Nightcrest87, the creator of the featured fan-made Avatar on the front page, made this Q&A for those interested in having a little more insight and knowing his thought process when designing the class. Check it out!
To help people visualize the idea even better, Nightcrest has also set aside these amazing fanart ideas from Applibot Inc (male) and Nathalia Gomes (female).
General Concept:
Q: This class is clearly the Diablo II Druid. Why did you choose the name Avatar instead of Druid? A: First of all, in this fan creation Avatars are Druids. It is just an honorary title bestowed to the wisest of druids. That being said, when I was researching the thematic aspects of the Druid in Diablo II, it became fast apparent that the original concept was lacking. The original concept had basically 4-6 themes depending on how conservative you are in the way you categorize them. The rest of the classes had an average of 8 themes in their skills trees. That being said, the theme of the Druid class had to be significantly enhanced in order to become something functional in D3. Therefore…, Avatars.
Q: Can you compare the themes of the Druids and the Avatars? A: The Druids have the following themes: volcanism, weather, transformation (dps/tank) and companion (support/offence). The avatars have kept the same thematic identity but have diversified them as well as adding new aspects to it. The Avatars have the following themes: tectonics (volcanism, quakes, tidal forces), weather, companion (offense/support/utility), transformation (beast – melee dps, wisp – caster dps, oak – defensive/support, hybrid – utility), nature (growth, cleansing, survival), piercing weapon affinity and special interactions with poison elemental damage.
Q: What are the Avatars exactly? A: The Avatars are the elite of the Diablo II Druid class. They are the ones who have reached the high peak of being a Druid either through their mental age or some genetic enabling trait. They are the embodiment of nature. They are one with everything. If Sanctuary had flesh and bones and was a living entity, that would be the Avatars. And this is where the name came from, *Avatars* are the *image/representation* of Sanctuary; even literally. All Avatars were once Druids, but not all Druids will manage to become Avatars. I could have called them Archdruids but it felt too cliché.
Q: Why is Will (Willpower) their primary resource? A: The Avatars can command nature itself. They can animate the elements, they can influence animals and give conscience to plants. In my mind, willpower seemed like the resource that made absolute sense for them.
Q: Why is Wisdom their primary stat? A: When I started designing the Necro, the Druid was also at the back of my mind, although I wasn’t sure if I would actually design it as well. I needed a primary stat that both classes could use. In fact, I decided on Wisdom for both long before I even created the first spell for the Necros.
Q: Why did you choose Fire, Lightning, Cold and Poison damage for their runes and skills? A: As a class that is one with nature, I chose to use the 3 powers that are nature itself (Cold, Fire and Lightning) and the one that nature frequently enhances its creations with (Poison). Those 4 powers are also a small tribute to the Diablo II game, as they were the only ones present back then. My original idea on this class also employed a thematically primal version of Shadow damage but I quickly changed my mind on that.
Q: What is the gameplay and synergies of the class? A: Unlike Crusaders and Monks which are tank(-ish) classes that can also heal, the Avatars are mainly a support class that has the ability to also wreak havoc if they so choose. Their primary role in a group is to be their safeguard against failure. I even created an item set that highlights this design; The Shards of Awye. That being said, the Avatars also have multiple DPS builds. In addition the avatars are capable of utilizing most tertiary statists in a variety of ways by employing internal synergies. No tertiary stat is useless to the Avatar; they can use everything provided they have the right combination of skills, items and passives equipped. Finally, their skills have a lot of inner synergies with themselves.
Q: What are the class specific items of the Avatar and what weapons can they use? A: They have three class specific items: Spirit Cuffs (wrists), Javelins (1-h ranged, dual wielded), Lances (2-h melee). Their only weapon proficiency is piercing weapons. They can use all types of non-class specific piercing weapons from daggers (sorry, didn’t have enough space to add them to the passive – they would be in the 1-h sword/spear category) to crossbows. I choose piercing weapons for thematic reasons only. The avatars are naturalists, their favourite colour is green for Elun… ehmm… Tyrael’s sake!!! I wanted them to give quick merciful deaths to their enemies through precise strikes. Slashing and bludgeoning weapons are anything but… So… no furnace for you! …not that you would need one. >_>
Skills & Gameplay:
Q: Are skill costs high, low or balanced? A: Skill costs are high but so are resource generation mechanics. The avatars will find themselves starved as often as they find themselves satiated. The class was designed in such a way that resources are awfully limited but they can also be generated very fast. It’s a way to actively promote the overall theme of alternation and vigor that the class possess through gameplay design. Of course, all that only comes into perspective if you understand how small the resource “globe” of the avatar would be which I didn’t have a way to describe in any place other than here.
