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.
Starting another Design Breakdown with the possibly one of the worst class ever designed, even after a rework, and that is no other than Templar. In case this is your first time on a Design Breakdown topic go to this link for some basic information.
Templar - RANK 7 - SUPPORT
Aside the text being outdated it glorifies the class way more than should, Templar is indeed a guild oriented class but on matter of identity this is basically all it gets. The real life templars were soldiers of a catholic military order established to protect pilgrims on their journey to the holy land, once muslim took control over the land they were sent to fight for its liberation along other crusaders. In games it can often be associated to Paladins as an alternative name or a more warrior variant of it, here however the class is based on military as can be seen on the costume that is a mix of paperwork officer with some plate armor as well.
Summon Guild Member (E) - Gimmick
As fundamental skill for any guild leader, even tho all Templars don’t have to be leaders, the execution is quite outdated comparing to modern gaming standards. Having a pop up window to be summoned is functional but it needs some degree of coordination as any player that declines it due bad timing, such as using storage or market, won’t be teleported if at least one guild member accepts the summoning, it’s great that a full decline won’t count for cooldown but the odds decrease based on the quantity of players involved. Another aspect that can be troublesome is how the summoner can’t leave the map nor channel until all members are teleported else it won’t be applied to those that haven’t warped instantly. If all that wasn’t enough the leveling factor is quite uninteresting, as adds one extra player per level, and requires a lot of commitment to pay off especially as it lacks floor, that wouldn’t be much of a deal if other classes didn’t had warp skills as well even tho they can’t be used in closed maps.
Right now a teleport flag is being tested for guild wars and that could be the default way to implement Summon Guild Member along with some thematic value, it may also allow the user to leave the map and have players to teleport with ease. This may open up more possibilities on leveling aspects such as going for longer duration and more HP which can be an interesting element in GvG content and create a minigame even for casual play, it’s more engaging and interesting than giving it more warp count and have strategic value as the guild has to protect the flag.
Warp to Guild Member (A) - Gimmick
There’s nothing special to talk about this skill, it can’t be expanded at all and the only way to improve it is by making it a default free skill.
Build Guild Tower (F) - Lead
Horrible design in every single aspect knowing how other things were implemented in game. One thing that is executed cleverly in ToS is how all passive effects are tied to money instead of skill points, for a passive skill to succeed it needs to be good enough to have points taken out of an active skill however as their effects are persistent and often stat checks they have the upper hand. When this is taken out of the skill distribution the class gains a floor and players can focus their points on things that will be visible through the whole game experience, yet for some reason Build Guild Tower is the only exception to this and has no visible effect for most of the game. As the skill is capped at 5 levels it has to present new feature for each one of them yet the distribution is the worst possible, the basic functions available at town are the starting levels and only after that Templars can level guilds and do exclusive things. What makes this the worst skill in game is that even for those that won’t be guild leaders it is still a mandatory skill to be able to change guild leadership as it cannot be returned if guild doesn’t have a hangout, yet the new leader can’t abide the position for a full week which is the duration of the tower. Another interesting fact is that the skill has no effect when activated when it could either allow towers to be set for free with a huge cooldown or have the templar teleported to it.
This whole system needs a rework to not be a mandatory skill dump, it can be partially usable without Templar and be enhanced by its presence. No single guild leader would disagree that having the features tied to guild level is a worse way to implement them, as long as the game offers one way to donate talt be that with an unique NPC or the templar master itself (that is Knight Uska even tho the game has an artwork ready for a real master). Small guild without could have access to a single weekly guild quest entry and a smaller rooster of missions to pick from, since the leadership transfer requires a hangout it could also provide some small meeting room to be used for the guild. With Templars this can be expanded to set guild towers in fields, have more guild quest entries, a proper hangout and some more fun and useful things. And of course having a hangout entry at the cities (even if paying a fee) can improve a lot the guild system as players are forced to warp to random maps and interact with the guild tower isn’t that much of a fun mechanic, in fact that may be expanded by giving the hangout exit options for all three cities and the set tower itself. The point here is, this isn’t the way to implement those features specially when they prevent guild masters to reset their Templars as they need to abide their leader status for a whole week and require another Templar to regain control over it.
