Bounts:An Inquiry

[Ajraka Kuchiki]

So This subject has come up a NUMBER of times on the chat:

Bounts!

In some instances, there are people who say bounts are in need of a buff, pointing out weaknesses of the doll user.

In others, there are people who revere bounts as among the strongest of the races because of their group capability and diversity.

But a lot of this information is not usually elaborated on. Why is a bount doll user considered so weak? Even if they have none of their release techs to themselves, there's nothing stopping them from utilizing non-release techniques to buff them? Or are there other weaknesses that hold them down?

True bounts have strength in numbers, but if the controller is hurt, wont the dolls turn on them? (And this is even contested because the description is more of an implication than a universal rule, one conversation in chat came about to imply that so long as the bount had a poppsitive relationship with their dolls that this wasn't even an issue!

Due to my own reservations about bounts, and the fact that well... the bounts in general have a lot of different aspects to them beyond what is just said in their race description. The implied weaknesses to balance having such a big arsenal and a large number of potential bodies, evidently being written off as flavor?

So this is actually a bit of a... request. I want to hear people's opinions on bounts and their strength compared to other races as I myself have a hard time figuring this out as I confess I have prejudice against the race. So hopefully some other opinions will help me get a better idea.

[Zeich Yajuu]

If people think Bounts are weak, they haven't taken the time to look at Jin/Anarchy. This is a man who, utilizing only a minimal number of techniques in both himself and his doll, is one of the strongest members on site. When I fought him with Zeich, he used 2-3 of his single Doll's 12 techniques, and only a handful of non-Release techniques, yet he could not only keep pace, but lead the fight. And he was holding back. He didn't want to reveal his identity, so he didn't even use the full scope of his power.

Now, to get into the actual questions. We'll start with "has none of their Release techniques to themselves." This is baloney, simply put. This can be applied multiple ways; support Dolls are very much a thing, as I demonstrated in Z-2 with Ian and his three Dolls. A leech to drain and siphon away strength, a mirror that could freeze the current "status" of that it reflected to either block harm or healing, and a cloaked figure whose ability was simply to hide spiritual presences and, at the cost of being unable to hurt anyone, its own physical presence as well. The majority of Ian's dolls were support-based with a few offensive abilities here and there, and he was able to drastically weaken Kazura and, if he hadn't been convinced otherwise by Shizuka, could have killed one of the participants.

The only "weakness" I see to Bount is that their pool of non-Release techniques needs a bit of work. They have a large number of potent techniques, but many of them have a drawback that makes the user weak to light in any form, which is a pretty powerful weakness. Bount need more general techniques that don't fall into this line of vampire/shadow techniques, so that they have versatility without making themselves crippled in any sort of light.

I saw the remark Dark made about a positive relationship with Dolls, and I disagree. No matter how positive your relationship is, the nature of the Doll is going to override. You are controlling and binding these Dolls to your will. This means that if a Bount takes severe damage -- In this, I mean crippling enough that it is difficult or nigh-impossible for them to continue doing battle -- then they lose the ability to guide their Doll and control its actions, thus causing it to turn on them. It's not out of hatred or dislike for the controller, but rather the fact that they are simply out of control. The user is simply a victim at this point, unable to control their power as it consumes them. Again, this requires pretty crippling injuries; a deep cut wouldn't do it, and loss of a single limb would push you to a "danger point" without pushing you over the edge, probably making you cautious but not costing you control.

Bounts have an almost annoying level of strength if built right, simply because of the fact that having multiple dolls allows them to min/max into multiple builds and cover just about any situation. If you want your Bount to be a physical combatant, you build a support Doll, a RS-using Doll to counter those who use spiritual attacks or defenses that require spiritual energy to break, and that last doll is free choice. A lot of people like to build a "sensory" doll, one who has high Senses/Instinct/ES, and a way of communicating to the user; this allows the user to reduce how much they have invested in those stats, as long as that Doll is protected. Basically, a good Bount can literally cover any situation, as opposed to those who have to pick a physical, spiritual, or sensory build. The downside is that if a Doll is destroyed, that aspect of the opponent's fighting is broken for up to five posts. On average, we tend to measure fights around ten posts total from each side, sometimes more or less, so the loss of a Doll eliminates that style of combat for the majority of the fight. It balances out the strong versatility that Bounts get.

I really don't think that Bounts are that weak, tbh. I just think that so few people play them and develop them that nobody really knows how they work. The same went for BC when they were first introduced, and I still don't think that people fully understand the extent of their abilities.

[Jin Yamada]

As an individual who plays a Bount, I’m going to weigh in on this a little bit. Z has already covered the majority of the points I was going to make, and I agree with his points wholeheartedly. One thing I would like to stress, however, is that the strength of the character ultimately depend on the player. This is the same with stats. While it is true that at some point a race with more versatility or better stats might have the advantage, in the end if the player themselves cannot capitalize on that advantage, it means nothing. That is the most important point, in my opinion and it seems those who argue that the Bount are weak as a race do not, as Z stated, understand the race well enough to see its full potential.

I want to add onto Z’s answer about the Bount and their strength without the doll. I think because the release is a summoning rather than a power they themselves control, people somehow stop seeing Bount as anything even remotely similar to other races that have a release. There are examples of Shinigami and even Arrancar who can hold their own without ever resorting to their release abilities. With use of their non-release techniques and skill alone, they can hold up against even shikai. Kuroi, Rio, Asuka Tan’O, Miho Shoga, Sozen, Takehiko, Okami are some examples I can easily name off the top of my head. These individuals are powerful without their release. And as Z stated, the Bount can be as well if built correctly.

As another example, I believe Jin has also shown this. The greatest example is in his fight with Douma. Douma, as you know, is powerful in his own right. He has already shown this in the battle he had with Harle as Kagami. But in his battle with Anarchy, you will notice that Jin was pressuring Douma using only a weapon and 1-2 techniques. He even forced Douma into releasing in order to keep up. Even while under Douma’s illusion, Jin was controlling the battle. Jin took this direction as a character so that he would be able to hold his own against powerful opponents without having to release. He needed to be able to do so, especially after his faked “death” so that he would not reveal his identity to anyone who knew him during that time. So, he developed a weapon style to use outside of release after losing so many times to Kuroi’s own mastery of swordsmanship. I have always wanted Jin to fight without relying on his dolls in order to prove that it can be done despite what the Bount arc presented. This is why I created the body strengthening techniques so long ago in order to provide Jin with the tools to engage in melee combat with his opponent before deciding that release was necessary. Even before those techniques were created, Jin used a staff to engage in melee combat.

Most of you will not remember but there was a time when dolls did not have their own stats. The doll’s stats were tied to the Bount. So if you wanted a powerful doll, you had to build the Bount’s stats correctly. This is an era in which Jin came from. Even now, Hitze’s stats are still the same as Jin’s simply because at the moment I see no point in changing them despite the update that allowed dolls to have their own stats. Anyway, my point is basically that Bount are not weak without their doll. It depends on how the Bount is built and what type of fighting style they have. More techniques need to be created for the Bount, this is true, but at the same time there are also other Energy Generate techniques that can prove useful as well. With the update to Energy Generate to remove the Rank 3 requirement, I believe that would open up a whole pool of techniques to choose from for the Bount.

In all honesty, and this is just my opinion, but if someone is picking a race because it’s the “strongest”, then that person only sees surface level potential. Success with the underused races requires an ability to pick out the potential when it isn’t blatantly obvious, and hard work and practice to truly learn the full capabilities of that race. Each race has its own hidden gems, and I’m starting to notice that with a lot of the races that have been used.