So, I've given thought to trying to design a character class, as some are want to do on these boards. I mean, I've seen a lot of great ideas on these boards, and have wanted to get in on it for some time, but really, if you've looked at some of the other guides (or hell, even posts) I've done, I can't really do something 90%. I'm in 100 and crazy percent or I'm done with it. So here's the thing.
I have ideas for two Borderlands 2 classes. Both are radically different, and next week at work I'd like to flesh them out. Now when I say "flesh them out", I mean I'm going to be doing full out design on them, full tree design... all of it. I may do both eventually, but you know. One thing at a time.
So below are the two ideas and a general idea of how I'd like them and their trees to work, with some notes about the character, their background, and their personality. Flip through them, see what you like better, then vote on the above poll so I can kind of gauge which seems like a cooler idea.
So first up is...
Damon, the Psion
Inspired By: Dune , Star Wars, Psylocke (X-Men)
Theme Song: Tool - Vicarious
Background: The Psions are Hyperion's early answer to the Siren "Problem". Mainly that they were horrifyingly powerful and they didn't control them. Engineered from birth, these hyper-intelligent genetic creations were designed to have vastly increased mental capacity, be capable of long term solo survivability, and even have access to tools like telekinesis and telepathy. Their purpose was simple: to detain or kill any Sirens aimed against the Hyperion corperation.
The resulting program was a disaster. It sported a 95% mortality rate by the age of 14, and most of the subjects that did survive were insane, twisted and deranged by the mental and physical conditioning they were forced to go through. Given that the project had no profit potential for himself, and actually threatened his position by posing a threat to Angel, Jack dismantled the program immediately when coming to power. Any survivors were euthanized and quietly pushed away... save for a handful.
Damon was one of those. As the key codes were being entered that would destroy his mind forever, Damon broke free, killed a number of the guards that had housed him his whole life, and broke out into the galaxy. For the first few years he laid low, remaining hidden and taking odd mercenary and bounty hunting jobs, utilizing the only real "skill" that he had. When Hyperions increased presence on Pandora went public, he decided to pay "Uncle Jack" a visit, and have a few words about his brothers left behind in the facility.
Personality: Damon has a rather twisted world perspective. Part of the engineering he went through was to really drill home how superior he was to the average human, and he knows it. Narcissism, power, and torture have taken their toll, leaving a rather sarcastic being with no small amount of megalomania. But what's a little sociopathy among friends? He wants Jack dead at all costs, and *not* because he cares that much about pandora.
Action Skill: Fear
Cooldown: 20 Seconds
Damon reaches into a targets mind and overrides their fear sensors, causing them to cease attacking and run away in absolute terror for 6 seconds. During this time their fear disrupts fellow attackers, lowering their accuracy by 20%. If the target is immune to fear, it's movement speed and fire rate is reduced by 25% for the duration.
Skill Trees
Fury
This skill tree focuses on Damon's hate, and focuses that hate into damaging telekinetic attacks and enhances his attacks with standard guns. Look for fire rate increases, damage increases, and for fear to slowly evolve into an insanely destructive force with the more points that are dumped into tree.
Disruption
This skill tree enhances the chaos that Damon is able to inflict on the battlefield. This is achieved through a number of skill changes and a melee override to... comical effect. Knockback effects will be abundant, as well as effects that increase the debuff suffered by enemies looking at a feared ally. Also bolstered by defensive and offensive abilities to keep damon in the fray, enjoying the show.
Illusion
This tree for Damon focuses on his ability to cause hallucinations and manipulate the human mind, with a focus on "sleep" effects and illusions that are either offensive and/or defensive in nature, either protecting him or causing his enemies to turn on one another. Heavy amounts of damage avoidance and mitigation are paired in to maximize the effects of him marching through a maze of disoriented attackers.
Design Notes: On paper, and in my head... he may end up playing a bit like Maya. Then again, that's the point. He's the darker, snarkier foil to the uppity, aggressive Sirens. My main concern is that I design him a bit *too* much like Maya, and don't show manipulative/hateful side enough. That being said, I have nice ideas on all fronts, and am curious to see if I could make him unique enough.
And next on the list...
