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Dual Specialization

    • 3237 posts
    April 12, 2018 9:31 PM PDT

    (The following is meant to illustrate how each class can achieve multiple flavors of the same role and is strictly a theory crafting exercise.  It is to be assumed that every class will have a variety of core abilities that persist, regardless of specialization, that aren't delved into here ... (yet).  This is also under the assumption that players can learn both specializations over an extended period of time and rotate them while out of combat once "master class" status is attained.  Finally, each of these abilities are considered "epic abilities" that you would need to seek out specialized training for in order to acquire them.  Brood Keeper specialization was added to the Summoner section as part of this update.)

    Bard: Bards can play multiple songs in harmony by using their instrument(s) and voice. Mana Regen / Movement Speed are core class songs.

    Rhapsody: Empower your allies with music and song; synergy extraordinaires, bards trained in the arts of Rhapsody focus on sustain.

    • Hymn of Nature:  Elemental resistance buff (fire/ice/water/electric/earth)
    • Battle Cadence:  Defensive boons (parry/dodge)
    • Booming Jazz:  Temporary alacrity buff that reduces recast timers on abilities/spells used while the buff is up.
    • Song of Stoneskin:  % based stoneskin proc that can be maintained on a single ally.


    Requiem: Demoralize your foes with melancholy and intimidation.  Bards trained in the arts of Requiem focus on offensive prowess.

    • Dirge of Sorrow:  Debuff that reduces defensive attributes (block/parry/dodge)
    • Chant of War:  Buff that increases offensive attributes (pierce/slash/crush/ranged)
    • Corruptive Crescendo:  Debuff that reduces arcane/noxious resistances.
    • Final Eulogy:  In-combat rez that takes less than 2 seconds to cast.

    Rites of Passage: Bard songs can be altered over time by seeking out various gypsy lyricists and renowned musicians spread across the world of Terminus. Advanced bards can blend a broader range of songs together, accentuating synergy potential in their groups.

     

    Cleric: Clerics offer the highest true healing output of any class and have exclusive access to "reactive healing" which are small heals that trigger each time an ally is attacked.

    Devout: Provide sanctuary for your allies with various forms of CC immunity.  Clerics trained in the arts of Devout focus on damage mitigation, temporary immunities, and an extra potent in-combat rez.

    • Sanctuary:  Group buff that provides temporary group immunity to various forms of CC or other non-damage impairments.
    • Stoneskin:  Group stoneskin buff that can be cast on multiple allies but the proc % is shared between them.
    • Absolution:  Instant Cast 75% HP/Mana restorative in-combat rez with a long cooldown.
    • Bastion:  Group buff that grants a high amount of armor class.


    Curate: Purge debilitating debuffs with the added effect of a bonus heal on every successful cure.  Clerics trained in the arts of Curate focus on shielding/cleansing their allies from harmful effects.

    • Divine Aura:  Max HP Buff that also grants defensive attributes (block/parry)
    • Purify:  Low cooldown cure that can be used cross-group, grants a small heal for each impairment cured.
    • Elixer:  Buff that grants a % based chance to nullify noxious/elemental impairments.
    • Arcane Suppression:  Temporary group buff that reduces arcane/divine damage.


    Rites of Passage: Clerics can learn to modify their spells by acquiring various celestial tomes that are spread around the world of Terminus. Their spells can be adjusted in ways such as removing portions of the arcane/divine/poison/disease aspect of their spells and focusing them into a single resist. IE, buff that provides 50 cure potency vs poison/disease debuffs instead changes to 100 poison or 100 disease, and can continue to modify the numbers back and forth as needed.

     

    Direlord:  Direlords manipulate the essence of living things.  They prefer to steal valuable lifeblood from their foes, but will sacrifice their pets for a surge of power when needed.

    Bloodletter:  Able to regulate the bloodflow of both allies and victims, Direlords trained in the arts of Bloodletter can shift the tide of battle by harnessing the essence of blood.

    • Strangulate:  Reduce the effectiveness of heals on others by cutting off their circulation.
    • Crimson Tempest:  Equalize the health pool of yourself and an ally.  (Can be used to save a squishy by sacrificing your HP, or save yourself by tapping into the HP of an ally.)
    • Devour Vitae:  Feast on your enemies.  (Lifetap ability that can also be used on corpses for a more potent heal)
    • Bloodlust:  Initiate a surge of lifetap procs for your group.

    Nebulous:  Protect yourself and others by consuming the essence of darkness and dispatching it in the form of calculated shadows or void pockets.  Direlords train in the arts of Nebulous can craft opportune blackouts.

    • Shadowstep:  Force a missed attack on your shadow.
    • Gloom:  Channel darkness and cast shade on the battiefield, demoralizing foes and reducing their stats.
    • Void Aura:  Blind an enemy with pitch blackness.  (Single target blind, reduces melee accuracy)
    • Twisted Nethers:  Unleash the claws of the netherworld, impairing the movement speed of any enemy caught in their grasp.

    Rites of Passage:  Direlords can learn to increase their resistances vs poison and disease by collecting samples of "pure blood" that can be found around the world of Terminus.  This blood does not always take on a liquid form, but once analyzed, Direlords can imbue powerful antibiotics into their bloodstream.  While they can never grow truly impervious to poison or disease, well seasoned Direlords can offset a great deal of their effects by manipulating their very own toxin immunities to their favor.

     

    Druid:  Druids wield the power of nature and shapeshifting  --  they can call upon the elements themselves or even defy the laws of nature with their spells. 

    Warden:  Draw upon the lifeblood of the planet beneath your feet and use it's excellent power to nourish your allies, entangle your foes, or shapeshift yourself into one of the many sentient beings that form the pack of natural order.

