HeckHound

The original Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 might be good inspiration for this. While it did have leveling and tiered gear, the level cap stopped at 20 (roughly halfway through the game), end-game gear was relatively easy to get and focused on cosmetics, and focused much more on the player's build: * Secondary Profession - As well as your Primary Profession, you could access skills and attributes from a Secondary Profession. For example, Elementalist/Necromancer. * Skills - You had to choose 8 skills out of over 1000. You were also limited to 1 Elite Skill which a lot of builds were based around. It was important to choose skills that complemented each other well to work effectively. For example, Shatterstone (an Elite Skill) would deal damage, apply a Water Hex to the enemy then deal damage to surrounding enemies when it ends. That player could then use skills to exploit that Water Hex; for example, Glowing Stone to return Energy (Mana) or Teinai's Crystals to increase damage and apply Cracked Armour (DEF Down) (which could further be exploited with the Water Hex Teinai's Prison which would apply a Health Degen effect to foes with Cracked Armour). Casting Shatterstone and Teinai's Crystals under the effects of Water Attunement would refund Energy allowing you to cast spells more often. * Point Allocation - You placed points into 9 possible attributes - 1 Primary attribute, 4 Secondary attributes from your Primary Profession and 4 Secondary Attributes from your Secondary Profession. For example, an Elementalist/Necromancer would have access to: Energy Storage, Fire Magic, Wind Magic, Earth Magic, Water Magic, Blood Magic, Curses, Death Magic. The more points you allocated to that attribute, the more powerful the skills under that attribute would be. * Equipment - Equipment just improved the efficiency of a build; for example, a build based around Shatterstone would benefit from equipment that increased Water Magic as well as damage increases against Hexed foes. The majority of the content also required a certain approach: Minion Master Necromancer's were useless in areas that didn't produce corpses while skill interrupts were essential in encounters where long channel skills could wipe a party. As well as individual builds, you could control and customise Heros - AI characters - in the exact same way you could your character if you didn't want to play with other people; Because of the skill limit, the builds of your companions also mattered. Guild Wars 2 had less of this and was more restrictive and more stat based - no subclass, you HAD to take a heal, three utilities and an elite, level 80 cap and more tiered gear - but introduced a few neat things to the franchise; your first 5 skills were dependent on your weapon, you could equip two weapon sets, and each class used the weapon differently (a Warrior would use a Greatsword pretty much like you'd expect - mostly damage and little defence - while a Mesmer would use it to shoot laser beams). Traits improved builds and added effects to skill types (a Warrior trait would allow Shout skills to also heal allies) and Sigils and Runes would give better, more varied bonus effects that the first Guild Wars; Sigil of Fire would produce an AoE on Crit, while a full set the Rune of the Warrior would reduce your weaponswap recharge.

I agree for the most part, though quests that require a large investment in thinking and time should be left as side-quests or at the least used sparingly if the main theme of the game isn't that of a puzzler nature IMO; anything extremely hard which hinders progress is more likely to frustrate most players. IMO for investigative quests, The Secret World would make a brilliant source of inspiration. They have a subsection of quests called Investigation Missions which have pointers telling you what to do next (i.e. find X) but finding X follows a series of clues, maps ect. While most of these missions require a web browser and real-world knowledge (the game has an in-built one of these) a lot of the clues are included in the game. Given a lot of the clues are built into the world as little things you wouldn't consider taking note of, it really helps immerse the player. For example, one mission hint says "Follow Illuminati symbols". It's up to the player to notice the symbol on the drain covers which you follow to the next location. All it would take is substituting the parts that require real-world knowledge for lore knowledge to make in-depth quests like that. Extra Credits done two videos on quest design which I found interesting:

Hi there Instant Kill and Debuff Spells In the 'Effects', double click and go to the 'State' tab > 'Add State' and select 'Knockout' for an instant kill skill. The % underneath indicates the chance the skill has of inflicting that state (so the lower the %, the lower the chance of the state being added). Of course, you could go deeper than that again and add Execution-type skills (i.e. if HP =< x or target has a state, kill the enemy) using the damage formula. ----- For the debuff, it depends what you're debuffing. If it's a parameter (so ATK, DEF etc), go to the 'Param' tab > 'Add Debuff', and select the parameter you want to lower. This is set at 25% and can be stacked twice for a total of 50%. If you want a custom amount (10% etc), create a state and add to to the skill like above.

Bugging in, mainly the castle with moat, drawbridge and ballistas that's five minutes away from me with a bunch of useful places close by (a small gardening shop, army surplus store, fishing store that also does rifles etc). Generally speaking though, I would bug in a single place and then explore, creating a number of fortified places within half hour of each other (the amount of time I can alternate sprinting and jogging with a small load) to extend the range I can gather resources.