Q: Why do the Avatars have so many channeled abilities? A: I wanted the Avatars to a class that needs to make decisions on when to support allies and when to destroy enemies. I didn’t want them to be able to do both at the same time equally in efficiency. Channeled spells are a good way of doing that because they gate APM. I also gave them some additional support on the channeling theme through some of the passives. When you play the Avatar you won’t have to be a channeler by default. But if you choose so, there are synergetic passives that can make it easier for you. Finally, I added additional flexibility by making a couple of spells work with toggle mechanics
. Q: Where are Werewolf and Werebear? A: The entire shape-shifting tree in the Diablo II Druid was very distinct from all other trees on all other classes. It had an amazingly singular thematic identity. That being said, the skill tree was lackluster as hell in terms of recoding it into Diablo III format. It was clear from the very start that I could not have 2 spells (Werewolf, Werebear) so I decided to recode the entire D2 tree into a D3 single skill. The original idea had 3 abilities for the wolf form (base and 2 runes) and 3 runes for the bear but eventually I decided that I could make it even more diverse than that. The result is Beast Within, which is the entire shape-shifting skill tree compressed into one skill, and then some!
Q: Why does the primary and secondary attacks of Twisted Lineage do the same weapon damage? A: The base damage is the same because the gameplay on this particular skill revolves about making the right choice in the right time. Both abilities are legit but they work kind of like the rogue from WoW. Think of the primary one as a combo stacker and the secondary one as a combo spender. More or less…
Q: What is the purpose of wisp form? A: Just like Barbarians have Wrath of the Berserker that empowers their melee prowess, the Avatars have Will-O-Wisp that empowers their casting prowess. The Avatars are resource starved by design and wisp form is a brief solution to that problem that comes at a very unique cost that requires micromanagement. It’s a completely different type of gameplay that can be both rewarding and risky at the same time.
Q: Why is oak form a toggle? It’s not like you can cast other spells while it is active. A: Oak form is basically a panic button when in dire need of defense. I wouldn’t want you accidentally die to a molten explosion because your fingers moved out of the button in your duress. Besides, making it a toggle spell can also help you plan ahead and queue up the defensive abilities you are going to use the moment you disable the form.
Q: Speaking of toggles, what is the deal with Raven Flock? A: Raven Flock is an AoE spell that buffs itself up depending on how long it has been active. I can’t imagine that any spell that actively summons 40ish companions would be good for your FpS or the game itself; even the animation of the spell I imagined would be set in stone and unchangeable regardless of how many “ravens” you would have around. It’s a toggle spell because I don’t want you to waste time buffing the spell up. Throw it at the face of your enemies while your primary focus is either to support or deal damage with stronger spells. That spell is in the Dominion tree because of its theme, which is basically “call companions to my side”, but it is by no means a companion summon like the other skills in Dominion.
Q: What’s the deal with the primary abilities? They all feel, strangely familiar… A: It’s a tribute to nostalgia to the Amazon class from Diablo II. {nostalgia} I’d like to think that female Avatars could visually resemble the Amazons a bit. {/nostalgia} Amazons have been mostly absorbed by the Demon Hunters and I don’t expect them to ever make an appearance in Diablo III as a playable class although they can definitely appear as lore characters I guess. The only part of their theme that was not absorbed was their Javelin/Spear skills. When I was planning out the primary and secondary abilities of the Avatar, I was originally thinking of designing nature spells for both categories. After further thought, I decided to only design half of them as pure nature spells and the rest as javelin and lance spells that have a decent number of elemental and nature related runes.
Q: Some runes don’t mention what type of damage they deal. What’s up with that? A: With the exception of Elemental Spirit that deals damage similar to the one it buffs up, all other unspecified runes deal the same type of damage as the base form of the ability. It was mostly omitted for convenience’s sake.