    • Regrowth:  Extended duration HoT with increased effectiveness for the first few ticks depending on how low your allies current health is.
    • Shapeshift:  Allows the druid to take the form of a wolf, bear or dryad, each with their own unique spell boosting flavors.  (Wolf helps with movement speed / offensive utility  --  Bear helps with max HP / defensive utility  --  Dryad is the healer form that sacrifices group utility for pure healing throughput.)
    • Entanglement:  Root a single enemy, but also create a medium sized AoE effect around that target that slows the movement speed of nearby foes.
    • Portal:  Bend space and time by opening a portal that allows comrades to warp to various druid rings in Terminus.  (They must be attuned with each druid ring prior to being able to warp there.)

    Tempest:  Whether it's conjuring storms or calming them, Tempests' are able to wield the dual powers of the elements; each element can be toggled to either offensive or defensive, granting these wielders of weather a diverse kit to pull from in any situation.

    • Earth: Defensive - Barkskin - (Single target AC buff) Offensive - Weight of the World - (Heavy movement speed slow, single target)
    • Fire: Defensive - Heating Up - (Group Fire Resist/Acclimation Buff) Offensive - Heat Exhaustion - (AoE Cast Speed Debuff)
    • Wind: Defensive - Aery Gust - (Beneficial Spell Casting Speed Buff) Offensive - Crippling Winds - (AoE casting speed Debuff)
    • Water: Defensive - Roaring Tide - (Water/Ice Resist/Acclimation Buff) Offensive - Drown - (Single Target Reuse Speed Debuff)

    Rites of Passage:  Druids can attune themselves to various Druid Rings spread around the world of Terminus.  The power of each druid ring has an impact zonewide, granting the druid a minor increase toward permanent HP/Mana regen.  This effect stacks but only works while in zones that contain a druid ring that you are attuned to.

     

    Enchanter:  Enchanters beguile friend and foe alike; inspiring allies with powerful enchantments or using manipulation of the mind to incapacitate their enemies.  They are able to command the will of lesser beings  --  whether that's charming/confusing an enemy or controlling conjured contraptions.

    Spellbinder:  These rapid-fire casters are capable of unleashing an array of different spells onto the battlefield.  Enchanters trained in the arts of Spellbinder have the ability to chain-cast and inflict large-scale change into their surroundings.

    • Temporal Surge:  Imbue an ally with a temporary attack speed buff.  Can be cast on multiple allies, but diminishing returns do come into play.  (Total buff isn't shared, but effectiveness is reduced slightly for each additional ally that benefits.)
    • Shroud of the Mind:  Impose a layer of mental clouding into the minds of your foes.  This is a debuff/DoT that lowers mental/arcane resist and deals mental damage.  It lasts for 4 seconds, stacks up to 5 times, and the duration is refreshed for each application.)
    • Power Displacement:  Dispel various temporary buffs from enemies.  For every buff that is successfully dispelled, the enchanter is granted a slight boost to their recast speed.
    • Ethereal Chains:  Cast a 12 second Debuff/DoT on an enemy.  Debuff decreases movement speed/casting speed.  If any mob is under the effect of ethereal chains and also reaches 5 stacks of Shroud of the Mind, the enchanter steals a portion of their mana.  (Gains a minimum of X amount of mana if their target doesn't use mana as a resource.)

    Phantasmist:  Wreak havoc in the minds of your foes by forcefully confusing them and inciting frustration as a result.  Enchanters trained in the arts of Phantasmist use illusions and coercive mind play to bend the will of their enemies.

    • Mirage:  Create a mirage of an ally that will follow them for 15 seconds.  If the ally is auto-attacked by an enemy, the mirage will disappear and the ally will avoid the attack.  This will frustrate the mob, generating X amount of threat toward the real character that the mirage was intended to represent.
    • Hallucination:  Cause your enemy to hallucinate to the point where they cannot distinguish friend from foe.  Their auto attacks are now randomized, but prefer targets that are close.
    • Illusion:  Cast an illusion on target ally that can temporarily change their race.  This could prevent certain races from being KoS (if you have a qualifying illusion unlocked) but would not have any effect on quest access or anything else significant.  It would be designed to allow players to travel safely in areas they otherwise would not be able to.  There would be no NPC-Race illusions that allow circumvention of content.)
    • Deceptive Arm:  Single target spell that can be cast on an ally.  Ally is granted an illusory arm that will cause foes to think they are being attacked from an additional source.  For each successful auto attack, the enemy would suffer mental damage that would be credited to the enchanter.

    Rites of Passage:  Enchanters are capable of leveraging an irrefutable charm by seeking out and successfully charming various inanimate golems that populate the world of Terminus.  Immune to the actual charm spell, these golems must be subdued in 1v1 combat to earn their affection.  For each golem conquered, the enchanter gains increased control over their charm spell, and can manifest a more powerful golem.  (Cannot use charm/golem pet simultaneously)

     

    Monkhttps://pantheonmmo.com/newsletter/2017_may_intro/
    style="color: #0000ff;">Body:  (See link above.)
    Soul:  (See link above.)

    Rites of Passage:  Monks can learn the forgotten arts of various fighting styles by seeking out master trainers spread across the world of Terminus.  These trainers instruct monks how to fully harness their inner chi and attain new levels of individual strength and melee prowess.  A well versed monk has a much easier time beating his foes into submission as each new attack or counterattack learned opens up a new link in their chain of potentially lethal combos.  (These would not serve as additional abilities, but rather automatically triggered "bonus" strikes that can occur when certain ability sequences are used.)

     

    Necromancer:  Necromancers practice a variety of dark arts that allow them to defy the laws of life and death.  Macabre rituals grant them temporary passage to an otherworldly plane where they communicate with the deceased, bargaining with promises of power, revenge, or justice.

    Lich:  Using your mind as a vessel and your body as a tap into the spiritual plane, you can work out deals with fallen souls.  Necromancers trained in the arts of Lich are bound to their unholy phylactery.

