"Charge" Suggestion for Skills

dawgma · 08-07-2008, 03:57

So... this “charge-up” attribute would not be like the Assassin’s charge-up skills where charges accumulate due to successive hits within a short time frame. This is a different idea that would apply to a variety of skills and spells... and every character class would have certain skills that would have the ability to charge-up the longer you hold down the trigger button (could be the mouse button, could be a keyboard button). Charged attacks would consume additional Mana (or Rage) while charging. They could also be interrupted if you are hit while charging. And, depending on the skill, you may be able to move around while charging or you may be required to stand still.

For example, a Sorceress would have to stand still as she charges up a savage and lethal Lightning Storm... and as soon as she reaches a full charge the Lightning Storm is automatically unleashed. A Barbarian, on the other hand, could be allowed to move while charging up his Whirlwind skill. He could also hold this charge until he finds a group of enemies to engage… but, of course, this would consume additional Rage as long as he is holding the full charge.

Now here is the great thing about being able to charge up your skills... It’s not just about adding extra damage points to your skills. Charged attacks would have the potential to unleash interesting side effects while they are charging, deliver combo attacks when they are unleashed and introduce extremely unique and interesting animations for your characters existing skills!

Picture a Sorceress on an elevated platform in a dungeon looking down at a cluster of demon champions below… she decides this is an excellent opportunity to unleash a charged up Blizzard spell... and so you hold the trigger down and she starts to wave her hands slowly and chant something... and the atmosphere begins to grow darker as the spell charges... and there is a visible wind that begins to grow stronger and the room starts to look colder... any demons around the Sorceress begin to move slower as they are becoming affected by the chill… debris is sucked towards the Sorceress and spins around her violently... snow flakes appear and flutter around... then finally, suddenly, a meteoric **** storm of snow and ice is unleashed that fills up your entire field of view delivering heavy damage to any demons in view... even the most cold resistant monsters are left frozen solid!

Or consider the Barbarian charging up his Cleave skill. You see a group of demons just up ahead so you hold the trigger down and charge up your Cleve skill completely as you approach them. You reach the pack of enemies and release the trigger… and instead of a single swoosh that you normally deliver with your Cleve skill, you perform a devastating triple hit combo attack where each hit has it’s own unique animation. Beautiful and well worth the wait! Charged up attacks would be a nice simple way to introduce elaborate combo moves for the Barb.

Of course, the amount of time required to unleash a fully charged spell would have to be carefully balanced for each skill. There would have to be a long enough pause between charges so that you are not able to spam the charged attacks or use them too easily while engaged in close quarter combat. There might also have to be a slightly longer than normal cool down period after using a fully charged attack. However, if you fear that you are about to be attacked while in the middle of a charge (and therefore interrupted) you should still be able to release the trigger and engage in a more-powerful-than-normal attack. So ultimately you would have to decide when the best moment to charge up the spell would be...

I believe "charging", if executed properly, could be a nice addition to skills in general. It has the potential to introduce new gameplay techniques, it could add to the general atmosphere of the game world and would really enhance the uniqueness of each character with the extra variety to the attack animations.

So what do you think? Do you see any limitations or have any suggestions to implement it better? What other skills could you see having a "charge" attribute added to it... and what would it look like?

Dimmu · 08-07-2008, 04:39

sounds like megaman to me.

dawgma · 08-07-2008, 04:49

OK.. well I'll try to imagine what a Fireball charge-up for the Sorcerer could be like (obviously I expect this class to be returning)...

He triggers the charge up for the fireball spell and starts to chant... a small globe of fire appears in front of him as he rises slightly above the ground... the globe of fire becomes more intense and the Sorcerer's armor begins glowing red hot.. then white.. the Sorcerer spontaneously combusts into a raging fireball that ignites anything that touches him... tendrils of fire shoot out across the ground from below his feet.. suddenly there is a deafening explosion as the fireball surrounding the Sorcerer erupts outwards in a supersonic explosion crushing most of the demons within the blast radius... and setting on fire whatever remains...

On a side note... I want to add that even though the descriptions of a charge-up may seem long when you read it, you have to picture all of these events happening within a few seconds. I think it would be reasonable to expect most charge-ups max out in less than 10 seconds... especially for the Barb, probably less than 5 seconds.

dawgma · 08-07-2008, 04:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dimmu

sounds like megaman to me.

Well.. what works for megaman could work for Diablo. Have you heard about the many different games that the developers have said to have influenced the design of D3? You might be surprised... apparently they even got a few ideas from Rock Band.

raveharu · 08-07-2008, 04:51

sounds pretty lame, I think this is more suited for 2D games.

dawgma · 08-07-2008, 04:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by raveharu

I think this is more suited for 2D games.

Why..? Why would my suggestion be limited to 2D games?

dawgma · 09-07-2008, 01:10

**bump**

Give it some thought, guys.

Apocalypse · 09-07-2008, 01:17

things like this have a place in games, just not a diablo game

dawgma · 09-07-2008, 01:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apocalypse

things like this have a place in games, just not a diablo game

That makes no sense to me... can you justify your comment?

Connekt · 09-07-2008, 02:09

Charge Ups and Cool-downs are a big part of any RPG. Whether they decide to put them in or not just changes the dynamic of the game and timing of skills. If you seriously think "charge-ups are like megaman", I don't think an RPG is the game for you. It would be a change of pace for Diablo, but I wouldn't completely write this idea off. People seem to be so set in what they want from Diablo, but they fail to realize its been 10 years since D2 came out. The dynamics for rpgs have changed.