Reduce Craft Time (F) - Gimmick
Another skill that is questionable in every single aspect, the effect isn’t that impressive to have a duration specially when it has no combat application. It could be less of a terrible skill if it weren’t for the fact that only the guild master can use it even tho it has no real reason to have such restriction.
As a matter of fact no one really cares about this effect as it is just useful, it could be implemented as an unlockable feature for the guild hangout permanently.
Battle Orders (D) - Lead
Back on the first version of the class this skill provided STR for guild members in range but as it was too limited it was reworked into a maximum movement speed buff and a slow to enemies, that change made the skill overall more useful but disconnected it to its name. Unfortunately Battle Orders quite some coordination to work due the effect it provides and how it can trips over itself, as the user is always at maximum speed any detour when following the leader will get the player to the edge of the circle and eventually even outside of it without the capability to re-enter unless the Templar gets back which can get the remaining players to get outside. That said it isn’t impossible to use the party benefit but the execution doesn’t help it, in fact when the short base duration and low increment on the skill scaling come together it feels even worse to be used for the investment required both in skill points and teamwork. On the best side of Battle Orders the skill serves as a fake taunt as it has a slow, which duration isn’t informed, component with a slightly better scaling than the duration and even with both effects stacked it doesn’t really overscale as slow is a fairly weak effect, as for the worst part of Battle Orders is the inability to affect guild members in instances even being restricted to them only.
Aside fixing the instance issue and open party members to receive skill effects as well Battle Orders could have a lower base movement speed and apply the maximum value for a brief duration only to those that exit the skill range, something as simple as that can boost the efficiency significantly and not require Centurion to be mandatory if it ever get back to the game.
There’s no way a player go through this circle and be really satisfied and that is due the way Build Guild Tower is shoved down even tho it a passive skill, even if not taken for some reason the other option is Reduce Craft Time that is by itself a questionable skill. As for the other skills they’re just useful and even Summon Guild Member can work despite not being as well executed.
Ironcialy for any player that is in a guild this can be a perfect filler circle just for the mere conveniences it provides for no restriction opposed to other class options, having global teleports based on guild members is great, being able to summon a party is as amazing and having a short movement speed burst can be handy in a lot of scenarios. All that said Templar can only compete as a filler as it has nothing significant to offer aside convenience and utility.
Buff Share (E) - Midground
Pointless, stupid and has a boring name, by being a channeling skill it prevents the user to share its own buffs and can also be interrupted by outsiders. Despite the skill allow other guild members to use buffs and share them outside their parties the functionality is questionable as most of them are popular enough to have them easily accessible and even then they work in the party sphere, solo buffs however have a minimal roster to work with to be even considered. As expected the leveling factor is duration yet the value is high enough at start and since it’s a channel it can be worse to have it up for the full cast.
A better way to execute this concept is to make it as an aura with scaling duration, and perhaps buff level, or apply it as an attribute for Battle Orders since the majority of buffs was updated to be castable in movement.
Forge (E) - Relief
Another skill that fails due terrible execution, the idea of having a battlefield commander to deploy a turret is fitting as it can work as a guardian for the location but that only applies if the structure has some sort of effect or significant damage to be a threat and neither is the case. The reason for that is that Forge is a summon and it follows the same rules as any other of its kind and for it to deal damage SPR and MAtk, that may not sound like a big deal as Maces provide both PAtk and MAtk as a great pick for the class if it weren’t for the fact that Spears dominate the swordsman tree and the remaining classes that don’t use them have them often come with another mandatory weapon to use. Forge always targets the closest enemies and splash damage to units around it along with a reveal debuff, it isn’t clear seeks hidden enemies first as those aren’t as common yet it would likely to resume the basic IA pattern after the revealing strike. For leveling the only enhancement is duration which can achieve uptime when maxed, it isn’t clear if it has other components to be enhanced but at this point it doesn’t offer many options on where to stop when taken. Also as the skill doesn’t clarifies Forge summon nature players have to rely on outside sources or test by themselves and be disappointed, along that the skill can’t receive any effect from self buffs, but at least it can work as a targetable unit for extra aggro management.
