Different mechanics for different damage types?
Hello,
I haven't been playing much, but I don't understand the different damage types and their purpose.
They feel all the same to me, just textually different. They don't seem to have different mechanics (with some exceptions like fire being put out in water).
I feel like each damage type should have its own clear mechanic that sets it apart from other damage types.
It would help on the uniqueness of each skill, make some skills more strategy based (even though that's already the case for some) or more straightforward when it comes to desired results.
Here are some example of what it could be:
Slashing : nothing special, behaves normally as the basic type
Piercing : either fully bypasses armour (ex: arrow or lance that pierces through) or exclusively deals armour damage (ex: arrow or lance that bounces off), depending on the skill potency compared with target
Crushing : always has a chance to stun target or has knock-back effect of varying degree (effectiveness varying based on skill difference or immunity level)
Fire : indirect damage duration has a chance to stop early the more wetness the target has (100% wetness is immediate stop though)
Cold : Range and duration varies depending on the temperature (warm maps VS cold maps; day VS night; close to a source of fire VS wet in wind)
Electricity : highly variable damage based on the target condition. increased damage on conductive targets (wet, metallic, etc.) and reduced damage on insulated targets (heavily clothed, dehydrated, grounded, etc.). Electricity could be one-hit kill or the weakest damage type depending on the conditions.
Poison : damage builds up stacks, for each stack the damage dealt and duration is increased. Maintaining control on the stacks is key to survive poisonous/venomous attacks. Effect is transmitted to corpse meat on death so it cannot be butchered (or produced poisoned meat).
Trauma : damage is increased for the next tick if the player has taken a physical action or is running/fleeing, damage is decreased for the next tick if the player is resting (sitting or lying down)
Psychic : as damage builds up, the higher the chance that the target will inflict attack itself or a nearby target instead of the intended target. However, resistance to psychic damage also builds up but this can be reduces with a greater skill proficiency difference compared with the target.
Acid : reduces maximum armour as damage is dealt (temporarily or until repaired). Effect is transmitted to corpse skin on death so it cannot be skinned (or it is always the lowest quality, but for some monsters it could enhance the "skin" quality)
Darkness : debilitating effect that also reduces maximum power as damage is dealt (debilitating effect could be capped based on the caster proficiency and the difference in skills?)
Nature : damage spreads to nearby targets if too close or on contact (because diseases, swarms, spore ejections jump targets) -- be wary of friendly-fire, but it makes the best crowd control
I feel that it would make the game more unique compared with other MMOs too. Most of them also just have text-flavoured damage types without any mechanic differences.
Thank you for reading!
