Two character archetypes I'd like to see in KI

Game Suggestions & Feedback
1

It looks like the hot thing to be doing these days is post about the kind of character you want to see in KI, so I guess I’ll toss out my opinion too. I’m not gonna bother with a big elaborate post about backstory or appearance though, just quick blurbs about the important details.

Puppeteer

Examples: Carl, Relius (Blazblue,) Zato/Eddie (Guilty Gear,) Chaos (UNIEL,) various characters (Persona)

I was kinda thinking gargos would be this but he didn’t really turn out that way, so it would be nice to see the archetype in another season, if we get one. It’s often executed pretty differently depending on the game and the character but the core idea is the same: controlling more than one attacking character at once. On the simple end of things you have relius whose puppet automatically moves to stay near him and is easy to keep track of, while on the more complicated end of things you have someone like carl, who actually has to manually control the movement of his puppet to get her in position to attack. Personally I think the former would suit KI more than the latter, but however it’s done I’m really curious how IG could make the archetype work in this system.

Spellcaster

Examples: Dormammu (Marvel 3,) Nine (Blazblue,) Invoker (DOTA 2,) That Little Wizard Guy From Magicka (Magicka)

This is a character archetype I’ve fallen in love with after being introduced to the concept; using different moves to build up spell components that are combined for a variety of different special moves. It’s a versatile archetype, generally having a tool for any situation, but one that requires preparation in advance to have the necessary spell components for the job. Nine’s 20(?) spells are maybe a bit much, but something like 9-10 different spells to work with could hit the sweet spot of fun, I think. Probably a lot of work to design, though.

8 Likes
2

I agree with the puppeter. Maybe mira vampire boss could be a puppeter like reluis where he summons a shrouded creature or unsummons it at will during fights

3

Some example matches:

Relius

Nine

1 Like
4

I think the spell caster archetype is interesting. Puppeteers seem really annoying to fight, so can’t say I’d really want to have to deal with them in KI.

1 Like
5

Relius Clover and Dormammu are two of my favorite characters

I would totally co-main a puppeter

1 Like
6

Same here. Puppeteer remind me of Jojo stands. That’s why I want to see them in KI. :smiley:

7

Not that much more annoying than any of the other ways characters in KI can have attacks separated from themselves, I imagine. At the very least a puppet wouldn’t be knocking you out of combos like gargos minions.

Personally though if I had to pick one I want more it would be the spellcaster. I think it’s a really great design concept that fits well into many different genres.

1 Like
8

Nine has my vote! Seems like that would be fun.

9

I would totally main a puppeter if that is what it could take to body your sako. Lol

10

No Nine. That’s just not fair.

11

Either that, or Noel, lol

12

Sign me up for this. They’d be fun adds for the game in my opinion. Would the Puppet have it’s own Stamina/Health bar? Like, attack it for so much damage and it becomes unusable for a fixed amount of time?

13

I mean, there’s a bunch of ways to do it. You could do it like chaos, where the puppet stays active as long as it isn’t hit, and is only vulnerable when attacking…though for that to work, you probably wouldn’t want the puppet’s attacks to be completely desynced from the main character. For carl, the puppet is always out, but she can only act by spending the puppet meter and chunks of it are lost when she’s hit. I like the way it works for relius the most–the puppet has to be summoned, the meter ticks down gradually as long as she’s out, if she or relius get hit she’s unsummoned, and it costs chunks of the meter to use her moves. I think there’s a little too much potential for messiness with the way carl’s works, where she’s always out and has to be moved manually. Having the puppet automatically move to stay near the puppeteer but constantly tick down the meter as long as it’s out would work best for KI, I think.

1 Like
14

Lol. Have we ever even played before? :-p

15

I agree. This is the kind of thread I like, the “how would they play?” kind of character crafting.

