Upcoming changes to skills and character models & new abilities

[Zwiebelchen]

Hello guys! Just to give you a preview about what to expect in the next major update:

skill system revamp
As you guys probably know, the skill system is kind of a one-trick pony and imho does not do what it is supposed to.
To change that, the current skills will be replaced by these:

Power: Increases attack power and spell power by 1% per point.
Reflexes: Increase attack speed by 1.5% and spell haste by 1 per point.
Luck: Increases crit chance by 1% and crit damage by 2% per point.
Stamina: Increases maximum health by 1.5% per point. Increases Evasion by 0.5% per point.
Spirit: Increases all resistances by 1% per point. Increases all attributes by 0.75% per point.

In addition to the above changes, AGI will now grant attack speed bonus based on the same formula as haste, instead of providing a flat per-point bonus. This change will greatly reduce attack speed gain per point of agi for high agi characters.

Max mana modifiers will now be equipment only. The CON and WIS effects on potions are gone. To compensate for that change, health potions will now heal slightly more. The significant reduction in AGI, STR and INT scores will weaken pets slightly, so their progression curves get altered to compensate for this change.
A fixed amount of max health and max mana is now also gained for each level, depending on the selected class.


New character models
As you guys have probably seen in the other thread, I'm currently remaking all the hero models for compatibility with a swapped body texture approach. This allows me to use textures instead of attachment models to change the appearance of the heroes with equipment. There will still be attachment models for shoulders and cloaks, but the actual armor attachments will be gone. Only exception to this is the squire model, where the current attachment models will still apply, in order to save filesize (I felt that the current attachment models worked great on Squires). However, there will still be a texture swap based on the cloth textures underneath these armors for more added flavour.
I've made tests on texture compression and optimized the texture bases and there should be no significant increase in filesize.

In addition, hair will now be team colored with a color selectable on hero creation. There will also be a barber NPC in Mytargas that allows changing hair color afterwards.


New abilities
I've taken all suggestions into account and made major design decisions about several of the upcoming abilities. So here's a complete list about what is to come:

Crusader

Shield Throw
Throws the shield at the target for Spellpower x 1.5 magic damage. Hits two more targets for half damage before returning to the caster. Creates a high amount of threat. Can only be used with a shield equipped.
Cooldown: 12 seconds.
Cast Time: 1.5 seconds.
Mana Cost: 4

Unyielding Zeal
increases Attackpower by Strength x 0.25 and increases threat generated by 'Pummel' by 60%. Can not be used when 'Celestial Zeal' is active.
Cooldown: 5 seconds.
Cast Time: toggle.
Mana Cost: none.

Pummel
Hits the target for Attackpower x 1.5 physical damage and debuffs the target with 'Shattered Defense', increasing all physical damage taken by 2%. Lasts 15 seconds. Stacks up to 5 times. Each applied stack resets duration.
Cooldown: 8 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: 3


Berserker

Intimidating Howl
Causes all nearby enemies to run in fear for 4 seconds. Does not work on bosses. Effect breaks on attacks.
Cooldown: 30 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: 5

Backhand
Hits the target for Attackpower x 1.5 physical damage. If the Berserker evades a physical attack, cooldown will be resetted. Can only be used with a shield equipped. Creates a high amount of threat.
Cooldown: 30 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: 3

Boiling Blood
Increases Attackpower of the Berserker and all nearby allies by 25% for 10 seconds.
Cooldown: 120 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: none.


Bishop

Protective Seal
Your 'Heal' and 'Flash Heal' spells will now also heal the protected target by 30% of the amount healed. If the protected target is directly targeted by those spells, the amount healed is increased by 30%. Only one 'Protective Seal' can be up at the same time.
Cooldown: 1 second.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: 7

Soul Eruption
Deals Spellpower x 2.5 shadow damage to the target. Creates a high amount of threat.
Cooldown: 12 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: 4

Dispel Magic
Dispels harmful spell effects from friendly units.
Cooldown: none.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: 7


Monk

Shattering Strike
Deals Spellpower x 1.5 magic damage to the target and all nearby units.
Cooldown: 7 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: 4

Provoke
Forces all nearby enemies to attack the Monk for 3 seconds.
Cooldown: 30 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: none.

