we have curses and auras... why not something else?

that something else is "field".
a field is a toggle-able projection (like an aura) that effects MONSTERS instead of PLAYERS. similar to curses, a field would debuff a monster. fields, like auras, would also require a certain amount of reserve.

the following are a few ideas;
blank field;
a curse gem connected this support will be turned into a field.

speed field;
reduces enememy movement (this inculdes block, dodge, attack speed, movement speed, health recovery speed, and mana regeneration)

lightning field;
every ten seconds an enemy within the field will suffer a lightning strike. lightning strike chains up to ten times. each chain reduces the damage dealt by half.

magma field;
lower movement speed and burn all enemies within the field.

tundra field;
lower attack speed and damage enemies within the field over time

battlefield of the ranger;
ranged attacks never miss, as long as the targeted enemy is within the field. using the skill again increases the cost and range of the field by 25%. the skill can be used up to five times before being turned off (to a range increase of up to 100%)
(in the event of insufficient mana the skill is automatically turned off)

battlefield of the witch;
elemental projectile maan cost and damage from spells is increased by 100% as long as the targeted enemy is within the field. using the skill again increases the cost and range of the field by 25%. the skill can be used up to five times before being turned off (to a range increase of up to 100%)
(in the event of insufficient mana the skill is automatically turned off)

battlefield of the berserker;
all attacks from allies gain +5% life leech, +100% attack speed, +5% HP regeneration, +5% mana leech. defense, dodge, and block rate are reduced to 0.

infinite manipulation space;
all enemies within the field cannot move. the user cannot move and loses 1% HP per second. while the user is immobile all HP recovery ceases (including flasks and life leech)
(enemies, if in range, can still attack the user.)

We have that.

Spell Totem + Curse. You'd have to protect the totem, though if the totem dies, the curse remains up for the duration so that might be enough anyway.

But the result is a debuff that affects anything that gets in range.

"

Dakarian wrote:

We have that.

Spell Totem + Curse. You'd have to protect the totem, though if the totem dies, the curse remains up for the duration so that might be enough anyway.

But the result is a debuff that affects anything that gets in range.

... and say someone doesnt want to use a spell totem? say someone CANT use a spell totem?
thats where fields would come in. fields would be the same range as an aura, but due to their short range they would predominantly help melee characters rather than ranged characters. (the exception to this being "battlefields", which help a specific class)

"

Mark_GGG wrote:

Auras that effect enemies are still auras - there are several in the game already, they just aren't currently player skills. I have no idea whether enemy-affecting auras will be available to players in future.

dat reduce movement speed aura. :O

"

Dawntehkat wrote:

"

Dakarian wrote:

We have that.

Spell Totem + Curse. You'd have to protect the totem, though if the totem dies, the curse remains up for the duration so that might be enough anyway.

But the result is a debuff that affects anything that gets in range.

... and say someone doesnt want to use a spell totem? say someone CANT use a spell totem?
thats where fields would come in. fields would be the same range as an aura, but due to their short range they would predominantly help melee characters rather than ranged characters. (the exception to this being "battlefields", which help a specific class)

So basically you want a Strength version of a Spell Totem/curse combo.


OOOOOOHHHH

Ok, I can stand behind that, especially with the systems you're setting up. Now I can nitpick over the examples you give, but that would be a strawman since I imagine those are more 'proof of concept'.

As Mark said, btw, they ARE just auras in the end, so they don't really need to be renamed as we can just make enemy debuff auras (including that blank one). I am curious as to whether the devs are interested in the idea: I imagine GETTING it from 'interested' to 'created' won't be for a long while, but would that be something to put into the 'queue'?

edit

Fields:

You cast on the ground. A temporary area of effect is place at that location. Any monsters moving in it are affected. Monsters that move out of it are no longer affected. Basically poison arrows fields being shot without the debuff monsters retain after leaving the area.

I don't think the idea is worthwhile however, as it's not like monsters are smart enough to move around a field that's already placed. The fields would have to be considerably small to make it more of a tactical placement than cast once to have all monsters affected for that pack.

Why make it something else?

i want to run reflect auras!

There could be things similar to Traps, but with a bigger radius and more magical in nature, called Symbols that you can conjure on the ground.

Round, Glowing and Circular in Form (Not all are Circular though but most of them), and Persistent for quite a long duration before they disappear.

Malign Symbols
Enemies stepping on the Symbol would be affected and there is an assortment of different symbols.

Symbol of Fire.
Does Fire Damage on Initial Impact and then Fire Dmg / sec and Causes Burn on those Enemies that walk and pass through this Symbol.

Symbol of Ice.
Does Cold Damage on Initial Impact and then Cold Dmg / sec and Slows down the enemies walking on this Symbol.

Symbol of Shock.
Does Lightning Damage on Initial Impact and then per sec and Shocks enemies that pass through it.

Symbol of the Warp
Enemies on or passing through this Symbol are warped away (disappears) for a short duration, but will return at the same location they disappeared as the Symbol disappears.

Symbol of Repulsion.
Smaller Radius and Duration than the Damage-Symbols.
Enemies cannot walk through this Symbol as it acts like a Barrier until it disappears.

Symbol of Fear.
Enemies standing on or passing through the Symbol will run away randomly for a short duration.
Undeads are immune.

Symbol of Slow
Enemies walking on it move much much slower, similar to Tar from Tar Zombies.

Benign Symbols
Allies standing on them are affected, generally bigger radius than the Symbols used for Enemies.

Symbol of Strength.
Allies standing on the Symbol does extra Physical Damage and get +20 Strength (and all boni accompanying 20 Str)

Symbol of Health
Adds 1 % Life Regen / Sec and adds +100 Max Life to all Allies standing on the Symbol.

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How different symbols could look like on the ground

nice ideas. I support