Melee-Based Magic Combat: A New Skill Line

Vercingetorix

Offensive magic weaponry is restricted to one skill line - the Destruction Staff. While for ranged players this is great, there are many who would like to have a magic weapon that functions strictly in melee range, most notably Dragonknights and Templars. I propose a new weapon skill line and weapon type to address this issue: 1 Hand and Rune

The Rune Focus is an off-hand item that is similar in function to a talisman that a mage can use to channel their power into their melee weapon or directly fire spells at short range. The Rune Focus is classified as a Woodworking apparel item that comes in 3 flavors: Flame, Frost, and Lightning. Instead of having a style type, the Rune Focus has a Core Type: Fire, Frost, or Lightning - these cores are obtained the same way you would get your other Woodworking mats - refinement, hireling, decon, etc. The Rune Focus has the same trait stones as armor.

How does combat work with it?

Heavy attacks while using a Rune Focus and a One-Handed weapon will restore magicka.The damage type of the melee strike is dependent on the element of the Rune Focus. Blocking with your equipped Rune Focus will show a magic ward similar in appearance to a shield. Blocking with your Rune Focus consumes magicka. This leaves the melee mage's stamina reserves open for other defensive maneuvers such as breaking free or an additional roll dodge. Blocking with a Rune Focus isn't meant to be used in the same manner as a tank and the skill line is focused on offense, but the option is technically available. Weaving your melee strikes with close range magic is how combat damage with this skill line works. There are a number of buffs and CC options for engaging enemies both nearby and at range.

Skill Line:
Please keep in mind that the cost, range, or duration of these abilities is merely to illustrate the idea. The final values would of course be at the discretion of the dev team.

Ultimate: Spellbind 200 Ultimate (Cone, 10m)
Unleash built-up arcane power in your Rune Focus, dealing X [Fire/Cold/Shock] Damage to enemies in front of you and an additional X [Fire/Cold/Shock] Damage over 5 seconds.
Morph 1: Spellbound [Flames/Frost/Lightning] - Increased damage on initial hit.
Morph 2: [Infernal/Frigid/Storming] Spellweave - Targets struck are also stunned for 3 seconds.

Yes, this is the caster equivalent of Dawnbringer, but with the added benefit of matching whatever element you want. The standard choice of higher burst or a CC utility is here. The ultimate cost is higher since there are more bonuses for elemental damage types and the stun duration is slightly less for the same reasons. You're getting a strong burst Ultimate that takes longer to build up, stuns for less time, but can benefit from a number of elemental passives.

Skill 1: [Fiery/Icy/Lightning] Strike
Channel the elemental power of your Rune and launch yourself at a target, dealing X [Fire/Cold/Shock] damage. (Range is 3.5m - 22m)
Morph 1: [Fiery/Icy/Lightning] Fury - Increased damage on initial hit. Enemies also take additional X [Fire/Cold/Shock] damage over 8 seconds.
Morph 2: [Fiery/Icy/Lightning] Assault - Target is also stunned for 3 seconds.

This straight-forward ability grants the player a gap closer for engaging enemies at range. One is a strict DPS option and the other gives a CC utility.

Skill 2: [Flame/Frost/Storm] Cloak
Draw on your Rune to cloak yourself in elemental energies, dealing X [Fire/Cold/Shock] damage each second to enemies near you for 12 seconds. (8m radius)
Morph 1: Intense [Flame/Frost/Storm] Cloak - Gains an additional effect based on the element:
Fire: Deals increased damage.
Ice: Enemies inside the cloak have their movement speed reduced 30% and are occasionally immobilized for 3 seconds.
Lightning: Enemies damaged by the cloak are occasionally stunned for 3 seconds.
Morph 2: Expanding [Flame/Frost/Storm] Cloak - Increases the range to 12m.

This ability grants the player a DoT in melee range and the player can choose between gaining an additional effect or greater area coverage. This is essentially the melee-ranged equivalent to Wall of Elements.

Skill 3: Arcane Weapon
Charge your weapon with the energies of your rune to gain enhanced damage, causing your light and heavy attacks to deal an additional X [Fire/Cold/Shock] damage for 20 seconds.
Morph 1: Overcharged Weapon - Your light and heavy attacks have an additional 300% chance to afflict enemies with status effects.
Morph 2: Atronach's Charge - Your heavy attacks restore 20% more magicka and deal 10% more damage.

This ability is aimed at giving melee-ranged casters a buff to their weaved light and heavy attacks - choosing between greater status uptime or greater sustain. The first morph would combo quite well with "Charged" for chaining status effects off cooldown, which also compliments the Intensified Focus frost passive. The second morph helps bump up heavy attack damage as well as granting a stronger flood of resources.

