Boundless Skill Tree Overhaul
Objective: To develop a more fluid skill tree system that allows players to make committed choices for gameplay and enables future features for player customization; to open a conversation about how to improve the overall supporting game mechanics based around your character’s development.
Description: An overhaul of the current skill tree system that allows players to make concrete decisions on how they want to build their character. In addition to creating new skills, the overhaul will create a new passives system, which will allow players to unlock certain epics after committing a certain amount of points to attributes and masteries. Lastly, this overhaul will help lay the groundwork for new additions to the skill trees in a non-clutter and organized manner.
Important Reworks/Additions: In this overhaul you will discover that Attributes and Masteries now grant epics after committing a certain number of points in the Attribute or Mastery. I feel that there are just certain Epics in the skill tree that never see the light of day because they are always passed over for more valuable Epics. By combining certain existing Epics, as well as new ones in this suggestion, players will then have a little more freedom with their builds and create more unique gameplay experiences.
Now by condensing certain Epics to be granted from committing points in Attributes and Masteries, the player is now presented with a new pool of skill points they can spend. What will the spend it on you ask? Professions that is what!
Professions will be a group of related Epics to help categorize skills for players to easily find and spend points on. Players will not be locked down to spending skill points into just one Profession Tree but allow them to spend their points wherever they want to create new pseudo-professions. Though the meatier Epics will be locked behind prerequisites Epics in the same tree.
Attributes: The attributes we already know, and love allow us to reach farther, hit harder, run faster. But what if they could do more for us? How could we improve the attribute system so that we can have positive benefits to committing skill points into an attribute or epic? Wouldn’t it feel more natural putting points into Dexterity if you were granted a dodge ability or higher jump height? What about putting points into Intelligence to have a chance at crafting higher durability items naturally? These are the ideas behind making the attributes feel more alive and rewarding.
The idea behind overhauling attributes would mean that when you spend a set number of skill points into each attribute you are granted an epic. You still would be granted the current bonuses of investing points into an attribute, which would just be deeper investments into the attribute. Once you spend four and eight skill points into an attribute you are granted these said epics. To allow deeper customization the attributes could have different epics that can be granted as they unlock: you choose which is desired from passive, ability, or effect. Depending on the attributes you choose your playstyle could change dramatically. Listed below are a list of SUGGESTED skill point unlocks, that are open to discussions.
Vitality Bonus
Fourth Point Unlock
Health Epic: Multiplies max health by x3.
Eight Point Unlock
Health Regeneration Epic: Your health permanently regenerates by 25HP per second.
Power Bonus
Fourth Point Unlock
Strong Arm Epic: Hammers and Axes are more effective against creatures (x2 Damage to Creatures).
Eight Point Unlock
Work Everyday Epic: Energy consumption from tools is reduced by 25%.
Control Bonus (Swap Stealth for Critical Chances Modifier)
Fourth Point Unlock
Far Reach Epic: Increased projectile range with ranges weapons.
Eight Point Unlock
Critical Blow Epic: Guaranteed critical hit with Critical Blow Buff. Cooldown is every 15 seconds.
Dexterity Bonus (Could also benefit by granting reduced fall damage with high skill point investments)
Fourth Point Unlock
Jump Distance Epic: Extend your jump height by 2 meters. Hold the jump button to extend the jump height.
OR
Quick Dash Epic: Double-tap the directional key to perform a short dash in that direction.
Eight Point Unlock
Air Jump Epic: Perform a secondary jump while in the air by pressing the jump button again.
OR
Double Dash Epic : Perform a secondary dash right after the initial dash movement.
Agility Bonus (Swap Critical Chance Modifier with Stealth Modifier)
Fourth Point Unlock
Shadow Step Epic: Increases your stealth modifier by 50% when creeping.
Eight Point Unlock
Silent Runner Epic: While holding down the creep button, movement speed is increased by 25%.
Intelligence Bonus
Fourth Point Unlock
Fine Tuning: Crafted tools and weapons have increased durability by 5%.
OR
Effective Forging: Increases your Effectiveness in the Centraforge by an additional 10%.
Eight Point Unlock
Craftsmen’s Hands: Crafted Tools and Weapons have an additional durability increase of 15%.
Luck Bonus
Fourth Point Unlock
Natural Gatherer: Gives a bonus chance to find double the resources gathered from surface resources.
Eight Point Unlock
Fortune’s Favor: Grants a random chance to find coins from defeating creatures.
Zeal Bonus
Fourth Point Unlock
Energy Epic: Multiples max energy by x3
Eight Point Unlock
Energy Regeneration Epic: Your energy regenerates by an extra 900 stamina per second.
Attribute Bonus
Fourth Point Unlock
Extra Hand: Choose one of the fourth point attribute epics.
Eight Point Unlock
Jack of All Trades Master of None: Choose one of the eighth point attribute epics.
Ideally, each point unlock should give you a choice between two or three epics/abilities/passives/effects. This would give deeper customization when investing to an attribute. These are just ideas on what these unlocks could grant, and I greatly welcome any ideas on how to refine the attributes further. This could even be really complemented by different character races having increased base stats as well.
Masteries: Like the point investment system that the attributes, masteries will grant a fifth skill point unlock. This will set up what I will later discuss what we could call the “Professions Skill Trees.” With masteries we could birth new game mechanics and systems to really define a player’s role(s) in the game. Currently, some epics are a choice between investing in one or the other. I feel that the mastery system should work similarly between certain masteries. For example, being able to grant respective unlocks for the Hammer, Axe, and Shovel.
Hammer Mastery
Fifth Point Unlock
Hammer Epic : Increases hammer damage by 25%, and hammer action speed by 10.
