SoT gameplay is hella stale and getting staler by the day both PvE and PvP, we need new tools to revitalise the game and make each encounter unique instead of using just the same 4 weapons over and over again. So here's some concepts for Ya.
I think if these were to be added, in order to aid with balance (as I'm sure there are probably some nasty combos between either two Melee or two Ranged in here), You would be locked to 1 Melee and 1 Ranged Weapon. The Reason this does not exist in the current version of the game is because there is only 4 weapons, only 1 of which is Melee, meaning everyone would have a Cutlass and it would be quite boring. I have created 6 new weapons, 4 Melee and 2 Ranged, bring the total to 10, with 5 of each type. This would mean you would have plenty of variations, weapon combinations, teamwork opportunities, etc to experiment with and fight other opponents with. It is worth noting that two of my weapons sort of act as a 'mixed' Weapon, where a Melee weapon has a ranged option, and a ranged option has a melee option. This means a ''doublegun'' playstyle can still exist in a certain way, and if you wanted two melee, you could have that to an extent as well. Please keep this in mind reading these suggestions, I have not factored in double gunning to the balance, as that would make it pretty brutal.
Melee Weapons
- Knives -
Dual wielding Small Knives (think like a Kunai or something) you can run while attacking instead of being limited to walk speed. It deals 15 damage per hit with an uncapped combo. This attack also does not stun the enemy like a Cutlass, meaning both of you and the enemy are free to run around. This would be a 7 hit kill so you'd need to be quite good at tracking enemy movement to stay within attacking range and get the kill. The first Knife hit can be blocked by a Cutlass, every one after that cannot. This gives a Cutlass user a chance to block the initial hit and hop away instead of immediately being barraged by the Knives. Holding right click will prepare a throw, releasing right click will throw it a short distance dealing 25 damage (similar projectile speed/arch to a Blunderbomb). You have 6 Knives and will need to reload at the Ammo Box to restore them, If you throw all 6 you wont be able to use it as a Melee until you reload, If you throw 5 then you only have one Knife, meaning your attack speed is cut in half and it can now be blocked by a Cutlass. Use your last 2 Knives sparingly and as a last resort.
- Rapier -
A Rapier is less about slicing and more about stabbing, A normal left click only deals 20 damage making it a 5 hit kill instead of a 4hit kill like a Cutlass. It has a parry riposte playstyle against other Rapiers, instead of holding a block button, you need to press your block as the attack lands in order to block, and then you can left click to perform a counter attack dealing 40 damage and knocking the enemy backwards. A Rapier is unable to block against a Cutlass or a Heavy Sword. Holding left click will perform a thrusting attack, similar to a sword lunge, dealing 60 damage and stunning the enemy. This would mean you can either get 2 normal hits and a Thrust, A Riposte and a Thrust, or 5 normal hits to kill.
- Heavy Sword -
The Heavy Sword is a slow weapon that attacks in a horizontal chopping motion. The left click deals 45 damage, has a relatively long activation and will knock the enemy sideways in accordance to the direction they are hit. Attacking in quick succession will now do a chopping swing in the other direction. (Think like Reinhardts attack from Overwatch). Holding left click will deliver an overhead strike dealing 70 damage knocking them backwards. This attack animation takes a while before the hurtbox appears, meaning it is highly telegraphed giving an opponent a chance to dodge it. While priming the attack you can only turn a small amount (like a Cutlass Lunge) so its harder to track an enemies movement and needs to be used more carefully. A Heavy Sword has a block that works differently against all other Sword types. Blocking against another heavy sword will knock the blocking player backwards, blocking against a Cutlass will stun the cutlass player (think like how you get stunned when you Cutlass a gold skeleton), blocking against a rapier will do nothing, it'll be as if their attack didn't collide with an enemy because the Rapier is too weak to impact the Heavy Sword in a meaningful way.
- Axe -
Heavy and Slow again, this time more focused on AoE. The left click is a single big diagonal swing like a Cutlass, dealing 50 damage that takes time to prime giving an enemy a chance to dodge the telegraphed attack. When swinging an Axe, your screen will be rotated slightly in the direction the attack moves (As if you were following through with your swing) slightly disorienting the Axe player. This swing is very dangerous as it can hit multiple players if they are in range of the swing. Holding Left click will prime an Axe Run, this has you drag your axe scraping the floor behind you as you run forwards, slower than running speed but faster than walking speed. While in this Run your turning is very limited (Billy from Dead by Daylight [no Boots]) and has a maximum running time of 5 seconds (as indicated by your fingers slowly slipping off your handle until all 5 fingers are off, ending your run). If you land your attack on a player you will swing the axe in an uppercut motion, almost like a golf swing which will deal 80 damage, launch your enemy backwards and upwards, and tilt the Axe player's camera very high up. If you collide into a wall, you will get knocked slightly backwards and stunned. The Axe does not have a block, instead holding Right click will have you do an overhead slam down (Reinhardt's Earth Shatter) which delivers AoE Damage (50-10 depending on distance) within a short radius, knocking enemies backwards and stunning them (again, duration of stun/distance of knockback depending on distance).
