Katana and Partner skill rework
So I'm doing a total overhaul for katana, beam sword and laser swords as well as partner skills related to melee it's still a work-in-progress proposal. Nothing here is final, and numbers and ranks still need balancing. I’d like to hear what you think: what sounds fun, what sounds overpowered, and what you’d change.
The two core mechanics
The rework is built around the mod's two main features.
Parry
Aim with a sword to guard against front hits. Time it right before a hit to parry: no damage, no stamina cost, and your sword hits land on weak points for a few seconds. A late guard is a normal block: reduced damage, costs stamina.
Charged Iai
Hold the Iai stance for 2 seconds to charge it. The charged strike hits several times in a wide area, dashes further, hits weak points and refills some stamina.
I have a preview of how the mod looks (although the version of it is outdated since I posted the video so it's not accurate to what will be released) it features parrying bullets. Block/Parry Test
The core idea: melee elemental affinity
In vanilla, Pals that change your attack element (Wixen, Anubis, Wixen, Frostallion…) only do it while mounted or when you activate their skill. That's not so practical for melee: you can't fight well while riding, and the endgame meta mostly will go with ranged weapons.
Proposal: selected Pals give your melee weapons an element while the Pal is fighting alongside you (summoned). This applies to all melee weapons, not just swords: bats, spears, etc. No activation and no riding needed.
- Only the summoned Pal counts, so you can't stack two elements.
- It's opt-in: only specific Pals do this, so you can still bring a Pal without changing your element.
- Guns/ranged weapons aren't affected.
Each element (except Neutral and Dragon) gets two or maybe more Pal options, with two styles:
| Style | What it does while fighting alongside |
|---|---|
| Parry style | Melee becomes that element. Parrying an attack applies that element's ailment to the attacker, at any distance. Activating the Pal's skill still gives its vanilla attack bonus. |
| Buildup style | Melee becomes that element and your melee hits get a much stronger ailment buildup than vanilla (vanilla buildup is only 2–6 per hit). If the Pal already has a vanilla "in party" buildup, the melee version replaces it on melee hits. |
The line-up
| Element | Ailment | Parry style | Buildup style |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric | Shock | Prixter Lux | Snock |
| Ground | Muddy | Anubis | Warsect Terra |
| Fire | Burn | Wixen | Renjishi |
| Ice | Freeze | Icelyn | Loupmoon Cryst (maybe) |
| Grass | Ivy Cling | Elgrove | Verdash |
| Water | Wet | Finsider | Ophydia |
| Dark | Darkness | Wixen Noct | Venusa |
Example, Prixter Lux:
- Vanilla: activate → your attacks become Electric, Attack +30–50%.
- Proposed: while fighting alongside, your melee is always Electric (no activation). Parrying applies shock (around 100 buildup) to the attacker. Activating still gives the +30–50% Attack.
Special cases
- Dandilord: a much higher Poison buildup for melee only. Poison has no element affiliation kinda so it gets its own slot.
- Xenolord: the Dragon melee pick. Dragon has no ailment of its own; it shares Burn for now and might get a special condition later.
- Bastigor (Ice): idea, needs testing. A parry makes Bastigor counter-attack with one of its own moves.
- Felbat / Lovander (Dark): undecided. Parrying gives 20% life steal. Both already have 5–9% life steal while fighting together.
Other melee partner changes
| Pal | Change |
|---|---|
| Pupperai | Keeps its melee damage bonus. New: widens the parry window and increases damage. |
| Bushi Noct | Its +30–65% melee damage currently works in combat too, which is too strong. It goes back to vanilla (out of combat only), or the bonus gets removed. |
| Warsect | Its barrier is underwhelming (breaks after 1 hit). Ideas: the barrier takes 2–3 hits, and/or parrying raises your defense. It will get a parry mechanic; details are open. |
| Warsect Terra | Ground melee + Muddy buildup (see the table). Parry idea: a defense bonus based on your defense, or damage reflected back. Open. |
| Skutlass / Skutlass Ignis | Already turned into a proper Weapon Arts sword: rank-based speed, no longer incapacitated, only a charged Iai ends the skill. New: the charged Iai becomes Water (Skutlass) or Fire (Ignis); normal hits stay elementless. Active time 10 s → 15 s. |
| Loupmoon / Loupmoon Cryst | Its attack speed bonus stays removed (sword rank now gives attack speed). It keeps triple jump + air dash. It needs something else to make it special; still being designed. |
| Verdash | Triple jump + air dash buffed to match Loupmoon (they don't stack), plus Grass melee + Ivy Cling buildup. |
Questions for you
- Does "element while the Pal fights alongside you" feel right, or would you prefer something else? Or maybe other Pals I didn't mention would have this?
- Parry style vs buildup style: what do you think of the effects for elemental affinity?
- Any Pal you'd swap for a better fit in its element?
- Ideas for Loupmoon / Loupmoon Cryst?
- Warsect: multi-hit barrier, defense on parry, or damage reflect?
- Anything that sounds overpowered or maybe you have another idea?
Any discussion or advice from you would be appreciated for the mod's development.