Blazing Fist
Increases attack speed by 70% and causes standard attacks to deal additional Spellpower x 0.25 fire damage for 3 seconds. Does not reset attack timer.
Cooldown: 12 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: 5


Sorcerer

Gravity Pull
Creates a vortex on the ground for 7 seconds that slowly pulls all enemies within 350 range towards the center. When the vortex collapses, deals Spellpower x 2.5 physical damage and knocks back all targets within 100 range of the center. Enemies with immunity to stun effects are not affected by the gravitational pull or knockback effect.
Cooldown: 20 seconds.
Cast Time: 1.5 seconds.
Mana Cost: 18

Ice Nova
Deals Spellpower x 0.5 water damage and stuns all units near the caster for 2 seconds.
Cooldown: 15 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: 12

Nether Walk
Instantly travels towards the target point. If the direct path between the caster and the target is not walkable, the caster will be moved to the closest walkable point instead.
Cooldown: 10 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: 6


Necromancer

Possession
The Necromancer gains permanent control over the target unit until it dies. While possessing a creature, the Necromancer can not control any regular minions except for mercenaries. The possessed creature keeps all abilities and will use them as usual. Unlike regular minions, the possessed creature does not scale with pet levels. It also has its maximum health reduced to 50%.
Can not be used on bosses or elite targets. Can not be used on targets with a higher level as the Necromancer. Killing a possessed creature does not grant experience or loot.
Cooldown: 60 seconds.
Cast Time: 8 seconds.
Mana Cost: 75

Dark Funnel
Deals Spellpower x 1.0 shadow damage per second over 3 seconds.
Cooldown: 0.5 seconds.
Cast Time: 3 seconds, channeled.
Mana Cost: 6

Vile Desease
Deals Spellpower x 3.0 shadow damage over 18 seconds. Any physical attacks against the debuffed target also have a 20% chance to deal additional Spellpower x 0.3 shadow damage. Does not stack.
Cooldown: 20 seconds.
Cast Time: 2 seconds.
Mana Cost: 8


Hunter

Frost Arrow
Instant ranged attack, dealing Attackpower x 2.0 water damage and slowing the target for 5 seconds.
Cooldown: 10 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: 6

Summon Falcon
Summons a falcon minion that has a 20% chance to strike the target of the hunter's standard attacks for Attackpower x 1.5 physical damage. The falcon can not be targetted or killed. Falcon attacks create no threat.
Cooldown: 0.5 seconds.
Cast Time: 3 seconds.
Mana Cost: 25

Explosive Load
All standard attacks will deal additional Attackpower x 0.4 fire damage within 200 range of the target for 5 seconds. Does not reset attack timer.
Cooldown: 25 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: 14


Druid

Life Infusion
Brings a dead ally back to life with full health and 30% mana.
Cooldown: 180 seconds.
Cast Time: 3 seconds.
Mana Cost: 30

Spiritual Guidance
Standard attacks now also deal Spellpower x 0.4 poison damage to the target. Consumes 3 mana per attack.
Cooldown: 5 seconds.
Cast Time: toggle.
Mana Cost: none.

Balance of Life
25% of effective damage dealt to the target ally is transferred to the Druid instead. Lasts 30 seconds.
Cooldown: 30 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: none.


Assassin

Explosive Trap
Places a trap on the ground that deals Attackpower x 1.5 fire damage upon activation and stuns the target for 6 seconds. Half duration against bosses or elite units. Can only be used outside of combat. Setting up the trap will cancel stealth mode.
Cooldown: 45 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: 6

Quick Strike
Deals Attackpower x 0.5 physical damage to the target and increases the chance to score a critical hit against the target by 2%. Lasts 20 seconds. Stacks up to 5 times. Each applied stack resets duration.
Cooldown: 6 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: 2

Shadow Image
Creates a shadow image with the same stats as the Assassin. The shadow image will be first priority target of all enemies around. Does not have any other abilities. Lasts 5 seconds.
Cooldown: 40 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: 8


Bard

Hymn of Heroes
All allies within sight range will have their maximum health increased by 20% for 30 seconds. Can only be used with an instrument equipped.
Cooldown: 25 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: 5

Dancing Blade
The next standard attack will deal additional Spellpower x 1.5 magic damage and apply 'Battle Rhythm' to the Bard. Stacks up to 3 times. Does not reset attack timer.
Cooldown: 5 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: 2.

Chorus
Consumes all stacks of 'Battle Rhythm' and heals all allies within sight range for Spellpower x 2.0 for each stack of 'Battle Rhythm' consumed. Can only be used with an instrument equipped.
Cooldown: 3 seconds.
Cast Time: instant.
Mana Cost: none.

 

[_lycan]

Wow this might make me actually return to warcraft 3 to play something lol, great job as always zwieb

 

[S0ulseeker]

I can't wait :]

 

[Jumbo]

I like almost all of these spells and I definitely like the stat changes. They will, hopefully, provide us with a more varied same class outcome than currently.