Obviously this skill needs a different treatment on how the damage is employed be the case that it uses DEX and PAtk as a physical counterpart, the other option is to make it into an extension of the character and go more straight forward to the calculations as swordsmen tree doesn’t have classes to support summoning playstyle. To compensate that Forge can have lower range and attack speed as the current one has both but no perspective on damage. It also needs a different leveling factor other than duration, HP and reveal debuff time are valid option on that matter.
Shield Charger (B) - High Lead
A true strong and balanced skill within Templar and the only shielding skill so far. Shield Charger applies a shield, as a fake HP bar, based on a percentage of the user HP and has a floor, as the shield is capped to twice the user max HP high CON Templars to have it in lower levels to support guild members. However this shield mechanic has an stacking issue as when multiple shields are applied it can’t inform the values or duration of each one, that is a rare occurrence however so it can be ignored for now. The restriction to guild members only is also an inconvenience as it doesn’t apply to party members and has no effect in instances.
Despite being functional Shield Charger may present some issues as it allows free movement and that might not be the ideal way in PvP environment, that could be changed to have the object as a damage sponge for all units in its radius keeping the same defensive functionality for a specific location.
Mortal Slash (D) - Relief
Usually flat damage skill have few to be commented on but as almost anything in Templar it never ends quickly. For the only special component Mortal Slash has additional damage when used on enemies under Battle Orders debuff, which value isn’t informed as usual, yet that point a singular design conflict, it uses a mobility buff to do it and the execution halts the user for the animation that doesn’t factor Attack Speed. What really gets the skill however is how it restricted to swords only (perhaps Maces as well but that the tooltip doesn’t include it), a class that already lacks combat features doesn’t offer the freedom on the only straightforward damage skills for those that use Spears, Maces or Rapiers and yet it allows the skill to be used while mounted when the only classes with this capability are Spear users.
As Mortal Slash role in the class is to provide some form of damage and rely less on previous synergy the skill would be just fine without any special component as long as it has no weapon restriction at all.
Comparing to the previous circle there’s a major improvement both in agency and utility, Mortal Slash also shows up as a damage skill needed as the class has no offensive power to this point. Forge and Buff Share are both in the questionable group since they can be useful in some contexts but are mostly skippable for the whole game, in fact the whole deal with Buff Share is worse as the latter changes prevent some individual buffs to be used together (Zendu and Enchant Fire) and Linker’s Spiritual Link can do the same job as a rank 4 circle 2 skill.
Another conflicting design decision is the limitations on Forge as a minion and Mortal Slash as a sword exclusive, this means that if one brave player decides to take Mace to make use of Forge it won’t be able to use Mortal Slash unless it invests twice in weaponry. Due Summon Guild Member nature and scaling that already allows a full party to be recalled at the first circle the skill can face some issues to ramp up, this also applies to Share Buff as the base duration is already significant at unlock. It’s also important to notice that this circle adds 20 points to the skill distribution but two of the previous circle skills are maxed at lvl 5.
Non-Invasive Area (C) - Grand Lead
Here the issues are a little more nuanced, just as any support channel it will retain the same issues however as the skill increases the defensive power, if using a shield, of the user as well it can be slightly more satisfying even tho it still prevents the user to perform any action. The effect itself is interesting and unique yet as it relies on block, and even that being enhanced by it, which requires a shield, that may not be possible for some builds, and some CON to be effective and can end up not being effective at all due that. There is another interpretation on this additional block as an external effect that isn’t related to its basic rules and as such it may apply to without a shield, if this is the way Non-Invasive Area works it does deserve some credit as it provides an operational floor and rewards those that have block as well. As a matter of fact it doesn’t feel that right to have yourself disabled for the channeling and still be susceptible to attacks cause the odds didn’t favor you. As a quick mention the skill seems not to work on non guild members even if in the same party. If we exaggerate the power of the skill as it doesn’t state how many allies it can apply to and since it’s a guild oriented skill it may affect all units in range, as such it can be used in high player demand content as world bossing which would justify the channeling nature and even really unusual it may not be a wanted scenario.
