LazyTomcat's Designs as new Armor Sets

[Silver_fox 399]

Quite a long time ago, LazyTomcat's personal mod introduced several new armor designs to the game. However, as the time passed, this mod became outdated and no longer compatible with the current version of the Community Patch. LazyTomcat decided against updating his mod for the new CM patch, but permitted to use his designs in other mods.

 

The original mod used the new designs as the replacements for the original Fallen Angel aspect sets, but as was previously mentioned in the Item Mod thread, we wanted to make them into entirely new sets, with their own names and bonuses. The following posts would show the results of this work, all of which would be released with the next version of the Item Mod, and probably later integrated with the Community Patch,

 

The first of the LazyTomcat's designs to be presented as a new set is a "Jaguar" armor for the Dryad. It is themed around the big cats and has bonuses that benefit the Ranged Combat-oriented character.

 

The Wild Cat

Covered with furry pelts of feline predators, the Dryad Ranger becomes one the most effective hunters of the forest. She can notice the enemies from far away and run after them at amazing speed...

... reading the footprints to track them through the growth and finally shoot them down.

 

The set items were named after distinctive features of various big cats:

 

Helmet: Jaguar's Bite

Jaguar has the most powerful bite of all cats. Its jaws can pierce and crack open even the armored reptiles like armadillos and turtles. Chance for critical hits and Chance to pierce modifiers are unlocked by the Ranged weapons skill.

 

Shoulders: Lion's Mane

The mane is the best known feature of a lion. In practice, the lions use it as a means of intimidation - the mane helps them to trick the opponent and to appear larger than they are. While the mane makes the lions feel pretty hot, it can act like some armor, and the intimidation tactics causes some enemies to think twice before fighting the lion.

 

Arms: Leopard's Agility

Leopards are agile and elusive hunters, known for their abilities in climbing and being capable of impressive jumps both vertically and horizontally.

 

Chest: Lynx' Thick Fur

In mythology, lynxes are most known for their eyesight, but as the helmet was named after the jaguar (got to have a jaguar somewhere in the jaguar set), this feline was mentioned for its more mundane quality. Lynxes can comfortably live in the cold regions of Siberia and Canada thanks to their thick fur that protects them from the cold and the wind. This chestplate maintains the fur's qualities and protects the wearer from the elements.

 

Belt: Tiger's Tail

Korean and Chinese traditional stories oftenly feature tiger's tail - pulling or grasping this tail, as well as treading on it always leads to very dangerous situations. In some eastern countries there are proverbs and figures of speech with general meaning "as dangerous as treading on tiger's tail". Besides, the belt has tiger-pelt pattern. Opponent's chance to reflect: Ranged modifier is unlocked by the Ranged weapons skill.

 

Legs: Cheetah's Sprint

The first thing everybody remembers about cheetahs is that they are the fastest animals on Earth and can chase even the fast-running prey, so of course this feature gets a mention. Having the legs of the cheetah, the Dryad can move an great speed and chase down the enemies who try to evade her.

 

Boots: Cougar's Paws

Cats in general are known for their sharp claws that leave infected scratches, but Cougars have claws remarkable even for their kind. For one thing, Cougars are among the few cats that have retractable claws. They also have big front paws, which they use to clutch the prey. With the Cougar's Paws the Dryad can also use the benefits of having sharp claws in addition to her weapons (when unarmed, the Dryad fights with kicks, and with these boots the kicks may deal some good damage). Though Chance to open wounds and Chance to hit additional opponents modifiers are unlocked by the Ranged weapons skill, so only the ranger can enjoy the full bonus of this item.

 

The set bonuses:

Bonuses are unlocked for wearing 2, 4, 6 and 7 items.

 

Gallery:

The side view features the maple leaf pattern on the belt:

The back view with noticeable tiger stripes:

Edited May 21, 2014 by Silver_fox

[Yoshio 91]

Although I knew the graphics already before, it is nice to see one of LT's mods developing into a set of its own!

Nice work as usual and I do love the names of the single parts!

