Essential DoD Core Skill Rebalance v.0.1.2

Thanks for the work, Essence! It's useful stuff - it's nice having the less desirable skillsets a bit more, er, desirable. <3

 

Especially for playing with randomly rolled skills.

 

so I'm guessing once 1.0.10 comes around, this rebalance thing is going to be getting an overhaul... I think essence mentioned that in some other thread. XD

just another reason I'm impatiently awaiting this release...

 

Yep. With Nicholas and David already changing most everything in the core game (they've already asked me for permission to use some ideas from the Core Skills Rebalance), it's a sure thing that both this and the Expansion Skills Rebalance are going to have to be completely remade.

I give it 72 hours after launch.

 

they wanted to use some of your ideas? :O wow.

 

Will the patch overwrite the modified files or will I have to revert them to default before patching?

 

After the new patch you'll have to install it again, but it's preferable that you wait until Essence updates it for 1.0.10 before doing so, or it's possible that you'll get some random shenanigans.

 

Is your first page notes the most recent version? If so, would you include a massive cooldown reduction for Venomous Infusion in Assassination Skills to make it more usable? Currently stands at +3 toxic for 3 turns damage with a cooldown of 80 turns, roughly translating to +1use/26 turns. Sure it gives a decent debuff, but it means you can hit at most 3 targets with it, but most likely you'll hit 1 or two enemies, and hitting the same target with it is a waste since the effect doesn't stack. Either way, the skill needs a huge buff, it also worthlessly increases your crit rate by 3, while it's active, meaning you get a bonus + 3 to crit for 3 attacks every 80 turns, BIG WHOOP.

 

right! That's the item that got accidentally removed from my to-do list by a 3-year-old and I couldn't remember what i was supposed to fix.

I'll get that.

 

Nope; looks like I already got to this one and just didn't put it in the changelog. the downtime is now 24 and it lasts for 6 attacks. Must've been something else the kid deleted...

 

guess I'll download the most recent version then, cheerio!

 

If I may make a suggestion- change the items found from the assorted lucky finds to be more 'craft basic' in nature (ores, gemstones, other craft basics)- I tend to see a lot of 'rough iron xxx' pop up, which is useless to everyone except a smith, and the smith would be better served by finding hematite anyway, the rings, mushrooms, occasional potions and the like are awesome.

Also- I think the current rebalanced adds the wand of laser as a craft-able item, but it does NOT add the aetheral flask as an item (which is part of clockwork knight?); so you can see wand of laser, but never build it.

I submit this alternate set as an example of what I'm talking about:

Code:

<spell name="Lucky Find" type="self"> 
       <effect type="spawnitemfromlist">
    <option name="Aqua Vitae"/>
    <option name="Aqua Regia"/>
    <option name="Aqua Fortis"/>
    <option name="Burnt Out Wand"/>
    <option name="Night Cap"/>
    <option name="Fairywodger"/>
    <option name="Inky Hoglantern"/>
    <option name="Sewer Brew"/>
    <option name="Cheese"/>
    <option name="Sliced Bread"/>
    <option name="Hematite"/>
    <option name="Malachite"/>
    <option name="Native Gold"/>
    <option name="Native Platinum"/>
    <option name="Plastic Ore"/>
</effect>
</spell>

<spell name="Luckier Find" type="self"> 
       <effect type="spawnitemfromlist">
    <option name="Acidium Salis"/>
    <option name="Oil of Vitriol"/>
    <option name="Potion of Mana"/>
    <option name="Potion of Healing"/>
    <option name="Sapphire"/>
    <option name="Diamond"/>
    <option name="Bituminous Coal"/>
    <option name="Black Pearl"/>    
    <option name="Pyrite Sun"/>
    <option name="Diggle Egg"/>
    <option name="Greedy Blungecap"/>
    <option name="Potion of Purity"/>
    <option name="Zincblende"/>
    <option name="Cassiterite"/>
    <option name="Chalk"/>
    <option name="Bauxite"/>
  </effect>
</spell>