Raylan, the Outlaw
Inspired by: Justified, Django Unchained, Heist Movies
Theme Song: Seether - Country Song
Background: Raylan is a child of Pandora, "Born n' Raised" as he'd say. He was brought up in a Bandit camp, but being a Pandoran child of notable intelligence, he soon found that the Bandit life was not for him. For one, none of his clan seemed to think big enough. They jumped on every damn bounty and treasure rumor to ever go by them, which inevitably ended in their demise, usually by a better, more well armed group of bandits or a vault hunter. Not that Raylan wasn't enticed by said shinies, but from a young age he realized exactly how futile their continuous lemming runs are.
During his early teens, Raylan decided to wander the Galaxy, hoping to find a more civilized group of villians to run with. During this time he encountered a rather well organized group of thugs, and quickly rose through their ranks through his tactical genius and his unparalleled experience with weaponry. Score after Score went right for Raylan, and he began to get more bold. He eventually started to get into the "Big Game" as he called it, gathering advanced research and plans for weapons from several major manufacturer and implementing them into his own weaponry, as well as his gangs.
That all went south a few months before the vault hunters landed on pandora. The leader of said gang decided that Raylan's "familiarity" was growing a bit thin, and feared mutiny. So with that, he not only placed a bounty on his head to his own followers... but made sure each manufacturer knew exactly who had taken their weapons and where that person might be. Obviously this presented problems for the young bandit.
Looking to go somewhere, anywhere to get away from those who would have his head for cash, there was only one place Raylan knew he could go where only the stupid-beyond-comprehension would follow - His Homeworld, Pandora. However, a new company has taken an interest, and things aren't quite the same as he remembers....
Personality: The name is a tribute to Raylan, but the character takes after Boyd Crowder from Justified. Raylan has a burning desire to "Blow sh** up and make money", as well as a thoroughly honed hatred of hyperion for ripping up his homeworld. Unlike the other vault hunters, he doesn't have a designated piece of machinery, or expert skills to guide him. What he has is a head full of corperate secrets and the intellegence to replicate them as best they'd fit in to how he feels like blowing sh** up that day...
Action Skill: Anshin Reflective Bubble
Cooldown: 35 Seconds
Raylan activates the only equipment he was able to escape with - a highly experimental Anshin shield already implemented in certain Hyperion weaponry. The shield reflects any and all projectile attacks with 100% accuracy for 10 seconds. Melee attacks not only bounce off the shield as well, but deliver a high powered electrical charge to the attacker. The shield fails after a certain amount of damage is taken.
Brawler
The Brawler skill tree focuses on up close and personal attacks and weaponry to their maximum effect. It focuses on multi pellet type weapons, but particularly fancies shotguns and a combination of melee. In this build, Raylan utilizes his knowledge of Torgue gyro-jet technology and Anshin defensive abilities. Highly defensive/aggressive, with an "in your face" playstyle.
Bounty Hunter
The Bounty Hunter tree calls on Raylan's past, hunting and bringing in men for a cash reward. It focuses on single target DPS, along with tactical decisions that Raylan can use to increase the effectiveness of his teammates, while not neccesarily focusing on himself. Weapon specialty here are rifles - be they Assault or Sniper. To enhance these abilities he looks at Hyperion stabalizing technology, and Dahl burst fire techniques.
Rustler
The "Cowboy" tree, focusing on quick draw skills, high gun damage, and a little bit of con-man ingenuity. This tree focuses on pistols as his primary weapon set, particularly those that he can score a critical with easily. Here, he's adapted to Jakobs ingenuity, providing high "skill based" gunplay along with devastating criticals, combined with vladof fire rate and reliablity talents.
Design Concerns: Obviously the thought here is that each build is going to have a specific playstyle that it likes. Brawler is up close and personal, Bounty Hunter plays the Mid-to-Long Range, Rustler focuses on pistols and overall gun enhancement. Additionaly BH has a more "team oriented" approach with tactical decisions. I *really* like the idea of incorperating different weapons technologies in each tree, hinting at what you'd likely be using in said tree to the best effect. My main concern here is limiting myself too much by existing gun restrictions, but I'm going to be taking a very, very loose view of how these works to develop this class. Look for his action skill to be augmented in brawler, modified in bounty hunter, and maybe tossed right out the window for a different skill in the rustler tree.
