stik
07-08-2009, 12:40 PM
Numbing Dagger
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v169/snagg3r/HoNItems/Weapons/warhammer.jpg + http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v169/snagg3r/HoNItems/Secret%20Shop/itemwarpedcleft.jpg
(for the purposes of this guide, I used the DotA item names as, for the most part, people are more comfortable with those).
Abilities:
+65% increased attack speed
+30 damage
Enervate on Hit (Passive Orb Effect)
Recipe = Hyperstone (2100) + Mithril Hammer (1610) + Recipe (900)
Total cost = 4610
Recipe is purchased in the Morph Attack shop.
Similar items' total costs for comparison:
Desolator = 4420
Orchid = 5700
Battlefury = 4350
Lothar's = 3400
Enervate: Any enemy unit hit by this dagger's crippling poison has its damage reduced by 3% for 5 seconds. This debuff stacks up to a maximum of 45% damage reduced or 15 charges. (Each charge lasts 5 seconds after it is placed, after which it falls off the stack while the other charges stay on).
Theory and Use:
All of the best new DotA items in recent memory basically aren't good because they create a really new, interesting mechanic but are good because they use an already existing mechanic in an interesting way. Although items designed in this way have the drawback of not being super innovative, they have the huge benefit of immediate legibility and comprehension - players only need to see the item once to understand how it works, because they've seen the mechanic before.
The other nice thing about these kinds of items are that they add depth to the game to the game without overcomplicating it. For example, a mobile shop sort of item or skill could be really interesting and cool, but it would also be so new and so different that it would confuse everyone and be incredibly hard to balance, because no one would really know how to use it for some time. Often, it's preferable to make a simple item which has a basic concept that's easy to understand how to use.
The other key is that the item presents the player with a new and difficult decision to make. One way to do this is to create a relatively unique item that is powerful enough to be interesting but not too strong that every character has to have one. Hand of Midas is a good example of this - it's interesting, it's unlike any other item, and it's useful a lot of the time but not all of the time. Although I don't know how much use it's seen in competitive play, it seems like Quelling Blade is an example of this design mentality gone wrong - if you're melee character, you get quelling blade. If you're not, you don't. It doesn't really make for interesting build opportunities or difficult decisions.
Another way to create interesting decisions is to make an item that competes for an already filled niche. Orchid Malevolence is a great, great example of this - and it's also one of the most successful new items. Orchid competes with Sheepstick (Guinsoo's) and Shiva's for good support character items, as well as helping with damage and attack speed for characters like Enchantress. Basically, it's almost perfect; it gives support characters an interesting decision that's not just a different flavor of Guinsoo's but an actually very different alternative that still fills a similar role. Almost as importantly, its active ability is immediately understandable and completely legible - everyone knows amp damage and everyone knows silence, so it's use is immediately obvious while still being interesting and having room for innovation.
Because of that, I tried to model Numbing Dagger's design off of Orchid Malevolence's. Numbing Dagger uses a mechanic that no other item uses but which is immediately understandable and completely transparent. Additionally, most DotA players are already familiar from this mechanic because heroes like Bane (Enfeeble) and the new Razor (Static Link) have skills with very similar effects. Also, Numbing Dagger doesn't try to make itself unique like Hand of Midas -- it fits in somewhere around Lothar's, Styigan Desolator, Battlefury, and Orchid to a certain extent as a mid-game item that could be in several situations. However, it's also probably a lot more geared towards support and away from carrying than those items are (except Orchid).
A few ways that I've thought of to use this item: rush to it mid-game after treads and use it to completely control a lane against a late-game hero that's trying to farm carry items or an int hero that's trying to farm a sheepstick or a refresher or something.
DotA items - HoN items for items named:
Mithril Hammer = Warhammer
Hyperstone = Warped Cleft
Stygian Desolator = Shield Breaker
Orchid Malevolence = Hellflower
Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse = Totem of Kuldra
Battlefury = Ruined Axe
Balance Specifics and Justification:
I think there are four really key balance points on this item. First, and most obviously, the cost. Second, the amount of damage each hit reduces. Third, the amount of time each instance of the debuff lasts. Finally, how many instances of the debuff can be on any given hero at once. I chose the numbers above because after a bit of thought and theorycrafting, but ultimately they're still pretty much up in the air and can go in a completely different direction.
