilities and Attacks and vice-versa.

• Upgrading from Crackshot (4CP) to Scout (5CP) costs 1 * 10 + 10 = 20 AP.
• Upgrading Jamming (5CP) to Interception (8 CP) would cost 3 * 10 +10 = 40 AP.
• Upgrading Construction (5CP) into Demolitions (5CP) would cost only the 'fee' of 10 AP.
• No discount for 'downgrading' an ability(such as turning Enhanced_Senses into Scout)

Some abilities will be difficult to 'unlearn'. Repair, for example, implies the character has a certain amount of knowledge and skill in addition to tools, and upgrading Repair into something else means they have somehow lost those skills. This process will be easier for technological-based Abilities.

Many FCs will have difficulty upgrading abilities into different abilities, often they have abilities central to their function. Hoist shouldn't lose Repair and Constructicons shouldn't lose Construction.

We'd like to introduce some smaller/cheaper versions of Demolitions and Sneak/Cloak, so they becomes 'skill trees' with levels of progression.

Second Purchase Discount

If you have any of these abilities in one mode, you only pay 50% of the AP cost to get them in any alternate mode:

• Pilot
• Space-Pilot
• LR_Radio
• Inspire
• Repair
• Resupply
• Refuel
• Construction
• Heal
• Jamming
• Demolition

List subject to change.

If If you have purchased an ability with a 'second purchase discount', and then wish to upgrade one of the abilities but not the other, you must pay up the other 50% of the AP cost before proceeding.

Attacks

Building A New Attack

Build your attack as if you were creating one for a new character (following all the limits as well), then multiply by 10!

So a 7 CP Attack * 10 = 70 AP

Upgrading Existing Attacks

• Figure out how much your current attack is worth, in CP. You should know this from your Application or figure it out.
• Figure out how much your attack with the new upgrades is worth, in CP.
• Your upgrade costs: ((New CP Cost - Original CP Cost) * 10) + 10 AP
• So, your current attack Level 5 Ranged, Energy is worth 5 CP. You want to add the Accurate effect, which would make it 5 + 2 = 7 CP.
• Your cost is 7 - 5 = 2 CP, * 10 = 20 AP, + 10 = 30 AP Total.
• The +10 is for a few reasons:
  • To encourage people to upgrade their attacks in bulk, instead of spamming the poor Character Staffers with tiny upgrades!
  • To save the player time and effort by encouraging them to submit multiple attack upgrades as part of a single log.
  • Since attack effectiveness does not translate linearly once you get into the higher CP cost attacks, there needs to be an extra burden on upgrading attacks after CharGen.
• 10 AP is the minimum cost. So if you are adding a "negative" effect on your attack keep this in mind.
• Also note that each upgrade requires a separate log/submission request.
• Also ALSO note that all upgraded attacks will still be checked against the appropriate limits and sent to the Character Staff Head or wizards for approval if necessary.
• The +10 AP is charged PER ATTACK. Even if they are done in the same upgrade request.

Within reason points may be shifted between Abilities and Attacks and vice-versa.

Upgrading Existing Ammunition Attacks

• Ammunition "bin" sizes are re-calculated using the standard method whenever you upgrade your AMMO attack. So if you had a 6 CP attack with 4 "rockets", and you upgrade your attack to a 7 CP attack, now you get 3 "rockets".
• Ammunition "bin" modifiers (double bins, empty bins, half-sized bins) are carried over normally.
• No AMMO attacks above 9 CP
  • Reason 1: The math breaks down (10 - 10 = 0 ammo)
  • Reason 2: (The real reason) The Ammo/Energon trade-off breaks down for higher level attacks, resulting in game unbalance.
• You can convert an AMMO attack to a standard Energon-based attack (and vice versa) during the course of a normal attack upgrade.

Rebuilds

A rebuild is a special case. They occur whenever you seek to rebuild your character into a new form, drastically altering his/her shape. Rebuilds obviously do not make sense for organics, and are extremely rare for anyone. You will have to provide an excellent case for rebuilding your character.

Rebuilds are also the only way for you to upgrade/change your size and resistances/weaknesses.

A rebuild only really buys you the right to change your alt-mode name. The base cost for a rebuild is 10 APs. All new powers/abilities/attacks on the new alt-mode must also be purchased on top of the rebuild, and any abilities/powers that don't make sense any longer are dropped without any compensation.