    • Abomination:  Manifest a restless soul into a grotesque creature that will obey your every command.  They are fueled by a desire for revenge, and remain convinced that your bidding will help them get it.
    • Reanimate:  Imbue temporary life into a recently fallen corpse with whispers of power.  Once reanimated, the corpse knows that it's time is fleeting, inciting a panic induced rage that causes them to attack wildly at anything nearby.
    • Dark Passage:  Promise redemption to a fallen comrade, but with great cost.  Allows the Lich to summon the corpse of an ally, but this can only be done at graveyards.  Least effective rez spell in game in regards to removing any XP penalty.
    • Phylactery:  Upon death, the Lich is wisped away into their phylactery, usually concealed within a compartment of their robe.  After 10 seconds, they can channel their energy and resummon their physical being.  (Cheat Death ability, similar to FD except it automatically triggers upon death.  The phylactery is a non-aggro tome that cannot move and has high magic resist.  Long cooldown, 2 hours+)


    Contagion:  Impregnate your enemies with seeds of corruptive growth and radial toxicity.  Necromancers trained in the arts of Contagion find purpose in chaos and thrive in it's exploitation.

    • Curse:  Scourge the will of an enemy by granting them a taste of infernal power; causing them to pulse noxious damage in the area around them for every attempted melee attack or spell cast.
    • Infestation:  Pervade the core of your foe with malignant energy, causing significant unholy damage over time.  If an enemy dies while under this effect, it will spread to a nearby victim (with DoT fully refreshed) and gain increased duration/damage up to 5 stacks.
    • Pestilence:  Cause all corpses in the area (that you or your group received kill credit for) to explode, inflicting 5% of max HP damage to any enemy struck.  (All corpses explode but only a maximum of 5 will deal any damage.  This damage can be capped rather than percentage based for named encounters.  Would also make sense to add level and solo/group/raid variables to prevent exploitation.)
    • Immolation:  Sacrifice your pet and up to 3 nearby enemies will be infected with both Curse and Infestation.   (If already affected by Infestation it will advance to the next stack level.)

    Rites of Passage:  Necromancers find solace in death and so they seek out various graveyards that are spread around the world of Terminus.  Each graveyard contains multiple spirits that the necromancer can summon (1 for each tombstone) that the Necromancer must defeat in combat.  One of them (always random) will grant the Necromancer the ability to bind themself to that graveyard.  (Binding to a graveyard would function similarly to "Return Home" but this ability would be separate and have it's own recast.)

     

    Paladin:  Paladins are holy avengers, sworn to lay waste to the undead that populate the world of Terminus.  They pledge resolute faith to their deities and rely on their favor to shield their allies and themselves from evil, or refocusing their efforts to vanquish it.  (Paladins also leverage a special resource called Holy Favor that is acquired by killing undead/evil.  It would have it's own unique resource bar that caps out but the cap can be increased through a Rites of Passage trial.)

    Sentinel:  Harness the divine favor that has been bestowed upon you and use it to safeguard those who find themselves in a situation fraught with danger.  Paladins trained in the arts of Sentinel are dedicated to protecting their allies, sometimes at the expense of their own well being.

    • Atonement:  Temporary buff that will siphon 10% of all threat generated from your group for the duration of the effect.
    • Pledge of Protection:  Single target buff that can be maintained on a single ally.  10% of the Paladin's base AC will be transferred to target player.
    • Holy Radiance:  Your strong convictions inspire your allies, granting them immunity to fear and increased movement speed.  (Temporary buff, also affects the Paladin.)
    • Sacred Virtue:  Powerful blessing that has a range of effects depending on how much Holy Favor is consumed.  (Remove a curse from an item or player.  Resurrect another player.  Remove resurrection sickness from a player.  Remove a portion of experience debt from a player.  Bless the armor of yourself or another player (small mitigation increase for every piece that lasts for 4 hours.)  --  (Ideally there will never be a short supply of friends who would be in need of these types of blessings but if the paladin so chooses, they can expend their Holy Favor as a service that they charge for.  I would like to see the list of potential blessings to be extended a bit to ensure that this resource is always relevant, meaningful, and sought after.)
    • **Sanctity**:  (Passive Buff that can be freely toggled while specialized as a Sentinel)  --  All disablements are reduced by 33% duration at the cost of 1 Holy Favor for each occurrence.  (Fear/Stun/Stifle/Silence/Mezz, etc)

    Oathsworn:  Sworn to uphold the order of all things holy, you consider the eradication of evil to be just as vital to the success of your conquest for justice as you do protecting your comrades.  Paladins trained in the arts of Oathsworn are vigilant toward a cause that is aligned with their very existence, and that cause is vanquishing evil.

    • Smite:  Call down a jolt of holy energy that is violent to the core of any evildoer.  (Standard holy attack that does bonus damage vs undead.)
    • Sanctified Wrath:  Imbue your weapon with a temporary buff that generates additional threat for every successful melee attack.  If your target is undead, they also take bonus damage.
    • Exorcise:  Your next taunt ability will instead serve as a chanted blessing, forcing your target to lock onto you for a brief period of time.  (If used vs an undead non-boss-NPC with 10% or less HP, it will kill them instantly and generate bonus Holy Favor.  This ability can also be used to target and use on an undead corpse (corpses are otherwise untauntable, only works vs undead)  --  once triggered, it will destroy their soul and apply fear to all other undead creatures within it's radius.  (Using this ability on a corpse will also generate additional Holy Favor.)
    • Consecration:  Consecrate the grounds around you (medium radius effect)  --  while standing within these holy grounds, the paladin and all allies will take reduced damage for the duration of the effect.  Undead NPC's will also have their attack speed reduced.
    • **Piety**:  (Passive Buff that can be freely toggled while specialized as an Oathsworn)  --  All healing effects can now be used against undead NPC's and are converted to damage.  Any heal that is converted to damage vs undead will not generate additional threat.

