forums.rs

Forums

The Revolution of Summoning

Quick find code: 74-75-591-66276604

of 3
Colossus823
Apr Member 2022

Colossus823

Posts: 182 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Summoning has been around since 2008, but hasn't received much love after since. Evolution of Combat is released ten years ago, but Summoning didn't evolve. The result is a majority of unused MeleeScape familiars, with only a handful familiars being used regularly. BoB's and legendary pets dominate in PvM, with higher tier weapons making combat familiars obsolete. It saddens me as a Summoning enthusiast.

It's time to rethink Summoning, reviving it as a proper combat skill, diversifying the usage of familiars and making them the adventurer's best friend as they should be. I call it...

THE REVOLUTION OF SUMMONING
Nothing to see here.

15-Mar-2023 19:49:24 - Last edited on 15-Mar-2023 19:51:25 by Colossus823

Colossus823
Apr Member 2022

Colossus823

Posts: 182 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
ABILITIES


If you say revolution, you think automated abilities. It should have been part of the Evolution of Combat since the beginning, but better late than never! Combat familiars are simply too slow for current fast-paced combat, and not being able to hit is way too penalising. By the time you attack certain monsters, they are dead before the familiar could strike once!

I don't think this should be overly sophisticated. You aren't supposed to manually click every ability. It should be straightforward: 3 basic abilities , 2 threshold abilities, 1 ultimate ability, this for every class, 1 basic Defence ability and 1 special attack ability (later more about that).

Some examples:
Melee - Basic - Lunge: the familiar strikes the target, dealing 60%-130% Ability Damage.
Magic - Threshold - Spirit Blast: the familiar casts a concentrated ball of spiritual energy, dealing 180%-250% Ability Damage and causing 90%-120% DoT effect over 3 seconds.
Ranged - Ultimate - Sting: the familiar throws a toxic projectile that deals 230%-330% Ability Damage, binds and stuns the target for 3 seconds and lowers the affinity rating.
Defence - Basic - Distraction: for the next 3 attacks, the target attacks the familiar. Works only in PvM.

This requires a separate Adrenaline Bar and Action Bar solely for familiars, with 10 ability slots.

By revolutionising Summoning, combat familiars become more effective. They will have a higher, more consistent DPS. Nothing to see here.

15-Mar-2023 19:49:31 - Last edited on 15-Mar-2023 22:17:30 by Colossus823

Colossus823
Apr Member 2022

Colossus823

Posts: 182 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
SPECIAL ATTACKS AND SPECIAL EFFECTS


Special Moves require scrolls. Although they are pretty cheap, most Special Moves are barely worth their coin.

For instant, the Special Move 'Boil' from the Geyser Titan costs currently 290 gp. Boil is an instant magic attack that deals between 600 and 1600 damage, depending on the defence level of the target. Would anyone spend that much gp for a scroll that has zero effect on DPS?

Most scrolls of combat familiars can be converted into Special Attacks, which costs adrenaline from your familiar.

But what about the scrolls? Well, these can be turned into Special Effects. Special Effects would be temporary buffs or debuffs that would be worth it.

Special Attacks nor Special Effects don't need to be unique. It would be perfectly fine for every Titan familiar to have the same Titan's Constitution as Special Effect. Likewise, the Bull Rush could be the common Special Attack of all Minotaur. Nothing to see here.

15-Mar-2023 19:49:36 - Last edited on 16-Mar-2023 19:54:53 by Colossus823

Colossus823
Apr Member 2022

Colossus823

Posts: 182 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
COMBAT CLASSES


Combat familiars are way too often melee-oriented, severely lacking magic and ranged familiars. A lot of familiars could get a slight rework.

Some examples:
At 79 Summoning you gain access to:
- Moss Titan: Melee (just smashing like before)
- Fire Titan: Magic (now shooting fireballs)
- Ice Titan: Ranged (now shooting icicles)

It isn't really necessary to have a combat familiar of each class at each Summoning level, as long the margin is tops 3 levels. This should be no problem, there is an overabundance of familiars, and new ones can always be added.

Part of the diversity is to allow familiars to have one or more classes. In the familiar tab, you can choose if such hybrid familiars has access to one, two or three classes. It allows for differentiation. Nothing to see here.

15-Mar-2023 19:49:40 - Last edited on 15-Mar-2023 22:11:40 by Colossus823

Colossus823
Apr Member 2022

Colossus823

Posts: 182 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
STAT CHANGES


Currently, familiars are weaker than their Summoning level suggest.
Take for instant the Moss Titan: although it requires 79 Summoning, it only has an Attack and Strength level of 72 and a Defence level of 64. If you're 75 or 80 in your combat skills, you will notice this familiar struggles against opponents with similar or higher stats. I've noticed while training Slayer, the Moss Titan was of no help with the unspeakable horrors, besides its Special Move.

The basic combat stats of familiars should match their Summoning level. If the familiar is a hybrid, it receives a -5% level penalty for every class it has access to.

For instant:
Steel Titan - Three Class familiar
Summoning level: 99
All stats: 90 (= 99 - 10% x 99)

Ghast - Two Class familiar (Ranged and Melee)
Summoning level: 87
All stats: 83 (= 87 - 5% x 87)

Rune Minotaur - One Class familiar (Melee)
Summoning level: 86
All stats: 86 Nothing to see here.

15-Mar-2023 19:49:47 - Last edited on 15-Mar-2023 22:10:19 by Colossus823

Colossus823
Apr Member 2022

Colossus823

Posts: 182 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
COMBAT SUMMONING TRAINING


One of my frustrations is how "skilly" Summoning training is. It is basically running between obelisks making pouches and scrolls. There is no real combat involved. Odd for a combat skill, not?

I am not going to suggest: "let's scrap this form of training!". Summoning training is allowed to be "skilly" and grindy. But it would be nice if there was an alternative so you don't need to specifically dedicate time to it.

I'm pretty sure my suggestion is so obvious that it has been suggested before and it is baffling it hasn't been implemented yet: give Summoning xp in a similar fashion as Constitution xp while killing monsters with a familiar.

This will require balancing: how much xp, how it relates to how much damage the familiar made,... But I believe this is a necessary exercise to revitalise Summoning. Nothing to see here.

15-Mar-2023 19:49:51 - Last edited on 25-Mar-2023 11:23:23 by Colossus823

Colossus823
Apr Member 2022

Colossus823

Posts: 182 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
b]
120 SUMMONING
[/b]

Although I firmly believe the previous suggestion should be implemented first before raising the level to 120, in itself is a necessary addition to revive Summoning.

The player base is ageing, no doubt many have already reached 99 Summoning by now (I sure did). There is no incentive to level it beyond, besides to show-off your masochism, as there is no added benefit.

120 Summoning would not only add extra Summoning points, increasing the longevity of familiars, but also opens the possibility of new familiars.

What about Orikalkum till Elder Rune Minotaurs and Titans? What about entirely new families of familiars we haven't even thought about? Nothing to see here.

15-Mar-2023 19:49:57 - Last edited on 13-Jul-2023 14:42:12 by Colossus823

Quick find code: 74-75-591-66276604 Back to Top