Changes to base statistics (decreasing or swapping any stats) will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

You cannot purchase a rebuild for a Feature Character. Feature characters, each in their own way, are part of the canon mythos and are each an iconic 'look', including their vehicle modes.

Light Rebuild

If all you want to do is change your alt-mode slightly, then just pay the 10 AP for the rebuild and all of your other upgrades will cost the normal amount. Generally for cosmetic changes or very simple rebuilds.

• For example, changing from a Pyramid Jet into a F-15, or from one model of car into another.
• You don't have to reduce velocity or armor to 0 and buy up; Just pay the normal cost to upgrade these stats, using +upgradecost ## to ##
• You can make net zero changes to your mode-variable stats. Just use 10-point (1 CP) increments and follow the same rules as the original OC conversion process
• No changes in Sizes.

Heavy Rebuild

This is the "legacy" style rebuild: you are scrapping your existing mode and building something totally different. If this is the case you need to buy up most of your new mode stats from scratch:

• Abilities and attacks can be carried over if they are thematically appropriate and make sense for the new mode. (CharStaffer's discretion)
• New Abilities and attacks are bought according to their usual AP costs.
• Velocity must be built up from 0 according to the upgrade costs for velocity.
• Primary-mode armor and Alternate-mode armor must be bought up from 0 according to the upgrade costs for armor.
• Size defaults to 5 and can be modified downwards for -10 AP (credit), or upwards for +20 AP.
  • Sizes can not be changed to the point where you go from mini-bot (58) to standard Transformer (80) or vice-versa.
• A Heavy Rebuild costs 10 AP upfront in addition to the other changes you're applying for, regardless of if your new mode costs less than the current one. (10 AP + Total AP of Changes)
• Mode-Variable stats can be re-balanced at no additional cost.

Becoming a Triplechanger

Adding a third mode to become a Triplechanger is different from a regular rebuild. You don't have to pay the 10 AP "Rebuild Fee", but you must spend at least 100 AP on your new Mode. Additionally, you are allowed to modify your mode-variable stats for the new mode, providing you follow the same rules for character creation.

Turning your OC into a *Master

As per the title above, only OCs can become *Masters. OC *Masters are intended to be very rare, two criteria that will be looked at is the quality of the application, and how long the OC has been around.  An example of the math behind this upgrade process can be found here.

• The Transformer must be the primary personality, meaning the OC submitting the upgrade into a *Master must be a Transformer.
• The binary-bonded partner for the *Master must be Nebulan.  This might change in the far future, but for now, it's not in the cards.
• You must spend a minimum of 100 AP on the *Master concept. This includes the Nebulan mode, plus Attacks or Abilities that specifically go with the *Master concept. It is up to CharStaff what counts as being 'towards the *Master concept'. A Targetmaster attack would count towards the *Master concept of a Targetmaster.  A random sword would not.
• The Nebulan's mode is considered to be a functional mode.
• The Nebulan's size must be 2.
• The Nebulan's Velocity must be 10-19.
• The Nebulan's Armour must be 20-29 to represent the *Master suit and cybernetic enhancements that had to undergo.
• The maximum FPR the Nebulan can have is 49.
• Mode-Variable stats changes is available to your Nebulan, so feel free to use this opportunity to raise and lower your FRP/STR/ACC/AGL in this mode.  It's a good idea to explain why your Nebulan has these attributes since it'll only serve to help further define him/her, and that's always good.
• Targetmasters must buy an attack that represents their Targetmaster partner.
• Headmasters should have some representation of their partner, but what it is can be flexible.  Examples would be an attack or an Ability such as Crackshot, Scout, or E-Senses. It would be a good idea to work with the CharStaffer on this.
• Powermasters should have some representation of their partner, but what it is can be flexible.  Examples would be an attack with Efficient or an Ability like Refuel or Charge. It would be a good idea to work with the CharStaffer on this.
• Masters must purchase an ability booster, below is a list of the types of boosters that can be purchased.  Please note that you can potentially use any booster for any type of *Master, but you'll need to provide sound justification for why they're using a booster that's not typically associated with the *Master.  It'll be ultimately up to CharStaff's decision whether or not the booster choice is acceptable.
  • Damage boosters are equivalent to a 10 CP ability and will require wizard approval.
    • Characters with a damage stat higher than 70 are extremely unlikely to be allowed a Damage booster.
    • Characters with a Damage booster will have future damage stat upgrades heavily scrutinized.  Damage stat upgrades above 70 will require wizard approval.
  • Shield boosters are equivalent to a 10 CP ability and will require wizard approval.
    • Characters with more than 60 END are extremely unlikely to be allowed a Shield booster.
    • Characters with a Shield booster will have future endurance stat upgrades heavily scrutinized.  Endurance stat upgrades above 60 will require wizard approval.

