I have been positing a version of this
before, but now took the time to rework it a little with weapon ultimate suggestions for these new skill lines I thought up back in the day, and adding a few more skill lines I have been considering since...
Since this is another topic that keeps popping up and is dear to my ESO enjoyment ideals, I thought it might be a good idea to get my usual ramblings about these ideas into order and post a bit more fleshed out concept here for discussion and feedback... it is a very rough concept, I am sure there are many ideas in there that could use some refining and improvement, I just wanted to put it out there to show what I am talking about when I comment in those other threads...
Anyways, here are my ideas on the matter of what I would like to see added to ESO someday in terms of weapon skills, feel free to comment (please be nice!
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Polearms
These extra-long shafted weapons (…things like: Pikes, Poleaxes, Tridents, Glaives, Monks Spades, War Scythes, Ranseur, Military Forks, Naginata, Hunting Spears, Halberds, Spetums, Pitchforks, etc.) should have 50% more range then normal weapons, but be awkward to use in very close quarters, so any attacks that are made against opponents at knife range suffer a 50% damage penalty (meaning, the weapons will do half damage from zero to 50% normal weapon range, and then full damage from 50% to 150% normal weapon range… for light/heavy attacks, as well as skill use…)
Skills:
• Impaling Jabs (Puncturing Jabs animation, triple attacks in one go)
- Morph1: Impaling Strikes (+ knockback on last strike)
- Morph2: Rending Jabs (+ bleeding DoT increased per hit)
• Circular Slash (Radial Sweep animation, Aloe around wielder)
- Morph1: Circular Sweep (+ shield per enemy hit)
- Morph2: Crescent Slash (+ extra damage to enemies in front)
• Spear Charge (Focused Charge animation, gap closer & damage)
- Morph1: Impaling Charge (+ bleeding DoT)
- Morph2: Spear Rush (+ damage increased per distance charged)
• Braced Guard (auto-damage against anyone using a gap closer / duration)
- Morph1: Indomitable Guard (+CC immunity / duration)
- Morph2: Aggressive Guard (+ increased auto-damage and chance to disorient)
• Stalwart Defense (physical resistance buff, weapon damage buff)
- Morph1: Stalwart Resistance (+ spell resistance buff, CC resistance chance)
- Morph2: Indomitable Defense (+ heal over time, removes one DoT effect)
Ultimate: Spear Dance (AoE around caster, polearm rotation like dwemer centurion)
- Morph1: Scythe Dance (+ knockdown on hit, shorter duration)
- Morph2: Spear Tornado (+ increased range & duration)
Passives:
• Piercing Pike: increases damage bonus for critical and damage against blocking targets
• Balanced Polearm: reduces the cost of polearm abilities
• Pike Wall: increases block against melee attacks
• Melee Training: reduces the half-damage range to 40%/25%
• Impale: gives chance to cause extra bleed DoT on any polearm strike/skill
Mounted Combat
This special "skill line" would be for using mounts not just for getting around and riding towards the fight, but also in combat... thus it is a bit different from other skill lines as it would not have a weapon of its own, but be mostly a collection of support skills and passives instead of weapon-specific active skills, with a main active skill that when toggled enabled mounted combat, meaning that characters with this skill active could draw weapons and use basic attacks, without becoming automatically dismounted. Normal skills would be unusable, though each weapon type (melee or ranged, mixed skills likes like One-Handed & Ranged or One-Handed & Magic can use both) would gain a special attack skill in the mounted combat line to use instead... but be otherwise limited to basic light and heavy attacks while mounted.
Note that ranged attacks while mounted suffer a chance to miss (I am thinking 25%, migrated 5% for each skill point, so the best trained horse archers/wizards would still have a 5% miss chance in the end - price of being mobile!), because it would be kinda harder to aim properly while on a galloping horse/bear/wolf/senche/whatever... which can be migrated through passives. But mounted combat -does- favor melee weapons where a mounts speed and power behind the blow makes a difference...
Skills:
• Dragoon (enable mounted combat, allows mounted drawing of weapons and attacking, toggle)
- Morph1: Hussar (+ gain riding speed / light or medium armor while enabled = Light Cavalry)
- Morph2: Cuirassier (+ gain resistance / medium or heavy armor while enabled = Heavy Cavalry)
• Cavalry Charge (melee weapon; charge opponent and do double heavy attack damage on strike)
- Morph1: Cavalry Trample (ride in straight line, do double weapon damage to all hit opponents)
- Morph2: Jousting Charge (+ knockdown on strike)
• Mounted Volley (ranged weapon; fire arrow/spell volley at targeted opponent while moving)
- Morph1: Mounted Barrage (+ increased duration and more shots)
- Morph2: Skirmisher Volley (+ chance to dodge enemy ranged attacks / duration)
Passives:
• Warhorse Training I-IV: Reduce unhorsing chance due to damage
• Lancier I-IV: Gain increased polearm damage while mounted.
