NO
SPIRAL KNIGHTS
YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED
(http://media.spiralknights.com/wiki-images/thumb/3/31/Promo_drakon-wknight_fire.png/800px-Promo_drakon-wknight_fire.png)
manly chat log with manibogiMani: I think battle sprites are gonna be an incentive to start playing SK again for me.
Lady Blues: define battle sprites
Lady Blues: is there a new update with sprite work in it or something
Mani: Nope, battle pets
Lady Blues: :I
Mani: There's a cat one
Lady Blues: is there
Lady Blues: a GHOST one
Mani: Yep
Lady Blues: oh okay
Lady Blues: I was about to say how much I didn't care
Lady Blues: you're lucky today son
Mani: http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Battle_sprite_preview (http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Battle_sprite_preview)
There seems to be an elemental one, shadow and uh
Lady Blues: so they fight
Lady Blues: inb4 obscene amount of Energy
Mani: ikr
Mani: Actually
Mani: they are from a set of beginner missions
Mani: like
Mani: low-tier missions
Mani: I'm not sure which is piercing, but it's really interesting
Lady Blues: how do you know there's no information on that website
Lady Blues: it's just a picture being OP as usual
Mani: Here? http://www.spiralknights.com/ (http://www.spiralknights.com/)
Lady Blues: "E-Class Battle sprites"
Lady Blues: "Lady Blues: inb4 obscene amount of Energy"
Lady Blues: I win
Lady Blues: gg no re
Lady Blues: I like how they give you free ones though, that's neat
Mani: Oh my god they like some sort of pokemon
Lady Blues: yes
Lady Blues: "starters"
Lady Blues: three of them
Lady Blues: they beat each other
Lady Blues: you grind out the ass for the best ones
Lady Blues: WINNER
Mani: And they evolve
Lady Blues: hyes
Mani: and they learn moves
Mani: and you feed them
Mani: and you can control their ability development
Mani: holy shit
Lady Blues: yes
Lady Blues: now don't get rid of Leech Seed
Lady Blues: because if you do it will be a fucking pain in the balls to get back
Lady Blues: dohohohoho
Mani: what is that
Lady Blues: Leech Seed
Lady Blues: you're asking what a Leech Seed is
Mani: >_> yes
Lady Blues: IT'S POKEMON YOU PANTS
Mani: slap me
Lady Blues: okay
Lady Blues slaps with fish
Mani: inb4 everyone on CS says "this is a great game!"
Lady Blues: Cutstuff in a nutshell
Lady Blues: 1) play Spiral Knights
Lady Blues: 2) obtain hat
Lady Blues: 3) stay for a couple more days due to having fun
Lady Blues: 4) realize energy is bullshit
Lady Blues: 5) leave and never play again
Lady Blues: 6) give Smash all your stuff a year later
Expect it within two days. Let's go over what we're getting.
I'm mostly-- no, I think completely quoting dev posts from the forums so you don't have to go over there and dig it all from the surface yourself. Plus, I'd like to see if you're really interested at all.
Some of you (like myself) are really lazy and would rather stay on the forum to read it, so yeah.
First, the thing we have known of for months, Battle Sprites. Mm, (http://wiki.spiralknights.com/images/3/31/Promo_drakon-solo.png) these (http://wiki.spiralknights.com/images/7/7b/Promo_seraph-solo.png) guys. (http://wiki.spiralknights.com/images/f/f4/Promo_wraith-solo.png)
Nick, a developer, has listed the abilities of all the sprites. It's pretty big.
Our future battle sprites update will introduce a host of new features, including powerful combat skills that all sprites can execute on your command. The three starter sprites; the drakon, seraphynx and maskeraith, each represent a different playstyle.
Outlined below are the three combat skills that each of these battle sprites will ultimately learn as they level up. But that's not all! Each of these skills also can become an 'ultimate skill' if the sprite achieves a very high level. We'll be detailing ultimate skills and other new sprite features in a future update.
For now, here are the details regarding how a sprite plays, what their skills do in combat and the augments available on each skill that enhance them. Augments can be increased via skill points that are gained while leveling a sprite.
