Third Hero Concept: MAGE TANK HERO!

[jovial marsh]

Okay so I am working on my next Hero Concept ideas and I want to hear some feedback if anyone has any of what I have of this early concept.

This next Hero Concept is going to be an Intellect Cloth MAGE TANK!

This is going to have two resources it is working off of:
Primary Resource/Mechanic: Mana Barrier

- The barrier is always active, but scales in absorbtion based on current mana thresholds (sounds similar to toughness but hold on im getting there)
- Damage absorbed consumes mana
- Abilities cost mana as well
- Absorbtion: >=75% Mana ➡️ 60% dmg absorbed, 50-74% Mana ➡️ 45% absorbed, 25-49% Mana ➡️ 30% absorbed, <25% Mana ➡️ 20% absorbed
- TUNING REQUIRED: 1 mana consumed per ~400 damage absorbed
- Cloth armor is amplified (+200% at high mana, +100% at mid mana, +50% at low mana)```
Looking at it now that is a huge list of words but WIP it is where my thought process is at atm

Secondary Resource/Mechanic: Arcane Sigils
```I am thinking making something similar to Sylvie's flutterflies where she only has 4 pink flutterflies that she can send out, wanted something different than just a builder/spender
- You have 3 Arcane Sigils you can spend
- You can "Shatter" Arcane Sigils (idk if I want these to just be permanent like Flutterflies or a duration)
- Shattering sigils can be used to restore mana, dmg, defensives etc. WIP```

Still working on ability ideas and what not, but I am open to ANY suggestions. Tell me what you think even if you think I should scrap something completely. I loved my Bamish idea but as @glad charm  pointed out, it was missing complexity and then they pointed out a secondary mechanic that would have been awesome to add! (A metronome-like mechanic)

So the idea here is that while making this idea I want to ask the community on what they think instead of me just bouncing ideas by myself. I will try my best to credit people for their ideas, hopefully I won't miss anyone!

[sharp hazel]

Very cool, very passionate. But they didn't even reset and release new heroes until February.😮‍💨

[jovial marsh]

Oh I know, I just enjoy making concept heroes that I would personally like to see.

[glad charm]

Im am not sold on the Mage Tank, especially on the mana barrier mechanic since its more or less the same thing as Helenas Toughness mechanic.

[quartz kayak]

What the dev said when Hamish was interviewing him sounded more like something similar to mage healer.

[jovial marsh]

Absolutely — here’s a clean, hype‑worthy, community‑friendly Discord update post that explains the new direction without overwhelming people with numbers or ability details. It frames the concept clearly, invites feedback, and communicates the uniqueness of the design.

You can copy/paste this directly into your server.

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🚨 Mage Tank Concept — Major Update! 🚨
Hey everyone! I’ve been iterating on the Mage Tank idea based on feedback from the last post, and we’ve landed on a brand‑new defensive identity that’s not Toughness, not Stone Shield, and feels totally unique for Fellowship.

Here’s the updated core mechanic set — no abilities yet, just the systems.

---

Primary Mechanic: Arcane Strain
This is the Mage Tank’s “heat” system.

• Taking damage, activating Sigils, and using certain spells increases Strain.
• Higher Strain = more survivability, but also more instability.
• If Strain reaches 100, you enter Backlash:
  • You pulse arcane damage to yourself and enemies every 0.5s
  • Self‑damage stacks over time, so you can’t sit in it forever
  • You must purge the instability to stabilize again

The gameplay loop becomes:
Ride high Strain for max tankiness → avoid hitting 100 → purge when needed → rebuild.

It’s a high‑risk, high‑reward tanking style inspired by “heat management” systems like Unchained Sienna from Vermintide 2.

---

Secondary Mechanic: Arcane Sigils
These are your arcane stabilizers — permanent until shattered.

We’ve locked in the structure:

1 Major Sigil

• Your big stabilizer
• Strongest defensive effect
• Generates the most Strain
• Feels like the “core engine” of the kit

1 Minor Sigil type (2 copies)

• Smaller stabilizers
• Add survivability
• Add Strain at a lower rate
• Give you flexibility in how “hot” you want to run

Max Sigils: 3 total (1 Major + 2 Minor)
Sigils orbit you (not placed on the ground or enemies), and you maintain them until you choose to shatter them.

---

Shatter Sigils (Core Mechanic)
Your emergency purge.

• Destroys all active Sigils
• Instantly resets Strain to 0
• Ends Backlash
• Returns all Sigil charges so you can rebuild
• Leaves you vulnerable until you get your Sigils back up

This creates a satisfying “big moment” in the rotation and gives the class a unique rhythm.

---

Why This Is Different From Helena/Meiko

• No durability bar
• No shield objects that break
• No cooldown web
• No combo system
• No “keep the bar high” gameplay

Instead, it’s a heat‑based tank where you’re strongest when you’re running hot, but risk blowing up if you push too far.

---

Looking for Feedback!
What do you think of the Strain + Sigils direction?
Do you like the idea of a tank who gets tankier the more unstable they become?
Does the 1 Major + 2 Minor Sigil structure feel clean and readable?

Let me know your thoughts — still early WIP, and I want to shape this with the community

[jovial marsh]

I did this poll on my YouTube channel as well. Got 7 votes over there: 1 Male 6 Female
My discord: 1 Male 1 Female

So in total the overall votes:
11 Male
11 Female

GOD DAMN IT

I will say my personal opinion on this:

I generally like caster characters/classes/heroes to be female, that is just how I enjoy it. Male characters I like to be the more physical side (melee/bows/etc.)

I know that a lot of the Fellowship community WANTS a male tank, but we are getting one very soon (mid-February+), but I am still trying to make the concept of the magic style / armor / weapons that this character would use.

That also brings up another thing. I would PREFER this to be a cloth wearing tank, but I feel like it might get into some really weird modifiers to make that happen and that this tank would just go if it looses a modifier buff

[icy reef]

Right an this is a fan made concept not a dev made one 🙂

[jovial marsh]

Without revealing what everything does yet, here are all the abilities I have come up with so far. Need to finish the Design (character and ability tooltips), Talents, and Legendary Gear

Core Abilities:

- 2. Minor Sigil: SIGIL OF SUPPRESSION
- 3. Ally Minor Sigil Consume: SIGIL OF PRESERVATION
- 4. Backlash Remove: SIGIL OVERLOAD
- 5. Heal Sustain: ARCANE TRANSFER
- 6. Basic Filler: CYRSTALLINE BOLT
- 7. AoE Threat: SHARDBURST```
**Major Cooldowns:**
```- 8. Defensive: CRYSTAL WARD
- 9. Strain Sustain: ARCANE STATIS```
**Utility Abilities:**
```- 10. Interrupt: ARCANE DISRUPTION
- 11. Mobility: ARCANE GLIDE
- 12. Taunt: TAUNT (keeping that one simple, both tanks just have "taunt" with a different picture but same tooltip/name)
- 13. Mob Control: CRYSTALLINE CONVERGENCE```
**Spirit Ability:**
```- 14. CRYSTALLINE OVERLOAD```

[jovial marsh]

Been awhile since I started this project, got distracted but I have finished the "concept" part of it, now I just need to visualize it. All abilities, talents, and legendary gear are in place 🙂

[jovial marsh]

A little preview of what is to come. Still have a lot of work to do D: