Spiral Knights - Equipment Augmentations

Equipment Augmentations

22 replies [Last post]

Fri, 12/20/2013 - 17:50

Masterreeve

This idea is about adding a new equipment slot that would augment the abilities of other pre-existing actions in-game. The slot would not be required to be unlocked like a trinket slot, but would instead be unlocked at the start. Augmentations must be crafted from a special alchemy machine inside the Lab in the Garrison. Augmentations start at 3* and can be upgraded to 5*. There are multiple categories of augmentations, each category having 2 variations. Only one augmentation can be worn at a time. No Augmentation can be used in Lock Down

Table of Contents

Augment Descriptions
Augment Visual Designs
Acquiring/Upgrading Augments
Augmentation Boss
Augmentation Lore/Background

Augmentation Descriptions
All Augmentations start as a 3* Unprocessed Gremlonium core that offer no abilities. Augmentations do not acquire unique abilities until they reach their 4* versions, and these abilities further branch off in their 5* final forms. The 4* ability is retained when upgrading to the final forms.

Power Shoes: Require a Valestone charged core
-Energy Souls: Decreases cool down time for dash by 1 second
~Final Forms~
-Hermes Boots:Require a Valestone/Luminite charged shoe ~ Increase the distance your knights travels with a dash command by 1 block
-Pulsing Treads:Require a Valestone/Moonstone charged shoe ~ Further decreases the cool down time for the dash command by 2 seconds

Shield Generators:Require a Moonstone charged core
-Energy Converter: Increase shield health by 10%
~Final Forms~
-EMP Generator:Require a Moonstone/Dark Matter charged Generator ~ Increases the are of effect for the shield bash
-Energy Regenerator:Require a Moonstone/Luminite charged Generator ~ Decreases the shield bar consumption of the shield bash to 25%

Weapon Charms:Require a Dark Matter charged core
-Gaia Charm: Connecting with a weapon attack imbues the monster with a charge of energy. Monsters charged with energy receive increased knock back. Charges stack up to 3 times, with increasing knock back with each charge. If a monster does not receive damage from this charm within 5 seconds, all charges are lost.
~Final Forms~
-Combustion Charm:Require a Dark matter/Crimsonite charged Charm ~ After receiving 3 charges, energy within the monster reacts and explodes, dealing damage. All charges on the monster are then reset to 0. The explosion does not deal knock back, and cannot interrupt enemy attacks
-Shadow Charm (or Gravity Charm):Require a Dark Matter/Valestone charged Charm ~ After receiving 3 charges, the monster is Gravity Bound. Monsters that are inflicted with Gravity Bound receive a slight movement speed decrease, lasting 2 seconds. All charges on the monster are then reset to 0

Armor Coatings:Require a Crimsonite charged core
-Steel Coating: Reduces damage received from specialized damage types (does not apply to normal damage)
~Final Forms~
-Adamantine Coating:Require a Crimsonite/Moonstone charged Coating ~ Slightly increases the defense rating of the overall defense of the knights (applies to trinket, pet perk and UV defense as well. Defense only, no status resists)
-Mythril Coating:Require a Crimsonite/Valestone charged Coating ~ Receiving an attack converts 10% of the damage to an overshield that blocks damage from the next incoming attack

Sprite Communication Amplifier:Require a Luminite charged core
-Gamma Emitter: Increases the base damage of all Sprite attacks
~Final Forms~
-Concentration Ring:Require a Luminite/Dark Matter charged Amplifier ~ Decrease the cool down of all sprite skills by a percentage (up to debate)
-Wave Amplifier:Require a Luminite/Crimsonite charged Amplifier ~ Increases the potency the third skill for all Sprites. Firestorm gets increased area of effect, Angelic aura gets increased shield health, and Hexing Haze has increased duration.

Augment Visual Designs
Augmentations would be visible on the player, unlike trinkets. Exact designs are up for debate

Power Shoes:
-Shoes.. What more can I say?

