passive skills ; new perspective

[Arterra]

We have been screaming for new skills for ages now, true.
We have been asking for passive skills for ages too, true.
But this will be quite an original suggestion...

What if all classes shared the same list of passive skills?
Things like...
+damage %
+armor (%?)
+H/M regen
etc... maybe patch together armor and regen, hit and dodge...

and to add a bucket of coals to the fire, what if you dont add more usable skill points to compensate? That way, you honestly have to choose whether you really want to put any points into a particular skill, in order to save some for that awesome permament buff. finally, some differentiation from player to player!

and apart from the above classic passive buffs, what about %chance-to-activate abilities? And time based activated skills? This should probably be the main focus of passive skills anyway, so as to promote different playing styles and item sets. 'G knows we have enough clones walking around as it is...
note, these are merely suggestions. I DO personally vouch for ALL of them, but hey we have to be realistic here.
-%chance to reflect damage upon being hit*
-%chance to reset all skill cooldowns per autoattack**
-%chance to debuff hit/debuff armor/negative H/S on each hit***
-%chance to increase the players speed upon being hit`
-3/5/# second idle duration increases crit/hit/etc for the next skill used
-of damage inflicted, leech % life/mana (hard hitting character with low armor oriented)

*= dependent on whether the player is using a shield or not (nuke mages? better yet, use a bear with this maxed out to reflect the massive damage of the boss back at it! The best offense is a good defense!)
**=finally a use for fast, low damage weapons (did someone say DUAL SWORDS IN PVP??)
***=basically a permanent proc! (bears and birds relying on nightmares from mages for combo? no more!)
`=oriented towards weaker players, to allow quick retreats when large aggro pulled (more aggro-more hits-more chance for activation)


STS seems to want to push pvp into the mainstream player. Here are a few ideas to bring it home...
-Mana burn: every hit "burns" away some of the enemy's mana (anti-mage ability, and FFA support)
-Soft Spot: %chance to ignore armor per hit (anti-bear/str set using)
-Learn from Failure: Every subsequent crit on yourself lowers all enemy crit% until reset by death (anti-bird, best for people able to survive a crit in the first place, stacks best from crit autoattacks)

These passive abilities can work in congunction perfectly with other skills, both active and passive:
Mana burn is quite worrisome when a mage uses fireblast and everyone finds their mana cut in half, and imagine if it gets reset...
Soft Spot can very well make birds even more OP, since along with the crit/hit /damage added by waiting and charging your shot, blast shot might very well be a a nuke...
Learn from Failure is a classic tank-must, add in some iron skin to seal the deal and life leech to recover from every crit, and sooner or later you become all but untouchable.

The main reason I preach for them to be universal skills (not class dependent) is to stress what I personally think of PL being: Can be any class, and do anything (anytime, anywhere). I have read reviews that talk about the rigidity of the skill sets and play styles of the classes (wether or not the played enough to justify the opinion matters little if it is still out there for readers), and given the ability to equip the item sets of any stat (unlike SL) a matching mechanic in player abilities would solidify the theme.
Think about it. These universal skills could change pve and pvp COMPLETELY, satisfying our need for character specialization and want for new skills to try out for another 50 levels easily. Heck, many players already have all character types (int/dex/str-bear/mage/bird), but this could potentially make them try the same character... with a totally different skill set.

Comments? Opinions? passive skill suggestions? if you keep bumping this, I'll keep editing in suggestions for possible universal passive skills!

edit:
ALL THIS APPLIES TO SL TOO, if only because you can only map 8 skills at a time there.

changelog:
Jan12-posting date, first 3 %chance ideas
Jan13-movement buff idea changed to a %chance (#4) on reflection to how it makes parties unevenly spaced out, added idle duration skill activation idea.
Jan14-leech hp/mp and pvp ideas added

[Cahaun]

Sounds pretty good

[adidaman]

Hmmmm. I agree with your topic, but I think this type of thing should be implemented in a talent-tree type of system. Like for a Mage you can go crit, armor, ect.... But I like your idea

[Arterra]

