Lengendary Weapons made by you...

[IchigoRXC]

So within fantasy settings there have and probably always will be fantastic weapons wielded by the heroes and villains etc of the fantasy realm.

Now sometimes these weapons were not always so fantastic, at some point they all started off as an idea in a mystical forge or as a weapon in the hands of a would be adventurer, much like yourself.

What I would like to see is the ability to have a weapon you started off using right at the begining of the game be able to be forged anew, infused with spells, basically create your own legendary weapon along your travels. It wouldn't have to be a weapon, that was just easy as an example, it could be a shield, a ring, a cloak anything your character could use. But something that helps define your character in a similar way that defines notable characters such as Conan and his sword, Drizzt and his scimitars, Khelben and his staff, I am sure you can think of many others.

 

NPC's within baldurs gate often had their own personal items such as Xan's moonblade or Edwins amulet and I believe personal items shoud not just be restricted to your friends, you should forge one for yourself.

 

Just some sort of customisation that creates a legendary item for your chracter that defines him/her and aides in his/her journey. I was thinking it could then be added into the game as an item when you go for another playthrough, the legacy of your characters live on.

[Alweth]

I agree. It was always a little strange that your party members all had equipment specific to them but you never did. It left your character feeling a little bland. Similarly, it is strange that weapons can become enchanted through quests, etc., in the lore, but not in the player's experience. Some sort of ability to enchant your equipment would seem to make even more sense to me if magic comes from people's souls.

[Gyges]

Definitely, i've yet to see this having been implemented in a game. Making it a legendary would have to require ingredients not commonly found though. There would have to be certain mechanisms or constraints that could fend off abuse.

[NerdBoner]

i'd love for a customized weapon, armor or pendant whose history is fresh and nly tied with my deeds etc.

 

I too was always envious of my companions little personlized goodies

[Raedwulf]

I would like to second that you get a personal, upgraded item.

 

But I would add that I don't want to see this done by player crafting. Instead I would like to see a handsome NPC, like the dwarf Cromwell in Athkatla's Docks Disctrict in Baldur's Gate II, who is able to upgrade the item.

 

 

Edit: Fixed typos

Edited September 22, 2012 by Raedwulf

[Nonek]

There was something like this in both Icewind Dale's as I remember, might be misremembering as it's been awhile though.

[GhostofAnakin]

Speaking of legendary weapons made/used by you, this could be a cool little Easter egg for future games in the Project Eternity universe. Maybe in PE3, the PC comes across a legendary sword used by the mythical [insert PC character's name from PE1] at some point in their journey. It'd be nice shout out to the PC from the first game.

[fortuntek]

Since souls are important to the game's lore, it'd be cool to come across a weapon tied to a particular strong soul such as the PC's or a particular companions, etc. In the item history, it could describe how other iterations of that soul in other bodies had used that legendary item (and perhaps there were past lives which did not come in contact with it at all.) A sort of bond between weapon and soul.

 

If I had an extra $1000 lying around to donate on kickstarter, I'd write an epic level item history somewhere alone these lines maybe.

[IchigoRXC]

Speaking of legendary weapons made/used by you, this could be a cool little Easter egg for future games in the Project Eternity universe. Maybe in PE3, the PC comes across a legendary sword used by the mythical [insert PC character's name from PE1] at some point in their journey. It'd be nice shout out to the PC from the first game.

 

Funnily enough as i started to cook my dinner this is actually what I started to think. Imagine if you came across your past selfs weapon in a game sometime in the future, it would be awesome. Also maybe have to ability to export the weapons give descriptions and let them be used by others in a mod like fashion.

 

I also agree that the weapon should not be upgraded by the pc through crafting, but more you seek out people who can do it for you, or it grows a thirst and after x amount of kills it can be upgraded to a "enemy"-bane weapon, where the enemy is one that you have killed lots.

 

"Soaked in the blood of 100 elves, you feel the weapon thirst. This weapon seems to have absorbed some form energy and is growing in power. Cederic Wolfhammer sealed an ancient magic within the blade bringing forth the latent elf slaying abilities created by the small genocide of the elven population whilst wielding this sword"

[SirLancelot]

I agree that this would be an awesome idea. If your PC has reached certain goals (what these goals would be I have no idea, but I like the suggestion from IchigoRXC) maybe you'll get an offer from certain vendors/blacksmiths/whatever to have your item of choice upgraded in several different ways depending on what goals you've reached, developing your item to suit your play style and alignment as the game proceeds. You should also be able to name it, serving some people's childish needs for silly/dirty names (me excluded...).

 

Update: It would be really impressive if you could choose to upgrade an item of choice and this would render exchanging that certain item unnecessary and let you develop an attachment to it. Item hunting is always fun, getting new gear and raising your stats, but it would be even more fun to upgrade a sword for example (or most likely, a bow, in my case).

