I've been thinking about this lately and decided to post my idea. The type of category I'm talking about is not new weapon lines nor elementals, but categories equivalent to handguns, swords and bombs. What do you think of the Lance and Rifle weapons? Here are a brief overview of what I have in mind.
*As there is too much of a drawback in the loss of a shield, which I finally agree with, a different weakness has been thought of.*
Lance and Rifles can be used with shields but the drawback is delayed shield time.
*Example of delayed shield time: after Divine Avenger's second swing*
*Shield time delayed by 1s, please share some ideas if it should be increased or lowered.*
Lance:
-A spear-like weapon.
-Minimum range of lance: 1.5x range of DAvenger
-Minimum speed of lance: Slightly faster than Avenger (e.g. two full bars)
-Minimum damage: Differs from types of lances, but overall slightly higher damage than swords.
-2-hit/3-hit combo.
-Causes high knockback with each swing.
-Delayed shield time after each final swing.
Rifle:
-Looks like a standard sniper rifle.
-Minimum range of rifle: 2x range of Antigua
-Minimum speed of rifle: 1second gap between shots
-Minimum damage: The closer the enemy is, the higher the damage. *Differs from types of rifles*
-Damage(from the furthest point): Lesser than the average gun damage, e.g. lesser than blaster.
-Damage(from the closest point): Higher than the average gun damage.
-2/3 shot clip.
-Delayed shield time after each shot.
-Adjusting the view (making it wider, thus seeing more of the map) by mouse scrolls is possible, or by other methods that could be adjusted in the settings.
-Causes knockback with each shot.
*The method of holding the weapon could be just using one hand or using both, but still with the shield attached. Still unsure on which is the better option.*
*Updated 29/2/2012*
-Some ideas proposed by KingXalvin & Severage-
Basically that's what I have in mind. Please provide me with your opinions.
To be quite frank, and I don't mean to sound too rude here...
Nobody would ever use these except in Tier 1 or if they simply wanted more of a challenge in Tier 2. Perhaps you have not found out yet how valuable shielding is, but it is essential to the game. Shields are, simply put, limited-time invincibility items that push nearby enemies away from you. I can't imagine doing any T3 Fiend levels, or any T3 at all unless I was gunning, without a shield honestly. The increased range on the Lance *could* be useful when you don't have a shield, but without the ability to shield-bump, you're very vulnerable still to quick enemies...not to mention you're screwed against Fiends for the most part.
Many people have suggested 2-handed weapons in the past, but I think the majority of the community agrees they are far too valuable to let up.
~Sev