Adding the new teams to the campaign w/o a major overhaul

    • Adding the new teams to the campaign w/o a major overhaul

      This is probably all pie-in-the-sky thinking, but I'd really like to see the teams introduced in Frostheart make it into the campaign too - after all they will be central to Hex for at least the next 3 sets, too.
      I have pondered how they might possibly be introduced without a major overhaul of the content...

      Create Champion screen

      Each of the new teams can be implemented as a new class for an existing race, so wouldn't require an overhaul of the Create Champion screen (just a small adjustment when the rest of the planned core classes are introduced):
      • Blightbark = New Elf class.
      • Luminaries = New Human class - female only.
      • The Cult of the Nameless City = New Necrotic class.
      • The Merry Caravan = New Elf class.
      • The Pack = New Orc class (concept is of a jacked Orc accompanied by a Gnoll 'handler').
      Talents

      Each of the new team classes can be based on an existing class, so have the same talent tree as that base class:
      • Blightbark = Ranger (plant synergy & planned Pet).
      • Luminaries = Cleric.
      • The Cult of the Nameless City = Mage.
      • The Merry Caravan = Mage (seem to favor them).
      • The Pack = Warrior (jacked archetype).
      I'm thinking race talents should stay the same - as they suit everyone but the CotNC anyway (shall make sure they get a buff to compensate for crumby Necrotic 5-threshold ones) - and just give each class unique race-class talents.

      Suggestions below...

      Shard grid

      Shard grids need a bit of a tweak:
      • Blightbark = Swap ruby for blood.
      • Luminaries = No change or - ideally - change to a D/R grid based on the Elf model (favor rare & legendary).
      • The Cult of the Nameless City = No change or - ideally - change to a B/S grid based on the Vennen model (balanced).
      • The Merry Caravan = Swap ruby for sapphire.
      • The Pack = Swap blood for wild.
      Story & rewards

      With the idea being to avoid a major overhaul, I suggest just leaving all story content & rewards alone - not practical/desirable to encourage rolling 4 identical characters to build a playset of reward cards anyway!

      Actually; would be nice to have 1 good new prismatic PvE card per team - get 1 copy of it at the point where would get the normal 4 different cards per race (3 early in in chapter 1 and 4th at start of chapter 2). :)

      Race-class talent suggestions - Blightbark

      A new Pet seems the easiest way to work Deathcry into the powerset, and we want to find a way to make ranger work anyway for the plant talents.
      I have opted for an Undead Beast (rather than a plant) as I suspect the next set will take that direction, introducing Plague and Famine (see First Rites).

      Class Power - Call Blighthound/Train Blighthound
      [BASIC] : 2 > If you control Blighthound, Blighthound gets +1 [ATTACK] /+1 [DEFENSE] . Otherwise, summon Blighthound.

      Blighthound (2B)
      Troop - Pet Undead Beast Unique
      Deathcry: Summon an Abomination. It gets + [ATTACK] /+ [DEFENSE] each equal to this troop's [ATTACK] and [DEFENSE] .
      1 [ATTACK] /1 [DEFENSE]

      Level 1 Race-Class Combo Talent - Unnatural Selection
      [BASIC] [ONESHOT] : 0 > Sacrifice target troop you control. Then, put target troop from your crypt into your hand.

      Level 30 Race-Class Combo Talent - Bad Seed
      At the start of the game, a random troop in your hand gets "Deathcry - Summon a Blightbush."

      Race-class talent suggestions - Luminaries

      The crucial Blessing talent pretty much writes itself!
      Sadly have to make the level 30 balance crumby to balance, and because the base Human cleric talent is so awful it wouldn't be very fair otherwise.

      Level 1 Race-Class Combo Talent - Enhance Blessing: Lyvaanth's Blessing
      Your Blessings have "Illuminate 1."

      Level 30 Race-Class Combo Talent - The Light of Lumos
      If you are on a dungeon boss encounter you start with a Candlekin in play.

      Race-class talent suggestions - The Cult of the Nameless City

      Since Necrotic Mage is pretty much the worst character class combo in the game at the moment and the Necrotic class talents are useless to the CotNC however, not aiming for parity in this case.

      Level 1 Race-Class Combo Talent - Learn Spell: Fugue
      2* > Bury the top 2 cards of each opposing champion's deck.

      Level 30 Race-Class Combo Talent - Feed the Mind
      When a resource enters an opponent's crypt, gain 1 health.

      Race-class talent suggestions - The Merry Caravan

      I didn't want to just steal Puff's power, but the new spell really needs to be one that transforms a friendly troop - got to synergize the same way.

      Level 1 Race-Class Combo Talent - Learn Spell: Party Animal
      5* > Revert and transform target troop you control into a Merry Squirrel.

      Level 30 Race-Class Combo Talent - Bon Vivant
      At the start of the game, create a random Cheese or Wine and put it into your hand. It loses all thresholds.

      Race-class talent suggestions - The Pack

      Since being represented by a jacked Orc - and The Pack not yet demonstrating any artifact themes - these talents focus on the gladiatorial aspect of The Pack.

      Level 1 Race-Class Combo Talent - Training: Gladiatorial Combat
      Your Trained troops in all zones have Gladiator 1.

      Level 30 Race-Class Combo Talent - Alpha Strike
      If you Battle a champion, troops you control get Speed and Crush this turn.