Attack	Boosts your chance to-hit for your next attack	50 AP
	Suitable for Targetmasters and Headmasters
Defend	Boosts your chance to-dodge the next attack	50 AP
	Suitable for Targetmasters and Headmasters
Damage	Boosts damage on a successful HIT	100 AP
	Suitable for Targetmasters, Headmaster and Powermasters
Shield	Temporarily boosts Endurance	100 AP
	Suitable for Powermasters
Energon	Gain extra energon when you !pass	50 AP
	Suitable for Powermasters

Turning your OC into a Pretender

As per the title above, only OCs can become Pretenders. OC Pretenders are intended to be very rare, two criteria that will be looked at is the quality of the application, and how long the OC has been around.  Becoming a Pretender is very much like becoming a Triplechanger, but except there are a few additional rules that separates them.

• You must spend a minimum of 100 AP on the Pretender concept.
• The armour for the Pretender mode normally should be 80-89, justification will be required to explain why it's lower.
• The Pretender mode's size should generally be 2 sizes larger than the robot mode, however it can't be greater than size 9. 
• Pretender modes are eligible for Mode Variable Stats
• Pretender modes are eligible for Protection and Weakness
• Pretender shells can't operate independently from the robot mode.

Retrofits

Retrofits are a special kind of rebuild, normally available only to characters who were created without access to the current feature set. If you are approved for a retrofit, no upgrade plot is necessary because the changes are considered, ICly, to have already been there.

For instance, First Aid is described as being an expert in the finest human surgery as well as Transformer repairs, but he didn't have the new Recalibrate ability because when he was last updated, Recalibrate didn't exist. If it had, he would've already had it. In this context it doesn't really make sense for First Aid to have to go through a process of ICly gaining what is just a mechanical way of representing his existing concept. Therefore, in this example First Aid qualifies for a retrofit to add Recalibrate.

OCs and recently-rebuilt FCs can also request retrofits within the first two weeks after their approval. This is in case some feature doesn't work like you thought it would, or doesn't represent your concept as well as you might like. In the case of OCs the retrofit is limited to the same point cost as well as being compatible with the character's concept, background, +finger and so on.

In each case, requesting a retrofit is as simple as talking to the character staff or sending an email to 2k5apps@gmail.com with the following subject line: <CHARACTER NAME> - <FC/OC> - RETROFIT. In our example, it would be FIRST AID - FC - RETROFIT. The character staff will respond shortly and open a dialogue about what you'd like to see in the new version, but if you have something specific in mind, it's fine to include a brief explanation of your request in the original email.

FC Mode-Adjustment

FC Mode-Adjustment is subject to the same limitations found on OCs, and of course, also subject to charstaff approval. If an FC's stats aren't low enough to adjust anything because three stats are already at 8.0 or better, well, congratulations.

Like upgrades, mode-adjustments are per-player, and change from player to player across the same FC. Unlike most other upgrades, mode-adjusting a character who doesn't already have one does not cost any AP. A player can also go back and revise a mode-adjustment they requested earlier, the same way an OC can, by paying 10AP for a "minor rebuild." To request a mode-adjustment, just send an email asking for it to 2k5apps@gmail.com with the subject: "Mode-Adjustment (FC) - <Character Name>". Please note that mode-adjustments are relatively low-priority by comparison to regular apps and upgrades, so please give us a few days to process it before asking about it.

Humans with Combat Modes

There are some special considerations for humans with statted combat modes.

• Core stats (Endurance, Intelligence, etc) obviously cost the same as anyone else.

• Attacks, abilities, armor and vel also cost the same as everyone else.

As far as mode-variable stats(Str, Frp, Acc, Agl) are concerned, the combat mode is the primary mode. This is where it gets tricky:

Upgrading mode-variable stats costs full price based on the highest value if the values are different.

The upgrade amount (such as +10 strength) would then be added equally to both modes in most cases. This is because humans with combat modes may have very different values for these stats, especially in the case of Firepower, and would otherwise see a steep discount.

• If you have 40 Strength in mode1 and 70 strength in mode2, and want to buy +10 Strength, hit +upgradecost 70 to 80, and you will see this costs you 40ap. There is no discounting of the total because of your different values.