Drakon
The drakon is a battle sprite that embodies fiery destruction. Its skills focus on direct assault: firebolt creates an explosive projectile, flame barrier surrounds its knight with protective fireballs and firestorm creates a massive wave of flames.
Firebolt
Launches a searing ball of fire that explodes on impact.
Augments:
- Focus - Reduces cooldown.
- Impact - Increases the damage of firebolt.
- Extra Crispy - Increases the potency of the fire and chance to set targets ablaze.
Flame Barrier
Surround yourself with a barrier of flames that enhances your defenses while burning nearby targets.
Augments:
- Focus - Reduces cooldown
- High Heat - Increases the offensive power of the flame barrier.
- Heavy Smoke - Increases the defensive power and duration of the flame barrier.
Firestorm
Summon the power of true dragon fire to burn everything in your path.
Augments:
- Focus - Reduces cooldown
- Five Alarm - Increases the duration and size of the firestorm.
- Extra Crispy - Increases the potency of the fire and chance to set targets ablaze.
Seraphynx
The seraphynx is a battle sprite that embodies protection and restoration. Its skills focus on supporting knights in combat: ray of light creates a steady beam of holy light, heart attack increases the chance of hearts dropping from monsters and angelic aura creates a light shield that protects its knight and party members within.
Ray of Light
Continuously fires a concentrated beam of light that damages anything passing through it.
Augments:
- Focus - Reduces cooldown.
- Magnify - Increases the reach and power of the ray of light.
- Enduring Light - Increases the duration of the ray of light.
Heart Attack
Enchants a group of targets. If destroyed while enchanted, targets have a higher chance of dropping restorative hearts.
Augments:
- Focus - Reduces cooldown
- Extra Hearty - Increases the chance of hearts dropping and duration of the enchantment.
- Wide Embrace - Increases the area of effect.
Angelic Aura
Creates protective aura around you that also protects any party members within.
Augments:
- Focus - Reduces cooldown
- Protection - Increases the defensive powers of the angelic aura.
- Cover - Increases the size and duration of the angelic aura.
Maskeraith
The maskeraith is a battle sprite that embodies deception and debilitation. Its skills focus on subterfuge: caustic quills fire poisonous quills that explode when followed with an attack, shadow cloak allows a knight to become invisible to monsters and hexing haze allows the knight to inflict monsters with a timed damage blast.
Caustic Quills
Fires a series of quills that stick to targets and inflicts poison. For each hit a quilled target receives, they lose one quill and take additional damage.
Augments:
- Focus - Reduces cooldown
- Venom - Increases the potency of poison.
- Bristle - Increases the number of quills fired and their duration.
Shadow Cloak
Grants you partial invisibility and a defensive boost for a limited time. Shadow Cloak is cancelled if you take damage, attack, or perform any other action.
Augments:
- Focus - Reduces cooldown
- Dark Veil - Increases the defensive boost of the shadow cloak.
- Enduring Night - Increases duration of the shadow cloak.
Hexing Haze
Creates a miasma around you that hexes any target within. Each hex has a timer that deals heavy damage upon termination. For every target acquired by hexing haze, the duration of the miasma increases.
Augments:
- Focus - Reduces cooldown.
- No Mercy - Increases the damage inflicted by hexing haze.
- Plentiful Pain - Increases the bonus duration of hexing haze as additional targets are acquired.
Some info on the Ultimate Skills.
Now, I'd like to take to introduce the powerful, ultimate versions of these skills that battle sprites can acquire. Once a battle sprite has achieved a very high level and maxed out all the augments in a given skill, it can choose between two ultimate versions of that skill.
Ultimate skills are simply better versions of the base skill, often times adding new bonuses and sometimes even changing the behaviors of the skill itself. However, only one ultimate can be chosen per skill, so choose wisely!
After an ultimate skill has been chosen, your battle sprite will further evolve its appearance to reflect your choice. This means that not only will high level battle sprites look different from one another, but even play differently.
The following are descriptions of each of the starter battle sprites skills followed by their respective ultimate skills. Remember, the description of the ultimate skill is what is gained ON TOP of the base skill, so the base skill use is still retained.