Edited September 22, 2012 by ThorHeimdallr

[IchigoRXC]

It would be good if there was some way of recording deeds completed whilst utilising the weapon/item and the description of the item constantly expands because of it. The lore of your weapon grows with each passing day and then when you pick it up in P:E 3 (or a game set in the same world) you can remember all the epic adventures you had as that character.

[duskwind]

Yeah, I'd like upgrading equipment instead of replacing it to be a viable option. It kind of sucks to say inherit a heirloom +1 sword that's the only thing you have to remember your dead mother by, then toss it aside for the +3 sword that shoots fireballs you found under a rock somewhere as soon as you've gone up a couple of levels, and then replace that with something better after a couple more levels.

[HangedMan]

What about an item that changes to reflect your personality, based upon key conversation decisions?

 

For instance, Say you're an arbiter in a dispute between Party Physical and Party Mental.

 

Do you rule in favor of Party Physical? Maybe your ring/necklace/sword/whatever[maybe you can pick it at the beginning of the game?] gets a +1 to strength (or what-have-you). Side with Mental? +1 to intelligence. Manage to maintain a neutral viewpoint, and pointing out how each side has inherent strengths and weaknesses which prevents one from objectively being better than the other? How about +2 to diplomacy, or some such.

 

And hey, if you just rammed a sword into a dragon's throat, and killed it in a spectacularly gruesome manner? Maybe the sword develops a taste for dragon blood... extra damage against them, or more likely to get critical hits or what have you.

 

Additionally, I say dragon, but you could substitute any big bad monster that's a significant challenge.

Edited September 23, 2012 by HangedMan

[Wombat]

There was something like this in both Icewind Dale's as I remember, might be misremembering as it's been awhile though.

As for IWE2, you maight mean Sorrow's Tear. It's an interesting quest which ties the setting with the item, which makes a rather simple item memorable. If it had other choices to make a different item, depending choices the players made in the quest, it would have been even better.

 

What about an item that changes to reflect your personality, based upon key conversation decisions?

Yeah, I'd like to see stories and items can be interwoven to make the experience personal. Even if we are using crafting skills, the materials and/or knowledge needed for a certain types of weapons may only be available through a certain choices the players made.

[gglorious]

I wouldn't mind personalization happening with an item. I think KOTOR2 kind of had this with the force crystal found on Dantooine. I think borrowing that idea and perhaps either mixing it with an idea like Cromwell in BG2, or a crafting system, or even a set of quests would really make things better. I mean, there is no reason why your character shouldn't be able to shape the world like this if they get more power. From the notions put forward by the campaign setting, I'd think this would even be perfectly fitting.

[TrashMan]

Yeah, I'd like upgrading equipment instead of replacing it to be a viable option. It kind of sucks to say inherit a heirloom +1 sword that's the only thing you have to remember your dead mother by, then toss it aside for the +3 sword that shoots fireballs you found under a rock somewhere as soon as you've gone up a couple of levels, and then replace that with something better after a couple more levels.

 

 

The problem comes with early items becoming far too inferior. You will always have a problem if the gap between early items and late-game ones is too big.

 

But I see people focusing too much on special properties and bonuses as the only reason to keep a weapon. fi you're am in-maxer - yes, you'll use a strogner weapon. But is that the ONLY reason why someone would prefer one weapon over another?

How about the weaposn "feel"? OR appearance?

 

Have you never refused to use a statisticly superior weapon, simply because it didn't fit your character, or you didn't like ti's history or how it looked? I know I refused using some weapons (like the Vorpal Blade +4) simply because they didbn't fit me.

 

Immagine if you can customize the apperance of your personal weapon? Suddenly it becomes a lot more attractive.

Edited September 24, 2012 by TrashMan

[Zephyr Falcon]

I think it should be a personal item rather than weapon. No reason why a ring or cloak shoudn't be the artifact directly connected to your soul.

But regarding the idea of a personal item - I'm all in favour of that.

[Longknife]

So within fantasy settings there have and probably always will be fantastic weapons wielded by the heroes and villains etc of the fantasy realm.

Now sometimes these weapons were not always so fantastic, at some point they all started off as an idea in a mystical forge or as a weapon in the hands of a would be adventurer, much like yourself.

What I would like to see is the ability to have a weapon you started off using right at the begining of the game be able to be forged anew, infused with spells, basically create your own legendary weapon along your travels. It wouldn't have to be a weapon, that was just easy as an example, it could be a shield, a ring, a cloak anything your character could use. But something that helps define your character in a similar way that defines notable characters such as Conan and his sword, Drizzt and his scimitars, Khelben and his staff, I am sure you can think of many others.

