Discussion: The Intrepid Informer: Issue #4

Hello and welcome to the fourth installment of the Intrepid Informer!

This week, just in time for Issue 20, Tim "Black Scorpion" Sweeney will be discussing the process behind designing one of the four new Incarnate slots: Destiny. Take it away, Tim!

<b><big>Destiny Slot: The Power of Defensive Nukes</big>
by Tim Sweeney</b>

Hey all, Tim "Black Scorpion" Sweeney here to talk more about the design behind the new Incarnate powers coming in Issue 20: Incarnates. Today I would like to focus on one of the four new Incarnate slots, Destiny. One of the goals of the Incarnate powers was to increase the toolbox of abilities to players for doing challenging content like the Incarnate Trials. We devoted several slots to improving existing powers held by the player, but we also wanted to offer new, potent powers which could be used in the Incarnate Trials themselves. We themed the Judgement Slot around large AOE damage powers: nukes. But we also came up with a counterweight slot, one which offered large AOE buffs: the Destiny Slot.

Major buffs and heals are common in City of Heroes. We have several support Archetypes that are designed with those playstyles in mind: Defenders, Corrupters, and so on. But if you're not playing one of those archetypes, your access to buffs and heals is limited. This was an intentional design choice, and we didn't want to make those Archetypes feel obsolete. So our goal was to make the Destiny powers worth earning, but still allow our support Archetypes to shine.

The fit which made the most sense was to put the Destiny powers in the role of a panic button - a major, game-changing buff or a massive immediate heal. One button can shift the balance of a fight rather dramatically, but the full effect only last a few seconds. The lingering effects of the power are nice, but not as strong as having an actual buffer in your party. The powers also have a substantial recharge time which is unaffected by recharge time bonuses which means that while you're not afraid to expend the power on a regular basis, you won't be putting these powers on auto-cast.

For instance, the powers in the Barrier tree provide significant defense and resistance bonuses, to the point of capping damage resistance for most Archetypes, but only for 5 seconds. Now, when you're first tackling Marauder's army in the final push for Lambda Sector, those 5 seconds could mean the difference between safely taking the initial blows or having half your league take a trip to the hospital. You'll still receive some small benefit from the Barrier afterwards, but the main reason to keep that power around is a quick burst of neigh invulnerability when your League needs it.

And yes, League. Because these powers were designed with the chaotic tumult of the Incarnate Trials in mind, we gave them all substantial range to ensure they can catch most of your League. Higher ranked versions of the power can have an even wider range. It doesn't do your panic button much good if the team has to cluster around you to use it.

Each tree is themed around providing a major boost in one area as a baseline, and offering a choice between improving that boost on the Core path or adding similar thematic boosts on the Radial path.

• Ageless tree powers provide major endurance and a recharge time bonus for most powers, and can be coupled with recovery boosts or major debuff resistance.

• The Rebirth tree starts with a substantial heal, which can be coupled with lasting regeneration or maximum hit point boosts. The Rebirth tree would be a natural place for a rez power, but we felt as though the tree was strong enough with its healing potential.
  
  
  

• The Clarion tree offers immediate large scale protection to status effects. The Radial path adds buffs to range and most secondary effects like mez durations, defense and to hit buffs/debuffs, and heals.

• The Barrier tree I mentioned above can be improved via the tree to either provide a longer and stronger resistance and defense buff in the Core path. The Radial path instead adds a revive capability as well. Think of it as putting a Barrier between death and your ally. This is one case where game balance trumped theming.

As if that weren't enough, the Destiny Slot also provides an Incarnate Shift at the Rare and Very Rare levels. An Incarnate Shift is similar to a Level Shift in that it raises your effective combat level versus your opponents, but it will only kick in on the Incarnate Trials. This restriction is part game balance but also comes directly from the lore; As you claim power from the Well of the Furies, it becomes clearer that the heights of your Incarnate power only becomes accessible when the situation demands it.

The flexibility of the Incarnate powers and the speed at which you can acquire the common abilities for each tree means that even if you devote your efforts to building up one tree to the Very Rare height, you can still expand laterally and pick up the various common powers in the other tiers to provide the flexibility and diversity to tackle the challenges of the Incarnate Trials in Issue 20 and beyond.

Whatever your particular Destiny holds, I can't wait to see you on the battlefields of the Incarnate Trials come Issue 20! These powers aren't going to earn themselves, you know...

Awesome!

However I really do wish the Incarnate shifts worked on a more permanent basis, like the Level Shifts.

I love the BAF and Lambda now, but after running them enough times to get all the components for up t a very Rare, I dunno if I'll want to, just to play it on 'easy mode'.

I am pumped about the powers though.

Yeah, personally I'd like to see those level shifts work in all level 50 group/raid content. Perhaps when playing at the +4 +8 setting. But oh well.

It means they will always recharge in exactly 2 minutes (I think is the time). No more, no less.

Quote:

Originally Posted by reiella Until I see something that states to the contrary, going to assume VK is right .

honestly most of my toons will be putting destiny buffs on auto cast (especially squishies and the mez protection one)

tier 4 of that one will give perma mag 6 mez protect (or more, but 6 is for half of the time)

Um, "a quick burst of neigh invulnerability?"

Sorry to be the grammar police, but unless you're a horse, that should probably be nigh-invulnerability.

You know, I'm the one who suggested the rez in Barrier. [/shameless self-props]

While I'm very happy to see the incarnate level shift for incarnate trials, why not extend it to any game content where lvl 54's are the opponents? That way when you're running mishz or TF's at +4, doing the Rikti War Zone for the raid, or taking on Hami you can reap the benefits of the incarnate lvl shift(s). I think this would make for a much happier community of CoH players.