Shield Generators:
-A special device attached to the shield

Weapon Charms:
-A charm bracelet hanging from the knight's wrist.
-Possibly a green pulsing rock for the Gaia Charm, a chunk rock slowly melting into lava for the Combustion Charm, and a piece of dark anti-matter for the Gravity Charm

Armor Coatings:
-An alteration of the color scheme of the armor set the knight is currently wearing (every piece of armor/helmet has a preset color that would be change to for each of the 3 versions of Armor Coating)

Sprite Communication Amplifier:
-Some kind of device attached to the Battle Sprite, possibly to the harness.

Acquiring/Upgrading Augments
There will be a new T2 mini-boss mission that players must complete to earn the 3* form of Augmentations: raw, Unprocessed Gremlonium. This Unprocessed Gremlonium can be worn by the player, however it offers no bonuses of any kind (however it does make the player glow faintly up for debate as it may clash with auras). Upon the first completion of this mission, the player is directly given an Unprocessed Gremlonium piece as a mission reward. Further pieces must be purchased from the supply depot.

Minerals must be smelted into the Augment to "heat up" or level it up to be crafted into it's 4* or 5* version. This can only be done at a special smelter located in the Lab (can be accessed from anywhere in haven or at arsenal stations). Minerals of a certain color must be applied to upgrade the Augment into the desired variation; any mineral may be used to "heat" the Augment, but the mineral with the highest value will determine which variation will be resulted.

Crafting lines for mineral colors are as follow:
Power Shoes - Valestone
~Hermes Boots - Valestone/Luminite
~Pulsing Treads - Valestone/Moonstone
Shield Generators - Moonstone
~EMP Generator - Moonstone/Dark Matter
~Energy Regenorator - Moonstone/Luminite
Weapon Charms - Dark Matter
~Combustion Charm - Dark Matter/Crimsonite
~Gravity Charm - Dark Matter/Valestone
Armor Coatings -Crimsonite
~Adamantine Coating - Crimsonite/Moonstone
~Mythril Coating - Crimsonite/Valestone
Sprite Communication Amplifiers - Luminite
~Concentration Ring - Luminite/Dark Matter
~Wave Amplifier - Luminite/Crimsonite

The Gremlonium's glow (as well as the color of each Augment) will reflect the color that is most prevalent in terms of mineral stores, but this number will also be shown with exact accuracy at the Augment Smelter.

An Augmentation heat bar has 5 sections to it that must all be heated separately. Each section must be filled with heat from the clockworks, and requires minerals to be smelted into it to proceed to the next section. The first section requires 10 minerals of a single (of your choice), and each subsequent section requires 10 additional minerals. I.E the first section takes 10 minerals, the second takes 20, the third takes 30 etc. For the 4* Augments, the mineral smelting rate starts at 20, then increases by 20 each section. This means that for the Gremlonium core to reach level 5, it requires 150 minerals per level and 750 minerals total. For the 4* to reach level 20, it takes 300 minerals per level and 4,500 minerals total. Upon reaching the final section of a level, smelting the Augment automatically levels it up, and the rate at which minerals are required to heat it up is reset.

This Augmentation Smelter does not function like the current forge system; there are 5 options to upgrade with corresponding to each mineral type, as opposed to the 3 options of the current forge with varying success rates. An Augmentation Smelter will always succeed, so no worries about wasting minerals. Heat must still be gather in the clockworks to level up the Augment, but once the heating bar is full it must be smelted to proceed to the next level. As there is no bonus for going beyond the heat level needed craft up, the 3* ore stops leveling up at level 5. 4* Augments must be heated to level 20 to be crafted up into their final forms, and 5* Augments cannot be heated (note that heat levels do not affect the performance of Augments in anyway, and only serve to slow the process of acquiring high level Augments)

Augment heat levels are retained after each craft, similar to how the level of a Battle Sprite is continuous after each appearance upgrade. The max level for an Augment is level 20, which must be obtained to reach the 5* version. Mineral count is also retained.

