darkSpyro

With every Skylanders release, older characters seem to change for better or worse either do to the new game mechanics or making certain abilities more viable. Most of the discussion stemmed from the old PVP threads, but I'd like to see if anyone has noticed differences in Skylanders from previous games in Trap Team. A few that I've noticed:

Fryno: His default horn charge has seen a big speed boost, and heating up has a wider radius

Grim Creeper: Attack speed has improved in general, and he can enter and attack from ghost form faster

Stink Bomb: Going invisible has less startup lag

Eruptor: Primary attack is slower. Volcanic Eruptor specifically has a weird glitch where he'll pause and nod between attacks.

Wind-up: His charged attacks seem to fire off randomly if you button mash too quickly, which can make his cymbals or wind up punch fire off rapidly

Feel free to throw out any noticeable changes you've seen. I should mention that my experience is specifically with the PS4 version of Trap Team, so there may be differences between platforms as well.

I believe someone mentioned recently that S3 Terrafin get's a 10% damage boost in Trap Team that he didn't get in Swap Force once he gets those claws.

I am glad that I still have Stink Bomb. He is way better in Trap Team than back in Swap Force.

i like the character changes between games. Making some charscters better or worse each game keeps it kind of fresh.
I found a bunch of these things, terrafin was the most recent. I don't write them down so I'll post once I get back on the game and confirm my stuff.

These are the things I know of off the top of my head just because they affect some of my favorites:

(nerf) Roller Brawl's Bullrush no longer allows her to pass directly through enemies. She can become stuck on enemies or trapped in groups where she did not in Swap Force. This might be due to the changes in knock-back / knock-up. She also no longer "locks on" to targets with the headbutt / Bullrush as easily and it will not allow her to travel as far in a single headbutt as it did in Swap Force. The Bullrush and fast-skating in general are also not as maneuverable. In spite of all this, I still strongly prefer the Shadow Skater path, but it is nerfed from its former glory in the previous game.

(nerf) Rattle Shake can no longer charge a second grave spring / springed spur / whatever-you-call-it dash during the animation of the previous dash. He also can no longer change direction mid-air of the dash, potentially doubling damage numbers like he could in Swap Force. Without the ability to change direction mid dash, the dash is also left far less maneuverable than it was in SSF.

(nerf) Wash Buckler can no longer charge up the melee dash / stab during the animation of a roll dash. This really destroyed my preferred strategy with him.

(buff) Gill Grunt can once again turn the jet pack on and off while using the hose like he could in SSA and SG, which he had lost the ability to do in SSF.

(buff) Tree Rex on the Lumbering Laserer path is back to being playable again like it was in Giants. Swap Force had made this path super-clunky and nigh unplayable (for me at least).

I strongly dislike the changes in gameplay between games. I don't really mind them tweaking the numbers in the interest of balance, but when the gameplay mechanics change like these listed above, it really disappoints me. I hope they strive for more consistency between games in the future.

Voodood definitely seems a lot better in Trap Team! He's faster and I think he is more powerful.

VV makes SSF characters overpowered, nerfs TFB characters. (next game) TFB nerfs VV characters, buffs their original characters. ...this is gonna be a never ending power-struggle.

TFB seemed to have buffed everyone,some more some less,but it's still a bad thing at the point their final boss needs to be well over 20 thousand health to compensate for the power creep.

I feel like we're misusing the term "power creep" on this website. It's not really a creep. It's just that Trap Team for whatever reason decided on using larger numbers. Everyone just does 5x more damage for no good reason. Sorry to nitpick on that point.

R.I.P. My homeboi , He was nerfed to the point of near unplayability, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BOI TFB?!?!!?!

Quote: Friendzie

I feel like we're misusing the term "power creep" on this website. It's not really a creep. It's just that Trap Team for whatever reason decided on using larger numbers. Everyone just does 5x more damage for no good reason. Sorry to nitpick on that point.

Power Creep according to TV Tropes is when the new content pushes the old away in higher and higher frequency,eventually newer content pushing the new one and so on. So it actually applies to Swap Force I guess.
Kinda weird, I swear I saw a video where power creep was explained as having to balance old content with new and instead of making them equal you just make both better without actually fixing the issue.

wind up is still good....

Quote: ZapNorris

wind up is still good....

Yeah, you just have to get used to not mashing the button.

Quote: Bifrost

TFB seemed to have buffed everyone,some more some less,but it's still a bad thing at the point their final boss needs to be well over 20 thousand health to compensate for the power creep.

I agree. Not sure if this is their way to help sell figures to impressionable Johnny, but it's all just number crunching.