• If you have 40 Firepower in mode1 and 70 Firepower in mode2, and want to buy +10 Firepower, you will still have to pay the full value (40 ap as above)but you will only gain the +10 firepower in mode2, because 40 firepower is the top limit for humans in mode1.

• If you have 80 Agility in mode1 and 70 Agility in mode2, then you will pay the +upgradecost based on the higher value, and the upgrade amount will be applied equally to both modes.

• Some individual cases may be deemed 'excessive' when applying an equal upgrade value to the mode1 (especially in the case of Strength or Endurance values in excess of 8*, and certainly in cases of excess Firepower). If an upgrade amount is acceptable for the mode2 but excessive for the mode1 then it will be applied to only the mode2 but at full value.

Stats and Balance Guidelines

These are some 'unwritten rules' that many of you may have heard either on channel or as part of a reply to an upgrade, and I will try to illustrate some of the common pitfalls and problems here.

Power balance is an art, not a science, and specific rules are hard to pin down. While FCs can be rebalanced later, we really do not want to have to take away anything from an OC if we've already approved it. So we do need to keep an eye on a character's total cost and power level and make sure they stay in check.

Vertical vs Lateral Upgrades

Sometimes a character is already as powerful as they should ever get(or even already past that point). Have a look at your !charcost. If you cost over 150CP already, it's going to be hard to justify getting much more powerful than that. But cost is not everything, since some things have costs that don't make you 'better'. Sizes and Vel are sometimes an advantage and sometimes not, some abilities are marginally useful but still expensive (I'm looking at you, Radar!)

However, that doesn't mean you cannot buy upgrades, but you need to think about whether an upgrade is vertical or lateral. A Vertical upgrade is something that strictly is going to make you better. Combat abilities(especially the pricier ones), high combat stats, and bigger and better attacks are all vertical upgrades.

Even if you're already an above-average fightin' robot, you can still invest in lateral upgrades. These are things which can still be 'good' but do not directly make you stronger.

If you have good Firepower and ranged attacks, but low Strength, buying more Strength and a melee attack would be a lateral upgrade; If the new Strength stat doesn't exceed your Firepower, then we haven't made your character deal any extra damage, but we have added something new to play with to give you some variety in combat (Now you can stab things as well as shoot them, yay!)

New attacks that, while being new and different, are less powerful than your current best attack are also lateral upgrades. New attacks with useful effects is a bit of a grey area, but many effects are pretty clearly lateral in nature. You also don't want ot have too many effects, though, since using some effects effectively is probably someone else's 'thing'.

Intelligence, Tech, Leadership, and skills are all pretty clearly lateral upgrades, as well as Inspire, Refuel, Jamming, Construction, Enhanced_Senses, Radar and movement abilities(pending possible improvements to those abilities)

Other Stuff

Some things we avoid, as a rule, include:

• Area attacks with damage-level of 8, regardless of which negative effect you try to tack on. That's a lot of damage to be able to deal to multiple targets at once!
• Too many effects on one attack. Even if one 'promises' to !cancel one effect or the other.
• Stuns that also deal damage

Try to space out your upgrade requests, especially after you've already had multiple upgrades made to your character. We don't want to see the same character getting upgraded over and over, and the better your last upgrade was, the longer you might want to wait before looking at the next one.

Just because another FC or OC has a stats/attack/ability isn't grounds for you to be accepted for the same item. There are lots of factors at play here, perhaps the character was approved under a different administration, or the character who was approved for Cloak (while you were not) is an overall weaker character who has much more room for advancement.

Transformers tend to be specialists, not generalists. Characters have an area of expertise, and shouldn't try to be really good at anything/everything. Medics can have some decent combat ability, but if you're already a Warrior/Medic/Sniper, trying to be a Medic/Warrior/Sniper/Spy/Scout is not going to work very well. Other characters are trying to just be a 'Spy' and it takes away the specialness of their niche if you can do their job plus everything else. If you already have some high stats, special powers and a niche, it will be much more difficult to add another expensive/restricted special ability.

Being a good sport and going out of your way to put fun and fair play helps a lot when one is requesting powerful upgrades. The players who make use of !miss and !allow,let their strong character be shoved around by weaker ones, and generally put fun and roleplay ahead of coded victories are going to have more leeway in getting bigger and better toys to play with.

People like former facheads, Royals and Wizards who have earned the highest level of trust are going to be trusted with stuff. Through hard work and dedication you too can become a player whom we trust to be fair and fun with the most potent combat toys.

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