I've always enjoyed the idea where weapons were more than just a "stat stick", where they affect your basic attack and what skills you have. The one thing to consider though is stats. If this character is going to have unbalanced stats (i.e. higher magic attack than physical attack) then one choice is going to be better than the rest (i.e. staff over scythe and claws). Two ways you could go about it: * Equalize the character's stats. * Have each weapon apply a state that increases / decreases the stats (and maybe even apply a few other things i.e. MP cost down, attack twice).

Pretty simple, bit like me

Class: Taoist Archetype: Warrior Role: Physical Damage Dealer Concept: The Taoist is a martial master that has honed their body into a weapon and are followers of the Way of the Twin Dragons, Five Elements. In combat, the Taoist has two ways - the Twin Dragons - to be effective: * The Dragon of Creation - Utilising this method, the Taoist follows the cycle of creation in order to regain health, build up Qi - their resourse - and their offensive power through buffs. The further down the cycle they go, the stronger the buffs (up to a limit). The cycle is Fire > Earth > Metal > Water > Wood > Fire. For example, Fire Palm followed by Stone Fist. * The Dragon of Destruction - Utilising this method, the Taoist follows the cycle of destruction consumes health, Qi and buffs in order to boost their offensive power. The further down the cycle they go the more damage they deal. The cycle is Metal > Wood > Earth > Water > Fire > Metal. For example, Fire Palm followed by Steel Defence. Breaking either cycle removes all buffs. Each element has two techniques and each technique has an effect depending on which cycle it is used in. For example: * Fire Palm, Cycle of Creation - Deliver a palm strike, dealing damage, and gaining Qi and Burning Spirit (a constant buff that generates an additional point of Qi each turn). * Fire Palm, Cycle of Destruction - Consumes a Metal buff and Qi. Deliver a palm strike, dealing additional damage based on Qi consumed.

Classes Class name: Chaosian Combat roles: Buffer / Debuffer Strengths: Effectiveness based on how strong enemies are and weaknesses of party Can turn the tide of a battle with a lucky roll Weaknesses: A lot of skills based on randomness Very little offensive capability Stats: High: MDEF, LUK Med: MaxHP, AGI, DEF Low: ATK, MATK Set: MaxMP (known as Chaos Affinity) Additional information: Whereas traditional mages increase their effectiveness through rigorous study, control and manipulation of mystic forces to bring about deliberate results, the Chaosian allows these forces to run wild with little direction to wreak havoc among enemy forces and assist allies. Rather than utilising mana, Chaosians draw their strength from their affinity with Chaos. However, as is its nature, this affinity can fluctuate at random; one minute their affinity is fairly low, the next they can draw on the full power of the chaotic energies. While seemingly random, a skilled Chaosian can read the random tides of chaos in order to maximize their effectiveness. Skills Chaotic Pulse (replaces basic attack) Effect - Deals damage and applies a random negative effect for one turn to a random enemy. It's effectiveness is based on affinity with Chaos and can potentially strike up to four times based on Chaos affinity.Benevolent Chaos Effect - Heals and applies a random positive effect to two random allies. Allies inflicted with any negative state also receive an additional positive effect and additional healing.Malevolent Chaos Effect - Debuffs two random enemies. If the enemy is benefiting from a positive state, then this skill also deals lowers all stats by 10% for one turn.Wreak Havoc! Effect - Imbues allies with the Havoc state for two turns.Chaotic Maelstrom Effect - Unleashes a storm of chaotic energies across the battlefield. Empties Chaos affinity and inflicts Normal state on the user (unit cannot gain any affinity with Chaos for x turns and has access to a normal basic attack).Inflicts two random negative states to all enemies. If the enemy is benefiting from positive effects, this skill also deals damage, removes the positive effect and applies Confusion for two turns. Applies two random positive states to all allies. If the ally is afflicted with a negative state, this skill also heals, removes the negative state and increases all stats by 10% for two turns. If this skill is cast when Chaos affinity is above 90, then this skill persists for two turns. States Confusion (Negative State) Effect - Afflicted unit cannot discern friend from foe, and has a chance of attacking allies.Havoc (Positive State) Effect - Affected unit has a chance of applying a random negative state with their attacks.