[mibbs 29]

Chest plate with multi-elemental armor and high damage mitigation (which is not depended on armor lore with CM installed) looks overpowered.

However, it looks amazing... and it is impossible for Dry to accumulate high amount of DM

[Silver_fox 399]

The chestplate of the Dryad's set has armor bonus that is frequent on set chestplates, and the amount of it is not higher than on others. If it's OP, than so are Chestplate of Time, the chestplate from Children of Asha set, and especially Velaria's Garment.

 

Damage Mitigation value of this item is actually smaller than on any other set chestplate (smaller than on Dry's Mormorin's Cage for example). DM's shoulders Torik's Spaulders have higher mitigation + two sockets + two blue modifiers and are not considered OP either.

 

If other people agree that the chestplate is too powerful, I can reduce the socket quality, but so far it does not seem to be more OP than other set pieces in game.

[xcessive 55]

Wow the item boni fit the names and descriptions perfectly. And they are so good for the Dryad.

 

I dont like the look of the helmet. Maybe the names and item modifiers of the helmet and shoulders could be exchanged and then the Dryad could get her own mane. Looks awesome in my imagination^^

[Silver_fox 399]

Another one of the LazyTomcat's sets to receive its own names and bonuses is the "Ice Diamond" design for the High Elf. This design is obviously icy looking, so it became an alternate aspect set for the Mystic Stormite, in a way similar to how Armaments of the Nine Hells is an alternate aspect set for the Arrant Pyromancer. The set got the name "Frozen Gems" and the item names themed around blue gemstones and beliefs about them.

 

Frozen Gems

"Gemology - The art how an almost naked elf parries a sword with a gem on her dress."

From "The 9 Lines of Defense" guide by Chattius

In the past people often attributed precious stones with mystical powers, and some of those beliefs are still strong nowadays. Superstitions about gems and items made of them became a noticeable part of modern mythology. Many books describe mages of all kinds as wearing amulets made of gems and using them in their spellcasting, sometimes storing energy or even their lives in the gemstones. With this armor design, the High Elf appears to wear nothing but adornments made of frost-covered metal and gems, but still can keep her spells and defense strong enough to survive in most situations.

 

Helmet: Mystic Sapphire

In some old texts sapphire was called the "Stone of Destiny". This stone is associated with intuition and meditation. The Elf who decides to wear this set should be the one whose destiny is to follow the Mystic Stormite path and so the item enhances the Stormite skills and spellcasting provess.

 

Torso: Unbreakable Diamond

The diamond is the hardest gemstone. It is believed that diamond does not add any new qualities to the wearer, but amplifies what is already there - both strengths and weaknesses. The item is a defensive one, and further enhances the defense against Ice element, which Stormites have already and do not really require.

 

Belt: Aquamarine of Fortitude

Mystics consider Aquamarine a stone of courage and fortitude that enhances the speed of thinking and can bring great power. The Ancient Romans and superstitious modern people believed that the aquamarine helps to cure diseases of the stomach and food poisoning. That is why this stone gave its name to the belt that has some poison armor and helps the mage to concentrate better.

 

Legs: Blue Carbuncle

Carbuncle is usually a name to any fiery-red stone, associated with burning coal and embers. But Sir Conan Doyle made the name "Blue Carbuncle" famous enough to be remembered. This item brings the fiery properties of red stones to icy-blue set, allowing for some fire protection much required by mages who use Cascading Shroud. Having better protection against fire allows the Stormite Elf to find her way even through the hottest places of Ancaria.

 

Boots: Cooling Crystal

In the past, people believed that Rock Crystals (Crystal Quartz) are the Ice Shards that could never melt. This stone is said to have cooling powers. The item adds to the Ice Shard Combat Art - Glacial Thorns and to Ice damage.

 

Arms: Clouded Mirror

The arms in this set are just silvery bracelets without blue inlays, so this is the only item that does not have a name of a stone. While mirrors are not gemstones, in the past they were rare and precious items. Many water spirits and goddesses are sometimes pictured with mirrors and combs, and the Stormite Elf can be considered a kind of spirit that commands water and ice. Being "Clouded", this mirror is not bright enough to reflect attacks back at the enemies, but still grants protection against them, as well as bonuses to "cloudy" CA - Raging Nimbus.

