D&D Feat Style System To Replace the Current Ichor Inventory Expansion System

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In various topic’s there are posts and discussions centered around ‘‘classes’’, runes, Stat Attributes, enchanting, affixes etc.

They all boil down to the following: players want more customization options to their builds.

The developers have stated that they dislike the idea of skill trees. Skill trees push you into a specific direction whilst losing some customization freedom. Assigning more values to attributes similarly limits player freedom.

A Feat System without Requirements would achieve this.

How would this work:

Imagine you just defeated Warrick and head to the Rookery and are given the Plague Ichor to drink. Now, instead of expending inventory capacity you get to select a single feat from an extensive list of Feats.

Some notes on this that I think are important:

  • These Feats should further roleplay fantasies and/or playstyles.

  • These Feats should be simple and easy to understand.

  • These Feats should be very broad to appeal to as many players as possible.

  • There should not be too many choices to prevent choice paralysis.

  • Some should be mutually exclusive to have a sense of commitment or to facilitate multiplayer elements.

  • Collapsable Feats, have the same Feat but for different purposes to prevent UI clutter. Example: Armor Master, Plate, Leather, Mesh, Cloth etc.

  • Potentially a limit to the number of feats to prevent people from obtaining all feats.

  • Potentially different types of Ichor to unlock different Feats. This allows for stronger feats to be unlocked later in the story.

Below are some examples of Feats.

Weapon Master

Specialize in a specific type of weapon.

Pick a weapon type such as: One-Handed Swords, Two-Handed Axes, Bows etc.

Weapons of the chosen type:

  • Deal X% more damage

  • Require X% less stamina to attack

  • Generate Focus X% more

  • Have X% increased attack speed

Once a weapon type is selected the others become greyed out.

Weapon Master II

Allows you to select an additional weapon type for Weapon Master

Armor Master

Become more accustomed to the chosen armor type.

Pick an armor type such as: Plate, Mesh, Leather, Cloth etc.

Armors of the chosen type:

  • Weigh X% less

  • Consume X% less stamina when dodging

  • Have X% increased poise

Once an armor is selected the others become greyed out.

Armor Master II

Allows you to select 1 more armor type.

Elemental Mastery

Become a master of your element and wield their full power.

Select one of the following, this Feat can be chosen multiple times:

Fire Mastery

  • Deal X% more Heat damage

  • Every instance of Heat damage will create a Flame nearby. Flames are heat seeking missiles that will become active after X seconds and will seek out nearby enemies prioritizing low health enemies

  • Ignore Heat Resistance up to X%

Cold Mastery

  • Deal X% more Cold damage

  • Every instance of Cold damage will cause glacial spikes to erupt from their target dealing damage in an area around them

  • Ignore Cold Resistance up to X%

Lightning Mastery

  • Deal X% more Lightning damage

  • Every instance of Lightning damage creates a Spark that will bounce to nearby enemies (think of a chain lightning effect)

  • Ignore Lightning Resistance up to X%

Plague Mastery

  • Deal X% more Plague damage

  • Enemies effected by the Plague Status effect spread to effect to nearby enemies. Plague damage over time is enhanced.

  • Ignore Plague Resistance up to X%.

Parry Master

Become more proficient at parries

  • Slightly increased window for Parry timing

  • Parries deal X% of weapon damage additional damage

  • Parries regenerate X% of stamina

Shield Master

Learn how to wield a shield more effectively

  • Shields weigh X% less

  • Shields give X% more armor

  • Shields consume X% less stamina when blocking

  • When blocking shields generate more Stagger on enemies

Shield Specialist

Unlock the hidden potential behind your shield

  • Shields now have a singular rune slot

  1. Shield Charge

  2. Shield Bash

  3. Shield Throw

  4. Etc.

Athletic

Through rigourous excercise achieve physical perfection

Mutually exclusive with Zen

  • Increase Stamina regeneration by X%

  • Decrease Stamina costs by X%

  • Increase Stamina gain by X%

Zen

Through regular meditation you have achieved enlightenment

  • Focus regeneration

  • Decrease Focus costs by X%

  • Increase Focus gain by X%

Mutually exclusive with Athletic

Charged Attack Specialist

  • Charged attacks now cost X% less stamina

  • Charged attacks deal extra damage if timed correctly

  • A perfectly timed charge attack reduces the charge timer for the next attack (faster subsequent charges, resets at the end of a chain)

