Thief Elite Specialisation Idea: Shadowbender

[Monti.4907]

Hey, I was asked to post my idea for an elite specialization for the thief here.
You can find the info-graphic via the following link:

Shadowbender
 

Some Background:
The civilized folk have always feared the night, barring themselves behind doors or comforting themselves with bonfires when the shadows grow long,
rightfully wary of the creatures that prowl the darkness.
Yet long ago, some learned that the best way to conquer an enemy is to embrace it.
These were the first shadowbenders.
Shadowbenders exist in the boundary between light and darkness, where they weave together the shadows to become half-seen artists of deception.
Unbound by any specified morality or traditional code, shadowbenders encompass a wide variety of adventuring types who have seen the value of the dark.

Enjoy!

[AikijinX.6258]

Very high effort post. Much appreciated in the forum. Welcome to the forum btw, seems like this is your very first post. Love the ideas.

 

However the mechanic where our initiative drains is bad enough on Thieves haha. We barely  have enough initiative and initiative generation to survive right now as it is. 

 

And there is no CD reduction trait?

 

And that shadowy reflection utility skill makes me lul at pewpew longbow rangers. Would that be instant dmg reflection on hp, or would the arrows need to be reflected back to receive the reflection dmg?

 

Btw. I almost cut my finger with the amount of edge in this post xD haha.

[Fueki.4753]

I like the general idea, Stealth needs to be replaced with a defensive mechanic.

Although I would very much prefer this to be done on a fundamental level on core Thief,

it's acceptable on an elite specialization as well.

 

Going into the specifics, however, there are a few things I don't like:

I don't like the Avatar series and the name just mirrors their Element-benders.

 

It sounds like there is too much ground-targetting involved.

All three of F2, F3 and F4 seems to be ground-targetted. They should be enemy-targetted instead.

 

I don't like the forced use of Torment traits.

Similar too Harbinger's split between condition and Power traits, the Torment traits should make up one row of Major traits, not the minors.

 

The Shadow Cloak should not grant barrier, but its own unique buff that is a flat percentage of damage reduction (both condi and power).

[shrew.3059]

5 hours ago, Fueki.4753 said:

The Shadow Cloak should not grant barrier, but its own unique buff that is a flat percentage of damage reduction (both condi and power).

 

I like the idea if repurposing Stealth as it creates a lot of synergies with existing traits and skills.

 

I’m curious why you’d prefer a unique buff, since I feel like game design fairs better in terms of intelligibility and interoperability if mechanics are shared rather than unique.

[Fueki.4753]

6 hours ago, shrew.3059 said:

I’m curious why you’d prefer a unique buff, since I feel like game design fairs better in terms of intelligibility and interoperability if mechanics are shared rather than unique.

I simply don't think that Barrier is good enough to make Thief viable in a fair (or at least less unfair) fight.

To get the most of Barrier, one would have to invest in Healing Power, which means Thief will deal less damage.

And without Healing Power, Barrier isn't strong enough (unless Arenanet intentionally bloats the base values, which I doubt they'd do).

[Chrysaliss.8720]

That sounds like a name of a bad porn movie.

[Xaylin.1860]

Very nice concept. One critic, through: It literally got two class mechanics at once.

[AikijinX.6258]

[delete]

Edited August 24, 2021 by AikijinX.6258

[AikijinX.6258]

3 hours ago, Xaylin.1860 said:

Very nice concept. One critic, through: It literally got two class mechanics at once.

Same with Harbinger and Willbender

[Doggie.3184]

Shadowmancer would be the more common name.

Basically what I been wanting theme-wise; using shadow magic for nukes as well as protective 'armor' instead of using stealth.

[Za Shaloc.3908]

The general theme is really cool. My fav "archetype" I have ever played in any MMORPG is a Nightblade healer in ESO, so I would be ecstatic to get that sort of concept for the e-spec.

[Meridian.9103]

I can appreciate the effort that went into this, but I will say that I'm not a fan of this concept.

It looks to me like you overloaded Thief with Core Necro, Scourge and even Mesmer mechanics, desperately trying to squeeze thief into the role of a support mage.

 

While I don't want to get overly critical here, I still want to address your stealth-mechanic specifically:

One way to make absolutely sure that a spec will never ever get touched in pvp/wvw is by making it unstealthable. Remember, other classes do stealth as well, especially groups stealth (Engi, Mesmer, Ranger) and this is a vital part for openings, disengages and even some plays (eg, stealthing a downed ally to prevent a stomp). You may know that in WvW you get yelled at when you have your minipet out, because it doesn't stealth with you. Well, with a mechanic like yours, the thief becomes that mini.

[GrayBalls.5968]

This so kittening high effort. Thanks for the good read - love the aesthetic!

[MakubeC.3026]

Good ideas, I liked it.