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, decent accuracy, 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/Cat Calling (nodding off)
• 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)
• Fluff Up (recovering)
• Feint (focused self, tired)
• Take Cover (sniping self)
• Wallow (healing user, focused self)
• 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).

Normal

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

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)

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)
• 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)

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)