Mastery idea: Summoning

[eisprinzessin]

All this talk about a pet-based class ... I never expected to start or even complete it. I sticked to the TQ layout: 6 lines and a total of 20 skills. Each line is for one pet and the summoning limit is one for each ... medierra's requirement (http://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4701&highlight=5-6#post4701).

I Polymorph
Entity, which can transform into multiple shapes. Balanced pet, which lasts even without healing, but does not boost player's powers.
Ia Archer - ranged attacks lower enemies' armour. (active skill)
Ib Berserker - dual wield, life leaching weapons, uses whirlwind attack, slows down enemies. (active skill)
Ic Warrior - very sturdy form to endure boss fights, has high regeneration, attacks lower resistances. (active skill)
Id Trickster - another pet is required which you need to target. Polymorph takes over form and powers of it, so that you can have the same pet twice. Its aura reduces OA/DA. (active skill)

IIa Imp
Quick elusive creature, which does not deal physical damage, but runs/jumps around the player. High movement, uses taunt, high evasion, boosts the player's dexterity. (active skill)
Synergy with other imps (from other summoners, through trickster) - team ability electroburn (as used by these little white spiders in TQ:IT).
IIb Shell - increases imp's armour, magic evasion and resistances. (passive skill)
IIc Possess - imp can take over enemy, so that it becomes your pet. Imp merges with victim and looses all own powers. With more skill points chances and number of tries increase. Imp will try random targets in range. (active skill)
Possession ends on victim's death, if player selects "possess" again, maybe after some time.

IIIa Phantom
Bodyless entity floating around you, high evasion, high energy cost per second. Does not deal damage, but syphons energy from enemies. It looses energy at a high rate and dissolves without. (active skill)
With more skill points the cost will lower, as phantom will drain more effectively from enemies.
IIIb Vigour - phantom boosts your health and strength using all the dilapidated energy. (passive skill)
IIIc Shield - phantom becomes more corporeal and takes damage in your stead. Increased health, regeneration, armour, resistances and DA are trade off for evasion. (passive skill)

IVa Savage Beast
Skill points will make it more deadly, sturdy and fast. (active skill)
IVb Claws - deals bleeding damage, boosts the player's bleeding damage. (passive skill)
IVc Ram - rushes and knocks enemy over, deals piercing damage, boosts the player's piercing damage. (passive skill)

Va Kraken
Tentacles emerge from the ground and throw tangle against the enemies to ensnarl them. Skill points will increase the number of these ensnarl attacks. Kraken cannot move, high health, mediocre fighter if attacked. (active skill)
Vb Venom - tentacles and tangle are poisionous and paralyse enemies, boosts the player's poison damage. (passive skill)
Vc Devour - Kraken's mouth emerges, tentacles' reach increased, will take ensnarled enemies to eat them after tangle was spent. (passive skill)

VIa Patron
Feasts on flesh and blood, will appear on low health for limited time, reserves your lost health (so that you cannot heal, likes to tantalise you), stuns enemies (war horn) and engages in battle with them. (passive skill, you are stuck with your patron once you subdued to him)
Will only reappear after some minutes. Reserved health is unlocked after his defeat (or once his time is over), but not given back.
VIb Knowledge - patron boosts your intelligence and energy. (passive skill)
VIc Renown - patron will come to your aid before you are low on health, therefore reserves less health then. (passive skill)
VId Might - boosts the player's elemental damage. (passive skill)

[medierra]

Some good pet ideas here but there is one problem - to restrict players to a maximum of 5-6 pets, they cannot all come from one mastery unless that is the only mastery in the game with pets. It seems like the classes should be designed so that players would combine two different masteries to create the ultimate pet class. :D

[Scryer]

I think I'll make a masteries idea.. a ranged character one... because I think I could give some spectacular skill ideas.

Edit: I also wanted to say you have some pretty good skill ideas ^_^

[eisprinzessin]

Regarding pets I remember several posts asking for as many as possible or none at all ... just the most extreme opinions and moderate players probably didn't pipe up. But that's what led me to submit a class with all available pets.

I'm starting to think now, that this class has value for these extremists :p only. But any caster who might be interested in the Patron's magic boost, will probably repelled by the other pets, and eventually select another mastery, which offers more useful skills.

Any hybrid class player, will wonder why the relevant pets are in the Summoning Mastery and locked away from him. That said it'd put Savage Beast, Kraken and Patron into separate masteries. If pets are not concentrated in one mastery, it will also be possible to have a summoning limit of 2 or 3 for some.

If the first 5 masteries include 4 pets, then there can be a) 2 with 2 pets and the other 3 without any, or b) 1 mastery with 2 pets, 2 with 1 pet and 2 without any.

