Managed abilities vs hard timers.

rungard

I would like to see EQN abandon the idea that all abilities are on hard timers like GW2 and other mmos. I have no issues with a global timer for all abilities and theres nothing wrong with daily abilities on timers but the vast majority of skills and abilities should not use hard timers.

instead they should use the following system:

Each ability will use mana/stamina like in the original eq. When an ability is used it will have a short duration "soft" timer or cooldown. When the skill is used the soft cooldown turns the icon yellow, which indicated that the skill can still be used but will cost extra resources (Mana and Stamina). When it is used again the icon turns from yellow to red, and on the next use there are additional resources used (Extra mana,stamina, and health).

each ability will have its own unique cooldowns and cost requirements for the yellow and red usages.

this allows full use of skills at anytime you have the manageable resources (mana/stamina/health) but also puts in an element of efficiency, and will deter skill spamming and promote skilled gameplay.

this will allow the developers to put in things like castable spells like heals and crowd control, while preventing them from becoming spammable.

This will add another layer of depth to the skill system and since each skill is individual, the nature of its extended use could also be a factor in choosing a skill. Some skills might have a very short yellow but long red modes and other skills might grow in power or range or area with extended cost use.

There are many way you can tweak it to provide a depth of gameplay without having to resort to button mashing hard timers.

 

Unfriendly

Sounds really cool!