Don’t worry I won’t dump them all on you at once, it would give me a head ache writing them out too. Expect the next about a week after the discussion around this one dies down.
Be sure you check the Edit section at the bottom of the post, if you are worried that you are posting something some one else had already Covered.
First the Feral;
Description
A Feral is a class oriented toward mythic warlords; about awesome powers hiding in the body of the weak, feeble, young (many anime series have preceded me in that aspect) or old.
Ferals would have low DPS when not using their special skills, they also have low armour 60 on most ermour peices, 70 with one set but it increases damage taken from shadow attacks.
They would have only 25 energy at 3 pips, that is not very much at all seen the cost of their skills.
Health is far as I know not reliant on Class but instead on race, so they have same health as everyone else.
Appearance
Now a feral will not look weak or old or anything in that trend, the basic feral will be just as young and Olympic figured as all the other GW classes, their amour and weapons however do not look as tough as a warrior’s or as magical as elementalist’s.
(the eye candy is courtesy of Dragos Stanculescu, A. Kajsa Flinkfeldt, Colin Price Thank you very much. I know I did not ask permission to portray copyrighted work, sorry, But I have linked the pic’s to your galleries, see it as involuntary advertising. I hope you won’t mind, just post if you do and I’ll edit your picture(s) out.)
Hopefully most have noticed they all have a sort of natural/native theme to them, which is necessary for a Feral in order to preserve the power within them they most stay attuned to their heritage and not indulge in laziness, or gluttony; like the chiefs of the tribes and the intruders do.
Role
The team/combat role of a Feral is very similar to that of an assassin; Melee Spiking done over short term damage bursts.
Though a Feral does not use combos like an assassin does, they use empowerings that enhance them in attack or defense, these are similar to enchantments however they are always selfonly and a Feral without the primary skill can only sustain 1 at a time.
However the niche of successful a Feral is just that they can sustain more than 1 empowering.
Ferals are suposed to be easy prey when not empowered, so they should have poor healing skills(plz corect me if I went over again I tend to do that on heals)
As they have empowerings and weapon spells, they sorta know about magical effects and have reasonably good Hex control and removel on themselves, they also have a bit of condtion control on themselves .
Weapons and offhands
A Feral should use a low tech, but reasonable melee weapon.
Behold the cudgel:
is a native version
is a more European version
Also the Aztec type, with shark tooth and flint between 2 aerodynamically shaped pieces of wood, I would love to see featured.
The damage would be 5-20 with a reswing of 1.33 that puts it at a DPS of 4.188
which is between an axe(5.695) and a hammer(3.375 though trough the higher damage hammer has much better armor penetration per hit)
(the formula I used was (( max - min ) / 2 + min)*( 2 - reswing ) = average damage over 2 sec / 2 and you have DPS)
These bludgeons are obviously all one handed, The off hand items would be reliant Channel Rage(Thorny Fetish, Ruby Eye) and Spiritual Guidance(Ghostly Wrappings, Emerald Eye), not Guardian Manifesting as this creates its own off hand items.
The offhand items are indeed casting focuses and give up to a normal max of +12 energy, this is to balance out the low energy Ferals have without them.
Attributes
It’s a melee weapon user class so there is first a weapon skill that governs attack skills and weapon damage, then a primary attribute meant to improve the weapon without directly affecting it with attacks. And then additional attributes 1 for survivability skills one for alternate damage combinations
Bludgeon Mastery
Each point in bludgeon mastery increases your damage when using Bludgeon weapons, also your skills affecting bludgeon attacks become more effective with high bludgeon mastery.
Channel Rage - Primary
For each level in Channel Rage your empowerings last 2% longer, and for every 4 levels in Channel Rage you can have 1 more Empowering on you.
(this totals 0=1…4=2…8=3…12=4…16=5, points in attribute maintainable empowerings)
Guardian Manifesting
No inherent effect, for each level in Guardian Manifesting your weapon spells become more effective.
Spiritual Guidance
No inherent effect, for each level in Spiritual Guidance you’re the spells reliant on Spiritual Guidance will become more effective.
Skills
Here is list of example skills for the Feral, these all need additional balancing and additional skills. The headers of the attributes also contain a how and why explanation.
all skills are noted in the same uniform type:
<Name>
<type>
<energy># (<activation>#)/<special activation> <recharge>#
<skill description> (1…6…8 means 1 at ability level 0, 6 at 12 and 8 at 16)
Bludgeon Mastery
This ability is for the bludgeon skills, they generally affect how to attack and at times where to strike. Even though the Feral can (apparently)dual wield while under a Feral weapon spell they do not get a dual strike chance like assassins do each attack or attack skill only counts for 1 hit.