• Horse Archer I-IV: Reduce ranged stamina-based attack accuracy penalty while mounted
• Knight I-IV: Gain increased one-handed damage while mounted
• Spellrider I-IV: Reduce ranged magic attack accuracy penalty while mounted
(Yes, there is no passive to help two-hander wielders while mounted. That is intentional, seeing how two handers were a bit unwieldy on horseback, and more likely to be used by infantry against mounted opponents... thus neither gain any damage bonus from having a mounts speed behind them... same for brawling, really)
Brawling
Uses either fists, or weapons like brass knuckles, punch daggers, spiked knuckles, cesti, sap-hardened bandages dipped in broken glass, etc. depending on racial style; doing half of dagger damage with those weapons, or 20% with fists - this skill line is not supposed to be competitive with "proper weapons" on its own, but might make an interesting addition to ESO nonetheless, possibly even because of this handicap (not like there aren't enough class/guild skills to make up for it in any case). Quick jab light attack, long wind-up haymaker punch as heavy attack.
Skills:
• Grapple Hold (immobilize, channeled, interruptible - much like the wolf)
- Morph1: Sleeper Hold (+ disorient after hold ends/broken)
- Morph2: Strangle Hold (+ low DoT while in hold)
• Stomp Kick (kick to the leg, minor damage & snare)
- Morph1: Boot to the Knee (+ immobilize for short duration, then long snare)
- Morph2: Leg Sweep (+ knockdown, then snare)
• Dirt Throw (grab dirt from pouch, throw in eyes, blind target/duration)
- Morph1: Salt Throw (+ interrupts spellcasting)
- Morph2: Dust Throw (+ miss chance/duration after blind ends)
• Knee Strike (knee below the belt, extra-short range, low damage & stun)
- Morph1: Low Kick (+normal range, disorient after stun)
- Morph2: Dirty Kick (+normal range, double stun duration if used against male characters)
• Bull Rush (gap closer, does minor damage and some pushback)
- Morph1: Lariat (knockdown instead of pushback)
- Morph2: Drop Kick (knockdown & pushback, but attacker knocked down as well)
Ultimate: Adrenaline Rush (increases stamina recovery & doubles brawling damage / duration)
- Morph1: Bloodlust Rush (+ increase duration for opponent killed with brawling attack)
- Morph2: Endorphine Rush (+ immunity to stun, disorient, snare & knockdown)
Passives:
• Fighting Spirit: gain increased stamina regeneration if brawling ability is slotted
• Pugilist: reduces the cost of brawling abilities
• Heavy Handed: increase damage with brawling attacks/abilities
• Toughness: gain resistance chance against CC abilities
• Martial Artist: gain basic dodge chance against melee attacks only
One Handed and Ranged
Uses a weapon in one hand and a throwing weapon in the other (offhand options for javelins, throwing knives, shuriken, throwing axes, throwing spikes, throwing irons, boomerangs, kunai, etc.), borrowing the first two skills from One-handed and Shield, then diverging in abilities; throwing attacks might be shorter ranged compared to bow or staff attacks, but could have an increased critical damage modifier...