The only thing I don't like is the necromancer. It seems that, even with possession, the necromancer will still be a boring class with nothing special to offer. Sure, you have minions, but all you can really do with them is Attack/retreat and the necro himself has very little to do other than spamming fireball/water globes and once in a while setting a debuff on an enemy. Personally I think, given the theme of the necromancer, some health sacrificing based spells would be great. Maybe drain some hp from one's own minions? Or transfering the necro's hp to them? Or perhaps a powerful damage spell that is only useable with less than 100% hp. Also, whereas every other class has some sort of protection against dying, the necro, when aggro is (easy as it is) taken from the minions, has no way to protect himself. Given the fact that the minions, while doing decent dmg, are clumsy because of the inability to control them without cancelling the current action of the necromancer it is a painful class to play. This is also one of the reasons why I previously suggested to add the attack/retreat commands to the backpack for improved multi-functionality.

The bottomline is that while every other class (even the sorceress that has until these (very cool spells) have been added been quite boring) is very fun and varied to play, the necro seriously lacks these two key factors for making a good class.

 

[Eagle XI]

You shouldnt change names of str agi int con wis since yourself continued to referr to them with their original name, ITS NOT GONNA WORK!

Are hat attachments still there as well ? Can you show us fe. some pictures of the new method with the old ones next for comparison.

No to boomerang shuriken shields because anime territory
How exactly does Intimidating Howl, Gravity Pull and Posession interact with aggro mechanic ?
Netherwalk, what a fancy name for teleportation. Spiritual Guidance is also a weird name for an ability that is used for dealing poison dmg.
Id expect more creative things at casters than even more direct dmg with different applications aka 'Dark Funnel' or 'Soul Eruption'.
At Falcon, what use is it when not attacking, idles circling above head ?
Oh, rambo's explosive arrows. Approveds
At Balance of Life: what means 'effective dmg'. Does it mean transferred after gets reduced by linked's armor/resist ?
So with dancing blade + chorus a bard can keep healing basically forever and he can choose himself high or low burst ?

 

[Zwiebelchen]

I'm not quite sure what exactly you feel is missing about the necromancer. I think it's pretty unique in its focus on minions and possession alone is a skill that makes it worth playing. Possession is probably the most versatile spell in the entire game, if you think about the possibilities. You basicly have every debuff or ability that is used by outside world mobs at your disposal.
You can possess a healing creep, to support yourself and the group; you can possess one of the mountain bears to get an awesome meat shield, you can possess a spell caster for more buffs/debuffs/utility (remember the murlocs that have a stun or the goblins that throw flaming bottles?). And you gain access to skills that are creep exclusive, like the murloc haste reduction.

With enough creativity, possession will be one of the most fun spells at your disposal.

Are hat attachments still there as well ? Can you show us fe. some pictures of the new method with the old ones next for comparison.

I don't have any ingame screenshots yet, as most of the model reworks have not been completed until this point. As soon as I get some presentable media, I'll upload it here.

How exactly does Intimidating Howl, Gravity Pull and Posession interact with aggro mechanic ?

Intimidating Howl basicly disables the possibility to give orders to affected units temporarily. Basicly the same as pets work in Gaias; you have no command card and the smart order gets overwritten. There's no change to the threat table whatsoever for this ability.
Gravity pull does just move the units towards its center. It does not cancel any orders or interrupt spells/attacks. If the units walk faster than the pull effect, technically, they can leave the area of effect. No change on threat table here again.
Possession basicly regards the unit as killed (and therefore to be allowed to respawn), except that you do not gain experience, gold or loot.

Netherwalk, what a fancy name for teleportation.

It's technically not teleportation, just very very fast moving (hence the hero stops when the pathing is blocked).

Spiritual Guidance is also a weird name for an ability that is used for dealing poison dmg.

Maybe I'll change it to do lightning damage. I just felt there are too few poison abilities in the game yet.

Id expect more creative things at casters than even more direct dmg with different applications aka 'Dark Funnel' or 'Soul Eruption'.

Those spells aren't very creative, I agree, but they serve a destinct core purpose for those classes that did not allow for a unique design.

At Falcon, what use is it when not attacking, idles circling above head ?

Yes.

At Balance of Life: what means 'effective dmg'. Does it mean transferred after gets reduced by linked's armor/resist ?

Correct. The transferred damage also can't be reduced by armor/resistance from the druid again (however, absorbs like Divine Shield do work on linked damage).

So with dancing blade + chorus a bard can keep healing basically forever and he can choose himself high or low burst ?

Chorus is meant as a situational group support heal. With the cooldown on dancing blade and Chorus only healing a significant amount when there's at least 2 stacks of dancing blade, you should not be able to main-heal a tank in a difficult encounter. It's more a group emergency utility. I expect there'll be a lot of fine-tuning on Chorus in order to not make it too weak or overpowered in the future.
There's also more abilities to come in the future that might make use on dancing blade stacks.

 

[Jumbo]

The problem with necromancer as I see it, is two things:

1. He is, both currently and with the new spells, just a generic spellcaster with some minions thrown in randomly. He has no interaction with these minions at all. This feels too much like average joe randomly has three behemoths following him and obeying his attack orders for no apparent reason - in short, not very coherent.