So.
There's the two ideas. Poll is going up, lemme know what you think.
I have ideas for two Borderlands 2 classes. Both are radically different, and next week at work I'd like to flesh them out. Now when I say "flesh them out", I mean I'm going to be doing full out design on them, full tree design... all of it. I may do both eventually, but you know. One thing at a time.
So below are the two ideas and a general idea of how I'd like them and their trees to work, with some notes about the character, their background, and their personality. Flip through them, see what you like better, then vote on the above poll so I can kind of gauge which seems like a cooler idea.
So first up is...
Damon, the Psion
Inspired By: Dune , Star Wars, Psylocke (X-Men)
Theme Song: Tool - Vicarious
Background: The Psions are Hyperion's early answer to the Siren "Problem". Mainly that they were horrifyingly powerful and they didn't control them. Engineered from birth, these hyper-intelligent genetic creations were designed to have vastly increased mental capacity, be capable of long term solo survivability, and even have access to tools like telekinesis and telepathy. Their purpose was simple: to detain or kill any Sirens aimed against the Hyperion corperation.
The resulting program was a disaster. It sported a 95% mortality rate by the age of 14, and most of the subjects that did survive were insane, twisted and deranged by the mental and physical conditioning they were forced to go through. Given that the project had no profit potential for himself, and actually threatened his position by posing a threat to Angel, Jack dismantled the program immediately when coming to power. Any survivors were euthanized and quietly pushed away... save for a handful.
Damon was one of those. As the key codes were being entered that would destroy his mind forever, Damon broke free, killed a number of the guards that had housed him his whole life, and broke out into the galaxy. For the first few years he laid low, remaining hidden and taking odd mercenary and bounty hunting jobs, utilizing the only real "skill" that he had. When Hyperions increased presence on Pandora went public, he decided to pay "Uncle Jack" a visit, and have a few words about his brothers left behind in the facility.
Personality: Damon has a rather twisted world perspective. Part of the engineering he went through was to really drill home how superior he was to the average human, and he knows it. Narcissism, power, and torture have taken their toll, leaving a rather sarcastic being with no small amount of megalomania. But what's a little sociopathy among friends? He wants Jack dead at all costs, and *not* because he cares that much about pandora.
Action Skill: Fear
Cooldown: 20 Seconds
Damon reaches into a targets mind and overrides their fear sensors, causing them to cease attacking and run away in absolute terror for 6 seconds. During this time their fear disrupts fellow attackers, lowering their accuracy by 20%. If the target is immune to fear, it's movement speed and fire rate is reduced by 25% for the duration.
Skill Trees
Fury
This skill tree focuses on Damon's hate, and focuses that hate into damaging telekinetic attacks and enhances his attacks with standard guns. Look for fire rate increases, damage increases, and for fear to slowly evolve into an insanely destructive force with the more points that are dumped into tree.
Disruption
This skill tree enhances the chaos that Damon is able to inflict on the battlefield. This is achieved through a number of skill changes and a melee override to... comical effect. Knockback effects will be abundant, as well as effects that increase the debuff suffered by enemies looking at a feared ally. Also bolstered by defensive and offensive abilities to keep damon in the fray, enjoying the show.
Illusion
This tree for Damon focuses on his ability to cause hallucinations and manipulate the human mind, with a focus on "sleep" effects and illusions that are either offensive and/or defensive in nature, either protecting him or causing his enemies to turn on one another. Heavy amounts of damage avoidance and mitigation are paired in to maximize the effects of him marching through a maze of disoriented attackers.
Design Notes: On paper, and in my head... he may end up playing a bit like Maya. Then again, that's the point. He's the darker, snarkier foil to the uppity, aggressive Sirens. My main concern is that I design him a bit *too* much like Maya, and don't show manipulative/hateful side enough. That being said, I have nice ideas on all fronts, and am curious to see if I could make him unique enough.
And next on the list...
