A Radical Change To Weapons

My idea begins with proliferating weapons throughout the ATs (Scrappers can get War Mace and Battle Axe, Tanks can get Broadsword/Katana/Claws, Brutes, Stalkers, etc...)

This will simply be listed, under the power selection screen, as 'Weapons', with a sub-menu that allows you to choose between all the fun weaponry that our lovely devs have offered us.

From there on, however, you are allowed to give it an effect; to give it what makes so many mystical swords mystical; firepower.

For instance, you want to make a Fire Broadsword because your character is such a badass that he's swinging a flaming sword of doom? You'd choose Weapons -> Broadsword -> Fire
This would take the damage the attacks do, and then replace half of it with fire damage, rather than relying on slashing damage entirely.
Along with this, it allows you, under weapon customization, to choose swords with fiery auras to them.

But let's say you decided that your character doesn't wield a flaming sword of badassery. Let's say it's a frozen sword of badassery? You'd change it to Weapons -> Broadsword -> Ice. It would give half of the damage to Cold along with sacrificing the weapon bonuses for cold-related bonuses, and you'd be given weapon customization for icy weapons (ice saber, along with just cold auras for the actual weapons)

But then let's say you've got another character who doesn't use any sort of mystical anything. He doesn't want his Dual Blades doing fiery DoT, stopping enemies in their tracks with cold, or possibly sleeping them with lightning... He just wants his Def debuff attacks and combos. Guess what? You'd have a unique set for each type of weapon chosen, which would contain the original.

With melee alone, let's take a look at the combinations:

Broadsword
Katana
Claws
War Mace
Battle Axe
Dual Blades

with the possible effects of:

Fire
Ice
Electric
Energy
Radiation
Darkness
Toxic(?)
Original

It would offer more customization to something that is often seen as the trademark of a character, and would not only offer more unique playstyles, but be able to help others work on their concepts with all the more success.

Please kindly tear this idea to pieces and explain to me why I'm wrong.

To do something like this, the Devs would need to very carefully balance all of the options.

Smashing and Lethal damage are highly resisted in this game, moreso than any other damage type. Cold, on the other hand, is very rarely resisted. So, you couldn't just take Broadsword, and make the damage 50% Lethal, 50% Cold, because then it would be better than the normal Broadsword set. It would do more damage to more enemies.

This would be an incredible amount of work that, while I like the idea, seems to be too much just for certain sets.

Why couldn't my Super Strength character have flaming fists? Or my Martial Arts Scrapper have lightning feet? Why would only weapon users get something like this?

I like this idea a lot, even with the balancing that would be required.

I've never really understand why smashing and lethal have to be treated differently than other forms of damage. Maybe that needs to be rebalanced, rather than balancing new things around the existing imbalances.

This'd be a helluva lot of work, but it'd certainly add a lot of complexity and variety to what is now the pretty staid and structured world of melee. I'd dig it.

I'd make a Brute with Ice Claws!

It comes down to balance. Look at how element/physical attacks are actually balanced in th game - most of them aren't split 50/50. In fact, most elemental-mostly attacks are heavily slated towards doing mostly damage of their element, with a little smashing or lethal. You can't really just grab a set balanced to be lethal damage and switch out part of its damage with an element. I mean, you could, but the results may not be what you want. Part of the reason balance is needed, in addition to keeping anything from being too good, is to keep anything from being too bad. Switching out a weapon's physical damage for an element, potentially a largely unresisted element, is just asking for trouble - it incerases the weapon's output with no balancing cost. Inversely, NOT changing the weapon's damage away from, say, lethal, could be seen as gimping yourself. And it would be, given how many things have 50% lethal resistance.

The idea itself is interesting, believe me when I say this. I would very much like the ability to pick the element of my weapon and go from there. As a reverse-edit to current design, however... I'm not so sure. Currently, weapons are based around their own concepts in terms of damage and secondary effects. Broadsword does defence debuff, while Battle Axe, being a large weapon (supposedly) does knockback. Switching both to be Fire damage isn't really something you can just do without uprooting half the game's available powersets.

