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Game Design
Addition of Passive Skills
Milennin
ABOUT PASSIVE SKILLS
The RTP v3.0 update introduces passive skills to the game. Passive skills are skills that cannot be actively used, but they will automatically activate during combat when certain conditions are met (such as when a certain skill is used, or once at the end of each turn).
Each class has 3 unique passive skills, which help boost their performance in combat, or open up different playstyles. One passive skill each is unlocked at three different points in a playthrough, in addition, each class can unlock an extra passive skill by completing their class achievement. Several of the class achievements have been updated, so every class is generally able to unlock their passive skill through it within 3 battle encounters.
WHY ADD PASSIVE SKILLS
For several reasons:
First, to increase the range of randomness per playthrough, which in turn helps with the replayability factor of the game. RTP was created with replayability as one of its main selling points, and I thought this would be a good addition to improve upon that.
Allow for more options on how to play characters. During my playthroughs of the game, I found out that a lot of characters are bound to very limited ways of being played efficiently. For example, Ranger would generally use Preparation, and then auto-attack for the remainder of an encounter, as it was simply the best it had available. With passive skills boosting some of his other abilities, Ranger can now also function as a support unit (Soothe to control bosses, and Nature Force for a party HP+MP heal).
For other characters, it was more of a way to simply boost their performance. Like, Paladin always had a very hard time recovering from a death, since she relies so heavily on Martyr, which often gets her killed if she's not at high health to begin with. Paladin's passive skills help her survive much more easily, so she can do her job properly without becoming a liability after dying once.
Additionally, passive skills are also there to up the pace of combat. Sometimes, things could slow down, which wasn't exactly ideal in a game that's all about providing a quick game. For example, Alchemist could stay stuck in a cycle where he could pretty much only cast 4 MP potions, and never recover enough MP to go back to casting his flashy Mad Science. Again, passive skills are there to help out restore MP more frequently, so costlier abilities can be used more freely (without making them completely spammable, of course).
Finally, to follow rule of cool. Some passive abilities are there to enhance, but at the same time also give that feeling of power and coolness when they active. Such as Alchemist's chance to double cast abilities, or Assassin's chance to instant-kill enemies (including bosses (at a reduced chance rate)).
As a side-effect of having passive skills added, I feel class achievements function much more like mini-quests now, rather than just an optional thing to do for completion sake. Doing class achievements now actually help power-up a character, so that should be a good incentive to go hunting for them as fast as you can.
LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK
As always, I'd like to know what you think of the game, if you decide to try it out. Knowing what works and what doesn't is valuable information I can use to improve RTP, or any future projects.
The RTP v3.0 update introduces passive skills to the game. Passive skills are skills that cannot be actively used, but they will automatically activate during combat when certain conditions are met (such as when a certain skill is used, or once at the end of each turn).
Each class has 3 unique passive skills, which help boost their performance in combat, or open up different playstyles. One passive skill each is unlocked at three different points in a playthrough, in addition, each class can unlock an extra passive skill by completing their class achievement. Several of the class achievements have been updated, so every class is generally able to unlock their passive skill through it within 3 battle encounters.
WHY ADD PASSIVE SKILLS
For several reasons:
First, to increase the range of randomness per playthrough, which in turn helps with the replayability factor of the game. RTP was created with replayability as one of its main selling points, and I thought this would be a good addition to improve upon that.
Allow for more options on how to play characters. During my playthroughs of the game, I found out that a lot of characters are bound to very limited ways of being played efficiently. For example, Ranger would generally use Preparation, and then auto-attack for the remainder of an encounter, as it was simply the best it had available. With passive skills boosting some of his other abilities, Ranger can now also function as a support unit (Soothe to control bosses, and Nature Force for a party HP+MP heal).
For other characters, it was more of a way to simply boost their performance. Like, Paladin always had a very hard time recovering from a death, since she relies so heavily on Martyr, which often gets her killed if she's not at high health to begin with. Paladin's passive skills help her survive much more easily, so she can do her job properly without becoming a liability after dying once.
Additionally, passive skills are also there to up the pace of combat. Sometimes, things could slow down, which wasn't exactly ideal in a game that's all about providing a quick game. For example, Alchemist could stay stuck in a cycle where he could pretty much only cast 4 MP potions, and never recover enough MP to go back to casting his flashy Mad Science. Again, passive skills are there to help out restore MP more frequently, so costlier abilities can be used more freely (without making them completely spammable, of course).
Finally, to follow rule of cool. Some passive abilities are there to enhance, but at the same time also give that feeling of power and coolness when they active. Such as Alchemist's chance to double cast abilities, or Assassin's chance to instant-kill enemies (including bosses (at a reduced chance rate)).
As a side-effect of having passive skills added, I feel class achievements function much more like mini-quests now, rather than just an optional thing to do for completion sake. Doing class achievements now actually help power-up a character, so that should be a good incentive to go hunting for them as fast as you can.
LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK
As always, I'd like to know what you think of the game, if you decide to try it out. Knowing what works and what doesn't is valuable information I can use to improve RTP, or any future projects.
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