 

NPC's within baldurs gate often had their own personal items such as Xan's moonblade or Edwins amulet and I believe personal items shoud not just be restricted to your friends, you should forge one for yourself.

 

Just some sort of customisation that creates a legendary item for your chracter that defines him/her and aides in his/her journey. I was thinking it could then be added into the game as an item when you go for another playthrough, the legacy of your characters live on.

 

 

This sounds good on paper....

 

 

BUT

 

Please refer to Skyrim. I think Skyrim addresses this desire perfectly in that self-crafted weaponry in armor is ALWAYS superior to anything you can find.

....And this COMPLETELY destroys weapon diversity and any and all thrill of finding unique loot anywhere because you KNOW it'll be inferior to your own. This came at an incredibly high price, because the result is that EVERY character you make will aspire to have full self-crafted daedric armor and weaponry. To me, that's boring. No one wants their unique weapon to be weak, so of course the demand kinda ties in with "please let me make a god-like weapon named after my character."

 

 

IF such a system were implemented, they need to take care that your choices for self-crafted weaponry are very limited. Do NOT let the player craft whatever they like, but rather limit them on damage or effects. For example, perhaps what they could do is allow the player to craft a weapon with the highest potential crit rate in the game, but make it's base damage rather modest. Or let self-crafted weaponry have a unique effect that pushes the enemy back two movement squares with each strike or some other unique effect that no other weapon in the game has while keeping it's other stats rather modest. As long as it has a unique effect and use found nowhere else, it's worth carrying, but if it's in it's own class when it comes to power, then no, it'll kill weapon diversity.

 

Another alternative is, I was a big fan of Lucky in New Vegas. Why? Because Lucky has no owner. You don't find it on a body, there's no implied story behind it, there's no enemy that carries it and no quest it's tied to. Lucky is just there. For me, that says that Lucky IS the Courier's signature gun, because for all we know, he's the first person to wield it since the Great War. It was a very simple difference in Lucky's introduction into the game and how it lands in the player's hands, and yet Lucky truly feels like it belongs to the Courier, which is a nice change of pace. Instead of meeting some legendary bounty hunter in the wastes and then looting his legendary sniper rifle (which might be named after him ffs), now YOU feel like a character of legend and YOU have your signature gun that people identify you with.

 

I think we can all agree that it'd be nice to have, but I hope NOT at the cost of weapon balance. Skyrim tried to appeal to this demand, and give them credit for trying, but holy crap it was suicidal for weapon balancing AND dungeon diving for the purpose of finding sweet loot.

Edited September 24, 2012 by Longknife

[IchigoRXC]

[

 

This sounds good on paper....

 

 

BUT

 

Please refer to Skyrim. I think Skyrim addresses this desire perfectly in that self-crafted weaponry in armor is ALWAYS superior to anything you can find.

....And this COMPLETELY destroys weapon diversity and any and all thrill of finding unique loot anywhere because you KNOW it'll be inferior to your own. This came at an incredibly high price, because the result is that EVERY character you make will aspire to have full self-crafted daedric armor and weaponry. To me, that's boring. No one wants their unique weapon to be weak, so of course the demand kinda ties in with "please let me make a god-like weapon named after my character."

 

 

 

My concept was less building a weapon from scratch but bonding with a weapon over time and making it your own. I was not suggesting anything like the Skyrim crafting engine which you just churn out weapon after weapon armour after armour til you raise your level and get better stuff.

 

For me it was more about fulfilling certain requirements. A bloodthirsty blade (Muramasa) would be one coated in the blood of hundreds of enemies, taken to a magical smith and imbued with the blood it is coated in, which makes it cursed, but fantastically strong.

 

I also really like the idea Trashman mentioned where you can customise the look too, also gglorious mentioning the lightsabre customisation. Both of these would be fantastic and add new depth to your items/weapons. You find a tiara encrusted with rubies, well pop them out and into your family crest medallion.

 

I think there should be a limit to how many times a weapon can be upgraded, but no limit to what you can do with it during those. If you want to focus on crit's and leave the damage as it is then go for it. If you want 5 completely different effects, then let it be. Of course it would be balanced in house by the devs to fit with their weapon scheme but I think it could be really well done.

[agewisdom]

I like this idea but it definitely needs to be tied into a major side quest. Perhaps whichever weapon the PC chooses to create is somehow infused with the souls or some life form. This could be a sentient weapon that somehow fuses with the PC. Whenever the PC levels up, the relationship/bond between them allows the weapon to be levelled up as well. To make it a double edged sword, there could be a risk that the weapon could turn on its' wielder, if it strongly disagrees with the actions taken by the PC.