Now bludgeons are blunt they are not as heavy as 2 handed hammers they do NOT knockdown foes as often or as easily, I’ve put in just 1 skill that causes knockdown I think we should keep it at that.
The attacks are based on natural process, as in the Feral watched the land and learned from it’s ways.
All skills of the bludgeon attack type naturally require you to be wielding a bludgeon when using them.
Breaking Wave(Bludgeon Mastery)
Bludgeon attack
energy 5 next attack recharge 16
Your next attack causes Cripple for 5…10…12 seconds and target foe is knocked down. If target foe is knocked down, you are knocked down.
War Slam(Bludgeon Mastery)
Bludgeon attack
energy 5 next attack recharge 2
If you are under the effects of an Empowering this attack is unblockable.
(either somonelse uses a AoE one on you, hostile or friendly, or you are running one yourself)
Canyon Crash(Bludgeon Mastery)
Bludgeon attack
energy 10 next attack recharge 8
If you are under the effects of a weapon spell, you strike target foe twice, each attack dealing 25...18...15% less damage.
Wild Flail(Bludgeon Mastery)
Bludgeon attack
energy 10 next attack recharge 12
Strike target foe and up to 1…3…4 foes adjacent to you, for each target that evades Wild Flail you may strike 1 additional foe. If Wild Flail is blocked it causes exhaustion.
Switchero(Bludgeon Mastery)
Skill
energy 10 instant recharge 15
For 10 seconds, if you are not under the effect of a weapon spell, you deal 8…4…2 less damage and your attacks can not be blocked.
Channel Rage
Channel rage is the main skill for empowerings, though not all skills on Channel Rage are empowerings and not all empowerings are under Channel Rage.
Channel Rage focuses on keeping control of the hidden powers within the Feral, and release tem in a way that they will be beneficial to the user and not just wasted effort.
Empowerings come both in good, evil and neutral flavors.
Empowerings explained
Empowerings are similar to enchantments, however they stack to a limited amount (defined by your Channel Rage attribute) and are much more powerful.
You can only cast empowerings on yourself, they have a average energy cost(5-15) very short activation times(instant to ¾) very long recharge times(25-50) and short durations(5-10 also increased by Channel Rage).
Empowerings are not affected by remove enchantment/hex/whatever also they are not affected by spell recharge decreases or increases, they can be interrupted but only if you are lucky because they have such short activation times.
The %duration increase they receive from Channel Rage is rounded so 7 at 0 = 7 is 7 seconds, 7 at 3=7.42 is 7 seconds, 7 at 4 = 7.56 is 8 seconds 7 at 16 = 9.24 is 9 seconds.
The reasons are that you should be able to rapidly cast many empowerings on yourself, and not have the first one end before you finish casting the last gaining maximum benefit during your power burst.
After a power burst you are to be punished sufficiently by being less effective while you wait for the recharge which is long enough.
And that using a empowering can be pretty tiring to your hero, and you can only use that may high energy ones at a time.
The term power burst is a strategy for Ferals, they can also power strain.
During a power burst you activate as many empowerings as you can, gaining a suddenly high damage output or survivability, useful to for example kill a boss. Channel Rage is important here as it affects the maximum of empowerings that can be used simultaneously.
During a power strain you try to use each empowering just as the last one ends, maintaining a constant heightened combat effectiveness, Channel Rage is important to gain those extra 2 or 3 seconds to the duration of a empowering.
Because of this a Feral you will constantly be looking for what is the best balance of, how many empowerings to take and which ones to take. Like assassin attacks carrying 1 is not very effective as they are best combo’ed, but carrying 8 may also not be the best strategy.
Thunder Revenant(Channel Rage)
Empowering
energy 10 activation ¼ recharge 40
You are struck by lightning and take 60…40…30 lightning damage, for 7 seconds you deal lightning damage and all foes adjacent to your target take 5…20…25 lighting damage each time on of your attack hit’s.
Will of the Worthy(Channel Rage)
-Elite- Empowering
energy 5 instant recharge 25
For 9 seconds you gain 30…60…75 additional max. health and 10…25…30 additional amour for each hex or condition on you, hexes and conditions expire 50% faster and you are healed for 30…60…75 health whenever a hex or conditions on you ends.