I would just really appreciate if they could simply leave the characters as they are.
No nerfs, no buffs.

Just fix some bugs (like Ghost Roaster's charge, if that was a bug), but keep the characters different, in terms of power.

Why is my Gill Grunt so slow, when using his water hose, in Trap Team?
Or, coversely, why is my *insert slow character's name* (I don't remember it, as of now) so fast?

Some characters are meant to be slow, some are meant to be fast.
Some are meant to be weak, and some others are meant to be powerhouses.

WE should be the ones deciding how to upgrade our Skylanders' abilities, by using XP in some way.

This is a thing that I really can't stand.
V.V. and TfB need to sit down and give us the characters we bought, as they were intended to be.

I agree drek. Although it makes playing with them interesting and different, most of the time it is with sad and surprising results. THe "regular" skylander customer won't know about any of these changes...it will be us hardcore portal masters....but I do think it's important to have consistent results when playing with your skylander year over year.

Quote: Drek95

I would just really appreciate if they could simply leave the characters as they are.
No nerfs, no buffs.

Just fix some bugs (like Ghost Roaster's charge, if that was a bug), but keep the characters different, in terms of power.

Why is my Gill Grunt so slow, when using his water hose, in Trap Team?
Or, coversely, why is my *insert slow character's name* (I don't remember it, as of now) so fast?

Some characters are meant to be slow, some are meant to be fast.
Some are meant to be weak, and some others are meant to be powerhouses.

WE should be the ones deciding how to upgrade our Skylanders' abilities, by using XP in some way.

This is a thing that I really can't stand.
V.V. and TfB need to sit down and give us the characters we bought, as they were intended to be.

I totally agree with you, but the devs should really nerf a couple of characters...like Doom Stone, who's shield blocks everything (except for Bluzzard Chill's Narwhal attack in Swap Force PVP, apparently).

If you keep the game as it is it definately won't solve anything. What they need to do is get their head on the game and accept that there is a metagame to the series and actually balance,not throw numbers around depending on their tastes.

If Hex is supposed to be slow but strong,she stays slow but strong. BUT,if someone else needs to be SLOWER, you need to make that character slow in comparison; not buff Hex's speed to compensate in some way, that's just lazy. You start changing existing guys around at at point that the new one is unpratical or there's a gameplay change in general,not at your whim.

I really need to find and post some of Mike Zaimont's videos on character balancing, he brings up some good points and even if it's focused on fighting games it shows on Skullgirls about how much he's willing to go to make everyone fair to fight with or against.

Quote: GhostRoaster

I agree drek. Although it makes playing with them interesting and different, most of the time it is with sad and surprising results. THe "regular" skylander customer won't know about any of these changes...it will be us hardcore portal masters....but I do think it's important to have consistent results when playing with your skylander year over year.

Exactly!

I simply want to play with the characters I bought.
I can tell you Trap Team is the first game where I noticed big changes (like Gill Grunt's water hose speed, like I mentioned before), and it's not something I like.

I had no problem with Prism Break speed, and I was a bit "disappointed" when they made him faster in SWAP Force... But at least it was a positive tweak!

They should really focus on the core characters, simply what a character should be, the speed, health, strenght and defence he/she should have, and let us decide if we want them to be different.

Oh, good Eon... An idea just crossed my mind... A terrible, TERRIBLE idea... I won't write it, as you know who could be browsing the Forum, but... It would be an atrocity for all us Portal Masters, if true... D:

Quote: The Bone Chompy

Quote: Drek95

I would just really appreciate if they could simply leave the characters as they are.
No nerfs, no buffs.

Just fix some bugs (like Ghost Roaster's charge, if that was a bug), but keep the characters different, in terms of power.

Why is my Gill Grunt so slow, when using his water hose, in Trap Team?
Or, coversely, why is my *insert slow character's name* (I don't remember it, as of now) so fast?

Some characters are meant to be slow, some are meant to be fast.
Some are meant to be weak, and some others are meant to be powerhouses.

WE should be the ones deciding how to upgrade our Skylanders' abilities, by using XP in some way.

This is a thing that I really can't stand.
V.V. and TfB need to sit down and give us the characters we bought, as they were intended to be.

I totally agree with you, but the devs should really nerf a couple of characters...like Doom Stone, who's shield blocks everything (except for Bluzzard Chill's Narwhal attack in Swap Force PVP, apparently).

I don't know, after all, that's what makes him unique.
To be fair, I rarely use his shield, I prefer smashing things with his column.

Quote: Bifrost

If you keep the game as it is it definately won't solve anything. What they need to do is get their head on the game and accept that there is a metagame to the series and actually balance,not throw numbers around depending on their tastes.

