tukkek
commented
3 years ago Intelligent weapons are non-viable to pull off realistically in a roguelike but something similar could be done by having Legendary Gear evolve with the character that's using it. The simplest way to do it would be to have the weapon earn experience at the same rate its wearer does (not taking away from their share) and at certain marks, probably relative to level 10 (or 15) and above, unlock new enchantment choices, rather than having them pre-fixated when the item is first picked up.
This might be a little hard to balance since the item is initially one value and later on increases without having to invest anything on it - another option is requiring the wearer to actively invest the entire amount for the gear to level up instantly or to "sink" some of wearer's XP in proportion to the gold value. If Legendary Gear are considered Artifacts, then balance is of less concern and this would make them perfect for end-game loot, scaling well beyond the usual game boundaries.
Another challenge is the UI for advancing a weapon but a simple approach is to just prompt when being equipped/unequipped and maybe a "update available" next to the name. If going with the Artifact route, there could be an end-game only crafting option #197 that allows new enchantments to be added after a Gear's XP thresolds are reached.
Another idea is having the Kit or Abilities of the wearer influence what Runes could be rolled on it - that seems harder to pull off and maintain though as it would require some sort of implicit or (more likely) explicit mapping.
Overall, two types of Legendary Gear might be in order - one where the characteristics are preset and known beforehand (Epic Gear), while the other starts as a base item which unlocks slots for crafting new abilities on it (Legendary Gear).
A type of Rune Gear #245 that borders (but doesn't quite reach) Artifact #224 power levels. They would be unmodifiable, Epic-tier-only Rune Gear that grants the wearer a number of Conditions at once rather than a single one and a spell cast (at most).
They would be shown to the player as something like "Legendary boots (Strong, Graceful, Wise)".
They would probably be exclusive to only Temples, Portals and end-game content #269 , possibly even replacing Artifacts as they are today.