07-30-2023, 11:47 PM
(07-30-2023, 11:00 PM)the REAL Minos Prime Wrote: One odd thing I've noticed is that there aren't a whole lot of options for single-shot rifle users. There's Magic Gunner, which does work with single-shot weapons, but you usually want to maximize the amount of rounds fired to proc your shells, so most MGs use pistols or multi-shot rifles. There's Demon Hunter, which doesn't thematically fit the role of a "Sniper" very well with how extra and flashy the gun skills are. And then there's Arbalest, which requires one to have a martial weapon to make use of, and is more of an artillery specialist than a sniper.I feel like the differentiation of number of shots is unnecessary, there's four rifles, and one of them happens to be multi round.
So, rather than cook up a whole new class just to be a little rifle boy, I thought that Ranger fits the sniper archetype pretty well; generally being long-ranged, oriented towards avoiding damage rather than tanking it, and having multiple tools for making distance. Furthermore, as snipers and hunters often find themselves in natural environments for long periods of time, single-shot rifles would fit the Nature-y theme of Ranger.
So, to give riflemen a bit more options, I thought of the following skills for Ranger:
Ghillie Wrap
Innate
Not just does wrapping your rifle in foliage make you blend in better, it also strengthens its connection to nature. You can now equip single-shot rifles without investment into the Adaptation subtalent, enemies prioritize you slightly less, and you can use Ranger offensive skills with single-shot rifles (with the exception of spells, unless Enchanted Brass is equipped). Other guns do require investment into Adaptation.
Enchanted Brass
Passive
Cartridges, like any other object, can be enchanted. Allows single-shot rifles to be used as a casting tool for Arcane Ranger skills. However, since brass rounds are so much rarer and more expensive than focus-based ones, you don't want to risk wasting them, so Arcane skills can only be used once a round each.
I believe that two skill points, a skill slot, and a cooldown on certain spells is a fair trade for basically giving an already decent class a whole new subcategory of weapons they can use, especially when amongst those weapons are Excel Sniper and Moonlight Mercy. Not just that, but I've heard some people have been calling Ranger "dead" since the Flip Shot nerf, so hopefully it would renew interest in the class. Finally, it gives Ranger synergy with the other two promotions, making it a decent choice for Destiny Archers. Though, I'm no game design expert, so apologies if the balancing in this suggestion is a little wonky.
Also, this is a given, but obviously nobody has to follow the explanations given in the skill descriptions. You aren't required to roleplay as if your gun is wrapped in ghillie, or that it's firing regular metal rounds, unless one wishes to. The concepts of ghillie and brass rounds were mostly just to provide explanations as to why a rifle suddenly works with Ranger skills and why it can suddenly cast Arcane spells, respectively.