Dev Blog - Equipment
Just like the Reputation System, Equipment has also undergone significant changes based on community feedback to improve the gameplay experience!
At first glance, the Equipment System may seem complex, but it becomes quite simple once you understand how it works.
In Ravendawn, all equipment (weapons and armor) have Tiers and also Grades:
Equipment Tiers
There are 6 total Tiers for each armor and weapon type in the game currently. A tier is a fully new piece of equipment, the base version of virtually every armor and weapon in the game is created through crafting (with a few exceptions like tutorial equipment). Crafters are not only able to make different tiers of equipment, but being an exceptional crafter can also save you plenty of Silver (more on this later). Each Equipment Tier has its own unique equipment icon (unlike Grades).
Based on an item's Tier, it will have a set amount of possible Attributes and Sub Stats it can have. These Attributes and Sub Stats are randomized when a piece of Equipment is crafted.
Tier 1 - No Attributes
Tier 2 - 1 Primary Attribute
Tier 3 - 2 Primary Attributes
Tier 4 - 2 Primary Attributes, 1 Secondary Attribute
Tier 5 - 2 Primary Attributes, 2 Secondary Attributes
Tier 6 - 2 Primary Attributes, 3 Secondary Attributes
Here you can see an example of one handed sword Tiers:
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Equipment Grades
Every piece of Equipment also has 1 of 9 grades. The grade can be seen by the border around an Item. An item starts at Basic grade, and can be upgraded to higher grades through Infusing (more explained later). By increasing the Grade on a piece of Equipment, the value of the AP/DP, Attributes and Sub Stats will increase. While the Grade will increase the values on a piece of Equipment, higher Tiers of Equipment have higher potential values at each Grade.
An example of a Tier 3 Sword in the first 5 Grades:
Normal Items (Not-Equipment) can also have Grades. These are explained more in the upcoming Crafting Dev Blog.
Infusing
One of the design cornerstones for Ravendawn is providing a strong economy for the game world. We believe this is integral to a lively and immersive MMORPG experience. Having consistent and reliable ways to recycle currency is integral to keeping a strong economy.
One of the main ways that silver is used in Ravendawn is by Upgrading your Equipment’s Grade through Infusions. Infusions are a material that can be obtained from all creatures in the world of Ravendawn and can be used to upgrade the Grade of Equipment.
To infuse a piece of equipment you also must pay an amount of Silver based on how much experience is being added to the equipment by the Infusion.
Additionally, skilled crafters are actually able to craft Equipment at a higher Grade than the basic grade, saving you Silver and also Infusions.
Now you may ask, what about your equipment when you craft a new higher tier? What happens to all the Infusions & Silver you put into them to increase their grade? Is it all wasted? Not to worry! Equipment can actually be used in the same place of Infusions, so you are able to actually infuse your lower tier Equipment into your new higher Tier. Infusing old gear into your new gear will require no silver to perform, so you do not need to feel conflicted when upgrading to better and stronger Equipment!
Weighted Attribute Rolling
As you know from earlier in this dev blog, the attributes a piece of equipment get is random when the item is crafted or obtained. However, weapons have a slightly weighted attribute chance based on the weapon type. Below is a list of the current weapons in Ravendawn and the attribute they have that is slightly higher chance to be rolled.
One-Handed & Two-Handed Axes - Might
One-Handed & Two-Handed Clubs - Wisdom
One Handed & Two-Handed Swords - Intelligence
Daggers & Light Blade - Dexterity
Bows - Dexterity
Staves & Sceptres - Intelligence
Shields - Wisdom
Misc
AP & DP & Healing
All Weapons have a Stat called AP (Attack Power). This is a very generic stat used to measure the strength of a Weapon. It will impact the damage of your basic attacks & abilities alike.
All Armor have a Stat called DP (Defense Power). This is a generic stat used to measure the defense of an Armor. It will impact the magic & physical damage you receive from basic attacks & abilities.
2 Handed Weapons provide 2x the AP.
Bows, Staves & Sceptres have a slightly lower output damage than melee weapons due to the benefit of being ranged.
Sceptres, Maces & Hammers also have a Stat called Healing. This is a generic stat used to measure the Healing Power of a weapon. It will impact your healing abilities.
Weapon Skills
Each weapon type also has its own unique Weapon Skill. These weapon skills further change the playstyle of the wielder.
Blinkstep
(Daggers)
Teleport in front of your target.
Dash
(Sword)
Dash 3 tiles forward.
Cleave
(Axes and Two-Handed Axes)
Swing infront of yourself, applying bleeding to all targets in front of you dealing damage every second for 4 seconds.
Hammer Bash
(Maces and Hammers)
Stun your target for 1 second interrupting casting.
Magic Ward
(Sceptre)
Creates a shield around you or a friendly target, absorbing 20% (Spell Power) damage for 6 seconds.
Replenish
(Staff)
Regenerates 40% (Spell Power) mana every second for 5 seconds.
Steady Stance
(Bow)
Gains 50% increased attack speed for 6 seconds. Decreases your ovement speed by 20% for the duration.
Armor Types
There are 3 Armor Types in Ravendawn, each provide slight additional benefits to the user when wearing a full set of the same armor type.
Cloth Armor
+4/8% Haste (Flat Value/Additive)
+5/10% Magic DP
Leather Armor
+4/8% Crit Chance (Flat Value/Additive)
Reduces Stun/Slow Durations by 10/20%
Plate Armor
+3/6% Max Health
+4/8% Healing Received
+5/10% Physical DP
Shields
Shields provide additional Defense Power AND bonus Attack Power to the wielder, and at times additional Healing Power. This is based on your main hand weapon used when also using a Shield.
Non-Healing Weapon
If you are wielding a Shield and a Non-Healing Weapon, your Shield will have: 80% AP & 20% DP
Healing Weapon
If you are wielding a Healing Weapon (Sceptre or Mace), your Shield will have: 70% AP, 20% DP & 20% HP
Equipment Caps
Equipment on Ravendawn has no required minimum level or maximum level. However, all equipment is capped based on your Effective Level (This is the average level of your 3 current Archetypes). What this means is a level 10 could technically wear maxed out level 75 equipment, however they would only enjoy a small portion of the benefits from the equipment. Our Equipment system is this way due to our Archetype system, wanting to level up your lower level Archetypes? You can do so in your normal Equipment without needing to find alternate low level equipment and progress all again.
While the Stats will be capped based on your effective level, it will always be at the top of what a player at that Effective Level could experience. So while your Equipment is capped, you will still feel extra strong as you progress.