Concept for an elementalist’s elite specialization: The Archon
- New weapon: Sword
- Profession mechanic: Avatar Form
- New utility skill type: Rune skills
- Lore: Decades ago, many high elementalists and members of Durmand Priory banded together in order to create powerful spells that will once serve Tyria as a powerful protection against evil. They created a top secret guild with a single goal. For many years, almost fully separated from the world outside of one of the most secret halls in Durmand Priory, they worked, experimented, and learned many things previously unknown about the core of elemental magic itself. And, finally, after a long time, they found what they were looking for. Some of guild’s members discovered an ability not to release elemental powers outside of body, like how many elementalists are doing, but to absorb those powers to their own souls, transforming them completely an moving powers of their owners to another level. Those who did it became known as Archons. Although this power looked very powerful, it had its weaknesses. It’s very exhausting for Archon’s original body, and some of those who successfully entered this form, leaved it crippled or dead. But they kept working and researching, to minimalize risks of this ability for its users. In the next years, Archons were improving their powers and discovered many other useful spells and abilities, such as creating magical runes and using a sword as a weapon capable of bending elements. Now, when Tyria is in a great danger and every aid is needed, Archons decided to show the world and teach others what they discovered…
Avatar Form (new mechanic)
Archon’s profession mechanic is called Avatar Form. After absorbing enough elemental energy, archon is able to turn his own body into that element, becoming a powerful avatar of fire, water, air or earth.
To become an avatar, archon has to accumulate elemental energy, which is represented by a bar next to attunement icons. This bar can be filled by similar way like warrior’s adrenaline bar, by attacking your enemy. But unlike adrenaline bar, this one is filled little slower (should take more time than filling all 3 stages in adrenaline bar), but on the other hand, your skills on the right side of bar can also fill your bar by some amount. Each attunement has its own bar, so when you for example swap from fire to air, your progress in fire attunement bar will be stopped and the bar gets replaced by a bar for air attunement. When you return back to fire, your previous progress will be restored, so you don’t have to worry about losing it. There are 3 possible ways how to lose progress in all your bars: By entering avatar form, by going out of combat or when you are defeated. Falling into downed state only clears your progression in your current attunement, so if you are rallied, you still have your progression in other attunements saved.
Once you accumulate enough elemental energy (bar 100%) you can enter avatar form in that attunement (f5 skill). There are 4 versions of avatar form, 1 for each attunement. When you enter avatar form, you lose ability to swap attunements and your bar in all attunements drops to 0% (+ you can’t fill it in avatar form). Your body turns into your element, based on avatar form (liquid body, body from flames, etc.). You gain access to 5 new skills, replacing your weapon skills (You also lose your weapon, like necro in DS), your other skills are still available. Because avatar form is very powerful but also very exhausting for your body, when you leave it (each avatar form lasts 15 sec or you can leave it by f5 again) you are stunned for 2 seconds (or 3 maybe?) and a condition is applied to you, based on avatar form you leaved (fire: burning, water: chill, air: vulnerability, earth: torment). This can be an opportunity for your enemies to strike, so you should always be prepared for this moment with some stunbreaks, stability, good position, or allies you can rely on that they will protect you while you are vulnerable. While in avatar form, you have also increased your toughness and vitality a bit (Earth avatar form increases toughness more than others and water avatar form also increases healing power to support your healing skill and passive healing). It doesn’t increase other stats like power and precision because avatar form attacks are strong enough.
Fire Avatar form: Focused on big AoE damage, long range.
- skill 1: Cast a slow, but powerful fireball, burning foes it passes through. When reaching target, it explodes, dealing AoE damage. (1200 range)
- skill 2: Send out wave of flames (360 degrees), damaging foes and granting retaliation to allies. When it reaches its maximum range, wave returns back to you, granting you might. Wave is a moving fire field. (900 range)
- skill 3: Flames erupt from you, damaging and burning nearby foes and granting fire aura to nearby allies. (Blast finisher, 600 range)
- skill 4: Summon 2 fire tornados in targeted locations (acts like 2 fire fields close to each other, but are casted together as 1 ground targeted skill. Both tornados resembles fire overload one, but are smaller and not so transparent), burning foes within. Both have 20% chance to destroy enemy projectiles. Duration 5 sec. Both fields have radius 180. (1200 range)
- skill 5: Call down a massive meteor in targeted location, burning and launching foes (Much bigger in appearance than those meteors from fire staff 5). Blast finisher. 240 radius, launch is 200 range. (1200 range)
Water Avatar form: Focused on group support and healing, long range.
- skill 1: Send water wave to your target, damaging foes and healing allies it passes through. Wave has 180 range in width. (1200 range)
- skill 2: Create a water bubble, then send it to targeted location, damaging foes it passes through. When bubble reaches targeted location, it bursts, cures 2 conditions on allies, heals them and creates water field. 240 radius. (1200 range)
- skill 3: Create ice blade in targeted location, chilling and damaging foes. 200 radius. Blast finisher (1200 range)
- skill 4: Water spurts out from the ground in targeted area, knocking back foes while granting vigor to allies and cures all movement-impeding conditions on them. 240 radius. (1200 range)
- skill 5: Cover targeted area with a growing giant water bubble, blocking projectiles coming from outside, granting regeneration to allies and weakness to enemies inside. After short delay, bubble bursts, healing allies by large amount and damaging foes. Delay is 4 seconds. 260 (after cast) to 320 (before bursting) radius. Bubble is a water field. (1200 range)
Air Avatar form: Focused on mobility and high single target damage, mid range.
