Proposal:
Remove some of the stance requirements on the earlier archer skills to enable the class to have more specialized weapon identities. Make all bullet weapons shoot bullets with older skills except that bullets have faster flight time but reduced (name random stat here).
Possible benefits:
1. Aesthetics:
Being able to use multishot or barrage with a musket would allow for a shotgun aesthetic with the musket. As for the cannon, although it is a subweapon a grapeshot aesthetic could be desirable for archer players. Weapon-skill synergies could be included in this - for example multishot within a range limit having knockback.
2.Build and gameplay variety:
Allowing more options may not increase build variety - but encouraging it with relatively simple animation changes and (a few more difficult coding ones) does and allows for more mechanical variety than “Use highest number all the time. Kek” Different weapons having more and different specialties may even encourage people to actively swap weapons!
One of the easier ways to make this change:
An easier way to implement this change could be to change all projectiles fired from muskets and pistols to bullets and allow bullets to have greater projectile speed than arrows but at a cost. For example bullet based weapons could fire faster but decrease AOE ratio or (insert random stat here). This could further diversify archer weapon usage beyond “bow for flying” and “crossbow and manamana/karacha/arde for everything else” and possibly allow “gunpowder for pvp, faster opponents, and utility.”
Thank you for your time.