    Rites of Passage:  Paladins have all sworn an oath to extinguish evil and by law of their holy covenants, they must seek out and destroy the most tyrannical villains that scour the world of Terminus.  For each renowned evildoer that is dispatched, the Paladin's maximum Holy Favor resource pool grows.

     

    Ranger:  Rangers thrive in open space but won't hesitate to leverage their cunning and perception in tight quarters.  Their combination of stealth, tracking, survival, and herbalism pack the utility of a swiss army knife while braving the wilds ... but it's their proficiency with the bow that strikes fear (and death) into the hearts of their adversaries.

    Forester:  Your wisdom of all things nature allows you to communicate with the planet in ways that the untrained eye and ear could never comprehend.  Speak with the trees and the wind, and harvest the nourishing properties of the earth around you.  Rangers trained in the arts of Forester can harness the environment by calling upon the animal whose very instinct was forged within it, allowing them to share in the evolution of natural order.

    • Herbalism:  Identify and harvest natural resources that can be used to create makeshift tools, salves, reagents, or companion snacks.  (Various regen/curing elements, fletching material, toxins, armor/weapon modifications, and player/pet consumables.)
    • Camouflage:  Blend in with the environment, allowing you to avoid visual and scent detection methods.  (Avoiding audial detection is a core ranger ability.)
    • Advanced Tracking:  Observe various trails by following the story that nature shares with you.  Creatures that are successfully tracked are open to pre-emptive bonus damage.
    • Animal Companion:  Summon a companion that can provide various degrees of utility depending on the situation.

    Deadeye:  Picking foes apart from range is the tried and true approach of those who have mastered the bow and arrow.  Using pinpoint accuracy and refined technique can render your foes vulnerable, but finding the right angle and positioning can be tricky.  Rangers trained in the arts of Deadeye can inflict very high damage under the right circumstances  --  whether it's launching a rain of arrows into a calculated radius, a flurry of arrows in the same direction, or a single devastating headshot ... enemies are terrified of being caught in their gaze.

    • Volley:  Let loose a hail of arrows that will damage all creatures within a medium sized radius.
    • Barrage:  Temporarily modify your bow to allow a multitude of shots in rapid succession.  (Movement is decreased significantly for duration of this channeled effect)
    • Cripple:  High damage attack that impairs the movement speed, avoidance, attack speed, or accuracy of your opponent, depending on your range and angle relative to the target.
    • Headshot:  Massive attack that does bonus damage based on available health.  (The higher their current HP % is, the larger the bonus.)

    Rites of Passage:  Rangers can enhance their survival techniques by seeking out various earthly trials scattered around the world of Terminus.  Each trial is meant to test their endurance and cunning, requiring them to tap into their surroundings in order to survive through the night.  Each trial will reward the ranger with a new foraging technique, companion to summon, or tool that further refines their mastery of the bow and arrow.

     

    Rogue:  Rogues are the masters of stealth, swindle, and improvisation.  They use tactical precision to vanquish their foes, handy toolkits to change the tide of battle, and experienced eyes/hands to minimize danger and reward deeper adventure.

    Assassin:  Make quick work of your foes by striking when and where they least expect it.  Rogues trained in the arts of Assassin punish their enemies with excruciating attacks, invasive maneuvers, and hemorrhage inducing toxins.

    • Execute:  Lethal attack that does bonus damage based on target's missing health.  (The lower their current HP % is, the more damage this does.)
    • Open Vein:  Expose a point of weakness, causing target to bleed (DoT) and take increased damage from piercing/slashing attacks for the duration.
    • Anticoagulant:  Lace your blades with a temporary poison that applies a debuff that increases the effectiveness of bleed attacks against target (duration and damage)  --  if the rogue focuses 10 consecutive attacks on a target under the effect of this debuff, it instantly takes bonus true (unmitigated) damage.
    • Void Hand:  Your primary hand and weapon are fused together with a shadowy void, allowing you to penetrate armor from the inside, causing it to become brittle.  (Rogue penetrates 20% of AC while buff is active, target enemy also suffers a 10% AC debuff that lasts for 15 seconds.)

    Blackhand:  Debilitate your enemies through semi-selective disablement.  Rogues trained in the arts of Blackhand invade the life force of their enemies through a combination of neurotoxic chemicals and precise, crippling attacks.

    • Apply Poison:  Apply a hemotoxic poison to the weapon of a single ally.  This will allow your ally to proc bleed effects (DoT) onto their enemies.  Any threat obtained from this damage is granted to that player.
    • Acidic Flask:  Hurl a flask (Ranged) that explodes upon impact (short proximity AoE)  --  enemies affected will have a random chance to become blinded, snared (movement speed), or slowed (attack speed)
    • Nerve Gas:  You wisp around with an open vial in-hand, leaving behind a toxic trail of nerve gas that deals poison damage and enfeebles those caught in the wake.  (Rogue leaves a toxic trail (10 second buff) wherever they walk that persists on ground for 3 seconds, any enemies caught within it (or that walk into it) are dealt poison damage and suffer a random enfeeblement debuff)  Enfeeblements:  Block/Parry Reduction  --  Pierce/Slash/Crush Reduction  --  Attack Speed Reduction  --  Noxious Resistance Reduction
    • Baneful Smoke:  Puncture your enemy in the lung with a smoke-infused attack, releasing baneful smoke into the cavity.  (Baneful smoke will suffocate an enemy if applied from the front, reducing any regenerative effects.  If applied from the rear, the enemy suffers internal exhaustion, causing the next 3 melee attacks against them (from any source)  that would have otherwise missed, to be successful.