While we have characters that have elements of a puppeteer (Gargos’ with his Winions, Kan-Ra’s Traps, and Aganos’ Walls come to mind) a dedicated puppeteer would be rather interesting.
As others have said, I think the “True Tsar” could be a good fit. Master vampires have been known to have a host of different thralls and familiars to guard them in their sleep, aid them in combat, or even act as cattle. There’s a wide range of possibilities to explore.
He’d be average at best alone, but with his buddy he could do dirty work indeed. It’d be kinda like Gargos and his imps, but the strengths and weaknesses may need to be even more pronounced.

As far as the spellcaster, I think it’d be interesting to have a true blue fireball zoner in that role. Every single one of their specials (or almost all of them, thinking about it) could be a projectile. Jumping fireballs ala Shago, fireballs that hit behind, overheads and lows ala Spinal, delayed explosions, staggering fireballs… Even their linkers and enders would follow the same theme.
And if they’re going to follow the same weaknesses as sorcerers in non-FG’s, they don’t do well up close and would have to manage a mana bar that charges rather slowly (outside of instinct at least) in addition to Shadow and Instinct to get their best goodies.
And if I had to make another personal thing for that wish list, I’d prefer it to be a woman because witches are precious and wonderful. :kissing_closed_eyes: And it’d make the lady friend happy.

16

I’ve actually put quite a bit of thought into how a spellcaster could work-- @aWholio and I talk about this kind of stuff a lot, so we’ve discussed it before. I’ve got a whole little text doc on this, even. :stuck_out_tongue:

Let’s say they have three different spell components they can stock (0, 1, 2,) and a spell can be cast with one or two stocks by pressing all 3 kicks. That gives you 9 possible spells:

0
1
2
00
01
02
11
12
22

So let’s say their kick specials are the moves they use to build spells. 214K could be a close range pressure option, building a stock on hit or block, neutral on block or maybe plus, but instead of an opener it’s a soft knockdown. 236K could be a move comparable to ice lance, marginally unsafe but covering a large amount of horizontal space and again a soft knockdown instead of a combo. Maybe air OK, too? The shadow versions of the moves could build a “reserve” spell, triggered with all punches that can’t have its components replaced by normal stock-building moves. And of course the moves themselves would be buffed–214KK could be an opener, and 236KK could be safe from shadow counters and build stocks on block. The reserve spell is important because having that means your next action isn’t quite so telegraphed–you can have multiple options at the ready for different things your opponent might throw at you.

So you’ve got a character who’s pretty versatile to begin with, being able to zone or pressure with either stock building option. I think a good weakness to balance that out would be a lack of a safe opener without having a spell stocked–make one of the 1-stock spells a plus on block opener, but otherwise give them just one opener that has to be spaced to be safe. Maybe something like a rog rush punch, covering decent ground but unsafe if it hits closer than the tip. You could round that out with an unsafe AA special that’s also used for juggles, and the shadow version is a reversal.

From there you just have to decide what the spells are. They have to be strong enough (particularly the 2-stock spells) to make it worth playing a character that lacks a safe opener. I have ideas but I’m curious what others would want :stuck_out_tongue:

As for instinct, you can pretty much just rip off nine’s overdrive–make 214K and 236K build stocks on hit, block, or whiff. IMO that’s not quite strong enough to compete with other instincts though, so they could also both become openers. So you go from a character that’s versatile but needs some prep time for their offense to be really threatening, to one that always represents a threat whether they’re close or far away.

Of course, like you said, you could also go for a more hardcore zoner approach to it and I think that would work great too. The great thing about the spellcaster archetype is that it’s flexible–it’s like an added layer of flavor you can lay over the archetypes that already exist in games.

1 Like
17

No we havent but Ill get wrecked anyway.

18

I do like flexible witches…
I mean…um… Archetypes :flushed:

19

The less we talk about what goes on in blazblue’s story mode, the better, lol.

4 Likes
20

I haven’t even touched CF’s story yet. Is it that bad?