Change Monster Weaknesses and Resistances:
Mon, 01/06/2020 - 19:05
As it is, I feel monster damage types are balanced, but not fully. The way their types of special attack, weaknesses, and resistances are determined is odd in my opinion. Out of all the monsters, Constructs and Beasts are the only ones who are weak to the attack type they use, and resist the other’s attack type.
I propose these be switched such that:
-Beasts inflict and resist Piercing damage, and become weak to Elemental damage, and that
-Constructs inflict and resist Elemental damage, and become weak to Piercing damage.
This would change the balance in the importance of knight’s weapons, as currently Elemental is seen as more all-purpose, and Beasts’ attacks are generally easy to avoid. Also I feel it would make more sense for a monster to resist its own attack type.
If still not convinced, take a gander at the damage type resistances of gear crafted and awarded from boss tokens (ex: Barbarous Thorn Shield).
Tue, 01/07/2020 - 18:37
#2
Weapon-specific crit bonuses?
Really, I like the simplicity of having the three special damage types. Keeps it simple yet balanced, like rock-paper-scissors. To answer your question, I actually wouldn't mind adding three new damage types to the mix, one for each weapon class. Weapons would then gain strengths and weaknesses to certain monster classes, in much the same way as the special damage types.
For example:
Sword: strong on slime, fiend
Gun: strong on gremlin, undead
Bomb: strong on beast, construct
This example takes into account roughly which "complementary/opposite" monsters are able to perform which kinds of attacks (ranged, melee, exploding, etc.). The rationale could be that while these monsters are somehow more prepared for these kinds of attacks, the knights gain a damage bonus/critical hit chance when using the associated weapon type against them. I find it harder to hit devilites with a sword than with a gun, for example.
This forces knights to put a little extra effort into choosing a loadout for each depth, and encourages them to use a wider variety of playstyles and gear/weapons.
Damage types exist to encourage more strategy by players, both in playstyles and in gear. Dare I say, they are indeed necessary.
I own a full Chaos set and never leave Haven without my Acheron and BTS. The aforementioned changes might convince me and others in the same boat to try new things.
Sun, 01/19/2020 - 06:22
#3
Actually...
After putting more thought into my initial post and your response, I have come to agree with you on this matter. It really does make more sense the way things currently are. If you look at what the damage types are/what they represent and the monster classes, it already works just fine.
For example, Piercing damage seems to include anything from scratching with claws, to biting with fangs, to jabbing with spikes, and presumably real-life bullets and firearms. It makes sense that Beasts both inflict this damage and are weak to it. They can bite, etc. and their weakness alludes to real-life hunting, as they have no armor plating and are simply flesh and bone. Also if we consider Constructs here, they are built of metal, wood, and Vog knows what else. They likely have no internal organs and are for all intents and purposes robots. As such, they have armor plating by their very nature, thus they resist such damage as Piercing.
Then there is Elemental damage. Elemental damage encompasses natural energies, light magic, and a sort of purity. Again the Beasts are from nature, thus they resist damage from it. They usually live in the wild. Constructs on the other hand can overheat, lock-up, and be overloaded with electricity, all of which seriously harm them. While they harness the powers found in nature, they are artificial beings and are not equipped to stand up to nature's overwhelming power when exposed to it.
Though you did not try to convince me, your words got me to think more deeply about the reasoning behind these damage types. Thanks for that!
I suppose lopsided things can be beautiful after all.
I know I won't convince you but lopsided things are beautiful too. From scratch (since this only works from scratch anyway- we're not about to change the game fundamentally) how would you design the damage types? Are damage types necessary? What do they accomplish?