The Extra Item Modification Slot(s)

[Ranmaru2]

I often wonder why I'm going towards getting greensteel weapons on all of my characters and often get sick of the greensteel grind after running about 18 shrouds in a 9 day period, and then get sick of running 14 epic raids in 6 days. Meanwhile we're always opening chests and not really caring much for the contents behind door #10,985,453,213 and it got me thinking. What could we do to improve random loot?

I immediately started thinking about Collectibles (cause they're everywhere and building up a stockpile isn't all that hard), those little nodes that everyone clicks in the hopes of collecting those big 8 collectibles to create the best weapons one can possibly make and then started to think. If we have a model like Shroud crafting in the game, why not apply that to a slot that would be made mandatory to appear on new loot with a 20% chance of another slot appearing as well. So you could potentially have:

___ Enchantment ______ Metal _________ item _________ Enchantment
__________Modification slot ___________ Modification slot

Now the first problem I can think of with this system right off the bat is balancing the possibilities with the level requirements of items already in existence, and while I agree that some level requirements (namely those for armor and shields) need a massive overhaul, in terms of weapons, it would be balanced enough on its own if we have it where 2 Modification slots bumps the minimum level of the item up 2 level requirements. So while it would be possible to have a +1 Greater Bane _________ with 2 modification slots, its now a level 8 weapon and requires a level 8 chest (or level 11 quest) to find.

Where to perform this crafting: All crafting can be done at the Stone of Change, or a new Modifications store/altar setup in House Deneith for all weapons, armor, and shields.

The Enchantments

I'm going to try my best to create a system that allows for each enchantment to perfectly reflect onto an armor as a sort of guard to the weapon's effect or an associated effect:

1) Engraved Pommel - +1 to +5 possible effect of increased smite damage prior to damage calculations.

Ingredients used: 4 prayer beads, 2 Vials of Pure Water, 1 Silver Flame Hymnals - Creates 1 Pommel enchanting which must be combined with an equal # of Amulets of the Archbishop plus the randomized weapon to enchant the weapon with a +1 to +5 damage effect before smites.

Armor/Shield Effect: DR 1/evil to 5/evil. Replace Amulet of the Archbishop with Polished Ore

2) Rogue Senses - +4 insight bonus to search and spot + (On weapons: +2 stacking sneak attack damage; On armor: +25% stacking fortification; On Shield: Enemies no longer get bonus to-hit when flanking you.)

Ingredients used: 3 pages torn from a Research Book, 3 Research Diaries, 2 Scholarly Notes - Creates 1 essence of the Rogue, must be combined with the soul gem of a tiefling.

3) Neutral Outsider Bane - Lesser Neutral Outsider Bane, Neutral Outsider Bane, and Greater Neutral Outsider Bane respectively

This must be put on 3x with increased ingredient amounts much like the adamantine ritual

Ingredients used:

Tier 1 - 4 Planar Crystal, 4 Runic Parchment, 3 Blessed Candles - Lesser Neutral Outsider Token
Tier 2 - 4 Planar Spoor, 4 House Sealed Letters, 3 Silver Bowls, 2 Planar Shards - Neutral Outsider Token
Tier 3 - 3 Planar Talisman, 3 Tome: History of the Houses, 3 Ritual Athame, 5 Planar shards - Greater Neutral Outsider Token

#1 - Combine Lesser Neutral Outsider Token with 1 planar shard to create an Essence of the Neutral Outsider, Lesser. Combine with weapon to add Lesser Neutral Outsider Bane
#2 - Combine Neutral Outsider Token and Lesser Neutral Outsider Token with 2 Planar Shards to create and Essence of the Neutral Outsider, Regular. Combine with Weapon to add Neutral Outsider Bane.
#3 - Combine All three neutral outsider tokens with 5 planar shards in the altar to create an Essence of the Neutral Outsider, Greatest. Combine with weapon to add Greater Neutral Outsider Bane.

Armor/Shield effect: +2-4 dodge bonus to AC and Saves when the target of neutral enemies

4) Berserker - Weapon Effect: +2 damage when under the effect of Barbarian Rage, -2 Fortitude saves. Armor Effect: Negates all Damage from Vicious effects. Shield Effect: Your shield is covered in spikes, making it just as deadly as your weapon, dealing 3d6 piercing damage anytime you are hit.