<spell name="Luckiest Find" type="self"> 
  <effect type="spawnitemfromlist">
    <option name="Potion of Restoration"/>
    <option name="Potion of Healing"/>
    <option name="Emerald"/>    
    <option name="Ruby"/>
    <option name="Hordratic Lutefisk Cube"/>
    <option name="Potion of Invisibility"/>
    <option name="Dire Sandwich"/>
    <option name="Firey Wand"/>
    <option name="Bituminous Coal"/>
    <option name="Chalk"/>
    <option name="Bauxite"/>
    <option name="Plum"/>
    <option name="Black Powder"/>
  </effect>
</spell>

 

The rebalance can't add wand of laser as a craftable item, because it doesn't touch craftDB.xml at all.

As to the value of rough X weapons, not everything on those lists is supposed to be something you smile when you receive. As it is, I'm considering toning the lists and/or proc percentages down quite strongly; Perception is actually OP in the rebalance right now.

 

Bizarre- I guess the expansion or one of the patches adds it, and then references an item that does not exist in the game currently.

With regard to the luck finds; you could radically down the proc rate and still remove the junk items from the list, or just swap the junk items with zorkimids (which is what they will ultimately be turned into if you can tolerate them being in your inventory until you find brax again). Basically I feel that the current arrangement only increases annoyance. Though I also never really registered the lucky find portion of Perception as OP- for the most part it only benefits crafters or builds that have specifically avoided other means of healing/manna regen.

 

I have no doubt it has been said before, but the Archery skill is almost useless as it is. (Even with the nicely made Rebalance.) Ammo recovery IS useful, but all the good late game bolts are not able to be recovered anyway. How about a capstone skill that makes ammo? This would give it a way to compete. It could have a low chance of generating BoMD and BoS, while an overwhelming chance of single target common types.

I feel that by the late game you can do much more damage with a few good bolt effects than any reasonable stat boosts this could give. Perhaps I will suggest a digging bomb bolt in an appropriate mod thread too. It would do little damage to monsters other than constructs, but destroy walls with an effect like the Digging Ray but AoE instead of a beam.

Sorry if I missed something about this being addressed already. Nine pages of posts is quite a lot to read.

Thank you for making the mod Essence. And thank you to everyone helping out. I hope this gets merged with the base game next patch. (Same for the RotDG Essential Rebalance.)

 

I would way rather see an archer's damage be high enough to make the careful management of their resources rewarding, rather than free ammo to remove the need for management. Infinite decent ammo: optimal use case is to get a good teleport skill (or two!) and just unload indiscriminately while periodically teleporting to avoid ever being in danger. Powerful hits are more satisfying, too, than an endless barrage of spitwads.

 

Good points. But as it is I cannot think of a way to make ranged potent without making melee potent. Free wooden arrows would keep you shooting, but it would be the spitwads as you described.

Anyone know a way to boost ranged damage without boosting melee? I know that a good crossbow will do this, but I also notice that the boosts given by the Archery skill apply to melee as well. (Except the procs.)

 

Ranged procs, or a chance to drop something that could be used to create slightly more powerful crossbows/bolts. Other than that, nay.

 

Well that could work. I know what would be a terrific Archery capstone proc. Stun. Even at 20% like Crossbow Blast and Fleshbore are it may be overpowered though.

 

I have to ask: Does anyone actually like Golemancy for anything besides the Digging Ray? Promethean Magic seems as good for the summon, if not better, since it can fly and has some to offset your Obvious Fireballs. After about level 7 or so the summons from both are pitiful. They are just a mobile target other than yourself for the monsters. I would like a targetable summon of four or five weak anything monsters. It really does not matter what type. They will likely only take a hit or two at best in later levels.

Am I alone in the feeling that Golemancy has no real use later on besides digging?