 

Gloves: Lazulite of Clarity

It is believed that lazulite strengthens self-discipline and focus, brings matters more clearly to the mind, and allows to solve problems easier. This item allows to cast spell faster and easier.

 

The set bonus:

Bonuses are unlocked for wearing 2, 4, 6 and 7 items.

Edited May 22, 2014 by Silver_fox

[Gilberticus 374]

I think it's cool that the population is allowed to give feedback on matters such as this. However, I think it should be you who has the ultimate decision on whether or not the chestplate is too OP. This is Your project your presenting to the community. You know what they say about too many chefs spoiling the soup. I hope my opinion hasn't offended anybody, this is the first real time for me giving an opinion on here since the twins died. I know I'm not quite myself yet, it's only been a month since the stillbirths. Anyway, that's my opinion: you tell us what stats the armor is going to have, not us telling you what we think it should be.

[Silver_fox 399]

Wow the item boni fit the names and descriptions perfectly. And they are so good for the Dryad.

 

I dont like the look of the helmet. Maybe the names and item modifiers of the helmet and shoulders could be exchanged and then the Dryad could get her own mane. Looks awesome in my imagination^^

I'm glad that you liked the name concepts. But I don't think that there would be a major change in appearance of these sets. LazyTomcat had retired from modding, so he won't be changing the looks of these sets anymore, and even though he allowed to use his designs, I don't think it respectful to change them drastically. Myself, I won't have minded to see a furry cowl or a mask as a helmet for the Dryad, so maybe such design can be considered for a separate unique. However, any new design requires time and effort to be made, so there is no guarantee that every single idea would find its way to the game.

[Flix 5,191]

Silver Fox dedicates a huge amount of attention and care to balancing the item modifiers, and there is (at least) one other person(s) behind the scenes double checking for mistakes or imbalances (me). Therefore he can (and does) defend any choices he makes. I think the Wildcat set turned out great, not only looking cool thanks to LT's fur designs (and Silver Fox's tweaks), but also because it fits a nice niche for a Dryad interested in focusing strongly in Ranged Weapons, without rehashing Detheya's set.

 

I have to say looking at the recent posts for new stuff going into the mod he might be a better showman than me too. These posts are a thing of beauty unto themselves. I really like the idea for jewels and the thought that went into each piece. Not to mention it looks really sexy, especially on that drow-skinned elf.

[Silver_fox 399]

Thank you for the kind comment, and special thanks for all the preliminary testing and bonus reviewing you do for the things I make. I know you don't have much free time nowadays, so thank you very much for finding some time to check the new stuff that goes into the mod. You might not be modding in new things, but you remain the essential part of the team, as your attention ensures that the mod continues to have high quality standards.

 

I'm human too, and I make mistakes sometimes, so I like to hear people's opinion about the things I make and pay attention to all critique. But there are as many opinions as there are people, so I'm not fast to jump to implement every first suggestion. All decisions made for the mod are usually made for a reason, and internal testing helps to sort out the obvious blunders (thank you again, Flix), so it requires more than one opinion to make me change things. However, it is the Community Item Mod, so if many people of the community disagree with some decision, it would be reconsidered.

 

In the Dryad discussion, I want to add only one thing about the general design of this set. The Dryad character has one noticeable OP point, and this is the ability to stack a really great amount of lifeleech %, which provides both for powerful defense and offense. Many of the melee and ranged Dryad builds exploit this feature of the class, and indeed it takes some valid reason to build the non-caster Dryad without it. I did some testing with Lifeleech Ranged Dryad in Niob: Full Detheya + Full Glaurung + Star of Astaroth (or any good yellow lifeleech % shuriken) + Goldenglade Touch + Ancient Bark, and she does not really need high armor and mitigation on items. In fact, she needs just enough defense not to be one-hitted and she easily evades or regenerates the rest. As the new set focuses on more traditional means of defense and offense, it had to have some solid modifiers to be compelling, so that in the end it wasn't easier to just swap it for full Detheya's and enjoy the benefits of the game's highest lifeleech.