And, in general, this move towards "make your own powerset" isn't something I can really support. Again, it's an interesting idea, but having seen how it works in a game that tries to run with it, I am not convinced it's practical. Neat concepts are neat, but the thing has to play at the end of the day.

Though, balance aside, I do like the idea of picking elemental weapons for our sets. I'm not quite sure I want to alter the set mechanics themselves, but I would definitely like to see elemental weapons as cosmetic additions. If we can have fire shields that don't protect from fire, specifically, we can have fire swords that don't hit with fire, at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

Don't take this the wrong way but:

This is just catering to min/maxers. It doesn't have as close a relationship to "My concept is an ice sword" as it is close to "I want to do uber energy damage and not lolethal".

The only time doing smashing or lethal damage would fly in the face of your concept is if you're sitting there reading the combat log. If I had a concept for a flaming broadsword user, I'd just want an aura for my broadsword or the option to use Fire Sword/Greater Fire Sword as weapon options.

And that isn't even mentioning the plethora of balancing issues. But all this work only opens up the floodgates. Where are my smashing arrows? My psi bullets? My toxic mind blasts? My netherworld ice shards?

I could see a possibility for future sets having an option to choose damage types but only because they'd be singularly balanced around this option.

I agree with Leo. This only matters to concept players if they consider the combat log part of their concept. It would be an absolute nightmare to balance, as if the existing game has been such a walk in the park.

All we need is more options for auras, and the ability to attach them to weapons, shields, etc (and giving out the Fire/Ice/Stone/etc weapon options as costume pieces is a cool idea too).

The idea that Smashing/Lethal needs to so heavily be resisted compared to other damage types is part of the problem with balance in this game. It's just silly.

If I may suggest a different route to take this idea.

Step 1) Make those various weapon skins available for those weapons. Fire Broadsword/Katana/Dual Blades/Claws both as pure elemental type and a aura version.

Step 2) Create Common Easy to get, +Non Smashing/Lethal DAMAGE IO's.

They wouldn't be linked to any sets.

They would give a 100% chance for +10 damage of a Non Smashing/Lethal type (Fire/Cold/Energy/Negative Energy/Toxic/Psi)

These IO's can be put into any ranged/melee attack power.

They would cause a graphical effect that is associated with the IO. Hit with the attack that has a Fire Damage IO in it, you will see flames hit the target for instance.

At only doing 10 damage, while they would be constant, the normal procs would net better DPS.

I just use 10 as a nice round number btw. Maybe 5? I'm sure some dmg powr would make out like a bandit at always +10 Damage to the attack to screw it up.

This new IO would then be useable by all ATs. This is why I say make it common, and not tied to a set. And thus all ATs can customize themselves even more.

You make it common, so you don't see them going for millions. Instead they go for a few thousand, as everyone will tend to get some sort of +DMG IO, they can trade off for the one they want.

I like the idea. Especially since I love using weapons even knowing that they underperform compared to their alternatives. It would take some serious work to make it happen. But they did Power Proliferation, they did Custom Power Colours, they can do this.

The problem I got with it is that it should be limited. Not that I can choose my flaming broadsword against certain mobs, then switch to the toxic one to defeat another. Just as you cannot change being a fire blaster suddenly.

I could get behind this idea, but only if it wasn't limited to melee sets. (Or at least, melee sets first and everything else later) As a couple of examples off the top of my head - energy blast -> energy rifle? (Though that one might be doable with power customisation as it is now, I dunno) Zelda-style swordbeams, anyone? Lightning rifle ala UT2003?

But yeah, would be absolute hell to balance. To the point that it'd probably have to be a boxed expansion at least to justify the time involved in doing it. Though, if after GR they did announce pretty much this as a boxed expansion, I'd buy it.

btw

the secondary effect of Radiation is -Def, same as blades and bullets.