WARNING - This thread isn’t made for new players or those that seek guidance on how to use said class, please look for proper threads regarding it such as class overviews and build guides. Design Breakdown is a design discussion thread only and has no purpose to help players on practical aspects of the game.
Before we get into the class i have to inform that Design Breakdown will go under a long hiatus and unlike last time it won’t have any kind of similar discussion until the next entry, this applies both to updates and new entries. The primary reason for it is how much time is required to develop this kind of analysis as it demands testing and research to reach this format and downgrading it isn’t an option, as for the other big factor is that i want to help building ToS wiki and it isn’t possible to do both without sacrificing time i don’t have as these two projects don’t pay bills (not that i’d ever expect them to).
I’ve started this series to discuss some unusual points of view regarding classes and how would they be relevant or not to the game as well and at time the class balance was chaotic at best, Re:Build addressed a majority of the inherent issues they and despite not being perfect it did reached a reasonable state which the major interesting classes to be discussed being flagged as potential reworks. That said the major value of Design Breakdown nowadays is the source material trivia and wiki is a better platform to work with on that regard and can have a different workflow than what i use to get this discussion relevant, it also makes more sense to build the wiki with the detailed information first and then have the thematic aspects drawn from it in a summarized form. With that in mind there won’t be any new entry nor update until the class and skill information on wiki is compiled, once done it will make it easier and faster to produce in a way i can conciliate with other obligations. Anyway, let’s go back to the real interesting stuff.
Starting a new Design Breakdown this time with a fairly recent class that has appearances in media in games but is seldom seen in MMOs and RPGs as an option among many, Onmyoji. In case this is your first time on a Design Breakdown topic go to this link for some basic information.
Being straight to the point, Onmyoji is all about magnitude, AoE and dealing with massive magic. As a late addition it doesn’t do anything new for the wizard tree as it was from release seen as a different type of Elementalist, on its defense the scale is significantly bigger and it deals with earth magic as the only element that doesn’t have a whole dedicated class.
Getting to Onmyoji’s theme isn’t easy due how exclusive it is on cultural level, not only the information available in english is limited but it’s made harder to track due a mobile game with the same name being a hot phenomena. For that we’ll have to work with information that may not be as reliable nor accurate in conjunction with some loose interpretation on it, please share your own knowledge on the subject and correct any mistake made during this entry (remember that some of it will be simplified).
It’s believe that onmyodo was born as an adaptation of taoism over cultural exchanges with japan and china, taoism didn’t succeeded as a formal religion in the country but was able to grow some roots underneath. Some attribute the onmyodo to be a variant of jugondo as this was a form of medical and exorcistic art in early feudal japan, as antique medical treatments were often associated with religion and the supernatural it would be a matter of time until chinese occultism was adopted as well. As a new concept it didn’t restrained itself to gather elements from local culture leading into a blend based on elements of religions, and often used on Shintoism and Buddhism traditions. Despite the religion based background onmyodo was shaped as a form of occultism rather than a different religion on itself, focused on understanding the living world rather than dealing with afterlife, however there were instances where shinto tradition was replaced by onmyodo regarding the supernatural.
Regarding skills it theme it is important to understand two fundamental tools in onmyodo being the elements and shikigami, onmyodo uses the wu xing in conjunction with yi yang to describe the world as shikigami are used as means to control it. Wu xing describe the physical elements as metal, wood, water, earth and fire elements that interact with each other to compose things, in onmyodo this is represented as a star with each element on a point being complementary dominant to one side and submissive to the other. Shikigamis are trickier to define as they can be represented from special spiritual servants, limited to 12 types, to pocket magic spells, tho it can be understand as a way request power from those spirits in some specific sort by preparing it in paper dolls. Another special onmyodo technique lies in binding a monster or evil spirit to their command through ofuda talismans, this isn’t used within the class itself but may have been mixed with shikigami as a way to seal and claim such evil being.
Tier 1
Fire Fox Shikigami (E) - Relief
Based on kitsune youkai (monster), this may be the only application of monster control in the class as it isn’t, as far as known, one of the 12 shikigamis. Kitsunes can be both evil and divine fox spirits that have the ability to control fire, create illusions and shape shift. Due the predominant white and orange marks it is likely to be a myobu, Inari’s messenger, connecting it further back to the shinto aspect of the class background. Lastly this skill represents fire within the wu xing, tho is the only skill that doesn’t deliver the effect directly and relies on a medium.
By far the least interesting skill in the class as it is expected to be a summon like skill but isn’t one, as such it works as some sort of turret attached to the character that deals almost no damage for a single target skill. With Re:Build it gained a component that increases critical rate of fire property skills settling it as a Pyromancer only skill, with attributes it gains another use for Psychokino in particular but remains limited to two classes instead of being a round useful skill for the class itself. To top it up it is a skill that has cast time for some reason and a low and bothersome duration making it annoying to use in the first place. It is possible that the skill can be useful on its own considering it can have a decent damage output when factored duration and attack interval but it doesn’t work for the way the class is structured, any other skill will offer the same if not more in 3 uses for the spirit duration and there won’t be many instances where a player will need the additional shikigami damage for a whole minute in a single target.
