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Suggestion: Magic Burden, Max Tolerance/Saturation. Gear/Craft System.
GSenna
Member
OVERVIEW
A two-face system that creates a trinket mechanic and an inscription/runework mechanic, tolerance and saturation, respectively. Tolerance determines how much magical burden a PC (Player Character) can handle, it's directly related to level with possible influences from class/talents. Saturation determines how much magical burden an item can store, it would be directly tied to the items level, rarity, quality, material and inversely proportionate to it's physical defense.
TOLERANCE
Tolerance is a stat, much the same as HP/Stamina/Mana, in which it would grow as your character level progresses. Much the same as those stats, it could receive influence from the PC class, talents and race. The main purpose of tolerance is to add another layer of customization to the PC gear system without creating a grind wheel.
How it works?
Tolerance determines the maximum amount of magical burden the PC can take from equipping trinkets - rings, necklaces, earrings, toe rings, etc. Each individual piece will have a burden value related to the effects given by the trinket. For example, let's say that 1 stat point adds 1 burden, a ring with +3 Strength and +4 Dexterity would add 7 burden to the PC tolerance. It also works for text-based effects, like, "Every third strike deals X bonus damage." by assigning the effect an arbitrary burden value based on balancing.
The system works with the standard 2 ring slot, 1 necklace slot, but I believe it would be much better fit for an expanded trinket system. Imagine a 10-ring slot system, with 2 ear ring slots, 1 necklace, 1 choker, 2 toe-rings and 4 piercings. I know, nuts, right? But that's only if every slot needs to be filled. With tolerance, the player needs to decide if he wants to go for a bunch of cheap stat trinkets, or go for a couple of very expensive ones with high synergy with his build.
It adds decision-making, complexity and variety.
Advantages
Although the mechanic adds another layer of complexity, it also allows for another avenue of balancing, which might be a solution in some cases. If some effect or combination of effects are becoming more "meta", increasing their inherent burden cost might be enough to balance it out.
If going with the high amount of trinket slots, it will also have a net positive impact in the economy, because it might give purpose to early crafted trinkets. I imagine that poorer players in the beginning of the game would rather fill up with cheap stat items than go for the expensive and specific trinkets which require a good synergy to actually be a great fit.
It's fun to theory craft your build, and having more options and more depth is all the more fun. People who don't like to engage in such systems will go to reddit/forums to copy their builds anyway, so I don't really see more complexity, within reason, to be a negative.
SATURATION
In a way the saturation system is very similar to tolerance, but instead of the magical burden being tied to the character tolerance, it would be tied to a new item stat called "Saturation". Saturation is how much magical burden an item can take. The parameters to determine the numerical value of saturation will be directly related to item level, rarity, quality and material. For example, a cloth item would be able to handle more magical burden than a metal armor. Which would intentionally turn the magical saturation inversely proportionate to the physical defense of an item. Max saturation is engaged when crafting an item. Item drops are "born ready", therefore, there would need to be a balancing effort to make sure item drops respect saturation limits of crafted gear rules.
How it works?
Crafting a gear item would be composed of two different stages. Creating the base item and Inscription/Runework. The creation of the base item would be where the base stats are rolled. I like some element of randomness to crafting, so in my example/suggestion, the crafting system would have range based roll for the two main stats, Physical Defense and Max Saturation. This would result in the item on its crude state. Only with the Physical Defense stat and the magical saturation. That's stage one.
Now the crafter would add his Inscriptions/Runeworks to the item, and each of these would have a fixed burden value, but a somewhat random result. For instance, a 4-6 Strength inscription would cost 5 burden. If you roll a 4, bummer, a 5 is okay and a 6 is great. There is also the possibility of adding a critical result here, taking it to 7 or 8, but that would require further consideration.
Inscriptions/Runeworks would also consume materials, such as ink, and inscriber tips.
Different materials could also influence on the range of max. magical saturation of a specific item, for example, a special metal alloy has lower defense and higher saturation, but it's considered a heavy armor set. A specific thread of cloth could be heavier on defense and less max saturation.
It adds decision-making, complexity and variety.
Advantages
Similarly to the tolerance system, it adds another layer of complexity and removes the rigidity of most crafting systems, where Items can only have certain enchantments and you just have to roll with it. This inscription/runework system allows for another layer of balancing and variety to the entire gear system. People can be super focused one pony tricks or as varied as one can be. It will also open up to another crafting grind-wheel. Collecting inscriptions and runeworks. Basically formulas to expand their pool of possibilities. As someone who will definitely be playing as a crafter, that would be a massive incentive for me to go on dungeons, quests and engage in combat.
What am I actually suggesting?
If my suggestion has caught your interest, but there's a point or two you think is missing or not quite right, please comment. I am happy to engage and dissect my suggestion and bring it to a better form that might interest the dev team.
A two-face system that creates a trinket mechanic and an inscription/runework mechanic, tolerance and saturation, respectively. Tolerance determines how much magical burden a PC (Player Character) can handle, it's directly related to level with possible influences from class/talents. Saturation determines how much magical burden an item can store, it would be directly tied to the items level, rarity, quality, material and inversely proportionate to it's physical defense.
