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To get the quickest updates regarding Alpha Two, connect your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
general talk about making augments feel unique
Rookk
Member, Alpha Two
been a while since my last post and this one aims to be kinda general with at most just an example of what im getting at but i would love if there were augments that could be earned through completing unique quests that probably usually would be solo quests making the solo content focused on altering your build or things like social or arena pvp type stuff with this concept will use the idea of a unique 'time' augment based heavily on the psijic order skill line from eso with what i talk about next being the run down of everything leading up to and than following the quest to join the hidden order of magic monks whose focus is on the protection and mending of time itself who ironically, use the power of time manipulation to fight while never affecting major events enough to change things out of fear that things could go very wrong with perhaps even the fun rp around if a player who not only joined but uses the the time augment on ANY ability to kill another player getting slapped with unique quests perhaps even involving the orders time wardens periodically trying to kill you even sometimes in the middle of serious things like boss fights EVEN AFTER your corruption is cleared UNITL you go to the order and submit to the loss of your time augment requiring you to go through the whole quest again if you wanted the time augment back.
The journey to join the psijic order, a monastic order of monks whose purpose is to protect and mend time, is a difficult one as the purpose of ensuring that there is always a future to be had as well as correct the misuse of time magic by individuals who seek to profit from a change in the progression of time is a lofty goal and one not to be taken lightly. After having begun to research a unique form of magic you learned about in a book that you found while exploring an ancient dungeon, you realized it was a form of magic thought to be impossible or at least impossible for a mortal to use it but here in your hands was a tome detailing a unique process of healing that did have limitations such as time since the damage was sustained with injuries that were too old could not be healed by this method seen as it required one to reverse the flow of time around the injured area and the further back in time one pushes it, the exponentially more magic it requires to heal however even this basic healing spell could regrow an arm if you were quick about it AND could be used on the user or a target with equally strong effect as long as the time since the injury was the same. Upon testing the theory after fully understanding by cutting your hand and than using this spell to heal it, everything stopped as suddenly EVERYTHING in the room around you from the annoying fly that had been pestering you all day to the flames of your candles around the room stopped.... even the sounds of the roudey bar patrons in the inn's bar just below your room that seemed like they would never be able to be quiet are now dead silent..... you look around only to see a man in simple robes right behind the chair of the desk you had been studying the tome at who asks if you understand what it was you just did. [choose if you would like to respond with a yes or no option] [yes option] you "I believe so, that saying your referring to my hand and the time spell and not everything else?" the man "Good... Now than, would you care to enlighten me about what you would do with this discovery?" [no option] you "No! I mean, I only meant to reverse time on my hand, not stop it all together!!" the man "Worry not, you did not stop the flow of time, I did as I desired more privacy to ask if you understand what you did..." you "you mean the healing spell? the one that reversed time?" the man "Yes... So it would seem you fully comprehend the nature of that spell than..." [Next dialogue regardless of the previous choice] The man stopped for a moment realizing that you could prove to be a suitable apprentice and guardian of time but that likewise, your comprehension so easily with such poor writings as that tome could prove to make you a serious threat if left unchecked and worse, the man knows that you fate is one that cannot be so easily ended without severe consequences... The man now pondering this conundrum asks one final question of you "Would you like a job?" [choose if you would like to respond with a yes or no option as well as one option to ask for more details to decide] [further explanation] you "What sort of job?" the man "A noble one to safeguard time itself..." [yes option] you "where do i sign up?" the man "That spell you cast was the signature and the first day will be starting perhaps sooner than you would be expecting..." with that, the man seemingly teleported you instantly to a temple in lush fields with a sky above filled with geometric lines of magic it would seem and a sky so golden, it feels as though you were pulled into another reality in an instant. [no option] you "Sorry but i'll have to refuse" the man "that is a shame..." in an instant you look down at the desk where you were SURE you were reading... SOMETHING.... but dont remember what it was.... confused and remembering that you had intended to go to the [insert name of a random dungeon different from where you got the tome that is nearby your current location] to explore... as you walk through the bar to the door, you notice a man in robes in the corner but ignore any odd feelings about him and go on with your day ready to start another adventure!
