RttS archetypes seem rushed and lazily thrown together
I've been looking through archetypes caps to see which one I'd like to use and I've noticed there's little difference between many of the similar archetypes for infielders and outfielders. Not only that, but since you can choose either and still pick any position you want the system that is in place now makes half the archetypes obsolete as one archetypes always seems to beat out the other for obvious reasons. For example:
| Attributes | Wizard | Ball Hawk | DIF |
|---|---|---|---|
| CON L | 70 | 75 | 5 |
| CON R | 70 | 75 | 5 |
| POW L | 65 | 65 | 0 |
| POW R | 65 | 65 | 0 |
| CLUTCH | 70 | 80 | 10 |
| BUNT | 99 | 99 | 0 |
| DRG BT | 99 | 99 | 0 |
| PVS | 70 | 85 | 15 |
| DIS | 70 | 85 | 15 |
| DURA | 90 | 99 | 9 |
| SPEED | 99 | 99 | 0 |
| STEAL | 99 | 99 | 0 |
| BR AGG | 99 | 99 | 0 |
| ARM STR | 75 | 80 | 5 |
| ARM ACC | 80 | 80 | 0 |
| FIELD | 99 | 99 | 0 |
| REACT | 99 | 99 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 1418 | 1482 | 64 |
The "DIF" category is column C (outfield archetype) minus column B (infield archetype). Bottom row shows totals. Only wanted this for DIF but if I didn't total attributes as well the reddit table functionality wouldn't work correctly
These are the speed archetypes, good with speed and fielding. As you can see the outfield archetype "Ball Hawk" easily beats out Wizard. It has the same or a higher hard cap than Wizard in every category. It never makes sense to pick the wizard archetype. If you want a fast SS with great fielding choose the ball hawk archetype. You'll get better batting attributes and slightly better arm strength.
Next is the obvious choice for a five tool player:
| Attributes | Mr. Reliable | Solid Option | DIF |
|---|---|---|---|
| CON L | 99 | 99 | 0 |
| CON R | 99 | 99 | 0 |
| POW L | 70 | 70 | 0 |
| POW R | 70 | 70 | 0 |
| CLUTCH | 80 | 80 | 0 |
| BUNT | 55 | 55 | 0 |
| DRG BT | 55 | 55 | 0 |
| PVS | 95 | 95 | 0 |
| DIS | 70 | 70 | 0 |
| DURA | 90 | 99 | 9 |
| SPEED | 75 | 75 | 0 |
| STEAL | 75 | 70 | -5 |
| BR AGG | 75 | 75 | 0 |
| ARM STR | 99 | 85 | -14 |
| ARM ACC | 99 | 85 | -14 |
| FIELD | 85 | 85 | 0 |
| REACT | 85 | 85 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 1376 | 1352 | -24 |
This is the only comparison where the infield archetype beats out the outfield archetype. As you can see, these 2 builds are practically exact clones of each other. Incredibly lazy. The obvious choice is Mr Reliable. I'd much rather trade off the 9 durability points for slightly better stealing and a maxed out arm
Next up are the power archetypes:
| Attributes | Power Corner | Power House | DIF |
|---|---|---|---|
| CON L | 75 | 80 | 5 |
| CON R | 75 | 80 | 5 |
| POW L | 99 | 99 | 0 |
| POW R | 99 | 99 | 0 |
| CLUTCH | 75 | 90 | 15 |
| BUNT | 15 | 20 | 5 |
| DRG BT | 15 | 20 | 5 |
| PVS | 60 | 75 | 15 |
| DIS | 85 | 75 | -10 |
| DURA | 80 | 80 | 0 |
| SPEED | 35 | 50 | 15 |
| STEAL | 25 | 50 | 25 |
| BR AGG | 30 | 40 | 10 |
| ARM STR | 80 | 70 | -10 |
| ARM ACC | 80 | 75 | -5 |
| FIELD | 99 | 99 | 0 |
| REACT | 99 | 99 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 1126 | 1201 | 75 |
There's much more disparity in this one, but I still think powerhouse comes out on top. You'll have to sacrifice some discipline (which really is meaningless for most people) and some arm strength and accuracy. But in return you're getting slightly better contact, much better clutch and vision, and an actual usable speed. Powerhouse is the obvious winner, making power corner a waste of time.
This final comparison isn't an obvious similar archetype, but there seems to be enough comparisons to see one is better than the other
| Attributes | Bat First | Def Cannon | DIF |
|---|---|---|---|
| CON L | 80 | 75 | -5 |
| CON R | 80 | 75 | -5 |
| POW L | 99 | 99 | 0 |
| POW R | 99 | 99 | 0 |
| CLUTCH | 75 | 80 | 5 |
| BUNT | 35 | 20 | -15 |
| DRG BT | 35 | 20 | -15 |
| PVS | 70 | 70 | 0 |
| DIS | 75 | 70 | -5 |
| DURA | 99 | 90 | -9 |
| SPEED | 40 | 60 | 20 |
| STEAL | 30 | 60 | 30 |
| BR AGG | 30 | 40 | 10 |
| ARM STR | 99 | 99 | 0 |
| ARM ACC | 90 | 95 | 5 |
| FIELD | 60 | 80 | 20 |
| REACT | 65 | 80 | 15 |
| TOTAL | 1161 | 1212 | 51 |
Batting wise, if you pick defensive cannon you're trading a little bit of contact for slightly better clutch. Again the discipline doesn't really matter much, and I don't see how the extra 15 in bunting matter at all either as 35 bunting isn't going to do much for you in comparison to 20 bunting. The only other drop is 9 durability, but 90 durability should still be more than enough. Meanwhile you'll get usable speed, and much better fielding attributes. Defensive cannon seems like the obvious choice.
This only leaves 2 more infield archetypes without an outfield archetype to compare them to. But both builds (field general and good hands) seem more like specialty builds if you want a top notch defender.
TL;DR: Outfield and infield archetypes are incredibly similar and often make one or the other obsolete by being slightly better in certain categories. Overall the archetypes don't seem well thought out.
Posted Mar 12, 2018, 9:01 PM UTC