New hidden augment idea : The Runesmith

Rookk

this is another one of my concepts of a unique hidden subclass/augment with this one being closer to the just a single augment type thing being something gained from having the right artisan professions. the choices are pretty simple and all techincally do the same thing but just for different items first requiring you to be an enchanter at max level with than you need to make your choice between being a wood worker, an armorer (this one will require a further choice between light with clothing, medium with leather, or heavy with metal), or being a weaponsmith with than lastly, you need to have the corresponding processor class so if your specialty is making weapons or heavy armor, you need metal working or if your specialty is making bows, staves, wands, and wooden shields, you need the wood working processor profession.

now then, as for what this unique augment is, it lets you make your abilities center around runes which take longer to cast but increase the spells effects and change the VFX to look like you write runes before either if its something like a fireball, the attack shoots off or interestingly for target AoEs, the runes you inscribed in the air launch to your targeted location and activate there meanign that even if the casting time is longer, your spells also do get the added benefit of being harder than normal spells to read the location of where they are going to be going. this probably sounds like a 'cool but why all the effort for something so basic?' type thing which is where the really cool part and actually useful gameplaywise thing happens being that your crafted gear gains the ability to give you spells based on what you make with unqiue runesmith recepies being something you can find granting your gear a unqiue almost legendary property which of course, these gear pieces would be covered in badass runes that glow and shit and truly look badass as all hell kinda like the order of the lamp armor and the runepriest's weaponry from ESO with ANYONE using this gear can get this benefit but with some pros and cons to consider. the pros first are that you can cast as powerful or more powerful spells than mages at little to no cost and cast time but the major cons would be the gear degrades faster, can only bhe repaired by runesmiths meaning runesmiths can charge far more for repairs on top of the gears initial cost also being higher with the durability is also in general worse than normal armor due to the 'unstable magic within causing the armor to degrade faster' unless the gears only benefit from the runesmithing is being far more durable and strong, and the last con is that the cooldowns would be double or maybe even tripple a similar spell cast normally.

now as for examples of what this could all look like, you could have a set of heavy armor that allows for a barrier cast on you and your entire party that maybe is the size of each members health bar menaing if they have 5000 hp, thats gonna be the barriers strength or if they are tank like you with like 10 to 15k hp, then thats the barriers strength or it could be a staff that grants the ability to channel a MASSIVE fireball that is clear and easy for enemies to see what is happening but SERIOUSLY punishing if they dont merc you before its done or do something to mitigate the dmg or get out of the way or maybe its a badass flaming greatswords that grants a toggled spell that lets you boost ALL attacks with some SERIOUS fire dmg but at the cost that each spell cast or attack made eats a chunk of your swords durability.

all in all, it would basically be a similar thing to my old artificer idea but where that one is more in line with summoners focusing on granting gear that improves your abilities despite being a normal ass summoner and changes your summons to be artificer constructs, this one is more on a mage style of combat focused around spell casting.

ReLamas

This concept of a unique hidden subclass/augment that centers around runes sounds like an intriguing addition to Ashes of Creation. It introduces a new layer of customization and strategy for players who focus on artisan professions, especially those who reach the max level as enchanters and then specialize further. The idea of crafting gear with runes that enhance abilities and offer a unique visual experience is fantastic. It not only adds depth to the gameplay but also provides a distinct visual identity for characters who choose this path.

I particularly like the idea of runes being harder to read and predict in PvP scenarios, adding an extra layer of tactical gameplay. The balance of pros and cons, like the increased power of spells versus faster gear degradation and longer cooldowns, seems well thought out and could lead to interesting trade-offs for players.

Overall, this concept aligns well with the game's vision of deep customization and player-driven content. It would be exciting to see how such a system could be integrated into the game's lore and mechanics. Great idea!

arkileo

This is a lot for a hidden augment, and I think it goes beyond what an augment is intended to be. I'm also not a fan of tying crafting professions to combat choices, it kind of opens the door for picks based on meta.

That said, I do like the idea of collectable augments from things like quests and dungeons/raids. It would be an interesting progression addition, and could help keep older content relevant.

Rookk

arkileo wrote: »

This is a lot for a hidden augment, and I think it goes beyond what an augment is intended to be. I'm also not a fan of tying crafting professions to combat choices, it kind of opens the door for picks based on meta.

That said, I do like the idea of collectable augments from things like quests and dungeons/raids. It would be an interesting progression addition, and could help keep older content relevant.

thats more than fair. honestly part of me making these ideas is to show examples of these sorta over arching concepts for further build customization and to open the door to disccusion on the subject so honestly i would love to hear ideas of yours as well if you make any cause i also like the general concept of skill lines/augments/specific subclasses for specific classes earned through your own personal progression on your character to help make it so seeing someone throw out a unique ability that could still be hella similar still also looks well, legendary kinda akin to seeing someone in warframe running around on a prime frame or in oldschool WoW, seeing a guy with a legendary sword on their back with some cool ass VFX

Rookk

ReLamas wrote: »

This concept of a unique hidden subclass/augment that centers around runes sounds like an intriguing addition to Ashes of Creation. It introduces a new layer of customization and strategy for players who focus on artisan professions, especially those who reach the max level as enchanters and then specialize further. The idea of crafting gear with runes that enhance abilities and offer a unique visual experience is fantastic. It not only adds depth to the gameplay but also provides a distinct visual identity for characters who choose this path.

I particularly like the idea of runes being harder to read and predict in PvP scenarios, adding an extra layer of tactical gameplay. The balance of pros and cons, like the increased power of spells versus faster gear degradation and longer cooldowns, seems well thought out and could lead to interesting trade-offs for players.

Overall, this concept aligns well with the game's vision of deep customization and player-driven content. It would be exciting to see how such a system could be integrated into the game's lore and mechanics. Great idea!

ty much good sir! i like to do my best with these concepts to make them actually good and something at least well thought out on a conceptual level even if the specific stats would haveta come later if they were actually used ;D