Elemental Rework-Elements As Utility, Not Damage

[MJ12]

Okay, now that lower-than-1.0 elemental multipliers are largely gone (I think the last remaining one is the 0.5x Light Infested take from armor piercing?) things that deal mono-elemental damage are no longer utterly dependent on the weapon being equipped with massive elemental damage mods.

 

So here's an idea about elemental mods adding utility to the weapon instead of pure damage. There might be some damage, but instead their primary effects are debuffs to enemies hit by the elemental type. This would indirectly reduce maximum damage output, meaning that weapons would probably need some level of passively increasing damage per level-up to make up for it, unless people are willing for enemies to be relatively tougher.

 

Armor Piercing-Sundering Strike, Piercing Hit, No Return, Flechette

Mod Consolidation: Absorbs Puncture Mods (Seeker, Seeking Force, Metal Auger)

Primary Effect: Enemy Armor Reduced by 15% per level on hit for 0.5s per level, does not stack

Additional Effect: +0.25 Puncture per level (ranged)

Additional Effect: +0.5 targets hit per swing (melee)

 

Electrical-Stormbringer, Charged Shell, Convulsion, Shocking Touch

Primary Effect: EMP, stops enemy from using abilities for 1s per level, does not stack

Additional Effect: Lightning Rod. 10% chance per level of chaining 50% base damage to a secondary target. This damage is electrical damage.

 

Incendiary-Incendiary Coat, Hellfire, Heated Charge, Molten Impact

Primary Effect: Damage over time, 10% of base weapons damage per second, 1.0 second duration per level, does stack

Additional Effect: Chance to panic enemies on hit, 10% chance to spread to enemies that make contact with burning corpse.

 

Freeze-Cryo Rounds, Chilling Grasp, Deep Freeze, North Wind

Primary Effect: -10% to movement speeds per level for 1.5 seconds per level, does not stack

Additional Effect: Enemy shields take 25% extra damage per level for duration of freeze effect

 

New Element-Explosive (Explosive Rounds, Merciless, Reaper)

Mod Replaced: Puncture Mods (Metal Auger, Seeking Force, Seeker)

Primary Effect: Every shot fired charges a hidden meter. Once 100 damage worth of shots are fired, an explosion in a 2.0m radius procs on the next shot. Damage is 50 per level.

Additional Effect: Staggers unarmored enemies upon detonation.

 

Thoughts?

[Azure_Kytia]

I definitely agree with most of the ideas presented in this thread, although I would like a little clarification on Explosion. Are you saying that when a weapon does 100 worth of damage to an enemy that it explodes, or that for example, every time a Braton fires a bullet regardless of hitting an enemy or not, the counter adds up by 20 until it reaches exploding point and the bullet explodes on impact, wherever it strikes?

 

One other thing I would like to see is limiting the elemental effects to one or two per weapon, which would be quite interesting in team play. That being said, it could be problematic for PuGs, being unable to reliably plan ahead for their first game, so I'm not really fussed either way on that one.

Edited July 7, 2013 by Azure_Kyte

[Kyte]

One other thing I would like to see is limiting the elemental effects to one or two per weapon, which would be quite interesting in team play. That being said, it could be problematic for PuGs, being unable to reliably plan ahead for their first game, so I'm not really fussed either way on that one.

No way, don't take away my rainbow guns and amusingly burning-yet-freezing-and-also-shocking swords.

[Azure_Kytia]

Noted. Just for you, you can keep them. Because you are my colour-undefined equivalent :D

[Moomabo]

Sounds like a lot of work for the devs. This change would be a complete overhaul of elemental damage as it now. The biggest problem I was worried about was that having uncapped stacking on automatic weapons can quickly become a problem, although what you have here seems pretty nicely balanced for an OP.

 

Overall I like the ideas you posted here, though I would like to see freeze's max slow increased to something between 10 and 22%.

 

Maybe you could consolidate Staggering Force, Thunderclap, Crowd Control, Stopping Power, and (possibly) Thunderbolt into the explosive mod. Then add a max 17% stun chance per hit with a max 20% damage AoE in sphere with a radius of .55 in game meters around the point of impact. Instead of your "hidden meter" system.

Edited July 7, 2013 by Moomabo

[Kyte]

Armor Piercing-Sundering Strike, Piercing Hit, No Return, Flechette

Mod Consolidation: Absorbs Puncture Mods (Seeker, Seeking Force, Metal Auger)

Primary Effect: Enemy Armor Reduced by 15% per level on hit for 0.5s per level, does not stack

Additional Effect: +0.25 Puncture per level (ranged)

Additional Effect: +0.5 targets hit per swing (melee)

Not entirely sure how that'd work for melee. Targets hit is usually a function of the swing, after all. Also kinda conflicts with Reach.

I'd suggest a multihit a la multishot, but that sounds more of a separate mod.

Freeze-Cryo Rounds, Chilling Grasp, Deep Freeze, North Wind

Primary Effect: -10% to movement speeds per level for 1.5 seconds per level, does not stack

Additional Effect: Enemy shields take 25% extra damage per level for duration of freeze effect

How about, instead of 10%, it's, say, half of the weapon's base per-bullet damage (without damage mods. The "per bullet" part is because of shotguns). Mostly to give slow high-damage sniper weapons extra utility out of ice mods. Lanka would have the biggest slowdown with 100% (immobile, ho!), then Vulkar and Snipetron Vandal would get 62.5%, Snipetron 50%, Lex gets 35%, Dread 30%, Paris 22.5% and so on.

Add a lower bound of 10% to avoid screwing over the weaker weapons.

New Element-Explosive (Explosive Rounds, Merciless, Reaper)

Mod Replaced: Puncture Mods (Metal Auger, Seeking Force, Seeker)

Primary Effect: Every shot fired charges a hidden meter. Once 100 damage worth of shots are fired, an explosion in a 2.0m radius procs on the next shot. Damage is 50 per level.

Additional Effect: Staggers unarmored enemies upon detonation.

Thoughts?

With a 100 damage cap it'd proc almost every other shot/burst and Hek for example would explode with every shot. I know you like explosions but that's a bit too much. Not crazy about the names either. :V Edited July 7, 2013 by Kyte

[Unibot]

DO NOT WANT.