Regarding the % chance to inflict certain things. In short, you are wrong. I don't want to argue but the original RPGs (dungeons and dragons much?) were ENTIRELY luck based. So go roll a 2d8 and stop criticising modern gaming flaws as you so happily seem to do without much conviction in 99% of your posts.
Similarly, you are criticizing my arguments without giving your reasons. Gimme a sensible reason as to why having %chances of doing stuff is a good idea. Also, this isn't a turned based strategy game we're talking about. This is a Real Time RPG, where player customization, skill planning and split second decisions take the lead as the core gameplay mechanics.
Also, stating that original RPGs have these mechanics just emphasizes how much developers are using them as a crutch these days. They're old as fuck.. and DnD's a turn based game!!
The Rogue as a DPS is good, but giving it Buffs is just uninteresting. It makes more sense in the Warrior/Tank..
Then again, since you only have 3 heroes, I guess it's excusable. It ought to be like .. Rogue = Tank, Mage = Mage, and Warrior = Paladin lols
I also want to point out that you seem to be falling into the same problem as ZHRPG (the first featured RPG in SC2, if you recall..)
Everything is just Numbers. They work in theory, but never work practically. It is not user-friendly, and you alienate a huge fraction of the players just because they couldn't get down to your game's system. Yes, the abilities cause enemies to die, and balances the heroes well.. But almost none of the heroes are compelling, and I see people choosing the same heroes over and over again. If you wish to grab players and deliver a fun and engaging experience for the players, the abilities must also be fun and engaging, and not just a set of numbers. The "x chances of y damage of z random effect" feels so frontloaded and boring.
It should be like ... Lethal Fury - "The Rogue goes into a frenzy, greatly improving his attack speed."
There's no need for numbers or anything.
You also talk about synergy with other abilities. But again, it's all numbers. Synergy can come from other things such as the mechanics of the ability. It's hard to explain, but I can give you an example.
In Dota, Pudge (the ugly mutant butcher thing) has three highly synergetic spells
1. Meat Hook - Pulls enemy foe towards him
2. Rot - Small AoE Dmg around Pudge, and slows down enemies
3. Dismember - High Dmg, close-ranged melee attack
In this order, Pudge is super powerful. You draw the enemy in, Slow them down, and then proceed with the high dmg close-ranged attack.
The other ability is an Defensive-Anti-Magic Ability. Which ALSO Synergizes with his spells, because Pulling an Enemy towards you is risky if the enemy is has huge Magic DPS abilities. Therefore, the defensive ability is an alternative to Dismember, in case you want to play it defensively.
There are, obviously, numbers.. But the numbers themselves aren't the core mechanics of the abilities, and aren't the ones synergizing.
Let's focus more on this hero.. Meat Hook is a High Skill'd Ability. As it has an initial delay, and the hook itself takes some time to travel. Also, it must not hit enemy creep/spawn if you were trying to hook the enemy hero. This is the sort of thing that facilitates fun and engagement. It is easy to learn, but hard to master.
But the biggest point I want to make is that, it
innately has the "%chance", due solely on its mechanics. The farther away the enemy is, or if more shit's in the way, the less "Chance" you have of hitting him. However, if you're smart, or have mastered the skill, you can increase your "Chance" of hitting someone.
It's these kinds of mechanics that gets my approval.. and Any Design that features An attack that has an "Xchance" of doing "Yshit" and of "Zdmg" is just
LAZY design. Unless we're talking about turn based strategy games, I have no love for these abilities.
From my standpoint, Void Rip makes absolutely no sense. If it makes the Rogue himself increase attack speed, that's okay.. But if it makes people who attack the enemy that was hit by Void Rip to have increased attack speed.. that makes no sense.. o.O
Since you've only got 3 heroes, you have to make them all very engaging.. and also make them complement each other.
I can say that from what you've set up so far.. The Rogue is the initiator, the Immortal is the Tank, and the Mage is the DPS.
Being the initiator, the Rogue needs to have High Skilled Abilities, like the Traps, which I think is a good idea.. and should also have Counter spells, which deals with certain kinds of enemies well..
So, for example, say you have Magic using enemies that shoots ranged projectiles, and Melee enemies that rush towards you, in a group. If this sort of situation is prominent in your RPG, you can give abilities that helps the rogue with these situations.
Here's two abilities that'd work great.
1. Shadow Strike - Same as I've suggested before
2. Energy Sapper - Some sort of Trap or Shield that decreases magic damage.
So, as a Rogue, you'd shadow strike through the rushing melee units, right into the mage units..
then use Energy Sapper, and take care of the mage units.. while your teammates handle the rest.
TL;DR.. you really need to take a step back and not theorize so much and use only numbers for your abilities. You need to start thinking about what sort of situations, like enemy types, boss battles, etc., your RPG will have, and how you want the players to deal with them. You only got 3 heroes, so you gotta have them complement each other
in as many situations as possible. This also keys with the fact that it is SO Important for you to release an alpha version.. only then can we start seeing what sort of scenarios you have planned for us, like the one I've described above. Then we can make good judgements on what sort of abilities would fit the heroes.
Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Jun 4 2011, 8:35 pm by UnholyUrine.
None.