Cold Magic Redone - How to make Cold comparable to Fire/Lightning

TheDarkRuler

Please tell me what you do think of the concept (I'd be interested as well in how you guys like the type of presentation, since i put some effort in it).
If you cannot see the image, see this URL http://abload.de/img/hypothermiafinaljpgizrv5.jpg

Reorx_Holybeard

Interesting ideas! We definitely need something to make Cold/Shock staffs useful comparable to Fire Staffs. As for the image, its pretty good but the white text with shadow on white is really hard to read. I would keep the effect for headers/titles and just use regular black/dark gray text on white background for the bulk of it.

illuminousflux

OP, white text on a white background is not the easiest thing to read...just saying.

TheDarkRuler

@IlluminousFlux: I changed the picture to have more contrast between white and black.
Better to read now?

@Reorx_Holybeard Glad you like it.

Smasherx74

I agree, could you just write this out because that fon't and coloring is hard to read.

psychotic13

I feel like crippling grasp should be on there too.

But yeah, I like the idea of making a class more frost focused

CasNation

I like the idea overall but I disagree with your changes to Nightblade abilities.

I think the sorcerer Dark Magic tree is a much better fit to be reworked into a frost tree given that many of the abilities would require minimal reworking to provide the desired effects, both in terms of animations, and actual ability functionality.

Crystal Shard -> Icicle
Encase -> cone of cold
Rune Cage -> deep freeze
Dark exchange -> Coldharbor's sacrifice
Daedric mines -> frost rune

Negate would be the hardest to rework thematically, but I would personally swap negate into the Daedric summoning tree and then overhaul Daedric summoning into something else, moving all the summons into the global soul magic tree.

TheDarkRuler

@Smasherx74
For everyone who wants it text based here is the text in the spoiler (no images though)

Hypothermia
Cold Magic Redone in ESO
Right now Cold Magic in The Elder Scrolls Online lacks viability to be competitive to Fire and Lightning Magic. Fire is the damage element in Destruction Staff abilities. Lightning is good in damage as well but gives nice area attacks. Cold damage however gives a minor self-protection barrier, which goes down after getting hit by any half-hearted attack. The snare given by cold also has disadvantages compared to increased since players can easily break it by breaking-free and any mini-boss already has some freezing resistance. I'd like to present a rework for Cold damage in ESO I've thought up with some friends. Most ideas are simple skill changes. But there are also some changes in the freezing mechanic itself.
1st General Changes
Cold based attacks give a negative effect on any target it hits. For explaining, let's call it Cold Marker for now. Each Cold Marker has a duration of 6 seconds. If hitting an enemy who already has Cold Markers on it, the duration is reset.
There is a maximum of counters on each character. The maximum amount should be matter of balancing but I'd suggest 5-6. If not hitting an enemy with Cold-based attacks before the duration runs out, one Marker is removed. For each marker all status effects have a 10% increased chance to apply (e.g. Chilled) and all Cold Damage against the target is increased by 5%.

Why? Since Freezing is a slow process when being compared with being burned or being struck by lightning. I'd love it if the freezing in ESO has some build-up requirements to build up max efficiency.


2nd Destruction Staff Changes
Since Cold damage is one of three possible elements in Destruction Staffs, there is going to be some minor changes. Mostly those abilities will come up with some tweaks regarding the new general cold-damage mechanic mentioned above!

Destructive Touch and Destructive Reach:
The cold-based variant of this attack will not only immobilize the target but will also add two Cold Markers at once to all targets hit by it.

Destructive Clench:
The immobilization is increased but also the amount of Cold Markers added is increased to 3.

Wall of Elements and Elemental Blockade:
No changes, since with the Ice rework this ability works fine.

Unstable Wall of Elements:
The explosion distributes 2 Cold Markers to all enemies hit by it.

Force Shock, Crushing Shock and Force Pulse:
No changes, since this is always a triple-element attack.

Weakness to the Elements and Elemental Drain:
No Changes

Elemental Susceptibility:
While active, it reduces the degradation speed of Cold Markers by 50 percent.

Impulse and Pulsar:
All enemies hit by the area attack will get one Cold Marker since it is a cold-based attack.

