Isn't Rhinox kept in the dark with Primal's plan? We have a commanding officer who's just noticed that an S.O.S. signal was delivered from his own crew mate deep behind enemy lines. Maybe it's just the logic in my head, but doesn't it make sense for him to quickly rally everyone to go help Ironclaw? He doesn't know that Airazor and Rattrap are there for back-up reasons. What he does know is that Ironclaw is alone with some brand new OC and the entire Predacon team is on their tails. If you still think I was out of line of that post, then let me know and I'll just retcon it. Now, going off of the last couple of posts regarding rank (that's still the current topic at hand, right? o_O)
Beast Wars International RPG Rankings [CURRENT]
Maximals
Optimus Primal: 10
Rhinox: 8
Cheetor: 7
Ironclaw: 7
Orcariner: 7
Rattrap: 7
Saber-Fang: 7
Silverbolt: 7
Whitegrazer: 7
Airazor: 6
Dinobot: 6
Drillclaw: 6
Feralnight: 6
Wintersong: 6
Aurora: 5
Frilla: 5
Tigatron: 4
Predacons
Megatron: 10
Rampage: 9
Tarantulas: 8
Inferno: 7
Sonar: 7
Steelclaw: 7
Warspark: 7
Buster: 6
Cecaelia: 6
Manterror: 6
Nemesis: 6
Quickstrike: 6
Starshadow: 6
Waspinator: 6
Blackarachnia: 5
Beast Wars International RPG Rankings [PROPOSED]
Maximals
Optimus Primal: 10
Rhinox: 9
Rattrap: 8
Whitegrazer: 8
Dinobot: 7
Orcariner: 7
Tigatron: 7
Airazor: 6
Silverbolt: 5
Cheetor: 4
Wintersong: 4
Frilla: 3
Ironclaw: 3
Silverstreak: 3
Aphrodite: 2
Aurora: 2
Feralnight: 2
Drillclaw: 1
Saber-Fang: 1
Predacons
Megatron: 10
Tarantulas: 8
Inferno: 7
Steelclaw: 7
Nemesis: 6
Waspinator: 6
Blackarachnia: 5
Onyx: 5
Rampage: 5
Warspark: 4
Manterror: 3
Starshadow: 2
Buster: 1
Cecaelia: 1
Quickstrike: 1
Sonar: 1
Tantrum: 1
No more than 2 people have agreed on a certain rank, so I just had to pick and choose. I kept Warspark at a 4 instead of a 6 because to me that would a gap in the spectrum. Anything above a 5 is an "officer" in my opinion, and those are the characters who take lead on official missions, create briefings, draw plans, etc. NaitoKage was telling me something cool on Skype a few days back that it'd be really cool to see a clique form between Warspark, Steelclaw, Buster, and Tantrum. They'd form their own hit squad in battle and operate on a micro scale during one of Megatron's missions. The problem is that Buster's designed to think like a grunt. Tantrum is too stupid to be anything but a tool. Steelclaw is too laid back. That naturally makes Warspark the default leader of this group. Una's played the leader role well with Whitegrazer, so I know she can pull it off with Warspark. I'm all for making Warspark a 6, but for the sake of even distribution we have to switch ranks. Here's my proposal:
Bump Waspinator down to a 4 and bring Warspark up to a 6. This change will happen once the new OC comes in, and Megatron and still have Waspinator play the leader role (if Night-Hunter can pull if off).
Now, for those who are still having a hard time getting over the numbers mindset and can't see how relativity is more important, I made lovely graphs in Paint (do not mock the artistic detail!)
Current Maximal Ranking System
Cuurent Predacon Ranking System
Proposed Maximal Ranking System
Proposed Predacon Ranking System
The weird people
What I did was I counted how many variables were given out. Despite going off of a 1-10 scale, only 6 variables were observed on the current system. The Maximals had more leaders than followers, and the Predacons had way more followers than leaders. How did I determine who's a follower and who's a leader? I simply split the entire scale right down the middle. If the character is in the upper half, then he/she is a leader (on paper). If the character is in the lower half, then he/she is a follower (on paper). The primary objective of revamping the ranking system is to better utilize the entire spectrum at our disposal. For example, if your character dropped from a 6 to a 2, it looks bad based on the numbers alone, but on the scale of relativity your character is still near the bottom of the foodchain. Nothing has changed in that regard. Redistribution along the full 1-10 spectrum should never have been an issue, but some players' had their pride get in the way which is why we had several people get offended at the number drop. Fortunately, I believe we've gotten over this ordeal.
The secondary purpose of redistribution is to correct the ranks that both the RPG staff and Hasbro have given to the OCs and canons, respectively. I don't think we've settled this issue yet. Several factors have affected how canon characters are perceived. Both Tigatron and Airazor grew in significance in Season 1 and their continued existence means that they have been promoted. Some ranks just don't make sense, such as Silverbolt and Rampage. With the introduction of OCs into the canon-arc, some original characters have surpassed the canons in rank (i.e.- Nemesis, Orcariner, Whitegrazer). Due to the lack of stable canon-play, some characters no longer deserve to stay in power. Despite this, we should remember that canon episodes that were not played out still exist in the RPG's timeline. Blackarachnia did take over the floating island. Megatron did prevail in his attempt to intercept the Maximal's construction of a radio tower. Terrorsaur did have his moment of power with the energon mountain. The list goes on and on and on. Most of these episodes were alluded by our own characters. That explains why some canons still have leading roles. However, the OCs episodes have arguably been more grand in scale which has led to original characters rising above some canon ones. With the ranks being more spread out now, players are given more incentive to provide orders in combat. Before, we'd have 4 characters with the same rank on the same mission. While some characters did take the initiative to rise to the occasion, other groups instead just fell apart. We should not have that problem anymore (hopefully).
What I Think Needs to be Changed
- Once Warspark gets introduced, he and Waspinator need to switch places.
- Once Tarantulas goes neutral, Inferno should take his rank.
- Once Inferno takes Tarantulas' rank, we need a Predacon to step his/her game up and take the rank of 7.
- Once Dinobot dies, Ironclaw should take his rank. The big jump is definitely possible with the pace he's on right now.
- Wintersong seems to have overcome her lone-wolf tendencies. She and Silverbolt should trade places once the latter joins the team.
What do you guys think?
