Class/Curse Idea: Skinwalker (class/curse), or Ghost/Specter (curse)

KaironBlackbard · October 2023

As a skinwalker, you'd be able to take control of weakened opponents. Can never do so against bosses.
It may be an Ultimate class ability.
You take control, and you become the target for a while. You might even be able to progress several quests as that target.
You may or may not be able to keep that skin when transiting via any shrines, or swapping between instances or zones.
There may be changes to NPC behavior based on your skin, such as they may perceive you as that entity and treat you as such. As such, certain skins may cause Guards to be hostile towards you, or cause other NPCs to treat you like a fugitive. Allies of that skin may treat you as disguised. Higher class opponents will not be fooled, and will know there's a spell at play be it illusion or skinwalker, in which you're skinwalking.
When you become a character, you fully heal and have their resources, abilities, and weapons.
If you die while skinwalking, you drop their skin and are fully restored. You lose all your ultimate.
You can go into the character screen to drop the skin you are using.

You can immediately skinwalk into most basic NPCs. Some NPCs, like 1 bars, you may need to weaken, or reduce below a certain HP, before you can skinwalk into them.
You can never skinwalk a boss.

May add more later

Soarora · October 2023

That'd work as a single player game but it wouldn't work in ESO. It'd require so much coding just for one class.

KaironBlackbard · October 2023

Every class requires a ton of coding. Not much different.
As for usage of entities as skins, they already have the features, just gotta change the method of cast from timer to resource and keybind.
Though they would have to tweak a little bit in every zone, for allowing them to do that.

El_Borracho · October 2023

You could not "skinwalk" as another player, so PVP is out. And you lost me at "you can't use on a boss" so PVE is out. Why would anyone use this class? Love the creativity, and not trying to be a jerk, but seriously, what is the purpose of this class?

KaironBlackbard · October 2023

So you can be anything on the battlefield, almost.
You can be a Grievous Twilight, A Harvester, a Spriggan, a Nereid, a Shalk, a Zombie
Pretty much anything.
You can't be boss class because then you'd be unstoppable.
Just because it has a wing, doesn't mean it's a boss class. Look at the first two I mentioned here.
As for PvP, you can't skinwalk a player, but there are a few guards you can skinwalk.
Cannot Skinwalk honor guards, they would be too OP in player hands.
Can skinwalk enemy merchants.
Can skinwalk weaker archers, but not the two up top of a fort as they have almost one shot capability.
Can skinwalk the Golden Saints that guard Volendrung spawn points.
Boss class are rare, and you are supposed to use the skins mostly as meat shields, not as kill potential.
You are supposed to lose the skin at some point during boss fights. However, in normal ad clearing, a skin would be ok.
As for raw power, you're supposed to use other means to do that, such as weapon skills, or your normal class skills if this is a curse.
As for actual abilities other than skinwalking, I am clueless.
The idea seems better as a class, but functionally would be simpler as a curse, or secondary skill tree like soul or guild.
Logically class makes more sense.
Now I gotta think of a dozen other abilities that would suit a skinwalker.

KaironBlackbard · October 2023

Didn't I also say they normally double as disguises?

KaironBlackbard · October 2023

Here's a few reasons why cannot skinwalk a boss:
They are named. You're supposed to only skinwalk generic/common NPCs.
More than 100k hp, most players don't get over 30k. Most bosses have millions.
More than 20k damage in a single shot in many cases. Sure some damage people can reach that, but most people don't, be it they are rookie, tank, or medic.
Instakill abilities. Players aren't supposed to have that, save for feed or Blade of Woe.
More powerful than Volendrung. No player is supposed to be more powerful than the one wielding Volendrung.

Its just a full restore, do a distraction dance, and be yourself again, especially during boss fights and pvp.
It also saves you from most instakill abilities by killing your skin instead.

In weaker, more common, PvE circumstances, one ad skin can do you just fine, and you can take most delve bosses as a basic bandit, if you play it well.
Its also best in the hands of a very adaptable player, as every skin plays differently, and every zone has different skins you can become.

Soarora · October 2023

KaironBlackbard wrote: »

Every class requires a ton of coding. Not much different.
As for usage of entities as skins, they already have the features, just gotta change the method of cast from timer to resource and keybind.
Though they would have to tweak a little bit in every zone, for allowing them to do that.

Not to this level. This level would require every enemy to have balanced abilities and lots of new dialogue. It's realistically not going to happen. ZOS doesn't even update old class-based content when new classes come out or make much class-specific dialogue.

KaironBlackbard · October 2023

H

Soarora wrote: »

Not to this level. This level would require every enemy to have balanced abilities and lots of new dialogue. It's realistically not going to happen. ZOS doesn't even update old class-based content when new classes come out or make much class-specific dialogue.

Every enemy I'm thinking of is already balanced, in its own way.
Like I said earlier, its mostly just used as an instant full restore, and protection from instant death.