Saying TMs can use programs because of their Echo is a weak point. It is simply not worth 13 Karma, minimum, to gain access to single program that a decker can have for a piddly little 250¥. In no way is that fair. And in order for it to eventually become an advantage over the decker, you'd need to submerge four or five times, costing you at least 69 Karma, and even then, that's only giving you four programs that you have on all the time without any of the intense flexibility that a decker has with his programs.
A program is not equal to an echo.
The Argument was "Technomancers can't use programs!", which I had provided as invalid.
You're also missing quite a bit of other things in the comparison here. Namely the Y cost.
Yes the program is either 80Y or 250Y. But you also forget the Deck.
A Decker would need to spend at least 49,500Y To run a single program or even begin decking. He'd only be able to run A single program at a time. Making the total cost to do just the basic Decking, 49,250.
For the decker to run 4 programs at the same time, he'd need 345,000Y 1000Y for the programs. So, 346kY or 173 Karma based on the ability to use Karma for extra Y at the start of the game.
And that is just the cost of using a deck.
So while you spent 69 karma on submersion, You can spend your money for a lot more varied gear than just your deck. If you wanted to, you could even buy a deck and use that to run some additional programs by remote commanding it.
But here's a little secret, the program Lockdown. Since Technomancers are not devices, they cannot be targeted with things like Crash Program. Combined with Fualt Sprites, you can quickly make someones day pretty bad.
Compiled Sprites can also sustain a complex form, as a single task, which could be used in Resonance Channel to remove noise due to distance.
You can also use Diffusion of [Matrix Attribute] against devices, then get a sprite to handle the sustain as well.
But see, part of my problem is that you are essentially saying "A technomancer doesn't need to rely on their special abilities! They can just do what deckers do, too!" But if you're not making use of those abilities, especially if you ever buy a deck for whatever reason, you should have just made a mundane decker. A technomancer should not have to buy things a decker has in order to be comparable to them. The whole point is that they are supposed to accomplish the same thing using different methods; the more of a TM's uniqueness you give up, the more pointless it is to be one.
Yet, Mages don't go around everywhere constantly casting probe thought all the time, using magic fingers to open doors, or other various actions that normal people do in the real world. Do you as a Mage cast physical barriers to make cover and then stand behind that? Or do you use that only when you have no other choice or its the /best/ choice?
If you're a cybersolider, do you open doors or punch through them all because your special abilites in your fist allow you to do so, so you MUST use it all the time.
You're a technomancer, not an AI. Mages don't spend all their money on ONLY magic things. Similar with Phys Adept vs something like a Street Samurai. You can spend all your power on doing "unique" things like being able to kill people with your magic fists. Or you can be more subtle about it. A Mage could use a gun, or he could use fireball. If someone puts up an astral barrier, the mage doesn't sit and cry if he doesn't have a way around it. He picks up his gun and shoots the guy on the other side if he has to.
The uniqueness of a Technomancer isn't /constantly/ threading complex forms and the like. No, Its the ability to constantly be online. Its the ability to be able to hack non-stop without GOD coming down and bricking your device. You are not a replacement for technology, because technology is your
plaything.
It shouldn't take so much work to equal a decker when it comes to the matrix, because a decker will also be able to be competent at other things as well, often combat or social skills, largely because of their augmentations and larger freedom with attributes and skill points.
That said, I absolutely trust that Data Trails will fix enough of the issues I have with the current rules for Technomancers. Right now they don't feel intentionally weak as much as they just feel like they've hardly got enough material to work with...
And that is the thing, Technomancers are not deckers. They don't rely on technology like a decker does. They are a Ghost in the Shell, capable of accessing the matrix anywhere and everywhere. But this again doesn't mean they are unneeding of tech.
A Technomancer is like a general, while the decker is a soldier. The Technomancer can move through the matrix, practically undetectable the entire time, setting up things that are not his to do what he wants to do.
