Exiel Gameplay | Ethereal: Clash of Souls

Happy Tuesday Patrons!

Today we will be showcasing some of the many changes we have made to our premier assassin, Exiel: the Blades of Duality. The kit was first announced around 1 year ago and we have made some large scale improvements that further his fantasy of being a Burst Assassin. Similar to the last post, this version of his kit will be playable in the next open test which you will hear more about in the post on Friday!

In the previous iteration of Exiel's kit, his Ability Two was a channeled effect that parried basic attacks and granted him a shield at the end of its duration. After the change, Ability Two (Shade's Hunt) is strictly an offensive ability with added utility. The biggest reason for this change was to fit the fast pace playstyle we wanted for his kit. The ability now allows him to catch out targets and combo with his other abilities without breaking any part of action within his gameplay. The other big change was on his Passive (Hidden Force). We felt like the previous iteration was not something players wanted to play around as it really only tied in with the cooldown reset on his ultimate (More on this later). This was also a clear opportunity to include Shade (His alter ego for your lore buffs) in a more streamlined way. Every 3rd Basic Attack or Ability hit will empower Exiel's next Basic Attack to be accompanied by a slash around him from Shade.

There are also quite a few quality of life changes we made to his kit over the course of development as well to further those goals. His Special Ability (My Other Half) now grants Attack Speed in order to better synergize with the new Passive. His Ultimate (Two as One) felt very restrictive in testing and we got a lot of feedback from our testers that it just didn't feel good to use in certain scenarios. As such, the execution now completely resets the ability cooldown on takedown regardless of the Passive affliction and if an Ally kills your target before your recast timer runs out, you will no longer be punished for it.

Passive - Hidden Force
https://youtu.be/2j7hM-7CZSY

Every 3rd basic attack or ability hit, Exiels next basic attack causes Shade to slash his swords and applying Hidden Force. Hidden Force grants True Sight to enemy Myths for 8 seconds. Takedowns on enemy Myths fully stack this ability.

Special - My Other Half
https://youtu.be/cm0y2e3ozwY

Shade takes over Exiels body for a period of time, gaining Attack Speed and turning basic attack damage from Physical to Magical and deals percentage Max Health as bonus Magic Damage. During this time Exiel can not cast abilities. This ability can only be canceled after half of the duration.

Ability One - Scissor Blades
https://youtu.be/Qmdu5PKjnyA

Exiel stabs his sword forward dealing Physical Damage to all enemies hit, before slashing both swords in front of him dealing the same damage again in an arc.

Ability Two - Shade's Hunt
https://youtu.be/KRQx6VY9mJM

Shade targets an enemy Myth or monster and sends a corruption after them. When the corruption arrives the target is slowed by a percentage. Exiel's next Basic Attack or Ability consumes the slow dealing bonus Magical Damage and disarming the target. Consuming the mark on a jungle camp heals Exiel.

Ability Three - Shadow Slip
https://youtu.be/MApOj-HjuUA

Exiel lunges a short distance forward becoming Invisible for a duration and empowering the next Basic Attack to deal Physical Damage. Casting a Basic Attack or Ability breaks Invisibility. Killing a Myth resets this cooldown.

Ultimate - Two as One
https://youtu.be/cd_4X3QZj7Y

Shade forces his way out of Exiel in a target direction. If Shade makes contact with an Enemy Myth, he enters their body dealing Magic Damage and applying a decaying slow. Exiel can recast to teleport to the target for a duration, slicing upwards dealing Physical Damage. If the target's health is below a Max Hp threshold they are executed instead. If the target dies during this ability, the cooldown is reset.

We are extremely excited about the Blades of Duality and want to hear more about your thoughts on the changes we made in the discord!

See y'all on Friday!

Undying Games ~~