    Rites of Passage:  Rogues are fueled by the desire to explore and discover, and make it their mission to unlock the chests that hold magical skeleton keys found throughout the lands of Terminus.  For every key they find, they gain +1 luck.  (Luck is a rogue-only stat that is rolled for disarming traps, unlocking chests/doors with a standard key, and finding rogue-only consumables from chests/corpses)

     

    Shaman:  Shamans are well-versed in mystic healing and perform a wide variety of rituals that can influence a lopsided skirmish to their favor.  Their unique understanding of the time space continuum allows them to shift instances of chronology  --  as with all things time and space related, they must exercise caution while conducting their manipulations as a mistake can lead to inopportune hiccups.


    Oracle:  Some prophecies are best left untold, and you can ensure that they never see the light of day by leveraging your link to the plane of time.  Shamans trained in the arts of Oracle are revered for their ability to mitigate danger by creating time-stamps that can be forced back into existence within a short period of time.

    • Epochal Deviation:  Memorize a freezeframe shot of the health/mana pools of a target ally  --  once activated, a 6 second countdown commences.  At the end of 6 seconds, that player's health/mana pools will return to the memorized state.  This ability can be reactivated at any time during that 6 second window to trigger the effect immediately.  (This can not be used to bring a dead player back to life.)  (Semi-long cooldown.  5+ minutes.)
    • Conduit:  Root yourself in place and become a living channel of time and energy, reducing the cooldown timers of all abilities used by friendly allies within range.
    • Ancestral Calling:  Summon the spirtual powers of the racial heritage of a target ally, temporarily amplifying any innate bonuses.  (Progeny, Progeny, and Progeny, oh my!)
    • Evacuation:  Teleport your group to the last known "safe spot" that they are bound to within the zone.  (1.5 second cast time.  Teleports to zone entrance if no such safe spots exist.)
    • **Preservation**:  (Passive Buff that can be freely toggled while specialized as an Oracle)  --  All beneficial spells cast on any target ally will create a small, stacking ward effect that persists for 10 seconds.  (This includes group buffs/heals.)


    Thaumaturge:  

     

    Summoner:  Summoners form pacts with elementals and mold them into a living vessel that serves as a champion to their biddings.  They gain access to their elementals at levels 10, 20, 30, and 40, and they are represented by Earth/Tank  --  Fire/Melee DPS  --  Air/Magic DPS  --  Water/Support.  They can be picked in any order.  (Starts with an inanimate construct at level 5.)

    Conjuror:  Master your avatar by reforging them with a variety of linked property combinations.  Summoners trained in the arts of Conjuror leverage extraordinary control over their constructs, allowing them to blend two elements into a single, powerful manifestation.

    • Earthen Rune:  Bolster your construct with a thick shroud of stone-like plate, greatly enhancing it's defensive properties.
    • Thermal Rune:  Ignite your construct to a scorching temperature, greatly enhancing it's offensive melee properties.
    • Aerial Rune:  Enhance your construct with a thunderous gust, greatly enhancing it's offensive spell casting properties.
    • Aqua Rune:  Shower your construct with a soothing mist, greatly enhancing it's regenerative properties.

    Brood Keeper:   Rather than expanding upon the traditional archetype roles of each elemental, you harbor a stable of situational pets that provide exceptional utility.  Summoners trained in the arts of Brood Keeper are more inclined to view their summons as a means to an end than an extension of their own power.

    • Bat Colony:  The majority of summoner damage is magical in nature but Brood Keepers are able to channel their spell casting power into a form of physical damage by harnessing their colony of bats.  Once summoned, the bats will inflict piercing damage and a bleeding DoT on their target until they are eliminated or their temporary duration ceases.
    • Locust Swarm:  Declare an area of medium sized radius as a feeding ground for your locusts.  All enemies within range will suffer AoE damage until the locusts are eliminated or their temporary duration ceases.
    • Cherubim Sanctuary:  More than just a fairy in a bottle, once a target location is identified as sanctuary, the cherubs will set up shop and bestow blessings on your allies.  These blessings could include regens, wards, and modifiers, in addition to a one-time cleanse effect for any ally standing in the initial sanctuary range.  These cherubs will persist until eliminated or their temporary duration ceases.
    • Arachnid Cluster:  Declare an area of small sized radius as ambush territory for your spiders.  For the duration of their summon, the arachnids will cooperatively build a webbed trap.  It's effectiveness ranges from a mild snare to a temporary root depending on how long the spiders are able to work together.  As soon as an enemy passes through, all of the spiders cease their web-building efforts and focus on attacking their ambushed target.  These spiders will persist until eliminated or their temporary duration ceases, whereas the web will remain for a period of time until triggered, even after the spiders have completed it and despawned.

    Rites of Passage:  Summoners are dedicated to building a harmonious relationship with their elementals and so they seek out a variety of pools that contain pure elemental energy.  For every unique pool that their elementals bask in, their stats and size grows.

     

    Warrior:  Warriors train for forceful interaction, resolved to challenge those who threaten or oppose them.  They sacrifice themselves for the good of others.

    Martial:  Reveal yourself tactically and lay waste to those who dare to advance.  Warriors trained in the arts of Martial are capable of withstanding the brunt force of their foes while also maintaining a surreal state of mind.

    • Maneuver:  Grants a temporary boost to avoidance that incrementally diminishes per successful dodge/parry/riposte until the effect wears off.
    • Own Fear:  Two-way ability that shares cooldown.  Defensive - (Gain temporary immunity to fear)  Offensive - (Single target fear, has a chance to paralyze that scales based on your relative level compared to the enemy.)
    • Iron Will:  Grants increased threat generation and prevents all applications of stun, slow (attack speed and movement speed) and paralysis for a limited time.  (Can also be used to break free of these same kinds of CC.)
    • Endure:  Focus your strength into your shield, absorbing the next attack that would hit for more than 20% of your max HP.


    Warlord:  Command the battlefield using a combination of physical presence and combat fervor.  Warriors trained in the arts of Warlord are able to react to danger and reduce the attack speed of themselves and nearby foes.