Load Mastery

Learn how to fight with a specific equipment load

Pick one of the following, others become greyed out

Lightweight

  • Gain additional movement speed after a Quick Step

  • Attacks are X% faster

Heavyweight

  • You have more poise defense during a shoulderbash

  • Attacks deal X% more damage

Mediumweight

  • Dodge rolls consume X% less stamina

  • Attacks are X% faster

  • Attacks deal X% more damage

Apprenticeship

Become an apprentice to one of the merchants.

These are mutually exclusive with multiplayer in mind.

Chef in Training

Chef Gordon teaches you his secrets

  • Unlock additional cooking recipes

  • Cooking has a X% chance to create a duplicate

  • Get a X% discount on any wares sold by Gordon

Carpenter Curriculum

Whittacker takes you on as an apprentice

  • Unlock additional carpentry recipes

  • When crafting at any carpentry station you have a X% chance to have materials refunded

  • The time it takes to turn wood into planks is reduced by X%

  • Get a X% discount on any wares sold by Whittacker

Blacksmithing Beginner

Fillmore makes you his apprentice

  • Unlock additional blacksmithing recipes

  • When crafting at any blacksmithing station you have a X% chance to have materials refunded.

  • The time it takes to turn ore into bars is reduced by X%

  • Get a X% discount on any wares sold by Filmore

Mercantile Merchant

Grinnich teaches you the tricks of the trade

  • Grinnich’s stock is expended

  • Gain a X% discount in any shop (lower than merchant specific discounts, not applicable to Grinnich)

  • Gain access to Grinnich’s secret stash. A daily shop featuring all merchant exclusive items but as items not recipes.

Alchemy Meister

Markos teaches you his questionable methods

  • Unlock additional Alchemy recipes

  • When crafting at any alchemy station you have a X% chance to gain an enhanced version of the item.

  • Get a X% discount on any wares sold by Markos

Amateur Tailor

Meri and Mira teach you the basics of tailoring (see what I did there)

  • Unlock additional tailoring recipes

  • When crafting at any tailoring station you have a X% chance to have materials refunded

  • The time it takes to turn hides into usable materials (I dont remember the name) is reduced by X%

  • Get a X% discount on wares sold by Mira and Meri

Frequent Customer

You may be spending a little too much time inside Caroline’s tavern.

  • Resting bonus duration is increased by X%

  • Resting bonus is increased by X%

  • When resting (logging off in a bed) you earn gold by working in the tavern (capped at X hours)

Enchanting Aficionado

Eleanor teaches you the secrets of enchanting

  • Unlock additional recipes

  • When crafting at any enchanting station you have a X% chance to have materials refunded (i imagine the crafting table to added in)

  • The time it takes to refine gems is reduced by X% (the fact that ‘‘chipped’’ gems exist leads me to believe we can refine them similarly to wood into planks)

  • Get a X% discount on wares sold by Eleanor

I wanted to make sure it is in line with other merchants and doesn’t become a default seeing as how enchanting will play a huge role in build customization.

Damage Type specialization

Pick one of the following, this Feat can be selected multiple times.

Crusher

Weapons that deal crushing damage have additional effects

  • Bypass X% of enemy armor when using weapons that deal crushing damage

  • Deal X% more crushing damage

  • Your attacks fill up an enemy’s stagger meter faster

Slasher

Weapons that deal slashing damage have additional effects

  • Bypass X% of enemy armor when using weapons that deal slashing damage

  • Deal X% more slashing damage

  • Your attacks leave enemies vulnerable. Apply a stacking exposure debuff that increases damage by X%, stack up Y times.

