This update is a thumbs up. These systems will be excellent if they assign reasonable numbers and criteria throughout.
SKILL TREE
Clustering is fine so long as it results in many build outcomes. The quantity of competitive and playable builds is the only thing that matters. I do hope that running top-tier builds with more than one DPS skill will be possible. I did like the idea of planning point investment up different tree branches, but it sounds like the stat system will absorb some of that customization.
Your explanation of respec is great. Please make sure the cost to re-spec involves no more than ~8 hours of resources acquisition time. If it takes me 30 days to form my character, I don’t want to farm resources for another 30 days to start the respec process.
If those respec reagents are already acquired along-the-way of grinding and farming, then it can take longer than 8 hours to farm a full batch of respec materials from scratch. Either way, if I play for 3 months and decide it’s time to try another build, I should already have the means to respec a few times over – unless those resources were invested into building power elsewhere.
That said – just be sure the fee to respec is reasonable for casual players, who are already fully leveled and invested into their one build.
PRIMARY STATS
Good idea to steer away from the Angelic / Demonic language. The class identity should be a constant, otherwise why show all of those fancy introductions during character creation?
I love how the point assignment was done. The stat requirement unlocks for certain skill effects is brilliant. It will add to build depth if they are plentiful. Work extra hard to balance those unlocks, we don’t want build guides saying, “Spend all points into strength because you only need to unlock strength effects, and they become most powerful with 100% of your points in strength. All other stat unlock sucks, there are not enough legendary items to support them, so just ignore them.”
Good luck with the balance here, I’m rooting for you.
WEAPON TYPES
Great. Just beware of the pitfall of slow weapons with higher attack power being superior for dps skills on cooldown. How do you plan to get around this? Extend certain cooldowns for slower weapons?
ITEM QUALITIES
Will those Magic items be compelling with fewer, but stronger affixes? Nope. In your example, the total power from having multiple affixes beats the magic item. Specifically in the Staff comparison example 5% resource regeneration multiplied by all of those other affixes on the legendary item will far exceed 7% resource regeneration.
Please consider doubling the value ranges on the magic weapon: 10% resource regeneration and 22% immobilize chance. Why? because this really equates to a rare item with 4 affixes doubled up:
- 5% Resource Regeneration
- 5% Resource Regeneration
- 11% Immobilize Chance
- 11% Immobilize Chance
Of course you’ll come up with the right numbers, I can’t speak to the numbers in the example. Rares should probably encompass 2 affix Magic Items in the 90th percentile. Meaning, a really good 2 affix Magic item might as well be presented as a Rare item.
That staff with 7% Resource Regeneration + 16% Immobilize Chance would be a Blue Magic item, but if the both stats were well rolled: 9-10% Resource Regeneration + 21-22% Immobilize Chance it should show up as a Yellow Rare.
This way I can chuck out all blues – you know I dislike picking up pennies?
LEGENDARY AND UNIQUE ITEMS
This seems great. Legendary items will mostly likely always beat out a Rare, provided there are enough legendary effects that can boost damage.
Keep it up.