Ingredients: 5 Smoldering Embers, 5 Cryptic Message, 10 Funerary Tokens - Creates an Essence of Anger. Combine with weapon, armor, or shield to add the associated effect.

5) Blood Soaked

Weapon Effect: Every hit on the same target builds up a splatter charge, if the target is of a flesh-like enemy (constructs, undead, plants, and elementals are immune to this effect), and on the 4th hit, the splatter effect erupts from the enemy, creating a blood rain all around, healing allies of the wielder of the weapon for 3d6+7 hit points.

Armor Effect: This armor is engraved with unusual passageways for blood to gather on the armor, giving off the illusion of constant blood flow along the outside of the armor. This armor thus collects all blood that comes into contact with it, even the wearer's, granting HP regeneration of 1 hp/min.

Shield Effect: This shield has a strange effect of gathering all blood that comes into contact with it into the center of the shield inside of a gem. Randomly (~10% of the time), when the wielder is hit, the blood will explode outward from the gem onto the last target to hit the wielder, dealing 2d4 corrosive damage for 12-30 seconds every 2 seconds.

Ingredients Used: 5 Powdered Blood, 6 Blade of the Dark Six, 4 Necromantic Gems - Creates an Essence of the Blood Lover. Combine with the associated item to receive the associated effect.

[Ranmaru2]

6) Defending -

Weapon Effect: -1 to -5 Bonus to hit which in turn increases one's defense by a +1 to +5 dodge bonus to AC.
Armor Effect: 60% chance of getting one of slashing, bludgeon, or piercing absorption 5%, 35% chance of getting two of the damage type absorptions, 5% chance of getting all three.
Shield Effect: Improves Blocking DR by 12 and grants +2 dodge bonus to AC.

Ingredients Used (Weapon): 4 Tome: Codes of the Aurum, 6 Amulet of the Lost Empire, 5 Lightning-Split Soarwood. Creates an Essence of the Spiritual Warrior. Must create this up to 5x and then combine the essences together (any number from 1-5) in the altar to create the Essence of the Real Warrior and then apply to the weapon.

Ingredients Used (Armor and Shield): 4 Tome: Codes of the Aurum, 6 Amulet of the Lost Empire, 5 Charred Soarwood. Creates an Essence of the Spiritual Defender.

7) Lightning/Fire/Frost/Earth Specialist

Weapon Effect: This effect can only be applied to weapons with the associated elemental prefix. This weapon has a 15% chance of applying the monk effect of: Porous Soul, Static Charge, Winter's Touch, or All-Consuming Flame.

Armor Effect: This effect can only be applied to armors with the associated elemental guard prefix. This armor has a 20% chance of dealing an additional 2d6 elemental damage of the same type as the elemental guard (fire/electric/frost) already on the armor and then applying a damage over time curse that deals 1d6 elemental damage every 2 seconds for 10 seconds. Earth Effect: DR 2/-.

Shield Effect: This effect can only be applied to shields with the associated elemental guard prefix. This shield has a 25% chance of dealing an additional 2d6 elemental damage of the same type as the elemental guard (fire/electric/frost) already on the shield and then applying a damage over time curse that deals 1d6 elemental damage every 2 seconds for 10 seconds. Earth Effect: Blocking DR +5.

Ingredients Used: 3 Elemental Ingots, 3 Blessed Candles (Fire)/3 Silver Bowls (Electricity)/3 Sanguine Moth (Earth)/3 Romantic Sonnets (Frost), 3 crystal Decanters. Creates an Essence of the __________(Frost/Shock/Flame/Earth) Spirit. Combine with item for desired effect.

8) Poison-Laden

Weapon Effect: On critical hits, this weapon applies a nerve agent that grants those not immune to poisons -2 ac, -2 to hit, -2 fortitude and reflex saves (no save). As well as applying a random disease (No save).

Armor Effect: Hitting the wielder of this deadly armor requires prior knowledge of the creation of the armor itself, or else every time one comes into contact with the armor they contract a random disease (No save) and poison (no save) that applies -2 ac, -2 to hit, -2 fortitude and reflex saves.

Shield Effect: This shield has traveled the world far and near and the amount of excellent craftsmanship put into the shield has made the shield give off a unique aura that protects the wielder from all poisons and diseases.

Ingredients Used: 3 Executioner Beetle, 4 Intact Spore Pod, 4 Mystical Formulae. Creates an Essence of the Poisoned Soul. Combine with associated item for the associated effect.

