Death Knights and their Runeblades
by Drustai | 20/09/2007 12:24:04 One thing that has been bothering me since DK was announced was the relation the player Death Knight would have to their runeblade. To me, the Death Knight has always seemed to be a very 'weapon-master' type of class, lore-wise, where each individual Death Knight is bound or prefers in some way, a very specific, unique runeblade. Arthas has Frostmourne of course, and, as well, Baron Rivendare's runeblade for instance specifically states that, in his hands, it is much more powerful than if it were in the hands of any other user. However, I am concerned that Blizzard will make the connection between Knight and Blade minimal in WotLK, favouring new weapons as the Knight levels up, rolling on the same weapons as Warriors/Rogues/etc. In my opinion, this would be a very wrong thing to do and would take away much of the idea concerning the runeblade, turning the Death Knight into simply a boring dark warrior/caster hybrid rather than something unique as would be befitting of a Hero class. I personally believe that Blizzard should, in some way, bind a Death Knight to a specific, unique (well, sort of) blade(s). As in, Blizzard creates many different graphics for the blades ahead of time, and, during the quest line, the upcoming Death Knight either specifically chooses the blade appearance he prefers, or his choices during the quest determine the appearance (if the quest line has freedom of choice instead of being linear). He would choose a graphic among each weapon category: 1 2H Axe, 1 1H Axe, 1 2H Sword, and 1 1H Sword, able to swap between those 4 graphics, and only those 4 graphics, depending on which of the 4 types he is currently using-- alternatively, they could be limited to only 1 category upon creation and be forever prevented from learning any of the other 3. To allow the Death Knight to continually increase in combat ability despite maintaining the same weapon throughout his lifespan, there are several possibilities: 1) Death Knights do not gain any benefit from using weapons aside from their own runeblade. They can still wield normal swords/axes/etc, but these weapons do not allow the Death Knight to use their runes. Instead, a Death Knight upgrades their weapon over time through the looting of some kind of essence from bosses/quests. These essences, BoP ofc, could then be applied to the initial Runeblade, increasing its stats to the appropriate ability without making any major changes to the graphics of the blade, similar to modern enchantments (perhaps some essences might confer a glow of some sort). Alternatively to applying these essences to the blade itself, they could be a powerful 'ranged slot' item that are equipped in the range slot (solving the question another poster poses in this thread about what DKs would put there). Cons - This adds more constraint to the loot table, increasing the likelihood of 'dead drops' once the Death Knight hype dies down. As these essences would be limited to the Death Knight, any groups without a Death Knight in the party would be unable to make use of them (unlike most other equipment which can generally be used between a few different classes). -OR- 2) Death Knights do continue to use standard loot weapons for their type (2H/1H Axes / 2H/1H Swords), but these weapons do not use their standard appearance when wielded by a Death Knight. Instead, a Death Knight's weapon always appears, graphically, as the weapon graphic they chose on creation. Cons - May upset RPers who want to RP using different weapons. That being said, it is unlikely a Death Knight would even want to use a weapon other than their specific Runeblade, due to the tie it has on their soul, so this may not be a problem in reality. As said about Baron Rivendare's runeblade: in any normal person's hands, it is a normal bastard sword... it becomes Baron Riverndare's Runeblade with all its full powers when wielded by the Baron himself. -OR- 3) A Death Knight's weapon simply upgrades automatically as he levels up. He can still use other weapons, but, again, his runes would not work while using them. Cons - Easiest, but would create unfairness as other classes would be jealous of the fact that a DK wouldn't need to go looting to increase his effectiveness. Also, if based purely on leveling, a DK would eventually be outclassed as other classes continually upgrade with epic loots while the DK's weapon remains the same. -OR- 4) A Death Knight's weapon never confers a stat bonus, and its damage is based on the amount of spell damage the Death Knight's other gear provides. Using other weapons is possible, but, again, rune abilities wouldn't be usable while using other weapons. Cons - While easy to implement as it is a similar mechanic to the way caster spells already work, would likely be difficult to balance. -OR- 5) Death Knight's weapon is always the same, stat-wise, from the moment he acquires it--instead, his runic abilities are more important for his stats and DPS, and would naturally make up for the weaker blade through blade 'buffs'. Essentially, blade becomes a conduit for runic abilities, and should be required in order to use them. Other weapons should be usable, but runic abilities would be unable to be used with them. Cons - Again, breeds jealousy as DK wouldn't be required to loot farm to upgrade their weapon like other classes. -OR- *EDIT Sept 22 07* 6) Death Knight loots weapons as normal. Upon looting the weapon, the Death Knight has some ability to "DE" the weapon, granting them an essence of sorts that they then apply to their runeblade. Runes should probably still only work on the runeblade itself, preventing the DK from using the other weapons without first DEing and applying them to his own Runeblade. Essentially, the loot game and itemization is still in place, but the Death Knight is able to maintain a consistent runeblade. They simply absorb the powers of other weapons into their own blade. Each time the absorbing happens, the runeblade is 'wiped clean', just like gems... the new stats would replace the old stats, they don't add to them. IE, you loot Lionheart Blade, DE Lionheart Blade, apply Lionheart Blade Essence to your Runeblade, your Runeblade maintains the looks you chose at the beginning of the game, but now has the stats of Lionheart Blade. Cons- Only major one is that it adds another contender for drops that are already desired by multiple classes. *Above is not my idea, is to be credited to the several posters in this thread that have mentioned it. Personally, the above, #6, is my favourite option* -OR- 7) Death Knight loots weapons, and uses an ability to corrupt these weapons so that they become runeblades. Weapons maintain similar appearances to their old ones, but become 'corrupted'. Runes can only be used on them while corrupted. Think Ashbringer - Corrupted Ashbringer. Cons- Requires Blizzard to make a 'corrupted' version of every weapon that a DK has access to. Thus very work intensive. Also, prevents DK from having the trademark 'unique' runeblade. It's still more unique than other classes, but IMO a single, consistent Runeblade is better than constantly switching to new weapons every few weeks. *Above is not my idea, is to be credited to the several posters in this thread that have mentioned it* *END EDIT* IMO, seeing a Death Knight with a specific runeblade graphic for their entire career would be a very entertaining and lore-appropriate aspect of the class. Players of Death Knights should feel bonded to their weapon in ways that other melee classes are not. A Death Knight running around using the same weapons as other melee classes would remove a lot of the uniqueness of the class, in my opinion, and I hope that Blizzard gives some serious consideration towards finding some method of allowing a Death Knight to use the same consistent weapon graphic for their entire career. [ Post edited by Drustai ] - Drustai, "Hot Pewpew Shadowsquid". - Arídh, Living Impaired Rogueling. |
by Salthem | 21/09/2007 17:04:10 We haven't fully decided on this at this time, we will try things out in the beta, but at the moment we are thinking that death knights can probably inscribe any weapon with runes. Personally, I like this idea too, but taking weapon drops out of the equation for death knights removes a big chunk of the itemisation side of the game from them - it would have to be something pretty special to replace the feeling you get with your first epic weapon. Not to mention the awkwardness this could cause in balancing loot tables as Ilsevele pointed out. |
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