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.