 

And probably one point about the High Elf Ice set. Its chest has some good defense against Ice damage, but when you consider it as an item from the Storm-oriented set, it appears in a bit different light. The Crystal Skin buff provides good defense against Ice element, so the Storm specialist has less value in this extra defense from armor. Other Elf characters can wear the chestplate just for its defensive properties, but for them it would mean equipping an item from a set with foreign specialization, leaving them without the benefit of set bonuses, as they are unlikely to wear other pieces.

[Silver_fox 399]

The last of the sets to be revealed in this thread is the High Elf set based on LazyTomcat's "Golden Raven" design. The Elf has quite a few set items already, and it was not easy to find a niche that hasn't yet been filled by another set. This new set was named "Mage of the Spectrum", and as the name implies, it's meant to boost the Elf's main role as the Sacred's Archmage. Being generally beneficial, the set was also made more rare - players would have a fair chance of getting the set items from bosses, but little chance of seeing them among mob drops and quest rewards.

Mage of the Spectrum

This set focuses on general spellcasting and non-physical damage types, providing substantial boost to spell damage and defence against spells, but offering little to nothing in terms of close and ranged combat. As you would see from the stats, the physical component was purposefully removed from all damage and armor bonuses given by this set. Another feature that you would notice is increased armor resistance values on many items - but don't be fooled by these numbers, as the full Spectrum set has about as much resistance as the Robe of Innocence alone. For this set the armor value that is usually focused on the chestplate was divided between five items - the chest holding the biggest value, helmet and belt receiving smaller bonuses and only a bit of additional armor on arms and legs. Finally, this set is meant to compensate for the fact that the Elf has no Lifeleech sets, while Magic Coup builds can use one. It might be unexpected to see the warrior's bonus put on the purely magical set, but it partially makes up for the fact of how OP the lifeleech bonus is. Aspect-wise, this set boosts supportive spells of Delphic Arcania aspect, but should be more useful for hybrid builds than purely Arcane characters.

Chest: Light of Day
In the old times people awaited the daylight as a salvation from the nighttime fears. It was during the day when they felt safe and confident and went around on their business. Nowadays people are not so afraid of the dark, but most of events still happen during daytime. While many of the daily chores are rather mundane, they make for a great portion of every life. Same with this chestplate - while it does not affect the mage's spells, it is an essential part of the set, as it is the main source of defence (though even this piece does not offer much protection against physical damage).


Arms: Glory of the Dawn
"Rise and shine, little Elf, rise and shine"
Early morning is the time when the world awakens and every little thing looks fresh and rejuvenated. While waking up with the first rays of the sun may be harder than it sounds, many cultures have traditions and figures of speech that promise good luck to early risers. So the Elves who have enough self-discipline to greet the dawn would be filled with fresh energy for the rest of the day.


Gloves: Height of Noon
"Shadows disappear at high noon"
Ancient religions connected the sun with the powerful gods and people believed that its light dispels harmful influences just as it chases away the darkness. Not surprising that in many legends the evil spirits and creatures are afraid of sunlight. At high noon the sun stays directly overhead, sending down its most intense rays and shortening the shadows so much they seem to disappear entirely. At the same time, for more grounded people, noon (or times close to it) is a time for a lunch break.


Belt: Mystery of the Night
"Fear not this night, you will not go astray" - from the

Throughout the centuries people were mystified by the nighttime, filling its darkness with figments of their imagination. Night is a time of mystery and secrets, a time that belongs not to people, but to mythical beings and supernatural powers. It is the time associated with witches and their magic. This item straightens the Elf's Arcane powers and intensifies her spells.


Legs: Colors of Sunset
People made and still continue to make many pictures trying to capture the beauty of the day's end, that burst of colors which lights up the sky before the darkness falls. But at the same time, the sunset has always been associated with the end of safety brought by the daylight, and some old myths describe this time as "death" of the sun. The item has one of the most colorful tooltips in game, and serves to remind everybody that nobody is safe if they dare to anger a mage.