2.Therefore he needs interaction spells. Spells that have something to do with the minions. Now don't get me wrong, he ALSO needs simple damage spells, but I think that the whole necromancer theme needs to be explored further to make it an interesting class.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Well make some suggestions for Necromancer spells then. But they shouldn't involve mana regeneration or means to replenish mana, significant threat reduction in group play (having minions to deal the damage for you is already enough advantage with the current threat mechanics) or be group heals aside from the dedicated talent path that provides some group regen.

 

[grekern]

Well make some suggestions for Necromancer spells then. But they shouldn't involve mana regeneration or means to replenish mana, significant threat reduction in group play (having minions to deal the damage for you is already enough advantage with the current threat mechanics) or be group heals aside from the dedicated talent path that provides some group regen.

How about a channeling spell that deal more and more damages over time, but it also drains your health more and more the longer you channel. If you can survive the entire channeling period you could add a second effect on your minions, like they get hp restored, bonus armor/resists or a temporary SP/attack damage buff.

 

[0.mY.g0d]

Lot of nice new Features! But for me there is too much influence of other games, too...


Pummel - Final Fantasy 6

Intimidating Howl - Priests Fear of WoW?!

Gravity Pull - Final Fantasy (same effect, different Name)

Nether Walk, Possession - Effects sounds quite Dota-like

Shadow Image - WC3 Blademaster ability/Dota

Shield throw, the wannabe Captain America - Sounds for me like a strength dependant ability...as it is intended to depend on spellpower you should perhaps make it more kinda "magic" related. Like the shield being charged with holy energy soaring through enemy lines.

Dispel Magic - Hasn't got Mage dispell too?

just my 2 Cents.

 

[Kyuzo_dono]

"Power" -> spellpower???!?!
"Luck" -> Crit?!?
"Stamina" -> Health??!!!
Bishop -> Needs an even more amount of aggro?
...
*Poker Face*... holy f... Ctrl+W

 

[doubtful]

Lot of nice new Features! But for me there is too much influence of other games, too...


Pummel - Final Fantasy 6

Intimidating Howl - Priests Fear of WoW?!

Gravity Pull - Final Fantasy (same effect, different Name)

Nether Walk, Possession - Effects sounds quite Dota-like

Shadow Image - WC3 Blademaster ability/Dota

Shield throw, the wannabe Captain America - Sounds for me like a strength dependant ability...as it is intended to depend on spellpower you should perhaps make it more kinda "magic" related. Like the shield being charged with holy energy soaring through enemy lines.

Dispel Magic - Hasn't got Mage dispell too?

just my 2 Cents.

A totally meaningless comment. I really dont want to comment further.

 

[water_Knight]

Necromancers are fine as it is. I play a nerco heck it is all i play. Don't ruin necro!!!

Possess will be the best skill in the game period.

If anything get rid of Dark Funnel and give them a new summon!!! Skeleton Archer.

 

[exoe]

I've skimmed through first post quickly and I like most what I saw, most classes will have some tough choices to make when getting rid of spells. In some cases spells will only be worth getting with a certain talent tree or another spell to go in a combo, seems quite interesting like Preservation and Balance of Life.

This may be asking too much, but I would be really happy if you added some class-specific quests like the ones Gaia's Retaliation Part I to get these spells or have it as a prerequisite. I'm not sure if you or war3 editor has the necessary resources for that but anything close to that experience would be great.

Oh and Crusader's "Pummel" and Monk's "Shattering Strike" spell names should be switched/changed 'cause Monk is the one attacking with fists.

 

[Jumbo]

Zwie I already made some suggestions for necro spells. The life drain on minions and life transfer to minions, but anyway:

Other ideas include:
Mark of Horror: Single target friendly buff. All enemies will avoid attacking the buffed target as long as there are other targets for them to attack nearby. Can also be self cast. Lasts for 4 seconds. Aggro will not be reduced by the effect, simply ignored for the duration. 60 seconds cooldown. Low mana cost.

Reanimation: Self-buff. When used, the necromancer's max hp is reduced by 50% for the duration of the buff. When the necromancer is killed while under the effect of the buff, he is, after two seconds, ressurrected with all threat removed and 100% hp and 50% mana. Buff lasts 15 seconds. Cooldown 120 seconds. No mana cost.

Curse of Boiling Blood: Curses an enemy unit or an allied hero including self-cast with increased damage taken by physical attacks by 20%. The attack speed of the target is, however, also increased by X x level and its spell haste increased by X x Level. Lasts 10 seconds. Costs 5 mana. (The idea here is to use it on enemies that need to be taken down quickly and preferably while they are stunlocked. Otherwise it can act as a buff on dps). Cooldown: 30 seconds.

