My impression of some of the changes that have been made public this far (including listening to the active play of the 6th ed quick start rules):
Soak roll Body only: Concerned
Overall, I am in favor of smaller dice pools. Even with reduced damage though, soaking with only a single attribute + ware/qualities seems as though it will make combat significantly more lethal. If there are more miscellaneous options in said ware/qualities than I am anticipating, then perhaps this might turn out ok. That said, armor rating only mattering for if the attacker gains a bonus edge or not really seems to negate the value of armor. If hit, most everything will simple be one or two shot.
...aww but I love it when Leela (in her Medium Milspec with Titanium Bone Lacing and Orthoskin 4) can drop an HE grenade at her feet and soak it, at worst maybe taking a box of stun or two.
Seriously, I agree here and with other similar comments that it kind of makes armour useless.
Spellcasting and drain roll the same roll: Dislike
The main thing I don't like about this is that a single bad roll will result in devastation. As it currently stands in 5th, you can potentially cast your spell very well but suffer big drain damage, or maybe your spell doesn't cast so well but also doesn't hurt you. With this new system, you can end up with a situation where not only did your spell not do anything, but you also roasted yourself because of a single bad roll. At least in 5th it takes two bad rolls for that to occur.
...agreed, and will Reagents or Fetishes still mitigate drain? Also will this apply to summoning as well?
Spell duration instead of sustain: Like
It will depend on the specific calculation for those durations, but overall, I like this idea much better.
...not wild about this. I don't mind sustaining as there are ways to lower the penalty (such as Focused Concentration and using Psyche). So this would also mean spells like Increased Initiative or increased Attribute will go "poof" after a set length of time (unless quickened or on a sustaining focus). Sounds like D&D instead of Shadowrun.
New edge system: Mixed
I think the idea is cool.
The implementation seems to slow combat down, though. On every single action, on every single character, you will have to compare attack value vs. defense rating to see if extra edge are applied. Then you have to look at the situation and see if either side has advantage. Then you have to decide if you want to spend any of that edge for maneuvers. Every single action.
...I agree when it comes to combat, particularly being able to use it to force a glitch (isn't that what the Gremlins quality is for?).
Personally speaking, I wasn't thrilled about Edge when it was introduced in 4E as it made Shadowrun feel more like a video game than a P&P RPG. I thought the way Karma Pool worked in 3E was just fine (and you only got one "Hand of God").
Decker actions changes: Love
No more marks, no more multiple turns that will result in the combat being over before you are done. Just pick your action, make your roll, and implement the result? Yes please.
...this is about the only improvement, as yes sometimes the combat is over before you can even brick a single gun/drone or disable an installation's sentry weapons.
No more skill groups / skills folded together: Like
So many of those skills were already so close to the same thing that I am very pleased to see the list just folded in and narrowed.
...for myself, the jury is still out on this one unless skill points are increased. Flying a plane or handling a boat is not like driving a car. Same for tinkering with micro electronics compared to cutting the power grid to a facility.