Q: Why is X ability so broken? A: Guys, I’m … I’m sorry. When you are creating something on your own, the moment it starts to take shape, you get excited and you kind of end up falling in love with it. You become blind to its flaws because in your own mind it somehow made sense in the first place and you have no feedback from anyone at all to slap you back into reality, because it’s a fan creation that you do on your own; it’s not a group endeavor. I tried to iron out the biggest extremities but I’m sure things slipped through, especially in the between-skill synergies.
Misc Info:
Q: How did you plan out the Avatar and in what order did you design the abilities? A: I started by devoting a few hours to research and trying to remember what the D2 Druid was all about. Immediately after, I had the transformation spells planned out followed shortly by the elemental ones. After that I planned the dominion spells and the defensive ones, leaving the secondary and primary for last. While I was working on the concepts of the spells, I was also thinking of possible passives and had pretty much established what I wanted my two 6pc sets to be about gameplay-wise.
Design wise, I finished the abilities in this order: Transformation -> Elemental -> Defensive -> Secondaries -> Passives -> Dominion -> Items -> Primaries.
Q: How many hours did this fan creation take you? A: Around 60ish hours just like the Necro last month. But I had to do it in about half the days because I wanted it ready before Blizzcon.
Q: Where are the character models, concept arts, VFX etc. A: My creativity sparks in concept creation and theorycrafting. Artworks is not my best side. /hangs head in sadness
Q: Is there a list to see the skill recodings from Diablo II to Diablo III? A: Here are the 3 Druid skill trees and the Amazon javelin/spear skill tree:
Werewolf -> Beast Within (Hunger of Lupus) Lycanthropy -> Beast Within (Alpha Beast) Werebear -> Beast Within (Might of Ursus) Feral Rage -> Beast Within (Hunger of Lupus) Maul -> Beast Within (Might of Ursus) Rabies -> Beast Within (Cunning of Vulpus) Fire Claws -> Beast Within (Fervor of Catus) Hunger -> Beast Within (Hunger of Lupus) Shock Wave -> Beast Within (Might of Ursus) Fury -> Beast Within (Base)
Raven -> Raven Flock (Base) Poison Creeper -> Creeping Vine (Poison Creeper) Oak Sage -> Elemental Spirit (Gravelus) Summon Spirit Wolf -> Already in game: Demon Hunter (Companion – Wolf Companion) Carrion Vine -> Creeping Vine (Vampiric Coil) Heart of Wolverine -> Natural Remedies (Celerity) Summon Dire Wolf -> Already in game: Demon Hunter (Companion – Wolf Companion) Solar Creeper -> Creeping Vine (Vampiric Coil) Spirit of Barbs -> Barbed Skin (Reflective Carapace) Summon Grizzly -> Feral Guardian (Base)
We hope you guys enjoy this one as much as the Necromancer. Feel free to leave feedback on what you think could be improved and what you liked the most! The devs are always watching these and, who knows, maybe it can even influence the future direction of the game.
I just loved going through what Nightcrest wrote and picturing it in-game. Transforming into cool new forms, summoning the elemental forces of nature (Tsunami, Volcano, Monsoons), having animals and plants help you and follow your lead - seems like an amazing Diablo class
Great work! This brings back fond memories from D2, running around with the forces of nature by my side
Would love for there to be some sort of wolf summoning skill though, since the Druid could summon a pack of wolves as compared to DH one lonely wolf. Maybe make the Avatar have white wolves to distinguish them from the DH wolf
Can see some great potential synergy between these wolves and shapeshifting.
Another really good concept. I like the theme a lot and the way you managed to deal with everything.
I especially appreciated the focus on channeled spells: they are atm a very non-effective way of playing due to their stationary nature and basically being very resource hungry. A proper class based on channels and supportuing this playstyle is a very nice twist.
You are right! In D3 channeled spells feel lackluster because of the way they gate your APM and that stops you for micromanaging your other abilities, something that is really needed in higher difficulty content. This is why pretty much all channeled abilities (firebats, archon (beam), strafe, whirlwind, tempest rush etc) have set or legendary item abilities to bring them up to par. It's like... the abilities are soooooooo cool but the gameplay is counter-intuitive. They must be in the game because they feel so right for the class to have them but they can't "survive in the grifting wild" without additional support.