This is just one idea of how to make these sort of quests that offer interesting and unique class defining things and could even have several dedicated to your primary class that act as unique sub classess that even replace your current secondary archtype so like this one could be for a mage, bard, and cleric and all three can have unique ways the augments avalible can alter each classes playstyles and perhaps even provide the option to have uniquely more poweful classes that come with greater drawbacks than any other so for time mages for example, you could have spells that instantly appear at your enemies while also having movement as fast as a fighter by slightly altering the flow of time around you realtive to everyone else or altering the flow of time of everything in the area around you to move slower to be able to move at these crazy speeds but to manipulate time at all requires AN IMMENSE amount of magic to do so meaning either you wont be able to do it for all that long at all OR you will somehow make a D&D wizard seem like they are made out of concrete compared to you and the fact that you nearly died yesterday cause you breathed too hard....
The journey to join the psijic order, a monastic order of monks whose purpose is to protect and mend time, is a difficult one as the purpose of ensuring that there is always a future to be had as well as correct the misuse of time magic by individuals who seek to profit from a change in the progression of time is a lofty goal and one not to be taken lightly. After having begun to research a unique form of magic you learned about in a book that you found while exploring an ancient dungeon, you realized it was a form of magic thought to be impossible or at least impossible for a mortal to use it but here in your hands was a tome detailing a unique process of healing that did have limitations such as time since the damage was sustained with injuries that were too old could not be healed by this method seen as it required one to reverse the flow of time around the injured area and the further back in time one pushes it, the exponentially more magic it requires to heal however even this basic healing spell could regrow an arm if you were quick about it AND could be used on the user or a target with equally strong effect as long as the time since the injury was the same. Upon testing the theory after fully understanding by cutting your hand and than using this spell to heal it, everything stopped as suddenly EVERYTHING in the room around you from the annoying fly that had been pestering you all day to the flames of your candles around the room stopped.... even the sounds of the roudey bar patrons in the inn's bar just below your room that seemed like they would never be able to be quiet are now dead silent..... you look around only to see a man in simple robes right behind the chair of the desk you had been studying the tome at who asks if you understand what it was you just did. [choose if you would like to respond with a yes or no option] [yes option] you "I believe so, that saying your referring to my hand and the time spell and not everything else?" the man "Good... Now than, would you care to enlighten me about what you would do with this discovery?" [no option] you "No! I mean, I only meant to reverse time on my hand, not stop it all together!!" the man "Worry not, you did not stop the flow of time, I did as I desired more privacy to ask if you understand what you did..." you "you mean the healing spell? the one that reversed time?" the man "Yes... So it would seem you fully comprehend the nature of that spell than..." [Next dialogue regardless of the previous choice] The man stopped for a moment realizing that you could prove to be a suitable apprentice and guardian of time but that likewise, your comprehension so easily with such poor writings as that tome could prove to make you a serious threat if left unchecked and worse, the man knows that you fate is one that cannot be so easily ended without severe consequences... The man now pondering this conundrum asks one final question of you "Would you like a job?" [choose if you would like to respond with a yes or no option as well as one option to ask for more details to decide] [further explanation] you "What sort of job?" the man "A noble one to safeguard time itself..." [yes option] you "where do i sign up?" the man "That spell you cast was the signature and the first day will be starting perhaps sooner than you would be expecting..." with that, the man seemingly teleported you instantly to a temple in lush fields with a sky above filled with geometric lines of magic it would seem and a sky so golden, it feels as though you were pulled into another reality in an instant. [no option] you "Sorry but i'll have to refuse" the man "that is a shame..." in an instant you look down at the desk where you were SURE you were reading... SOMETHING.... but dont remember what it was.... confused and remembering that you had intended to go to the [insert name of a random dungeon different from where you got the tome that is nearby your current location] to explore... as you walk through the bar to the door, you notice a man in robes in the corner but ignore any odd feelings about him and go on with your day ready to start another adventure!