- skill 1: Throw a lightning spear at your foe, dealing big damage and inflicting 2 stacks of vulnerability. (900 range)
- skill 2: Teleport to your foe (if you are 200-600 range from him) and send a current of electricity to his body, dealing huge damage. Then you teleport back (2nd teleport is canceled if you are disabled during the attack). If you are within the range for attack (200 range), you are not teleported. (600 range for teleport)
- skill 3: Teleport to targeted location, blinding nearby foes and granting swiftness to yourself and nearby allies. 180 radius. (900 range)
- skill 4: Strike your foe with thunderbolt, damaging and stunning him for 1½ sec and dazing nearby foes for ½ sec. (900 range)
- skill 5: Summon thunderstorm in targeted area, striking foes with lightning, which damages and applies vulnerability on them. Foes struck by lightning are also displaced across the field. Lasts for 4 seconds. Lightning field. 240 radius. (900 range)
Earth Avatar form: Focused on defense, melee range.
- skill 1: chain AA (similar to Rampage’s AA), smash your foe with your hands, 2nd and 3rd AA inflict bleeding.
- skill 2: Summon a rock shield to block next 3 attacks, when it expires or when attacks are blocked, you and nearby allies gain protection and nearby foes are crippled. You can still attack while shield is active. 180 radius
- skill 3: Leap to targeted location (leap animation similar to Rampage’s skill 5). Send out a seismic wave where you land, immobilizing and tormenting enemies. Allies gain 1 stack of stability for 2 seconds. 600 radius. Blast finisher (600 range)
- skill 4: Briefly move under the ground, evading all attacks. (Lasts for 2 sec. and removes all movement-impeding conditions) When you get back to the ground (Animation similar to the one training npcs guard or mesmer are doing when appearing in HoTM, or some ascalonian ghosts), bleed nearby foes and grants aegis to allies. 180 radius. Prevents Capture-Point Contribution. (This skill is similar to stealth, while you are underground, you cannot be seen and targeted, but, unlike stealth, you also cannot use any skills)
- skill 5: Stamp the ground, tear out a huge rock, then kick it to send it to your enemy, knocking back enemies (sideways from rock’s path). When the rock hits your target, enemy is launched and the rock explodes, bleeding and crippling nearby foes. 180 radius. (900 range, 400 explosion radius)
New weapon: Sword
Fire
- Auto Attack: strike your foe with fire (150 range), strike your foe with fire again (150 range), send forward a fire wave, burning foes. Wave then returns to you, granting you 1 stack of might. (600 range)
- Searing Rune: Strike your foe and mark him with a Searing Rune, burning him immediately. While marked, your foe periodically burns other foes around him. After a short delay, rune activates, damaging that foe. (150 range, 3 sec rune duration, 180 radius for burning, burns foes every sec, 7 sec cd)
- Lava Orbs: Summon 3 lava orbs circling around you. Each orb periodically grants you and nearby allies 2 stacks of might and a small chance to inflict burning on hit (3% per orb maybe?). After orbs are summoned, 2nd skill is available (usable 3x = 1 for each orb, 1 sec cd between them) giving you ability to send lava orb at your foe, dealing high damage to him and nearby foes. (orbs lasts 10 sec, 600 range for 2nd skill, 15 sec cd-starts at the moment all orbs are gone)
Water
- Auto Attack: Strike your foe (150 range), strike your foe and heal yourself for a small amount (150 range), strike your foe and unleash a small water wave, healing nearby allies and applying weakness to nearby foes (150 range, 180 radius)
- Cleansing Leap: Leap to target area, grants regeneration and cures 1 condition from nearby allies where you land, deals little damage to enemies (600 range, 200 radius, leap finisher, 10 sec cd)
- Freezing Blade: Smash your sword into the ground, sending out an ice wave to targeted location, damaging foes. When the wave reaches targeted location, it creates an ice blade striking from the ground, damaging and chilling foes. (600 range, 180 radius, 20 sec cd)
Air
- Auto Attack: Shoot a lightning bolt at your foe (400 range), shoot a lightning bolt again (400 range), throw a lightning sword at your foe, causing vulnerability. Pierces. (600 range)
- Rune of Lightning: Strike your foe and mark him with a Rune of Lightning. You can then teleport to that foe, destroying the rune, damaging that foe and blinding nearby foes. If you don’t teleport and the rune expires, it activates, applying torment to that foe. (150 range, 180 radius, 4 sec rune duration, 15 sec cd that starts at the moment 1st skill is used, rune activation unblockable)
- Rune of Storm: Teleport to your foe, striking him with high damage and mark him with a Rune of Storm. After a short delay, rune activates, dazing that foe for 1 sec and applying weakness. (600 range, 3 sec rune duration, 20 sec cd, rune activation unblockable)
Earth
- Auto Attack: Strike your foe (150 range), strike foe with your sword enchanted by stones, bleeding him (150 range), strike foe with enchanted sword again, bleeding him. If your foe has 3 or more stacks of bleeding, poison him instead. (150 range)
- Stone Shelter: Surround your sword with rocks and use it to block next attack. If attack is blocked, you can throw remains of that rocks to the attacker, blinding him (600 range, 3 sec duration, 2nd skill projectile finisher, 20 sec cd)
- Surge of Earth: Spin around (just 1x, not 100x like an idiot with fire overload), sending out a wave of rock spikes (360 degrees), damaging, crippling and bleeding foes. (600 range, 20 sec cd)
New utilities: Rune skills
Runes are new type of skills unique to archon. When you activate a rune skill (usually ½ sec casting time) you gain a passive irremovable buff, specific to each rune, for 5 seconds. While you are under the effect of that buff, you can activate a 2nd, chain skill. This chain skill is instant cast and has stronger effect than your passive buff. Using a chain skill immediately remove passive buff (destroy the rune). You can’t use your chain skill if passive buff expires, but if you don’t use it, Rune skill cd is reduced a bit.
