[Suggestion] Rework tattoo enchantments

[defsil]

At the moment, tattoo enchantment costs are simply unreasonably high. They basically duplicate the functionality of enchanted items, so, naturally, one would think they should have similar costs. Despite that, enchanting a tattoo costs way, way more that enchanting an item yourself in a similar way for the same price - a point of a tattoo enchantment costs ¤1000, while a unit of arcane essence can be purchased from Vicky (<3) at the meager price of ¤60, not to mention the obvious abundance of its free sources. And, unlike items, tattoos cannot be swapped out - which is a big problem, because they still do take up the enchantment capacity! If you find yourself in a need to free up some enchantments to get more capacity, you're left with no choice but to remove the tattoo enchantment entirely, forfeiting the flames invested in it. Ouch!

Balance-wise, this completely discourages players from getting their tattoos enchanted in favor of enchanting items unless they get to the point in the game where money is so abundant they can afford to buy literally everything else.

So! I'd like to suggest implementing one or more of the following changes, or at least put them out there as food for further brainstorming. :3

1. Significally reduce tattoo enchantment costs, either as is or as a discount by letting Kate use your own arcane essence for that;
2. Either make tattoo enchantments not count towards enchantment capacity, count only for half of it, or let them have entirely separate "tattoo enchantment capacity" usable by and only by tattoo enchantments. This way, once the player runs out of regular capacity, they'll have to resort paying the higher enchantment prices in order to get higher stats;
3. Let player make and enchant their own tattoos as if they were items - for instance, through a purchasable tattooing station in their room unlockable after a special interation with Kate - possibly at double the usual arcane essence cost, which still seems reasonable enough;
4. Failing all that, at the very least allow players to temporarily free up their enchantment capacity by "disabling" some of their tattoos, either through an interaction with Kate, by the means of some potion or by "sealing" them with their own essence similar to how they'd unseal an item; reactivating a tattoo disabled in such a fashion is a free action.

I hope that helps! ^_^

(Sorry, I know it's not the best place for this, but I just wanted to say that it's an amazing game, and, being an avid fan of Fenoxo's, I can't believe I haven't heard of it sooner. It definitely deserves more attention. @Innoxia, I can't imagine how much work did it take for you and other contributors to make it into a gem it is now over the course of these years, but you are simply amazing. <3)

[RandomNecromancer]

Tattoos would be way more interesting as a once-per-battle buff or if every activation came with a cost. See Overlord s2 ep12 fight between Sebas and Zero for a somewhat similar visual representation of what I meant.

[defsil]

Tattoos would be way more interesting as a once-per-battle buff or if every activation came with a cost. See Overlord s2 ep12 fight between Sebas and Zero for a somewhat similar visual representation of what I meant.

Hmm. I don't know if that's the direction Inno wants to take the game in, but I do agree this would be more interesting that what is implemented now. Tattoos are one way to add one-time combat buffs, I suppose, but so are potions! Oh - maybe generic combat enchantments that can go both on tattoos and items, and instead of adding passive benefits they use the invested enchantment capacity (EC) to give an activable ability of some kind?

Activation cost suggestions:

1. only timed (once per day) - cheapest essence,
2. timed+cost (once per day, essence) - cheapest EC,
3. only cost (once per battle, essence) - most versatile,
4. something-something curses? - opt to make activation cheaper by giving certain negative (or "negative" >:3) temporary debuffs each time. Must choose one.

Effect suggestions:

1. temporary stat boost (significally more EC-efficient than a passive boost of the same kind),
2. potion effects (as if you've drunk a potion),
3. summonable ally (pre-set elemental, rendered obsolete when you can reliably summon elemental of your own),
4. summonable weapon (an "energy"-woven weapon of a selected type - sword, bow, dagger, etc., a few possible options given - appears in first free slot when activated); great for role-playing purposes, when you want your character to appear armless at first glance, as well as for getting more versatility; 4.1 Alternative version of summonable weapon/armor enchantment: at the moment of enchantment, the item currently in the selected slot is remembered and (unless sealed or unique) "absorbed"; when activated, if that slot is empty, the item is brought forth, and reabsorbed back at the end of the combat. 4.2 Yet another alternative version: choose an item slot when enchanting; if, at the moment of activation, there is an item in that slot, it is "sucked into" the item (unless sealed/unique), invoking the enchantment again brings the item back;

[haoknowah]

I would also like to be able to enchant tattoos to act as slave collars, like in rise of the shield hero.

[defsil]

I would also like to be able to enchant tattoos to act as slave collars, like in rise of the shield hero.

Well, once the collar did its dirty job you can remove it altogether and the slave will remain a slave. Putting an enslaving tattoo on existing slaves won't do anything, and since you can only put them on existing slaves... How would that even work? :3

I suppose it could be made workable, though, but either of the two should be implemented for that:

1. Players should be able to make their own tattoos, and do so "in the field" - perhaps with a portable tattooing kit of sorts...
2. ...or it should be possible for very unhappy & disobedient slaves to get their collars unsealed and try and run off - in which case it should be explained how tattoos are harder to remove than collars, as Kate can do just that for 100 flames flat. Maybe they could have sealing enchantments just like items, then, that makes them harder to remove (and also resists transmuting the applicable body part)? It could work, I think. :3

[Maxis010]

2. ...or it should be possible for very unhappy & disobedient slaves to get their collars unsealed and try and run off Item 14 on my TODO list - Escape events

[haoknowah]

Well, once the collar did its dirty job you can remove it altogether and the slave will remain a slave

Did not realize this, thought they would immediatly run away or something like in Strive for Power.

[defsil]

2. ...or it should be possible for very unhappy & disobedient slaves to get their collars unsealed and try and run off Item 14 on my TODO list - Escape events

Gosh, your TODO list gets awesomer and awesomer by the moment! ^w^

Well, once the collar did its dirty job you can remove it altogether and the slave will remain a slave

Did not realize this, thought they would immediatly run away or something like in Strive for Power.

As explained by... Finch, I think, enslaving is more than just slapping an enchanted collar on someone - it registers them as a slave in a public register of sorts. Releasing someone from slavery is a complicated and costly process (which you can infer by the price of the freedom certificates Finch also sells), and if the slave would run off, they would swiftly be found by the Enforcers even without a collar and delivered back to the owner... with a fee for their services, of course. As a side note, it wouldn't hurt to experiment with game mechanics every once in a while - remove the collar and see what happens, for instance, will the slave run away? I admit I'm often guilty of making quick assumptions myself without trying to test them out, but I'm trying to be more conscious about things. :3