Grog'Narc Kit Reveal

Happy Wednesday Patrons!

With the last kit reveal directly in the rear view mirror, we are here with a rereveal of a beloved fan favorite. While the majority of his kit was released previous, he went through phases of internal testing and was ultimately removed while we created the new ability system. We gave him a lot of updates and QOL that would serve him well in the long run and we wanted to give you a full rundown of the kit he will release with and why some of the decisions were made to make specific changes to the kit. We hope this inside look at our though processes are insightful and help to better understand the direction we have for Ethereal. So without further ado, Grog'narc: Primordial Wrath!

• Passive - Strong as Rock (Reworked)

Getting hit by a Basic Attack deals Magic Damage back to the attacker that scales based on your Armor.

This ability previously was the inability to get knocked up and out of combat turns into a ball and rolls. This was reworked for a few different reasons. First being the most obvious, his movement speed bonus was just a variation of Sprint Mode which we added to all characters in the game. The other reason was the ability to not be knocked up also included pulls and knockbacks. This was insanely strong and often times felt like a bug to other players instead of the Grog'narc doing anything productive and meaningful.

• Special - Lodestones (Reworked)

Passive: Damaging enemies with spells or attacks increases Armor and Magic Resist, stacking up to 5 times.

Active: Can only be activated at max stacks. Activate to consume all stacks and granting a shield for a duration. Can not gain more stacks while shielded.

This is quite a bigger identity change to the way Grog is played compared to the last iteration of his Special. Previously he passively generated stacks in the form of floating stones that would deal damage to targets hit, he could throw them for damage, and they could block projectile. This was extremely overloaded while simultaneously being extremely difficult to maneuver successfully as the rocks would explode when hitting minions and Myths alike. The new ability feeds into his ability to be a front line tank who wants to survive in the heat of combat over long durations.

• Ability One - A Big Boulder

Pick up a boulder, becoming slowed by 30%. Recast to throw the rock in a target direction with infinite range. Upon colliding with a Myth or terrain, it will stun all targets nearby and deal Magic Damage. 

This ability is largely unchanged. It gives him ranged engage options which currently are lacking overall in Ethereal. One big change we made here was increasing the stun duration based on ability level, rather than on travel time. 

• Ability Two - Great Divide

Grog'Narc stomps the ground causing a destructible wall to erupt from the ground. The wall gets wider based on rank.

• Ability Three - Massive Rupture

Slam the ground causing a fissure in the ground that pulls all enemies in front of him to him and deals Magical Damage.

This ability used to only be a minor pull at the end of the range, but it was very inconsistent and felt like it was buggy more than it was doing what it should have. Making it a full pull at all ranges is much smoother and reliable.

• Ultimate - Lithoquake

Channel and pummel the ground creating a large earthquake. While channeling, Grog'Narc gains damage reduction and deals Magic Damage to all targets in the area. Myths are slowed by a large amount. This deals Mythical Damage to Towers instead.

Overall many changes were made to further his identity and lower his skill floor to make him an accessible tank while still having places in his kit for skill expression to shine without giving the impression of his kit being buggy or working against your end goals as the premier Tank. Let us know what you think of the changes! Grog'Narc will be playable in the next open test for Ethereal: Clash of Souls.

As always thanks for the support,

Undying Games ~~