Greetings!
In our today's devlog we will talk about the enemies – who they are, what are their features and what in general you can get sick of. An important topic, in the end, that represents the main peril.
To begin with, all mobs are divided into many factions. Along with having different attitude for player (from hostility to armed neutrality), the factions relate differently to each other. For example, mercenaries of the Grand Magistrate prefer not to get involved in conflicts without orders - therefore they are neutral both to the player and to many other parties to the conflict. But the Faithful, the faction of the living dead, do not like to compromise, and therefore are in a state of permanent war with all the rest (aggressive guys, don’t like handshakes and hugs).
Character level cap in Stoneshard is 30, so all objects and enemies in the game are also divided into three tiers – 1-10, 11-20 and 21-30. Instead of scaling existing enemies to the level of location and character, we decided to go the other way. As a result, almost all the fractions in the game are divided into three sub-fractions, found in locations of different level intervals.
Here you can see why they don't get along well with other folks.
If you take Faithful as an example, then in the crypts and ruins of 1-10 levels you will meet the skeletons of the Fallen, undead army, resurrected after the Last King returned. They are still dangerous, but their gear is rusty, and they themselves are too dependent on the forbidden magic that supports them (biology, you know, even bones can decompose). In the locations of 11-20 levels, your main opponents will be the subfraction of the Undead – zombies filled from recently killed soldiers. Unlike skeletons, they have partially retained their free will and remember how to wield a sword well enough to spoil your game experience. In the endgame, the Faithful will also be represented by Vampire Houses, the ancient families of nobles who perfectly master the Blood Magic. Each sub-fraction has its own gameplay features: for example, the Fallen can be weakened by destruction of bone sanctuaries or commanding necromancers, and Vampires feel blood and become stronger with your injuries.
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It is worth mentioning about the peculiarities of the monsters themselves. All beings in Stoneshard use the concept of "matter", in other words, the substances from which they are made. Each matter has a set of special properties. For example, the Fallen are skeletons, so their matter is surprisingly bones. Bones possess increased resistance to piercing and slashing damage, but they are easily crumbled by blunt weapons. In addition, after the Fallen dies again, his bones fall down with a loud crash, and this generates a certain amount of noise that can attract the other mobs to you. Such features are in every matter: for example, opponents consisting of ooze spoil the weapons used against them, and don’t you dare to touch this stuff, the only thing you want to see this acid on, is your enemy armor, not yours.
Kill it before it dublicates! ...Triplicates! ...Quadriplicates!
Naturally, almost every mob has its own set of skills and spells. Slimes, for example, explode at low health, covering a small area with ooooze. Also they are able to multiply when you don’t want them to. Do not have time to look back, or you can see magic: two slimes instead of one! At the moment, we have started to implement the conceived abilities, so wait for more interesting information in the near future.
The number of features, the realization of which our team is just starting, we can recall the number of parts of the body, the susceptibility to pain, the size and interaction with the doors - everything will somehow affect the gameplay. We will tell you all about this next time when we will have something to show.
Stay online!
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