Hello, Grim readers, and welcome back to Grim Misadventures! As you may have noticed by the playtesters lurking around the forums, we have begun the Friends and Family phase of development. These brave souls are helping us knock out some of the remaining critical issues that must be addressed before Alpha can begin.
To hold you over in the meantime, we will begin a series of updates that will familiarize you with the three masteries available to you once Alpha begins. Up first is the Soldier!
Standard “ultra-pro” build
“Soldiers of the imperial army were trained to survive in the most hellish conditions and hold the line against the nastiest enemies of the empire. Soldiers prefer the use of close combat weaponry, such as a sword and shield, but can also prove formidable with firearms. What a Soldier may lack in outright damage output is made up for in fortitude and leadership.”
A soldier excels in the thick of it. He charges into battle and unleashes crushing might upon his foes. One man and many monsters may enter; but only one man and some bloody smears will leave. Soldiers excel with melee weapons, but are not restricted to them. Most of his skills do not carry any weapon requirements at all.
Below are some of the skills you can look forward to as a grizzled veteran of the imperial army:
Cadence
“The use of weapon forms in combat gives your attacks a natural cadence with peaks and ebbs that, while predictable, are none the less effective and difficult to counter. When used as your default weapon attack, Cadence will magnify the power of every 3rd strike.”
Cadence is the core combat skill of the Soldier mastery. When used in place of your left click, your auto attacks will generate charges. Every third charge, you will slam your target with an overhead swing. Modifiers for this skill add bleed damage that resonates with nearby enemies and a chance to unleash one of three devastating effects with every Cadence.
Forcewave
“Such force is channeled into the attack that it compresses the very air, projecting out a wave of energy that stuns and damages foes. This attack requires a shield, two-handed crossbow or rifle.”
Forcewave is a close combat wave attack which stuns your enemies. It also serves as an excellent early level area of effect attack. Modifiers for Forcewave cause it to reduce armor and increase the stun duration along with added bleed damage.
Will to Live
“Unwilling to yield to death, you muster a final surge of strength and fight on with renewed determination.”
Will to Live is a passive defense skill which activates at low health to provide an instant heal and a temporary increase to health regeneration. The internal cooldown is short which makes this a reliable life-saver, but becoming too reliant on it could spell disaster in a tough situation.
Zolhan’s Technique
“Named for the famed fighting master, this attack uses a low center of mass and powerful thrust to imbalance your opponents.”
Zolhan’s Technique is a passive attack that triggers on your base (or Cadence) attacks. Whenever it activates, you will strike several nearby opponents with a heavy melee attack that drastically reduces their attack speed for a short duration.
Building your Soldier:
Players focusing on the Soldier mastery will find a variety of close combat tactics as well as buffs for both themselves and their teammates. A soldier is a natural leader and a capable protector of his otherwise squishier allies.
Players focused on other masteries would be wise to pick Soldier for their second mastery if they want more survivability and some close range control. Hybrid builds can also look forward to class names such as: Commando, Witchblade, Blademaster, and Outlander.
That concludes this week’s demonstration. Please return in two weeks for the follow-up to our Soldier introduction (05/13/13)!
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