Feedback:User/Leonim/Combo field interactions

Combo field interactions
User	Leonim
Categories	Mechanics

Initial three-part proposal

As of now, skills with area of effects have colored outlines in the game world : red for harmful, blue for beneficial and white/grey for the whole undescriptive rest.

First and foremost, combo fields should be outlined in a similar way during combat : yellow for instance (blue outlining would take precedence when the cases arise). Same underlying logic as AoEs : to differ their flame wall from your flame wall, and be able to act upon such knowledge in combat decisions. Especially if we want to effectively use the combo mechanics system.

Second, it could be interesting to introduce the possibility to disable an enemy combo field : not the inherent effects of the field-generating skill, just the combination potential.

Third, combos as we know them so far are quite incomplete in their relation to each finisher, so lets fill the blanks with some propositions as well (until we discover the official plan). Some examples below then follows the partial overhaul further down below in a summarizing table.

• Dark + Leap = Nearby allies gain Distortion. (Also an hommage to the Leap into Darkness memento.)
• Lightning + Blast = Nearby allies gain Vigor.
• Poison + Projectile = Target foe suffers from Poison.

Some dazzling example (later edit)

As you may have noticed, those propositions are logical in a reading sense as well as about the themes and concept associated to each field.

For instance, when you leap into the light, there's literally a short moment where your opponents may be perplexed, dazzled or simply trying to recover their bearings. The three possibilities resulting in a short daze (and inaction) that may prove lethal. More of the base process of this designing logic is described in the sections below.

A thousand words... (updated)

But first the table summarizing the proposed changes in field interactions.

Finisher (>) / Field (v)	Physical Projectile (%)	Blast	Leap	Whirl
Intangible (planes)
Dark	inflicts Weakness on target	- disables enemy field	applies Distortion to nearby allies	inflicts Weakness on foes
Ethereal	inflicts Confusion+ on target	- disables enemy field	applies Quickness to nearby allies	inflicts Confusion+ on foes
Light	removes a condition from allies near target	- disables enemy field	inflict Daze on nearby foes	removes condition(s) from nearby allies
Primordial (forces)
Fire	inflicts Burning on target	applies Might+ to nearby allies	- disables enemy field	inflicts Burning on foes
Lightning	inflicts Vulnerability+ on target	applies Vigor to nearby allies	- disables enemy field	inflicts Vulnerability+ on foes
Water	heals allies near target	applies Regeneration to nearby allies	- disables enemy field	heals nearby allies
Pervasive (corruptions)
Crystal	inflicts Bleeding+ on target	applies Retaliation to nearby allies	applies Stability to nearby allies	- disables enemy field
Poison	inflicts Poison on target	applies Fury to nearby allies	applies Frenzy to nearby allies	- disables enemy field
Smoke	inflicts Blindness on target	applies Protection to nearby allies	applies Stealth to nearby allies	- disables enemy field

• Dark-greyed cells are suggestions or modifications on my behalf from the current state. Theme titles are mnemonic placeholders.
• White cells denote a potential use of your own finishers to disable enemy fields (no effect on allied fields obviously, so no possible confusion).
• Bleeding, Confusion, Might and Vulnerability stacks in intensity (indicated by ⁺), other boons and conditions in duration. Daze, Distortion, Frenzy, Quickness, Stability and Stealth don't at all, nor are affected by character's attributes.
• In the presented classification, any two field names from different themes can be associated by pair to obtain a very conceptual and mind-steering word association : may be interesting for the mechanics of some bosses (since they should also combo after all ^^).

Some background explanations

As a reminder, for any finisher, only one field is taken into account, so bonus are not cumulative in any way.

Speaking about finishers, I think that projectiles (which by the way have generaly only 20% chance of triggering a combo) and whirls should provide the same nature of combination : one being about single ranged attacks, the other about point-blank area of effect (lets say melee to simplify).

Another thing is the use of the "nearby" term... not sure that those two close combos should not be more limited in size of the effect area here. Large as a Ring of Fire maybe : currently it rougly means two melee distances away (130 units for melee, 240 for the ring). Whereas the larger combos below could benefit from a 600 units radius, which is mid-range by definition, but covers in max length (diameter) the whole extent of a shot from a rifle, a standard arrow flight from the longbow or a far-reaching spell.