In the Avatar, legendary item powers and passive skills are sort of interchangeable. Originally, I wanted the channeling gameplay to be unlocked through items, just like all the examples we have in the game so far. But then I was like, what if it was the other way around? What if I make all those abilities true passive skills and make the Avatar a class that works with channeling by design rather than item enabling?
The Necromancer was a stab in the dark for me. It was an exploration of sorts. Trying to understand and making mistakes along the way was part of the learning process. But the Avatar... This one was a blast! So much more ground to explore and much fewer traps on my way.
Nice to hear.
If we look at the game right now, the only channeled skills that have some usage are:
- Barb WW: other than having an entire set tailored over it, this skills has moderate damage but nice aoe, medium-low cost and most important it doesn't prevent moving. This only makes this skill usable since it doesn't cripple your survivability. DH Strafe follows the exact same reasoning.
- WD bats: cost is on the high side and doesn't let you move, making automatically it a bad choice. But it deals a good damage as tradeoff and being basically a melee skill can be of use in a "pull, group, destroy" playstyle.
Being penalized in movement is a huge one. The damage and survivability tradeoff needs to be way higher to make them usable.
I really enjoyed this. If you don't mind, I'd like to post my own ideas for some of the Avatar's in-game dialogue. Tell me what you think!
Character Introduction
"When the Worldstone was destroyed, the resulting explosion transformed Scosglen into a barren desert. The Druids who died in the blast were the lucky ones. The rest wasted away slowly, deprived of their connection with nature and driven mad with grief. Only we Avatars, the oldest and wisest of the Druids, managed to survive...and even our power was greatly diminished. For years, we sought a way to restore our homeland, to breathe life back into our forests and fields. It was no use. Baal's foul corruption had seeped into the soil, and not even the hardiest plants would grow. Slowly but surely, we lost hope."
"But now, that has changed. Three days ago, I watched a star fall in the South. Traveling ravens tell me it has landed near the town of New Tristram, and that the dead there have risen to consume the living. I set out on the road now, driven by a new sense of purpose. I have already seen one land brought to ruin by the forces of darkness. I will not allow it to happen again."
Upon Gaining a Level:
- "The road rises to meet me."
- "The wind blows at my back."
- "The sun shines brighter."
- "My roots grow deeper."
- "I can see more clearly."
- "It is the journey that matters most."
- "One with everything, and everything in one."
- "Each moment alive is a blessing."
- "Fiacla-Géar...you hold me in the palm of your hand."
Massacre / Mighty Blow:
- "May the ravens take your eyes."
- "May the wolves gnaw your bones."
- "May the rivers rush to drown you."
- "May the earth swallow you whole."
- "Return to dust."
- "Your day has come!"
- "You will reap what you have sown."
- "There'll be none to mourn for you, hellspawn."
- "You'll make good fertilizer."
Not Enough Will To Use a Skill:
"I have not the Will for that."
"I lack the Will."
"My Will is not strong enough."
"I must build more Will first."
"The cost is too great."
Skill on Cooldown:
- "Be calm."
- "Patience is a virtue."
- "To every thing, there is a season."
- "I need time to grow."
- "I must center myself."
Low Health:
- "It cannot end like this!"
- "Best to retreat."
- "No...it is too soon..."
- "My roots wither..."
- "The clouds gather..."
- "The river has run dry..."
- "My connection fades..."
Inventory Full:
- "I am no beast of burden."
- "This will only slow me down."
- "I cannot run free if I am weighted down."
- "Don't get greedy, now."
Cannot Equip Gear:
- "I am unfamiliar with this item."
- "They never spoke of such things in Scosglen."
- "Best to leave this for someone else."
- "I think not."
I would try to record some of these, but I'm thinking this character would speak in an Irish or Scottish accent...and I can't do either of those to save my life.
Avatar Q&A
Nightcrest87, the creator of the featured fan-made Avatar on the front page, made this Q&A for those interested in having a little more insight and knowing his thought process when designing the class. Check it out!