-DRAKON-
Firebolt
Launches a searing ball of fire that explodes on impact.
Concussive Firebolt
Adds a chance for a powerful stun to the firebolt.
Meteoric Firebolt
Greatly increases the size of the firebolt's explosion.
Flame Barrier
Surround yourself with a barrier of flames that enhances your defenses while burning nearby targets.
Scorching Barrier
Increases the number of orbiting fireballs and their size.
Backfire Barrier
Gain a brief movement speed boost upon executing flame barrier.
Firestorm
Summon the power of true dragon fire to burn everything in your path.
Frenzied Firestorm
For every monster caught in the blaze, you and your party have a chance of receiving an attack power and speed bonus.
Explosive Firestorm
Creates a series of explosions when unleashing the firestorm.
-SERAPHYNX-
Ray of Light
Continuously fires a concentrated beam of light that damages anything passing through it.
Dazzling Light Ray
The ray of light deals extra damage to undead and fiend family monsters.
Disintegration Ray
The ray of light also reduces the defense of its targets.
Heart Attack
Enchants a group of targets. If destroyed while enchanted, targets have a higher chance of dropping restorative hearts.
Iron Heart Attack
Targets destroyed while enchanted may also drop defense orbs.
Violent Heart Attack
Targets destroyed while enchanted create an explosion.
Angelic Aura
Creates protective aura around you that also protects any party members within.
Seraphic Aura
Party members within the protective aura gain increased shield regen.
Valkyrian Aura
Party members within the protective aura gain a charge speed bonus.
-MASKERAITH-
Caustic Quills
Fires a series of quills that stick to targets and inflicts poison. For each hit a quilled target receives, they lose one quill and take additional damage.
Vengeful Quills
Each time a quilled target is hit, another quill is fired from the target to the next available target.
Virulent Quills
Each time a quilled target is hit there is a chance to trigger a poisonous explosion.
Shadow Cloak
Grants you partial invisibility and a defensive boost for a limited time. Shadow Cloak is cancelled if you take damage, attack, or perform any other action.
Deadly Shadow Cloak
Gain an attack power and attack speed bonus when shadow cloak activates. Bonus last for a short duration after shadow cloak expires.
Vengeful Shadow Cloak
Creates an explosive disruption field around you when shadow cloak is interrupted that has a chance to stun targets.
Hexing Haze
Creates a miasma around you that hexes any target within. Each hex has a timer that deals heavy damage upon termination. For every target acquired by hexing haze, the duration of the miasma increases.
Haunted Haze
Any target that dies as a result of the damage caused by hexing haze will spawn a vengeful ghost that seeks out other targets and explodes on impact.
Chaotic Haze
Targets damaged by hexing haze have a chance of receiving a random status condition.
Difficulty Modes
Battle Sprites are being added to the game in part to introduce more variety, and they will also have an impact on the degree of difficulty in the game. To balance this, we are adding the ability to select the difficulty modes for each mission or Arcade expedition. As difficulty increases, so do the potential rewards. This allows parties to determine how challenging their experience will be.
Energy System Changes
Since the game launched over two years ago, Spiral Knights has operated with a much-maligned energy system that limited the amount of free play that a player could experience every day. With our next update, we are removing this system. Here is how it will work after release:
Elevators will no longer require energy to operate. You can play as long as you like.
Mist energy is being removed from the game entirely, and crystal energy will just be “energy.”
Energy will be used to trade for goods and services within the game as usual.
You will now find loot drops (“Orbs of Alchemy” and “Fire Crystals”) in the Clockworks that you can
use to craft and upgrade your gear.
Revives will now be facilitated by in-game items called “Sparks of Life” which are dropped in the
Clockworks and can also be bought.
Our goal is to make this transition between systems as smooth as possible. To that end, we will be implementing ways to give people an appropriate value for items such as mist wells, mist tanks, and elevator passes, which are being replaced under this new system.[/list]
We are removing mist energy for a couple of reasons. First, so that elevators will stop requiring the use of energy. Second, from a design perspective, we want to encourage Spiral Knights players to experiment with more of the game than our research shows that they currently do. It turns out that providing energy to players in greater or lesser amounts does not encourage them to try out different weapons and gear, something we have always believed was a core part of the Spiral Knights experience.
