D2 mod design

Diablo 2 Mod
Future Content and Finalization
Design Document

Goals (Brief)

Skills and Attributes
To design a system of skills that are benefited through various stats and artificial stats (mastery-type skills)

Items
To design a system oriented on unique and crafted items and their benefits gained through powering them up through said crafting.

Resources (Mana)
To design a system of resources that use the default mana pool in a significant or different manner than the original game.
Five types for the five "classes" of characters within Obsidian Ocean.

Full Summaries

Skills and Attributes

The default stats are Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX or AGI), Vitality (VIT or life), Energy (Mana or INT). These are going to be manipulated to be slightly more dynamic. Combat stats such as Attack Rating, Defense, etc., will likely be completely removed from these either directly (code edits) or indirectly (soft edits, manipulation) to make them specific. Skill based stats will be used as Synergies (bonuses) to combat Skills. The Skills will be "Primary" attributes or an essence of Mastery skills while the STR DEX VIT INT stats will be "lesser" or secondary attributes. It is likely to create a situation of 2-3 lesser points per level and 1 primary point per level.

Combat skills

Abilities and skills used for actual gameplay (unlike the above) will be found on various gears as well as most likely built into the rune and gem system. The location of "learned" skills will be found not in the default skill tree, but instead on the unique charm currently found in the mod as a character's "sigil." This will allow a character to learn any skill and insert or craft it into the charm, never losing what they've "learned" as they level up and trade out gear (where it currently is [badly] designed to go).

Resources

These having been already built will gain a 2nd major pass of inspection for balance, design, and "fun factor." There might be special resource (class) specific masteries such as "Battle Mage" or "Tank Mage" that are individually designed skills for that resource. These may even have alternative routes that lock upon choosing one or the other. For example the Sorceress learns/uses "Spirit" and may be able to chose from 2 or 3 of these secondary resource masteries.

Items

I've discovered that two separate and conflicting ideas have been coming to me as one concept. This must be destroyed from the current mod and rebuilt. A few steps back, many more steps forward. Since items are designed by default to be randomly rolled from the game's loot table, the item types themselves are specific to the game. I have to both work around and embrace this. Generic weapons and gear must exist, but specific item types must also exist. This is different from the default game as Unique/Legendary items use the base item type there. This may or may not do that and may create Unique items for specific item types. Doing this will likely reinforce a more dungeon or boss oriented quest system. If you want a specific item, you will need to find the dungeon or boss it drops from, then maybe it will drop (RNG will not be crazy difficult).

The above concepts combined should create more directly the Obsidian Ocean modification that I was once working on, with better insight and understanding of what I'm doing and how I plan to do it.