Avatar Fanart by Applibot Inc© and Nathalia Gomes©
To help people visualize the idea even better, Nightcrest has also set aside these amazing fanart ideas from Applibot Inc (male) and Nathalia Gomes (female).
General Concept:
Q: This class is clearly the Diablo II Druid. Why did you choose the name Avatar instead of Druid?
A: First of all, in this fan creation Avatars are Druids. It is just an honorary title bestowed to the wisest of druids. That being said, when I was researching the thematic aspects of the Druid in Diablo II, it became fast apparent that the original concept was lacking. The original concept had basically 4-6 themes depending on how conservative you are in the way you categorize them. The rest of the classes had an average of 8 themes in their skills trees. That being said, the theme of the Druid class had to be significantly enhanced in order to become something functional in D3. Therefore…, Avatars.
Q: Can you compare the themes of the Druids and the Avatars?
A: The Druids have the following themes: volcanism, weather, transformation (dps/tank) and companion (support/offence). The avatars have kept the same thematic identity but have diversified them as well as adding new aspects to it. The Avatars have the following themes: tectonics (volcanism, quakes, tidal forces), weather, companion (offense/support/utility), transformation (beast – melee dps, wisp – caster dps, oak – defensive/support, hybrid – utility), nature (growth, cleansing, survival), piercing weapon affinity and special interactions with poison elemental damage.
Q: What are the Avatars exactly?
A: The Avatars are the elite of the Diablo II Druid class. They are the ones who have reached the high peak of being a Druid either through their mental age or some genetic enabling trait. They are the embodiment of nature. They are one with everything. If Sanctuary had flesh and bones and was a living entity, that would be the Avatars. And this is where the name came from, *Avatars* are the *image/representation* of Sanctuary; even literally. All Avatars were once Druids, but not all Druids will manage to become Avatars. I could have called them Archdruids but it felt too cliché.
Q: Why is Will (Willpower) their primary resource?
A: The Avatars can command nature itself. They can animate the elements, they can influence animals and give conscience to plants. In my mind, willpower seemed like the resource that made absolute sense for them.
Q: Why is Wisdom their primary stat?
A: When I started designing the Necro, the Druid was also at the back of my mind, although I wasn’t sure if I would actually design it as well. I needed a primary stat that both classes could use. In fact, I decided on Wisdom for both long before I even created the first spell for the Necros.
Q: Why did you choose Fire, Lightning, Cold and Poison damage for their runes and skills?
A: As a class that is one with nature, I chose to use the 3 powers that are nature itself (Cold, Fire and Lightning) and the one that nature frequently enhances its creations with (Poison). Those 4 powers are also a small tribute to the Diablo II game, as they were the only ones present back then. My original idea on this class also employed a thematically primal version of Shadow damage but I quickly changed my mind on that.
Q: What is the gameplay and synergies of the class?
A: Unlike Crusaders and Monks which are tank(-ish) classes that can also heal, the Avatars are mainly a support class that has the ability to also wreak havoc if they so choose. Their primary role in a group is to be their safeguard against failure. I even created an item set that highlights this design; The Shards of Awye. That being said, the Avatars also have multiple DPS builds. In addition the avatars are capable of utilizing most tertiary statists in a variety of ways by employing internal synergies. No tertiary stat is useless to the Avatar; they can use everything provided they have the right combination of skills, items and passives equipped. Finally, their skills have a lot of inner synergies with themselves.
Q: What are the class specific items of the Avatar and what weapons can they use?
A: They have three class specific items: Spirit Cuffs (wrists), Javelins (1-h ranged, dual wielded), Lances (2-h melee). Their only weapon proficiency is piercing weapons. They can use all types of non-class specific piercing weapons from daggers (sorry, didn’t have enough space to add them to the passive – they would be in the 1-h sword/spear category) to crossbows. I choose piercing weapons for thematic reasons only. The avatars are naturalists, their favourite colour is green for Elun… ehmm… Tyrael’s sake!!! I wanted them to give quick merciful deaths to their enemies through precise strikes. Slashing and bludgeoning weapons are anything but… So… no furnace for you! …not that you would need one. >_>
Skills & Gameplay:
Q: Are skill costs high, low or balanced?