The crafting machine requires a fully heated Augment to craft up to the next version. This means the the initial ore must be level 5, and the 4* Augment must be level 20. To craft up your Augment, you will need crowns and and a new rarity called Supplement Elixir, which can be earned from missions or bought from the supply depot. Crafting into the 4* version requires 1,000 Crowns and 1 Supplement Elixir. Crafting into the final forms costs 5,000 crowns and an Elite Supplement Elixir.

Augmentation Boss
To be completed later.

Augmentation Lore/Background
Augmentations were originally a gremlin invention, intended to be used against the Spiral Order. However, the Gremlin techies could never get it to work with their current machinery (it didn't explode enough for their liking), so it was a scrapped idea and the production facility was left stranded in the clockworks. Desna's Recon Squad recently found this facility and detected an energy source inside, and Spiral HQ ordered her to investigate. Inside they found the raw, Unprocessed Gremlonium cores and intended to recover them and return to HQ. However, the squad was ambushed by the massive construct that was manufacturing these cores, so HQ has asked for your assistance in rescuing the bogged down squad and retrieving the cores.

Well that's pretty much the description for the mission, more or less. Augmentation cores are Gremlin tech that have been modified by the Spiral Order to work with our gear. Because of this, even though the cores are a massive source of energy they are not compatible with the Skylark engine so they cannot be used to power the ship. They can only be used to power special devices that are created specifically for them, which is where Augmentations come in.

Now I know what you may be saying:
"These items would make the game WAY too easy, and would make the game too boring."
And I agree. Which is why I don't want this to be added to the game until the difficulty is increase in some way, whether it be new floors or another tier, what-have-you. I.E, it may not be added for another year or so, giving OOO time to make the game harder with the arcade Redux.

P.S my idea is not finished, I'll be back later to complete the thread.

Fri, 12/20/2013 - 17:58

Pipipipipi

The 4th wall shall be shattered!!!

-Hermes Boots: These shoes increase the distance your knights travels with a dash command (1/2 block for 4* and 1 block for 5*)

erm, terraria refrence?

-Power Treads: Decreases the cool down time for the dash command (1 second for 4* and 2 seconds for 5*)

Idk about this one, probally too op

-EMP Generator: Increases the are of effect for the shield bash

I don't think sheild bash has a area of effect :P

-Energy Regenerator: Decreases the shield bar consumption of the shield bash

sure, although no one uses shield bash

-Wind Charm: Increases the attack range of weapon attacks (1/2 block for 4*, 1 block for 5*. Works for all 3 weapon types, converting to an area unit for bombs)

too OP

-Adamantine Coating: Increases the defense rating of the overall defense of the knights (applies to trinket, pet perk and UV defense as well)

-Concentration Ring: Decrease the cool down of all sprite skills by a percentage (up to debate)

erm, 5% for 4 star and 10% for 5 star

Fri, 12/20/2013 - 18:02

Dibsville

Hmm.

I love all of it.
Well, that wind charm is kind of pushing it...

Fri, 12/20/2013 - 19:14

Draycos

There'd have to be sweeping balance changes with these, aka nerfs. Knights are pretty strong already, especially with UVs..

Sat, 12/21/2013 - 03:54

Hexzyle

Why shouldn't these take up a Trinket slot?

Sat, 12/21/2013 - 04:56

Masterreeve

I make you black, bluue and red all over

@ Pipipipipi
Firstly, I don't play Terraria and didn't even know they had a hermes boots. The name comes from actual greek mythology, and has been re-used countless times in video games over the years.
Shield bash does have a range of sorts, but it's mostly just the space in front of the knight. This Augment would increase that area to extend past the original boundaries.
For the Adamantine Coating, could you explain why you don't like it?

@Dibsville
I was actually having the worst time with the weapon and armor augments. Anything relating to weapons that I could come up with sounded too strong, wind charms being the least OP of the initial ideas. And armor Augments all seem too generic, as the only things I can think of are just trinket copies. So yea, they will have to be changed in time.

@Draycos
And that is EXACTLY why I said that this would not be added until the game become considerably harder, to compensate for this buff to the player. And yes, there will be much balancing going on here. Whenever I make an idea, it rarely ever ends up exactly where I started or even intended to start. Kinda the reason for the suggestions forum.