Reavers Claws(Channel Rage)
Empowering
energy 15 activation ½ recharge 50
For 5 seconds you deal +20…35…45 shadow damage on each successful melee attack, whenever you do you are healed for the amount of shadow damage dealt.
Enraged Slam(Channel Rage)
Bludgeon attack
energy 5 next attack recharge 12
Knockdown target foe, this skill causes exhaustion.
(change of failure with Channel Rage 4 or less)
Light of the Fire(Channel Rage)
Empowering
energy 10 activation ¾ recharge 30
For 10 seconds you gain 3 health regeneration and nearby allies gain 1 health regeneration, foes adjascent to you take 5…9…10 fire damage each second.
Avatar of Fear(Channel Rage)
Empowering
energy 15 instant recharge 45
for 6 seconds all foes in your area attack 20…40…45% slower and suffer 2…4…5 health degeneration, but move 20% faster.
Guardian Manifesting
As I’ve said before Ferals have a hidden power inside them, this power can manifest part of it’s self as a weapon.
The weapons spells Ferals cast through Guardian Manifesting are exactly the same as ritualist weapon spells, except that the conjured weapon look is different.
But a Bludgeon does not have a affected by a weapon spell look;
Whenever someone wielding a bludgeon comes under the effects of a weapon spell, their bludgeon becomes a 2 handed item and increases in attack speed 25% and the animation for attacking changes with a 2nd bludgeon(of grey stone like stuff, or white transparent energy) materializing in the off hand.
They do not actually wield a second bludgeon, for the implementation benefits it’s just a attack speed effect and the visuals of dual wielding.
Thus a hero using a bludgeon sacrifices the bonuses of his off hand items for a attack speed increase, whenever under the effects of a weapon spell. This also works with a hostile weapon spell.
I’ve tried hard as I can to keep there as different as possible from ritualist weapon spells, which proved surprisingly hard, there for I’ve given the weapons a aggressive like setting instead of a magical like one.
Finishing Weapon(Guardian Manifesting)
Weapon Spell
energy 5 activation 2 recharge 10
For 3…7…9 seconds target ally is wielding a Finishing Weapon, the next time target ally strikes a foe that is under 15% health, the attack is a critical hit.
Fevered Weapon(Guardian Manifesting)
Weapon Spell
energy 15 activation 3 recharge 12
For 6 seconds target other ally is wielding a Fevered Weapon, which adds +1…3…4 energy for each condition you are suffering, while Fevered Weapon is active you will not lose any conditions when Fevered Weapon ends you lose 1…3…4 conditions.
Blaming Weapon(Guardian Manifesting)
Weapon Spell
energy 10 activation 1 recharge 8
For 3…5…6 seconds you are wielding a blaming weapon, whenever you strike a foe all foes adjacent to your target lose 2…4…5 energy.
Unwilling Weapon(Guardian Manifesting)
Weapon Spell
energy 10 activation 2 recharge 20
For 3…6…7 seconds target foe is wielding a Unwilling Weapon, and his attack deal 2…10…12 less damage.
Hulking Weapon(Guardian Manifesting)
Weapon Spell
energy 8 activation 2 recharge 15
For 7…9…12 seconds target ally is wielding a hulking weapon and attacks 20% slower, but has 8…12…15% armour penetration.
Fortunate Weapon(Guardian Manifesting)
Weapon Spell
energy 10 activation 1 recharge 20
For 6 seconds you are wielding a Fortunate Weapon, and attacks against you have 6...10...12% chance to miss.
Spiritual Guidance
This is the Ferals main healing and energy management attribute. As they already gain health trough empowerings and are not meant to be very energetic, it’s not meant to be very powerful.
The skills are tuned to gaining benefit from words of wisdom, I've not made any to use on allys as the class should not tend towards a suport role.
Tranquil as the Stream(Spiritual Guidance)
Skill
energy 5 activation 3 recharge 15
All your attack skills are disabled for 5 seconds; you gain 15…25…30 health for each skill disabled this way.
Grateful Weapon(Spiritual Guidance)
Weapon Spell
energy 10 activation 2 recharge 10
For 8…11…12 seconds you are wielding a grateful weapon, when an other ally casts a spell on you they are healed for that spell’s converted energy cost.
Wise Weapon(Guardian Manifesting)
Weapon Spell
energy 15 activation 2 recharge 10
For 6...12...15 seconds you are wielding a Wise Weapon, and have an additional 4...8...10 maximum energy, this maximum energy is not instantly filled when added.
