If your Acolyte explores the way of the Lich, one of the powers they can learn is the fearsome Aura of Decay. This potent skill poisons both your character and nearby enemies!
As Last Epoch continues throughout development, we have been gradually creating skill specialization trees for the skills which lack them. You may have seen @EHG_Mike working on skill specialization trees while streaming the action and engaging with chat.
Today we wanted to give people more time to think about the ideas they’d like to suggest. If you could design a node for Aura of Decay’s specialization tree - what would that node do?
We’d love to see names, ideas on how many points can be spent in a node - and if you can spend more than one point in it, what would scale per point and what would not?
Maybe something that heals minions while you have it toggled? Something like:
Necrotic aura 0/3
Heal minions in aura of decay for 2% of their max health per point every second. Aura of decay drains 2 mana per point every second.
Maybe leading up to that could be a health regen node like:
Decaying vigor 0/5
You gain 10% increased health regeneration per point while aura of decay is active.
The numbers for these are just examples, and the max health regen could also be swapped to increased health regen.
I can’t wait to see what you guys do with this tree. I won’t pick numbers or anything, since it will require balance, but here’s a few ideas of what to do with it:
Poison DoT is changed to Void Damage, Elemental Damage, etc
Self-Poison is converted to Physical DoT
Aura of Decay deals no poison to you, but deals 50% less damage
Aura of Decay poisons enemies 5x times a second, but poisons you 2x times per second
It definitely needs an Inc AoE node
Aura of Decay deals no damage in a radius of X around you, but instead effects a range of y around you (so there’s a cone that deals no damage around you, but a much bigger one around that that reaches much wider)
AoD deals 50% more damage, but you can have no minions.
Damn i missed a stream! Need to Watch the VOD now!
Edit: There is no VOD!
Here are some of my ideas, i only made Key nodes that would change how the skill behaves.
Wave of Death:
When a enemy dies while under the effect of Aura of Decay you create a Nova that deals X Necrotic damage.
Bringer of Disease:
When a enemy gets poisoned by Aura of decay you have a x% chance of the poison to spread to another enemy.
Minions of Decay:
You no longer have the Aura of Decay around you, instead your Minions get a Aura of Decay with reduced AoE. Aura of Decay only applies 1 poison per second to enemies, and you get Poison per second equal to your amount of summoned minions.
Time rot:
Aura of Decay also reduces the defence and damage of you and your enemies by X%
Blood contract:
Instead of Poison, Aura of Decay applies bleeding to you and your enemies.
It also reduces your bleeding damage while Aura of Decay is active.
Domination:
Poisoned enemies have a x% chance to be possessed.
Possessed enemies take necrotic damage over time for two seconds. Enemies cannot be possessed by multiple times at once.
I could keep going but i think that’s enough for now.
Keep up the good work!
Hindering Aura 0/1: Aura of Decay can no longer poison enemies, but they are slowed the closer they are to you, up to a 90% slow effect.
Withering Ambiance 0/3: Enemies within the aura has 30 less Poison Protection and 30 less Armor per allocated point.
Expanding Corruption 0/5: Aura of Decay has 20% increased area per allocated point.
Weakened Stamina 0/1: You have 50% less health regeneration, but enemies within the aura have 100% less health regeneration and Aura of Decay applies an additional poison per second.
Poisonous Touch 0/3: Your spells have 33% chance to poison per point, while the Aura is active.
Spectral Presence 0/5: When an enemy dies from poison within the aura they have a 10% chance per allocated point, to spawn a wraith.
Ghostly Scourge 0/5: You take 5 Necrotic damage per second per allocated point, but you have an additional 10% chance to spawn a wraith from enemy deaths per allocated point.
Frigid Ghosts 0/3: Aura of Decay applies an additional poison to you each second, but wraiths within the aura deal an additional 4 cold and 4 necrotic damage on their spells and attacks per allocated point.
Your skill only lasts for X seconds, you gain more movement speed. The longer your trail of decay is, the more damage the trail does to the enemies. So you basically run around a lot, the more, the better.
Rotten tide - Aura of decay instead releases a single wave of high poison damage and deals immediate poison damage to the character
Plague - Aura of decay now adds 1 extra stack of poison to both you and enemies per level. Reduces both your and enemies poison resistance by 15% per level. (0/2)
Avatar of pestilence - You move 50% slower per level but the area is increased by 50% per level (0/2)
Aura of Decay is originally an Aura/AoE spell, so what if we modify the shape of the AoE. Such as “Ring of Agony” a node that which would change make it wider out but with having an empty space imbetween you and the AoE such as 1 meter (kinda like a donut and having extra room on all sides from you) and make it harder to hit, but as such you double the damage or make the poison stack accumulate decay slower as it is an “aura of decay”
Thought I should bump this so it could get more exposure and ideas.
My suggestion for the first node below was made in the split topic.
Mithridatism - Increases your poison protection the longer the aura is active, gradually returns to your base level of protection once aura is deactivated (possibly needs a maximum in case the character builds up too much life regeneration)
Rapacious Nebula - Aura no longer trails you on activation. (Increased Mana cost of activation and increased cooldown, requires you to be in the aura to stay active or it dissipates after x seconds) Aura is stationary at the point you activated. Poison Damage and area of aura increases (and the damage you take from it too) the longer you stay in the aura initial area (specifically the area you placed it, staying in the expanded areas of aura does not increase damage and area, but maintains the duration.
Necrotic Nova - After every x stacks of poison your character accumulates from the Aura, you release a projectile nova dealing Necrotic Damage, which has a % chance to Poison; % chance to reduce x number of stacks of poison your character has accumulated
Dissolved into the Void - % Chance enemies poisoned by Aura that die liquefy into purple pools that last x seconds which deal Void damage to enemies that traverse over them, and these pools periodically emit Abyssal Orbs
Aberrant Asphyxiants - Converts x% of damage from poison aura’s stacks to deal additonal Void and Necrotic Damage (including yourself)
Catalysis - Increases the rate at which poison stacks accumulate on monsters and yourself, poison stacks have x% reduced duration (or if frequency isn’t possible for this, increases the number of stacks for each tick)
Maybe, I’ll think of some more ideas after I’ve seen what others can contribute.
Got a few more ideas I’d like to share. Work is really slow
Hemorrhaging Corrosion - Converts Poison stacks to Bleed stacks. Poison damage reduction is fully converted to reduction of bleed damage sources. Player, Player’s Minions, and enemies have increased chance to incur bleed from incoming damage when in aura.
Flush Wounds - (option once the node mentioned above is selected) While aura is active, you cannot accumulate more than 1 tick of damage from each source of poison damage (duration expires from each source of poison after that source deals its first tick.)
Ailment to Aliment - % chance you gain life equal to the number of stacks of poison the enemy died with from aura.
(Slight variation to Peredur’s/Binkster’s idea)
Decrepitude - After x stacks of poison from aura accumulates on an enemy it slows their movement and attack speed.
Lingering Putrefaction - Enemies that die from cumulative poison stacks from Aura of Decay have a chance to release those built-up stacks within a (to be determined at a later date) radius. Cannot exceed (to be determined) stacks, but has the same duration as aura of decay’s trail.