@Hexzyle
They don't take up a trinket slot because they are not trinkets...
But if you are asking if they should take a new slot that must be purchased from the depot, I did that because I want these to be relatively permanent things that don't have to be re-purchased every month. I was also thinking about making them considerably difficult to craft in the first place, so to add a slot purchase would seem a bit much. However, if you think giving players a free slot would be too generous, then I guess they can be purchased from the Depot for 300 energy.

@Everyone
Still have a few things to work out. Gimme a few hours, and I'll update it.

Sat, 12/21/2013 - 07:39

Masterreeve

I make you black, bluue and red all over

Thread UPDATED!!!
Added a few more Augment descriptions, as well as the crafting/acquiring method for the Augments (still in the working)

Yes, I know there are many discrepancies between the crafting method and the actual Augment descriptions, so you don't have to say that (I only realized it after I wrote up the crafting method. My mind is very disjointed, and I tend to think about only one thing at a time. It tends to get me in trouble a lot :P)
I will fix all that later, so please bear with me.

Also added a table of contents for this wall of text (So I like to type a lot, sue me). There are some links to sections that are not yet completed, they are simply place holders so that I remember to write them in later.

Critical points that I wish for discussion on:
-Descriptions on both Weapon Charms, as well as Mythril Coating and Wave Amplifier- These 4 Augments I kinda came up with really fast, so they may seem way too OP. Please tell me if there is a problem with them, so I may either rebalance them or remove them entirely.
-Method of Acquiring Augments- I wanted it to be relatively difficult and hard to acquire them, so as to give players a long extra portion of the game to explore similar to how the sprites added an entire new section to the game. I don't want these to be just another gear suggestion that players can get in a day or two. That being said, after I wrote it it seemed a bit too much for something that doesn't even give that much of a bonus. I might either make it easier to get or make the Augments have a more profound effect on battle.
-Augment Boss- I haven't even started on this section yet, but I'm not even sure if I want to keep the boss. If you like the idea of a new mini boss (not a full blown tier boss, just a mini one like the Collector) please give me some ideas. If you don't like it, say so now so I don't even have to worry about coming up with ideas for one.

Cheers all~ :)

Sat, 12/21/2013 - 08:09

Draycos

These really do seem better suited as trinkets than anything else. Trinkets don't have to be raw attack/defense stat boosts...

Sat, 12/21/2013 - 08:35

Masterreeve

I make you black, bluue and red all over

@ Draycos
But I don't want these to be trinkets that can just be crafted from some special alchemy machine in a day or two with new materials. I want these to be a large, new section of the game similar to the battle sprites. And the abilities of the Augments will be changed drastically over the next few days, as I try to come up with unique abilities suited for the task. They won't be something that can just be slapped with a trinket label and call it a day, they will be gameplay altering devices.

Sat, 12/21/2013 - 09:14

Draycos

Exactly. Trinkets will stop being free stats and be gameplay altering devices.

Sat, 12/21/2013 - 10:38

#10

Masterreeve

I make you black, bluue and red all over

Thread UPDATED!!!
Added more Augment descriptions, and fixed the discrepancies between the crafting section and descriptions section. If anything else is off between these two sections, please tell me so I may fix it.

Altered the behavior of the 4* versions of Augments to better fit the crafting method, and more further expanded on the crafting/acquiring method (still not completely done with that section though)

Added the lore section to described where Augments came from.

Critical points that I wish for discussion on:
-All previous discussion points that I posted-I still need help fixing those points that I stated in the previous update.
-Gale Force Charm and Gaia Charm-I played around with the Weapon Charms a bit, but they still feel a bit overpowered. Could use some help on balancing.
-Armor Coatings-They seem a bit bland to me. Any ideas to spice them up a bit?
-Sprite Communication Amplifier- I have no idea what to make the 4* version, and the Concentration Ring sounds iffy right now.