Fire Fox Shikigami in the current state is a niche skill for outside classes and that’s reasonable if done in low cost, it wouldn’t be that bad of an idea to have the skill changed into a single level or handle out as free but only modify and add small effects to other classes skills such as changing Warlock’s evil spirits and Magic Missile into fox fire. Regardless, the skill isn’t really attractive as it is and changing it into something more directed and visible would do a lot.
Greenwood Shikigami (C) - Midground
On an elemental level this is the skill that represents wood and as the game doesn’t has that as an elemental property Earth was taken due proximity. Wood itself is a hard element to adapt into games and the taken approach of using a tree fits it perfectly considering that in shinto religion spirits, or gods, can assume natural forms such as rivers and trees, for that matter and the size the shikigami has it seems to be the case. Greenwood Shikigami uses a 3D model for a tree that expands rapidly into maturity, as interesting as it is in delivering the skill it doesn’t look as good when finished as leaves appear as texture blobs and some branches stick out beyond their leafage, not to mention the tree funnels at the bottom part unlike real trees.
Greenwood Shikigami acts as the utility skill in Onmyoji yet the utility is fully delivered at the first level, in addition to that its duration isn’t mentioned. The skill also compete directly with Toyou as both are damage over time skills with same damage property with the only advantage to Greenwood Shikigami being the ability to hit flying enemies. With that in mind the skill itself isn’t bad but doesn’t offer any interest component, as the only investment benefit is damage, to be distinct from others and has the lowest values on every single comparison, something as simple as adding more targets could do the trick. From the thematic perspective it would be reasonable for it to deal bonus damage to earth property enemies since wood is dominant over earth in wu xing, tho it could be awkward to have a skill to be strong against its own property but that could be done by changing it to poison property as former default for plant based skills. It also doesn’t make sense for it to have a vacuum effect and not being under the rank system could be replaced by something more aligned with the skill theme that is also an interest component to have it leveled.
A not so small change that can make the skill better is to match the tree growth with the damage intervals, even if the full duration isn’t informed it will be easier to read and time out when using it.
Howling White Tiger (B) - Lead
Howling White Tiger name is Byakko and is a major chinese mythological beast, going for the name Bai Hu, which is one of the 12 shikigamis used in onmyodo, this same creature symbolizes metal in wu xing as each one of the elements has a beast guardian. As metal isn’t a game elemental property, and earth isn’t as close and has 2 skills already, it was left as propertyless instead. As a way to maintain the thematic aspect of wu xing it deals extra damage towards plant type as metal is dominant to wood, tho as poison was used as the default wood property it would be more fitting especially as it is the only elemental property with no weakness. Regarding particles the skill does it decently, the animation itself is well executed but it doesn’t look menacing as expected from icon and name. Personally i’d say it would be more interesting to have the whole tiger appearing but it’s understandable as it isn’t as practical.
The only skill in game with static damage, leveling it adds more targets to be hit and this is brilliant. With damage out of way players can have full control on how much they want to level this skill based on their AoE fighting capabilities, this also allows players that have different point investment to have almost the same benefit from enhance attributes as it won’t create power gaps outside specific scenarios.
Water Shikigami (B) - Lead
Also an elemental based skill, water is a main element and the used counterpart is ice. This is the only skill that looks lazy, the particle effects seems to be the same as used on Crabil or Canceril water pillars but on their case it is a solution due the way their attacks is shaped. It may do the job but it doesn’t look impressive at all and knowing the skill has fixed elements is more of a reason to work on a better way to communicate the skill.
Straightforward damage skill. The animation sells the idea it can hit enemies multiple times based on their placement but that doesn’t seems like the case, it also suggests that it can be dodged manually but considering the animation speed that would be impossible to pull off. Oddly this is the only skill that doesn’t inform how it gets its targets which can be misleading as expected for AAR or unlimited target count, tho what gets Water Shikigami to be valuable over others is how it has condensed instantaneous damage.
Tier 2
Genbu Armor (B) - Gimmick
Genbu is the black turtle that symbolizes water and is also one of the 12 shikigamis used, this connection can be seen in the skill tooltip as it mentions it uses a water shikigami. It’s interesting that water is the only element to be represented in two skills tho as Genbu Armor act as a defensive buff it doesn’t change the thematic balance as much.
It is unclear if the skill is working as intended as it should convert damage into SP drain and it doesn’t decrease in the expected ratio. Concept wise it is an interesting reinterpretation of Magic Shield that is significantly more powerful and dangerous to use. As any skill with this kind of interaction it is better to set it easier to be disabled as in a toggle, better yet if it has a reactivation cooldown and keeps the material consumption.
Toyou (B) - Lead
As an attempt to take the root of both korean and japanese names the translation often ends as clay figures which could be some sort of clay spirit power, tho this isn’t of any reliance. What can be seen for sure is how it appears as some sort of earthquake like skill, considering japan had to adapt itself to this natural phenomena this is more than fitting. On the visual execution the only thing to be said is that this skill needs to use the same texture/particle on a higher resolution, it may be due some sort of special effect applied on top as well but the result looks out of place for the game graphics even on low settings.