      Race class portrait concepts

      Blightbark
      Blightbark doesn't canonically have any other Elves right now, but we can double down on Lord Blightbark and the Plague & Famine 'lord of the hunt' aspect...
      • Regal bearing.
      • Pallid.
      • Strong Blightbark color palette.
      • Carrying a bow, or alternatively - to emphasie atypical Elf behaviour - a crossbow.
      • In repose, rather than an action stance.
      Blighthound should be a poised undead hound with exposed bones; same art style as Lord Blightbark, but framed so as not to be too icky to behold.

      Luminaries
      Since all Luminaries are clerics anyway & have a strong aesthetic, portrait should follow suit while (since just the one portrait) covering all bases...
      • Light armor and robes together - Candlelit Zealot is a good model.
      • White as primary color, but with red in outfit or a strongly red background.
      • Not too sedate, but not mid-attack - purposeful pose akin to Scion of Lyvaanth.
      The Cult of the Nameless City
      Basically Forbidden Tomeseeker AA is the archetype here...
      • Holding a book.
      • Work some tentacles in to the image, without the character themselves being mutated.
      • Blue and purple palette.
      The Merry Caravan
      I lean towards Rollicking Reveler as the inspiration, rather than continuing the current portrait theme - probably don't go full Merry Cravan (e.g. Whimsy Witch)...
      • Party backdrop.
      • Other people in frame - caravan folk, but not other Elves.
      • Smiling or laughing.
      • Bright skin and clothes.
      • Not wearing robes.
      The Pack
      The inspiration here is 100% Jackhat Heckler...
      • The character is a jacked Orc, but the Gnoll handler should be front & centre with them (in the in-match portrait too).
      • Vivid green skin like the Orc on Jackhat Heckler, but red-hue background.
      • Gnoll wearing jackhat contol gauntlet.
      • Gnoll unarmed, since not the combatant.
      Member of The Unnamed Council - the Hex TCG PvE Guild

      The post was edited 5 times, last by Corvus ().

    • Corvus wrote:


      The crucial Blessing talent pretty much writes itself!
      Sadly have to make the level 30 balance crumby to balance, and because
      the base Human cleric talent is so awful it wouldn't be very fair
      otherwise.

      Level 1 Race-Class Combo Talent - Enhance Blessing: Lyvaanth's Blessing
      Your Blessings have "Illuminate 1."

      Level 30 Race-Class Combo Talent - The Light of Lumos
      If you are on a dungeon boss encounter you start with a Candlekin in play.
      You can do the same they probably did with Light the Votives, instead of 'Illuminate 1' have just 'Summon a candlekin' for the level 1. The you have room for a more powerfull level 30, perhaps: one-shot 7 cost 'put target Candlekin from you crypt into play' similar to the card which does that. Though similar to Blessing of the Immortal, so perhaps instead 'target Candlekin gets Invincible until the start of your next turn'.

    • As a (voluntary, as in I RP even though the game doesn't need me to) RPer myself, the only obstacle I have of this suggestion is that they are not from Ardent and Underworld, aside from Luminaries, so them going through the same campaign story doesn't make sense to me.

    • Tussak wrote:

      Corvus wrote:

      The crucial Blessing talent pretty much writes itself!
      Sadly have to make the level 30 balance crumby to balance, and because
      the base Human cleric talent is so awful it wouldn't be very fair
      otherwise.

      Level 1 Race-Class Combo Talent - Enhance Blessing: Lyvaanth's Blessing
      Your Blessings have "Illuminate 1."

      Level 30 Race-Class Combo Talent - The Light of Lumos
      If you are on a dungeon boss encounter you start with a Candlekin in play.
      You can do the same they probably did with Light the Votives, instead of 'Illuminate 1' have just 'Summon a candlekin' for the level 1. The you have room for a more powerfull level 30, perhaps: one-shot 7 cost 'put target Candlekin from you crypt into play' similar to the card which does that. Though similar to Blessing of the Immortal, so perhaps instead 'target Candlekin gets Invincible until the start of your next turn'.
      Good thinking. :thumbup:
      Perhaps keeps Illuminate Blessings getting out-of-hand too, as unlikely to get over-powering without a lot of dedicated Illuminate effects buffing them.

      I don't think it'd be over-powering to simply have " [ONESHOT] : 1 > Put target troop with cost 1 or less from your crypt into play." - since Rekindle does treble that for cost 3 (unless of course the 'evolved' Candlekin forms have higher costs).

      @Goliathus
      Yup; I've just tried to keep this particular suggestion to a non-major overhaul of the campaign.
      I did toy with some way to have a single origin & story line all the teams could share (some kind of 'call of the Frostring Arena' story that covered all the major plot), but couldn't think of anything plausible. ||
      Member of The Unnamed Council - the Hex TCG PvE Guild

    • Expect to have those 5 factions to go through the same campaign as Ardent and Underworld, you would need to need those 5 factions so much that they would no longer be the same factions as their respective very basis.

      It would actually be faster to create 5 new campaigns than to change those factions to work with the current campaign.

      The reason the current campaign works for Ardent and Underworld factions is because they are 2 sides to the same coin. And people have been complaining that the story lines are too homogenized since the campaign mode was added to now.

    • Assuming AZ3 is in development, there can be no major change of storyline to insert the five teams for players. But if they really want to add the 5 teams, having the option to betray/leave/whatever-reason-you-want Ardent or Underworld to join one of the five teams could be interesting in AZ4. The dream scenario is that the neutral storyline would be different from sticking with Ardent or Underworld. The getting-high-with-Merry-Caravan dream would be each faction has different storyline too, but that's unlikely to happen even in a MMORPG so I don't expect it here.