Further then, the leap should be, in my opinion, all about giving a beneficial return to, literally, jump into the fray. In the table above, it is clearly visible and easily understood... seems like common sense from where I stand now : you leap, you get one (boon) for the team (you and allies around I mean). And one of the special one at that, no less : stealth, blur, stability, daze, frenzy... and the like.

And finally the blast, though more chaotic in essence, the more common and safely applied : less risk, less rewards for your typical what-you-expected boon provider.

About durations, it could be surprising, but I think just a lonesome second should do the trick for harmful cases (conditions, daze and fear for instance), and two seconds when it comes to beneficial effects. Then Malice, Expertise, Concentration and effect stacking would enter the dance... and don't forget that one field may host several finisher moves (in a short span of time).

In the end, there is still the question about when is the additional effect applied, and I would answer that my preference goes to "just before it hits" : finisher attack (range/melee/ground) is out, combo effect is applied, hit is then calculated with the full benefits (and detrimental results on the target).

Some logical leftovers

I didn't bring mobility (swiftness, cripple, chill, immobilize and stun) to the table : to me, there is no sense to that. Since the fields are carefully positionned on the battlefield, and the finishers are actual moves from the belligerants : skill combinations are already part of the mobility struggle in their own way.

Thanks for reading and have a good day (raaah pre-purchase ^^), --  Leonim _{[talk·contribs]} 03:33, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

Crystal, aka Earth, instead of Ice (later edit)

After a discussion with User:Guild Wars 3 perhaps (a fellow suggestion addict ^^), I found that actually there was a lot of things not going as intended with the implementation of an Ice field :

• Ice magic is only a sub-part of the more multi-purpose Water magic.
• Ice magic is therefore poorly represented in the current or future choice of skills, especially when it comes to field materials.
• Chilled is generally linked to this state, same as everything "frozen".
• Chilled is not a good candidate for combo mechanics since it works on two base mechanics at the same time : skill recharge and movement speed.

Despite the "Elemental Slayer| title : Fire, earth, lightning, water, and ice can't stand up to steel and magic." placing Ice among the top elements, a major one like Earth magic should have its own field potential and is definetly more suited for the job. Its associations offers more leeway for combo potential : commonly-associated conditions like bleeding and crippled, protection or retaliation in the boon's category, knockdown for the control and stability for the extra bonus state.

A good mix of the seeked after properties would be crystal (shards, gems, rocky spikes, stalactites, flint, etc.), and it doesn't even deviate that much from the initial concept of ice. Astonishly, it even fits in the self-made category of pervasive combos (complete with acid and smoke), as lots of GW people know the corrupting trend that goes with crystal (the world is nicely done, isn't it?)... without even having to mention Kralkatorrik. Did I mention Kralkatorrik? ;)

And to finish, a little roundabout on the two "previous" ice field generators which could be modified like this :

• Frost Trap : changed to become a trap triggering a lightning field provoking vulnerability and weakness (naming proposal : Piercing Trap).
• Frost Ground could be either a water or crystal field, yet keep the support-oriented possibilities in combos.

Almost forgot a nit-picky footnote that a poison field should rather be called an acid field... but less catchy a calling, isn't it?

New field candidates (later edit)

Following the discussion above, I found many good candidate skills to generate earth/crystal fields while reviewing the current lists of skills. And a few other skills as well to be considered fields of their own, see suggested modifications below (in italics) :

• Elementalist (while in Earth attunement) :
  • Glyph of Storms (utility) : Create a storm based on your attunement. Combo Field : Crystal.
  • Murky Water (trident) : Blind foes around you. Combo Field : Smoke. (If indeed it is a short-lasting area-of-effect skill, as supposed.)
  • Ring of Earth (main-hand dagger) : Bleed foes with a ring of rocky spikes. Combo Field : Crystal.
  • Unsteady Ground (staff) : Create unsteady ground that cripples foes that move through it. Combo Field : Crystal.