Skills:
• Puncture (attack + taunt + reduce armor)
- Morph1: Ransack (+ increase own armor)
- Morph2: Pierce Armor (+ reduce spell resistance)
• Low Slash (attack + snare + reduce damage)
- Morph1: Deep Slash (+ hits additional targets)
- Morph2: Heroic Slash (+ generates ultimate)
• Piercing Throw (ranged attack with knockback)
- Morph1: Piercing Hurl (+additional damage / range from target)
- Morph2: Vicious Throw (+knockdown instead of knockback)
• Triple Volley (three throwing attacks at one or more targets, quick-channeled-ish)
- Morph1: Quintuple Volley (five attacks)
- Morph2: Triple Ripple (+ bleed DoT, increased duration if multiple hit same target)
• Crippling Throw (ranged attack with snare)
- Morph1: Crippling Volley (+ AoE cone)
- Morph2: Impaling Throw (+ bleed DoT)
Ultimate: Alchemical Impact (ranged attack with random elemental AoE explosion on hit)
- Morph1: Alchemical Splash (+ DoT ground AoE)
- Morph2: Alchemical Grenade (aimed at area instead of opponent, increased range)
Passives:
• Strong-arm: increase weapon damage and thrown attack range
• Swashbuckling: reduces the cost of one-handed and ranged abilities
• Bullseye: increases the critical chance of thrown attacks
• Coup de Grace: extra damage from 1H&R abilities to low health opponents
• Duelist: extra effect depending on main hand weapon (like for Dual Wield)
One Handed and Magic
Uses your usual average melee weapon in the main hand, and a destruction wand or runestone (which could be two different options for two different effects, like... wands giving a bit of extra range, and runestones giving a bit of extra damage for example?) as offhand for a mix of magically charged melee strikes and elemental mid-range (meaning, half the range of a destruction staff attack) and AoE attacks or effects, all skills might cost half-half stamina & magicka unless otherwise noted, and heavy attacks restore half-half stamina and magicka
Skills:
• Imbued Strike (charge weapon with magic, strike with weapon + extra elemental damage)
- Morph1: Imbued Slash (+ extra bleed DoT)
- Morph2: Empowered Strike (+ extra elemental effect, depending on type)
• Elemental Slash (weapon slash with extra magic short-range elemental cone AoE attack)
- Morph1: Elemental Wave (AoE increases to 180° front arc)
- Morph2: Elemental Burst (Cone doubles in range, but narrows in arc)
• Elemental Bolt (mid-range single target attack, damage & elemental effect, magicka only)
- Morph1: Elemental Blast (+ AoE damage explosion on hit)
- Morph2: Elemental Volley (fires up to three projectiles, like Reflective Light)
• Mystic Mark (reduced weapon damage, vulnerability to 1H&M attacks, prevents stealth)
- Morph1: Mystic Curse (+ elemental DoT, DoT duration reset for every new 1H&M hit)
- Morph2: Crippling Mark (+ snare, duration reset for every new 1H%M hit)
• Power Ward (damage shield, strength depending on total health, magicka only)
- Morph1: Elemental Ward (+ halve elemental shield type damage)
- Morph2: Power Shield (+ chance to reflect ranged attacks)
Ultimate: Elemental Aura (AoE elemental damage around caster, adds elemental damage to melee)
- Morph1: Elemental Blessing (+ elemental attacks of same type heal caster)
- Morph2: Overcharged Aura (+ larger AoE & increased melee damage bonus)
Passives:
• Close Combat: elemental effects gain bonus damage the lower the range
• Spellblade: reduces the cost of one-handed & magic abilities
• Magicka Handler: blocking a spell attack will restore magicka
• Battlemage: light & medium armor resource bonus changed to ¾/¼ and ½/½ stamina/magicka
• Warcaster: restores magicka and stamina on killing an enemy with a 1H&M ability
Twin Magic
If we have destruction wand/runestone as offhand for the above, there is no real reason mages could not take one of those in each hand, right? As alternative to destruction magic, mixing skills from those and the one-handed & magic skill line above, though with a reduced range compared to destruction to balance the gain of an offhand slot for traits and sets…
Skills:
• Elemental Touch (just like Destructive Touch, just with half range)
- Morph1: Elemental Clench (just like Destructive Clench, just with half range)
- Morph2: Elemental Reach (just like Destructive Reach, just with half range)
• Wall of Elements (exactly the same as the Destruction skill)
- Morph1: Unstable Wall of Elements (exactly the same as the Destruction skill)
- Morph2: Elemental Blockade (exactly the same as the Destruction skill)
• Elemental Bolt (mid-range single target attack, damage & elemental effect)
- Morph1: Elemental Blast (+ AoE damage explosion on hit)
- Morph2: Elemental Volley (fires up to three projectiles, like Reflective Light)
• Elemental Shock (like Force Shock, but with half range)
- Morph1: Elemental Crush (like Crushing Shock, but with half range)
- Morph2: Elemental Pulse (like Force Pulse, but with half range)
• Power Ward (damage shield, strength depending on total health)
- Morph1: Elemental Ward (+ halve elemental shield type damage)
- Morph2: Power Shield (+ chance to reflect ranged attacks)
Ultimate: Elemental Barrage (shoot barrage of elemental bolts, can move while firing)
- Morph1: Elemental Assault (+ AoE splash damage from bolts)
- Morph2: Elemental Rain (shoot bolts in the air, have strong attacks come down in AoE)
Passives:
• Spellslinger: reduce magica cost for Twin Magic skills
• Elemental Force: increase elemental status chances
• Magicka Handler: blocking a spell attack will restore magicka
• Penetrating Magic: Ignore some of the enemy spell resistance
• Mystic Touch: Add range to Twin Magic skills (from 50% to 60/75% destruction staff range)
Martial Arts Magic
This is not really a weapon option known in the classic elder scrolls universe, it would be more fitting for a Japanese style anime, but... it might be interesting, they could very well add it with an "Akaviri" themed expansion, as it might fit in there... basically mixing brawling and magic for a truely "Melee Magic" skill line... the weapon for this skill line might be specially enchanted bracelets or mystic bands (which would need no crafting style as they would not appear by themselves, just as "mystic aura" around the users hands when "drawn" - and could be added to any crafting skill, like make jeweler more interesting...)
