Do you like fall damage? I don’t like fall damage. But, there is one thing I like about it - this mechanic has been secondary to adding Gliders - with primary one being access to Skyhall, ofc. I love these things, they’re fun to use and really helpful during exploration and just basic map navigation. But, the niche I expected them to be used in as well - PvP - doesn’t suit the tool at all. You’re slowly hovering, using up all your stamina, the opponent is firing at you, and you can’t even fight back. Therefore, I always wanted to write a glider suggestion.
But, I recently saw new ideas, so I split some of my planned glider functionality into two more tools. So, this suggestion will contain 3 new utilities - one reworked, two added. Meet them: Gliders, Lost Anchor and Island Cloud Jug.
Oh, yeah, if you’re wondering why I didn’t make a discussion topic prior to this suggestion like I always do, it is because this is only partially a fix to the old stuff, and it isn’t major enough to warrant such topic. Anyway:
Obtainment and PvE uses.
All three tools will have both PvE and PvP use cases. But first, we need to establish their obtainment methods. Gliders are already obtainable, and I don’t see any required changes. Lost Anchor can be obtained from underwater chests, with it having the same drop chance as artifacts. Island Cloud Jug has the same exact odds of obtaining, but from sky chests this time - both in Cirrus and Skyhall, so it is not held from players until the current late game. You should also get a logbook entry upon first obtaining any of the three tools, that will explain their uses.
For Gliders’ PvE usage, I would remove the initial stamina penalty on deploy entirely, and the gambling on whether or not you instantly die of fall damage if you equip it. This is a tool that should save you from fall damage, after all. Who needs all this potential balancing anyway?
The Lost Anchor, when held, increases the player’s weight by a lot, so sinking to the bottom of the ocean takes a lot less time, about the same as falling in the air normally. Falling in the air with the anchor also doubles the fall speed. You also gain a 40% fall damage resistance while holding the anchor.
The Island Cloud Jug, meanwhile, can boost you out of the water in mere seconds, as well as lift you into the air. However, it isn’t limitless - the jug has a charge meter that depletes in five seconds and recharges twice as long. You don’t need to wait for it to fully recharge, so you can use it on half charge and receive half the duration, for example. The uplift in the water goes at very high speeds, to the point that those 5 seconds can bring a player from the deepest abyssal diving point to the surface. In the air, however, the uplift speed is about of that of Spirit Flight with no movement speed jewels. Not the best tool for climbing, but surely the best for resurfacing.
Aerial Aurafarming Apparatus
So, what happens when you receive the funny combat tag and decide to hold out the funny wing tool? Answer is, the mechanics of the glider, as well as anchor’s and jug’s, change when used in combat.
Gliders’ turning speed increases, but so does the stamina drain rate. Additionally, bumping into opponents with the glider deals some damage - about on par with Soaring Eagle dual bladed skill, and knocks back both the user and the target, with the latter going a lot farther. Since we don’t hate fun around here, why not have that knockback boostable by the knockback jewels? The increased stamina drain rate is there to prevent running away - this combat mode is supposed to be used in short bursts and combos, after all. Why combos? You’ll see. Oh, and by the way, you can’t initiate combat (
) with a glider bump or any other of these tools, so you won’t accidentally get into fights while you are soaring in the skies or getting down from Stepstones.
The Samerian Glider, when used, gives the player 30% damage resistance from attacks. That doesn’t make it objectively better than dragonwing gliders, though.
Greases - yes, you can grease all three tools, with the exception of Samerian Glider, as you only get one of those, so it can have its passive resistance as an alternative. I will go in deep about the effects of greases for every other tool in their sections, but the common thing between them is that they don’t lose in damage, and their effects can cause reactions. Why was this piece of potential balancing implemented in the first place is beyond me, I would really benefit from an explanation. For Gliders, the potion effect is applied when you bump someone with your dragonwing glider. Oh, and, since we don’t hate fun, let us make positive effect greases that will instead be passively applied to ourselves while we hold the glider.
metal_pipe_sound_effect.mp3
The Lost Anchor - “An old anchor that got tangled between the rocks and torn away from its ship, now all rusted. Seems heavy.”
You know Devastate weapon skill, right? Now imagine that, but usable by every route. Yeah, not very original this time, but why reinventing the wheel? There are still differences, though. As I said, you can’t activate combat tag with the Anchor, as this slam only initiates when you already have one. Also works underwater, if you for some reason need that. The endlag of Devastate is still present, for those sweats who love punishing it and would yell at me if I didn’t add it - go touch grass or something.
Greasing the Anchor will apply the effect on slam, obviously. Positive greases do that to self.
Does Not Give You Wings, Apparently
The Island Cloud Jug - “An object of research of the mysterious alchemist, who lived in the now destroyed laboratory of Cirrus Town. Still retains its buoyant properties.”
Yeah, this surely won’t bring me any problems from all those people who don’t like airstalling. The Jug will lift you into the air at twice the speed in combat, but the meter will also drain twice as fast. A quick liftoff can be a starter move to an aerial combo that ends in an Anchor slam, for example. As a bonus, using the Jug knocks back anybody near the launch area - boostable by jewels, ofc. No damage is dealt, however.
Greasing the Jug will leave an effect cloud at the launch site, similar to Essense potion type, but it will only tick twice. Positive greases, again, will apply the effect to self.
So there yall have it, the three (or two) new tools. Each comes with PvE and PvP uses alike. I didn’t make them complicated, and none of their abilities are active like your rites or skills are - you don’t need to press a keybind for them, just equip the thing and meet its conditions. The tools being this simple, in my opinion, will cause many use cases to be discovered by those who have learned the incredible skill of using their head. Some might say these bring way too much mobility into PvP, and I say - what is the problem here? They aren’t restricted to any class in particular, and obtaining each tool is easy - two come with high drop chances from early locations, and third is given to you by the storyline. Dragon hunting is an exception, of course, but you don’t lose much from not having a dragonwing glider, if you already own the Samerian one.
Go start a discussion down below now, make it interesting.
