Is jc supposed to canonically suck?

[Winblows]

Is jc supposed to canonically suck?
I ask because at the start of the game even when you level things up at the start jc isnt actually good at anything.

and he's supposed to have been training since he was a kid? but even when you train pistols at the start he still sucks?

[Swanky]

That's 90's game design for you. But the power fantasy is real, you become a godlike being by the end of the game.

[ULTRA]

Well he's like 3 years old. So he's pretty good. Really the main way he sucks is that he has to consciously activate ballistic shielding. This makes no tactical sense.

[Cat with the Gat]

He's fresh out of the academy. No amount of training really prepares you for the real world.

It's definitely a game design thing though, gotta make it fun somehow. Although if you know what you're doing in the game the skills are basically entirely optional and you can 100% go through the game while ignoring them completely (cough cough Weapon Mod Laser cough cough)

[🔥Emperor Pyromancer🔥]

Originally posted by Winblows:

Is jc supposed to canonically suck?
I ask because at the start of the game even when you level things up at the start jc isnt actually good at anything.

and he's supposed to have been training since he was a kid? but even when you train pistols at the start he still sucks?

i dont think really, JC Denton is problaby new but pretty good agent at year 2052, i think his brother Paul Denton is problaby better than him by being more experienced and vice-versa, but that's how the game works though.

[Kirth Gersen]

It's not JC, it's you. XD

[Kai]

JC has nerves of steel, which is a good electrical conductor, but not as good as iron and copper ask Filben at the docks, which reduces viscosity making it easier for JC to suck.

[Winblows]

Yah I know its probably just game mechanics but like at the start of the game you have like zero skills and even you distribute points at the start you still arnt really skilled at anything

If I'm correct on lore was jc was training since he was like 9?

Guess maybe cannon jc is like way more skilled

[ULTRA]

Originally posted by Winblows:

If I'm correct on lore was jc was training since he was like 9?

There's no way to actually ascertain that JC and Paul even existed before the 2050s or so. It's pretty clear given what you hear and read in the game that their memories were messed with either at conception or during the nanoaugmentation process. Furthermore there's yet another Denton backup at Area 51 that they didn't even know about. By every indication, their childhoods were completely fabricated, JC Denton was "born" sometime on or slightly before March 17, 2054 and came out fully formed around September 2054 OR JC and Paul's memories of their other sibling were erased.

This would make JC ~1.5 years old as of the events of the game.

[Danny Dark Soul]

JC starts Trained in pistols, and then a handful of other skills of the player's choosing. Being trained in pistols, low-tech, lockpicking, and hacking would make for a competent agent.

[HoboCop]

Just a video game thing. And if there was an actual sequel with JC as the main protag we'd have to start from zero skills again. You either take it as is or get stuck in a broken narrtive loop.

[Floppy Chops]

Yeah it's definitely not an uncommon RPG thing. I am reminded of swinging and missing at mudcrabs 100x in a row in Morrowind when you first start, like you may as well be blind.

I think the problem with Deus Ex and Morrowind in that regard is they're in first person, which draws the player's attention away from the underlying abstract dice roll-like mechanics that would be a lot more apparent (and thus less jarring) in a third person RPG. Which is to say, the presentation is somewhat at odds with the mechanics. Alpha Protocol had the same issue even though it's in third person because it looks lot like an action game e.g. Mass Effect.

[Winblows]

Originally posted by Floppy Chops:

Yeah it's definitely not an uncommon RPG thing. I am reminded of swinging and missing at mudcrabs 100x in a row in Morrowind when you first start, like you may as well be blind.

I think the problem with Deus Ex and Morrowind in that regard is they're in first person, which draws the player's attention away from the underlying abstract dice roll-like mechanics that would be a lot more apparent (and thus less jarring) in a third person RPG. Which is to say, the presentation is somewhat at odds with the mechanics. Alpha Protocol had the same issue even though it's in third person because it looks lot like an action game e.g. Mass Effect.

Most rpg games I play its melee and you character isnt bad at what they do, its just that its fantasy so they go from a good swords man to a god.

in morrowind yah you are actually a reincarnation of a god canonically, but the game feels very create you own character and role play like. so its easy to imagine you start off ♥♥♥♥.

where deus ex I would assume even with false memories you would have a ton of training

honestly a dead mute conversation. its just a product of its time.
Ill just imagine they sent out a half baked clone that doesn't actually know how to do anything

[Siddha]

it is what the game is about... gradually building your JC as you deal with challenges
Starting out already developed would spoil the fun of progression imo

[Winblows]

Originally posted by Siddha:

it is what the game is about... gradually building your JC as you deal with challenges
Starting out already developed would spoil the fun of progression imo

Its more about the character having a pre defined back story. He was an assumingly trained agent, yet he sucks at most things, including shooting.

feel like if the game was made today, you would start off being able to do more, and for shooting you would start off "decent" and progress to an extraordinary pro

im not saying there should be no room to grow, its just the story and game play dont line up to me.

[Siddha]

It is frustrating when you shoot an NPC in the head point blank from behind and they turn around & start shooting back... that happened to me multiple times yesterday on Liberty island and I must say it pissed me off. Very immersion breaking. I was on hard difficulty.
So maybe you do have a point.