@ Draycos
You seem to be missing my point...
I do not want to alter the trinket system in anyway. I think that it is fine just the way it is (maybe a nerf here or there for LD trinks, but that's another story). What I want to do is create an entirely new equipment section from scratch that flows together with the current assortment of gears and adds a substantial part of gameplay to the game. And besides, some of these Augments can't be labeled under the name trinkets anyway.

Sat, 12/21/2013 - 11:03

#11

Thunder-The-Bright

gods ain't gonna help you, son.

skimmed over it before, now posting.
even if I don't say it, everything needs test to balance ect. when I say "all right" (or any similar expressions), it's the idea.

Power Shoes:
in general, it seems ok. but you need to give an augment that give knights the ability to dash through lines of rings. wait, wrong game.

Shield Generators:
it seems all right too.

Weapon Charms:
gale: seems too OP. also, range increase for swords would be way more effective than on guns or bombs. decrease charge time or increase damage.
final forms seem all right.

Armor Coatings:
seems ok.

Sprite Communication Amplifier
first skill missing, I suggest more damage for the sprite first and second skill.
concentration ring seem ok.
wave amplifier simply cannot be implemented. it would require the monster to have more/less defense depending on with what you are hitting, which I don't think is a good idea. switch to more duration on the sprite third skill.

Sat, 12/21/2013 - 11:56

#12

Draycos

I'm not missing your point at all. I'm saying we shouldn't make yet another power-boosting system for people to use, because that'd be a lot of work and would make balancing everything a lot more difficult.

Sat, 12/21/2013 - 16:29

#13

Masterreeve

I make you black, bluue and red all over

@ Thunder-The-Bright
Yes, I know that these ideas need to be tested and balanced. The thread is mostly to get the idea flushed out so that it looks good on paper, and let OOO to all the actual testing before balancing for final in-game content. Unless you have a way of creating an engine to run all of these calculations on your own computer, where we could then get exact data for final balancing.

You would think OOO would like the shoes idea, as their parent company is SEGA, the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Yea, I know Gale is too OP, but I don't want anything to do with the generic damage boost, CTR or ASI for weapons. That would just make it a generic trinket carbon copy, which is exactly what I do not want. Damage boost and ASI were actually the first ideas I came up with for the Charms, but I threw them all away for that reason. But yea, lemme see if I can come up with a different idea instead of the Gale by tomorrow.

For the Wave Amplifier, I guess I didn't describe it correctly. Basically I want the damage to be converted to a pure specialized damage type as oppoed to split special and normal type. That way, the effective damage type system would come more into play; similar to how when comparing a flourish to a brandish, the flourish deals more damage on beasts and fiends, but the brandish is better on all other monsters. But if the harnesses already make sprites pure specialized type, then yea that would be impossible to do (not sure which one it is). Gimme a day, and I'll work with the Wave Amplifier and the first skill.

@Draycos
As I said before, I don't want to alter the trinket system. If I ever do, I would scrap this entire idea and start from scratch, maybe taking a few points from this one. But ultimately this system is not meant for trinkets.

Yes, I want to make yet another power boosting system to give players yet another way to power up their knights. Currently it is way too easy to get to end game content, and for those of us that are already there, there is nothing for us to do. This idea would add more variety to gameplay and the customization of out knights.Most other big, well known MMOs that I know of give players 2-3 systems to upgrade their character, if not more. For SK, with the addition of Augments it would only be base gear (weapons/armor and trinkets), Battle Sprites, and Augments. That counts 3.

It's an entirely new idea, created from scratch. Of course there will be much balancing to be done before this is finished, which is the point. You don't think the Battle Sprites were made in a day do you? I want this thread to take many months before it is completed, so it being difficult is not a bad point. And we wouldn't even need to balance the current in-game content much if the game difficulty was boosted; the increase in player power would be justified by increase in game difficulty. Only this idea would need balancing.

But just for the sake of arguments, say that this does turn into a trinket system altering thread. Please give some feedback on the actual content of the idea, so that I may balance it to an extent.

Sat, 12/21/2013 - 19:29

#14

Draycos

Alright, alright, I get it. I'm being too lazy, too shallow with my posts. I'll look at this again- seriously, this time.

