Post by drspendlove on Jan 12, 2018 9:55:51 GMT -5
In the vein of adding small amounts of content and a little more variety in the RP tree, a node should be added south of "Engineer 3" that leads nowhere (a stub.) It could have the following two items:
Burning Cutter (Gauntlet for Engineer only)
Heavy; 1 AP to Attack, using Strength + Warrior
+8 Accuracy, +5 Parry, +3% Auto-block
30-49 Damage with 60% Pen +6 Fire damage
5 Gear Levels
(Compare to Cutter Gauntlet, earlier in the Engineer path)
+4 Accuracy (-4)
+2 Parry (-3)
+4% Auto-block (+1%)
31-40 Damage (+1 min, -9 max)
50% Pen (-10%)
(No fire damage, -6)
3 Gear Levels (-2)
The previous gauntlet is actually better against ranged attacks due to an additional 1% auto-block and can deal about the same minimum damage for 2 fewer gear levels.
(Compare to Cutter Barb, on the Striker path)
+6 Accuracy (-2)
+4 Parry (-1)
+10% Auto-block (+7%)
35-44 Damage (+5 min, -5 max)
64% Pen (+4%)
(No fire damage, -6)
5 Gear Levels (same)
The Burning Cutter would require a small investment that doesn't lead to other nodes. It also loses a massive amount of auto-block for an engineer which unless you plan on melee'ing, probably doesn't make sense. Its accuracy and additional point of parry lend itself to actually being used as an attack, rather than just a static statistical bonus. It doesn't completely unseat the Cutter Barb for attacks though, as it can deal less damage if unlucky and has slightly lower penetration. All in all, I would expect this to be a niche choice. This is why you couple it with:
Coolant Enhancement Kit (Ordnance)
Buffs with +24 Fire Res and +18 Max Heat for 4 Turns; Current Templar Only
Costs 125 SP to deploy Ordnance
(Compare to Flame Coat Kit from the Hydra line)
+34 Fire Res (+10)
+6 Armor (+6)
3 Turns (-1)
100 SP (-25)
(Compare to Radiation Shield Kit one node left of Engineer 3)
+34 Radiation Res
+6 Armor (+6)
3 Turns (-1)
150 SP (+25)
The Resistance gained is considerably lower than the other Ordnance options but it makes up for that with a unique max heat buff. Applied appropriately, it could allow templars that would otherwise be overheated to not only avoid some overheating damage, but also use abilities that are disabled when overheated. Another advantage this Ordnance has it its duration of 4 turns, giving longer lasting protection, and makes the max heat change more relevant. It does this at the expense of costing more SP than the Flame Coat Kit, and granting no armor bonus. (An armor bonus would make this Ordnance less situational and more "use it all the time".) The Radiation Shield Kit gets away with its SP cost because Radiation damage is so much more common than fire damage, especially if you aren't using a Hydra or Flame Tank Engineer (which you might not be, especially this early in the RP tree.)
Introducing a small item that allows you to trade SP gained by map control for heat, which is a limiting factor when gaining said board control, will allow for a slightly more defensive style of play on higher difficulties. Introducing another stub "path" with no relic attached forces players to give more thought into their RP expenditures, especially when it comes at the opportunity cost of advancing talent levels. I propose an RP cost of 40 or 45 for this node. Engineer 3, from which it would branch off of costs 40. Both currently existing nodes after Engineer 3 cost 50.
Burning Cutter (Gauntlet for Engineer only)
Heavy; 1 AP to Attack, using Strength + Warrior
+8 Accuracy, +5 Parry, +3% Auto-block
30-49 Damage with 60% Pen +6 Fire damage
5 Gear Levels
(Compare to Cutter Gauntlet, earlier in the Engineer path)
+4 Accuracy (-4)
+2 Parry (-3)
+4% Auto-block (+1%)
31-40 Damage (+1 min, -9 max)
50% Pen (-10%)
(No fire damage, -6)
3 Gear Levels (-2)
The previous gauntlet is actually better against ranged attacks due to an additional 1% auto-block and can deal about the same minimum damage for 2 fewer gear levels.
(Compare to Cutter Barb, on the Striker path)
+6 Accuracy (-2)
+4 Parry (-1)
+10% Auto-block (+7%)
35-44 Damage (+5 min, -5 max)
64% Pen (+4%)
(No fire damage, -6)
5 Gear Levels (same)
The Burning Cutter would require a small investment that doesn't lead to other nodes. It also loses a massive amount of auto-block for an engineer which unless you plan on melee'ing, probably doesn't make sense. Its accuracy and additional point of parry lend itself to actually being used as an attack, rather than just a static statistical bonus. It doesn't completely unseat the Cutter Barb for attacks though, as it can deal less damage if unlucky and has slightly lower penetration. All in all, I would expect this to be a niche choice. This is why you couple it with:
Coolant Enhancement Kit (Ordnance)
Buffs with +24 Fire Res and +18 Max Heat for 4 Turns; Current Templar Only
Costs 125 SP to deploy Ordnance
(Compare to Flame Coat Kit from the Hydra line)
+34 Fire Res (+10)
+6 Armor (+6)
3 Turns (-1)
100 SP (-25)
(Compare to Radiation Shield Kit one node left of Engineer 3)
+34 Radiation Res
+6 Armor (+6)
3 Turns (-1)
150 SP (+25)
The Resistance gained is considerably lower than the other Ordnance options but it makes up for that with a unique max heat buff. Applied appropriately, it could allow templars that would otherwise be overheated to not only avoid some overheating damage, but also use abilities that are disabled when overheated. Another advantage this Ordnance has it its duration of 4 turns, giving longer lasting protection, and makes the max heat change more relevant. It does this at the expense of costing more SP than the Flame Coat Kit, and granting no armor bonus. (An armor bonus would make this Ordnance less situational and more "use it all the time".) The Radiation Shield Kit gets away with its SP cost because Radiation damage is so much more common than fire damage, especially if you aren't using a Hydra or Flame Tank Engineer (which you might not be, especially this early in the RP tree.)
Introducing a small item that allows you to trade SP gained by map control for heat, which is a limiting factor when gaining said board control, will allow for a slightly more defensive style of play on higher difficulties. Introducing another stub "path" with no relic attached forces players to give more thought into their RP expenditures, especially when it comes at the opportunity cost of advancing talent levels. I propose an RP cost of 40 or 45 for this node. Engineer 3, from which it would branch off of costs 40. Both currently existing nodes after Engineer 3 cost 50.
