The Whipmaster!
The whipmaster is a class I've came up with to balance things out with a middle-of-the-road class, as personally, I HATE HUGE GAPS. Of course the Whipmaster will also utilize a weapon that has never been seen in the game before: a whip. Obviously, right? A class needs plenty of setup in order to work out, so let's get down to the basics, shall we?
The Basics
As each class in the game requires its own attack stat, I came up with a stat fit for the Whipmaster class: Dexterity.
This hand will be the UI icon for dexterity should it be added. Dexterity is based on the hand and as whipcracks come from the flick of the wrist, improving your ability to flick your wrist would make you stronger with a whip.
As for the range, well, I actually went ahead and took range into account for each of the classes in the game:
I used the sidewalk near Cheapo's as a measuring device for how far attacks went. My Lunatic Hammer went a measly 3/4 of a sidewalk tile at best. As for everything else, here's what I got.:
Magic Breath (Level 1; not displayed here): ~2¾ sidewalk blocks
Grenade (Properly thrown; throwing range): ~3½ sidewalk blocks
Stalagmite (estimated): ~4 sidewalk blocks
Arrows: 9 sidewalk blocks (landing); ~9½ sidewalk blocks (stopping)
Bullets: ~9½ sidewalk blocks (landing); ~16½ sidewalk blocks (stopping)
For the whipmaster, here's an idea on how it would work.:
Shown here is a whip's range without the stretching of the thong. The thong itself would ideally be stretched 10 to 15% during the attack animation in order to allow the whipmaster to attack from a distance. This would allow the whipmaster to avoid attacks from melee monsters like Grunts and Scorpees, but still makes them susceptible to getting hit by attacks from ranged monsters like the Stalagmite.
Speaking of the whip itself, here's a diagram showing a whip's parts and how it functions:
The whip makes use of the "tipper" mechanic displayed by Marth's sword and by the Home Run Bat in Super Smash Bros. What this means is the tip of the whip is more powerful than the rest of the whip. The damage values are displayed in the diagram above.
As for the parts themselves, there are three parts: the handle, the thong, and the tip. The handle would be static at all times. Ideally the thong of the whip should be segmented into segments depending on the length of the whip, as whips are cords much like ropes and cables. Lastly, there's the tip, which would serve as the last segment of a whip and would retain its base appearance unless the Whipmaster cracks his whip.
Given the whip has a fairly long range, it should have a click-to-aim mechanic very much like arrows and bullets. This should allow the whipmaster to aim wherever he pleases.
Most unique of the whipmaster's weapons is how they'll be used. Whips can be used with shields, BUT they cannot be used with other weapons. That's right, whips can be used with shields, but not other weapons. This would mean the price formula for whips would go as follows:
Price=(Weapon Power+1)³*0.85
Yep! 0.85. That is what I'd like to call a "middle of the road" price formula.
As for the sound the whips will make, well, here they are: https://www.mediafire.com/file/ethenngr ... s.zip/file
There's a whip-swinging sound and a whipcrack sound in the ZIP folder. Yep.
Now that I got the basics down, let's move on to the skills.
Skills
Skills are a bit of a pain to balance out at first, and it will take a good bit of research to study it. Of course I've considered the skills a Whipmaster would have, as they would need something interesting. Here are all that I've came up with.:
Whip Twirl
Skill Levels: 5
Base MP Cost: 2 MP
Base Damage: 150%
Damage Increase per Level: 30%
Description: The whipmaster spirals his whip around, drastically reducing his range, but increasing his damage. Press B to use.
I wanted a close-range damage skill so the Whipmaster doesn't become OP.
Firecracker
Skill Levels: 3
Base MP Cost: 1 MP
Base Damage: 110%
Base Fire Damage: 5% (stacks with fire runes)
Damage Increase per Level: 10%
Fire Damage Increase per Level: 5% (stacks with fire runes)
Description: The whip leaves a burning gash in its foes, causing them to burn. Press N to use.
The name "firecracker" was a pun I came up with for a purely fire-elemental Whipmaster skill. I set fire damage at 5% as if to keep the skill from outshining fire runes. Come to think of it, the game really needs more fire monsters. The Hellshag is only a threat to beginners and Batlings are virtually harmless with their 28 fire power.