"It's too easy to get to end-game content." Is it really? What do you classify as end-game content: Firestorm Citadel, or Grinchlin Assault? Maybe even both? Because in my eyes, it takes a very long time to get all the gear you need to do Grinchlin Assault without any serious problems. You need the right armor, the right bonuses, the right weapons- and you need some level of skill. Why do we need to drag out the game any longer? What's the point of making another system to grind up with?

"Of course it'd take a long time to do this! I want it to be good." I completely understand, but I think it's not worth the time when trinkets are a suitable way to implement these same bonuses. Plus, think of it this way- I don't just mean the current mechanics, I mean these boosts against eachother. If creating more diversity and choice among players is ever going to be a thing, the choices NEED to be on-par with eachother.

For instance, why would you want a Gaia charm over a Shadow charm on a weapon that has multiple hits, or is difficult to aim? Why would you want increased dash distance over dash cooldown reduction when you use weapons that need you to be close to enemies, where you want to be able to dash as much as possible and not as far away as possible? Why would you want an on-hit overshield that scales off the damage you take when a flat boost to your defense is more generally effective? Why would you pick increased damage over cooldown reduction on a Seraphynx's skills, or vice-versa on a Drakon's skills?

Here's the thing: if the choices aren't comparable, then there's only the illusion of choice, like having family-damage UVs versus ASI/CTR UVs, or a choice between Deadly Cloak and Vengeful Cloak, or so many of the "sub-par" weapons and items... and you can probably see where I'm going with this: we should fix what's already here before anything else is made that also needs tweaking. New gear is less of a priority compared to making old gear actually existent.

Sun, 12/22/2013 - 03:10

#15

Masterreeve

I make you black, bluue and red all over

Yes, I think it is too easy to get end-game content. By end-game contet, I mean any full set of 5* gear, possibly 2-3 sets of any kind. What these sets would be used for is irrelevant, as they are all equally difficult (or not as such) to obtain. This means that I don't care what missions you are playing, as long as you have a few 5* sets to switch from. But if you had to label a mission on it, then I would say being able to complete the Gunatlet effectively, as there are every monster type there, as well as 3 differnt status efects. Getting a single set of 5* gear would take a new player (with average-decent skill) about 1 month to obtain, not counting using real cash to buy energy to quicken the process. Getting thhe second and third sets take half this time, as you now have access to the highest paying content in the game to fund your crafting. All in all, a player could experience everything SK has to offer in 2-3 months, then quit feeling fullfilled that they have "beaten" the game.

You don't seem to understand that these augments are not simply stat boosts and defense buffs. They are full blown new skills and abilities that drastically alter gameplay by allowing players to perform new actions. To shove all that into the trinket system would change it into something that it was never intended for before, which is what I do not want. Trinekts are fine the way they are, and if they are changed it would onlt be a balancing thing. Not a full blown overhaul.

The Augments seem mismatched in terms of power right now because this is just one guy thinking up skills and abilities that he wants to be seen in-game. I personally have a bias on what would be more useful in a fight, and your opinion might be completely differnt from mine. That is ok, and is in fact encouraged as it would allow me to alter and change the skills so that they ARE more evenly matched for use. That's the whole point of me adding this to the suggestions forum so the community may comment on it. If I felt my ideas were perfect as they were, I would just skip this step and e-mail OOO directly and ask them to add this to the game.

Sun, 12/22/2013 - 04:55

#16

Masterreeve

I make you black, bluue and red all over

Thread UPDATED!!!
Made some major changes to the Weapon Charms.

Fixed the table of contents and section titles so they look more visually appealing.

Added in the 4* Sprite Communication Amplifier, as well as changed the behavior of the Wave Amplifier.

