Kubie
New member
Hey there!
So I love how active items work in this game, and I'd really like to see them given more emphasis by the developers, I think that embracing them not only as key end game items, but also as core items that can aid players in the first few minutes of a match can not only help new players get used to the mechanic with the higher cost active items, but also help turn the tide of early game exchanges in different scenarios.
I've spent a little bit of time coming up with some concepts for some active items that could function in that capacity within the 500 or 1200 soul price range. I have one for each item category that's presently in the game, so there's a damage, vitality, and spirit item each in here that might make for an interesting addition to the game's existing gameplay.
It should be kept in mind that a lot of my frame of reference while playing the game thus far has mostly been from playing Vindicta, Seven, and Wraith.
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Weapon: Spare Magazine
Price: 500 Souls
Base Stat: +12% Ammo
Active: Speeds up primary reload speed by 75% of the original speed for six seconds when activated.
Cooldown: 60 seconds.
Why: Reloading during early encounters can often feel a little sluggish, making dealing damage a bit difficult in tough encounters. While I think this is alright in most encounters in the game, having an item that allows players to give themselves a little extra push for aggressive line-breaking moves in the middle of their lanes might help allow for both engaging team fights in the early game and interesting sleight of hand tricks being done by players later on into matches, granted it's still in their inventory.
Design Note: Oddly enough, this one is inspired somewhat by my experience playing games like Battlefield or Call of Duty. A lot of more realistic military shooters have something along the concept of a "quick draw magazine" as an attachment to different guns, mainly rifles. I'd often find myself using them as quickly as I can as the faster reload speed was nothing to balk at for me, especially with games that have a very fast time to kill.
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Vitality: Cup O' Joe
Price: 500 Souls
Base Stat: +5% Stamina Recovery
Active: Increases movement speed on the ground by 25% for six seconds, and grants a full stamina recharge.
Cooldown: 60 seconds.
Why: Again, I think an item like this could be good for early pushing early game encounters as well as little late game tricks. But I also think that in particular, being able to use this to help rush to a lane that's being pushed by the enemy team earlier into matches would help a lot in a scenario like that. The rail systems on the map don't really overlap in a way where you can change between the lane you are headed to outside of your own base. This item would help players change lanes to defend their Guardians in mid.
Design Note: Items in games with RPG mechanics that provide speed or agility boosts are something I tend to gravitate towards a lot of the time, especially in titles like Diablo 2. I often found myself trying to get items with faster run/walk or hoarding stamina potions to enable that, especially when playing the Barbarian in that game. I think this sort of item can help provide an early game payoff for people like myself who find upgrading that sort of stat in their game to be a priority for their builds.
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Spirit: True Sight Lens
Price: 750 Souls
Base Stat: +5% Spirit Resist
Active: Reveals enemies behind walls within a radius to the player, giving them an outline through walls while revealing them on the minimap for their allies. The effect lasts four seconds.
Cooldown: 60 seconds.
Why: In a game that borrows a lot from MOBAs with regards to player visibility, having nothing akin to a ward is a bit strange. However, I think the idea of letting players be their own walking wards with this active item could prove to be an interesting take on the gameplay, while also giving the one activating it an advantage in pursuing their enemy early game might be useful in a lot of strats, or even critical in the late game when defending your team's base against waves of the enemy team's creeps and heroes.
Design Note: I never minded "wallhack" abilities in games like Overwatch (Soldier 76) or Quake Champions (Visor) by themselves, but I've always found them to be obnoxious mostly because of the fact that such an ability is bound to a specific character in their respective games. I think something like this could allow for that sort of gameplay without locking it to a specific character in particular.
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Overall, the design philosophy I came up with these item concepts with was with the intent of making tide turning events in the early game a little easier to muster if a player uses them wisely, A lot of what these active items are supposed to push is conceptually rooted in the idea of helping players find ways to inform, reinforce, and retaliate against their enemies earlier in the game's matches.
Now, I make a lot of comparisons to other games in this post under the design notes sections for each of them, but that's mostly just me drawing from my own experiences in gaming. I've not played a whole lot of MOBAs before, though I've played my share of DOTA 1/2, LoL, and Heroes of the Storm in the past. But I like to think it's worth drawing inspiration from wherever you can when coming up with new concepts for games, and I've had more experience ultimately in a lot of the other titles ive mentioned in those notes than in most MOBAs, or Smite. Granted, I do miss Super Monday Night Combat...
Also, the graphics for each item were made by me, barring the circular arrows in the Spare Magazine icon. That was taken from publicdomainvectors just so I could put together something quick for reference.
Thanks for reading! I look forward to hearing anyone else's thoughts on these ideas.