Due to its mix of physical and magical nature of attacks, this weapon skill line starts out as magica, but has many stamina morphs... it would be better as half-half, but... that is not really a thing in the ESO system...
Skills:
• Empowered Strike (magical melee strike that bypasses half enemy armor)
- Morph1: Empowered Slash (+ Bleeding DoT / duration; stamina morph)
- Morph2: Cursed Strike (+ decrease physical damage / duration)
• Acrobatic Jump (jump over opponent like rogue NPCs – auto-dodge next enemy attack)
- Morph1: Acrobatic Strike (+ auto light weapon attack while jumping, stamina morph)
- Morph2: Veiled Jump (+ turn momentarily invisible while jumping, next attack auto-critical)
• Challenge Geas (taunt & target does half damage against all other enemies/duration)
- Morph1: Challenge Curse (+target defense and movement speed reduced)
- Morph2: Challenge Entrancement (+affects nearby targets, max 3)
• Mystic Shields (gain damage resistance against melee attacks only / duration)
- Morph1: Auric Shields (+gain extra damage resistance when blocking, stamina morph)
- Morph2: Mystic Protection (+gain spell resistance against all magic attacks)
• Mystic Strength (increase defense & health recovery, martial artist recovery scream animation!)
- Morph1: Mystic Might (+gain increased damage to L/H attacks and MAM skills / duration)
- Morph2: Mystic Power (+ gain increased magica recovery / duration)
Ultimate: Battle Spirit (increased movement speed, dodge chance & resource regeneration / dur)
- Morph1: Warrior Spirit (+ increased defense & CC immunity)
- Morph2: Berserker Spirit (+ health recovery on ALL damage done)
Passives:
• Chi Master: reduce cost for Martial Arts Magic skills
• Mystic Monk: increased critical chance per MAM skill slotted
• Quick Strikes: chance to make an additional second hit to nearby target on light attack
• Massive Resistance: Increased spell resistance per MAM skill slotted
• Second Sight: Gain chance to automatically dodge melee attacks only
Warding Staff
It seems somewhat clumsy to have a destruction staff as a main weapon as magica tank, so… why not give ice back to doing damage and slowing enemies, and make up a completely new weapon for tanky uses? One that uses magicka to block, obviously, and maybe has the taunt heavy attack, or maybe not (since it can get a skill for that).
Skills:
• Hex Bolt (magic projectile, does damage, taunt and physical defense)
- Morph1: Hex Volley (+ fires up to three bolts at nearby enemies)
- Morph2: Jinx Bolt (+ snare / duration)
• Empowered Ward (damage shield, recovers shield strength if blocking while active)
- Morph1: Enchanted Ward (+ spell resistance while active)
- Morph2: Empowered Barrier (+ physical resistance while active)
• Burdening Seal (AoE cast at location, snare and reduce spell defense / duration)
- Morph1: Enfeebling Seal (+ reduce physical damage wile in AoE)
- Morph2: Burdening Hex (+ magic DoT while in AoE)
• Warding Enchantment (increase spell resistance / duration)
- Morph1: Protective Enchantment (+ increase physical resistance)
- Morph2: Warding Aura (+ AoE around caster, affecting all allies in range)
• Guardian Wisp (summons a wisp pet that will increase magicka, and deny stealth to enemies)
- Morph1: Avenging Wisp (+ wisp will also launch magic attacks to nearby enemies)
- Morph2: Guardian Spirit (+ spell resistance, wisp is bigger and golden)
Ultimate: Warding Barrier (Large AoE, damage resistance to allies within, blocks enemy entry)
- Morph1: Imbued Barrier (+ resource recovery boots to allies within)
- Morph2: Warding Seal (+ blocks enemy movement out of the area as well, trapping them inside)
Passives:
• Enchantments: increase duration for taunts and debuffs
• Sanctuary: reduced skill cost and lowered blocking cost
• Mystic Power: increase magicka recovery / ward ability slotted
• Hardened Ward: allows to block more damage
• Mana Manipulation: blocked spells have a chance to reflect at the caster
In addition to those new skill lines, there are also a few more weapons that would fit right in with existing skill lines in some way... like...
