The swampstalker is a new elite specialization idea for the ranger. Swampstalkers are the riverside scout vanguard of the rebellion. Like many of their comrades, swampstalkers were once commoners, in their case, hunters. As game became more and more scarce, they adapted, copying the techniques from the heket frogmen of Elona. Now they hunt beasts and men alike.
Aside from classic ranger weapons, swampstalkers can use one-handed terrestrial spears. Either at range or close combat, spears let them maneuver around their enemies, who are unable to successfully engage in combat. Pierce, knock down, throw, parry, you name it. Swift and relentless, few preys can escape their clutches.
But there’s more to it, for swampstalkers impregnate their weapons with a series of different venoms at their disposal, straight from the best heket alchemists. They can retreat after the first strikes, letting the deadly toxins weaken their enemies, to then come back right in time to finish them off.
Swampstalkers can tame the same pets as the rangers, but they have an additional ace up their sleeve: Swarms. This pet variant commands multiple smaller pets at once, instead of the classic single companion. Venomous Snakes, Pocket Raptors, Obsidian Scorpions… If the frenetic combat style of the swampstalker wasn’t challenging enough, wait to find yourself surrounded by a swarm of creatures, unable to fend them off one by one before they eat you alive.
Swampstalker
Heket were long considered a plague by the peoples of Elona. Savage frogs who raided farms and caravans, they formed an evergrowing horde that came back again and again after being culled. However, things changed after lich emperor Palawa Joko rose to power. The Elon River was diverted north, and the once lush southern swamplands were razed by the following droughts. The heket are facing exile or extinction, and this has lead them to bow down and become the most unlikely ally of the rebellion. Their alchemists provide the most powerful venoms of the region, some which can even harm the undead from the awakened army.
Allies today might become enemies in the future once again, but for now, we fight for Elona together.
(edited by Lonami.2987)
My little asuran can’t pass for a warrior woman
I’d like Amazon Prime.
Amazons are women, bruh.
Amazons are women, bruh.
And dragonhunters (!= dragonhuntress) are men :I.
Amazons are women, bruh.
And dragonhunters (!= dragonhuntress) are men :I.
That’s sexist.
I wouldn’t mind seeing a more elementalist style ranger with spears.
sorry when you said amazon I thought immediately of diablo 2 lightning javazon lols.
equipped in main hand, 2hander with various far-reaching melee attacks.
1a) strike 3 foes in front of you
1b) strike 3 foes in front of you and apply vulnerability
1c) strike 3 foes in front of you and send 1 bouncing lightning bolts from each of them to enemies upto 600 range behind them
2) spike the ground at your position with a lightning stike, sending foward 3 creeping veins of lightning upto 1200 range each striking upto 3targets.
3) gain protection and stability before surging in targeted direction rapidly striking foes along the way.
4a) for 5seconds you cannot take more than 10% dmg in total health per second. Every time you would have, shock 1 nearby foe.
4b) end early, doubling recharge and stunning 5 nearby foes for 2sec.
5) leap to target area causing daze and vulnerability. If one or more foes has a boon, teleport instead removing 3 boons and causing stun.
offhand
4a) throw a lightning bolt that bounces to enemies behind target. No recharge if it strikes more than 1 foe.
4b) activate to pull first target. puts skill on recharge for 20seconds.
5a) throw a lightning bolt that pierces upto a combined 5 foes and allies, chaining them together 7seconds (1200 range each) causing dmg only to foes that pass between them. Deals massive dmg to foes still tethered when it ends naturally.
5b) activate to end, removing 2 boons from each foe and 2 conditions from each ally.
Amazons are women, bruh.
And dragonhunters (!= dragonhuntress) are men :I.
Not to internet argue about something pointless, but “hunter” is gender neutral, like “police officer”. It’s like you wouldn’t have an ele elite spec called “witch” because that is always a woman and “warlock” is always a man. You might be able to get by with the warlock thing because less people are familiar with the term.
I assume you got the name and theme from Diablo 2, but that forces your character to be a woman. A better name than amazon might be… tribal warrior or something.
Amazons have a deeper connection with the wild than rangers. Using special concoctions, they can expand their minds and bodies to become one with their pets, shapeshifting into different primal animal forms at will, enhancing their senses and unlocking new abilities.
Another shroud on ranger… Druid was a very bad idea, Amazon is the same. Fighting in a transform state is horrendous, please no more of that on the ranger, there is little to no interrest in having another transformation on the ranger. (That is not even talking about the fact that there is a lot of pets which basically mean tons of transforms. The fact that they seem to intends to release more new pets with new content block this idea even more.)