(like the ritualist energy adder you lose the + 12 from a focus you might have been holding, or if ur not wielding a bludgeon, you do not get a speed increase from this and it might not even be usefull to have)
Ritual of Passing(Spiritual Guidance)
Skill
energy 15 activation * recharge 20
For each nearby corpse this spill takes 1.5 seconds longer to activate, for each nearby dead ally you lose 1 hex, for each nearby dead foe 1 nearby foe loses a hex.
No Attribute
For skills that should/could not vary in power and do not really belong anywhere else.
Quiet Seas
Skill
energy 15 activation 1 recharge 20
Remove all Enchantments and Empowerings from you; for each removed Enchantment you gain +1 energy regeneration for 5 seconds, for each removed Empowering you gain +1 health regeneration for 5 seconds.
Surprising Smack
Bludgeon attack
energy 5 next attack recharge 6
This attack can’t be blocked or evaded.
Utter Determination
Empowering
energy 5 instant recharge 50
For 10 seconds, your attacks can not be interrupted; whenever an attack would be interrupted it instead becomes a critical hit.
Current Problems
Here go problems, people have alerted me to and/or which I haven’t been able to come up with a solution for.
I’m asking everyone to give them serious though so we can make this class the best it could possibly be.
AI
NPC Ferals would have to handle Empowerings correctly; it for the players will already be very difficult to use Empowerings as efficiently as possible, to code the AI so that NPC’s will be able to would be near to impossible.
Lets say the average life expectancy of a mob once it enters combat with a team of players is 12 seconds and 18 seconds for a soloing player(should not be too far off) it would for a mob be beneficial to always Power Burst but this might lead to mobs being overpowered and it would look improper if mobs knew they where going to die in a few seconds and not show any signs of fear.
On the other hand a boss using a power burst would make way to hard for the first few seconds but leave them way to weak afterwards if someone manages to kite the boss for that duration, they could probably solo bosses that should not be soloed.
Making mobs use power straining would make them fail to employ the full power a feral has, again making them to easy.
All of the above hardly matters for low lvl mobs, as they have to little skills for bursting or straining to matter anyway. But mobs above lvl 20 and bosses would defiantly be affected by this problem.
Need more duetr…SKILLS!...yes skills..*sweat*..I mean skills
The skills I’ve put up here might make up 1 build; they are more sort of a random collection of skills to show what kind of skills the attributes should have.
I wan’t to ask every one to hit me with suggestions for more skills, I’ll keep adding ones myself but will in time run out of insperation.
Eye candy gone bad
The pictures featured here, are only to sort of give a idea about the armours for the class. There ofcource will be many more versions of the armour.
Especially for the hard time I had finding these pictures that matched with what I needed, I bid everyone to help me find prettier pictures, that well really look like the mouthwatering eye candy to show off the class.
EDITS
- 08-11-06
Name Empowerments changed into Empowering, I hope I changed it everywhere - 09-11-06
Changed weapon damage form 8-22 to 5-20 to emphesise unempowered gimpyness, and improve balance.
Increased breaking Wave rechargetime
Changed War Slam to have less efects
Decreased damage to adjascent from Thunder Revenant(1...12...18 counting armor)
Fixed Spiritual Guidance how&why text
Changed Canion Crash back into a less powerfull dual attack
Removed the critical increase form the swichero
Reduced Health Degeneration from Avatar of Fear
Halved the fire damge form Light of the Fire, as only a foes feet would actually be in the fire
Got rid if Blackjack as it is to modern and does not fit in the setting
Gratfull Weapon now only heals other allies
Got rid of Signet of Silence, What you Want to Know and What you Need to Know on account of Spiritual Guidance having healing skills but it should only have a few.
Added Ritual of Passage Spiritual guidance skill, to emphesise hex controll Ferls have, though the activation time alows mesmers to easely interupt it.
Modiefied Feral description to include base AL and base energy
Changed Role descrption to include the Feral's take on healing/condition & hex management
Changed Wild Flail to never hit more that 4 targets might make an elite flail that hits more but for now that is dervish teritory.
Increased the Breaking Wave Recharge some more
Changed the Recharge on warslam which I forgot to do when I canged it before
Added Fortunate Weapon, Guardian Manifesting
Found out I had magically edited this post in the furture and set the dates in edit list to the corect values
Added Wise Weapon, Spiritual Guidance - 12-11-06
Added the 'Eyecandy not sweet enough' problem to the known problems list
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