Killing Blow

Brilliant idea. Instead of a situational free critical hit, how about have it trigger when the player kills an enemy? That way a hefty melee character can cleave through a group of monsters.

It would also make killing blow a fitting capstone rather than a situational meh.

and give the killing blow buff a timer.

 

Agreed. Would be MUCH better as a proc-on-kill like the Hexaxe. Also, is there some way that we could get the ability to "stockpile" Killing Blows from the combo of Hexaxe + Berserker Killing Blow skill? Basically, get 2 (3 maybe with Dual Wielded Hexaxes?) Killing Blows readied to go off one after the other on the next hit(s).

 

I don't think the hexaxe procs the killing blow buff properly.

It does now. Here is the XML to implement the proposed changes.

Spelldb.xml

Code:

<spell name="Cleave" type="adjacent" icon="skills/killing_blow32.png" >
  <anim sprite="sprites/sfx/rage/rage" frames="3" framerate="50" sfx="ping" />
  <effect type="trigger" amount="1" spell="Killing Blow" />
<description text="Your next attack is going to make a real splash."/>
  </spell> 
<spell name="Killing Blow" downtime="40" type="self" icon="skills/killing_blow32.png" >
  <anim sprite="sprites/sfx/rage/rage" frames="3" framerate="50" sfx="ping" />
<buff useTimer="1" time="1" self="1" attacks="1" stackable="0" stacksize="1" icon="skills/killing_blow64.png" smallicon="skills/killing_blow32.png" >
  <effect type="buff" self="1" sprite="sprites/sfx/psionic_generic/psionic_generic" frames="5" framerate="100" sfx="magic" />
      <secondarybuff id="2" amount="5"/> <!-- melee power -->
      <secondarybuff id="4" amount="100"/> <!-- crit -->
</buff>
<description text="Your next attack is going to make a real splash."/>
  </spell>  

Itemdb, expansion1

Code:

<item name="The Hexaxe of the Magic Axe Lords" iconFile="items/axe_hex.png" level="12" type="1" artifact="1" >
<price amount="17003" />
<weapon slashing="36" />
<artifact quality="5" />
<targetKillBuff percentage="100" name="Cleave" />
<description text="The Magic Axe Lords imbued this axe with their mighty Axe Magicks: Whenever this axe tastes victory, it gains power for a mighty, deadly strike." />
</item>

skilldb.xml

Code:

<berserkSkills>
<ability name="Poor Impulse Control" icon="skills/warrior/berserker0_64.png" skill="9" level="0">
  <description text="When you attack, there is a chance that you'll become really angry! This increases your attack abilties."/>
  <targetHitEffectBuff percentage="25" name="Berserker Rage" />
  </ability>
<ability name="Viking Temperment" icon="skills/warrior/berserker1_64.png" skill="9" level="1">
  <description text="When you defend, there is a chance that you'll become really angry! This also increases your attack abilities."/>
  <playerHitEffectBuff percentage="25" name="Berserker Vengeance" />
  </ability>
<ability name="Ancestral Body Paint" icon="skills/body_paint64.png" skill="9" level="2">
  <description text="The markings of your ancestors will protect you in battle."/>
  <secondarybuff id="11" amount="10" /> <!-- magic resist -->
  <secondarybuff id="22" amount="5" /> <!-- magic reflect -->
  <resistbuff aethereal="1" transmutative="1" conflagratory="1" hyperborean="1" />
  </ability>
<ability name="Berserker Rage" icon="skills/skill_berserker.png" skill="9" level="3">
  <secondarybuff id="2" amount="1"/> <!-- melee power -->
  <targetHitEffectBuff percentage="13" name="More Berserker Rage" />
  <playerHitEffectBuff percentage="12" name="More Berserker Rage" />
  <description text="In melee combat you are prone to fits of extreme Berserker Rage! Even more! All this anger also causes you to hit harder."/>
  </ability>
<ability name="Berserker Cleave" icon="skills/killing_blow64.png" skill="9" level="4">
  <description text="Killing an enemy will turn your next melee attack into a real splash."/>
  <targetKillBuff percentage="100" name="Cleave" />
  </ability>
</berserkSkills>

 

Hexaxe is missing the after="1" flag, which is why it doesn't work. You kill a dude, it procs Killing Blow, and then goes "oh hey, you just attacked" and erases Killing Blow.

Agreed, though.

 

I knew about that after="1" business but i got around it another way.

 

Do want.

 

hmmm... this effect will always trigger when an enemy is killed, even if he's killed with a thrown weapon, spell, or crossbow.

This might prove a problem because it means that crossbows and thrown could also do heavy kill chains too.

I would want only melee kills to trigger the buff.

 

So...give Cleave a spelltype of "adjacent" (so that it checks that the target is next to the player)?

 

I think that only affects the ability to target the spell and not it's effect once it's triggered.

Of course, I've never tested this.

 

I have. Extensively. Archmage uses a shitload of strange tricks like having a type="rook" spell trigger a type="targetmonster" spell and a type="targetcorpse" spell. Triggered spells only activate if their specific type is actually targeted by whatever triggers them.

Basically, if you make Cleave type="adjacent", it'll check whenever you kill something, look to see if the target is actually adjacent to you, and if it's not, it won't trigger.

 

I suppose you could still trigger it if you killed a monster that was next to you with a spell or thrown weapon... but it's better than it was before.