- Healing skill- Rune of Restoration: Mark yourself with Rune of Restoration, healing you periodically. You can destroy the rune, converting 3 conditions on you into boons. Heal you for a small amount per condition converted. (30 sec cd)
- Rune of Frost: Mark yourself with Rune of Frost, periodically damaging foes around you. You can destroy the rune, creating a blizzard in targeted location, chilling and damaging foes and removing 1 condition from allies. (200 radius, 900 range and 240 radius for blizzard, 35 sec cd)
- Rune of Magnetism: Mark yourself with Rune of Magnetism, destroying all incoming projectiles, gain might when projectile is destroyed ( ½ sec icd maybe?). You can destroy the rune, magnetizing targeted location, pulling foes to its center and removing 1 boon from them. Affected allies gain stability. (900 range, 240 radius, 50 sec cd)
- Rune of Wind: Mark yourself with Rune of Wind, granting you super speed. You can destroy the rune, creating a tornado in targeted location. Tornado damages enemies with a chance to apply blind or cripple on them. Tornado is lightning field. (900 range, 240 radius, tornado lasts 5 sec, 65 sec cd)
- Rune of Blaze: Mark yourself with Rune of Blaze, increasing your condition damage and condition duration of all damaging conditions applied by you. You can destroy the rune, sending its energy on your foe, burning him and nearby foes. Increase duration of all conditions on that foe by 1 (or 2?) seconds. (900 range, 180 radius, 50 sec cd)
- Elite skill- Rune of Elemental Devastation: Mark yourself with Rune of Elemental Devastation, granting you swiftness and might and increase your attunement recharge speed by 66%. You can destroy the rune, unleashing a large storm, dazing foes for 1 sec and applying burning, chill, vulnerability or bleeding on them with next 4 pulses. Allies gain retaliation. Unlike other rune skills, chain skill is not instant cast. (storm 900 range, storm lasts 5 sec, 120 sec cd)
Traits
I was inspired a little by berserker’s traits, where they are divided into 3 lines and each line has different improvements. Archon’s traits are similar. 1st line improves the mechanic itself, 2nd line improves your damage and 3rd line is focused on better survivability.
- Minor Adept: You can equip sword and gain access to Avatar Form and Rune skills.
- Minor Master: When you fill a bar in some attunement, gain boon associated with that attunement (Fire: might, water: vigor, air: fury, earth: resistance).
- Minor Grandmaster: When you enter Avatar Form, trigger all swap bonuses for your current attunement.
- Adept 1: Gain bonus 25% to your bar in your current attunement when your health drops below the threshold (25% health).
- Adept 2: 25% chance when struck to summon a lava orb (viz sword skill 3) for 10 sec. 15 sec icd.
- Adept 3: Swiftness applied to you has doubled duration. You are healed for a small amount when you gain swiftness.
- Master 1: Passive Rune effects lasts for 2 more seconds after their activation. Reduce recharge of Rune skills. (Doesn’t affect Rune skills from sword.)
- Master 2: You have increased condition damage for your main-hand weapon skills. Sword attacks are faster.
- Master 3: You take reduced damage in Avatar Form (10% or 15% maybe?).
- Grandmaster 1: Reduce recharge of Avatar Form. While in Avatar Form, using a skill 2-5 grants you stack of XXX. Each stack increases your stats, based on your attunement (Fire: power, water: healing, air: precision, earth: toughness). Max 10 stacks. Resets after leaving Avatar Form.
- Grandmaster 2: Gain 0,15% damage bonus per 1% of your filled bar. (that means max damage bonus is 15%)
- Grandmaster 3: Heal nearby allies by a small percentage of damage dealt to you.
Hope you like it. I know, it’s just too many for an elite spec, but one can always dream. Write what do you think about it and what would you change.
