TL;DR:
Like a skill tree, skill proficiency would make it so by playing your build you can specialize into those skills in particular. The more you use it, the more effective it becomes.
The concept is to make players feel like they are working both on finding new legendary gear and also making their own character(s) specialized to the skills and build they desire just by playing and using those skills. Not having to search for specific legendary effects to do so. And if they did find one it would be even more effective along with the proficiency.
The game is too focused on the items you loot and not about the effort you put in to your own character. Only your loot makes up your character, and the extra account-wide points. Nothing is personal to your characters, they are just names and the wearers of the loot that you found.
By having more skill specialization and diversity through actual leveling and scaling up by proficiency in that skill, allows for more room to expand the builds viable in the endgame.
Skill proficiency would seal the deal, it would make every face of the game into a realm where players can make their own choices and feel like they are in control of them and are making a difference through their own effort and time.
Let's start making our characters more unique, rather than our items, shall we? I'm talking about the original skill tree concept. The paragon point system was a stab at it, and it did a great job allowing players to spend points into one modifier, but it's not only able to be reset, but it's obvious the ones you would want the most.
Why can't we make a true skill tree? Except you can always re-spec your skills, but the more you use one skill the more it grows, like a tree. Bingo.
Instead of making everything based solely on weapon damage, can't you add a proficiency modifier to those that use one particular skill the most?
The more you use one skill, the more the modifiers on that skill increases, it can then make players do more diverse builds that aren't just based on effects of an item or the weapon damage along with additional modifiers like the main stats to give the final damage output, but rather, they're able to do the build because the put a lot of time and effort into using that skill they like so much.
If players had skill proficiency they would feel that the more they played the style they like the more powerful their character becomes with that skill regardless of the loot they find.
This simple concept would make a huge difference in relying only on loot to make the game fun, it would actually encourage playing the game merely to get stronger in one skill like one would from training and gaining experience.
The experience that you get for Paragon levels that give you points to spend, there isn't really a diversification factor by having people spend points on additional modifiers when obviously the choice is usually clear and you can always reset it and do anything else; there's nothing permanent.
But having skill proficiency would allow players to feel they have benefited the character they played.
The current paragon points system benefits every character they have in that game mode, which is an awesome system.
While on top of that, having a character by character power scale system, based on how much time you spend on that character class in each skill, would make every character unique based on their own skill build, rather than the items and legendary power of their items and simply how many paragon levels you've gotten.
Right now, the only thing that happens when you level from 1-70 is you unlock skills along the way.
But imagine if you could unlock the skill, and as you use it more, the more powerful the skill becomes.
That immediately puts emphasis on the concept that you are training and gaining experience in a skill allowing players choose to stay on a skill rather than be forced to use another skill simply because they don't have the right legendary effect or stats or the effect of that rune wasn't particularly potent enough to be viable.
Just by spending time on the skill automatically makes the skill more and more useful for you until you can permanently use it until you wise to start become more proficient at another build, and then later go back to it again.
Eventually, you can have characters who are proficient in many skills therefore have a variety of unique builds at their disposal.
The character itself is growing by you playing it, instead of only the items you find and the paragon points you have to spend.
In the end, it makes it so by playing your build you can specialize into those skills in particular and be strong based on those skills you're using instead of only your items. It makes every single skill you have an actual skill that you are getting more skillful at the more you use it.
You can try and get good at many skills, or focus on one main skill while trying on other skills, for example, or only use one build and get all those skills more proficient.
I think it would certainly add a perfect dynamic to the current system that's been built now.
Just one example of doing it, you will have something like:
Hungering Arrow - 12% Proficiency
So, every stat that Hungering Arrow has will be increased by 12% of whichever scaling method in place.
Having 100% means you have mastered the skill and the effects are optimum. However, 100% may not necessarily need to be capped, could be limitless like paragon levels and points. Diminishing return would be viable.
