foggy mauve
I just recently reached mr 13, and have been really gearing up to finish some builds. Having played the game for a little while now and properly interacted with the build systems, I've come to feel that there are a couple weaknesses in the system, particularly in the "combat arts" department.
The problem as I see it: weapons are tied to combat arts
With, some weapon types, it's impossible to get as many points as you'd like to fill out a focused strategy. And then other weapon types you get enough points to fill out all or nearly all of the tree. It's created an awkward situation where developers have to choose between introducing more weapon diversity or keeping the trees at a focused number of points.
My idea: Create a new category of equipment; Styles.
A style would work similarly to pacts. You unlock/buy/craft it, can level it up by using it, it contributes mastery to the account, etc. Weapons would not have a single assigned style. You equip a Primary and a Secondary style, and those styles offer one or two slots representing the weapon(s) you have equipped in that style. Aside from a standard bow style where you put in a single bow, you might have a twin blades style that offers two short blade slots, a shielded style that lets you equip any blade and a shield (no longer paired with a sword), or any combination of things.
Why I think this would be helpful
I think it would encourage build diversity. You might find two different short blades that work together as some sort of combo build. Or maybe you just want two different short blades that look cooler used together. With your first shield, you can think about how it works with your swords. Point values in trees could be standardized, and newly designed movesets won't need >3 weapons designed to go with it to be competitive. You could also introduce new styles that use the same weapons, like maybe a more stabby archer. And, as a bonus, it could be another fashion slot via decorative effects.
novel dome
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