So I love how active items work in this game, and I'd really like to see them given more emphasis by the developers, I think that embracing them not only as key end game items, but also as core items that can aid players in the first few minutes of a match can not only help new players get used to the mechanic with the higher cost active items, but also help turn the tide of early game exchanges in different scenarios.
I've spent a little bit of time coming up with some concepts for some active items that could function in that capacity within the 500 or 1200 soul price range. I have one for each item category that's presently in the game, so there's a damage, vitality, and spirit item each in here that might make for an interesting addition to the game's existing gameplay.
It should be kept in mind that a lot of my frame of reference while playing the game thus far has mostly been from playing Vindicta, Seven, and Wraith.
---------
Weapon: Spare Magazine
Price: 500 Souls
Base Stat: +12% Ammo
Active: Speeds up primary reload speed by 75% of the original speed for six seconds when activated.
Cooldown: 60 seconds.
Why: Reloading during early encounters can often feel a little sluggish, making dealing damage a bit difficult in tough encounters. While I think this is alright in most encounters in the game, having an item that allows players to give themselves a little extra push for aggressive line-breaking moves in the middle of their lanes might help allow for both engaging team fights in the early game and interesting sleight of hand tricks being done by players later on into matches, granted it's still in their inventory.
Design Note: Oddly enough, this one is inspired somewhat by my experience playing games like Battlefield or Call of Duty. A lot of more realistic military shooters have something along the concept of a "quick draw magazine" as an attachment to different guns, mainly rifles. I'd often find myself using them as quickly as I can as the faster reload speed was nothing to balk at for me, especially with games that have a very fast time to kill.
---------
Vitality: Cup O' Joe
Price: 500 Souls
Base Stat: +5% Stamina Recovery
Active: Increases movement speed on the ground by 25% for six seconds, and grants a full stamina recharge.
Cooldown: 60 seconds.
Why: Again, I think an item like this could be good for early pushing early game encounters as well as little late game tricks. But I also think that in particular, being able to use this to help rush to a lane that's being pushed by the enemy team earlier into matches would help a lot in a scenario like that. The rail systems on the map don't really overlap in a way where you can change between the lane you are headed to outside of your own base. This item would help players change lanes to defend their Guardians in mid.
Design Note: Items in games with RPG mechanics that provide speed or agility boosts are something I tend to gravitate towards a lot of the time, especially in titles like Diablo 2. I often found myself trying to get items with faster run/walk or hoarding stamina potions to enable that, especially when playing the Barbarian in that game. I think this sort of item can help provide an early game payoff for people like myself who find upgrading that sort of stat in their game to be a priority for their builds.
---------
Spirit: True Sight Lens
Price: 750 Souls
Base Stat: +5% Spirit Resist
Active: Reveals enemies behind walls within a radius to the player, giving them an outline through walls while revealing them on the minimap for their allies. The effect lasts four seconds.
Cooldown: 60 seconds.
Why: In a game that borrows a lot from MOBAs with regards to player visibility, having nothing akin to a ward is a bit strange. However, I think the idea of letting players be their own walking wards with this active item could prove to be an interesting take on the gameplay, while also giving the one activating it an advantage in pursuing their enemy early game might be useful in a lot of strats, or even critical in the late game when defending your team's base against waves of the enemy team's creeps and heroes.
Design Note: I never minded "wallhack" abilities in games like Overwatch (Soldier 76) or Quake Champions (Visor) by themselves, but I've always found them to be obnoxious mostly because of the fact that such an ability is bound to a specific character in their respective games. I think something like this could allow for that sort of gameplay without locking it to a specific character in particular.
---------
Overall, the design philosophy I came up with these item concepts with was with the intent of making tide turning events in the early game a little easier to muster if a player uses them wisely, A lot of what these active items are supposed to push is conceptually rooted in the idea of helping players find ways to inform, reinforce, and retaliate against their enemies earlier in the game's matches.
Now, I make a lot of comparisons to other games in this post under the design notes sections for each of them, but that's mostly just me drawing from my own experiences in gaming. I've not played a whole lot of MOBAs before, though I've played my share of DOTA 1/2, LoL, and Heroes of the Storm in the past. But I like to think it's worth drawing inspiration from wherever you can when coming up with new concepts for games, and I've had more experience ultimately in a lot of the other titles ive mentioned in those notes than in most MOBAs, or Smite. Granted, I do miss Super Monday Night Combat...
Also, the graphics for each item were made by me, barring the circular arrows in the Spare Magazine icon. That was taken from publicdomainvectors just so I could put together something quick for reference.
Thanks for reading! I look forward to hearing anyone else's thoughts on these ideas.