EDIT: A few mistakes have been fixed
~Name for the 4* version of the Sprite Communication Amplifier has been added
~Visual designs for the Weapon Charms now more accurately reflect the current forms
~Fixed a type in the visual section that stated that there were 4 versions of the Armor Coating
~Minerals needed to upgraded into the final forms of the Weapon Charms is now consistent throughout the thread

Critical points that I wish for discussion on:
-All previous points that I posted-... Come on guys, do NONE of you want to talk about my thread?
-3 charge behavior for Weapon Charms- The system I came up with for the charms was the best I could do to add versatility and usability without giving players too much power, since there are no real restrictions on any of these Augments. Tell me if they seem too strong.
-Adding cool downs on any of these abilities- Every time I update this thread, the Augments just seem to get more and more powerful. I was thinking of somehow adding a cool down system to reel in the reins on this powerhouse, any suggestions?
-Acquiring/crafting the Augments- The Augmentation descriptions are pretty much fleshed out now, and just need to be balanced (please people, I'm begging you. Gimme some feedback). The next section I might start on is either adding the boss/missions section (if it gets too long I might just make an entirely new thread and link them together) or finishing up the crafting section. If you have any ideas on the missions, or about how these things will be crafted, please let me know.

And seerusly, I WANT FEEDBACK. I can't very well call this a community idea if the community doesn't participate on it. My own ideas are too biased and are clearly lacking. Draycos is the only one commenting, and all he's saying is how much he hates the idea.

Cheers all~ :)

Sun, 12/22/2013 - 10:29

#17

Draycos

How much time in those 2-3 months is spent playing new levels you haven't seen before instead of rerunning the same levels for loot? Why would making it even more of a grind to get to "end-game" be a good idea? You're trying to make players feel like they're progressing more, but would they really be?

Let's take Super Mario Bros. as some crazy out-there example. Imagine if you had to unlock more levels by beating the previous levels multiple times as opposed to clearing them once and continuing. Wouldn't that be terrible? The same sort of thing is in SK, but you're trying to make it even more grind-based. At the very least, this would make players choose between using their minerals for their Sprites or for their augments, which would also cause problems..

Like I keep saying, I do understand that these boosts aren't just offense/defense stats, and I want something like this in the game. Trinkets don't have to be pure stat boosts, and I don't want them to be.

But, then, here's an interesting idea: slapping them into the trinket system could cause some problems with that very same "illusion of choice" thing I talked about, but how about putting them on armor?

Currently, many armor sets just aren't worth the time to make, so giving them something unique would give people a reason to make them outside of costumes. It might also set sets with identical stat boosts apart, like Snarbolax and Skolver. Plate might boost the power of your Shield in various ways. Snarbolax might reflect some damage back to melee enemies. The Magic Cloaks, Skelly, and Azure Guardian might boost your team's defense. Jelly might make you less prone to flinching. Almirian Crusader might boost your damage for a short time after taking any damage (making it a very strange fit with Fang of Vog). So on and so forth. Mechanical changes instead of stat changes on armor has popped up in Suggestions more than just once. This isn't to say there can't be basic changes like increased sword damage or charge time reduction..

If you allowed those boosts to be used on any piece of gear, people would still want to use the "best" armor and the "best" weapons, just taking advantage of that new way to get stronger.

Two birds, one stone. How about it?

Mon, 12/23/2013 - 04:13

#18

Masterreeve

I make you black, bluue and red all over

I had a long thought out response to your post Draycos, but I messed up and it all got deleted (dam you auto log-out).

But pretty much what it all said was that I may consider writing a new thread with the idea of adding these augments to armor and weapons and such, as opposed to having it separate. I have an idea of how this would work, and will write out that thread in the next few hours (maybe by tomorrow night if it takes too long). If you have an idea of how the abilities of my Augments would work for gear, then post it here and I'll try to incorporate it into my new thread. I'll probably still keep this one up and update it when I get new ideas, and see which one people like better.

Mon, 12/23/2013 - 07:44

#19

Sonosuke

All shell will break loose.

Honestly, I feel pretty neutral to the subject at hand. I don't know, it just feels like one of those things in games where I say "I'm probably not gonna use that." The Augments don't feel all that necessary to me, since I prefer relying on my own strengths and weaknesses in terms of combat. But then again, they seem pretty useful, especially the Pulsing Threads and the Combustion Charm. The augments themselves just need a little retuning.