Class name: Arcanist Combat roles: Main - Damage Dealer Minor - Defensive Support Strengths: High damage capability Spells evolve when certain stat thresholds are broken, becoming more powerful. Weaknesses: Offensive capabilities dependent on mana Frail; poor physical stats No damage-dealing basic attack Has little mana at the start of the fight. Stats: High - MATK, MDEF, MaxMP Med - AGI, LUK Low - MaxHP, ATK, DEF Additional information(Read the Additional Stuff section below): Arcanists start the fight with little mana, as mana is harmful when stored for long periods of time, and can be outright deadly when the Arcanist draws too much in. Passive State - Mana Poisoned Effect - The Arcanist loses 1% of their MaxHP every turn for every 10% MP they have over the threshold (30%). As such, their basic attack gathers mana from their surroundings to fuel their spells, and the MaxMP stat cannot grow. Basic Attack: Gather Mana Effects The amount of mana gathered is dependent on their MATK. At x amount of casts, the Arcanist can draw more mana in. At y amount of casts, the Arcanist refines the quality of mana drawn in and gains a buff that increases their spell damage for 1 turn. Beginner spell: Mana Arrow Cost - 10% of MaxMP Effects The Arcanist fires an arrow composed of mana. The more mana spent on the attack, the more damage it deals. MP cost is reduced permanently at certain cast thresholds without sacrificing damage. However, improving the efficiency of the attack gets harder the more the cost is reduced. At x MATK, the skill fires arrows at all enemies at the cost of more mana. At y MATK, the skill fires a barrage of arrows at all enemies. Basic Spell: Arcane Momentum Cost - 5% of MaxMP + 1% each cast Effects The Arcanist blasts the enemy, dealing Arcane damage based on MATK. Each time the skill is cast in a battle, the damage increases and so does the mana cost. At x amount of casts, Arcane Blast changes to Arcane Explosion, dealing massive damage to all enemies. Basic Buff: Mana Cloak Cost - 0, then 5% of MaxMP per turn Duration - Until cancelled or mana runs out. Effects Mana Cloak reduces the mana cost of spells by 10% and increases MATK and Arcane Damage defence by 10% at the cost of MP per turn. At x MDEF, Mana Cloak also increases MDEF by 10%. At y MDEF, Mana Cloak turns a portion of incoming magic damage into Mana. High Level Buff: Mana Conduit Cost - 0, then 20% MaxHP per turn Requirements - 0 mana, full health. Duration - 2 turns Effects While the body usually limits how much mana the body can store, experienced Arcanists can override this limiter for a short period of time, increasing Max MP by x, filling MP to max, increasing mana recovery by 30% per turn and MATK by 20%.

You could have the Mage where their overall battle ability gets stronger as the battle progresses. For example, MP is generated over the course of the fight, instead of being able to start off with full mana. Maybe their basic attack with their wakizashi generates additional mana per turn. Maybe there's Mage-specific equipment that increases the amount of mana generated per turn etc. Then, as your mana increases, your other stats also get a boost, certain spells get more powerful etc: * Arcane Missile consumes x% of your current MP but does damage based on your current mana. * Arcane Shield consumes 100% of your stored mana, but provides the party with a variety of buffs with X potency (for example, increase stats and health regen 1% for every 5% mana consumed) / for X turns (1 turn per 20%) based on the mana consumed. * Mana Burn consumes 50% of your current mana, but also burns the target's mana and deals damage based on the amount of mana burnt. * Time Lock consumes 100% of your current mana but freezes enemies in place for x turns based on mana consumed. Then you have Elemental spells, where certain skills provide a buff that increases the damage of that type of skill / applies additional effects to your next skill. For example, Gather Fire provides you with X stacks of [imbued with Fire] buff, which in turn increases a stat associated with it (for example, ATK) by 1% per stack, as well as fire skills. On top of that, Fire Arrow now hits all targets instead of one, while Water Arrow also applies Blind to the target, consuming one stack of buff. I feel this would tie in with the Mage being a fast, combo-centric character and allowing the Mage to be powerful, but not immediately.

Do you have a general plot for it?

Did you remove the variance and ability to crit? If it still doesn't work I'll take a look when I get home. Did you remove the variance and ability to crit? If it still doesn't work I'll take a look when I get home. Edit: I just got it to work. The settings I tested were: * HP Damage * Element: Normal Attack * b.mhp * 0.75 (this dealt 75% of max HP, killing in 2 shots) and b.hp * 0.75 (this dealt 75% of current health. When health got to 1, the skill did no damage). * Variance: 0 * Critical: No

It's...not. Game development has taken a back shelf in favour of juggling full-time work, part-time uni and raising my sister.

For the skill that reduces HP by more than half is that based on Max HP or current HP? Whichever way you do it, you could use something like (a/b).(MHP/HP) * 0.x, where a it is based off of your health, b is based on the target's health, MHP is max health, HP is current health and x is a percent of your choosing, if I remember rightly. So for example, dealing damage based on 3/4 - or 75% - of the target's Max health you'd use b.MHP * 0.75 Edit: just read your post properly. You'll want something like b.HP * 0.x

I think this picture sums up precisely how it's going for me...