    • Battle Trance:  Grants bonus attack speed and threat generation for every successful melee attack against a new opponent.  (Caps at 5 and reset back to 1 on the next attack after 5)
    • Intercept:  Rush to the aid of an ally, absorbing 35% of the next attack against them and increasing threat generation toward their attacker.
    • Warcry:  Grants a temporary increase to all combat stats (str/sta/agi/dex/con) relative to the amount of damage taken in the last 5 seconds.
    • Capture:  Claim the immediate vicinity around you as your own, rooting and lowering the attack speed of yourself and all enemies in range.

    Rites of Passage:  Warriors crave conquest and adventure and so they seek out various victory mounds that are spread throughout the lands of Terminus.  For every mound they plant their banner in, their confidence grows, increasing their max HP.

     

    Wizard:  Wizards are powerful sorcerers who spend countless hours perfecting their mastery of arcane magic.  While relished by many for their sublime dedication, it would be wise to avoid inciting their fury ... the consequences are of epic proportion.

    Arcanist:  You must balance the desire to sunder foes with cosmic vengeance alongside the ramifications of overkill.  Wizards trained in the arts of Arcanist can cast spells of unimaginable power but it's imperative that they manage the potency of that which is unleashed.

    • Fusion:  Blast a targeted area with great force, increasing the damage (and mana cost) for every enemy within radius.
    • Disintegrate:  Channel a fiery beam of disintegration that deals bonus damage based on missing health and critical bonus damage while they are below 25%.  For each 1% of damage dealt while the NPC is in critical health (-25%) the wizard has a small chance of losing a chunk of mana and becoming locked out of their spell tree for 10 seconds.
    • Overclock:  Passive ability that triggers when the wizard reaches 0 mana that instantly restores 20% of their MP.  After 30 seconds they deal 20% reduced damage for 5 minutes.
    • Teleport:  Summon a teleportation portal.  (Each cast increases the cooldown of this spell but it resets daily.)

    Elementalist:  Your mastery of the elements allows you to leverage a diverse spell tree that centers around opportunistic upheaval.  Wizards trained in the arts of Elementalist can exploit a variety of weaknesses or channel the matter of their environment to create surges of natural energy.

    • Shift Matter:  Harness the elements of the world around you to change the damage properties of your next 3 spell casts.  (If you are in a cold climate/atmosphere, your next 3 spells will deal cold damage.)
    • Harvest Environment:  If the base elemental property of your spell matches the environment it's being cast in, you will deal bonus damage.  (Passive Buff  --  Spells affected by Shift Matter do not trigger this bonus.)
    • Climate Distortion:  Conjure an elemental storm that persists for 30 seconds, dealing minor damage in a large area.  This spell also changes the atmosphere around you to that of your choosing.  (Can summon a cold atmosphere in the desert, or a wind atmosphere while underground.)
    • Metamorphosis:  Your corporeal form adapts to the environment around you, temporarily changing your mana color to a universal grey.  (Temporary buff that allows the elementalist to cast any/all abilities on their bar, regardless of mana color.  Mana is still drained but it's from the standard pool.)

    Rites of Passage:  Wizards pour their heart and soul into their studies and so they seek out a variety of tranquil chambers spread across the world of Terminus.  For every chamber they find, their knowledge of the arcane and the elements continues to grow, increasing their max intelligence.


    This post was edited by oneADseven at April 18, 2018 9:09 PM PDT
    • 3852 posts
    April 13, 2018 8:19 AM PDT

    As an example of how specialization can work without destroying the boundaries between roles I like what OneADseven has come up with. Having a class only have one essential style is so .....limiting.

    My own preference is not to allow easy switching from one specialization to another. Indeed if up to me I might not allow *any* switching. But I like the idea of subclasses more than most of us do and there is a distinct difference between having subclasses and having a choice of specialization within a class.

    I could suggest other alternative specialization choices but I and others have been doing this all along and I am content to support the concept of specialization and leave it to VR (as if we have a choice there) how to implement it if they are convinced.

    • 3237 posts
    April 15, 2018 12:49 PM PDT

    Brood Keeper added to Summoner.  Two classes to go ... paladin/shaman.  If anybody has feedback feel free to share it as I have already considered making some tweaks to some of the existing classes.  Again, this is nothing but a theory crafting exercise based around several assumptions.  Everything should be taken with a grain of salt but all feedback is welcome.  I am a huge fan of players being able to earn "master class" status where they can eventually unlock both specializations and rotate between them while out of combat, as needed.  @Dorotea  --  I know our opinions differ here but one of the driving points for me is that switching would never be considered an easy process, at least as far as "earning" the ability to do it is concerned.  Unlocking the spells for each specialization should be difficult in their own right while unlocking the ability to rotate specializations while out of combat is something that should also be highly challenging.  Personally, I would require a character to be at least 2'nd generation of progeny in order to do it, possibly in addition to some sort of epic class quest.


    This post was edited by oneADseven at April 15, 2018 12:53 PM PDT
    • 3852 posts
    April 16, 2018 7:55 AM PDT

    We *do* differ since our motivations are different. You focus more on creating a more flexible and interesting character. I focus more on incentives for people to play multiple characters, which I view as good for the game and for the player once character one has been pretty well maxed out at everything important.

    I emphasize that our differing views are solely on how easy it should be to switch from one specialization to another, not on whether to have the specializations in the first place. And making it difficult to get the second specialization helps a lot. Many of my comments assume something like an AA tree where all you need to get a specialization is to reach the right level and pick it.


    This post was edited by dorotea at April 16, 2018 7:56 AM PDT
    • 1479 posts
    April 16, 2018 10:34 AM PDT

    I really admire the dedication you are pushing to split every class into two different yet personnal viewed archetypes, however why should that be a rigid two forked choice and not good abilities you could choose depending of your needs and thoses of your team ?

