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Recently, I've been really enamored with the idea of Utility Scaling.
For those unfamiliar with the term - Utility Scaling is where a skill has some effect besides damage or healing, and the power of that effect scales with one (or more) of the skill user's stats.
A few examples of skills with Utility Scaling:
I'd love to hear your thoughts on Utility Scaling! Freeform discussion's always best, but if you're looking for a few questions to get your gears spinning:
For those unfamiliar with the term - Utility Scaling is where a skill has some effect besides damage or healing, and the power of that effect scales with one (or more) of the skill user's stats.
A few examples of skills with Utility Scaling:
- A Mage casts a Stoneskin spell on an ally, boosting their DEF. The higher the mage's MAG, the higher the percentage boost will be.
- A Shaman puts an enemy to sleep with a curse. The higher the shaman's MAG, the longer the Sleep will last. (Perhaps the enemy's MDF also affects the length of the Sleep status.)
- A Warrior takes a defensive stance, granting them a damage-absorbing shield that lasts a short time. The higher the Warrior's LUK, the more damage the shield can take before breaking.
- An Assassin uses a movement skill to instantly jump a distance on the battlefield. The higher the Assassin's AGI, the further the Assassin is allowed to jump.
- An Alchemist uses a skill that creates Potions. The higher the Alchemist's LUK, the more potions will be created.
- A Priest lays their hands on an ally to turn their debuffs into buffs. The higher the Priest's ATK, the stronger the new buffs will be on that ally.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on Utility Scaling! Freeform discussion's always best, but if you're looking for a few questions to get your gears spinning:
- Have you seen Utility Scaling in games you've played - or have you tried using it in your own games?
- What are some of the coolest Utility Scaling skills you've ever seen?
- Do you prefer when Utility scales with a stat the character is already using for non-utility skills (e.g. ATK/MAG/AGI), or do you prefer when an entire stat is devoted to Utility?
- Aside from technical implementation, do you feel there are ever times where introducing Utility Scaling is a bad idea?