Ranged Weapons
- Eye of Reach Nerf -
Pretty simple, Eye of Reach now does 45 damage at close range, this means that it is more effective at longer ranges and is not strictly a superior Pistol. Pistol dealing 55 damage needs only 2 Cutlass hits or 1 Axe hit to kill, but an EoR close range would need 3 Cutlass hits, and would live on 5hp from an Axe hit. Pistol having faster reload and Hipfire would mean Pistol would be indirectly buffed into a more viable jack of all trades, and keep Eye of Reach a strong ranged weapon that still has functionality in close range (unlike something later on). The hitmarker displayed on screen will only have two horizontal lines like ''- -'' (instead of the normal 4 lines in an ''x'' shape) when you a 45 damage shot, and a full powered 70 damage shot would create a regular hitmarker, except with horizontal and verticle lines, creating a ''- ,' -'' instead of an ''x''. This will allow the Eye of Reach player to know how much damage was dealt.
- Rifle -
Instead of making the Rifle an in-between of Pistol and Eye of Reach, it does less damage than both but has a high fire rate. The Rifle deals 30 damage per shot, has the quickest reload of any Ranged Weapon, and can reload without having to leave ADS, meaning you can continue to track your enemies movement while reloading and fire again. 30 damage per shot would be a 4hit kill, meaning you need to be very good at tracking to hit 4/5 of your shots to get a full kill with just your Rifle alone. The Rifle still has an Iron Sight like the Pistol, but it will zoom your screen in more than the Pistol, but not a full Scope like the EoR has. Holding Left Click will perform a Bayonet Charge (A Bayonet is a small knife attached to the end of the Barrel, used like a spear to stab opponents). This charge functions similarly to the Axe Run, however it can last for 10 seconds and you have more turning capacity (Billy with Double Boots). This Bayonet Charge runs slightly faster than regular running, meaning you can use it to catch up to an opponent, but still allows the opponent the upper hand in their ability to turn, and they could 180 around you and run the other direction while you are stuck trying to turn. This attack deals 40 damage, enough for just 2 Rifle shots to finish off, or just 2 Rifle shots to hit before you go in for the kill with a Bayonet Charge.
- Crossbow -
The Crossbow is like a beefed out Eye of Reach. Its scope is similar to that of an Eye of Reach, but instead of just being a Circle with pitch black around the outside, it Instead has the scope zoomed in, and the rest of the screen outside of the scope is viewed normally. This means you can retain a small amount of peripheral vision, which you may be able to use if you position yourself so that you can see the likely direction an enemy may be coming from in your peripheral vision. This would allow you to react to the person coming before they get close enough for their footsteps to give away their location. The Reason Crossbow has this extra defence that Eye of Reach doesn't is because the Crossbow is incredibly difficult, almost impossible to use at a close range, and has the longest reload of any Ranged weapon. It deals 85 damage from a Distance, with the damage decreasing by 20 the closer and closer you get to your target, from 85, to 65, 45 and finally 25. The Crossbow has piercing damage, meaning the Bolt (Bullet) passes through an enemy and can collide with another enemy behind it (only one extra enemy may be hit) to deal damage to both of them. Within incredibly short range, ie close enough for someone to Melee you, the Crossbow will missfire when the shot if the shot registered as if it would hit the player, meaning it effectively cannot be shot. This is why its so important is has the extra vision to keep aware of its surroundings as it means that player can ONLY use their Melee weapon unless they can make enough distance to get Crossbow damage. a full powered 85 damage shot is enough for ANY melee weapon, including knives, to kill that player in a single hit. This can be synergised well with a team, one taking a ranged approach while the others are up close ready to quickly finish off anyone who the Crossbow manages to hit. Similar to the Eye of Reach, The Crossbow has unique hitmarkers to communicate to the player how much damage was dealt. If it dealt 25 damage it has a single Vertical line underneath the middle of the screen '',''. 45 damage will show two horizontal lines, like a 45 damage Eye of Reach shot ''- -''. 65 damage would combine both the previous hitmarkers '' - , -''. And finally the full 85 would deal ''- ,' -'' like the full powered Eye of Reach. I would imagine the distance required to get the full damage would mean that the only way to get 85 damage against a player on the same ship would be like shooting from the back sail ropes of the galleon to someone on the bowsprit.
Feedback
I hope you enjoyed these concepts, I certainly had fun making them, please comment if you can think of any changes to either balance or gameplay of these Weapons, as well as any cool synergies you could think of. Thanks for Reading!
Frogger