TOLERANCE
Tolerance is a stat, much the same as HP/Stamina/Mana, in which it would grow as your character level progresses. Much the same as those stats, it could receive influence from the PC class, talents and race. The main purpose of tolerance is to add another layer of customization to the PC gear system without creating a grind wheel.
How it works?
Tolerance determines the maximum amount of magical burden the PC can take from equipping trinkets - rings, necklaces, earrings, toe rings, etc. Each individual piece will have a burden value related to the effects given by the trinket. For example, let's say that 1 stat point adds 1 burden, a ring with +3 Strength and +4 Dexterity would add 7 burden to the PC tolerance. It also works for text-based effects, like, "Every third strike deals X bonus damage." by assigning the effect an arbitrary burden value based on balancing.
The system works with the standard 2 ring slot, 1 necklace slot, but I believe it would be much better fit for an expanded trinket system. Imagine a 10-ring slot system, with 2 ear ring slots, 1 necklace, 1 choker, 2 toe-rings and 4 piercings. I know, nuts, right? But that's only if every slot needs to be filled. With tolerance, the player needs to decide if he wants to go for a bunch of cheap stat trinkets, or go for a couple of very expensive ones with high synergy with his build.
It adds decision-making, complexity and variety.
Advantages
Although the mechanic adds another layer of complexity, it also allows for another avenue of balancing, which might be a solution in some cases. If some effect or combination of effects are becoming more "meta", increasing their inherent burden cost might be enough to balance it out.
If going with the high amount of trinket slots, it will also have a net positive impact in the economy, because it might give purpose to early crafted trinkets. I imagine that poorer players in the beginning of the game would rather fill up with cheap stat items than go for the expensive and specific trinkets which require a good synergy to actually be a great fit.
It's fun to theory craft your build, and having more options and more depth is all the more fun. People who don't like to engage in such systems will go to reddit/forums to copy their builds anyway, so I don't really see more complexity, within reason, to be a negative.
SATURATION
In a way the saturation system is very similar to tolerance, but instead of the magical burden being tied to the character tolerance, it would be tied to a new item stat called "Saturation". Saturation is how much magical burden an item can take. The parameters to determine the numerical value of saturation will be directly related to item level, rarity, quality and material. For example, a cloth item would be able to handle more magical burden than a metal armor. Which would intentionally turn the magical saturation inversely proportionate to the physical defense of an item. Max saturation is engaged when crafting an item. Item drops are "born ready", therefore, there would need to be a balancing effort to make sure item drops respect saturation limits of crafted gear rules.
How it works?
Crafting a gear item would be composed of two different stages. Creating the base item and Inscription/Runework. The creation of the base item would be where the base stats are rolled. I like some element of randomness to crafting, so in my example/suggestion, the crafting system would have range based roll for the two main stats, Physical Defense and Max Saturation. This would result in the item on its crude state. Only with the Physical Defense stat and the magical saturation. That's stage one.
Now the crafter would add his Inscriptions/Runeworks to the item, and each of these would have a fixed burden value, but a somewhat random result. For instance, a 4-6 Strength inscription would cost 5 burden. If you roll a 4, bummer, a 5 is okay and a 6 is great. There is also the possibility of adding a critical result here, taking it to 7 or 8, but that would require further consideration.
Inscriptions/Runeworks would also consume materials, such as ink, and inscriber tips.
Different materials could also influence on the range of max. magical saturation of a specific item, for example, a special metal alloy has lower defense and higher saturation, but it's considered a heavy armor set. A specific thread of cloth could be heavier on defense and less max saturation.
It adds decision-making, complexity and variety.
Advantages
Similarly to the tolerance system, it adds another layer of complexity and removes the rigidity of most crafting systems, where Items can only have certain enchantments and you just have to roll with it. This inscription/runework system allows for another layer of balancing and variety to the entire gear system. People can be super focused one pony tricks or as varied as one can be. It will also open up to another crafting grind-wheel. Collecting inscriptions and runeworks. Basically formulas to expand their pool of possibilities. As someone who will definitely be playing as a crafter, that would be a massive incentive for me to go on dungeons, quests and engage in combat.
What am I actually suggesting?
- Tolerance system for trinkets.
- High slot count for trinkets. (eg. 10 rings, 1 necklace, 1 choker, 2 earrings, 4 piercings, etc.)
- Saturation system for main gear. (Weapon, chest, legs, helmet, bracers, shoes, shields, etc.)
- Two staged Crafting System (Base item / Inscription/Runework)
- Library of Inscriptions/Runework. (Formula based, by drops, quests, sales, etc.)
If my suggestion has caught your interest, but there's a point or two you think is missing or not quite right, please comment. I am happy to engage and dissect my suggestion and bring it to a better form that might interest the dev team.
0
Comments
Definitely a possibility. There are many elements that can influence Tolerance, just as HP and Mana. Class and even talents could also do it. It's another element to allow players to customize their character to their play style.