Need Advice on ranking power

Discussion in 'Author Discussions' started by maggitt147, Apr 2, 2020.

  1. maggitt147

    maggitt147 Well-Known Member

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    So i'm planning on making a story where the fighters of this planet can be ranked from F rank all the way to SSS rank. What i want to know is there an easy way of figuring out how strong each rank should be?
    Like how strong is an F rank? What can they do? What makes them different from normal humans and F-rank? Why aren't world-class weight lifters F-rank when they are stronger than the F-rank? Is there something special about them that makes them F-rank? And if there is what is that special thing that makes them F-rank and not D-rank, also how do we compare between a F-rank and D-rank if its not just based on strength?

    I know i'm asking a lot of questions but honestly i just threw this question out there to get like any semblance of an idea to try and work with. If this fails, i'll probably just go the old boring and basic route of gradually increasing the amount of destruction they can do each rank. Like F-ranks can break through stone and lift cars while D-ranks can do more than that and C-ranks can do even more than a D-rank can!
     
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  2. Femme Fatale

    Femme Fatale | Sublime Goddess Of Chance |

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    My advice is to not focus so much on the ranking system...keep it simple and vague enough that you can adjust as your story moves...and focus on getting a really good story going instead. I don't usually answer these posts about ranking systems, but a previous post where we spoke about this somewhat is still fresh in my mind. Here is the link if you are interested in my response or the thread...https://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/why-do-authors-write-annoying-systems.102353/

    Good luck future author! Gambatte!
     
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  3. lnv

    lnv ✪ Well-Known Hypocrite

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    Uhm, the most important thing to consider is:

    1) How strong is an average person in your world, are they earth strong or more?

    2) How strong is the strongest person in your world, like what are the limits.

    Then you ask yourself what kind of jobs do F rank people do? Are they just gathering herbs or actual fighting?

    Once you know all this, you can fill things in. Just set the base of the humans, the strength of the strongest and fill things in based on what kind of fights these ranks should be able to defeat. Ranks are always based on what job the rank is meant to fulfill, be it fighting, experience or etc.

    Otherwise you get things like cheat magician when a clueless noob with no fighting experience is S rank cause they have lots of power.
     
  4. jinxs2011

    jinxs2011 [Rebel Against Normality][Writer of the Unusual]

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    look, I'd advise against this. It's just too difficult to quantify.
    say you have someone who's really fast and someone who's really strong. If you're asking who's physically stronger, that's easy to quantify. Faster? Easy. If you're asking who's stronger in a fight, then that's a whole other story.

    To compare the two accurately, you actually have to make them fight. Comparing things like speed and strength and agility and intelligence just aren't going to cut it, because they intermesh in such complex ways doing such an activity. Fights in and of themselves are filled with uncontrollable variables, so you'd have to to it several times to get an accurate conclusion if it wasn't blaringly obvious the first time around. But what if someone's bad in a fight but great at supporting others? how in the hell do you quantify or compare that? field tests, again. but then you'd have to have the same group doing the same activity repetitively with different supporters for comparison. That's a massive pain in the proverbial ass, and that's just when comparing two individuals.

    Trying to put who knows how many people under several ranks like that? It's an impossible task to do accurately. Accurately, that is. Realistically, if they can defeat so and so opponent or do so and so many tasks at around a certain level of difficulty, then they're at a certain rank. Just make sure you know it's a bad system that'll result in people who are specialised in, say, reconnaissance and not combat will be forever stuck at rank F because they can't fight very well, no matter their skill in other related areas, while a muscle-head idiot who only knows how to stab things real good will be S rank but have no real value in a party.

    Or, alternatively, you can do it based on a party. Instead of if an individual can do x and x, then they're x rank, it's if a party can to x and x, then they're x rank. It works a bit better, but then what if you have a guy who can't really do much of anything in an awesome party? Then you'd get someone who would be rank F in any other party being rank S.

    There's no ideal solution, at least not that I know of. Unless, of course, you're talking about cultivation. Then you can just rank everyone according to their realm. Because obviously we can't have skilled mortals or deadbeat cultivators, right? RIGHT?
     
  5. Shio

    Shio Moderator Staff Member

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    I think you have to decide several things first, as ranking really depends on what type of world you are after. The rule is to not use the rank to shape the world, but to build the world and think "what kind of category would be used by the society there?".
    1. Do you want the rank to measure current strength or maximum potential?
    2. What kind of power will be there? Was it limited to how fast/strong a person is, or will there be ESP/other types of power?
    As for testing the rank, if there's no appraisal stone, I think it's best to use a series of standardized tests that could be used widely. Think something like a marathon to test stamina, 100 m run to test speed, and or grip power to test strength. Use F rank or SSS as something like your grade in university and not something 'fixed' to avoid hitting the strength limit and need to add more power level to continue the story. I always rolls my eyes every time a novel went "his/her power are even special for SSS rank!" and "The actual SSS rank have more grading from copper to platinum!" It doesn't make me think the MC more powerful. It made me think the author can't build a proper world.