New ability proposal: Borrowed Time

[Zirael_Foxfire]

Hi,
Today I was thinking a bit about ways to un-suck WAR (I know developers are working on it already for 2.1) and came up with an idea for a new ability that could be given either directly to WAR, or to one of healer classes (it would fit with SCH or TimeMage playstyle, I guess)

Ability name: Borrowed Time
Ability duration: 5s
Ability recast: 90s (give or take, up to 300s depending how weak or powerful it would get implemented)
Ability description: When ability is in effect, the character takes no damage. When ability ends, the character will receive all damage inflicted whilst the ability was in effect.


Basically the idea behind this ability is to give tank's healers time to heal up the tank from low HP when the enemy is using a big-hit move and/or put on Stoneskin/Adloquinum shields on.

Two scenarios:
1) Tank is in low HP and Titan is about to use table flip. Borrowed Time is used and healers cure up the tank so he can survive the delayed damage from Table Flip when the ability ends.
2) Titan uses table flip and crits damage taking tank into critically low HP. Borrowed Time is used. Tank is able to survive the following stomps.

I know a simpler resolution would be to just give WAR a clone of Hallowed Ground, but I'd find ability like Borrowed Time more exciting and dramatic both from tank and healer perspective. Also, it fits with how developers envision WAR tanking - 'let healers heal your damage'. To bring it closer to Hallowed Ground you could implement a trait that nullifies (or returns back to enemy) the damage when the ability ends, if tank scored critical hit, parried or evaded attack or something like that when the ability was in effect - although 5 seconds would be a short window to achieve a critical hit or parry/evade at least one attack. Using longer ability duration would cause tank to accumulate too much damage and when ability ends, the tank would get 1-shotted for sure.
Or, to spice things up, you could let players to decide how long they want the ability to be active, (up to 10, 15 or even 30s?) by treating it like a stance. Coming up with ways to deal with 30s worth of Borrowed Time damage would be... interesting (albeit, overpowered if you could Cover->Hallowed Ground all of it)

If anyone remembers D.Gray-man ship arc, you'll be very familiar with the concept of this ability. After coming up with the idea, I've realised where it has stemmed from; even though it's been years since I've seen any of D.Gray-man. One of most dramatic scenes I've experienced. I want experiences like that in FFXIV now!

Edit:
For those that don't like to gamble (and to make this ability much more boring):

Ability name: Borrowed Time II
Ability duration: 5-10s
Ability recast: 180s (give or take, up to 300s depending how weak or powerful it would get implemented)
Ability description: When ability is in effect, your HP does not change. When ability ends, you will receive net value of all healing and all damage applied whilst the ability was in effect.


You could make it so that when the ability is in effect, your HP does not fall and any damage you suffer becomes your 'debt'. Healers casting cures on you take out from that 'debt'. And any 'debt' that was not cured before ability ends, is applied to you as damage when ability ends.

This way you would not get one-shotted by all the accumulated damage 'debt' if healers manage to clear (and shield with Stoneskin/Adloquinum) it in time. A Borrowed Time, indeed.

[ZDamned]

Secret Scenario 3!
Cadecus is at 4 Stacks, warrior is at 2000 HP, Healer is getting unlucky with crits, and no able to bring it up easily.
Warrior uses Borrowed time, Cadecus hits warrior 3 times for upwards of 9999 Damage. Warrior is healed to full, and then subsequently dies to an over hit, which hallowed Ground would have completely mitigated.

[Remn]

that sound tricky.., depend on timing it might help survive or one shot tank after it ware off. Imagin if u low HP and have to use it right b4 flip, then titan follow up with stump when it ware off you will take all the damage in one go. (if the damage u absord is exceed ur Max Hp, it the tank will get 1 shotted ><)

[Zirael_Foxfire]

that sound tricky.., depend on timing it might help survive or one shot tank after it ware off. Imagin if u low HP and have to use it right b4 flip, then titan follow up with stump when it ware off you will take all the damage in one go. (if the damage u absord is exceed ur Max Hp, it the tank will get 1 shotted ><)

Shielding a tank that is about to take borrowed damage:

WAR HP: 7000-8000
Stoneskin: 18% (1260-1440)
Adloquinum shield: 700-800 (or crit 2100-2400)
--------
total: 8960-10240 (with critted Adlo: 10360-11840)

add on top of that Mega-potion of Vitality for something like +725HP.

And then Covalescence, Thrill of Battle, Foresight, Mantra for even greater shield potency.


My proposal is not for weak of heart. You'd (and your healers) have to give a lot of thought into making the best use out of it and emerging alive. I know quite few 'oh sheep!' moments when I'd like yo use it (titan's flip->stomps would be one of them, for example)

[Zirael_Foxfire]

Secret Scenario 3!
Cadecus is at 4 Stacks, warrior is at 2000 HP, Healer is getting unlucky with crits, and no able to bring it up easily.
Warrior uses Borrowed time, Cadecus hits warrior 3 times for upwards of 9999 Damage. Warrior is healed to full, and then subsequently dies to an over hit, which hallowed Ground would have completely mitigated.

If SE gave WAR Hallowed Ground, even better, but... I doubt it, because 'we're just playing it wrong'. I'd take Hallowed Ground any time, don't get me wrong, but I don't see it coming WAR way.

[Alaltus]

How about if the damage returned back at the tank after the damaged absorbed was added on top of the enemies attacks in small pieces rather than all in one go. Like you use borrowed time -> you take 9000 damage -> borrowed time reverses -> Each successive hit taken has an additional 900 damage applied to each hit over 10 hits or 450 over 20 hits. Something along those lines.

[Zirael_Foxfire]

How about if the damage returned back at the tank after the damaged absorbed was added on top of the enemies attacks in small pieces rather than all in one go. Like you use borrowed time -> you take 9000 damage -> borrowed time reverses -> Each successive hit taken has an additional 900 damage applied to each hit over 10 hits or 450 over 20 hits. Something along those lines.

Nice idea, but probably it would be applied to you as damage over time (let's say damage gets split into 10 ticks over 30 seconds etc). Absorb a big hit and then split it into few ticks of damage that is more manageable for healers to deal with.

[Kitru]

Nice idea, but probably it would be applied to you as damage over time (let's say damage gets split into 10 ticks over 30 seconds etc). Absorb a big hit and then split it into few ticks of damage that is more manageable for healers to deal with.

That would actually make it useful. Rather than turning smooth incoming damage into an even *bigger* spike that's even *more* likely to kill the tank than the previous one, having it convert into a DoT at the end of the effect (have it last 20 seconds) would actually make the CD useful: the damage all still has to be healed, you're just smoothing it out so that it's easier to heal. If it all arrived at once, it would be a functionally worthless CD because it would kill you more often than it actually keeps you alive.

[zdub303]

All at once would make this ability kinda meh. (you would almost always die right after it falls off)

To make it a little more viable and on the level of HG. Make it more like (70% of damage received during Borrowed Time is dealt over 20s after Borrowed Time expires) and then make the CD something like 240s so to balance vs HG's 480s(?) CD.

[dosu24]

Only real way to make warriors better and stick with their concept on how warriors should tank is just increase the amount of HP gained per VIT. We are taking huge amounts of damage a 20% increase with our buff just doesnt cut it. We should be running around with 10K+ HP in full DL if we have no mitigation on dmg we take. And also give us another stun/interrupt spell.