• Engineer
  • Glue Shot (pistol) : Coat the target area with a glue puddle that immobilizes foes. Combo Field : Crystal.
  • Magnetic Field (shield) : Create a magnetic field that reflects projectiles and can be released to push back foes. Combo Field : Crystal.
  • Slick Shoes (utility) : Spray oil behind you, knocking down foes. If underwater, blinds foes that enter the oil field. Combo Field : Dark.

• Guardian
  • Hallowed Ground (utility) : Consecrate the target area, granting stability to allies inside. Combo Field : Crystal.
  • Sanctuary (utility) : Form a protective shelter that prevents foes and projectiles from entering, and heals allies. Combo Field : Light.
  • Wall of Reflection (utility) : Protect target area with a wall of mystic power that reflects projectiles. Combo Field : Crystal.

• Mesmer
  • Null Field (utility) : Create a field of energy for that removes all boons from enemies, and removes all conditions from allies. Combo Field : Ethereal.
  • The Prestige (torch) : Disappear in a cloud of smoke blinding nearby foes, reappear three seconds later, burning nearby foes. Combo Field : Smoke.
  • Slipstream (harpoon) : Create a current in front of you that rapidly propels you forward and pushes back foes that enter. Combo Field : Water.
  • Vortex (harpoon) : Create a vortex at your location, pulling nearby enemies toward you. Combo Field : Lightning.

• Necromancer
  • Chilblains (staff) : Chill and poison the target area. Combo Field : Poison. (This skill is at the time of writing considered a mark, though not following the "Mark of.." naming and imo more suited to be a field, not a blast finisher. would it cripple or enhance staff gameplay?)
  • Foul Current (trident) : Dart at your foe, leaving poisonous bubbles behind. Combo Field : Poison.

• Ranger
  • Muddy Terrain (utility) : Use mud to cripple foes. Combo Field : Water. (Again if this skill has a visible and short-living area-of-effect in the game world, instead of an instant one.)

• Traps (see section down below)

About portals

Not sure the mesmer's mass teleporting ability -- Portal Entre and Portal Exeunt (a one and only utility skill mimicking the mechanics of the genial game of the same name, Portal) -- should be considered "good" candidates to become ethereal and light fields (respectively). The loop ability and instant long-range movement makes at least two no-no features about that.

As a side note, maybe the connected pair of portals should carry a shared set of charges (limited number of uses).

Traps when triggered

It is quite... disturbing and erratic that some traps generate a combo field, while others don't. Rangers and Thiefs should be able to count on the reliability of tactics involving this utility set, hence the behavior of trap-like skills should be consistent and among those, traps should always generate a combo field upon being triggered.

As an example of trap-like skills behaving differently but with consistency, the marks of the necromancer can be triggered when desired (or after a set amount of time) and thus have been designed with another logic : every last one of them is a blast finisher and should stay at that. Their wells are also a sure source of combos, meanwhile the guardian's symbols are universally fields of Light.

There are some "scatter..." skills around (Scatter Nails, Caltrops... or the charr-exclusive Shrapnel mine), but unlike traps they have no trigger but only an immediate area of effect. Not a good idea as combo fields.

Back to our list of traps, modifications shown in italics :

• Ranger
  • Healing Spring : Create a healing spring that also removes conditions from you and your allies. Combo Field : Water. (Note that it is not a trap per se, but participates to the representation of the four elements in the ranger arsenal.)
  • Flame Trap : Set a trap that burns foes when triggered. Combo Field : Flame.
  • Piercing Trap : Set a trap that weakens and leaves foes vulnerable when triggered. Combo Field : Lightning.
  • Spike Trap : Set a trap that bleeds and cripples foes when triggered. Combo Field : Crystal. (This one potentially immobilizes as well from the current wiki description.)
  • Viper's Nest : Set a trap that poisons foes when triggered. Combo Field : Poison.

• Thief
  • Needle Trap : Set a trap that immobilizes and poisons foes when triggered. Combo Field : Poison.
  • Shadow Trap : Set a trap. You vanish in stealth and shadowstep back to the trap when it is triggered. Combo Field : Ethereal.
  • Tripwire : Set a trap that knocks down foes when triggered. Combo Field : Crystal.

Again, thanks for reading and commenting. --  Leonim _{[talk·contribs]} 23:38, 16 April 2012 (UTC)

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