Pipe Dreams: Rune Fencer

Been a while, hasn't it?

Given the developments in this latest patch (AKA sword enchanting in Seat of Sacrifice) and some discussions I've seen elsewhere, I decided to finish a design I've been working on since late 2019. I'm still not confident in its cohesion (I'm not kidding when I say this design has been a struggle to put together), but that's what peer review is for. So here it is,

FFXIV: Rune Fencer

Feedback and suggestions, as always, are welcome.

I'm not a fan of the super minor buffs here and can't yet visualize the gameplay loop that well, but so far the aesthetic seems great (especially in terms of naming sense).

Largely just typing this now so I can remember/see to come back to it later when I've more time so I can give detailed feedback. I regret that I don't have that time at present.

I'd be for this for a new melee job, with one caveat:
'Rune Fencer' going by it's XI version, has already been partially absorbed by RDM, plus, we don't really need another sword user.
I'd much rather this, in more or less the same form, came in as 'Rune Knight' and wielded a one-handed hammer and/or mace.

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Originally Posted by Seraphor

'Rune Fencer' going by it's XI version, has already been partially absorbed by RDM

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The only thing RDM got from XI's Rune Fencer is Embolden, so the rest of the kit is still up for grabs, in a matter of speaking.

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I'd much rather this, in more or less the same form, came in as 'Rune Knight' and wielded a one-handed hammer and/or mace.

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This is a fair sentiment, but I'm not a fan of incongruity. To illustrate this, I'm not a fan of Gunbreaker for the sole reason that it decided to make up something because the goal was "lul letz turn people into Squall from FFVIII--what's that, FFXIV already has gunblades? Never heard of them. Gaius Van Baelsar? Never heard of him". By this same logic, I could have picked a different weapon, but Phlegethon would continue to be there, woriah obu raito would still enchant his sword, and people would be scratching their heads over why they were given a different weapon. I mean, it's doable (a hammer that opens up when enchanted with runes would be really cool; sort of like the Boom Hammer or Tonitrus from Bloodborne), but I would personally find it slightly grating in a meta sense.

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Originally Posted by Duelle

The only thing RDM got from XI's Rune Fencer is Embolden.

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Huh... I swear the last time I looks up Rune Fencer abilities it had things like Fleche and Corps a corps. Now I'm scratching my head to think what it was I was looking at.

Either way, a Hammer for this would only be incongruous with other games, not itself, as it wouldn't need to make any allusions to the WoL fight. (in fact I'd argue it shouldn't)
It could bring with it an entirely different aesthetic and set of runes to XI's Rune Fencer.

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Originally Posted by Seraphor

Huh... I swear the last time I looks up Rune Fencer abilities it had things like Fleche and Corps a corps.

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Maybe Swipe and Lunge? Anyway, RUN in FFXI is closer to DRK in FFXIV from HW with various parry/evasion/magic defense buffs.

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Originally Posted by Seraphor

Either way, a Hammer for this would only be incongruous with other games, not itself, as it wouldn't need to make any allusions to the WoL fight. (in fact I'd argue it shouldn't)
It could bring with it an entirely different aesthetic and set of runes to XI's Rune Fencer.

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I can see aesthetic changes working (RUN with a hammer would probably justify having as much armor as a DRG, which keeps it in line with Maiming gear). The runes aren't a problem to carry over since they're just latin names for the elements (though if push comes to shove we can go from latin to proto germanic-ish names). Changing their nature wouldn't be a good idea since they represent elemental weapon enchants.

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Originally Posted by Shurrikhan

I'm not a fan of the super minor buffs here and can't yet visualize the gameplay loop that well, but so far the aesthetic seems great (especially in terms of naming sense).

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Hmm...well, stat buff potencies can be increased if needed. I know that increases to stats can get messy, which is why I figured a small number would be a good place to start.

I also have been thinking of changing rune stat bonuses into lingering effects (activate a rune => gain stat bonus for 35s regardless of where you started leveling the rune or not), which in theory would add the goal of keeping rune stat buffs active to deal the job's intended DPS. This would require me removing the bonuses from the Futhark Sigil (so no more attack speed increase) and changing the bonuses from Havoc Runes, which may be for the best.

As is, the gameplay loop is: activate a rune => use weaponskills to level the rune to lv4 => spend rune => rune you spent goes on a 20s cooldown => pick a different rune => use weaponskills to level it, and so on. At lv52 you have the Futhark Sigil, which forces you to rotate runes to get the full sigil. So after lv52 you add: spend storm runes to get a full Futhark Sigil => activate a havoc rune => before the effect wears off, consume it via Ancient Quake/Freeze/Flare => activate the rune that corresponds to the spender you just used.

I will be the first to admit this design takes inspiration from other systems currently in the game, making this RUN a melee BRD (rotates runes instead of songs) with a touch of the Heavensward Blood of the Dragon mechanic (since you used to extend BoTD but were eventually forced to use Geirskogul right before it wore off because effect extensions had diminishing returns).