A: Skill costs are high but so are resource generation mechanics. The avatars will find themselves starved as often as they find themselves satiated. The class was designed in such a way that resources are awfully limited but they can also be generated very fast. It’s a way to actively promote the overall theme of alternation and vigor that the class possess through gameplay design. Of course, all that only comes into perspective if you understand how small the resource “globe” of the avatar would be which I didn’t have a way to describe in any place other than here.
Q: Why do the Avatars have so many channeled abilities?
A: I wanted the Avatars to a class that needs to make decisions on when to support allies and when to destroy enemies. I didn’t want them to be able to do both at the same time equally in efficiency. Channeled spells are a good way of doing that because they gate APM. I also gave them some additional support on the channeling theme through some of the passives. When you play the Avatar you won’t have to be a channeler by default. But if you choose so, there are synergetic passives that can make it easier for you. Finally, I added additional flexibility by making a couple of spells work with toggle mechanics
.
Q: Where are Werewolf and Werebear?
A: The entire shape-shifting tree in the Diablo II Druid was very distinct from all other trees on all other classes. It had an amazingly singular thematic identity. That being said, the skill tree was lackluster as hell in terms of recoding it into Diablo III format. It was clear from the very start that I could not have 2 spells (Werewolf, Werebear) so I decided to recode the entire D2 tree into a D3 single skill. The original idea had 3 abilities for the wolf form (base and 2 runes) and 3 runes for the bear but eventually I decided that I could make it even more diverse than that. The result is Beast Within, which is the entire shape-shifting skill tree compressed into one skill, and then some!
Q: Why does the primary and secondary attacks of Twisted Lineage do the same weapon damage?
A: The base damage is the same because the gameplay on this particular skill revolves about making the right choice in the right time. Both abilities are legit but they work kind of like the rogue from WoW. Think of the primary one as a combo stacker and the secondary one as a combo spender. More or less…
Q: What is the purpose of wisp form?
A: Just like Barbarians have Wrath of the Berserker that empowers their melee prowess, the Avatars have Will-O-Wisp that empowers their casting prowess. The Avatars are resource starved by design and wisp form is a brief solution to that problem that comes at a very unique cost that requires micromanagement. It’s a completely different type of gameplay that can be both rewarding and risky at the same time.
Q: Why is oak form a toggle? It’s not like you can cast other spells while it is active.
A: Oak form is basically a panic button when in dire need of defense. I wouldn’t want you accidentally die to a molten explosion because your fingers moved out of the button in your duress. Besides, making it a toggle spell can also help you plan ahead and queue up the defensive abilities you are going to use the moment you disable the form.
Q: Speaking of toggles, what is the deal with Raven Flock?
A: Raven Flock is an AoE spell that buffs itself up depending on how long it has been active. I can’t imagine that any spell that actively summons 40ish companions would be good for your FpS or the game itself; even the animation of the spell I imagined would be set in stone and unchangeable regardless of how many “ravens” you would have around. It’s a toggle spell because I don’t want you to waste time buffing the spell up. Throw it at the face of your enemies while your primary focus is either to support or deal damage with stronger spells. That spell is in the Dominion tree because of its theme, which is basically “call companions to my side”, but it is by no means a companion summon like the other skills in Dominion.
Q: What’s the deal with the primary abilities? They all feel, strangely familiar…
A: It’s a tribute to nostalgia to the Amazon class from Diablo II. {nostalgia} I’d like to think that female Avatars could visually resemble the Amazons a bit. {/nostalgia} Amazons have been mostly absorbed by the Demon Hunters and I don’t expect them to ever make an appearance in Diablo III as a playable class although they can definitely appear as lore characters I guess. The only part of their theme that was not absorbed was their Javelin/Spear skills. When I was planning out the primary and secondary abilities of the Avatar, I was originally thinking of designing nature spells for both categories. After further thought, I decided to only design half of them as pure nature spells and the rest as javelin and lance spells that have a decent number of elemental and nature related runes.
Q: Some runes don’t mention what type of damage they deal. What’s up with that?
A: With the exception of Elemental Spirit that deals damage similar to the one it buffs up, all other unspecified runes deal the same type of damage as the base form of the ability. It was mostly omitted for convenience’s sake.
Q: Why is X ability so broken?
