Living Dead change idea

[Zairava]

I don't need to go into detail on how horrible living dead is and why, I'd hope. Lets get straight to it

Upon reading a bunch of different ideas on how Living Dead may be changed, we have a big, open blank notebook of endless possibilities if we want to make it unique to DRK, and after thinking and editing a fair bit, I think this is how I would change it.

Living Dead:

- Grants the effect of Living Dead. When HP is reduced to 0, instead of being KO'd this puts you under the status of Walking Dead and grants the effect of Soulripper

duration:10s

Walking Dead: Your HP cannot go below 1, and you are shielded for 50% of your maximum HP.

duration:8s

Soulripper: Enshrouded in darkness, you make a last stand and go berserk, ripping life force out from your foes. HP is restored with every attack successfully delivered.
Cure Potency: 400

Duration: 8s

This removes the death penalty and has some safeguard to prevent dying after the expiration. Although this may be on par with Warrior with holmgang due to the outrageously high sustain WAR has even outside of its invuln. The 8s duration prevents it from being arguably better than Hallowed Ground by a mile and then some, and could be made 6s for balance if need be

[The_User]

Ummm, It might need more shield to withstand a double tank buster and some super hard tank buster. Also if you got inflicted by a dot or vulnerable debuff too your shield would get shred much faster.

[Zairava]

Ummm, It might need more shield to withstand a double tank buster and some super hard tank buster. Also if there are dot or vulnerable debuff a shield would get shed much faster.

That's the purpose of not being able to reduced to 0 HP with walking dead, I was thinking of multiple methods of having better sustain through out, such as single target attacks being bumped up to 1.2k cure potency and aoe 200 cure potency, but I'm not sure if they would implement something like that.

I was also originally thinking of 75% shield, but by that point its almost just Hallowed ground with sustain, given that in 8s in raids the shield wouldn't likely pop anyway unless the TB is multi-hit.

in dungeons obviously the story is different, since the big pulls of mobs would likely eat through it, which is what the sustain is meant to negate, being reduced back down to none after the shield pops or the duration ends

[The_User]

Why not make it restore your hp when the effect expire instead?

[Zairava]

Why not make it restore your hp when the effect expire instead?

I honestly like that idea, and even considered it, but I wanted something more passively interactful with your kit to help it feel cooler and satisfying when used

[The_User]

The Hp restored from your attacks might be wasted by the incoming attack during the walking dead you know. Since it isn't a true invul mean you still taking damage.

[Zairava]

The Hp restored from your attacks could be wasted by the incoming attack during the walking dead you know. Since it isn't a true invul mean you still taking damage.

It would only be a waste from multi-hit TB's. Which is why i would much rather have what i called Soulripper be a replacement for current delirium (on a cooldown of course, 60s maybe), and put the old delirium animation somewhere in the main combo or as another combo ender somehow (or preferably Scourge) because then, yes, the healing brought by Soulripper under Walking Dead wouldnt be immediately rinsed away by multi-hit tank busters

[Lyth]

What you've described is a weaker version of Holmgang. Stay at 1 HP for 6-7 seconds, and then let your healers burst heal you after. The self-healing is going to tend to be superfluous in many cases because you're not mitigating anything if you're not at 1 HP. The same is true for the shield.

If you wanted to go for the 'fight for your life' route, then an alternative approach could be this:

Living Dead: Prevents most attacks from reducing your HP below 1. If you prevent damage this way, this effect is replaced with Walking Dead.
Walking Dead: Renders you impervious to healing spells and most attacks. HP is restored with every attack delivered. Cure potency: X

A variation could be the following:

Living Dead: Prevents most attacks from reducing your HP below 1. If you prevent damage this way, this effect is replaced with Walking Dead.
Walking Dead: Renders you impervious to healing spells and most attacks. Incoming damage is converted into healing. Cure potency: X (Dread Spikes)

The downside to these types of approaches is that you could still be caught out if your invuln extends into a downtime period such as a phase transition or intermission. Another approach that hasn't been explored is to lock the player in to a particular HP total when using their invuln. For example:

Wraithform: Renders you impervious to healing spells and most attacks. Duration: 10 seconds.

or

Bitter Memory: Prevents most attacks from reducing your HP below 1. When the effect expires, your HP total reverts back to the value that it originally was at the point when you activated the ability.

[Zairava]

What you've described is a weaker version of Holmgang. Stay at 1 HP for 6-7 seconds, and then let your healers burst heal you after. The self-healing is going to tend to be superfluous in many cases because you're not mitigating anything if you're not at 1 HP. The same is true for the shield.

If you wanted to go for the 'fight for your life' route, then an alternative approach could be this:

Living Dead: Prevents most attacks from reducing your HP below 1. If you prevent damage this way, this effect is replaced with Walking Dead.
Walking Dead: Renders you impervious to healing spells and most attacks. HP is restored with every attack delivered. Cure potency: X

A variation could be the following:

Living Dead: Prevents most attacks from reducing your HP below 1. If you prevent damage this way, this effect is replaced with Walking Dead.
Walking Dead: Renders you impervious to healing spells and most attacks. Incoming damage is converted into healing. Cure potency: X (Dread Spikes)

The downside to these types of approaches is that you could still be caught out if your invuln extends into a downtime period such as a phase transition or intermission. Another approach that hasn't been explored is to lock the player in to a particular HP total when using their invuln. For example:

Wraithform: Renders you impervious to healing spells and most attacks. Duration: 10 seconds.

or

Bitter Memory: Prevents most attacks from reducing your HP below 1. When the effect expires, your HP total reverts back to the value that it originally was at the point when you activated the ability.

Pretty much all of what you said is a better version of what I'd want, so you hit the nail on the head. I was reading some posts about it but I didn't just want to copy the idea.

anyway, while I like all the ideas Bitter Memory is the least interesting, and I like the first or second variation listed the most, because fight for your life is something at least I personally enjoy. but I would still accept Wraithform, the only downside to it I could see is if you're at low hp in a dungeon and you immediately die after it expires, but you could just use TBN for that.

Out of curiosity, how would you like to see Living Dead changed?

[Terhix]

I mentioned it in another thread, but I think it's time we start to ask for Living Dead to just not have the kill mechanic at all, they could remove it today and it would be fine as a better Holmgang with a longer CD. Same as Holmgang you still need to be healed regardless since you won't live with 1 HP for long either way. The idea is cool on paper, but in practice is just doesn't work.

Trying to preserve the flavor, when the flavor is dying after pressing a button that's supposed to save you, is never going to work - it will either be so trivial to get around it might as well not be there, or it will still feel bad and be antifun.