If Hex is supposed to be slow but strong,she stays slow but strong. BUT,if someone else needs to be SLOWER, you need to make that character slow in comparison; not buff Hex's speed to compensate in some way, that's just lazy. You start changing existing guys around at at point that the new one is unpratical or there's a gameplay change in general,not at your whim.

I really need to find and post some of Mike Zaimont's videos on character balancing, he brings up some good points and even if it's focused on fighting games it shows on Skullgirls about how much he's willing to go to make everyone fair to fight with or against.

Absolutely!

They cannot increase the speed of an old character, to make the new one look slower.
Old characters are done, they are trapped inside a crystalized toy form, and shouldn't be able to change (except for bugs or other technical problems); new characters are an ocean of possibilities that should be explored with attention, to create something never seen before, even for a small simple detail.

Quote: The Bone Chompy

Quote: Drek95

I would just really appreciate if they could simply leave the characters as they are.
No nerfs, no buffs.

Just fix some bugs (like Ghost Roaster's charge, if that was a bug), but keep the characters different, in terms of power.

Why is my Gill Grunt so slow, when using his water hose, in Trap Team?
Or, coversely, why is my *insert slow character's name* (I don't remember it, as of now) so fast?

Some characters are meant to be slow, some are meant to be fast.
Some are meant to be weak, and some others are meant to be powerhouses.

WE should be the ones deciding how to upgrade our Skylanders' abilities, by using XP in some way.

This is a thing that I really can't stand.
V.V. and TfB need to sit down and give us the characters we bought, as they were intended to be.

I totally agree with you, but the devs should really nerf a couple of characters...like Doom Stone, who's shield blocks everything (except for Bluzzard Chill's Narwhal attack in Swap Force PVP, apparently).

Doom Stones shield?...

What.

Why??? That's what makes him so unique, like Drek95 said, besides, he'd be a lot worse without his almost-everything-blocking-shield~

Quote: Badwolfmichael

Quote: The Bone Chompy

Quote: Drek95

I would just really appreciate if they could simply leave the characters as they are.
No nerfs, no buffs.

Just fix some bugs (like Ghost Roaster's charge, if that was a bug), but keep the characters different, in terms of power.

Why is my Gill Grunt so slow, when using his water hose, in Trap Team?
Or, coversely, why is my *insert slow character's name* (I don't remember it, as of now) so fast?

Some characters are meant to be slow, some are meant to be fast.
Some are meant to be weak, and some others are meant to be powerhouses.

WE should be the ones deciding how to upgrade our Skylanders' abilities, by using XP in some way.

This is a thing that I really can't stand.
V.V. and TfB need to sit down and give us the characters we bought, as they were intended to be.

I totally agree with you, but the devs should really nerf a couple of characters...like Doom Stone, who's shield blocks everything (except for Bluzzard Chill's Narwhal attack in Swap Force PVP, apparently).

Doom Stones shield?...

What.

Why??? That's what makes him so unique, like Drek95 said, besides, he'd be a lot worse without his almost-everything-blocking-shield~

True, very true. But maybe add a time limit to it? Like a pretty long one...45 seconds? If they bring PVP back in Sky 5, I don't want to need to play as Blizzard Chill every time he uses Doom Stone (which he does A LOT. NO...ALL THE TIME. ******* TROLL. )

Biggest noticeable thing for me is that Terrafin is almost useless now, his splash gets blocked left and right.

Stats go up and down. They changed from Giants to Swap Force, they have changed from Swap Force to Trap Team, am sure they will again to the new game. I do not consider a statistic changing a problem.

I have played as more of my Swap Force characters and have found a lot of positive and negative changes.

has become stronger and surprisingly faster in this game. His head charge seems to go farther, move faster and seems to have more recovery. His chomp attack is kinda weak, but his other attacks seem better and the seismic tail seems faster to use.
finally does inflict a little bit more damage and his staff blasts seem less laggy and also seems faster flying or not.
is quite considerably fast in this game and all of her attacks do more damage, except for her tail. One of the oddest changes with her was that her crossbow can go through some areas and she was able to shoot ships down in the arena battles so she cleaned out the enemies before they even could get off their ships.
has tragically lost most of his power, but is still a force to be reckon with and is quite a bit faster in this game.
with his huge stat boosts and his spirit form doing nearly over 300 damage, there may be a chance the Spooky Specter is now the better path for him and the ghosts do 100 damage or so when they hit enemies so he definitely got considerably stronger.

I feel like has been nerfed a lot

Zap was finally strong in Swap Force, now they nerfed him again.