It could be interesting to change Non-Invasive Area to a ground based skill or an aura that has some penalty on the user to at least give Templars agency during its use. The other option is to keep it as a channel but change it into an invincibility, with or without a barrier, effect that also prevents those inside the area to deal damage and that can work with only duration, it may cause some issues as preventing your own allies to deal damage can result in skills being wasted but thin line can work as a mastery point of it.
The last circle has a wild card that can be quite useful yet not feel worthy compared to what other classes can provide, that all due the channeling nature preventing the user to contribute to the fight and being chance based on top of that. Mortal Slash also gets a new attribute to reduce its cooldown based on how many party members which is a nice addition but also puts more weight on the skill. As the previous circle has both Forge and Shield Charger capped the points have to be distributed elsewhere and that balances out the extra amount of skills introduced there.
Conclusion
It’s hard to say that the class design is objectively bad on every single aspect as it does have some highs on what it tries to do and can bypass some game rules with it, however the execution is clearly questionable and the payoff may not be delivered even on GvG environment. There are two opposing issues within the class design, it lacks a direction for the identity yet it is a niche class as everything in the guild sphere. Half of the skill set has no effect in combat and even the battle skills diverge in channels and structures, there’s no cohesion in the playstyle at all and this makes it rely more on previous classes especially as it has few active combat skills.
By not affect party members it also becomes harder to level since only Mortal Slash can be used straightforward, meanwhile Battle Orders and Shield Charger are limited to solo use in instances. The minimum expected is to have the effects applied in instances as it happens in regular maps so at least partying with guild members can make the class rewarding, yet the best approach is to make them work on party members. Leveling is a core aspect of the game and if a class set hurdles (not challenges) on it the game won’t be as fun, this is an occurrence we see in crafting classes however they’re do have some value to offer even if indirectly and are placed in lower ranks so players can catch up later on - that doesn’t happen to Templar.
The last changes on the class aimed to make it less of a guild master exclusive and more of a regular class yet there are few benefits from having multiple Templars in a same guild as the combat skills don’t stack, not to mention the terrible skill point distribution on c1 so any non-leader build that makes full use of it has to go higher yet skills such as Battle Orders and Share Buff have the worst point investments in the class. It also feels like the class peak is at the middle as Shield Charger can generate a lot of protection in a reliable way and even Non-Invasive Area being potentially more effective it doesn’t offer the same freedom. Speaking on a personal level it bothers me that Templar has four skills that are maxed at level five since it goes against the pre established convention the game builds, that doesn’t make the design worse and is mostly irrelevant to the discussion but it does set a barrier that prevent players (not always aware of) to go further on their favorite skills.
If the main goal of the class is to be a commander (and not step into Centurion territory, if it ever comes back to the game), or even a GvG oriented class, it may be a good ideal to have the whole gameplay tied to objectives be that by building interest points or zones to be protected or attacked. Templar being an exclusive guild oriented class is fine but it has to be good enough of an option to be taken for those that won’t be guild leaders and support the PvE at the minimum else players may not bother investing on it, the starting point is making multiple Templars benefit a group instead of overlapping their powers;
| C 1 | C 2 | C 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identity | C | B | D |
| Theme | D | F | F |
| Gameplay | D | C | D |
| Cohesion | D | C | E |
| Point Distribution | F | D | D |
| Dropout | D | D | E |
And that concludes this week breakdown, if you have a templar and does play on GvG please share your takes, praises and critics on the class as that is out of my realm. Since they just announced a huge change coming to the game that seems to abolish the rank structure, reorganize classes and likely to change the classes design there won’t be a new Design Breakdown for a while and changes won’t be that small that this can stay relevant later on, the previous entries will be updated later on but till further concrete information this will go into a hiatus. Also since Shadowmancer’s was ready it will be out as well.