Vampiric Touch: Only affects targets under the effect of Mark of the vampire. When used on a target with less than 30 % hp left, 25% of the target's remaining hitpoints are transfered to the necromancer. If the target has 10% hp left or less, the target's hitpoints are tranfered to the necromancer and it instantly dies. On bosses this instead deals 2x spell damage to bosses below 30% and 5x Spell dmg as shadow damage to bosses below 10%.

Aura of Despair: All enemies within medium range of the necromancer have attack speed and spell haste moderately reduced for the duration of the spell. All necromancer minions have their attack speed and spell haste increased. Lasts 6 seconds. Channelling. Mana cost: medium. Cooldown: 40 seconds.

Curse of Corruption: cast on a friendly target. Any enemy that attacks the buffed target with melee attacks is afflicted by the Corruption disease. This disease deals 3x shadow dmg to them over 10 seconds and reduces their shadow resistance by 50%. The buff lasts 8 seconds.

Necrophilic transmogrification (hehe funny name): The necromancer transforms into a lich. While in this form Shadow resistance is increased by 40. All other resistances reduced by 20. Armor increased by X x Level. All shadow damage dealt increased by ??% (quite a lot, but perhaps a fixed percentage). All minions rapidly regenerate hp and mana. Movement speed of the necromancer reduced a little. Lasts 12 seconds. Cooldown 120 seconds. Mana cost: high.

Dissolution: Deals X x spell power Fire damage over 10 seconds. If the target dies within the effect, it explodes and its remains are flung into nearby enemies dealing X spell power physical damage. The spell is channelling. Mana cost: Low. Cooldown: 6 seconds. (Here the point is that the channeling part doesn't deal better damage than more direct single target necro spells. The real reason for using this spell is the great aoe damage if the target dies.)

Ghost Armor: Activate/deactivate spell. The necromancer takes on the form of an ethereal being. He is immune to all physical attacks, but the shield rapidly drains his mana. The spell does not affect aggro and enemies who are aggroed by the necromancer will continue to attack him even if their attacks are physical and deal no damage. The necromancer cannot himself use normal attack, but can still cast spells. (Here the idea is that the mana drain should be very consuming. Sure, you can survive for 6-8 seconds or something, but then you'll have no mana left and will be useless. Therefore it is based around emergency situations of all sorts. Also keep in mind that it can be deactived at any time, perhaps with a 2 second minimum to prevent abuse.). Cooldown 20 seconds.

The numbers I have provided are to be taken lightly, the overall idea of each spell is what is important here.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

I've skimmed through first post quickly and I like most what I saw, most classes will have some tough choices to make when getting rid of spells. In some cases spells will only be worth getting with a certain talent tree or another spell to go in a combo, seems quite interesting like Preservation and Balance of Life.

Yeah I always had some talents in mind when I made those ability ideas. I think it will allow for some pretty unique new playstyles, especially the STR crus or the tanking zerker with shields.

This may be asking too much, but I would be really happy if you added some class-specific quests like the ones Gaia's Retaliation Part I to get these spells or have it as a prerequisite. I'm not sure if you or war3 editor has the necessary resources for that but anything close to that experience would be great.

It's definitely not impossible. However, the "work in, use out" formula is quite distorted here. This basicly means I'd have to create 10 totally unique quests, but only 1 quest will be playable by the player.
This is no problem when making games as a team and having the manpower to do that, but for me as a single person making this map, it's not really an option.

Oh and Crusader's "Pummel" and Monk's "Shattering Strike" spell names should be switched/changed 'cause Monk is the one attacking with fists.

Yeah, maybe right.

Zwie I already made some suggestions for necro spells. The life drain on minions and life transfer to minions, but anyway:

Other ideas include:
Mark of Horror: Single target friendly buff. All enemies will avoid attacking the buffed target as long as there are other targets for them to attack nearby. Can also be self cast. Lasts for 4 seconds. Aggro will not be reduced by the effect, simply ignored for the duration. 60 seconds cooldown. Low mana cost.

Reanimation: Self-buff. When used, the necromancer's max hp is reduced by 50% for the duration of the buff. When the necromancer is killed while under the effect of the buff, he is, after two seconds, ressurrected with all threat removed and 100% hp and 50% mana. Buff lasts 15 seconds. Cooldown 120 seconds. No mana cost.

Curse of Boiling Blood: Curses an enemy unit or an allied hero including self-cast with increased damage taken by physical attacks by 20%. The attack speed of the target is, however, also increased by 20% and its spell haste increased by X x Level. Lasts 10 seconds. Costs 5 mana. (The idea here is to use it on enemies that need to be taken down quickly and preferably while they are stunlocked. Otherwise it can act as a buff on dps). Cooldown: 30 seconds.