Alternative a) will give us the ultimate pet class with 4 pets. Alternative b) will have 2 rivalling classes with 3 pets, but only 1 dual-class without any pet. Argh ... you cannot please them all. ;)

[yerkyerk]

I'm the guy constantly screaming for more pets http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs41/f/2009/008/c/7/_FFFFUUUUU__by_ScreamingGerbil.gif

But I'd prefer to see two masteries with several pets together and choose them, than choose one ultimate pet-mastery and a random secondary mastery..

The ideas are good. As a petlover though, I'd prefer more damage-dealing pets. In D2, I saw the Golem as my bodyguard (the claygolem with its slow and low mana cost would always be around), the mercenary as my general and recruiter (slap on any aura you could..), and the skeletons as my army (both ranged and melee). Than there were the mercenaries which bolstered your rank just for the fun of having sheer numbers - the Revived.

Due to the limited use of the Patron, I wouldn't even consider it a true pet, but more of a (passive) panic skill.
Same goes for Kraken, as it's immobile. It seems more like a Battle Standard kind of thing.

The Polymorph is quite cool, as it allows you to have more of your favorite pet. But there's a fat chance players will always choose him to be the same pet, making the pet less interesting.

That the beasts give passive boni to the player makes them more attractive to choose (although I think they should also give these passive boni to eachother)

[eisprinzessin]

I'm the guy constantly screaming for more pets
I know of course ;) but I think you are not alone.

The ideas are good.Thank you and the above posters. :D

In D2, I saw the Golem as my bodyguard
I've deliberately left out the stereotype tank pet. Never played D2. But apart from your Golem, we already have the Core Dweller in TQ, the Void Walker in WoW ... wanted to replace it by the imp.

Due to the limited use of the Patron, I wouldn't even consider it a true pet, but more of a (passive) panic skill.But levelling Renown you might want to activate him on purpose. Should have a cooldown like the Outsider from Spirit mastery.

Same goes for Kraken, as it's immobile. It seems more like a Battle Standard kind of thing.I imagine that it can last very long and that his tangle is replenished after a while. This way you can pull several groups to his position.

The Polymorph is quite cool, as it allows you to have more of your favorite pet. But there's a fat chance players will always choose him to be the same pet, making the pet less interesting.I hope that players will realise the purpose of each form - e.g. why should you stick to the robust Warrior, if the Berserker can finish off mobs quicker? :p This should be the only of these 6 pets, where you are required to learn each lower skill before you can advance.

That the beasts give passive boni to the player makes them more attractive to choose (although I think they should also give these passive boni to eachother)I'm not sure if these passive boni should be given to other pets or players (and their pets) :confused: Depends on balancing and lore.

[eisprinzessin]

Phanton as introduced above (http://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4751) is just like an aura in its current form. But if it is the sole pet of one mastery, then the summoning limit can be higher. You could send some Phantoms out to attack enemies. Then they will not drain your energy, but also not boost health and strength and Shield would become less effective.

[Rhis]

This class has so many pets it would take an army of artists just to make all the models.

[eisprinzessin]

LOL - don't worry :p I've discarded this draft (http://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4773). However, where's the difference in work load, if all pets are in one mastery, or if they are distributed amongst all masteries?

[Shock Trooper]

No one has mentioned equippable pets yet. Is that not on the drawing board at all. Pets can be a nice loot sink.

[eisprinzessin]

Minions using equipment (http://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?t=197) was discussed in an even older thread. ;)

[Shock Trooper]

Thanks for the update. Pity its unlikely to make it in, at least I know its a wanted feature anyhow. Guess if it does make it in in someway then we can be surprised about that ;)

[Sacred]

Some good pet ideas here but there is one problem - to restrict players to a maximum of 5-6 pets, they cannot all come from one mastery unless that is the only mastery in the game with pets. It seems like the classes should be designed so that players would combine two different masteries to create the ultimate pet class. :D

Sorry for bringing up this old subject.
When you say 5-6 pets do you mean total number of pets or 6 types of pets?
Like in Diablo 2, the necromancer had 5 types of 'pets' but could raise an army of 30+ in total.

[eisprinzessin]

Seems you missed the link in the OP ... ;) This should answer your question:

Didn't medierra say already this wasn't gonna be done? I loved the necro in D2, having the army of what, 24 skeletons was funny as hell. Albeit a bit useless on certain bosses(Diablo always one shotted ALL my skellies with his AoE attacks.) But yeah, pets are a good method of crowd control. Control the crowd with another crowd! haha.Yeah, this just isn't a good idea for performance reasons. In single player a lot of pets can be a significant drain on performance, in multiplayer it can be a nightmare. I might be wrong but even in their lower-poly models and lower-resolution textures, I'd be surprised if Blizzard allows for a class with so many pets again in D3. Even in 2d 800x600 D2 a multiplayer game with more than one necro could cause major performance problems.

Unfortunately the art, animation, AI, and pathing of characters is collectively one of the most performance-taxing elements of the game. I think 5-6 pets per player is about the max that we'd want to allow.

[Sacred]

ah yes, that I did. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. :)