Draining Crack
Skill Levels: 4
Base MP Cost: 3 MP
HP Absorbed: 1 HP
HP Absorption Increase per Level: 1 HP
Description: The whipmaster strikes with an attack that absorbs a foe's health, healing the whipmaster in the process. Press M to use.
I had a draining attack in mind and since there were only three skill buttons to work with apparently, might as well put them here.
Submit!
Skill Levels: 3
Passive Skill
Base PVP Damage: 120%
PVP Damage Increase per Level: 20% additive
Description: The whipmaster dominates the battlefield by making his foes submit.
I had to use a dominatrix tactic as inspiration for a PVP skill. Oh, wow!
Beast Tamer
I had two ideas for this one, mainly because Robby considered the possibility of straight-up taming mobs rather than just turning them into temporary rides some time ago. He seemed on the fence about it, though. Here's what I got.:
Option 1:
Skill Levels: 5
Passive Skill
Base Tamability Increase: 10% multiplicitive
Tamability Increase Boost per Skill Level: +10%
Option 2:
Skill Levels: 3
Passive Skill
Base Mount Damage: 120%
Mount Damage Increase per Skill Level: +20%
Got that off one of the people questioning the class idea, I won't lie. But yeah, that's all for the skills. Now for the best part..! The equipment!
Equipment Sets!
Okay, so I made a lotta equipment for the class. Not only that, but I also made the ENTIRE SET OF STATS for all the Whipmaster sets.: https://www.mediafire.com/file/6zgp56m0 ... s.xls/file
Yep. I put them all in one Excel file. This Excel file should allow each and every Whipmaster set to work exactly in the way I want them to: Middle-of-the-Ground just like the Whipmaster class is itself.
Of course I screencapped the charts myself as well. Here ya go.:
Whipmaster Armor Sets:
Whips:
Without further ado, here they all are.:
Starting Whips:
Eyepatch:
Scouter:
Executioner Hood:
Jockey Set + Accessory
Ringleader aka Animal Abuser Set:
Dominatrix Set:
Snakeskin Set:
Raider Set:
Cobra Set + Accessory:
Rosethorn Set:
Wicked Set:
Sadist Set + Snake Sword:
Geode Set:
Falcon Set:
Manipulator Set:
Royal Set (from HH; for the Yard Sale):
Brutal Set (from HH; for the Yard Sale):
Achilles Set (from HH; for the Yard Sale):
Chaos Set (from HH; for the Yard Sale):
A Couple of Whipmaster Accessories:
Duality Back Shield Whipmaster Class Boost: 9 Dexterity (for an exact $1000 price rise, bringing the price up to exactly $57000; I know the price was intentionally made to be pure, so yeah.)
Whew! I had quite a session drawing that nonsense. Yeebus!
Okay, cool, but I'm not done. I've also saved one monster specifically to drops stuff for the class.
Whip Scorpee
Yep! I've made the Whip Scorpee: a species of Scorpee that's more like a Vinegaroon and doesn't poison foes.:
Yep. The Whip Scorpee. Given this guy cannot poison, I had to make a few modifications to him. Here's his deal.
HP: 270
Defense: 27
Power: 81
EXP: 54
Description: While Whip Scorpees are a species of Scorpee, they're more like Earth's vinegaroons, which are better known as whip scorpions. While their stingers cannot poison foes, their whiplike tails allows them to strike hard enough to bisect Squishers and Shagdaws. Like regular Scorpees, Whip Scorpees are unusually easy to tame. Whip Scorpees contain bacteria capable of fermenting food within their saliva. This allowed Eliatopians to make products like beer and vinegar from Whip Scorpees.
Drops: Apple, Watermelon, Loose Vine, Bungee Cord, Steel Construction Cable, Bullwhip, Scythe, Cobra Hood, Wicked Laserwhip, Stage 3 Sharpening Stone, Stage 2 Poison Rune
Yeah. Pretty much there's whips to collect.
Whipmaster Drops
Okay, so let's see if I can get some Whipmaster drops into existing monsters... Hmm...
Loose Vine: Petunia, Rafflesia
Cobra Boots: Dumtilian
Cobra Tail (maybe): Dumtilian
Geode Boots: Stalagmite
Snakeskin Hat: Great Frog
Rosethorn Whip: Lumbercore
Yeah, not much, but whatever it takes. Mhmm.
Conclusion
Well, that's the Whipmaster class for you peeps. Whew! This had been quite a project of mine. Hope it gets in the game.