Elemental Ring:
Each Damage over Time-tick has a 50% of giving another Cold Marker on the target.

Elemental Rage:
All enemies within the perimeter will get one Cold Marker each damage tick.

Tri-Focus
Fully charged Cold attacks will place 2/3 Cold markers on the target it and have an increased chance of instantly immobilizing or chilling it.


3rd Nightblade Changes
The Nightblade is the class of Dark Magic which lingers with death. In stories death is mostly some kind of cold, lingering feeling which approaches slowly but once it has you in their cold grip it refuses to let you go again? Feel any consensual similarities to the cold magic? Yes, great. I believe some of the Magic damage in the Nightblades skill tree are lacking punch because of their lack of elemental effect since it does not profit from the Champion Tree skill points as well. By changing some abilities a little bit we would also finally have a way to play with cold based attacks without Destruction Staffs. Sorcerers have Lightning Damage, Dragon Knights have Fire and Templars have pure magic and fire damage. So why not have the Nightblades gain the dark and cold magic.

Impale
Changes the magic damage to cold elemental damage.

Teleport Strike
Changes the magic damage to cold elemental damage.

Lotus Fan
Changes the initial and the over time magic damage to cold elemental damage.

Grim Focus and Merciless Resolve
The 'Assassins Will' attacks damage changes from Magic damage to cold damage.

Soul Harvest and Death Stroke
Changes the magic damage to cold damage and reduces it by 10 to 15 percent. The attack will stack 2/3/4/5 cold markers on the target depending on ability rank.

Veiled Strike and Concealed Weapon
Changes the magic damage to cold elemental damage. Hitting from Stealth will place three Cold Markers onto the target.

@CasNation
Well Sorc has lots of passives for Lightning and Physical support.
I believe all this cold stuff would seem deplaced there.

lucky_Sage

i would rather have the frost skill line made for world skill line nightblades in tes games are a class that stripes the enemy of the speed, health etc. and then jumps in for the kill in melee range so magic damage makes sense

phaseadept

Personally, I'd like to see a skill tree added for each type of destruction staff.

Especially Ice to be a CC focused skill line, fire to be a direct damage/DOT skill line, and shock to be an AOE skill line.

Since target freeze, ground target slow, encase in ice for vulnerability, blizzard for slow + AOE, and an ice atronarch as an ultimate.

redspecter23

I really like the idea of changing some of the NB abilities into ice based damage. It opens up a ton of design space for that element. I'm not completely sold on the cold counters concept. Seems a bit too clunky at first glance. My guess is they'd just stick with a % based chance to proc instead of building up to a guaranteed chance.

Pinja

Turning night blades into Cold Knights sound like an interesting lore perspective. Giving each class an arcane elemental specialty amongst the three aspects of the mage. Though really not sure about giving mag nightblades extra snare potential. Its not he most dangerous thing to add, but it could cause extra balance issues. It'll work well with the class though.

Towards that tic idea, besides adding an advancing minor breach, the RNG for elemental attacks already naturally works like that. As a matter, I think your already guaranteed to apply the chill after some of those effects. What your basically saying is to have a 17% chance to apply the chilled effect on frost attacks. While I'm not sure what the currently induced rate is, the farther you strain from that percentage, the more inclined the RNG is to guarantee the proc.
Probably also the reason why evasion+roll dodge is broken. Dodge 4 projectiles in a 3s frame, to guarantee the opening of another 1s dodge frame, repeat.

Natas013

Trying to read this on my phone makes my eyes want to bleed

TheDarkRuler

So why don't you read the text within the spoiler then?

Vaoh

I love the Destruction Staff changes with the Cold Marker idea!

With that said, I'd rather we wait for Warden instead of giving a class a Cold focus.

TheDarkRuler

What 'Warden'?

Vaoh

TheDarkRuler wrote: »

What 'Warden'?

The fifth class.

Xvorg

My first impression was "hell, no"... but then I thought again and it was like "why not?"

mDKs are flame based
mSorcs are lightning based
Magplars are holy based (magic)
So, why should Mageblades be stucked in the magic dmg?

andryuhav

My eyes hurt!