Piercer

Weapons that deal piercing damage have additional effects

  • Bypass X% of enemy armor when using weapons that deal piercing damage

  • Deal X% more piercing damage

  • Your attacks have an X% chance to apply bleed to an enemy. Every instance of bleed applied triggers additional damage and resets the duration

Edit: a new Feat that can be chosen when The Echo Knight is defeated. Still costs Ichor and counts towards a cap.

Mark of The Echo Knight

Defeating The Echo Knight left a permanent mark on you.

Choose one of the following:

Dreadful Charger

  • Rune Specials that feature a charge have extended reach, stagger, poise defense and deal X% extra damage.

Plague Bolts

  • Every X seconds you generate a plague bolt up to X. When capped, the next hit will unleash the bolts to the target of your attack.

Spike Eruption

  • Charged Attacks and the final hit of an attack chain trigger a small Spike Eruption underneath an enemy, dealing damage in an AOE around them and applying stagger.

NEW!

Magical Armor

Gain a HP shield whenever you use a Rune.

  • When using a Rune, X% of focus spent is converted into a shield, up to X% of max HP.

Explosive Mastery

More bombs and bigger BOOMS.

  • When throwing a bomb it has a X% chance to drop components for making a bomb.

  • Bombs have an X% chance to trigger a random effect. These include, splitting into smaller bombs on explosion or a bigger explosion.

Cloak and Dagger

  • Backstabs generate X% focus.

  • Movement speed penalty when stealthing is halved.

  • If a backstab executes an enemy gain a X% damage buff that lasts for Y amount of time.

Dueling Mastery

When wielding a 1h weapon and nothing in your off hand:

  • Deal X% increased damage.

  • Gain X% armor penetration.

  • Gain X% damage mitigation.

Finisher

  • Killing an enemy restores X% focus, health and stamina. (X is a low value)

These are just some ideas and I might add more in the future.

I hope you like them :heart:

16 Likes
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I’d really like a feat that decreases food digestion cooldown time, doesn’t matter to me if it’s given an accompanying penalty of some sort.

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honestly, i don’t know, most of your proposition are locking stuffs behind choices, i feel like the only thing we miss right now is more interesting and diverse affixes, unique one, adding them to the tools, rings and so on~

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I agree with you that we need more interesting affixes, @DankMemeGod made a very good post with some cool affixes link below.

Future of Enchantments

But I do think that the aspect of choice matters. You need to think about your build, weapons, gear, enchantments.

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I didn’t expect to see my post linked here! Thanks for that. :slight_smile:

I don’t think more systems, like Feats, are a bad idea. You’ve kept them general enough and without restriction that you aren’t forcing players outside of a fantasy like skill trees could.

This also gives a lot of modularity for additions down the road, too, with future content updates. My only concern is to be careful and not have any Feats step on toes of potential future Enchantments.

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I mean it is a very good post, and @Mathieu mentioned more diverse affixes and I immediately thought of your post.

I wanted them to be as broad as possible, so they can be used by multiple class ideas. Then you also still have that sense of progression that skill trees do. It also makes you think more about your build and what to pick.

Agreed, they should complement each other or be additive, like stacking multiple small bonusses.

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This is great, appreciate you making a section about charge heavy attack timing.

I think this is a great idea that can allow us to specialize further in our chosen fantasy, such as:

  1. Necromancer fantasy that lets you specialize in minions and using corpses

  2. Bloodborne type vampire fantasy where you gain health back for retaliating aggressively and are powered by blood. (Maybe a bonus for stepping in blood? It already leaves footprints so the game definitely registers it!)

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it’s definitely something that’s always fun to do in games. so i can see it being fun in this game. given there is also a respec system because in BG3 is was SOOO HAPPY there is unlimited respec because i didn’t understand the game at all when i started lol. D&D is a different beast. but i can see it. i’d enjoy it.