A: Guys, I’m … I’m sorry. When you are creating something on your own, the moment it starts to take shape, you get excited and you kind of end up falling in love with it. You become blind to its flaws because in your own mind it somehow made sense in the first place and you have no feedback from anyone at all to slap you back into reality, because it’s a fan creation that you do on your own; it’s not a group endeavor. I tried to iron out the biggest extremities but I’m sure things slipped through, especially in the between-skill synergies.
Misc Info:
Q: How did you plan out the Avatar and in what order did you design the abilities?
A: I started by devoting a few hours to research and trying to remember what the D2 Druid was all about. Immediately after, I had the transformation spells planned out followed shortly by the elemental ones. After that I planned the dominion spells and the defensive ones, leaving the secondary and primary for last. While I was working on the concepts of the spells, I was also thinking of possible passives and had pretty much established what I wanted my two 6pc sets to be about gameplay-wise.
Design wise, I finished the abilities in this order: Transformation -> Elemental -> Defensive -> Secondaries -> Passives -> Dominion -> Items -> Primaries.
Q: How many hours did this fan creation take you?
A: Around 60ish hours just like the Necro last month. But I had to do it in about half the days because I wanted it ready before Blizzcon.
Q: Where are the character models, concept arts, VFX etc.
A: My creativity sparks in concept creation and theorycrafting. Artworks is not my best side. /hangs head in sadness
Q: Is there a list to see the skill recodings from Diablo II to Diablo III?
A: Here are the 3 Druid skill trees and the Amazon javelin/spear skill tree:
Firestorm -> Eruption (Fire and Brimstone)
Molten Boulder -> Eruption (Molten Boulder)
Arctic Blast -> Monsoon (Base)
Fissure -> Tremors (Blazing Pillar)
Cyclone Armor -> To the Bitter End (Passive) / Natural Remedies (Acquired Tolerance)
Twister -> Already in game: Wizard (Energy Twister - Base)
Volcano -> Eruption (Stratovolcano)
Tornado -> Monsoon (Cataclysm)
Armageddon -> Eruption (Stratovolcano)
Hurricane -> Monsoon (Supercell)
Werewolf -> Beast Within (Hunger of Lupus)
Lycanthropy -> Beast Within (Alpha Beast)
Werebear -> Beast Within (Might of Ursus)
Feral Rage -> Beast Within (Hunger of Lupus)
Maul -> Beast Within (Might of Ursus)
Rabies -> Beast Within (Cunning of Vulpus)
Fire Claws -> Beast Within (Fervor of Catus)
Hunger -> Beast Within (Hunger of Lupus)
Shock Wave -> Beast Within (Might of Ursus)
Fury -> Beast Within (Base)
Raven -> Raven Flock (Base)
Poison Creeper -> Creeping Vine (Poison Creeper)
Oak Sage -> Elemental Spirit (Gravelus)
Summon Spirit Wolf -> Already in game: Demon Hunter (Companion – Wolf Companion)
Carrion Vine -> Creeping Vine (Vampiric Coil)
Heart of Wolverine -> Natural Remedies (Celerity)
Summon Dire Wolf -> Already in game: Demon Hunter (Companion – Wolf Companion)
Solar Creeper -> Creeping Vine (Vampiric Coil)
Spirit of Barbs -> Barbed Skin (Reflective Carapace)
Summon Grizzly -> Feral Guardian (Base)
Jab -> Triple Jab (Base)
Power Strike -> Aimed Throw (Headshot)
Poison Javelin -> Piercing Thrust (Dissipating Plague)
Impale -> Piercing Thrust (Base)
Lightning Bolt -> Piercing Thrust (Charged Strike)
Charged Strike -> Piercing Thrust (Charged Strike)
Plague Javelin -> Piercing Thrust (Dissipating Plague)
Fend -> Omnistrike (Base)
Lightning Strike -> Dart Rain (Meteorological Tantrum)
Lightning Fury -> Dart Rain (Meteorological Tantrum)
We hope you guys enjoy this one as much as the Necromancer. Feel free to leave feedback on what you think could be improved and what you liked the most! The devs are always watching these and, who knows, maybe it can even influence the future direction of the game.