Hmmmm. I agree with your topic, but I think this type of thing should be implemented in a talent-tree type of system. Like for a Mage you can go crit, armor, ect.... But I like your idea

to be frank, talent trees are overrated... the only reason the current system is not good enough for current players is because we are nearing the skill-capping point, and we are sadly expecting the cap to simply be raised another couple of points...

skill trees sound good on a progressive standpoint, but they are actually quite limiting. you want that top notch spell at the end of a particular branch? looks like you are going to have to invest in that otherwise unwanted couple of spells on the way. the current system allows for you do do what you want. the problem of course is that we can pretty much have everything, so we want more xD

[ninjaduck]

I agree with this point. Ill put in my opinion on it later, im on my phone

[CrimsonTider]

Agreed. We need something to add some pazazz. We have useless skills (see restore on bear, and meditation on bird), and skills which overpower (mages with 60 crit buff at endgame, bears with rage in early twinking). The introduction of universal skills would level the playing field (it's no secret bears need more hit%), and new skills WOULD revive the community. With the abscence of end game quests and maxing of the current skills, the community is becoming bored as sets are gained quickly and endgame content is only needed to attain elite cap and the corresponding vanities.

And THANK YOU for the most useful post on the forums in weeks!!

[Arterra]

while every level cap brings new content to explore and collect, the characters themselves are stagnating. end game is nothing really if you are bored of the character itself.

thank YOU for helping me add that little fact to the thread!

[MightyMicah]

Wait what? The most awesome thread since like...Was not expecting that. I love this idea!

[Arterra]

added another %chance passive skill idea, the addition of permanent procs!

and now I stop stalking my thread for the night. adios!

[Gracious]

Oooooh I like it a lot.

[Arterra]

aaand I'm back and stalking it again.

I wanted to clarify one thing: why all classes share these skills.
My approach to passive skills is that they are not character skills per say, but merely buffs and procs on a permanent basis. therefore, there is no real reason to separate the skills between classes (if all classes can use a nightmare proc sword, stats aside, then why not a permanent nightmare proc?)

[JaytB]

I absolutely love this idea. Personally, I think this is one of those brilliant idea's where you think like 'why didn't anyone suggest this before'. It's simple enough but would finally allow for some diverse builds at end level. And imagine the plat STS would gain from respecs. Sounds like a win for both sides to me

This would bring back the hours and hours of thinkering with builds again. At first sight your suggestions all sound great! The only thing I personally wouldn't like to see, is a speed boost. A bear would almost be obligated to spend points in this if he/she wants to be able to stay ahead of the group during farming sessions. Having characters with different speeds takes away from the 'harmony' of a group IMO. I'm basing this off of my own experience in running in groups with both potted and unpotted players.

All in all, great suggestion!

[Appleisaac]

I really like this! It would change PL forever! so many new possibilities!

P.S. are you FOR or AGAINST skill trees? And would the old classic skills be on the same list?

P.S. p.s devs PLEASE consider this! I will buy all of the plat in the world if u do

[Arterra]

Hmm, I have to agree with the speed issue. I'll edit in a whole new idea on that particular buff in a minute, a specialty %chance of you speeding up for a few seconds when you are hit (instead of oriented towards making all movement faster, weaker mages and birds can instead pull out to safety more easily)

As for skill trees... honestly, there is no need for them. what we need are more skills, simple as that, and whatever way they present them is rudimentary. My solution above allows for PL to continue with it's current method, and yet to allow players to become diverse in the process.

[Otukura]

One thing I see is soooo many games, that I'd like to see here is:

Every 3 seconds, your crit change goes up by 5% until you attack.

[Arterra]

One thing I see is soooo many games, that I'd like to see here is:

Every 3 seconds, your crit change goes up by 5% until you attack.

hmm, what is that exactly? if you wait (#) seconds, your next attack gets a (%) higher crit chance?
that does sounds pretty nice...

[XghostzX]

Wow, haven't seen a suggestion like this forever, nice idea! Get a dev to look at this

[Arterra]

I am of the belief that the devs routinely glance through the suggestion forums, so as long as I stalk my thread through it's infancy and advertise via signatures I'll be good xD

[elrond]

You should put a link to this thread in your signature

[Arterra]

You should put a link to this thread in your signature

I did.

editing in now new abilities I thought of last night: leech life/mana, and specific pvp oriented powers!