9) Blurstrike

Weapon Effect: This weapon has become one with the elemental of Air, allowing its wielder to strike faster than normal. As a result, the item grants a +5% double strike chance.

Armor Effect: This armor increases the user's speed, allowing for the wearer to dodge attacks quicker than usual, granting a 5% concealment bonus, as well as a +2 insight bonus to ac. In addition, this effect grants medium armors up to +2 max dex bonus.

Shield Effect: This shield is lighter than most shields, due to its affinity for the element of Air, allowing the user to block with the weapon much quicker than usual. As a result, the shield gets a +2 profane bonus to armor class and a +1 insight bonus to reflex saves.

Ingredients Used: 4 Moonstone, 5 Singed Soarwood, 3 Crimson Nightshade. Creates an Essence of the Air Kingdom. combine with the associated item for the associated effect.

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So that's about the gist of the idea that I have. I know it seems rather grind intensive to implement, but that's what crafting is, collecting the ingredients you need, and you can get the ingredients for these anywhere in the world as long as its the appropriate node area. I'm sure other enchantments could be devised as well.

Now as for what I mentioned earlier with the adjustment of Armor and Shield level enhancements:

Something needs to be done regarding the minimum levels required for the enchantments required, but if we had other options as to what we could apply on armors, such as the stuff above, the random armors could become useful if you crafted onto them outside of just using raid loot. This helps remove the problem of everyone looking the same, using the same weapons, and could even add a bit more flavor to the game if we came up with more effects that could say, improve darkleaf and such.

Discuss. :)

edit: All items crafted with something into them would not become bound at all, this way we could have more items fluxed into the economy with more possibilities for trade. With newer possibilities for enchantments as well, it would allow for a more open environment, as long as the enchantments did not go out of control like shroud crafted items.

[Ranmaru2]

I hope this doesn't count as a "Bump" by forum rules. I just thought about a few more enchantment types and a new clause for such type of equipment:

**Current eldritch rituals could be 1) converted to taking up a slot in the modification slot, or 2) be combined with the modification slots, or 3) be allowed to be "cleansed" to add a modification slot to a piece of equipment in place of the ritual performed on the equipment.

Also, I noticed that I neglected to find a way to make these enchantments useful to accessories. I'll take some time and think about how they could be made into accessory compatible effects, or if there are any recommendations of effects and collectible combinations related to the current pattern for accessories/clothing, feel free to give an idea (please keep them within reason - this is not meant to activate god mode and all of these are only to be applied to random loot).
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10) Elemental Stalemate Requires 2 modification slots and takes up both slots

The Burning Winter(Fire + Ice) - The spirits used in the making of this essence have finally found a way to create a perfect conversion cycle to and from their respective elements. As a result,...:

Weapon: ...this weapon has become the perfect bane against enemies of the elements of Fire and Ice, dealing an additional +3 insight damage to enemies both fire and cold in nature. This weapon has also become more reinforced against the elements, granting +2 hardness.

Collectibles required: 1 Glass Phial + 4 smoldering embers + 4 verdant pearls (lowest tier)

Armor: ...this armor has gained the ability to protect the user from the most dangerous of situations from the elements of Fire and Ice, granting the wearer a stacking resistance bonus of 3 fire and 3 cold. This armor has also become more comfortable to travel in when the weather goes from and extreme to another, granting +1 hardness and reducing the skill penalty of the armor by 1.

Collectibles required: 1 Glass Phial + 3 Polished Ore + 3 Rosy Pearls

Shield: ...this shield has gained the ability to grant its wielder additional damage reduction against the elements of Fire and Ice. This shield, thus, grants the wielder a 5% absorption of Fire and Cold based attacks.

Collectibles required: 1 Glass Phial + 3 Elemental Ingots + 2 Gold Pearls

Creates an Essence of Elemental Stalemate - Fire and Ice
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Elemental Stalemate - Earth and Sky

The Still Breeze: The spirits used in the making of this essence have finally found a way to create a perfect conversion cycle to and from their respective elements. As a result,...:

Weapon: ...this weapon has gained a resistance to the erosion of the natural elements, granting it +4 hardness, as well as the ability to break Adamantine damage reduction. In addition, the light nature of the weapon creates a strange breeze around it, allowing the user to manipulate the air around him in battle, giving a +2 competence bonus to Trip and Improved Trip attempts.