    • 3237 posts
    April 16, 2018 11:51 AM PDT

    @MauvaisOeil  --  The idea is that you would indeed be able to choose which skills you need depending on your team, or what you're about to fight.  As far as limiting certain spells behind a specific specialization, this is to prevent FoTM builds where someone always uses the same set-up.  I think it makes sense to have meaningful choices ... but at the end of the day, you earn the right to make those choices by unlocking those individual abilities as well as the right to rotate specs while out of combat.  There is nothing preventing a wizard from learning both the Arcanist and Elementalist specializations but they need to choose which one makes the most sense for any given encounter.  This is also keeping in mind that the "base wizard" will have plenty of spells available regardless of specialization to ensure that they can fulfill their standard role.  Specialization is just a matter of flavor that you need to lock in before a given fight.  One other thing I was considering adding was some sort of "passive" buff or utility for each spec to make them feel a bit more distinctive than just being associated with it's own unique set of epic abilities.

    • 1479 posts
    April 16, 2018 12:01 PM PDT

    Two spec will end the same way, with one spec beeing overly favored even with a small %. Because now people don't care about breaking the odds. They want easy and fast results. I hope this won't happen, but breaking classes into sub classes will only make on toolset favored for it's practicability or DPS, like spec in wow were considered sub optimal if they weren't the "main stream overplayed spec of top players". Heck, I played fury warrior and bear druid during Vanilla wow and I was far to be weak with them.

     

    Edit: I'm not willing to plunder your post with scepticism, forgot to add that line after my computer crashed, sorry if it feels like it.


    This post was edited by Mauvais_Oeil at April 16, 2018 12:19 PM PDT
    • 3237 posts
    April 16, 2018 12:09 PM PDT

    Trust me, I am familiar with the woes of specialization.  With this model, it doesn't matter if someone prefers one specialization over the other.  At the end of the day, players would be able to unlock both --  this was an extremely imporatant aspect of how the model would work.  If you make the choice permanent, you're 100% right, one ends up being superior for whatever reason and people are ostracized if they don't pick it.  With this model, players can unlock both specializations.  You can be an Arcanist Wizard for one fight, and then an Elementalist Wizard for the next fight.  We're already going to see some degree of this behavior with our single limited hotbar.  The way I envision specialization working is emphasizing that point.  You have to prepare for combat and make meaningful choices prior to engaging.  It might take awhile to unlock all of the different specialized abilities, or even the ability to rotate specializations, but that's a long-term goal that you can work towards.  There is no "ideal spec"  --  it's always situational.  One phrase I have used in the past is this ... I would rather make hundreds/thousands of meaningful choices over the lifespan of my character (rotating specs while out of combat) than making a single monumental decision early on (picking a permanent spec.)

     

    *Edit  --  No worries at all!  Skepticism is always a healthy thing and if there are any issues with the model I would love to be made aware of them.  There are going to be some things that certain folks might perceive as an issue that I ultimately disagree with.  A good example of that is allowing flexibility with rotating specializations.  Another aspect is the requirement of progeny in order to learn both masteries.  Those are just personal preferences of mine.  I loved releveling in FFXI and it was a core part of the game due to the importance of sub-classes.  I think you could accomplish the same thing, to some degree, with dual specializations.  They may need more than just 4 epic abilities though which is why I was leaning toward also creating some sort of passive buff.  


    This post was edited by oneADseven at April 16, 2018 5:32 PM PDT
    • 3237 posts
    April 17, 2018 3:34 AM PDT

    Added Sentinel for Paladin.  This was a bit of an experiment as I added the passive ability as described above (Which I will eventually add to each different specialization for all classes) while also including a paladin-only resource called "Holy Favor."  It's not all the way fleshed out yet but I like the idea behind it.  We already know that Paladins are going to be exceptionally strong against Undead ... so why not give them an added incentive to potentially farm undead?


    This post was edited by oneADseven at April 17, 2018 3:41 AM PDT
    • 801 posts
    April 17, 2018 4:06 AM PDT

    Let me say this one aspect nobody remembered.

     

    More then one Spec, also caused you to adjust to others builds. You would be forced to button mash to the best spec available to support the guild. You never really had a chance to explore your own specs, but rather reviewed other You tube specs out there to be the best of that class. If we add in more then one spec the same thing will happen all over, button mashing specs.

     

    I would rather merit a player for how they play and not by the spec?? get where i am going on this. Grouping vrs button raid mashing specs.

     

    Keep it aimed towards true classes, and i am ok with that. Lets not force a player to follow someones spec to be able to solo, or group. Let the player be the player by the raw class they choose.

     

    If VR decides they could always add in more specialiations at a smaller degree by the race. Meaning the race can matter somewhat, to change a slight thing or add in 1 or 2 extra values to make it different. Such as Cold Resistance boost of 10% etc...

    • 3237 posts
    April 17, 2018 11:58 PM PDT

    Added Oathsworn to finish up the Paladin Class.  This is the first class that I have added passive buffs to but this is something I would like to circle back to and add to all of the other specializations after shaman is completed.  This class design is probably one of my favorite so far and was inspired by the paladin information discussed during the Bazgrim & Joppa class interview that recently took place at PAX East.  I think the Oathsworn specialization is geared to serve as a devastating force to be reckoned with while battling undead, and the Piety passive buff would be an interesting way to somewhat offset their ability to become too overpowered.  The idea behind that logic is simple ... you allow them to deal additional damage but it comes at the cost of their ability to heal themselves (or others) and this extra damage would not generate threat.  Overall, I really like the idea behind the Holy Favor resource pool and how that could be tied into their unique Rites of Passage.  By tying a cost of holy favor to each passive buff, it ensures that they would be able to leverage it consistently.  In many ways, I feel that tying this resource pool into killing undead would be a great way to integrate the game lore into their class design.  I imagined myself playing a paladin in order to accumulate Holy Favor and I figured it would legitimately feel like I was roleplaying a Paladin on a mission while doing it.  The "Sacred Virtue" epic ability would be highly sought after by all Paladins and I would imagine that spell being prioritized sooner than later.  It might make sense if some of the blessings that are associated with that spell are also tied into the Rites of Passage, or perhaps even their deity depending on how that system is rolled out.