Orbs of Alchemy for Crafting
Orbs of Alchemy can be found as loot drops as you play in the Clockworks, and will be used instead of energy for crafting. Orbs exist for each star level in the game (save for 0 star). As you play, you will find over time that you have more orbs than you need for the upgrade of your initial choice of weapons, and that you have the resources to build a broader arsenal of gear. This, in turn, will make it easier for Spiral Knights players to experiment with more varied equipment and gameplay styles. Orbs of Alchemy, in addition to being found in the Clockworks as loot, may be bought from the Supply Depot.
Sparks of Life for Reviving
Currently in the game, you use either health or energy directly to revive yourself or your teammates. In addition, the energy cost of reviving rises each time you do it within a period of time.
Following the next update, this system will be replaced. Players will be able to find "Sparks of Life" as loot drops in the Clockworks, and use these to revive. If a player dies without sparks in their arsenal, they may choose to pay a flat energy fee of 50 energy to revive. This energy cost does not escalate over time, as the old system did--it stays the same. Sparks of Life may also be bought in bulk from the Supply Depot.
In addition, upon entering each level of the Clockworks, you will receive an "emergency revive". This emergency revive is a free action for each player. If you proceed to the next level dead, you will automatically use your emergency revive at the start of the next level. We’ll keep an eye on the data side of things to make sure this is having the intended effect on gameplay.
Star Levels and Equipment Availability
After this release, you will need to meet the required mission rank in order to equip items of a specific star level. This limits the availability of advanced gear for new players, and it establishes the importance and meaning of achieving those items; players will earn the right to use that gear.
Note for current Spiral Knights players: If you currently have a low mission rank, but you have high star level gear bound to you (i.e., you don’t have to be wearing it at the time of release), fear not! The highest star level item bound to you becomes your equipment limit. If you've never touched a mission, but you have 5* gear bound to you, you will still have the maximum equip limit.
Fire Crystals for Equipment Leveling
Following this release, players will use “Fire Crystals” retrieved from the Clockworks to level up their gear after acquiring the requisite amount of heat. Your choice of the number of fire crystals to use with each upgrade will have an influence on the success of the upgrade and the likelihood that the gear gains special bonuses, such as double level up. The heat you earn in the Clockworks remains yours, regardless of the success of the upgrade.
All of these changes represent a huge realignment of the game, and we're aware that this will generate debate. Over the next couple of months, we will focus on refining these features and other areas of the game further to improve the overall experience of Spiral Knights, with an emphasis on improving the balance of Battle Sprites and making it more inviting for more players to advance further in the game.
The development team has been working long hours over the past months to complete these changes. Thanks in advance for bearing with us during the first days of release while we find and adjust any unforeseen issues this gigantic update may introduce, and thank you for playing Spiral Knights and being part of our community.
So, who's excited, who's hating a certain part of it, fire crystals sound bad and most of all, which battle sprite are you picking? I'm going for Maskeraith. I feel he's going to be the least picked.
What do I have to say?