Vampiric Touch: Only affects targets under the effect of Mark of the vampire. When used on a target with less than 30 % hp left, 25% of the target's remaining hitpoints are tranfered to the necromancer. If the target has 10% hp left or less, the target's hitpoints are tranfered to the necromancer and it instantly dies. On bosses this instead deals 2x spell damage to bosses below 30% and 5x Spell dmg as shadow damage to bosses below 10%.

Aura of Despair: All enemies within medium range of the necromancer have attack speed and spell haste moderately reduced for the duration of the spell. All necromancer minions have their attack speed and spell haste increased. Lasts 6 seconds. Channelling. Mana cost: medium. Cooldown: 40 seconds.

Curse of Corruption: cast on a friendly target. Any enemy that attacks the buffed target with melee attacks is afflicted by the Corruption disease. This disease deals 3x shadow dmg to them over 10 seconds and reduces their shadow resistance by 50%. The buff lasts 8 seconds.

Necrophilic transmogrification (hehe funny name): The necromancer transforms into a lich. While in this form Shadow resistance is increased by 40. All other resistances reduced by 20. Armor increased by X x Level. All shadow damage dealt increased by ??% (quite a lot, but perhaps a fixed percentage). All minions rapidly regenerate hp and mana. Movement speed of the necromancer reduced a little. Lasts 12 seconds. Cooldown 120 seconds. Mana cost: high.

Dissolution: Deals X x spell power Fire damage over 10 seconds. If the target dies within the effect, it explodes and its remains are flung into nearby enemies dealing X spell power physical damage. The spell is channelling. Mana cost: Low. Cooldown: 6 seconds. (Here the point is that the channeling part doesn't deal better damage than more direct single target necro spells. The real reason for using this spell is the great aoe damage if the target dies.)

The numbers I have provided are to be taken lightly, the overall idea of each spell is what is important here.

Hmm... I don't really see how those suggestions improve on the spellcaster-y feel of the necromancer. There isn't any real interaction added between the minions and the master on these suggestions. I don't regard semi-passive buffs to minions a real contribution to the problem the necromancer has.


However, I like the idea of an "anti taunt" ability. I might add it in the future.

 

[Jumbo]

Btw also check the ghost armor I just added.

Ps. another idea:
Conjure Flesh: The necromancer conjures a corpse (model could be: villager/bandit/villager woman or maybe zombie) at target point. The corpse can either be used for skeleton feed or corpse explosion. (The corpse is not a dead unit in the editor. It is a living unit playing dead animation.) It should only be targetable by corpse explosion and necromancer minions. The corpse 'dries out' (is removed) after 10 seconds (with some special effect to hide the fact that there isn't an animation for its death in game )

Feast of the Cadaver: Spell with aoe target (the nearest corpse to the aoe circle will be selected). Orders all melee skeletons to consume the flesh of a nearby corpse. This works for both conjured and real corpses. The effects are different, however. Feasting on real corpses grants healing. Feasting on conjured corpses increases Attack power, attack speed and movement speed for 10 seconds. It takes up to 8 seconds to receive full hitpoints or 5 seconds for the conjured corpse buff. (I'm not sure it is possible to trigger the effect both working for real corpses like Cannibalize and also working for the other effect. But I suppose the master of coding Zwiebelchen can do it.)

 

[Zwiebelchen]

It's possible, but it's not really a useful addition to the Necromancer skillset.
I highly doubt anyone would sacrifice an important ability for that. There's simply more important stuff to take with the 9 abil restriction.

 

[Jumbo]

Perhaps. Although with the right numbers, anything can prove useful. Also, the necro lacks survivability. Now, the sorceress will get a teleport and slowing abilities, while the necro still has no way of surviving in emergency situations. Every other class has this one way or another.

 

[_lycan]

i don't recommend adding possession into the game unless the spells come nerfed to the user because else you would have to nerf mobs so those spells aren't overpowered when controlled by the user (and thus making the game a lot easier which is not the optimal thing to do), dota has and had many problems because of enchant and they only got a couple of creeps with spells, think of that on a massive scale when having to balance it around also in not making it overpowered (consider that if it's too strong or too weak it'll either be not picker or always picked for dungeons) and not only that but also consider that there might be a spell (as there always is) that's preffered over the rest thus making the spell kinda useless.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

i don't recommend adding possession into the game unless the spells come nerfed to the user because else you would have to nerf mobs so those spells aren't overpowered when controlled by the user (and thus making the game a lot easier which is not the optimal thing to do), dota has and had many problems because of enchant and they only got a couple of creeps with spells, think of that on a massive scale when having to balance it around also in not making it overpowered (consider that if it's too strong or too weak it'll either be not picker or always picked for dungeons) and not only that but also consider that there might be a spell (as there always is) that's preffered over the rest thus making the spell kinda useless.

