Technique design space

Work in progress by Sanglorian.

Possible changes to Techniques, if we went with the 13-element system. Very tentative, would not make any changes without checking with the designer(s) of the techniques.

A monster might get a basic or animal technique and a condition imposer to start, then every few levels pick up a few simple techniques, the occasional exotic technique, and eventually more and more powerful techniques.

New ideas in italics.

Initial thoughts

• Splash moves should all have low accuracy.
• We don't need symmetry. It's nice if different elements have different qualities.
• I am wondering if we should make touch, reach and reliable techniques quite rare - almost treating belonging to one of these ranges as a special feature of the technique. Or perhaps some elements should use reach or touch more often than others.

Animal techniques

Low damage (0.75-1.5), decent accuracy (90-100%), typically Normal, within the abilities of an ordinary animal.

• Headbutt (melee Normal)
• Strike (reliable Normal)
• Ram (melee Normal) (somewhat higher damage, somewhat lower accuracy than Headbutt)
• Punch (melee Heroic)
• Shadow Boxing (touch Heroic)
• Hawk (melee Sky)

Basic techniques

Low damage (0.75-1.5), decent accuracy (90-100%), no recharge, no other effects (except splash).

Magic

• Crystal (ranged Magic)

Heroic

• Lantern (ranged Heroic)

Lightning

• Lightning Spheres (ranged Lightning)

Metal

• Sword (melee Metal)

Frost

• Ice Claw (melee Frost)
• Chill Mist (ranged Frost, splash)

Sky

• Gust (ranged Sky)

Earth

• Rock (touch Earth)

Fire

• Sunburst (ranged Fire)
• Fire Ball (ranged Fire) (lower damage than on wiki)

Shadow

• Phantasmal Force (melee Shadow)
• Midnight Mantle (ranged Shadow, splash)

Water

• Flood (ranged Water, splash)
• Flow (melee Water, splash)

Condition imposers

No damage, high chance to impose a buff on the player or debuff on the enemy (but not both). Should have 100% accuracy unless it's a particularly powerful buff/debuff or it's fast or has another effect.

• Boulder (hard shell self)
• Breath (nodding off)
• Cat Calling (harpooned)
• Sleeping Powder (area, nodding off) (change from fast)
• Clock/Conjurer/Insanity/Negation (confusion)
• Fume (enraged self)
• Glower (softened)
• Petrify (dozing)
• Poison Courtship (poisoned)
• Rot (poisoned)
• Stone Rot (fast, poisoned)
• Riposte (fast, retaliate)
• Revenge Stance (revenge)
• Fluff Up (recovering)
• Feint (focused self, tired)
• Take Cover (sniping self)
• Wallow (healing user, focused self)
• Mending (healing user)
• Evasion (focused self, fast)
• Changeling (recovering self, Magic type switch)
• Chameleon (hard shell self, Wood type switch)
• Arcane Eye (elemental shield self)
• Tinder (burn)
• Blood Nets (lifeleech)
• Canine (wild)
• Feline (fast, wild)
• Clairaudience (feedback self)
• Terror (lockdown)
• Undertaker (prickly)
• Overfeed (slow)
• Barking (flinching)

(blinded, charging, diehard, exhausted, festering, grabbed, harpooned, stuck, wasting)

Simple techniques

Some damage, and a condition or other effect (reliable, fast, type change); or lots of damage (1.6-3). Accuracy should be good (80-100%, with 80% and 85% being reserved for the more powerful options).

Normal

• Probiscus (reach Normal, lifeleech)
• Stampede (melee Normal, charging self)
• Constrict (reliable Normal, grabbed)
• Goad (melee Normal, fast, enraged)
• Assault (melee Normal, fast)

Venom

• Slime (reach Venom, festering)
• Pseudopod (reach Venom, festering)
• Web (melee Venom, grabbed)
• Poison Spray (renamed from Spray) (ranged Venom, poisoned)
• Sting (melee Venom, poisoned)
• Venom (ranged Venom, higher damage)
• Battery Acid (ranged Venom, higher damage, poisoned)
• Muck (reach Venom, higher damage)

Metal

• Blade (melee Metal, fast)
• Bullet (ranged Metal, fast)
• Perfect Cut (reliable Metal, higher damage)
• Shuriken (ranged Metal, diehard self)
• Rust Bomb (ranged Metal, splash, poisoned)
• Wall of Steel (melee Metal, fast, hard shell self)
• Saber (melee Metal, higher damage)

Wood

• Blossom (ranged Wood, healing self)
• Splinter (reach Wood, blinded)
• Overgrowth (ranged Wood, grabbed)

Sky

• Whirlwind (ranged Sky, fast)
• Wingtip (melee Sky, fast)
• Peregrine (melee Sky, fast, higher damage)
• Biting Winds (ranged Sky, softened)
• Air Chain (reach Sky, higher damage)