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Combining Feats, Enchantments, Weapons, and Runes would give really help give way to both class fantasy and buildcrafting without forcing it like skill trees. Wicked leaning on RPG really gives us wiggle room.

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I’ll be honest, this is EASILY the best solution to multiple problems presented on this forum. I think it’s well done, thought out, sticks to the Dev’s admitted focus of a DnD like experience, preserves player freedom, and also provides a sense of identity to the player.

Remove unlocking equipment space entirely. You can either buy bigger bags when you upgrade the cloth merchants or just have full space from start. I don’t mind either.

Currently, the games stat requirements for weapons means absolutely nothing. The four offensive stats are completely arbitrary and offer NO sense of identity to your character or their playthrough other than fashion. It’s confusing how the Dev’s say they want our choices to be meaningful, but then have one of the biggest impact choices be truly meaningless. Oh you’re pure int? Here’s a greatsword. A hammer. A bow. Some daggers. Several swords. Enjoy. The current system is TERRIBLE.

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While I normally am 100% down for necromancers, these two feel out of place for a Cerim—“a member of a group of mystical holy warriors”.

While there are a lot of build options, I do think they should remain fitting for what our character is supposed to be.

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@JPthePirate Tbh I only brought it up because Thomas Mahler responded to a request for Necromancer with pretty much “absolutely, we’re on it”.

So it’s definitely going to come.

I think that there’s room to allow players to try their fantasy; that’s what the creators said is their goal. Plus, this is a brand new lore universe, and it’s possible our expectations may be subverted.

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Oh that is interesting… definitely seems opposite of the Cerim description :sweat_smile:.

If/when they do add it, I wish them the best of luck. So many games have a challenging time balancing necromancer-styled gameplay.

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I like my charge attacks just as much as you :smile:

Also hoping for more affixes with charge attacks!

Dev’s have stated that respeccing is coming which will be huge. I also think that implementing a system similar to the D&D feats is a smart design. Since BG3 showed that it can work in games, but then just remove stat requirements to make it suit Wicked.

Yeah it emphasizes on unlimited freedom that they are aiming for. Different people can have a different class interpretation, thus should be able to build them differently.

Thanks for the kind words! I thought about it a lot and then started thinking about existing systems and the D&D feats seems like the best match for Wicked.

I was thinking of something similar. But make them craftable bags instead that have their own slot. They would upgrade similarly to how tools upgrade each tier.

@JPthePirate @WolfieZee They could an an affix that has an X% chance to summon a plague leech when you kill an enemy.

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This made me think of something a bit chaotic. What if this was magic that could be summoned, but not controlled? Allowing Cerim to summon dangerous creatures that will attack anything near them, including their summoner if they get too close!

Terrible ideas aside, I think your idea could work pretty well!

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I think the devs are specifically down for those types of enchantments that can accidentally hurt you, I’m pretty sure I saw Thomas Mahler mention as much on twitter.

He said maybe an enchantment where enemies explode after death but can hurt you too.

That, plus friendly fire when in MP will be a thing.

Side note, I really appreciate that enemies can hurt each other

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They could make it Cerim-themed, like summoning the spirits of warriors or something.

Or I suppose it could really just be an honest-to-goodness necromancer, and there’s nothing to stop a Cerim from falling to the “dark side”?

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Since this is a bit off topic I made a new post where we can discuss this at length :heart:

New Topic:

Monster Summon Runes and/or Affixes

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I’m picturing a Cerim trying to rebuild and clean up Sacra using undead brought about through necromancy, but all of the residents start to freak out thinking they are getting invaded…

While it could work for playing as one, I almost like the idea of a bounty being to hunt down a Fallen Cerim who has resorted to dark practices…

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Added a new Feat that unlocks when you defeat The Echo Knight.

I’m currently thinking of adding additional Feats that have unlock requirements based upon certain triggers, like story progress, bosses defeated or maybe some Deity based ones once we unlock them.

Stay tuned!

1 Like