Skill 4: Arcane Familiar
Call upon the powers of Oblivion through your Rune, summoning a [Fiery, Icy, Lightning] familiar for 15 seconds. While active, the familiar will attack nearby enemies.
Morph 1: Raging Familiar - The familiar deals increased damage.
Morph 2: Familiar's Spite - The familiar's attacks afflict enemies with Major Breach for 10 seconds and the familiar occasionally stuns a target for 2 seconds. The summon duration is increased to 25 seconds.

This ability counts as a pet. The familiar is a hovering colored light (color based on element) that hovers around you. The familiar cannot be targeted or damaged. The familiar will not engage enemies by itself and it cannot pull agro to itself. The familiar's damage scales with both max magicka and spell damage.

Skill 5: [Flame/Frost/Storm] Grasp
Encage a hapless target in [flame/ice/storm] magic, immobilizing them for 3 seconds. When the immobilization ends, the target takes X [Element] damage each second for 8 seconds.
Morph 1: [Flame/Frost/Storm] Wrath - The damage over time effect begins immediately. After the immobilize effect ends, the movement speed of the target is reduced by 30% for 4 seconds.
Morph 2: Curse of [Flame/Frost/Storms] - Increases the duration of the damage over time effect to 12 seconds. If the damage over time effect is removed early, the remaining duration's damage is dealt immediately to the enemy.

This ability functions as the skill line's CC utility and it has some interesting PvP applications with its second morph. An enemy must weigh purging the effect and take the remaining duration as burst or heal through the DoT to avoid being potentially placed in execute range. To clear up any possible confusion, only purging the DoT is what will trigger the burst - breaking free of the immobilize does not trigger the burst.

Passives: (These effects are at max rank.)

Battlemage: Fully-charged Flame Focus Heavy Attacks deal 12% additional damage. Shock Focus Heavy Attacks damage nearby enemies for 100% of the damage done. Fully-charged Frost Focus Heavy Attacks cause the target to take 10% more damage from all Cold damage for 5 seconds.

Elemental Ward: (With a Rune Focus Equipped) You return 400 Magic Damage to any enemy that uses a direct damage attack against you.

Rune-Etched Warrior: Grants a bonus based on the type of melee weapon equipped: An axe gives your melee attacks a 8% chance to deal an additional 2600 Magic Damage over 6 seconds. A mace causes your attacks to ignore 10% of an enemy's Spell Resistance. A sword increases your damage done by 5%. A dagger increases your Spell Critical rating.

Intensified Focus: (With Rune Focus Equipped) Gain bonus effects based on your Rune Focus type while you have a 1 Hand and Rune ability slotted: Flame Focus increases your damage done with damage over time abilities by 8%. Lightning Focus increases your area of effect damage by 8%. Frost Focus increases your damage dealt to enemies afflicted with status effects by 8%.

Rune Focus Expert: (With Rune Focus Equipped) Increase the base damage of your equipped melee weapon by an amount equal to 10% of of your equipped Rune Focus' armor rating. When you kill an enemy with a 1 Hand and Rune ability, you restore 2500 Magicka.

These passives have some similarities from the Destruction Staff because quite frankly, those passives are good magic-based effects to have.I adjusted some passives to cater to magic combat at melee range. The Rune Focus Expert passive was calculated to give a spell damage bonus that's slightly less than dual wielding since the player still gets access to the Rune's defense rating as well.

Drakkdjinn

Magicka DK would like a word with you.

Vercingetorix

Drakkdjinn wrote: »

Magicka DK would like a word with you.

Why? The DK is probably the class that takes advantage of this skill line the most. You can finally weave a sword with your melee range fire and not feel bad about it. No one ever said that you can’t use an inferno staff on your backbar with a rune on your frontbar...

Sylvermynx

That's interesting. I've toyed with the DK class (well.... I'm toying with every class right now, as I'm new to the game....) and this would actually be something I'd be really wanting to try.

TheShadowScout

Vercingetorix wrote: »

Offensive magic weaponry is restricted to one skill line - the Destruction Staff. While for ranged players this is great, there are many who would like to have a magic weapon that functions strictly in melee range, most notably Dragonknights and Templars. I propose a new weapon skill line and weapon type to address this issue: 1 Hand and Rune...

Yes, the thoughts about that have been around a while, and we all really, really want to see something like mthat, one way or another: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/371862/additional-weapon-skill-ideas-mk-ii
(Yeah, been there, posted that, among other ideas)

At this point, we can only hope that someday they might pick up on the general concept, and give us more weapons to play with... I for one certainly would love that!