I understand your concern, but I don't think we are going to run into problems with the current implementation. As you lose your other summoning abilities, it kinda makes up for the power that creeps have over normal minions. Also, it comes with the significant drawback that once you lose your possessed creature, there's no way to get it back other than possessing a new one. So in the end, I assume only hardcore players will actually use this spell in dungeons (as they would have to enter/leave the dungeon every time they need to re-possess). Which imho is fine. The skeletons will always be the main focus of the necromancer.

Consider possession more as a funny experimental skill that might or might not make a difference in a difficult battle. I never intended the game to always be perfectly balanced on e-sports level. There's always gonna be some spells, items or battles that are added just for fun or simply for coolness factor. I don't want Gaias to be too close to an MMO experience. It should always be taken as what it is: a warcraft III funmap.

As long as possession isn't outright "broken", it's fine if some possessed creeps might be more useful than others. I want players to play with the game mechanics and think about them and use them to their advantage.
That's why I never randomized the cooldowns of Lady Carimedraz to get rid of that "Inferno Taunt" tactic that wasn't my initial intention on how to beat the encounter.
That's also why I implemented items like the Glacier Staff or why the Crucify ability only hits enemies in a cross-shape instead of circle. You won't find something like this in real MMOs, because it's more trouble than it's worth if you make a game on a commercial basis.

Some metagaming here and there is imho an important fun factor to any multiplayer game. I love numbercrunching and I love exploiting some game mechanics here and there. I wouldn't want that to go entirely, honestly.


tl:dr - if it doesn't ruin the fun for other players, it's fine if it is a little imbalanced.

 

[morning]

Why don't you try the hunter pawn can ride?

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Why don't you try the hunter pawn can ride?

 

[morning]

Sorry, I not too would English, I though think a good idea but can't communicate with you.

 

[morning]

I have a question about 2 errors, do you know hunter cannot pick the quest item at lv 10 into inventory and it's wrongly modified entering"The Bandit Hideout" when come out from "The Bandit Hideout"?

 

[Zwiebelchen]

I think I understand what you are saying now. The first is a bug that's going to be fixed in the next version. You can still complete this quest on older versions of this map if you can't wait.
The latter ... I think you are referring to the message that displays when leaving and that it is wrong? Didn't notice, gonna check that.

 

[meraioan]

Whats the ETA on the new update?

 

[Zwiebelchen]

It will still take a while. I'm still working on the new character models and couldn't find the time to finish them yet.

 

[Ihazdialup]

Im assuming that all of those stats are going to be capped at 25.

And to deal with the crit damage and bonus. Will it be (1.XX)(current critchance) or is it (current critchance%)+(x%) where x is the level of the ability basically since each level adds +1% chance.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Im assuming that all of those stats are going to be capped at 25.

And to deal with the crit damage and bonus. Will it be (1.XX)(current critchance) or is it (current critchance%)+(x%) where x is the level of the ability basically since each level adds +1% chance.

It's a linear bonus. So 25 points in luck will add 25% crit, not increase your current crit by 25%.

 

[PachaXD]

great!

Just amaizing job! im really looking forward for that stats remake, seems amaizing and will really bring diversity to the game, the ways to customize our characters have never been this good, time to start trying out builds at all classes! i just hope for a dummy, please xD im in love with that skill for serker tank which resets on evasion, just great to have something that hopefully we can spam a bit more ! i STILL think that serker needs a lower cd more spameable skill, at least at the dps branches for now :/ necro seems like going in the right path, yet not still there. As for sorc i wanted some changes in our general rotation xD now im probably changing spell mirror for that "blink" and mmm maybe fireball for pull will need to see haha. The era of str crusaders is finally here.... long awaited day! thanks! lol and well those are my favorite classes sn i wont talk much about the others haha overall amaizing, thanks for this game <3

 

[Ihazdialup]

I'd love to see a berserker skill that consumes stacks of berserker rage, but if only you're still able to obtain stacks of berserker rage after you use that skill.

 

[Malygos10]

i don't recommend adding possession into the game unless the spells come nerfed to the user because else you would have to nerf mobs so those spells aren't overpowered when controlled by the user.

So does that mean that you'll be able to actually control possessed creeps? But even so it still loses 50% of its hp.

dota has and had many problems because of enchant and they only got a couple of creeps with spells.

I've never heard of enchant or holy persuation being overpowered. Sure you can utilize neutrals if you have good micro management skills, but their spells are the farthest thing from overpowered. You will NEVER be able to win a game with a couple of dominated neutrals with shitty skills. Do you even know what you're talking about? Also consider that even if those spells were as overpowered as you play them out to be (even though it's laughable), in chen's case you're basically sacrificing the fifth slot for an almost useless hero that can contribute very little in teamfights and has to rely on micro. As for enchantress, well she's extremely squishy and the enchanted creeps only last for a couple of minutes (forgot how long it was, I don't play enchantress)

 

[Ihazdialup]

Can we please stop having flame wars over DoTA on this forums, if you have a bone to pick can you please move it to private messages?

