Arena Rex Forums

Does anyone else feel the "Fatigue" symbol in the damage tree results could easily get confused with the "push" result? (Especially in the heat of a game)

Personally, I find the arrows too similar, and just making a "quick glance" I could interpret them wrong. Perhaps a different symbol would make it more easily recognizable? Like an "F" for fatigue, a drop symbol to represent a drop of sweat, or even a shield symbol to represent the fatigue that comes having to defend a rain of blows.

Then again, maybe it's not an issue, maybe it's just me. That was just an idea that popped in my head after my initial read through of the rules, and I imagine at some point I'll misinterpret a "fatigue" result for a "push". Not a big deal in friendly games, but it could be a big issue if it happens in a tournament. (In Warmachine, I used to get the weaponmaster symbol confused with others all the time).

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"He vows to endure, to be burned, to be bound, to be beaten, and to be killed by the sword." -The gladiator's oath

http://www.nerdsvsninjas.blogspot.com - a humble blog about gaming and other nerdy stuff...

I would agree that doing something different would help make things "easier" to grasp. I may even go so far as to create a specific symbol for push, fatigue, and re-position, as the arrows work once you know what they are supposed to mean, but they do not do a great job at being self explanatory. For instance, on seeing the re-position symbol, I think of the refresh symbol on my browser, and my first thought is "I get to refresh a fatigue." So maybe a foot to link it to movement, a hand to link pushing to shoving, and whatever symbol will be used on the fatigue / exhaust marker for fatigue up.

Yep, the Fatigue symbol is a little confusing, but that could just be because I'm new to the game. The big question is if, after a while, scanning damage trees still is confusing or not.

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Could have the Theta symbol for Fatigue; while it represents Exhausted it's the most recognisable symbol for the Fatigue mechanic as a whole. Push is fine, as is Favour and Reposition (though it does make me think of circling around a model, base-to-base). It seems to me that any effect which increases the Fatigue of the model or its allies will come from abilities and not a general Damage Tree symbol, meaning there's should be no issue of mistaking the Fatigue or Reposition symbol.

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Bentley Hunter from the Kickstarter.

Unless I missed something, the fatigue symbol in the damage tree should only be an issue with Micon, and even then only his last 2 boxes.

It's the only one I personally see that could get confused. I also view the reposition symbol as a "circling around the opponent" and is visually unique enough for me not to misinterpret with the current damage tree effects. Same with the others mentioned, push, favor, damage numbers... All seem fine to me as well.

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"He vows to endure, to be burned, to be bound, to be beaten, and to be killed by the sword." -The gladiator's oath

http://www.nerdsvsninjas.blogspot.com - a humble blog about gaming and other nerdy stuff...

I don't know. I don't have any difficulty telling the difference between an arrow pointing sideways and an arrow pointing up. That being said the up arrow looks remarkably positive. It looks like someone's getting a bonus instead of someone actually becoming weary and having the wind knocked out of them. Perhaps a different symbol would help.

I did a quick little test run with a friend who used Micon, and apparently I'm not alone in thinking the arrows are too similar. Basically the conversation boiled down to to him saying: "wait, I thought you said the arrow meant "push"? There's more than one? Shouldn't the up arrow be a throw or something then?"

I explained the "up fatigue" rule, but I think he kept wanting to count it as a push. In his head, an arrow alaays meant push.

That said, it was our first game, so maybe after a few games it would be less of an issue. I'll continue to see if I can get some more play testing with other people and see what they think...

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"He vows to endure, to be burned, to be bound, to be beaten, and to be killed by the sword." -The gladiator's oath

http://www.nerdsvsninjas.blogspot.com - a humble blog about gaming and other nerdy stuff...

I can see where the confusion must lie but I think for most people it'd be something that'd be fairly easy to get used to. If there was a down and a left arrow as well, all meaning vastly different things, then it'd get confusing.

I also think the simplicity of the symbols is an advantage. Your brain processes an arrow much faster than a more complex symbol - it's universally accepted and all you need is to accociate it with the AR-specific context.

That being said I don't think I would mind if they changed it - I just don't feel it is a sufficiently strong issue at this point.

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http://alladinsbazaar.blogspot.ca - very much a work in progress...

I think its something we will all get used to but that said the fact that we need to get used to it is a problem. If I am going to demo this game in a hobby shop I don't want something like that coming up with my only answer being "you'll get used to it" its not a good sell. I mean its not a huge problem but it could be pretty easily rectified.

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Elizabeth Malette from Kickstarter

I do not think the Fatigue is the easy one to change.
I would suggest changing the Push to something different so that there is not dueling arrows.
Something like this (or a better picture with hands)?


Anything I came up with for Fatigue looked to be a person on fire, sweating or mad.
However that is what I find on stock images from the internet.
If Push gets changed then it does not compete with an up or down (does not exist symbol-wise right now) for Fatigue.