Name: Feral Claw
Description: “A savage style that imitates the characteristics of bloodthirsty predators, forged in the wilderness of the Nimbus Sea.”
Obtainment: The mentor for this fighting style is a young woman named Taiga, who has been stranded on (new wilderness island in the Nimbus Sea) ever since she was a child, and had to survive by mimicking the aggressive wildlife around her, such as tigers and bears. Since she feels at home here, she does not wish to return to her home island. To learn Feral Claw from her, she asks you to defeat 15 hostile animals (not including sea monsters), and can then be learned at 150 Strength.
Gimmick: Ferality meter that builds through bleeding enemies and three different “Stances”, each Stance focusing on damage, speed and size respectively, strengthened by the player’s Ferality (I acknowledge that two distinct mechanics in the same style might make it rather overtuned. I imagine both Ferality and the Stances could be separated into two different styles, with Ferality probably being the more suitable one).
Ferality: Feral Claw has a “Ferality” meter, which can be increased through bleeding enemies (as Berserker, 1 second of bleeding adds 5% to the meter, while as Warlock/Warlord/Juggernaut/Savant, 1 second of bleeding adds 3.3%. This doesn’t stack with multiple enemies hit). The meter is built by any bleeding the player inflicts, including from magic and weapons, but it has to be inflicted by the player using Feral Claw. Ferality, though slowly, decays whenever an enemy isn’t affected by bleeding.
Stances: In addition to it’s meter, Feral Claw also has three “Stances” the player can cycle between using a keybind that would replace one of the ability slots (e.g. Z). These stances are; Tiger (with a focus on power), Wolf (with a focus on speed), and Bear (with a focus on size). All three Stances inflict bleeding. The player can press the cycle keybind to switch to the next Stance, in the order of Tiger, then Wolf, then Bear, then back to Tiger. The base cooldown to cycle between these stances is 5 seconds.
Once the Ferality meter hits 50%, the player begins using a second Stance in addition to the first, though at reduced effectiveness, with the cooldown between cycling being increased from 5 seconds at 50% Ferality up to 10 seconds at 100% Ferality. This second stance starts by working at 0% effectiveness, but increases alongside the meter up to approximately 20% effectiveness once the Ferality meter hits 100%. The player can cycle between Tiger/Wolf, then Wolf/Bear, then Bear/Tiger (with each secondary Stance here operating at the diminished effectiveness).
Base Stats for the three Primary Stances:
- Tiger Stance: 1.1x Power, 0.8x Speed, 0.75x Size (2.65x total base stats)
- Wolf Stance: 0.85x Power, 1.2x Speed, 0.6x Size (2.65x total base stats)
- Bear Stance: 0.9x Power, 0.55x Speed, 1.2x Size (2.65x total base stats)
While above 50% Ferality, 0% to approximately 20% (scaling from 50% to 100% Ferality) of the Secondary Stance’s base stats will be added to the Primary Stance’s base stats:
- Tiger/Wolf Stance: Scales from 1.1x Power, 0.8x Speed, 0.75x Size (2.65x total base stats) at 0-50% Ferality up to 1.25x Power, 1.05x Speed, 0.85x Size (3.15x total base stats) at 51-100% Ferality. Secondary Stance works at 0% Effectiveness at 50% Ferality up to 20% Effectiveness at 100%.
- Wolf/Bear Stance: Scales from 0.85x Power, 1.2x Speed, 0.6x Size (2.65x total base stats) at 0-50% Ferality up to 1.0x Power, 1.3x Speed, 0.85x Size (3.15x total base stats) at 51-100% Ferality. Secondary Stance works at 0% Effectiveness at 50% Ferality up to 20% Effectiveness at 100%.
- Bear/Tiger Stance: Scales from 0.9x Power, 0.55x Speed, 1.2x Size (2.65x total base stats) at 0-50% Ferality up to 1.15x Power, 0.7x Speed, 1.3x Size (3.15x total base stats) at 51-100% Ferality. Secondary Stance works at 0% Effectiveness at 50% Ferality up to 20% Effectiveness at 100%.
Dodge Reflex, either:
- Wolf Primary Stance: Instant Dodge Reflex
- Tiger Primary Stance: Regular Dodge Reflex
- Bear Primary Stance: Damage Reduction Dodge Reflex
OR: - Regular Dodge Reflex
Armour Stats:
- 33% Power, 34% Attack Speed, 33% Attack Size
Cosmetics/Notes:
- The idle animation when Feral Claw is equipped has the player hunched slightly over with their arms in front of them, hands bent downward and in the shape of a claw.
- As the player’s Ferality increases, they become more hunched over, and blood starts dripping from their hands.
- Tiger Stance attacks are coloured orange, Wolf Stance attacks are grey, and Bear Stance attacks are brown. A coloured mist also forms around their hands, with the colour of the mist reflecting their Primary Stance. The mist’s intensity increases with the player’s Ferality, and at 100% Ferality the player’s hands would be hardly visible.
- In chat, the player’s attack begins with a prefix of whichever Stance they’re using e.g. “Bear’s Slash” or “Wolf’s Apocalyptic Bite”, etc.
Inspirations:
- Drifter from Deadlock for the more cosmetic parts of the style, like the idle animation and mist.
- Udyr from League of Legends for the style itself, but I only had him vaguely in the back of my mind for the style.
