[Role Playing Game] X Hero Siege inspired map

[SnowYell]

Hi

I am at the making of a map mainly inspired by the X Hero Siege map, if anyone is familiar with this.
Although this map has a unique flavour to its gamestyle, it does lack some potential to get the quality it could possibly get.

The idea is set and I am working on it. However, as I was designing my Heroes I ran into a problem, in which I hope you guys may be able to help me resolve.

When you pick a Hero, the Hero will have a passive and a total of 8 learnable abilities. The abilities will be classified as 2 Q, 2 W, 2 E and 2 R abilities. E.g. do you choose Q ability "Fire Bolt" you will not be able to choose the other Q ability "Frost Bolt". You may, as inspired from WoW and other games, design your ability set as you find suitable for your team combo or the opposing bosses or events.

I then discovered when you add an ability, even if it is a Hero ability, the Hero will just recieve a basic unskillable/unlearnable ability. Also the Hero is not able to possess so many learnable abilities as a default.

I now stand on a crossroads. I will make the Hero start with 4 default learnable abilities for a skill-set and make a Item Shop, in which you may buy charged items items ranked Q, W, E and R. When bought, you will change the matching ability to the other one and remove the old one. Also, there will be another set of Q, W, E and R charged items that will skill-up your matching abilities.

Does this make sense?

I am not sure if this is how I want it. It seems a bit clumsy and weird. Do you guys have any suggestions for another system for this?
Ask me questions if you do not follow.

Thanks for your time and reading!

 

[disruptive_]

The simplest way to do such thing would be using spellbook abilities that contains the options.
Use upgrades (spellbook can use techtree options like anyother ability) so they become available when you desire (here you need a basic trigger that make the recquired tech available for the owning player when the hero levels up). Techtrees may recquire units, in which case the trigger should create the recquired unit (this option will allow to dynamically make the ability to be available or not, by killing it and recreating it, but you didn't mention a need for this feature).
Then make a trigger that tracks whenever you cast any option abilities (this is the learn trigger, so i'm talking about the ones inside the spellbook) so you are adding that ability in the normal UI card of the hero/unit. Then remove the spellbook that has been used.

EDIT: this map uses a similar system Orc Gladiators: Revenge 1.29fc and has an unprotected version authorized by the creator. EDIT 2: LoL. Just tested the orc with wand (don't remember the name) and i'm pretty sure it uses the exact system i just mentioned above when skilling it's first skill.

This system may be useful, but is a bit more complex and has some features you didn't mention/want: [GUI-Friendly] Talent 1.24a


A even more complex but elegant approach would be using items, but i'm not talking about the old "buy item get an ability" approach mostly because its very limitative (ie. you can't learn a skill if you are not near the learn shop), but rather using a learning interface with the unit inventory, all while you are still tracking the normal inventory of the unit. Never seen a map with something like that tho.
Maybe using this: Inventory v2.1a

 

[SnowYell]

I been looking at the spellbook, but I am not quite sure if that is what I am looking for.
I might consider it, though, if there are no other things to do. :/

 

[disruptive_]

The first option i mentioned is actually done in the map i attached (the orc gladiators map, credits to pick-a-chew, who also uploaded an unprotected version of his map). Start a single player game and choose the mage wand weapon. You will note that the magic orc (?) can choose between options to skill. That's a spellbook in action. Now imagine each hero with one spellbook per ability "tree", there you have an ability option system that doesn't use the wc3 standart hero learnable abilities that, as you pointed out, is very limited.
Spellbooks will give you basically an entire UI for you to put abilities (1-11), that's the use i can see in them for your needs. You can remove them, subject them to upgrades, etc. There are also some tricks to ie. force a spellbook to close so you return to the normal UI of the unit or to another spellbook, add spellbooks to spellbooks, etc, but that's not really what you need i guess.