Before I start with anything, let's start with a simple postulate.
Drakon is bad.
It's worse at DPS, defense, and pretty much everything else than the other two Sprites. Anything Drakon can do, Maskeraith or Seraphynx can do better. Simply put, only the Ultimates are semi-decent, and the other Sprites have much better use long before then. I propose a revamp (not really a revamp because Firebolt is left as is sorta, but still) on the Drakon, with each skill being modified accordingly.
Firebolt; AKA Cool Looking Orb of Useless
- Increase the Firebolt proc chance to much higher, maybe even guaranteed like shield bash is guaranteed for Stun.
- Increase the disruption rate. It just sorta pushes away monsters on Elite without knocking them down or anything.
- Either damage or area should be higher. Currently, it does laughable damage on 1-3 enemies, maybe more if you have kewl aim with your Meteoric. Increasing the area, with more damage at the center of the blast maybe or such with a small damage boost is one solution. A second solution would be to buff the damage so it's more effective than just shooting the enemy with a 2* Alchemer.
Ultimates of the Firebolt
I mean sure, the Ultimates are a neat concept and all, but who uses the Concussive Bolt if you can just shield bash, which also hits more enemies and knocks them farther away? Who uses Meteoric when there's Pulsars? I suggest implementing new Ultimates, as follows:
Seismic Firebolt
- Can pierce and push back enemies, like the Antigua bird. Has a minor chance of stun every hit. Each individual hit would be 50-60% of a normal Firebolt before, and can hit an enemy up to 4 times.
- When the Firebolt hits a wall or reaches the extent of its range, it smashes into the ground, causing a vortex-like effect that sucks in monsters slightly with a radius of 2 tiles, with the suction of 1 block per second.. If any monsters are under it, they are immediately stunned and disrupted, taking heavy damage.
- The Firebolt would have a spinning rocky-ish blast that's larger than a normal Firebolt, and would cause cracks in the ground marking the radius when it hits the ground, and dissolves.
- Gives the Drakon a large horn on its nose, like Concussive.
Tracking Firebolt (Cheesy name, needs a better one)
- Tracks and targets monsters like a Rocket Puppy rocket, having a lifespan of slightly less than the aforementioned rocket.
- Guaranteed chance of fire upon detonation.
- Causes heavy damage on an area slightly larger than the current Firebolt's, disrupts, and knocks back 1.5 tiles. In a way, it'd be more strategic, as you can knock monsters into other threats like a bomb.
- Has an option to be mouse controlled or homing in the Battle Sprite tab.
- The Firebolt would be smaller than normal like it's compressed, be glaring dusky red, and leave a glowing trail on High Quality.
- Gives Drakon elongated horns, like Meteoric.
Flame Barrier; AKA the only competent skill Drakon has besides the glitchy Firestorm flash charge.
- Slightly increase proc chance, damage, and orb size.
- Make any enemy that hits the user with melee take damage, as if they were cursed. Every time the user is hit by melee, make a sound effect. I dunno what'd it be. Maybe like a record scratch for the lulz?
- For ranged attacks, have a chance for the orb/spike to be incorporated into the barrier, but unlike the two temporary orbs, this would last indefinitely until it hits enemies 3 times, and gives no defensive bonus.
- The barrier will give a brief damage boost, not unlike Deadly Shadow Cloak. This would help keep the offensive trait of the Drakon, at which is currently fails at.
Ultimates of the Flame Barrier
Honestly, I don't know where to start. On one hand, Scorching is actually a decent damage out-putter assuming you stay withing contact of enemies at all times, and Backfire is a nice niche. Maybe I'd just leave them as is. However, if they had to change, I'd suggest:
Raging Flame Barrier
- Every time the user is hit by a blow, increase the damage bonus duration by a second, and the damage bonus percentage by the same percentage of health lost. However, increase the damage you receive by the same percentage of health lost. So if you got smacked by a Lumber and you had 2 seconds of damage bonus 50% left, and you lost 87% of all health because you were using Proto Armor in Tier 3 and the Last Stand saved your sorry butt. You'd suddenly be dealing 237% damage, but you'd receive 187% damage. Even if you used a health pill, you'd get one shot by another Lumber s mash.
- Make the orbs blood red, both with devil's horns.
- Gives the Drakon a beard, like Scorching Barrier.
Possessed Flame Barrier
- The Orbs will launch small red orbs at hostiles, which does moderate damage, has a chance to ignite/disrupt, and cannot pierce.
- Like Tracking Firebolt, the orb aiming can be controlled via mouse or it can automatically fire at enemies independently of each other.
- As the Barrier timer runs out, the orbs detonate, sending foes flying back. As an alternative, pressing the Sprite Skill 2 button again can immediately detonate the orbs. Damage dealt is proportional to the number of seconds remaining.
- The Orbs will have ghastly mouths, like Spookats.
- Gives Drakon spikes, like Backfire Barrier.
Firestorm; AKA the Ash of Agni imitator
- The Firestorm will no longer be a series of set explosions, but instead a wave of flame trailing behind the user, with the same width as the current explosion, but curves as the user twists and turns.
- Can penetrate Trojan and Dreadnaught shields.
- Five Alarm will instead increase the size of the Firestorm and the amount of ground that can be ignited by the user.
- Standing still does not decrease the amount of ground that can still be ignited.
- After 20 seconds, ground can no longer be ignited even if the user had been standing still for all the time.
- An orange circle around you signals if you are still able to ignite the ground.
Ultimates of the Firestorm
There's not much to say here in the preface, save that Explosive is really only usable in a Vortex, and even then a heavy weapon, like DA comboing or Sudu charging is much more efficient. Frenzied is weird and glitched with that Flash Charging.
Oppressive Firestorm
- All enemies walking in the path of the burning ground will move and attack as if stunned. In addition, they will take more damage as if Moderately Poisoned, but they can still be healed.
- A dragon's roar can be heard as the Firestorm is unleashed.
- Monsters will be disrupted immediately after the Firestorm is unleashed.
- Gives the Drakon enormous, expanding wings that flap rather slowly. Screw arms.
Obliterating Firestorm
- Explosions will occur within the area of the singed ground, like Explosive, but much larger, much more damaging, disruptive, and less frequent.
- When the Firestorm expires, a massive explosion occurs on the affected ground, which deals moderate, widespread damage, with no knockback. Similar to a Nitro blast.
- Gives the Drakon smaller wings than the current ones from Explosive, and puts a brand of a dragon on the forehead of the Drakon.
That took longer than I thought it would.
Drakon could perhaps use a buff, but a complete redesign is relatively unecessary. All I'd really like to see is:
Fireball: 30-50% faster recharge time = a more spammable ability.
Flame Barrier: Grant the user a 20 second attack boost orb on use.
Firestorm: Larger area, shouldn't get caught on stuff and just fail.
But even that is debatably overkill.
I think the power increases from your normal to ultimate skills are a bit much. Going from 100% damage = the fireball hits one enemy to 150% damage = the fireball knocks it back and hits two-three times over a crowd is a bit much. Making the fireball chase down enemies would be more acceptable, but they've kind of already made it like that- its bigger and more likely to hit.
I like your idea for the trailing ground thing, where you can light ground on fire as you walk, but I think that would be a bit much to code and redo, especially for an existing game element. Instead, it would be cooler as a new sprite skill on a new sprite, with a different status effect to back it up-- then we'd have the existing and the new... but like I said, the whole firestorm getting stuck thing blows and makes me hesitant to use firestorm to begin with.