A new take on differentiating Staff Melee from other powersets

So I know we're not even 100% sure if/when we're getting staff melee in the way that we imagine, and that by the time I post this, the devs may have already have Staff Melee ready to launch in time for i20/i21, yada. Who knows! This is just a 'for fun' thread.

A lot of people are wondering how the devs could differentiate Staff Melee so it's not just a re-skinned melee set that we've already seen. That is why I would like to introduce the idea of 'Shift Stance', a low-tier power choice akin to Dual Pistol's own "Swap Ammo." Shift Stance lets you toggle between (or turn off) three separate stances that will modify almost every ability in your arsenal.

Bruising: You have trained with mystic fighters from an ancient clan of warrior-mages. Though you don't wield the magics that they do, their training left you capable of exploiting weaknesses in the enemy's defense. Each hit in the Bruising stance will debuff the target's Defense by a scaling value depending on the attack itself and increase your ToHit by 2.5% (stacking up to three times and refreshing itself with each consecutive strike), but your total damage dealt is decreased by -8% and your ferocious strikes leave you worn, making it harder to shrug off damage. Your Resistance to Smashing/Lethal damage decreases.

Breaking: You walk softly, carry a big stick, and know how to do both expertly. You aren't trained in any one particular fighting style, but you do know how to make your hits land, and land hard. Each strike debuffs the enemy's Resistance values to all damage by 7% (stacking up to three times and refreshing itself with each consecutive strike), and any targets caught in the initial AoE will have the Broken Bones debuff applied to them, but only single target attacks will stack and refresh after the initial AoE. This stance is so wild and deadly that your ToHit and Defense to Smashing/Lethal damage are reduced by 2.75% and 3%, respectively.

Stand Your Ground: You are a warrior trained as expertly as a Shao Lin Monk (though perhaps not trained by them, specifically). This Stance causes every attack to improve your Resistance to Smashing and Lethal damage and Defense Debuff Resistance values, but for as long as you are in this stance, your Damage and ToHit values remain decreased by -7.5% and -4%, respectively.

So, with the Bruising, Breaking, and Stand Your Ground stances, developers could keep the animations the same for the entire set (like DP, but maybe they could implement alternate animations later?), but let players choose a stance that adheres to their playstyle or the situation they happen to be facing. Any thoughts? :>

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<[V]>IRTUE Player
Active 50s: Malevolency: (50+3 SS/WP Brute) / Sky-Scar (50+1 Robots/Dark MM) / Venomvein: (50+1 Crab) / Warlocked (50+1 BS/Shield Scrapper) / Some 50s Inactive

Great idea for giving this powerset a unique flavor

I really like the concept. The variations are quite plentiful when you start thinking about it.

From a min-max perspective, this would work to promote it's usage with every Defense set if the stances were varied enough to assist in improving the set.

For example, Super Reflexes would "love" to have a "resistance-boosting" stance, while sets like Dark/Fire/Elec would like something that gave a small "defense" boost.

Staff melee seems a great way to offer something different than shields from a defensive minded playstyle. So my stances would be more like the following;

Earth Stance : Your knowledge of leverage and resistance allows you to reduce the impact of incoming attacks, but at the cost of speed on offensive attacks. ***grants a resistance boost with a slight -recharge penalty***

Cloud Stance : Your use of speed and movement allows you to easily move into attack positions of opportunity, but at the cost of lower damage. ***grants a boost to recharge and accuracy with a slight -dmg debuff***

Wave Stance : Your knowledge of combat movements allows you to move in and around your foes like water, never giving a clear target, but at the cost of attacks of opportunity. ***grants a +defense boost but with a slight -Acc penalty***

Fire Stance : Your relentless attacks combined with your knowledge of enemy weakness allow you to rain blows upon their heads, but at a defensive cost. ***grants a boost to damage, but at a small penalty to defense***

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BIOSPARK :: DARKTHORN :: SKYGUARD :: WILDMAGE
HEATSINK :: FASTHAND :: POWERCELL :: RUNESTAFF

I prefer Sparks suggestions better, but the idea does have some nice merit, I have to say. Well played.

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I enjoy ideas that utilize existing tech, especially if that tech is underutilized. The ammo mechanic is one and the combo system is another (I also love the new Fiery Embrace).

If I were amending to the suggestion, I'd also add AT variance that seem in line with the concept and tactics of the AT. So if we were using the ammo switching mechanic for this set, I'd try to think of 6 different toggles then spread them to the 4 ATs.

Free Range (Standard with no toggles/All ATs): Freedom of movement and fully utilized stance, set and strike. [+melee range, full smashing damage, more knockback] All other modes have shorter range, some rare knockdown and lose a bit of the attack's base smashing damage

Bruising (Tanker/Brute): Hit to make a dent and form openings in the the enemy's defenses. [foe -def, self +ToHit, chance for -res per strike] Slot that yummy +ToHit proc in a good attack...not sure if it's unique.

Breaking (Brute/Scrapper): All out attack to keep that foe from running. [foe -movement, -rech, damage bonus while running the toggle]

Crippling (Scrapper/Stalker): Strike to cause internal injury and maim. [foe -regen, -dmg]

Air Strike (Stalker/Tanker): Energetic stance that strikes swiftly for superior impact. [adds energy damage component to attacks, +rech]

Deflection (Tanker/Brute): A highly defensive stance that limits range but proves to deflect many incoming attacks [self -melee range, -rech, +smashing/lethal/melee defense per attack]

Reflective Strike (Stalker/Scrapper): Swift turns of your weapon can deflect attacks from yourself and back on the opponent and their allies. [self +def to all, chance of 'reflective recoil'] 'Reflective Recoil' is just a Contagious Confusion proc for your attacks which has a chance to confuse every foe within range of your target. Simulates redirecting enemy attacks and the possible unrest it may cause in enemy ranks.

So Tanker = Free Range, Bruising (utility), Air Strike (damage), Deflection(defensive)

Brute = Free Range, Bruising (utility), Breaking (damage), Deflection (defensive)

Scrapper = Free Range, Breaking (damage), Crippling (utility), Reflective Strike (defensive)

Stalker = Free Range, Air Strike (damage), Crippling (utility), Reflective Strike (defensive)

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Other stance names that occurred to me were ; Open Stance, Closed Stance and Balanced Stance. I believe these are used in some form of martial arts but not 100% certain.

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BIOSPARK :: DARKTHORN :: SKYGUARD :: WILDMAGE
HEATSINK :: FASTHAND :: POWERCELL :: RUNESTAFF