     


    This post was edited by oneADseven at April 18, 2018 12:14 AM PDT
    • 11 posts
    April 18, 2018 3:09 PM PDT

    So the specs aren’t going to be as detailed as Archeage or GW2?

    • 11 posts
    April 18, 2018 3:09 PM PDT

    or they might do this at later time


    This post was edited by Warlunhardt at April 18, 2018 3:10 PM PDT
    • 3852 posts
    April 18, 2018 4:43 PM PDT

    There may be specializations, their may not be specializations, and if there are no one knows how they will compare to those other games - certainly not me.

    • 211 posts
    April 18, 2018 7:33 PM PDT

    Warlunhardt said:

    So the specs aren’t going to be as detailed as Archeage or GW2?

     

    I really hope not. I'd prefer there not be any specs at all.

    • 3237 posts
    April 18, 2018 9:12 PM PDT

    Oracle added to Shaman.  One more spec to go and then I'll start working on the passive buffs for the first 12 classes.  I know some people have their reservations about specialization and many of them have been well documented in this thread.  If there is a particular painpoint that someone would like to discuss, feel free to bring it up, but it's definitely worth reading through the thread to see if it may have already been discussed.  If anybody has any feedback on any of the specs I would love to hear it!  I have already gone in and made a couple minor tweaks based on feedback from someone I was chatting with in the unofficial Discord channel.  If you're passionate about a specific class and feel there is an opportunity to bring something different to the table please share any ideas you might have.  Thank you!

    • 27 posts
    May 5, 2018 8:42 AM PDT

    I worry abut these systems. If not approached very, very carefully, there ends up a perception that there's a 'right' spec :(

    I used to play WoW, and I had chosen not the 'right' spec. The only group I could regularly find was my husband. His hunter had the 'right' spec and was constantly getting trolled to go joingrou, let alone if he was actively LFG. I would struggle, and get a 'why aren't you x spec?. 

    Because I play my game in the way I find most appealing. I'm a valuable and attentive member of the group. If you want an X Spec Hunter, go roll one, I like Y.

    • 409 posts
    May 7, 2018 2:06 PM PDT

    Post deleted - not helpful


    This post was edited by Venjenz at May 24, 2018 1:59 PM PDT
    • 7 posts
    May 10, 2018 4:47 AM PDT

    Venjenz said:

    Kytastrophe said:

    I worry abut these systems. If not approached very, very carefully, there ends up a perception that there's a 'right' spec :(

    This perception is confirmed by finding any archive of the Druid's Grove forums, where damn near every player of the jack of all trades class in EQ1 spent all their waking time complaining endlessly about how nobody wanted them for groups because clerics healed better, other casters did better DPS, wizards had better ports, etc etc etc. That's what all dual class players do, compare one of the subclasses to the purist class of that same skill set and whine that the devs didn't let them have their cake and eat it too.

    Then comes the "preferred spec" meta, which in games like WoW changes ever single time they patch the game, causing endless whineplay. Easier to have 10-14 distinct classes that are all purists in one of the required archetype roles - tank, heal, mdps, rdps, support. Done. Don't mix, don't match, don't try to have that one class that can do a bit of everything, or we'll never hear the end of it.



    This is my feeling as well. Purist classes are always best. I think that is the point of having an abundant list of classes. Creating role changing specialization is the lazy way out of having to create and balance a new class. Specializations if implemented should be miniscule to the class similar to EQ in that your specilizations were a choice of alteration, evocation, abjuration etc.

    • 1479 posts
    May 10, 2018 5:59 AM PDT

    Digitalgrave said:

    Venjenz said:

    Kytastrophe said:

    I worry abut these systems. If not approached very, very carefully, there ends up a perception that there's a 'right' spec :(

    This perception is confirmed by finding any archive of the Druid's Grove forums, where damn near every player of the jack of all trades class in EQ1 spent all their waking time complaining endlessly about how nobody wanted them for groups because clerics healed better, other casters did better DPS, wizards had better ports, etc etc etc. That's what all dual class players do, compare one of the subclasses to the purist class of that same skill set and whine that the devs didn't let them have their cake and eat it too.

    Then comes the "preferred spec" meta, which in games like WoW changes ever single time they patch the game, causing endless whineplay. Easier to have 10-14 distinct classes that are all purists in one of the required archetype roles - tank, heal, mdps, rdps, support. Done. Don't mix, don't match, don't try to have that one class that can do a bit of everything, or we'll never hear the end of it.



    This is my feeling as well. Purist classes are always best. I think that is the point of having an abundant list of classes. Creating role changing specialization is the lazy way out of having to create and balance a new class. Specializations if implemented should be miniscule to the class similar to EQ in that your specilizations were a choice of alteration, evocation, abjuration etc.

     

    Even then, school specs had cookie cutters and you only took advantage from one or two spec at most, depending on your "playstyle" or maybe more of what you had to do as a class.

     

    Making specs on skillups for melee wouldn't really change much, what would you have ? The Backstab rogue ? The Waylay rogue ? The DoT rogue ? One would be better than the others and it would neglect any other choices.

    The offense warrior ? The defense warrior ? If the difference is significant, no one would want an offensive warrior because he would end up smashed when tanking, or the inverse : Too much damage gain, etc...

    Can't say for now. The good aspect with this game, at least for me, is that I await to be surprised in pretty much every aspect.