Underwhelming effect (Often considered a “Tax Node”)
Only Aura that provides no passive support (Selfish!)
Encourages remaining separated from the group as long as possible to get maximum effect (Something which the game otherwise actively discourages)
Possible Solution:
New Loner: Every Elite and Specialist you kill outside of coherency provides 1 stack of “Loner”, up to a max. When you enter into coherency, each stack is converted into X Toughness per second for a total of Y seconds for you, and all allies in coherency.
The effect being contingent on performance allows it to be more potent than other auras to make up for the required skill expression. Adjusting the X and/or Y values permits a more noticeable effect, resolving problem 1.
The effect is applied to both the zealot and their coherent teammates, like all other auras, resolving problem 2.
The effect requires the zealot occasionally reconvene with their allies to activate, ensuring those who wish to use it not stray too far for too long, resolving problem 3.
As the title of this post suggests, I feel this better fits the right-side tree motif of “Basically Batman”, alongside vanishing into the shadows and throwing sharp things at your enemies. New Loner is superior, as while batman often prefers to work alone, when things are dire they’ll swoop in for a quick team-up before disappearing again back into the night.
Y’know I’ve never really thought loner is an issue like some do, but this is the first rework idea I’ve seen that sounds like an unambiguous improvement to it in every facet.
Could probably be polished a bit in implementation, but yeah that’s a great idea for it.
When players will stop rushing and we would have a sort of teamplay, maybe… until that, this is the most useful aura for the zealot.
+5.63% toughness regen… not negligible…
The idea cannot work as most of the players never end running away… Or this idea must be combined with a way to stop players in their speed run. And I don’t think it would be appreciated.
Idea sounds alright overall.
It would definitely no longer encourage players to permanently stay away from their team.
How would this work?
Does “getting back into coherency” grant a buff to the zealot and the teammates in coherency?
This would mean that only 1 other player aside from the zealot would profit from the aura.
Does “getting back into coherency” grant an aura like buff to the zealot, that regenerates toughness for himself and everyone nearby?
If so, what happens when the zealot leaves coherency, while this effect is up?
Does it stay? Does it stop?
If it stays, the zealot would have to get back to the team in order to trigger the regen, but could immediately run off again, after touching the coherency radius once.
If it stops immediately after leaving coherency, it could easily happen, that the zealot touches the coherency radius and immediately loses coherency again, instantly removing the buff.
I really like the idea behind this new version on loner aura. I do however have a few things that I’d like to add to it.
Allowing the Zealot in question to be able to gain 1 stack of loner while in coherency and gain more stacks while not in coherency. Never really fond of the idea that the aura is all or nothing, but not really a dealbreaker if it would stay as you’ve suggested.
Having the stacks gradually (meaning the longer the zealot in question stays in coherency the greater effect is given to the team) get consumed for an increasing amount of toughness gain over time, instead of just using up all the stacks as soon as you come in contact with the coherency of one other player. Or do you mean that the zealot in question becomes a focus point, much like the Chorus ability and needs to be in coherency for the duration of the stacks?
Pretty much what I was asking with #2, in my mind it is two versions of loner stacks that comes into play. One of them could be considered dormant and do nothing until they become active. For each second the Zealot is in coherency with at least one other player, one stack of dormant loner becomes a stack of active loner to each player that is coherency with the Zealot and starts giving benefits to the team. This would mean that this aura would have a lingering effect for all players, even when the Zealot is out getting more loner stacks*.
*Had to make some clarifications with how I feel it could work.
It’s a cool idea, but it misses the point of how other auras are designed (small generalist bonuses applied to anyone in your coherency).
This is the only problem the aura has, and frankly IDK why the devs didn’t think of something as simple as “increases Finesse bonus damage of allies in coherency by 15%”. It doesn’t need to be more than that - the effect you proposed is essentially what Chorus of Spiritual Fortitude already does, but:
without the extra benefit of granting yellow HP
with a trigger condition that is finicky in technicality of how it works (consider how much space its description would take; how would the effect work on teammates in whose coherency you’re not, I.e., they are about to enter it - how would the toughness replenishment from the aura affect them if it’s already been triggered by another person entering your coherency, etc.)
Need I type more? It’s too complicated. It would be fine as say, a keystone idea if some of the concepts were shifted, but that’s a topic for another discussion.
A simple effect to make Loner somewhat more plausible would be to:
make each player in the lobby ally always be in coherency 2, I.e., as if they were always in coherency with at least one other person. Multiple Loner auras in the lobby would improve Toughness Regeneration Delay by X% for everyone (or improve stamina regeneration delay by 0.XX seconds),
make Zealot with Loner always contribute 2 stacks of coherency to the total, which would also allow the max stacks to go up to 5 in coherency 4, on top of some additional effect for the user (but the coherency total count increase shouldn’t go beyond 5, I.e., this effect should not stack with multiple Loner auras).
To reiterate, your suggestion is nice, but it doesn’t fit an aura effect - it’s a great idea for a potential future keystone for any of the characters’ expanded careers.
I think, if we want to go on this path, rushers have also to be addressed.
I would propose that if someone is behind the group, and the players don’t wait him for X seconds (and he is still alive), it would put a reduction on toughness regen. Like a -25% of the coherency of the group (1 behind/4 players = 25%).
If the group is split in two, the guys that are running in front would get the penalty than the others would not (so a -50% on regen toughness for the guys that rush).
Final, if a zealot goes away of coherency and is ahead, he would still get a coherency of 2, but with a -75% malus on toughness regen.
This would encourage players to play as a team and not try to rush to the end.
This would solve AND rushers, AND dagger zealot that never wait.
Then now loner. I agree with KJeraD. He is right, and pointed the main problem.
Loner should give an advantage to all players.
I agree but it should be option 1 OR option 2. Not both. I think the second option would not bring anything to the game, while the first would make this aura like all others.
So, I would prefer the option 1.
Edit: option 1 but without cumulative bonus. No aura has a cumulative bonus (designed here by multiple auras)
As a side note, please correct me if this has been fixed and I missed it, but doesn’t Loner secretly give you the base TDR aura you’d get with no aura nodes equipped? Probably not intentional if that’s still a thing but would make point 2 technically incorrect.
how dose that match?
Literally any other toughness regen will encourage separation 10 times more than loner, that doesn’t even work half of the time.
Loner only encourages people to padd them self’s on the back for being a “teamplayer” by shitting on talent solely by its description (and for wrong reason). without realizing how actually bad or niche it is. Even TDR aura is going to be a better pick for rushers.
Your idea however is really cool! I like that it doesn’t fall in to that boring “+5% stat” template, and instead offers some gameplay variety
