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IDProjectCategoryLast Update
0010063Valley 2Suggestion - General IdeaDec 20, 2012 11:53 am
ReporterPenumbra Assigned To 
Status closedResolutionno change required 
Summary0010063: Encourage use of ammo spells, discourage hoarding of ammo
DescriptionChange from ammo to a long cooldown for 4th slot abilities. While ability is on cooldown, apply a small buff to the player.

There could be "stacks" of charges built up over time, which would allow multiple uses of the ability quickly, while also dividing up the bonus across the number of used charges.
TagsNo tags attached.
Internal WeightNew

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Penumbra

Dec 20, 2012 11:29 am

reporter   ~0029186

On the "ammo" special ability. I find myself never using this. I hoard the ammo. And then I don't spend it. A little comes back with each pickup. But finding the right time to use it is "difficult".

I was thinking a few different things. One would be that it charges up with damage dealt. So, like a rage bar or something. That way you would be encouraged to use it more often. Of course, then I would just kill enough to earn one use, then save it until the "right" time and be back where I started.

So, next I thought of a long cooldown ability. Would that cause a player to just sit and wait the few (10?) seconds to use it again. That would be boring. Also not encouraging use.

This brings me to my suggestion (finally! ;) ) I think there needs to be a way to encourage the use of the ability instead of hoarding it. What if you mix the cooldown with a buff? Say, if the ability has a 10 second cooldown, your character gains a small buff while it is on cooldown.

This encourages using the ability as much as possible! I would want the buff, I would want the ability. I would use it a lot. You could balance the cooldown and the buff on a per class basis (as everything else is). Long cooldown, strong ability. Maybe even the buff could be utility based, like slightly faster move speed. They could be defensive or a whole range of things. Even a small percentage increase to damage done would encourage the use of the ability.

madcow

Dec 20, 2012 11:39 am

reporter   ~0029187

Last edited: Dec 20, 2012 11:52 am

I'm inclined against this. While I can agree with the issue of wanting to hoard ammo - I don't think this is the solution. And there's some classes which I use the ammo shot with more - as well as some enemies I tend to like using them on.

I think when we have more enemy variety there might be more situations where you want to push a "kill it now" button. After all the different enemies are in, it might be worth taking a look at ammo costs/effects of those spells though.

Edit: deleted a paragraph not really related to this issue.

tigersfan

Dec 20, 2012 11:53 am

reporter   ~0029191

Trying to encourage the use of ammo is part of the reason that the ammo drops now blow up if they don't get used. :)

That said, I like the intent here, but I'm not sure this is the best way to execute it. This has some problems like being hard to balance. Plus, some ammo spells actually hurt you, so we don't necessarily want to encourage their use too much.

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
Dec 20, 2012 11:29 am Penumbra New Issue
Dec 20, 2012 11:29 am Penumbra Note Added: 0029186
Dec 20, 2012 11:39 am madcow Note Added: 0029187
Dec 20, 2012 11:43 am madcow Note Edited: 0029187
Dec 20, 2012 11:52 am madcow Note Edited: 0029187
Dec 20, 2012 11:53 am tigersfan Note Added: 0029191
Dec 20, 2012 11:53 am tigersfan Internal Weight => New
Dec 20, 2012 11:53 am tigersfan Status new => closed
Dec 20, 2012 11:53 am tigersfan Resolution open => no change required