Fire

• Magma (ranged Fire, area)
• Salamander (reach Fire, poisoned)
• Fire Claw (reach Fire, burn)
• Breathe Fire (ranged Fire, higher damage)
• Flamethrower (ranged Fire, higher damage, burn, slow recharge)
• Torch (reach Fire, flinching)

Frost

• Ice Storm (ranged Frost, area, higher damage)
• Ice Spear (melee Frost, splash, higher damage)

Shadow

• Strangulation (melee Shadow, higher damage)
• Mobbing (melee Shadow, higher damage)

Magic

• Muddle (ranged Magic, both focused)
• Amnesia (reach Magic, higher damage, both exhausted)
• Starfall (ranged Magic, focused self, tired)
• Ruby (reach Magic, higher damage)
• Mind Vise (melee Magic, stuck)

Earth

• Sand Spray (touch Earth, blinded)
• Thunderball (melee Earth, flinching)
• Mudslide (melee Earth, softened, higher damage)
• Quicksand (touch Earth, stuck, higher damage)
• Grinding (melee Earth, higher damage)

Water

• Venomous Tentacle (reach Water, poisoned)
• Font (ranged Water, recovering self)
• Kraken (melee Water, higher damage)

Lightning

• Thunderclap (ranged Lightning, exhausted)
• Battery Discharge (ranged Lightning, healing user)
• Surge (ranged Lightning, charging self)

Heroic

• Invictus (touch Heroic, enraged self, grabbed)
• Beam (ranged Heroic, blinded)
• Berserk (melee Heroic, enraged self)
• One-Two (touch Heroic, higher damage)
• Radiance (ranged Heroic, higher damage)

Exotic techniques

These do strange things, fitting into a niche rather than being usable often.

Attacks

• Energy Claws (melee Lightning, sniping) (melee attack that makes it harder to make melee attacks in future)
• Kindling Flame (ranged Fire, enraged) (ranged attack that makes it harder to make ranged attacks in future)
• Panjandrum (reliable Normal, fixed damage)
• Sleep Bomb (reach Magic, both nodding off)
• Blood Bond (touch Water, both lifeleech)
• Bubble Trap (reach Magic, both grabbed)
• Fester (reach Venom, area, both festering)
• Orbs (ranged Aether, change user type to a random element)

Special

• Ants, Fiery, Gyser, Sylvan, Touch, Ubuntu (switch target element)
• Gold Digger (take money from opponent)
• Hibernate (heal, nodding off self)
• Levitate (both sniping) (both monsters now benefit from making ranged attacks)
• Life Surge (heal self, charged up) (heal self but at expense of empowering enemy)
• Eyebite (fast, exhausted, slow recharge)
• Scope (scope)
• Clamp On (diehard self, grabbed)
• Sudden Glow (healing user, recovering self, focused)
• Mystic Blending (healing user, charging self, switch target element randomly, slow recharge)
• Fire Shield (elemental shield self, burn)
• Cloud Aether (switch user and target elements, new elements chosen randomly)
• Ice Shield (elemental shield self, slow)
• Neutralize (remove type changes and conditions from self and target)

Powerful techniques

Lots of damage and a condition or other effect, and with shorter recharges than you would expect given their power.

Attacks

• Firestorm (reach Fire, area, very high damage)
• Supernova (ranged Fire, charged up, very high damage)
• Lava (ranged Fire, area, burn both, very high damage)
• Surf (ranged Water, splash, very high damage)
• Tsunami (reach Water, area, very high damage)
• Earthquake (touch Earth, area, very high damage)
• Viper (reliable Venom, very high damage)
• Electrical Storm (ranged Lightning, splash, very high damage)
• Frostbite (reach Frost, poisoned, very high damage)
• Snowstorm (melee Frost, splash, exhausted, very high damage)
• Avalanche (ranged Frost, higher damage, splash, exhausted)
• Shrapnel (ranged Metal, fast, splash, very high damage)
• All In (touch Heroic, recovering self, very high damage)
• Give All (melee Heroic, exhausted self, very high damage)
• Tonguespear (melee Normal, lifeleech, higher damage)
• Ten Thousand Feathers (ranged Sky, charging self, high damage)
• One Million Talons (melee Sky, flinching, high damage)

Special

• Refresh (heal self, recovering self)
• Energy Field (fast, charging self, exhausted)
• Static Field (hard shell self, exhausted)

Reserved techniques

These techniques are only used by a single monster family, or access to them through other methods is very limited.

• Tux Attack (melee Frost/Heroic, fast) (a rare double-element technique) - for Tux
• Vorpal (melee Metal, revenge, fast, very high damage) - for Bugnin
• Webs Wind (ranged Sky, slow, very high damage) - for Firomenis
• Oedipus (reach Metal, revenge self, confused) - for Miaownolith
• Demiurge (touch Cosmic, recovering self, confused) - for Altie
• Adamantine (touch Metal, very high damage) - for Windeye
• Ring (reach Wood, splash, recovering self) - for Tourbidi