Opinion: New Pet Skills

[Anon the Felon]

I've made a great many changes in pursuit of my custom server. Including gutting and changing many skills. I've built up a few new pet skills, and I'd like to kind of gauge public interest. Below are the three non-summon based pet skills, which players will most likely build around.

Tamer
Animal Taming/Animal Lore
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This skill is still fairly stock. There's two dozen new tamables, but is otherwise the same. I view this skill as long train, low cost input, low template input, moderate to high power level.

Beastmaster
Beastmery/(Anatomy or Animal Lore)
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A new skill, beastmastery is a discrete skill that allows the player to use various tools to capture young animals and collect unborn eggs. The beastmaster may then hatch/nurse these infant animals for a short while, before training them to maturity. These are based on various pet evo systems. These pets spawn bonded to the beastmaster.

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Beastmasters can use the grooming brush to study their pet, similar to animal lore. They can also use their anatomy skill in place of animal lore when using veterinary bandages, if the beastmaster's anatomy skill is over 50 (and animal lore below). I view this skill as medium train, moderate cost input, moderate template input, moderate power level. You'll need to supplement the pet's damage in some way, but it will act as a sturdy tank. All 12 beastmaster pets are mountable, all have unique animations. Beastmasters have access to all of the most exotic mounts.

Diplomat
Diplomacy
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A standalone skill, diplomats can recruit humanoid pets from taverns. These pets will need to be fully equipped like players, they'll need to be fully trained like players, and can be commanded around the battlefield with a set of advanced commands. This started as the squire system, but has evolved into something a little more complex.

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Once the follower is under your command, you can use your diplomacy skill to review the follower's stats/skills and set options. There are 14 different types of mercenary, ranging from an unskilled neophyte squire, to the powerful exiled Minotaur. I view this skill as a long train, high cost input, high template input, moderate to high power level. While powerful initially because more weapons swinging helps, diplomats are very build dependent in the end game. What skills you are using to support your followers is very important, and managing their equipment can become tedious for those who don't enjoy that part of the game.

Artificer
Artificing/Focus
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A new skill, where all other pet skills require the player to methodically hunt down and find the best possible pet, artificers build the pet. Using a complex crafting system of sub-combines to build a construct, then modifying it with two subsystems, artificers command powerful mechanical creatures.

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Constructs, being built, have no soul and cannot be bonded. Thus death is permanent for these pets. There is a massive resource investment in just building the kit, then you must train the construct like you would any other pet, although constructs start with above average skill and stat values. Finally, artificers have access to six abilities to manipulate the focus points on the constructs cortex. Any construct can hold up to three focus points on them, which can be used to activate buffs and abilities on the construct, passively holding focus points gives the construct a damage and defense bonus. I view this skill as moderate to long train, very high cost input, high template input, moderate to high power level. It is always difficult to restore health to a construct, so artificers will need to expand their healing options. They'll also need to have fallback options should their pet die, since there is no way to run off, res, and come back. A fully trained, fully modified, battle tested construct can easily tank against any boss, but the threat of total loss is ever present.

I'll happily answer any questions. These descriptions are fairly high level, and are missing a great amount of nuance. I'm curious what skills people are interested in, or think they'd like to build a character around.

 

[Anon the Felon]

Bumping this one time to hopefully get a bit more attention.

 

[Finaltwist]

just stumbled on this... i have to say i'm very impressed! I have jako's tame level system now in my server, would love to have a look at these other systems!

Beastmaster seems the most "fun", however artificier would also be fun if the components required are very complex... e.g. to build the ultimate pet. BUT... why does artificier require a skill? You could just implement the crafting at a special station... i hate how everything requires a skill to use. it could just be a crafting system to craft pets that encourages you to go and farm components..