(http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/595884953590735249/63970DCFF9C0BFB1D14D2840947CBA011105CC13/1024x768.resizedimage)
note to self
never play solo elite missions again
ever
(http://cloud-3.steampowered.com/ugc/612773448227485099/FDFF09EF6354DE101E64D7C7CEF15A01A7CBA393/)
full set sprinkled with jazz 'n spicy peppers
(http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/595884953701126971/DC78A10243D2B682196F6CA46281A87EE6E549E0/)
Zerokken: 7
Zerokken: 7
Zerokken: 7
Zerokken: 7
Zerokken: 7
Zerokken: 7
Warp-Master: hello
Zerokken: 7
Zerokken: 7
Warp-Master: guys
Zerokken: 7
Zerokken: 7
Zerokken: what
Warp-Master: i think we broke zerokk
Zerokken: 6
Zerokken: 6
Zerokken: 3
Zerokken: 4
Zerokken: bonkadoodle
Spikeboy-Vi: he was already on the edge
Zerokken: cupcakes and galloncakes
Zerokken: munch munch
Warp-Master: how do i log this conversation
Zerokken: you don't
Zerokken: You just
Zerokken: do a thing like
Zerokken: ignore it
Zerokken: I'm not broken
Zerokken: I'm always like this
Warp-Master: brb notepadding
Warp-Master: or not
Zerokken: What no
Zerokken: The square root of nothing curves twice
Zerokken: Bill's favorite is stairs
Warp-Master: totally posting this
Zerokken: aapples
Zerokken: an apple a day keeps the doctor away
Zerokken: if you hit him hard enough with it
Zerokken: Sing the national anthem while balancing a quarter over your forehead and riding a unicycle on a tight rope over the grand canyon
Zerokken: +100 experience for that much
Zerokken: hat's so little.
Zerokken: but wait it's an average mission
Zerokken: The one that's harder is staring at a kitten without going squee
Zerokken: +1500 exp
Zerokken: no wait I forgot a 0
Zerokken: three in fact
Zerokken: applejack is the best pony and I can confirm that without watching MLP
Warp-Master: I thought graveyards are supposed to be hard
Zerokken: are you wooding this conversation or branching it
Zerokken: twigging it
Zerokken: logging is boring
Warp-Master: brb posting
Warp-Master: /sit /sleep
*Phantoms start killing us*
Zerokken: Phantom, or phantom dancer?
Zerokken: ELEVATOOOR of my goodness these phantokens are annoying"
Zerokken: So annoying I'l threaten to put them in an arcade machine
Zerokken: which is house of the dead
Zerokken: doot doot
Zerokken: Get on the levelator elevator melevator jellonator
Warp-Master: still posting
Zerokken: of next-depthness
Zerokken: get on it so you can post in not death
*Manibogi and Spikeboy-Vi join the party at the elevator*
Zerokken: Maniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Zerokken: eeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Warp-Master: uh
Zerokken: Captain spoooooock
Warp-Master: wait i'm loggin
Zerokken: guys get on the elevator so Balrog can psot without dying
Zerokken: balrog get on the elevator of pleasure and not pleasure at all
Manibogi: gj
Zerokken: for there are adventure benches
Zerokken: where you sit
Zerokken: d f
Zerokken: and you fly
Zerokken: into the sky and you ask "why"
Zerokken: Mecha-Knights can shock you."
Zerokken: doot doot
Zerokken: I need more witty sentences to pull out of midair.. I need to rhyme on a dime.
Warp-Master: uh no
Warp-Master: don't do that
Zerokken: get on the elevator you face
Manibogi: then get the !%&! on
Zerokken: get on the elevator
Zerokken: Log as much as you can I think
Zerokken: but
Zerokken: GET ON
Zerokken: so you can log
Zerokken: WITHOUT these guys
Zerokken: that are red
Zerokken: and dance
Zerokken: and remind me of an LoL item
Manibogi: you &%#!
Zerokken: twig as much as you can Blalbog
Zerokken: for great just ice
Zerokken: moonstone is the way to go for deposit boxes
Warp-Master: wait i can post after we're out of Death City
Zerokken: because stay frosty
Zerokken: Exactly
*Elevator*
Spikeboy-Vi: bzzt
Spikeboy-Vi: /sleep
Manibogi: well isn't this the bestest of parties
Spikeboy-Vi: i'll bring a shovel
Aaand then I died of AFKing.
Zerokken: Balrog is twigging what I have said
Zerokken: Logging is dumb I tell you
Zerokken: I'l use my black hole bomb to get him out of the spawnevator
Manibogi: yeah right
Zerokken: It's no use friendly fire is on
Zerokken: It's always on
Warp-Master: and i got kicked
Warp-Master: bawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
In the range of Spinny Death Thing, why not?
(http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/594760137315293401/3669A8EBA75FF6CE04695BE29B15DC00AD64B587/1024x768.resizedimage)
Communist-Mage: cthulhu handjobs