Collectibles required: 1 Stellar Orb + 2 Lightning-split Soarwood + 2 Polished Ore

Armor: ...this armor has formed into a perfect combination of its elemental bases, granting +1 hardness, as well as gaining the ability to deflect blows, giving the wearer 2 DR/adamantine. In addition, a swirl of air surrounds the user, allowing for easier manipulation of the armor itself, reducing the skill penalty of the armor by 2 and giving a +1 insight bonus to reflex saves.

Collectibles required: 1 Stellar Orb + 5 Lodestone + 3 Charred Soarwood

Shield: ...this shield now embodies the perfect mixture of strength and speed. This allows the wielder to block any incoming blow in such a way as to completely deflect all force from a blow, giving the wielder a +1 competence bonus to strength and 2 additional blocking DR.

Collectibles required: 1 Stellar Orb + 3 Moonstone + 6 Singed Soarwood

[toughguyjoe]

I was with you until I saw "3d5" then i stopped reading.


THERE IS NO D5!!!!!!!



:D

[FluffyCalico]

I was with you until I saw "3d5" then i stopped reading.


THERE IS NO D5!!!!!!!



:D

There are D5s. I have some. They are D10s with each # on there 2 times.

Also D5s can be bought from http://www.chessex.com/Dice/Specialty%20Dice/5_sided.htm

[Archer001]

There are D5s. I have some. They are D10s with each # on there 2 times.

Also D5s can be bought from http://www.chessex.com/Dice/Specialty%20Dice/5_sided.htm

My old collections of D3's were similar with 1,2 and 3 appearing twice each on a six sided die.

[FluffyCalico]

My old collections of D3's were similar with 1,2 and 3 appearing twice each on a six sided die.

Yep and alot of d4s are d12s with each on there 3 times as d4s don't roll well

[Ranmaru2]

I was with you until I saw "3d5" then i stopped reading.


THERE IS NO D5!!!!!!!

I modified the Blood Soaked effect at 3a so my mind wasn't exactly all there. I could probably adjust it to 3d6+7 or something. Besides, its not like they use actual dice in this game's calculations anyway :p Unless they actually have a machine that has to roll some dice for every roll and record the results, which might actually explain DPS lag :D

I'm trying to think about new effect types which might actually be able to be created that could be on this list. Any ideas and collectible combinations are welcome.

[Gnorbert]

They are using "dice" in the calculations ...

3d6 is NOT "a random number between 3 and 18"
3d6 IS "a random number between 1 and 6 repeated 3 times"

the difference is quite significant.

I like the idea but I think it would only serve to make the problem of power creep worse. The fact remains that they went too far with greensteel. I can understand their motivations "give people something that will keep them playing" and in order to get people to do it they needed strong rewards... but they are in fact too strong.

The more power you put into the hands of melee fighters, the more gap grows between melee and casters.

[Ranmaru2]

Problems with casters versus melee run much deeper than what equipment they have access to, and that discussion deserves an open developer dialogue wherein new ideas are allowed to be sent in and cataloged to be presented at future DDO team meetings. New spells are more of what spell casters need, as well as additional damage modifiers (that only become accessible after level 17) for their spells if they're to use DPS.

I'm hesitant to try and create new enchantment types for casters to use in their hands along with potency items, as the best items for casters can currently be found as named loot or as epic loot, and usually the best item for leveling is a Greater/Superior Potency IV item for firewall. If there were additional enchantments to be added to those, such as even a +5% insight bonus to spell damage, the already poor hit point totals of monsters prior to Gianthold content would need to be completely readdressed (not that I'm out of favor of a complete monster redesign project, as I've presented to the developers plenty of times). Or even if there's an enchantment made for +to spell penetration or DCs in this idea it would unbalance some of the content (not that it isn't unbalanced already) even further.

So if you were to make a caster based enchantment along the lines of this idea, what would you create? I'm having trouble coming up with an acceptable set of enchantments to use as:

1) anything equal to or above a 5% increase in damage to fire would make the Wall of Fire problem even more lopsided against using any other kinds of spells.
2) the number of monsters currently immune to acid as you're leveling up is very low, so the use of acid blast, cloud kill, and Melf's could become even more of a problem if you give a 5-10% increase to acid damage.
3) increasing DCs in any way creates a problem for monsters to even pose a threat in any way considering the amount of crowd control available from level 1-13 for wizards and clerics.
4) additional positive damage modifiers would make healing so much better that enemy mobs' damage would need to be completely retooled throughout the entire leveling process to compensate.