There are a variety of other approaches and systems that could work, different ways to scale the proficiency and different mechanics.
But the concept is to make players feel like they are working both on finding new legendary gear and also making their own character(s) specialized to the skills and build they desire just by playing and using those skills. Not having to search for specific legendary effects to do so.
And if they did find one it would be even more effective along with the proficiency.
To dig into details, you can even separate the proficiency for each rune and also have one basic proficiency for that skill.
So, if you were to use one rune you would get proficient in it and the skill itself, but if you changed runes you wouldn't have proficiency in the new rune, but you still have proficiency in the base skill.
Each rune essentially, is a branching out of the skill tree that can grow. As you empower a skill rune, you are also empowering the base skill which can be then beneficial for you even when you use another rune of the same skill.
There are still specifics that need consideration, but at this point, the concept has been proposed, as for the technical mechanics, it can be only up to developers to decide how exactly to go about scaling and which factors to modify when becoming more proficient.
But the concept and idea holds together quite strong overall. It would bring a lot more to play for, well-fitted with the current systems created, and brings a new dimension of gameplay experience and depth.
It's a large task, but certainly there is an actual functional approach to a system that can be implemented, in order to add more game dynamics, which the game would truly benefit from having, particularly in this respect, along with the current infrastructure.
I think it's something worthy of consideration and certainly a headway into something even more intriguing, as more dynamics like this are built on to the current foundation.
With the assets that have been directed toward adding new systems that make the game function more seamlessly, this direction or approach through this additional system integrated to the game would really put everything in it's place and hold together a very intricate and well-composed gameplay experience.
Furthermore, another huge addition that we know is being developed is still in the works. A ladder.
Add a ladder on top of this, and you have a masterpiece.
Think about the amount of diversity in a competitive matter. This would make the game much more intense and interesting.
Not everyone is using the same build to rush to max level, each player can specialize their skills and be just as powerful as others that have put time into their skills.
It makes it harder to pinpoint the most effective build which makes the game more about personal trial and error, innovation and inventing new styles and specs.
There is more depth to the puzzle that needs solving. Pure efficiency.
Rather than a single-dimensional approach, focused on one skill in particular, that outperforms every other build using alternative skills.
Simply due to the fact that there was never any way to specialize into a build enough to make a variety of builds viable, aside from random legendary effects that either don't make much of a difference or completely, outright makes one skill the best of all.
The game is too focused on the items you loot and not about the effort you put in to your own character. Only your loot makes up your character, and the extra account-wide points. Nothing is personal to your characters, they are just names and the wearers of the loot that you found.
By having more skill specialization and diversity through actual leveling and scaling up by proficiency in that skill, allows for more room to expand the builds viable in the endgame.
Having more routes to the same endgame ultimately creates a more enjoyable and unique experience for everyone.
It is a key component to everything altogether, from RNG, to paragon points, to legendary effects.
Skill proficiency would seal the deal, it would make every face of the game into a realm where players can make their own choices and feel like they are in control of them and are making a difference through their own effort and time.
Thanks for your time, Immortal Sol
King Union Ocean
Guardians of Death
Like a skill tree, skill proficiency would make it so by playing your build you can specialize into those skills in particular. The more you use it, the more effective it becomes.
Let's start making our characters more unique, rather than our items, shall we? I'm talking about the original skill tree concept. The paragon point system was a stab at it, and it did a great job allowing players to spend points into one modifier, but it's not only able to be reset, but it's obvious the ones you would want the most.
Just one example of doing it, you will have something like:
Having 100% means you have mastered the skill and the effects are optimum. However, 100% may not necessarily need to be capped, could be limitless like paragon levels and points. Diminishing return would be viable.
To dig into details, you can even separate the proficiency for each rune and also have one basic proficiency for that skill.
Furthermore, another huge addition that we know is being developed is still in the works. A ladder.
Thanks for your time,
Immortal Sol
King Union Ocean
Guardians of Death