Unique 2 handed Sword: Masamune

Had you considered giving an Onslaught buff as a reward for hitting a single target?
This would mean that you'd move and attack faster if you can keep chaining single-hits flawlessly.

Desync isn't much of an issue now that Lockstep mode is being released.

Onslaught goes against what this item is about. It implies recklessness, whereas the item is supposed to be elegant in the way it's used.

I was thinking more along the lines of fluency.
You can be quick but only if you are graceful, so to speak.

There's a weapon named "Unlabored Flawlessness" in Ninja Gaiden. The weapon is unimportant but the name does emphasize the mentality of not just being perfect, but being fluent.

There's also a nice bit in the Vagabond manga (which is also probably in the novel it was adapted from), where Miyamoto Musashi considers fleeing the Yoshioka, an entire school of swordsmen he had incensed by killing their master in a duel.

He considers the absurdity of having to fight all of them at once, because they're out for blood. Of course, it might just be possible if he could fight each of the 1v1 seventy times, rather than being overwhelmed all at once.

He sees an otter that had slipped and drowned into the stream during the winter night and he has a moment of inspiration where he thinks that he shouldn't remain fixated on any single "duel" but to keep his concentration and focus shifting and moving from fight-to-fight without remaining fixed to any single one. Using the otter and the stream as a metaphor that he can risk "drowning" inside the flow of the fight.

It is in this manner that he ambushes the Yoshioka and defeats them all.

I think the theming is appropriate myself. You don't really get the buff unless you can keep the chaining going and it helps smooth out all the kiting you have to do to make the playstyle work.

I don't like the name. I feel it's essentially a Square trademark (at least as far as gaming goes), and tapping into that nostalgia would be a low blow. It's not an original concept, it's cloning.

This game deserves to stand on its own, rather than have Sephiroth references forced in. Perhaps a sword like his, but not also with the same name. Totally different cultures at play here.

No comments on the rest.

You make a good point.

The item wears its inspiration on its sleeve enough that to copy the name is taking it too far.

But, if it were not to have this name, what name would it have?

Food for thought.

The Tide.
The River.
The Reservoir.
The Flood.
Calm Before the Storm.

These are some possible names. They relate to water, given the sword's nature to move between functions, to build up and release.

It could also have a name relating to music, though that is more cliche.

The Symphony.
Crescendo.
Melody.
Rhythm.

Or maybe a combination:

Rhythm of the Rain.

"

ScrotieMcB wrote:

I don't like the name. I feel it's essentially a Square trademark (at least as far as gaming goes), and tapping into that nostalgia would be a low blow. It's not an original concept, it's cloning.

This game deserves to stand on its own, rather than have Sephiroth references forced in. Perhaps a sword like his, but not also with the same name. Totally different cultures at play here.

No comments on the rest.

Squaresoft also stole the Name Masamune so why is there a problem naming it Masamune too? Just change the inspiration from Chrono Trigger to that swordsmith.

This game has Zombies, stolen from whatever game,
it has ghostly pirates, stolen from other games,
it has rangers, clearly stolen from Diablo II act 1,
it has mana, ZOMFG that must be stolen too.

There is a difference of just copying and inspiring.

I would like to see something like:

Gain soul eater for 3 seconds upon killing an enemy
Deal no area damage
+15% increased movement speed

So you start killing enemies one by one, each one refreshes the soul eater and makes you faster and stronger.

Would be a really fun concept imo, maybe hard to balance but fun.

For an alternate name/flavor text I'd suggest:

True Religion
One burning purpose
On wings of dark righteousness
Angels can't stop me

"True Religion" is derived from the Japanese characters for masamune (正宗), but in Japanese one of those characters is a male name, the other used mostly in words which are cognates for Chinese words dealing with religion... so I used a Chinese interpretation of the same characters, thus "True Religion." It may be appropriate to further translate True Religion into Maraketh, Karui or another Wraeclast-specific language.