Whip Sword. Seven is the Rune Fencer from FF type-zero and her weapon is a segmented sword (like Ivy from Soul calibur) that she uses with Elemental lash type attacks and pretty much nails the aesthetic you're going for while also being a unique addition among FFXIV's current weapons. There'll also going to be an explosion of Quistis glams and other things.

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Originally Posted by Atmaweapon510

Whip Sword. Seven is the Rune Fencer from FF type-zero and her weapon is a segmented sword (like Ivy from Soul calibur) that she uses with Elemental lash type attacks and pretty much nails the aesthetic you're going for while also being a unique addition among FFXIV's current weapons. There'll also going to be an explosion of Quistis glams and other things.

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I never played Type-0, so I had no idea that was a thing. I'll keep it in mind as I start doing revisions.

Speaking of which, some changes to the writeup:

Storm Runes: Stat increases buffed to 8% (so Unda increases direct hit by 8%, Flabra increases determination by 8%, Sulpor increases crit by 8%). Changed to effects to "runic attunements" that are independent of the runes themselves with a 40s duration (so if you pop Unda, you get a separate buff for 40s that indicates the 8% increase to direct hit). Subsequent runes activated extend the duration by 5s. In a perfect rotation, a 40s duration gives the player a two-GCD window to reuse a rune to fully refresh the duration, but the additional extensions give a bit of extra time in case you get screwed by mechanics or the boss becoming untargetable.

Havoc Runes: Stat boosts have been changed to be one stat boosted per element. Activating a Havoc Rune also freezes the duration of runic attunements. May end up just removing the stat boosts from Havoc Runes, but am still thinking about it.

One For All: Same purpose, different mechanic. OFA will activate all three Storm Runes at the same time as level 1 runes. Weaponskills used will level all three runes at the same time but gain their benefits at a decreased potency. Instead of weaponskills getting +60 potency from a single rune, they get +40 per active rune while under the effect of OFA (total of +120 potency). The corresponding rune stat increases are not penalized in potency or duration. Spenders register as consuming all 3 runes at the same time (so Runic Strike would deal 400 potency water damage + 400 potency wind damage + 400 potency lightning damage). OFA's cooldown is also reduced to 120s.

Man you put a lot of work into this! The reason i felt RDM was so well done in 14 was because it left a caveat for a Mystic Knight/Rune Fencer to be thematically possible. Besides specifics like potency, i do believe the maiming gear could be shared since no melee share with DRG. That being said, it could technically go with the magic dps classes as well, sort of being the oppositte of RDM gameplay where you'd step out of combat to enhance your weapons, but stay front line mostly.. Cool stuff

I haven't added this to the write up, but I wanted to conceptualize some stuff on the whipblade Atmaweapon510 mentioned (this is totally not an excuse to bump the thread >.>).

DPS combo
01 Underhew => Swift Cut (animation is two horizontal cuts done without extending the blade)
06 Crescent Moon => Double Flail (extend the whipblade and lash the enemy twice)
26 Dimidiation (overhead attack with the whipblade extended, giving the impression that the player is cleaving the target in half from the head down)

Debuff combo
40 Rayke (rising cut with the whipblade extended)
58 Torcleaver => Coiling Blade (extend the whipblade and encircle the target with it, then pull the blade back and make it contract)

AoE combo
18 Moonfall Slash => Whirlwhip - Delivers an attack with a potency of 90 to all enemies nearby. (extend the whipblade and perform several circular lashes around you)
54 Abyssal Slash => Hundred Cuts - Delivers an attack with a potency of 100 to all enemies nearby. Combo action: Whirlwhip (Thrust the whipblade into the ground, causing the segments of the blade to fly up from the ground, striking all enemies in the area of effect)

Other
15 Sunder => Sting - Delivers an attack with a potency of 150. Categorized as a weaponskill but does not increase rune level. 15y range. (this is a whip version of Jonathan Joestar's Zoom Punch or Star Platinum's Star Finger)
56 Flunge => Snakebite - Rushes target and delivers an attack with a potency of 120. Cannot be used while bound. (this is animated similarly to Samus' Grapple Beam, or a reverse Scorpion's Get Over Here)
04 Runic Strike => Runic Lash (extend the whipblade, its innards glowing with elemental energy, then strike the target; blade instantly contracts as soon as it makes contact)
35 Runic Wave (single cut in air without extending the blade, releasing a wave of energy at target)
60 Runic Burst (extend the blade to reveal the inside of the blade glowing with energy, then thrust it into the ground, releasing the energy to enemies around you)

....yeah, I think this can work. Will have a hard time calling it a fencer, but it can work.

PS: I also made some edits to the writeup. Mostly nerfing some things that seemed to have too high potencies and tweaked Apportion.