October 24 - Archetypical Update
Now to put in all the combat stuff. I have an ability system all set up that combines elemental counters with mechanical counters. For combat builds I'm focusing on 4 main archetypes: Tanks, Healers, DPS, and Controllers, with more specific subclasses within each. You're probably familiar with the first three, but I'm taking a different sort of approach to all 4.
Tanks like to take hits and keep their allies safe. Instead of using an aggro system where you force enemies to attack you and get yelled at if anyone else is forced to participate, enemies will attack whoever they want and every class will have ways of dealing with that. Tanks will primarily try to get in the way, restrict an enemy's options to attack others, punish enemies for attacking allies by buffing allies and debuffing/damaging enemies and become stronger when they're getting hurt and allies are not. They'll place zones to enhance their allies and generally try to direct the flow of combat. Core class: Dragoon, Tinkerer.
Healers heal, naturally. Lots of games have tried to do funky things with healers, and whenever I try those games as a healer I'm always annoyed, so I think the core focus of healers is solid. Additionally though healers will also be the primary buffers, and some versions may dabble in dealing damage as well. I've always liked the concept of a healer that deals their dps through enhancing their allies. The buff and debuff system allows 1 buff and 1 debuff each per player, so carefully choosing which to apply and when will require some careful thought. Core class: Conduit.
DPS both deal damage and enhance the damage of others. Their abilities rely primarily on combo effects to eke out extra bits of damage, so properly setting up your chains and maintaining control over the battlefield will be key. Solid preparation and a plan of action will be important. Core class: Assassin, Wardancer. Which leads to...
Controllers are like a secondary purpose DPS, but they prefer to poison and debuff enemies and control the battlefield by moving enemies and placing damaging zones. Herding enemies into a chokepoint with walls of force and fire, sapping their ability to deal and resist damage, throwing them into your tanks and then draining all their health away. Core class: Alchemist.
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