Who wants to Focus/Channel? And when?

[cthuluhdawn]

wouldnt you hafta flip the damage for the first hit before you flip to hit with the second shot/attack?

if you actually hit the first shot that is lolz

Edited June 8, 2012 by cthuluhdawn
addition

[Gensuke626]

wouldnt you hafta flip the damage for the first hit before you flip to hit with the second shot/attack?

if you actually hit the first shot that is lolz

Yeah, you would have to flip for damage with the first hit, which can skew the accuracy of the second shot wildly depending on what's flipped...I mean, if you hit with the first strike by 0 and earn :-fate and flip Weak Severe Severe, that makes strike 2 much much less accurate while weak weak weak would make it much more accurate.

But the point still stands... that first shot is generally going to have a 30% chance to hit and depending on what is flipped, shot 2 is more or less the same chance of hitting...which is pretty much less than what the focus strike offers in that situation.

The same scenario can be applied to attacking Zoraida with the same basic results. Zoraida in cover skews the results as I believe normal strikes receive :-fate while she is in cover while a focused strike would have no twists.

Edited June 8, 2012 by Gensuke626

[Therril_83]

the TLDR version could be simply: you don't really focus/channel to get , you focus/channel to get rid of , because you want to cheat either attack or damage.

[Gensuke626]

A more direct way of saying what I said in my initial reply to this thread (Back on page 1). Though I felt the long explanation was needed because Mr. Kittens seemed to not understand what I was talking about.

[Eyclonus]

There are a few scenarios I'll lay out to describe my view, someone check my logic.

The scenarios you've laid out are pointless because you don't know what cards are being drawn. The examples you're making are only useful if you're playing malifaux with your deck of cards facing upwards where you are able to see that the next card is weak or strong. In fact your scenarios are pretty much dependant on you knowing the exact placement of cards in your deck which is not something that is very common in Malifaux, to my knowledge its less than 4 models that can peek at what is about to be drawn.

[Hateful Darkblack]

Yeah, I only focus/channel for a short list of reasons:

- Target in cover

- Some other negative twist

- Target is Jack Daw

- Target is Zoraida

[Deuce]

For the record, I'm not agreeing with MrKittens's rationale. I certainly believe that there are times for Focus/Channeling. On the other hand, I feel it only fair to point out that his point was not dependent on foreknowledge of upcoming cards. Rather it was about the consequences of each possible outcome. Even if the logic was faulty, and failed to take some factors into account, the overarching idea holds a certain validity showcased by the general consensus that Focus/Channeling on most normal attacks is a Bad Idea.

[Cats Laughing]

the general consensus that Focus/Channeling on most normal attacks is a Bad Idea.

It is not actually a "Bad Idea", rather, Channeling/Focusing on attacks with no additional flip modifiers (Hard to Wound, Cover, etc...) is typically not as efficient as simply making two attacks.

However, the damage chart is set up so that hitting a target by a small amount (ie: win the attack duel by 1-5) creates a negative flip on damage. Which means that even if there are no negative flips inherent in the attack/cast (ie: hard to wound or cover), it may still be worthwhile to focus/channel to avoid the negative damage flip from a close hit. This is especially true when you're holding a severe damage card in your hand (and more so when sitting on the red joker).

[Turbodog]

Mr. Kittens, I agree 100% with your analysis in your last post. I also agree with most of the responses people have given to you.

If you look in a vacuum, that is two basic models facing each other on the carpet in front of you, all your thoughts are valid. So that said, the "idea" of focusing an attack (or channeling a spell) is NOT that your model is becoming more accurate or better at what they do.

As has been pointed out by others, the real value to focusing/channeling comes in based on specific situations that are set up...such as cover, or a special rule on a card, or game effect. There are several cases that cause your attack flip to take a minus. If this happens you can't cheat and don't have much control over hitting, your triggers, the damage totals...it will likely be an unfavorable matchup for you. If you focus, it's like you offset that penalty (bringing yourself back to your normal ability level - not improving it.) Now that plus offsets a single minus to hit and you can cheat to hit to provide you more control.

*Note if you have a bad hand and can't really cheat anyway, then this isn't really going to help you much either.

Also note that this is why "paired" is such a powerful ability. Paired will allow attacks that can still cheat in these negative circumstances without spending more AP.

Focus has a second component, that you also get the + to damage flips after you hit. Again, this isn't really to improve the damage you do, it's to offset things that normally detract from your damage - especially if you desire to cheat. Think of this the same way as how I suggest to think about hitting above.

So here's a list of guidelines for focusing/channeling that I use:

When attacking a model with no negatives modifiers, don't focus! Attack more times instead.

When I have cards to cheat:

When attacking a model with negative(s) to hit

When attacking a model with hard to wound or other negative(s) to damage

When I don't have cards to cheat:

Don't focus

When I have another way to offset the negative like

Paired weapon

Special rule or weapon ability (Guild Guard pistols have + damage)

When I can only make one attack anyway and don't have another use for the AP

Like totems Magical Extensioning (Yes, I play that can be channeled)

Like Seamus' big honkin' gun that only fires once anyway.

As others have suggested, focusing and channeling is something to use at a specific time/place in the game to negate an enemy's advantage. Not really something to always do so that you feel like you are making your own models better.

Hope this helps.

Edited June 18, 2012 by Turbodog

[dunce002917]

thanks @turbodog, I never thought of it that way..