Raylan, the Outlaw
Inspired by: Justified, Django Unchained, Heist Movies
Theme Song: Seether - Country Song
Background: Raylan is a child of Pandora, "Born n' Raised" as he'd say. He was brought up in a Bandit camp, but being a Pandoran child of notable intelligence, he soon found that the Bandit life was not for him. For one, none of his clan seemed to think big enough. They jumped on every damn bounty and treasure rumor to ever go by them, which inevitably ended in their demise, usually by a better, more well armed group of bandits or a vault hunter. Not that Raylan wasn't enticed by said shinies, but from a young age he realized exactly how futile their continuous lemming runs are.
During his early teens, Raylan decided to wander the Galaxy, hoping to find a more civilized group of villians to run with. During this time he encountered a rather well organized group of thugs, and quickly rose through their ranks through his tactical genius and his unparalleled experience with weaponry. Score after Score went right for Raylan, and he began to get more bold. He eventually started to get into the "Big Game" as he called it, gathering advanced research and plans for weapons from several major manufacturer and implementing them into his own weaponry, as well as his gangs.
That all went south a few months before the vault hunters landed on pandora. The leader of said gang decided that Raylan's "familiarity" was growing a bit thin, and feared mutiny. So with that, he not only placed a bounty on his head to his own followers... but made sure each manufacturer knew exactly who had taken their weapons and where that person might be. Obviously this presented problems for the young bandit.
Looking to go somewhere, anywhere to get away from those who would have his head for cash, there was only one place Raylan knew he could go where only the stupid-beyond-comprehension would follow - His Homeworld, Pandora. However, a new company has taken an interest, and things aren't quite the same as he remembers....
Personality: The name is a tribute to Raylan, but the character takes after Boyd Crowder from Justified. Raylan has a burning desire to "Blow sh** up and make money", as well as a thoroughly honed hatred of hyperion for ripping up his homeworld. Unlike the other vault hunters, he doesn't have a designated piece of machinery, or expert skills to guide him. What he has is a head full of corperate secrets and the intellegence to replicate them as best they'd fit in to how he feels like blowing sh** up that day...
Action Skill: Anshin Reflective Bubble
Cooldown: 35 Seconds
Raylan activates the only equipment he was able to escape with - a highly experimental Anshin shield already implemented in certain Hyperion weaponry. The shield reflects any and all projectile attacks with 100% accuracy for 10 seconds. Melee attacks not only bounce off the shield as well, but deliver a high powered electrical charge to the attacker. The shield fails after a certain amount of damage is taken.
Brawler
The Brawler skill tree focuses on up close and personal attacks and weaponry to their maximum effect. It focuses on multi pellet type weapons, but particularly fancies shotguns and a combination of melee. In this build, Raylan utilizes his knowledge of Torgue gyro-jet technology and Anshin defensive abilities. Highly defensive/aggressive, with an "in your face" playstyle.
Bounty Hunter
The Bounty Hunter tree calls on Raylan's past, hunting and bringing in men for a cash reward. It focuses on single target DPS, along with tactical decisions that Raylan can use to increase the effectiveness of his teammates, while not neccesarily focusing on himself. Weapon specialty here are rifles - be they Assault or Sniper. To enhance these abilities he looks at Hyperion stabalizing technology, and Dahl burst fire techniques.
Rustler
The "Cowboy" tree, focusing on quick draw skills, high gun damage, and a little bit of con-man ingenuity. This tree focuses on pistols as his primary weapon set, particularly those that he can score a critical with easily. Here, he's adapted to Jakobs ingenuity, providing high "skill based" gunplay along with devastating criticals, combined with vladof fire rate and reliablity talents.
Design Concerns: Obviously the thought here is that each build is going to have a specific playstyle that it likes. Brawler is up close and personal, Bounty Hunter plays the Mid-to-Long Range, Rustler focuses on pistols and overall gun enhancement. Additionaly BH has a more "team oriented" approach with tactical decisions. I *really* like the idea of incorperating different weapons technologies in each tree, hinting at what you'd likely be using in said tree to the best effect. My main concern here is limiting myself too much by existing gun restrictions, but I'm going to be taking a very, very loose view of how these works to develop this class. Look for his action skill to be augmented in brawler, modified in bounty hunter, and maybe tossed right out the window for a different skill in the rustler tree.
So.
There's the two ideas. Poll is going up, lemme know what you think.