I wouldn’t mind seeing a more elementalist style ranger with spears.
sorry when you said amazon I thought immediately of diablo 2 lightning javazon lols.equipped in main hand, 2hander with various far-reaching melee attacks.
1a) strike 3 foes in front of you
1b) strike 3 foes in front of you and apply vulnerability
1c) strike 3 foes in front of you and send 1 bouncing lightning bolts from each of them to enemies upto 600 range behind them
2) spike the ground at your position with a lightning stike, sending foward 3 creeping veins of lightning upto 1200 range each striking upto 3targets.
3) gain protection and stability before surging in targeted direction rapidly striking foes along the way.
4a) for 5seconds you cannot take more than 10% dmg in total health per second. Every time you would have, shock 1 nearby foe.
4b) end early, doubling recharge and stunning 5 nearby foes for 2sec.
5) leap to target area causing daze and vulnerability. If one or more foes has a boon, teleport instead removing 3 boons and causing stun.offhand
4a) throw a lightning bolt that bounces to enemies behind target. No recharge if it strikes more than 1 foe.
4b) activate to pull first target. puts skill on recharge for 20seconds.
5a) throw a lightning bolt that pierces upto a combined 5 foes and allies, chaining them together 7seconds (1200 range each) causing dmg only to foes that pass between them. Deals massive dmg to foes still tethered when it ends naturally.
5b) activate to end, removing 2 boons from each foe and 2 conditions from each ally.
Why not? Hylek alchemy has some crazy stuff, including electricity.
I would combine melee and ranged attacks, but aside from that I’m open for anything.
Amazons have a deeper connection with the wild than rangers. Using special concoctions, they can expand their minds and bodies to become one with their pets, shapeshifting into different primal animal forms at will, enhancing their senses and unlocking new abilities.
Another shroud on ranger… Druid was a very bad idea, Amazon is the same. Fighting in a transform state is horrendous, please no more of that on the ranger, there is little to no interrest in having another transformation on the ranger. (That is not even talking about the fact that there is a lot of pets which basically mean tons of transforms. The fact that they seem to intends to release more new pets with new content block this idea even more.)
It wouldn’t work as a transform per se, but as a kit, so you enter and exit it whenever you want with no resource associated to it.
Having one transform for each pet would be fine if the skills are the same. If not, just provide 5 transforms which you can equip out of combat, based on iconic animals, each with one role. For example:
The idea is that you get into the animal forms to do something, and then go back, just like engineer kits. You can stay in the animal form as much as you want, but obviously it’s not efficient for combat, though I guess some people would love it for eye-candy. The animal forms could have different aesthetic-only skins as well.
Amazons are women, bruh.
And dragonhunters (!= dragonhuntress) are men :I.
Okay, so they can thesaurus a different word. Stop derailing the thread.
Some of the ideas in this thread actually have me intrigued. =)
~ Kovu
(edited by Kovu.7560)
Okay, so they can thesaurus a different word. Stop derailing the thread.
Some of the ideas in this thread actually have me intrigued. =)~ Kovu
there is no thesaurus word for amazon. i like the idea for the elite spec, i’m only here because people were triggered.
there is no thesaurus word for amazon.
There are, but they’re insanely sexist. I just looked. I think my favorite is “she devil”. “Fish eater” is good too, I have no idea what means unless it’s just ridiculous…
Okay, so they can thesaurus a different word. Stop derailing the thread.
Some of the ideas in this thread actually have me intrigued. =)~ Kovu
I think Amazon would work fine (some RPGs use it neutrally), but something like Amazonian or Swampstalker would work too. I like amazon because of the mythical connotation, which fits transforming into animal spirits.
I just want a shapeshifter, and the swamp and hylek themes fit well. Ideally the druid astral form would have been a series of animal forms instead, with more options than just healing, but oh well, too late for that.
Which doesn’t mean the idea wouldn’t work well even without the shapeshifting aspect, as long as it’s replaced by something else. Maybe some special mechanic skill poison attack, like a blowgun you use to shoot darts at enemies, transferring your conditions into them. Or maybe have that blowgun as a kit-like mechanic, with different skills.
Anything in particular that has you intrigued?
Shapeshifting doesn’t convince me too much, and it kinda overlaps with the core druid functionality anyway, so let’s try some new ideas:
This would open new possibilities for pet gameplay, and fits the elite specialization’s theme much more than shapeshifting.
Opinions?
