Elemental Strike | Patreon Weekly #179

Hey Patrons!

Firstly, Patreon Poll #35 is now running! In this poll I'm gathering info on what you guys think of the current subclasses in the game.

In this weekly I’m going to share some info about one of the Duelist’s armor abilities, which was previously shared as a subclass.

A Subclass Becomes an Armor Ability

Last week I talked about a potential Duelist subclass called the spellsword. The idea for this subclass was that the Duelist would gain an additional weapon ability which varies based on the enchantment on her weapon. I was hesitant about this subclass, mostly because it would mean both of her subclasses would directly work with her class ability.

After some consideration though, I began to realize that this sort of triggered effect might work much better as an armor ability. This creates an obvious UI flow for picking the enchantment effect instead of the Duelist’s regular weapon ability, doesn’t crowd out subclass design space, and overall fits better with the amount of complexity I’m generally looking to add with armor abilities.

I haven’t yet decided specifically what this ability will do yet, I am leaning toward it being a single attack called Elemental Strike though. One other possibility is the ability might be a temporary buff that boosts enchantment effects, similar to abilities like nature’s power. Assuming I do go with the single strike effect though, here are a few possible enchantment effects:

• Several elemental enchantments might share a similar effect of creating an AOE around the duelist and her target, while also granting the duelist brief immunity. This would be fire for blazing, frost for chilling, grass for blooming, etc.
• A kinetic weapon might amplify any damage that is currently stored in it, leading to a devastating follow-up attack on a second enemy.
• An elastic weapon would blast back all enemies around the duelist, giving her plenty of positioning space.
• A projecting weapon might get infinite range, allowing the duelist to attack from anywhere.
• Assuming that the effect works with curses, an explosive weapon might immediately detonate, regardless of how much charge it currently has.