This is just one idea of how to make these sort of quests that offer interesting and unique class defining things and could even have several dedicated to your primary class that act as unique sub classess that even replace your current secondary archtype so like this one could be for a mage, bard, and cleric and all three can have unique ways the augments avalible can alter each classes playstyles and perhaps even provide the option to have uniquely more poweful classes that come with greater drawbacks than any other so for time mages for example, you could have spells that instantly appear at your enemies while also having movement as fast as a fighter by slightly altering the flow of time around you realtive to everyone else or altering the flow of time of everything in the area around you to move slower to be able to move at these crazy speeds but to manipulate time at all requires AN IMMENSE amount of magic to do so meaning either you wont be able to do it for all that long at all OR you will somehow make a D&D wizard seem like they are made out of concrete compared to you and the fact that you nearly died yesterday cause you breathed too hard....
0
Comments
there are already augments that can you already get soloing through the social organizations
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Social_organizations
well ik there are things similar to the fighters guild and mages guild skill lines from eso but im talking more generally with i just used the psijic order as one example but it could even be for things like with summoners getting a unique set of 4 different demonic or angelic augments to change what summons they can use to unique demons or angles or maybe even single magma augment that makes your abilities look and act similar to the magma sorceries in elden ring or the iron atronauchs and volcano themed stuff from eso.
beyond all of that, i also will say that this is to some degree a reiteration of an idea i had about how race changes could work if they ever decided to add races like vampires and werewolves that you have to become rather than can start as again, like in eso but extended to so many more monster races like liches or automatons or even demonoids and dragonoids and other sorts of races similar to that.
Right now, the secondary archetypes are merely “adding flavor” according to Intrepid … so there aren’t going to be 64 unique/well-defined “classes”.
I support your ideas for additional augments through specialized quests.
However, those ideas are going to have to wait until after the game releases.
I’m sure the Combat Team is up to their necks in trying to balance combat within what’s already planned for the existing primary/secondary archetype combinations. Not to mention the animation work that’s needed for Summoner variants, for example.
Looking for a positive?
With the way the Intrepid Team tends to under-promise and over-deliver, we might see character builds that eclipse the options of any MMO on the marketplace today.
oh 100%, i just wanna get these ideas in now so that way those exact devs can keep it in mind and like when building a house, can more easily prepare for the windows and doors but leaving gaps in the frame in the right spot to add shit rather than bringing it up only after the walls and the wall siding are fully up and now they have to jankily cut a hole in the pristine walls and hope it works while also not leaving gaps or looking bad ;D
What you mean is that they provide Augments that modify Active Skills rather than adding new Active Skills.
Augments are not only associated with Archetypes.
There are also Social Org, Religious, Racial, Naval and Node Augments.
these would be unique expansion type things and more importantly, hidden classes that quite frankly, i would say usually if not always should be tied to requiring you have a specific matching primary class and than this either would grant one extra augment OR replace your secondary classes 4 augments and give you something unique not only for your searching and exploration on your specific server cause even when these get found, theres no telling how long a guide to find out how to get these would last AND since steven likes things you cant get anymore, they can do rotations for these sorts of things changing the appearance of these unique solo quest class changes. hell another example would be something for fighter, tank, and probably ranger where you could get a unique anti mage class that lets you be a martial combatant who gives up some prowess with your dmg and tanking especially against physical damage in exchange for benefits against all forms of magic with there could even be fun dispell and counterspell type players with the ground AOE's that take a second to trigger where a skilled anti mage managing their resources and focus well could possibly kill many different healing and damage spells before they complete saving their allies either time or fucking lives
beyond that steven was speaking in reference to the core 8 classes cause 4096 unique classes are hard to balance instead of just 8 with the rare hidden classes i mentioned which again not only would come with sometimes more drawbacks than benefits for the purpse that they are more so meant to add to the rp and exploration as well as acting as a reward for those who like the flavor of unique fun little classes as again, these ideally would be tied to specific classes AND beyond all of that, would still be pretty much the same class my guy which you seem to miss. i specifically only stated they would get flavored augments in a different way that like the currently mentioned augments would change the effects applied but majorively not actually make new abilities so with the time and anti mage examples, a charge from a fighter with the time augment would make them move faster as they accelerate their flow of time while than slowing enemies hit by them or an anti mages charge would have a ethereal light blue aura build around them that massively increases their magic dmg negation/mitigation AND silences anyone hit by them preventing them from casting spells temporarily.