I actually like Draycos' idea. I don't think Snarbolax and Skolver really need anything extra, since Snarbolax is shadow defense with freeze and poison and Skolver is piercing defense with just freeze. The rest I may promote more armor use than just "Wolver Wolver Wolver", which I've been seeing constantly. Also, do you mean cobalt rather than azure guardian, or was that intentional? Now that I think about it, I should probably go and get a jelly set....

Mon, 12/23/2013 - 09:54

#20

Usevnsevnsixfivfor

I like this idea. A few things:

1) Lower the minerals used. I have no idea how much @™ but right now it's a bit high.

2) The Pulsing Treads should allow the user to dash on collectibles, such as crowns, heat, mats, pickups, etc. regardless if the cooldown is still going on or not (reference to the Light Speed Dash). Still has the Moonstone that represents Sonic's blue color, but only decreases one second of normal dashing.

3) How much speed would be lost by the Shadow Charm exactly? 10%? 15%? 25%?

4) How much increased defense does Steel Coating give?

5) For the SCA, 5% for 4* and 10% for 5*.

6) The showing of the augments should be toggled in the Player options right under the "Allow Full Inspect".

Seriously Forum Managers, this idea is great.

Mon, 12/23/2013 - 11:09

#21

Draycos

The more I think about it, the more I want this on equipment instead, like I said. There are only so many stat boosts to go around before new pieces of armor become redundant...

Dash Modifiers- These would fit best on the Mercurial sets.

Shield Modifiers- Azure Guardian (i.e. excluding Almirian Crusader), Plate, and Heavenly Iron

Inflicted Knockback Modifiers- Plate, Deadshot, Mad Bomber

3-hit Explosions- Bombastic? Seems like it'd be more interesting as a weapon of its own than as a mod. Something something Catalyzer.

3-hit Slows- Ice Queen, something something Catalyzer

Specialized Defense- Redundant. Team-defense auras are more interesting.

Defense boost upon taking damage- At first I thought this was a silly idea, but now that I look at it again all that needs a change is the percentage you gave it. Getting buffed by taking damage would probably fit best on Almirian. Deja vu.

Sprite damage boost- Uhhh, i'm running out of useless sets to name, umm... let's say this would be on a theoretical Biotech set.

Sprite CTR- Something something Biotech set.

Sprite ultimate booster- Sadly, it wouldn't make them more viable than their other skills (Drakon's Barrier, Seraphynx's Ray/Heart Attack, Maskeraith's Quills/Cloak). There's plenty of things that need to be done to Sprites to fix them, but this isn't one of them. (See also: node/85499)

Mon, 12/30/2013 - 03:45

#22

Masterreeve

I make you black, bluue and red all over

@Usevnsevnsixfivfor
1) I'll be tweaking the numbers for minerals required a lot over the course of this thread; the initial numbers were mainly so that I could get a gauge on how people felt about the mineral crafting system. Gimme a while so I can come up with new numbers.

2)I see no reason to copy the Light Speed Dash, as collectables already attract to you like a magnet (heat and crowns especially). By the time people get close enough to actually dash along them, they would have already picked them up.

3) Exact percentages and numbers for some skills will come later, when I ave time to do testing and see what would be better for the game. I'd also like to as for the help of fellow forumers like Zeddy and Hexzyle, as they are the ones that seem to always have the best data on things like this.

4) See 3 above, but I was thinking around the amount of a med UV (this isn't official, since I don't know the exact damage reduction a med UV gives and I don't want to bog myself down with false numbers)

5) See above 3, but yea those look like good starting numbers.

6) I was thinking about something like that, but then people would ask why you can't toggle accessories or weapons? But yea, I'll think about it.

@Draycos
The Sprite augment is turning into my least favorite, and if I can't come up with some good abilities I may just scrap the entire category.

And I still haven't seen you post on my new thread. You were the one who encouraged me to write it in the first place.

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Equipment Augmentations