Would it’s new profession mechanic be stealing experienced Devs from other companies?
Elite specialization name changed from Amazon to Swampstalker.
I like the general idea however to my own liking, I’d just change one thing, making “Pet swap” F4 renew your “swarm” instead of resurect the pets. This way you can use it on cool down to benefit from the traits associated.
Now… there is a few thing regarding balance that I feel need some answer. How would the “swarm” interact with traits like fortifying bond or beastly warden and shouts? Having 4 independants pets will obviously impact those things. The most obvious issue being the fact that it could make RaO pretty strong. Having 4 pets with 25 might stack could also make the damage output pretty strong just by itself. What do you think about this points?
Updated the first post with the new ideas. Old one here for reference:
The amazon is a new elite specialization idea for the ranger. Amazons are poison-wielding swamp hunters. Their fighting techniques originate from the heket frogmen of Elona. Their hunters hide in the reeds, stalking their preys, and facing them at ranged or melee combat alike. After a few strikes, the prey is left alone, the deadly toxins of the weapons finishing the job.
Aside from classic ranger weapons, amazons can use one-handed terrestrial spears (new weapon, kinda), which they impregnate with the many different venoms at their disposal. They engage from afar, and then meet their enemies at close combat, retreating after the first strikes to let the poison weaken their enemies, before striking again.
Amazons have a deeper connection with the wild than rangers. Using special concoctions, they can expand their minds and bodies to become one with their pets, shapeshifting into different primal animal forms at will, enhancing their senses and unlocking new abilities.
Amazon
- New weapon: Spears (New one-handed weapon, MH + OH)
- New utilities: Venoms
- New mechanic: Shapeshifting (transformation into primal beast forms)
Let the beast inside you take control!
I still want to design some shapeshifting mechanic in the future, but I think the new design fits Elona much more better.
Elite specialization name changed from Amazon to Swampstalker.
I like the general idea however to my own liking, I’d just change one thing, making “Pet swap” F4 renew your “swarm” instead of resurect the pets. This way you can use it on cool down to benefit from the traits associated.
Now… there is a few thing regarding balance that I feel need some answer. How would the “swarm” interact with traits like fortifying bond or beastly warden and shouts? Having 4 independants pets will obviously impact those things. The most obvious issue being the fact that it could make RaO pretty strong. Having 4 pets with 25 might stack could also make the damage output pretty strong just by itself. What do you think about this points?
That was the idea, yes. You kinda call back the current companions, and replace them by new ones, full health. Alternatively, it could be easier and simpler to just treat them as a normal pet, slot-wise, and let you equip two swarms and swap between them just like with any pet. Or one swarm and one classic pet, swarms wouldn’t be mandatory, though they’re obviously better because of the swampstalker skills and traits.
Swamp companions are much more weaker than pets, though it depends on the numbers. Some swarms could have more units than others, but I would leave it at something between 4 and 8. Swarm pets would be scaled to be balanced in regards with normal pets, so all buffs that would apply to a normal pet would apply to all swarm units as well. Even if you have 4 swarm pets with 25 might, in the end they won’t feel 4 times better than a single pet with 25 might.
The swarm is a gamble. Let’s say you get twice the power of a normal pet, but the multiple divisions can be killed easier than a single pet, which can make you lose efficiency in the long run. Obviously, swarms would be fantastic against targets that can’t cleave them off properly, but they would have a hard time against heavy cleave enemies.
I think this makes swarm management more interesting and more fun, since you have to watch for numbers, and decide between replenishing dead units through various skills or swapping. Swarms could respawn units each few seconds too, as a passive, depending on the original number (swarm of 4, 30s, swarm of 8, 15s, for example).
That actually sounds very interesting. That swarm mechanic though, it would only be good if they address the current issues Ranger pets have but they could bring in both at once
For that swamp stalker do we get a swamp donkey (Moose) for a pet?
Some swarm ideas, with potential combat roles:
Terrestrial:
Amphibious:
Aquatic:
This leaves 6 to choose from in land, and 4 to choose from underwater. A perfect number, in my opinion. Note that each one of these is a family, and they could have variations. Just like we have different types of pet drakes, we could have different swarms of snakes, like cobras, vipers, and sea snakes.
Since swarms are exclusive to the swampstalker elite specialization, they shouldn’t go too far with this, and also add some new pets for core ranger, just like they did with HoT.
An alternative could be to allow swarm usage outside of the swampstalker too, only keeping the swarm traits exclusive to the elite spec.
(edited by Lonami.2987)
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