Some warlock QoL+flavor suggestions
Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2021 6:43 am
Gave warlock a deep try over the past week or so and have been enjoying it so far, but there's a few suggestions I'd like to make just to make playing them a little smoother.
Make a combination command that opens a specified number of channels and queues a cast. I know you can do this with aliases, but if you're trying to conserve energy, there is a lot of toggling "sorcery" going on constantly. This could be worked in a similar manner to how EVOKE functions in GS4 - EVOKE SORCERY 1 to immediately open 1 channel of sorcery and then queue a raw cast on current target, or EVOKE SORCERY 2 to do the same with 2 channels, etc. Could also expand it to cast spells by supplying them as an optional argument - EVOKE SORCERY 2 BTEND would queue opening two channels then casting sorcery in the one command, for example. Not explicitly required, but would significantly reduce the control burden for regular combat with the class without needing aliases.
Another alternative could be a brand new set of aliases for the raw cast - LASH causing the level 1 channel+cast, BLAST causing the level 2 channel+cast and OBLITERATE causing the level 3 channel+cast effect. This could be a good vector for a new ability path if you wanted to go down that route as well.
If you wanted to tier this convenience as an upgrade, perhaps it could be linked to some form of "improved sorcery focus" or something of the sort?
Provide a notification when Shadow Cloak is starting to wane, similar to the kind of warning you get when distyr/lanterns/torches are running out of fuel. SC has a habit of just randomly exposing you to the world if you forget to refresh it, which isn't very fun if you're trying to play up the paranoid sorcerer archetype. Very easily solved by having it show maybe three warnings - one at 1 minute left, another at 30 seconds, and another at 10 seconds.
Shadow Cloak also gets a bit funky with pronouns. The description for a shadow cloaked someone is "it", but if they're channeling or are dirty, they show up as he/she, etc.
Consider making Shadow Cloak a sustained effect, drawing its energy cost across the duration instead of being a once-off cast. This could be an affinity bonus or something perhaps, but being able to keep it up indefinitely would be a definite (harhar) boon.
That's all for the QoL changes. Below are some flavor ones which I think might be cool, but do note that my understanding of sorcery is not great from an OOC standpoint, so take them with a grain of salt:
Do more with sorcery foci. At the moment, foci feature in exactly none of the ability or raw cast messages to suggest they're the conduit through which the sorcerer is channeling the nether. Consider including them (if visible, or from a close body part if covered) in some of this messaging. Shadow Cloak exists for the people who might not want to let on where/what their focus is.
Offer more sorcery foci, potentially making them craftable by players, or perhaps embedded into any object of their choosing. As far as I know currently, there's one sorcery focus you can buy from the scholar's guild and that's it. Have to wait for merchants or other events if they have them at all. It could make for an interesting ability path to have warlocks attempt to flood an item with nether while keeping it stable (somehow) in a similar manner to what is suggested with the current available focus item, or maybe offer a new rare material that can be cast or carved into rings, gauntlets, or perhaps even the barrels of firearms, an especially rare gemstone found in lockboxes, so on, so forth.
Make a combination command that opens a specified number of channels and queues a cast. I know you can do this with aliases, but if you're trying to conserve energy, there is a lot of toggling "sorcery" going on constantly. This could be worked in a similar manner to how EVOKE functions in GS4 - EVOKE SORCERY 1 to immediately open 1 channel of sorcery and then queue a raw cast on current target, or EVOKE SORCERY 2 to do the same with 2 channels, etc. Could also expand it to cast spells by supplying them as an optional argument - EVOKE SORCERY 2 BTEND would queue opening two channels then casting sorcery in the one command, for example. Not explicitly required, but would significantly reduce the control burden for regular combat with the class without needing aliases.
Another alternative could be a brand new set of aliases for the raw cast - LASH causing the level 1 channel+cast, BLAST causing the level 2 channel+cast and OBLITERATE causing the level 3 channel+cast effect. This could be a good vector for a new ability path if you wanted to go down that route as well.
If you wanted to tier this convenience as an upgrade, perhaps it could be linked to some form of "improved sorcery focus" or something of the sort?
Provide a notification when Shadow Cloak is starting to wane, similar to the kind of warning you get when distyr/lanterns/torches are running out of fuel. SC has a habit of just randomly exposing you to the world if you forget to refresh it, which isn't very fun if you're trying to play up the paranoid sorcerer archetype. Very easily solved by having it show maybe three warnings - one at 1 minute left, another at 30 seconds, and another at 10 seconds.
Shadow Cloak also gets a bit funky with pronouns. The description for a shadow cloaked someone is "it", but if they're channeling or are dirty, they show up as he/she, etc.
Consider making Shadow Cloak a sustained effect, drawing its energy cost across the duration instead of being a once-off cast. This could be an affinity bonus or something perhaps, but being able to keep it up indefinitely would be a definite (harhar) boon.
That's all for the QoL changes. Below are some flavor ones which I think might be cool, but do note that my understanding of sorcery is not great from an OOC standpoint, so take them with a grain of salt:
Do more with sorcery foci. At the moment, foci feature in exactly none of the ability or raw cast messages to suggest they're the conduit through which the sorcerer is channeling the nether. Consider including them (if visible, or from a close body part if covered) in some of this messaging. Shadow Cloak exists for the people who might not want to let on where/what their focus is.
Offer more sorcery foci, potentially making them craftable by players, or perhaps embedded into any object of their choosing. As far as I know currently, there's one sorcery focus you can buy from the scholar's guild and that's it. Have to wait for merchants or other events if they have them at all. It could make for an interesting ability path to have warlocks attempt to flood an item with nether while keeping it stable (somehow) in a similar manner to what is suggested with the current available focus item, or maybe offer a new rare material that can be cast or carved into rings, gauntlets, or perhaps even the barrels of firearms, an especially rare gemstone found in lockboxes, so on, so forth.