Thank You, I may not be a mod, but I feel like this flame wars over DoTA, a game in no way related to Gaias, just leads to pointless insults and dislike for one another.

Again, Thank You for reading.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Just to give a small status update;
I'm almost done with the rework of the cleric character model. There's just some minor adjustments left. As soon as those are done, I will give you a new screenshot.

Next on my list is the magician model.

 

[Ihazdialup]

Can we not add dispel magic to bishop, I feel like that takes away uniqueness from the Magician classes since they already get the exact same skill.

 

[Kyuzo_dono]

Can we not add dispel magic to bishop, I feel like that takes away uniqueness from the Magician classes since they already get the exact same skill.

I feels the exact sames. I even hypothesized that someone has hacked Zwieb's forum account and is toying with us. Not that he wasn't originally too.. what with the "dance my puppets dance" thing there.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Can we not add dispel magic to bishop, I feel like that takes away uniqueness from the Magician classes since they already get the exact same skill.

I added it to allow for new mechanics on bossfights that require dispel.

With just the magician having a dispel spell, group composition would be way too limited in those cases. Remember that the bishop has to sacrifice something for dispel. And the magician aswell. So this allows a little bit more freedom.

 

[Ihazdialup]

Okay, fair enough

 

[Jumbo]

I thought about this Zwei. Why not make the variation through the bishop version being aoe? So you dispel several targets inside an aoe circle, but the spell is more costly and perhaps longer cooldown. That would add variation while keeping the basic functionality the same.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

I thought about this Zwei. Why not make the variation through the bishop version being aoe? So you dispel several targets inside an aoe circle, but the spell is more costly and perhaps longer cooldown. That would add variation while keeping the basic functionality the same.

Yeah that's always an option. I'll see what I think about it when I'm actually coding the spells.

 

[grekern]

Yeah that's always an option. I'll see what I think about it when I'm actually coding the spells.

An idea that sprung to mind is that the bish makes a small cleansing sphere for about 5 seconds on a target area. Any ally who enters will get the debuffs removed. The area should be small enough so you can fit a maximum of 2 people at once so you can't easily dispell the entire team at once.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Finished the priest texture rewrap and team-colored hair. Again, this base skin is only for testing purposes; in the final "naked" version, all characters will wear pants. Also, the cloth in front of his legs is just a placeholder texture. Each armor skin that gets applied to the model also changes the cloth.

Squire

Cleric

 

[Ihazdialup]

Looks good, keep up the awesome work

 

[TooMuch]

Druid's Life Infusion

I understand the battle-resurrect concept. But if everyone dies and the druid survives. Someone is going to live and be happy and everyone else is going to have to wait and lose gold.

So will the druid still be considered an off-healer? Seeming how the bishop still has some major advantages over the druid.

 

[Shamu]

I understand the battle-resurrect concept. But if everyone dies and the druid survives. Someone is going to live and be happy and everyone else is going to have to wait and lose gold.

So will the druid still be considered an off-healer? Seeming how the bishop still has some major advantages over the druid.

Can't you just repick/reload if you really don't want to lose gold? If you saved recently you even have a shorter downtime (which seems a bit odd). Or is this considered abusing mechanics?

 

[TooMuch]

well yes you can, but that's a limit to 3 loads per game. However, you misunderstood me. I'm simply questioning the druid's progression into this game.

Honestly I would like to main healer as a druid because its a cool class. But he is pretty limited in that category (compared to the bishop). Its possible to heal with them, don't get me wrong there, but bishop will always be prefer. Mainly because of the shield and resurrection capabilities.

Zwieb would it be possible to make the druid's life infusion a group rez? same cd, less health like 75%. So that they have to recover and stuff. just a suggestion.

 

[Shamu]

Quite honestly, as long as there is more than one class, and they're not played exactly the same, you'll always prefer one over the other. The only thing you can do against that is having different encounters favor different classes. Making the druid into a second bishop would be rather boring though, so I like that you're at least asking for a different type of ressurrection.

But then there's your next problem: isn't the druid supposed to rezz during combat, while the bishop does it after combat? You wouldn't be able to use it afterwards to avoid gold loss if you use it during combat.

 

[Ihazdialup]

Actually that WOULD be quite neat, have Druid's rezz have a smaller cooldown, and only be usable during combat with an npc...

 

[Zwiebelchen]

I could balance that new res with a much higher mana cost and remove the cooldown. But that would practically remove it's intended purpose of a battle-res.