[Ranylyn]

I'm going to cut to the chase: With the exception of two-handed, there's zero benefit to using heavy gear unless you're an arbalest. And of course, Arbalest makes two-handed either impossible to use, or is a waste of a class if you're not using a bow.

Honestly, that just seems really weird to me. With people clamoring to make more weapons scale more heavily with strength for the sake of balancing the stats more, why is massive gear that murders your BW just not rewarded at all? If anything, most very heavy gear isn't even really any good.


In response, I've come up with a few traits to benfit massive equipment a bit more, since you need to pump strength to use them effectively. (Or be a dullahan, I guess.) Not expecting any of these to be implemented as-is, but I can see them working with a few tweaks.


Trait: Wall Crush
Prerequisite: 30 Strength, Two Hand Rank 5

"How do you parry a boulder hurtling towards you at high speeds? You don't. When two-handing a weapon with 30 weight or more, this trait nullifies parry skills such as Eviter or Checkmate, unless the opponent has the Immovable Wall trait."


Trait: Immovable Wall
Prerequisite: 40 Strength, 40 Defense

"With armor THAT heavy, you can plow through any punishment without getting pushed around. When wearing armor with a weight of 30 or more, become immune to knockback, and ignore the effects of Wall Crush. If armed with a shield, Guard Break lowers guard to half effectiveness for several turns instead of disabling it completely. (If Guard is obtained through any other means, such as skills or accessories, Guard Break works as normal.)


Trait: Sweeping Strikes
Prerequisite: 20 Strength, Two Hand Rank 5

"As a cocky warrior once said, "Keep lining them up, and I'll keep cutting them down." When using a two-handed melee weapon with two or more range, gain the "Sweep" attack to hit in a line equal to the range of the weapon, as several enemies get in the way of your swing simultaneously. Performing a sweeping attack confers +10 bonus hit, but lowers the damage dealt by 10, before reductions."


Trait: Overwhelm
Prerequisite: 40 Strength, Two Hand Rank 5, Wall Crush

"When your weapon is too large to be considered anything but a massive chunk of metal, how does anyone shrug it off? When two-handing a weapon with 40 weight or more, half of all weapon damage dealt is delivered as lingering wounds, limiting your opponent's ability to heal and get back in the game."


Trait: Juggernaut
Prerequisite: 70 Strength, Two Hand Rank 5, Overwhelm, Immovable Wall.

"YE GODS, LOOK AT THAT! When carrying a combined total of 70 or more weight between a two handed weapon and armor, the mere thought of needing to deal with you becomes unnerving. Every blow you deal gains a chance to cause Fear, and every hit you shrug off gains a chance to cause Hesitation Level (Total Battle Weight before Reductions/4.) Bravery Talents have no effect against the Juggernaut."