[SUGGESTION] Variety for wands, rods and scepters

[Farks]

In PoE the above mentioned weapons are strictly damage dealing (and maybe some bonus effect on the side). So my suggestion is to expand the abilities of these weapons beyond that, and let them cast buffs and debuffs. Such as reducing enemy DR, improving accarucy of party members, etc. Of course this would need to be balanced so it wouldn't compete with "proper" spells.

 

And if implemented, should these abilities be weapon specific or doable with any wand by choice of the player?

[Heijoushin]

Yeah, honestly, I never use those weapon types. Its just so much more fun to have a gun-wielding or sword-wielding wizard. If others feel the same way, then maybe they need something to spice them up. Maybe a tiny debuff on attacks like you suggest.

[Hertzila]

It might be nice and interesting if the magical implements had a small de/buff associated with them, making them less useful as damage dealers but more useful as a source of minor status effects. Balancing may prove difficult, but it would also separate them neatly from the other ranged weapons, aside from being the only source of non-pierce ranged damage. Something like scepters causing an accuracy debuff thanks to their way too bright projectiles, etc.

 

Unique stuff would be where the fun begins. An ice scepter might slow people down, a lighting one could have high Interrupt values, while a poison one might lower something like endurance defense a bit.

 

I'd suggest adding empowerment into the mix as well. An empowered scepter might actually shoot projectiles that blind people for a couple of seconds for a few ten seconds, a ice scepter might freeze people, a lighting scepter would stun people, poison could actually poison... I'd expect this to be too much trouble for too little gain, but it would make for interesting weapon types.

[Regggler]

Do you feel it is necessary for all wands, rods, and scepters to do stuff like that by default? Pillars 1 did for example have the disorienting and marking affixes. Or things like Gyrd Háewanes Sténes, for that matter.

Edited March 10, 2017 by Regggler

[PrimeJunta]

Yeah, honestly, I never use those weapon types. Its just so much more fun to have a gun-wielding or sword-wielding wizard. If others feel the same way, then maybe they need something to spice them up. Maybe a tiny debuff on attacks like you suggest.

 

You're missing out. With Blast and Dangerous Implement they'll turn your wizard into a murder machine. There are also plenty which apply various status effects.

[BrettNLowe]

One way to differentuate the implements would be to have them target Fortitude instead of Deflection (either that or Will, but I think Fortitude makes more sense lore-wise). I'd also have the traditional ranged weapons target Reflex, but maybe that's just me.