Passively Slottable Abilities

KaironBlackbard

Some abilities give you buffs for a duration. Some would argue this reduces your effectiveness by limiting what other abilities you can use.

My suggestion: those abilities become slotted beneath the bar in a second bar tied to the bar.
By which I mean you see two bars in the skillscreen instead of 1.
This will allow you to slot more abilities, and gain some effects at a permanent or constant price.

Siphoning Strikes: Always Active and reduced your max resource by its cost, or double its cost.
Other abilities likewise.
Cloak: Probably not passively slottable.
Refreshing Shadows: Major Expedition, Minor Endurance, and Minor Intellect at all times, and Health Recovery or constant healing at all times, at the cost of Max Magicka. May grant it to allies around you and for 3 seconds after leaving you. 7 meter radius perhaps?
Attacks probably wouldn't be passively slottable unless they have special effects, Like Concealed Weapon, Gain Minor Expedition at all times at the cost of Max Magicka. Also its Berserk Proc. Might grant the ability to set them offbalance when casting a melee ability from their flank.
Some abilities might be tied to others, let's say Lotus Fan with Pierce Armor slotted beneath it. With Sword and Shield equipped, Lotus Fan would also apply Major and Minor Breach and the cost of some stamina, as if Pierce Armor was also cast upon the target(s).
Grimm Focus: No cost, all you get is the stacks of focus for light and heavy attacks. The real cost would be the casting part, which you cannot do if slotted passively. Unless it auto casts on the 6th stack, then it would consume magicka each time it is auto casted. Or Reduce Max resource and auto cast is free cast. Still, passively shouldn't be that powerful, should it?

As for Ultimates Slotted this way... Reduces max ultimate pool. May reduce Ultimate Generated, especially if it's a high cost ultimate.
Veil of Blades: Reduces your max Ultimate pool. Gain Major Protection at all times. Grant Major Protection to allies closeby you. Gain a weak DPS radius while in combat. Radius is half that of the normal ultimate.
Spell Wall: Reduces Max Ultimate Pool. Projectiles Blocked are reflected back at attackers. Your block cost is reduced.

Other abilities, other effects and costs.

Devs, what are your thoughts about this?
I think it would be a fun way for people to show their creativity and a new way to setup builds.

Players, what other abilities or combos might you think of?

Ideas for other abilities from other classes? I'm a Nightblade so I don't really know about other class abilities much.

DK ones I know of - I'm not going to mention costs because that's self explanatory
Igneous Weapons: Constant on self, allies in a radius gain as well and preferably also for a duration after leaving area.
Armor Ult: Limits incoming damage to 30% of max health (less effective than the true ult but it's always active so it can't be quite as powerful.

Oh, incase I didn't mention it before:
Abilities slotted in passive cannot be slotted in castable. Likewise Castable cannot be slotted in Passive. Just like Castables cannot be slotted twice.

merpins

My alternative suggestion; make them passive, completely, and replace those skills with new skills. If the skill has a use case, as in it's passive on both bars but has an activation like with Bound Armaments or the nightblade bow ability, then keep it as a slottable ability. If it has a use case that's pretty limited or weak, like Warden's hawk skill, then make it passive and give it a proc chance that happens when you meet a prerequisite, like with sets.

KaironBlackbard

My suggestion doesn't remove skills

KaironBlackbard

"Nightblade Bow Ability" is called Grimm Focus. I mentioned a way to deal with it.

KaironBlackbard

KaironBlackbard wrote: »

Grimm Focus: No cost, all you get is the stacks of focus for light and heavy attacks. The real cost would be the casting part, which you cannot do if slotted passively. Unless it auto casts on the 6th stack, then it would consume magicka each time it is auto casted. Or Reduce Max resource and auto cast is free cast. Still, passively shouldn't be that powerful, should it?

KaironBlackbard

Mirage and Blade Cloak could be passively slottable.
Critical Charge not.
Flurry not.
Cutting Dive Not.

KaironBlackbard

Maybe I should make a google site about this, that way it's organized.
Would also be able to update it occasionally.
Not as often as ESO Hub updates, but still.
Yeah, gonna do that.

fizl101

I reckon that you would have to take away a significant amount of the power of the active skills to account for players being able to get those passives effectively for free. Maybe consider using oakensoul if you want to get alot of buffs permanently

KaironBlackbard

The cost of the ability is relatively permanent, by Reducing your Maximum resource while it's slotted passively.

Take Blade Cloak for instance. You would gain its buffs at all times, but the damage Aura would only proc when in combat or under special proc, like after a roll dodge or something.
It's cost is it reduces your Max Stamina by 3780, because that's the cost of the ability.

If you don't have enough resource left, you cannot slot it.
If you got your resources that low, you will be pretty ineffective in battle as you have no castable abilities because your maximums are too low to cast.

KaironBlackbard

Any thoughts from the Devs?