I will add a post of mine that I think builds upon this, well the first part does:
I still believe my post above and that the following solutions would solve the issue:
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Runes have Short (6-12 seconds) Cooldowns and deal less damage → promotes reactive combat (similar to a dance, you do A I do B, you do C I do D).
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Cooldowns are shared between weapons (Rune Slot 1, 2, 3 & 4) → prevents weapon swapping to spam.
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Focus will serve a different purpose rather than being a resource → no more competition between runes, time is the only resource it needs.
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Runes shouldn’t be just finishers but become an extension of our kit → enable for players to create their own playstyle around multiple runes rather than 1 rune for all. Think of how MMORPGs or Moba’s play, the class/character/hero comes together as a whole due to the various abilities.
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Incentivize mechanical useage of runes → dodge runes, reflect runes, etc. Make runes be used as a response or reaction to a situation. It depending on a resource like focus will feel counterintuitive and will lead to player creating a focus-neutral state regardless. It feels bad if you want to use Rune A but can’t due to focus limitations if you focus on reactivity.
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Rune customization → add certain effects for further customization. Let players interact with the runes and create something cool. HP shield after rune use, a cleanse, multiple charges of the rune, enhancing the next X basic attacks, etc.