Crossbows - could be added as alternate weapon to the Bow skill line as is (Maybe rename that one a bit… "Marksmanship", anyone?) Possibly with some tweaks… like perhaps increased armor penetration compared to bows, but a "reload time" after each shot? Possibly also changing the bows poison effects to disease for a bit difference in flavor…
Slings - another possible addition to the Bow skill line, firing heavy lead bullets, perhaps a bit shorter in range, but with some added effect to balance… again, the bows poison effects could be switched to a fire DoT, due to enchanted sling bullets (clay bullets that break open releasing volatile alchemical ingredients? Something like that…)
Short Spears - the Javelins from One-Handed and Ranged could also be useable as mainhand weapon for One-Handed and Shield to get a nice "Myrmidon" feeling - it would make a nice additional option for imperial characters, would it not? And while the animations may not be completely perfect... since we have "Puncture" type attacks with blunt-headed maces, I see no issue with having "Slash" type attacks with javelins, right?
Flails - could be an additional option for one-handed and two-handed weapons, though I am not so sure about how well they would animate I suppose... but if there were no technical difficulties, they could be done for an block-penetration effect, balanced by some drawback... possibly increased stamina costs (since it might take more strength to control such without hitting yourself) or maybe even a small chance to hit yourself on the backswing for each strike... this might include other "flexible" weapons such as Whips, Nunchakus, Urumi, etc.
Alternate Staves - we have fire, ice and shock as well as healing, but who here wouldn't want more? Cyan "coldfire" destruction staves (fire effect visuals in cyan, but less damage however done as oblivion type?), purple "warlock" destro staves (pure magic damage, with some "curse" debuffs and/or DoT?), green or brown (nix-hound spit!) acid destro staves (magica-based poison damage with DoT and some armor debuff?); sickly-bile-yellow "disease" restoration staves (do less healing but bonus damage as disease DoT), or red blood magic healing staves (less damage, but with a lifedrain effect)... possibly even give back ice to DPS and add a seperate "Earth" magic staff to cover the tanky effects? Or if we were to get the warding staves, those too could come in various flavors... indigo-turquise "alteration" as basic, maybe green-brown "earth-nature" with less defense but longer durations, and maybe a rainbow-ish multicolored "illusion" type that does add taunt to all attacks and some mental effects to its skills, but pays for it with less "warding" and effect durations?
Spell Foci - I always felt vexed my casters have to have staves to cast their castyness, I want another option! My idea would be a "Spell Focus" as alternate destruction/restoration (and warding) magic weapon, that used the exactly same skills (but possibly with different stats - like with wands / runestones, one weapon could have a bonus to range, the other to damage or spell critical or whatever... like, take a staff for extra distance to all spells, take a spell focus for extra punch...), but had different visuals... it would be held in the left hand, with the right making mystic gestures above it for casting, and depending on racial style it could be stuff like holy symbols, ornate spellbooks, meditation crystals, gemmed skulls, shaman rattles, ancient artifacts, gilded scepters, mystic constructs, daedric pact seals, etc. Naturally both in the classic flavors, and the alternate flavors I mentioned above... and these things would make -perfect- additions to the Jewelry crafting skill line...
Subduing Weapons - a derivation of bare-knuckled brawling, if they ever make a "unarmed" combat system for non-lethal barroom brawls (which are a classic cliché in every fantasy setting) there could also be less then lethal weapons for other skill lines. A small truncheon for one-handed, or a larger club for two-handed skills, a quarterstaff for polearms, or a stun-staff/wand for mages (sorry, no boxing glove arrows, for one that is DC copyright I would think, for another it is silly...).
These could also include “improvised” weapons of some sort... a frying pan, a broomstick, a coin purse, a candlestick, a chair leg, a belaying pin... might be interesting for some special "no weapon" areas quest thing - go in unarmed, find your improvised weapons there...