I just loved going through what Nightcrest wrote and picturing it in-game. Transforming into cool new forms, summoning the elemental forces of nature (Tsunami, Volcano, Monsoons), having animals and plants help you and follow your lead - seems like an amazing Diablo class
Great work! This brings back fond memories from D2, running around with the forces of nature by my side
Would love for there to be some sort of wolf summoning skill though, since the Druid could summon a pack of wolves as compared to DH one lonely wolf. Maybe make the Avatar have white wolves to distinguish them from the DH wolf
Can see some great potential synergy between these wolves and shapeshifting.
Another really good concept. I like the theme a lot and the way you managed to deal with everything.
I especially appreciated the focus on channeled spells: they are atm a very non-effective way of playing due to their stationary nature and basically being very resource hungry. A proper class based on channels and supportuing this playstyle is a very nice twist.
If we look at the game right now, the only channeled skills that have some usage are:
- Barb WW: other than having an entire set tailored over it, this skills has moderate damage but nice aoe, medium-low cost and most important it doesn't prevent moving. This only makes this skill usable since it doesn't cripple your survivability. DH Strafe follows the exact same reasoning.
- WD bats: cost is on the high side and doesn't let you move, making automatically it a bad choice. But it deals a good damage as tradeoff and being basically a melee skill can be of use in a "pull, group, destroy" playstyle.
Being penalized in movement is a huge one. The damage and survivability tradeoff needs to be way higher to make them usable.
I really enjoyed this. If you don't mind, I'd like to post my own ideas for some of the Avatar's in-game dialogue. Tell me what you think!
Character Introduction
"When the Worldstone was destroyed, the resulting explosion transformed Scosglen into a barren desert. The Druids who died in the blast were the lucky ones. The rest wasted away slowly, deprived of their connection with nature and driven mad with grief. Only we Avatars, the oldest and wisest of the Druids, managed to survive...and even our power was greatly diminished. For years, we sought a way to restore our homeland, to breathe life back into our forests and fields. It was no use. Baal's foul corruption had seeped into the soil, and not even the hardiest plants would grow. Slowly but surely, we lost hope."
"But now, that has changed. Three days ago, I watched a star fall in the South. Traveling ravens tell me it has landed near the town of New Tristram, and that the dead there have risen to consume the living. I set out on the road now, driven by a new sense of purpose. I have already seen one land brought to ruin by the forces of darkness. I will not allow it to happen again."
Upon Gaining a Level:
- "The road rises to meet me."
- "The wind blows at my back."
- "The sun shines brighter."
- "My roots grow deeper."
- "I can see more clearly."
- "It is the journey that matters most."
- "One with everything, and everything in one."
- "Each moment alive is a blessing."
- "Fiacla-Géar...you hold me in the palm of your hand."
Massacre / Mighty Blow:
- "May the ravens take your eyes."
- "May the wolves gnaw your bones."
- "May the rivers rush to drown you."
- "May the earth swallow you whole."
- "Return to dust."
- "Your day has come!"
- "You will reap what you have sown."
- "There'll be none to mourn for you, hellspawn."
- "You'll make good fertilizer."
Not Enough Will To Use a Skill:
"I have not the Will for that."
"I lack the Will."
"My Will is not strong enough."
"I must build more Will first."
"The cost is too great."
Skill on Cooldown:
- "Be calm."
- "Patience is a virtue."
- "To every thing, there is a season."
- "I need time to grow."
- "I must center myself."
Low Health:
- "It cannot end like this!"
- "Best to retreat."
- "No...it is too soon..."
- "My roots wither..."
- "The clouds gather..."
- "The river has run dry..."
- "My connection fades..."
Inventory Full:
- "I am no beast of burden."
- "This will only slow me down."
- "I cannot run free if I am weighted down."
- "Don't get greedy, now."
Cannot Equip Gear:
- "I am unfamiliar with this item."
- "They never spoke of such things in Scosglen."
- "Best to leave this for someone else."
- "I think not."
I would try to record some of these, but I'm thinking this character would speak in an Irish or Scottish accent...and I can't do either of those to save my life.
I love this! Great work
"... When can this be put into the game?" - Everyone probably
"We", "Everyone" - Argumentum ad populum. "You people" - Argumentum ad hominem. "Your dumb" - Contractionem absum.