Toyou is the most flexible skill in Onmyoji’s kit as it has massive magnitude with targetable area, it can sound insignificant but it is important for precise aiming in all sorts of scenarios. Despite being generally better than the average skill Toyou presents two weaknesses regarding enemy conditions and that itself puts it in a scenario it may be less effective then lower tier skills, it also compensates the lesser damage on knockdown enemies with a bind, which duration isn’t informed, on a low chance.
Tier 3
Yin Yang Harmony (B) - Lead
Onmyodo is translated as in the literal way as the way of yin and yang, as the previous offensive skills cover the wu xing completely this one uses other completely. As much as the particle effects work for the skill concept it would be interesting to go further on the visual execution as it doesn’t look as impressive for a final skill of such magnitude.
It feels good to see that many hits on a skill as fast as in Yin Yang Harmony despite them not matching the animation speed and have a rather low skill ratio, even then it is quite visible that the damage is being delivered due how fast it happens and the more enemies on screen the more impactful it feels. One thing the skill doesn’t make it clear is how the damage property is handled, it may be mixed in 50% for each hit or alternated between holy and dark. As a channeling skill it enables other ground damage over time to be used in conjunction with proper planning and it also limits how damage can be delivered as enemies can get outside the skill range while the caster is still committed, unlike most channeling skills it has a massive hitbox and doesn’t allow it to be redirected.
There are a couple of issues regarding Onmyoji but the class remains solid and faithful towards its identity. On that matter the choice of identity was quite unfortunate as it was known on release as an enhanced elementalist, this was kinda reasonable in the rank class system despite giving Onmyoji the better deal as the high rank class but it doesn’t work as well in the new environment as these classes are in direct competition. Right now the major distinction between those classes is execution and magnitude, Elementalist does a better job in exploring new ways to deliver elemental skills while Onmyoji is straightforward and has the larger hitboxes. It does the job but is the least interesting option to pick from and taking a deeper theme to fit a generic identity will waste both (as it could fit as well a dedicated earth mage if not more), and it doesn’t even need to have a completely different identity if it solves a game problem.
As the latest wizard class added it should be a class that provides something new to the tree and this didn’t really happened, not only that but the class theme can support more specific identities instead of this large crowd slayer that can work with anything. Onmyoji could be a perfect way to deliver an offensive SPR based class that support and summoning classes wanted as they had nothing to back up this playstyle, in fact both Sorcerer and Necromancer were limited to each other as the higher rank options were all variations of damage and Enchanter as an oddball support, and this is justifiable over how shikigami works as magic. This is a more fitting way to implement an already established identity in a way it will appeal to a different class spectrum in way both can coexist and appeal to their own spheres, tho this was made pointless with Re:Build stat revamp and fixed distribution.
Another interesting possibility for the current Onmyoji is as a cleric class considering the religious roots the theme has and how shintoism, represented by Miko/Kannushi, adopted onmyodo practices, in fact the usual translation for Onmyoji is exorcist as their most noticeable job was to dispose evil spirits and demons. From a balancing perspective it also makes sense for a cleric class to have material consumption on skills as it is stepping out of the tree scope, on the other side it can be an elemental class, if not the only, on a tree that has almost no variance in its magical properties. Of course such change would lose some thematic value on Onmyoji side as well by not being able to be matched with sorcerer as another demon master and the recently, and questionable due being based on Taoist Priest, moved class that is directly related on the thematic sphere.
As a last approach the class could receive a new identity or offer a new take on it that sets it apart from its predecessor, perhaps being a delayed effect class that requires setup and planning to deliver AoE damage. Nothing major has to be done in order to get Onmyoji out of Elementalist territory and this can be done the other way around but as fact the class has more background to work with and can explore new directions. Onmyoji is solid and has a visible identity but it doesn’t convey the expected experience of playing with that fantasy, however the expectation break isn’t done in favor of something new, creating nor amazing.
Aside that dissonance the only direct visible weakness is on the visual presentation that fails here and there, but it is clear that they did their homework on the class theme.
Identity - A
Theme - B
Gameplay - B
Skill Distribution - C
Overall - B
Onmyoji was a class i wanted to discuss upon release due how it settled in the least interesting spot for its theme, and after researching a bit for the skills and class background i can see how it wasn’t handled carelessly. Unfortunately this will be the last Design Breakdown for a while as i’ll be focusing on getting better information on the class and skills themes on wiki, since it will be going on a second hiatus right after the previous one (tho the first one didn’t really happened) i’ll have a room at ToS wiki discord available to discuss class design till the end of march to cover up (with not nearly the same basis used on the series) older entries and those that didn’t had a chance to be formally discussed. It may be naive to think this series made any impact on how IMC design and handle classes as some of the points discussed both on my part and on comments were addressed on Re:Build but the majority, if not all, were visible issues and the staff manifested interest on it once. With this statement i conclude the last Design Breakdown before the wiki renewal hiatus, it will be back in the future but don’t expect it to be soon.