Finally, any thoughts/suggestions/criticisms would be appreciated, especially on the balance specifics and theory behind it. Thanks.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v169/snagg3r/HoNItems/Weapons/warhammer.jpg + http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v169/snagg3r/HoNItems/Secret%20Shop/itemwarpedcleft.jpg
(for the purposes of this guide, I used the DotA item names as, for the most part, people are more comfortable with those).
Abilities:
+65% increased attack speed
+30 damage
Enervate on Hit (Passive Orb Effect)
Recipe = Hyperstone (2100) + Mithril Hammer (1610) + Recipe (900)
Total cost = 4610
Recipe is purchased in the Morph Attack shop.
Similar items' total costs for comparison:
Desolator = 4420
Orchid = 5700
Battlefury = 4350
Lothar's = 3400
Enervate: Any enemy unit hit by this dagger's crippling poison has its damage reduced by 3% for 5 seconds. This debuff stacks up to a maximum of 45% damage reduced or 15 charges. (Each charge lasts 5 seconds after it is placed, after which it falls off the stack while the other charges stay on).
Theory and Use:
All of the best new DotA items in recent memory basically aren't good because they create a really new, interesting mechanic but are good because they use an already existing mechanic in an interesting way. Although items designed in this way have the drawback of not being super innovative, they have the huge benefit of immediate legibility and comprehension - players only need to see the item once to understand how it works, because they've seen the mechanic before.
The other nice thing about these kinds of items are that they add depth to the game to the game without overcomplicating it. For example, a mobile shop sort of item or skill could be really interesting and cool, but it would also be so new and so different that it would confuse everyone and be incredibly hard to balance, because no one would really know how to use it for some time. Often, it's preferable to make a simple item which has a basic concept that's easy to understand how to use.
The other key is that the item presents the player with a new and difficult decision to make. One way to do this is to create a relatively unique item that is powerful enough to be interesting but not too strong that every character has to have one. Hand of Midas is a good example of this - it's interesting, it's unlike any other item, and it's useful a lot of the time but not all of the time. Although I don't know how much use it's seen in competitive play, it seems like Quelling Blade is an example of this design mentality gone wrong - if you're melee character, you get quelling blade. If you're not, you don't. It doesn't really make for interesting build opportunities or difficult decisions.
Another way to create interesting decisions is to make an item that competes for an already filled niche. Orchid Malevolence is a great, great example of this - and it's also one of the most successful new items. Orchid competes with Sheepstick (Guinsoo's) and Shiva's for good support character items, as well as helping with damage and attack speed for characters like Enchantress. Basically, it's almost perfect; it gives support characters an interesting decision that's not just a different flavor of Guinsoo's but an actually very different alternative that still fills a similar role. Almost as importantly, its active ability is immediately understandable and completely legible - everyone knows amp damage and everyone knows silence, so it's use is immediately obvious while still being interesting and having room for innovation.
Because of that, I tried to model Numbing Dagger's design off of Orchid Malevolence's. Numbing Dagger uses a mechanic that no other item uses but which is immediately understandable and completely transparent. Additionally, most DotA players are already familiar from this mechanic because heroes like Bane (Enfeeble) and the new Razor (Static Link) have skills with very similar effects. Also, Numbing Dagger doesn't try to make itself unique like Hand of Midas -- it fits in somewhere around Lothar's, Styigan Desolator, Battlefury, and Orchid to a certain extent as a mid-game item that could be in several situations. However, it's also probably a lot more geared towards support and away from carrying than those items are (except Orchid).
A few ways that I've thought of to use this item: rush to it mid-game after treads and use it to completely control a lane against a late-game hero that's trying to farm carry items or an int hero that's trying to farm a sheepstick or a refresher or something.
DotA items - HoN items for items named:
Mithril Hammer = Warhammer
Hyperstone = Warped Cleft
Stygian Desolator = Shield Breaker
Orchid Malevolence = Hellflower
Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse = Totem of Kuldra
Battlefury = Ruined Axe
Balance Specifics and Justification:
I think there are four really key balance points on this item. First, and most obviously, the cost. Second, the amount of damage each hit reduces. Third, the amount of time each instance of the debuff lasts. Finally, how many instances of the debuff can be on any given hero at once. I chose the numbers above because after a bit of thought and theorycrafting, but ultimately they're still pretty much up in the air and can go in a completely different direction.
Finally, any thoughts/suggestions/criticisms would be appreciated, especially on the balance specifics and theory behind it. Thanks.