 

Of course, this might require some careful balancing. At the same time, there's a risk of making all other potential weapons redundant.

[OldRPG'sAreGood]

I'd like this, but only if the item is not made by the player, rather than some very talented NPC. Also I'd prefer that it'd cost and alot and to keep these legendary items from getting to every equipment slot, I'd say that only one personal item can be made, or "connected to his/her soul". And perhaps the item would have to be magical to begin with, so that the soul isn't taxated too much.

 

This, IMO, would be ideal, as only one "legendary" item could be made by the players specifications, it would cost so it wouldn't be available early on and finding a magical item the player is willing to tamper with might be a challenge as well, though that depends on the rarity level of magical items.

[Longknife]

[

 

This sounds good on paper....

 

 

BUT

 

Please refer to Skyrim. I think Skyrim addresses this desire perfectly in that self-crafted weaponry in armor is ALWAYS superior to anything you can find.

....And this COMPLETELY destroys weapon diversity and any and all thrill of finding unique loot anywhere because you KNOW it'll be inferior to your own. This came at an incredibly high price, because the result is that EVERY character you make will aspire to have full self-crafted daedric armor and weaponry. To me, that's boring. No one wants their unique weapon to be weak, so of course the demand kinda ties in with "please let me make a god-like weapon named after my character."

 

 

 

My concept was less building a weapon from scratch but bonding with a weapon over time and making it your own. I was not suggesting anything like the Skyrim crafting engine which you just churn out weapon after weapon armour after armour til you raise your level and get better stuff.

 

For me it was more about fulfilling certain requirements. A bloodthirsty blade (Muramasa) would be one coated in the blood of hundreds of enemies, taken to a magical smith and imbued with the blood it is coated in, which makes it cursed, but fantastically strong.

 

I also really like the idea Trashman mentioned where you can customise the look too, also gglorious mentioning the lightsabre customisation. Both of these would be fantastic and add new depth to your items/weapons. You find a tiara encrusted with rubies, well pop them out and into your family crest medallion.

 

I think there should be a limit to how many times a weapon can be upgraded, but no limit to what you can do with it during those. If you want to focus on crit's and leave the damage as it is then go for it. If you want 5 completely different effects, then let it be. Of course it would be balanced in house by the devs to fit with their weapon scheme but I think it could be really well done.

 

The reason I suggested limiting custom-made (or custom-upgraded, either way) weapons to unique effects is because the conundrum is that people will want "their" weapon that they get to name and design and that's unique to their character to be a good weapon. If it only has 80% of the damage of some other legendary weapon and is otherwise inferior, people will call it a failed feature. If it's the best and other legendary weapons have 80% of it's capabilities, then you have the problem that EVERYONE will use it.

 

Therefore, reserving certain effects for custom-made weapons seems the best way to guarentee that the weapon CAN be weaker than other legendary weaponry in several categories while still being a very useful and appealing choice. For example, Nephi's Golf Driver in New Vegas is modest in damage and basically every stat, and yet it's still an extremely useful item because it's VATS attack is a 100% guarentee knockdown. Such an effect, if reserved for player-crafted items, gives them purpose no matter how modest the actual damage may be.

[Ashram]

I am all for this. I kind of spoke to this in a previous thread. Perhaps your toils and quests and the very way you use this weapon gives it personality. You could research sigils, imbue it with life force, use an extra rare metal or metals to create a Legendary alloy, seek out magical gems, etc. There are all sorts of ways to do it.

[duskwind]

But I see people focusing too much on special properties and bonuses as the only reason to keep a weapon. fi you're am in-maxer - yes, you'll use a strogner weapon. But is that the ONLY reason why someone would prefer one weapon over another?

 

I'm not a min-maxer; I'm in it for the story. But that's why I need a really good weapon; my character won't have stats optimised for battle, and I'm not particularly great on tactics, so using a weak weapon as well is likely to make combat too difficult.

[IchigoRXC]

I am all for this. I kind of spoke to this in a previous thread. Perhaps your toils and quests and the very way you use this weapon gives it personality. You could research sigils, imbue it with life force, use an extra rare metal or metals to create a Legendary alloy, seek out magical gems, etc. There are all sorts of ways to do it.

 

Yes this is exactly the direction I was envisaging. Finding books containing runes/sigils of long lost power and utilising them to upgrade your weapon. Finding a recipe for an incredible alloy/meeting a legendary smith who tells you the ingredients you need to collect to make the alloy. Taking magical gems from Weapons you have (a sacrifice of sorts to better the weapon you have). Imbuing it with magic from certain places of power, such as using the ambient energy around a legendary battleground where thousands lost their lives. The residue of thousands of released souls could give a brilliant backdrop to some sort of upgrade process.