Axe Mastery
Fifth Point Unlock
Axe Epic: Increases axe damage by 25%, and axe action speed by 10.
Shovel Mastery
Fifth Point Unlock
Shovel Epic: Increase shovel damage by 25%, and shovel action speed by 10.
Grapple Mastery
Fifth Point Unlock
Solid Ground Epic: Holding the creep button keeps you from being dragged around by creatures and players when grappling to them. Also good for pulling your friends out of lava.
Spanner Mastery
Fifth Point Unlock
Engineer’s Might: Increased total spanner wear removed by 25%.
By freeing up the Hammer, Axe, and Shovel Epics from being a specific skill point investment and moving it to a granted effect by investing skill points into the mastery we can use skill points in other respective places. This can be said for epics granted in the attribute system as well.
Endurances: Now currently endurances have you choose between four different types to invest skill points into. I feel that here is where a lot of skill points can be used and restrict you from investing in other places when we could be using buffs and, hopefully one day, armor to really flush how armor values. The idea here would be condensing the different armor types from four to two, keeping it just Kinetic Armor and Impulse Armor. Investing skill points here would grant you both the resistance and armor passives at the same time. With the introduction to craftable armor, we could see these values reduced to balance the reductions out.
As for Fall Damage Protection, I could see this point investment being melded into an attribute investment. This would make sense to add it to say Dexterity or simply condensed into a single epic. I am not sure how many people invest in this, but it would be beneficial to see it be used elsewhere.
Lastly in Endurances, we have Atmospheric Protections, at this time I don’t have any expandable ideas on what we could be changed with this, so I think for the moment they could be left alone. The only idea I really have is that some craftable armor should have atmospheric resistances built into the armor, or maybe allow use to forge resistances onto armor.
Profession Skill Trees: The idea behind grouping epics into sections labeled as a “profession” allows players, mainly for new players, to know which skills are associated with each profession. This will streamline skill trees into a much easier format to understand and find the desired epics you want your character to have. Within the profession trees, you will find existing epics grouped under a Profession. Profession skill tress will break up into tiers that require your character to be a certain level to obtain the next group of epics that you could invest your skill points into, like the existing skill tree system.
By having the Profession Skill Trees be broken up into tiers requiring a certain level to be met, this makes the attributes and masteries have more value in the beginning of the game, and good modifiers for late game. My goal is to make investing skill points feel more rewarding to the player.
We already have professions in the game even though they aren’t labeled or grouped in the existing skill tree system. I have compiled a list of the professions that essentially already exist in the game. Below that you will find a breakdown of what I think the professions trees should be grouped as.
Current Professions: Already in the game as players already call themselves or based on how they filled out their skill pages.
• Builder
• Miner
• Hunter
• Gatherer
• Craftsmen (Weapons/Tools/Tech/Food/Brews)
• Forger
Suggested Professions : These are professions that would be more definitive in what you are investing your skill points into with beneficial epics, abilities, and passives. Now I think not every one of these professions will be as deep investments as others to allow new pseudo-class or mixed classes to be born.
- Builder (Epics that grant new blocks and benefit building)
- Miner (Epics that benefit mining on dangerous planets and bonuses to mining recourses)
- Forger (Epics that benefit using the Centraforge)
- Gatherer (Epics that benefit gathering surface resources and liquids)
- Healer (Epics that boost the healing of other players and buff them)
- Ranger (Includes existing epics that already benefit slingbows)
- Bomber (Includes existing epics that already benefit bombs, but include some new ones)
- Pugilist (Epics that support close combat fighting)
- Guardian (Epics that support the role of being a tank)
- Traveler (Epics for exploration)
- Farmer (Epics that help boost production and growth)
- Rancher (Epics that help boost animal husbandry and mounts)
- Cook (New Recipe Epics, I want to cook everything!)
- Brewmaster (New Recipes for Brews, with new buffs)
- Artisan (Tech/Decoration/Clothing)
- Smith (Weapons/Tools/Armor)
Suggested Implantation of Professions: In this Overhaul the Profession Skills trees would have a handful of epics in each of them. That way they feel full but not overwhelming. Each tree will have a recipe unlocks, new skills, and gameplay mechanics. For example, the Builder, this tree would grant the player new building blocks, and skills that could be in the form of levitation while in own or shared plotted area. The Guardian could grant a permeant increase in help by x3 that stacks with the current Increase Health Epic, and able to knock back enemies by guarding. The Traveler could learn more advanced recipes for building portals that last longer and go farther. The ideas on how these skill trees could expand are endless!
Closing Thoughts : All in all, these are just ideas to help improve existing mechanics of the game as well to making adding additional game mechanics in the future. I feel the current skill tree feels a bit restrictive to player development and condensing and moving epics into Attributes and Masteries gives the player more choice over how they play the game and interact in the in-game community. I also feel that with the current system it makes developing new mechanics and skills that would add to the skill tree system seem clutter and hard to follow. If we rework the skill tree system, then it will make adding these new future features more streamlined and easy to understand. With a skill tree overhaul, it could set up the future of Boundless to be even more expansive.
Lastly, I just want to say that this post is a cumulation all the time and thoughts that I have put into a game that I love. I have been playing since we could first launch the web browser version of the game and every version since then. I have followed this game for many years now. I feel like this will be my forever game that I am always playing, and I just want to help make it better and share ideas that I feel are beneficial. I feel that this Overhaul will help set the groundwork for features that we have all been wanting for a long time, such as new combat, abilities, dungeons and raids, new character races, and most importantly clothing and armor for our characters to wear. I know my ideas aren’t perfect, but I feel passionate that a skill overhaul is needed for the future of this game.
Developing magic and deploying it are nicely separated already which is awesome and lets people problem solve in unique ways for unique situations.