Boots: Silence of Midnight
Midnight. A time of the night when all the nature stays still, as if pausing for a moment. Some creatures sleep, while others try to move as silently as they can, so as not to disrupt the general silence and stillness. At the same time, being the culmination of the dark half of day, midnight is associated with the most ancient mysteries and powerful magics.


Helmet: The Darkest Hour
"It's always darkest before the dawn"
The time of trouble can happen in every life. Problems and dangers always come uninvited, regardless of the time of day. But wise people say that the darkest hour is the one before the dawn - the events can take turn for the better and the right actions in the time of emergency can save the day. This helmet activates the Elf's hidden reserves, quickens her reaction and helps her to live through the hard times.


Ring: Fleeting Moment
Every life is a sequence of moments. Few of them are memorable, and even those that are special are fleeting. Just in a heartbeat a thing that was right before your eyes can become nothing more than a memory. But even those moments that do not seem special are still parts of our lives, often leading to the bigger, more important events. This small ring keeps the essence of its namesake - while it might not be very special in itself, it is a valuable part of the whole set, and helps to unlock powerful set bonuses. Its own bonuses help the Elf to become as elusive as the passing time and to do wonders with her personal clocks.


The Set Bonus:

Bonuses are unlocked for wearing 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8 items. Lifeleech % is the full completion bonus.

Both item modifiers and completion bonuses are quite good, but it is balanced by the fact that the set would be harder to compete than most of the other HE's full sets - the pieces start dropping from level 45, won't appear at low difficulty level and have some droplist restrictions as noted above, plus the sheer quantity of the Elf's sets makes every particular one harder to gather. Edited May 28, 2014 by Silver_fox

[mibbs 29]

Эм, offensive модификаторы на поножах?

[Silver_fox 399]

Да, бонусы к урону на поножах. А почему бы нет? В игре можно купить желтые поножи с бонусами ко всем боевым навыкам, критическим ударам, значанию атаки и т.п. Во многих новых комплектах на поножи добавляют offensive модификаторы, например "Боевые навыки" на Броне Баатора, огненный урон и атака в комплекте Дракомага Chaoskampf, огненный урон в комплекте Софии для Серафимки. В то же время, большинство комплектных поножей в оригинальной игре повторяют одни и те же бонусы - почти половина дают скорость бега, шанс уклонения и блок привязки. У Эльфийки и так уже куча комплектов, так что если добавлять еще один, то надо делать что-то новое, а не повторять имеющиеся уники.

Моды вообще, и в особенности, моды выходящие сильно после игры, рассчитаны в первую очередь на людей, кто уже прошел игру в ее классическом варианте, и хочет попробовать что-то новое. Большинство нынешних игроков в Sacred - уже не новички, они перепобовали многие из предметов и тактик, изначально бывших в игре. Нет большого смысла давать им еще раз что-то, что они уже много раз видели. Главный смысл введения новых предметов - увеличить разнообразие и дать игрокам выбор, а там уж пусть они сами решают, хочется им надеть на персонажа классический защитный предмет, или защиты уже и так хватает, и можно поднимать урон.

-----------

Offensive modifiers on legs might look a bit unusual, but that's exactly the point. You can see some offensive modifiers on rare (yellow) legplates and on the legs from new sets like Armaments of the Nine Hells, Chaoskampf and Impressions of Sophia, so adding rather common damage modifiers to the legs is unusual, but not out of the line. At the same time most of the original sets repeat the same modifiers for this part over and over again - most set legplates add to the Run Speed, Chance to Evade and Block chance: Root. As the High Elf has a lot of sets already, there is little sense in adding items similar to the ones she already has once again.

 

Game mods in general, and especially new mods for rather old games, are aimed at the players who already spent some time with the original version of the game and want to try something different. With the newly added items, we try to add to the variety of equipment and possible strategies of its use, so that the players had more choice and could decide if they want to equip a traditional defensive item or to boost their characters' offensive capabilities.

Edited May 29, 2014 by Silver_fox