Drustai over on the European WoW forums has a good observation: death knights have always had a special relationship with their runeblades, using the same weapon for their whole life. Arthas is the classic example, since he and his sword, Frostmourne, are forever associated with one another. Could you imagine Arthas starting out as a level 55 death knight and then gradually replacing his low-level Frostmourne with something better? How then, could it work out with our player character death knights? Shouldn't they have their own sword for life too? Obviously though, working this out with the game's character progression would be difficult. You can't give an epic sword to a new character, nor can you keep an experienced character stuck with a non-upgradable, outdated weapon. There are many suggestions as to how to keep one blade throughout the character's life. Have a look at the original poster's favorite suggestion after the jump:
Death Knight loots weapons as normal. Upon looting the weapon, the Death Knight has some ability to "DE" [or disenchant] the weapon, granting them an essence of sorts that they then apply to their runeblade. Runes should probably still only work on the runeblade itself, preventing the DK from using the other weapons without first DEing and applying them to his own Runeblade. Essentially, the loot game and itemization is still in place, but the Death Knight is able to maintain a consistent runeblade. They simply absorb the powers of other weapons into their own blade. Each time the absorbing happens, the runeblade is 'wiped clean', just like gems... the new stats would replace the old stats, they don't add to them.Unfortunately, though, it looks like Blizzard doesn't have any plans to let death knights form such a relationship with one blade over their entire career (though perhaps they only read the post before that favorite suggestion was edited in). As Salthem says:
IE, you loot Lionheart Blade, DE Lionheart Blade, apply Lionheart Blade Essence to your Runeblade, your Runeblade maintains the looks you chose at the beginning of the game, but now has the stats of Lionheart Blade.
We haven't fully decided on this at this time, we will try things out in the beta, but at the moment we are thinking that death knights can probably inscribe any weapon with runes.Do you think death knights should be able to have one blade permanently bonded to them? How do you think a sensible character progression could work out if that were the case? Or, on the other hand, do you think it would get boring just using the same weapon graphic for ever without being able to mix it up with newer, bigger, better weapons over time?
Personally, I like this idea too, but taking weapon drops out of the equation for death knights removes a big chunk of the itemisation side of the game from them - it would have to be something pretty special to replace the feeling you get with your first epic weapon.
Not to mention the awkwardness this could cause in balancing loot tables as Ilsevele pointed out.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
9-24-2007 @ 9:28AM
Dipstick said...
It'd be sweet if they could have one sword which they use throughout their career, and they choose the look of which from the character creation screen.
I also love the idea of adding the 'essence' of a weapon looted in order to give it the stats of said weapon.
Realistically this may not be an option though :
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9-24-2007 @ 9:31AM
bnorman said...
Simple:
Your blade gains levels with you. Exactly like a pet with a hunter.
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9-24-2007 @ 9:32AM
Anon said...
I actually rather like the single runeblade approach. The only problem comes with dual wielding (unless any weapon can be equipped in the offhand, with the Runeblade ONLY in the main...)
After all, isn't it the runeblade that makes them Death Knights in the first place? For a DK not to have a runeblade is like having a warrior missing an arm.
(Tis but a scratch)
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9-24-2007 @ 9:36AM
Alenthor said...
Well if I look at how annoying my current hair style is on my toon, not to mention how many times I'd like to change his face, I'm fairly certain I would get annoyed with how my runeblade looked after awhile.
So I'm going for no on keeping the same runeblade throughout my future death knight's life. I mean honestly who wants to keep the same graphic on something forever? Because honestly that is what is being suggested here.
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9-24-2007 @ 9:36AM
Lios said...
Boring, having the same sword for ever and ever :-(
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9-24-2007 @ 9:38AM
Amagoi said...
It'd be sweet if they stuck to the fucking lore.
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9-24-2007 @ 9:50AM
Anon said...
@4
At least you can cover up that nasty hairdo with a helmet...us druid players are forced to use the same model for 60 levels. 60 LEVELS! And then every other form after that (cat, 50 levels, travel, 40, moonkin, 30, tree, 20, etc.) So you can get pretty new swords and shiny new armor. We will always have the same fur. And no change is in sight. Be thankful for what you have, for some envy even your problems.
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9-24-2007 @ 9:52AM
levirbaker said...
Two reasons why this is a good idea:
1) It abides by established lore.
2) It adds uniqueness to the class.
And i am sure they could devise a system, like the one suggested, that still allows for itemization
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9-24-2007 @ 9:53AM
irishstu said...
It could be like in the Terry Pratchett novels, where dwarves carry the same axe that their great great great grandfathers carried... sure, the handle has been replaced a few dozen times, and the head has been reforged, repaired and replaced... and the leather strapping has been rebound hundreds of times... but it's still the same axe...
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9-24-2007 @ 9:53AM
Ryan Squires said...
Honestly, I really love the idea of bonding with my weapon. Especially as it fits into WoW lore. However, I'd be okay with it as long as my Deathknight isn't forced to use some stupid looking blue and pink glowing axe like the current iteration of BC weapons. Can you imagine what those would look like on a DEATHKNIGHT?!
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9-24-2007 @ 9:55AM
levirbaker said...
@7:
I really don't see why they can't stick armor on different forms. I want to raid with a battle kitty or a death chicken!
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9-24-2007 @ 9:58AM
Eclipsaa said...
One Blade, Two Souls. Otherwise its just another char. I don't buy the excuse of loot tables. With the suggestion you still get the sword that drops all your doing is keep the look and feel of a blade that is "RP" to your char.
Personally i would rather choose a blade i like then having to trade for some of the epic trashy looking blades blizzard comes up with... There are some 40th level blades that in my opinion that look better then anything from the 70's crafting or drop table
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9-24-2007 @ 9:59AM
Anon said...
@11
It would appear to us to be easy but NO...It's a frustrating issue, one of many that seems to get glossed over. A great deal of these things tend to (cat form range bug? How long has that been around to NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT?)
It's annoying, to say the least.
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9-24-2007 @ 10:02AM
Abruzzi said...
it can be done with quests to upgrade the swords for some epic ones. Or like the blacksmith or even the enchanting orbs... to make the new one you should use your old one. this way your first sword would be with you forever :)
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9-24-2007 @ 10:11AM
Todd said...
Would be better to have the Death Knight upgrade their lifetime weapon through a series of quests... or hell, at the trainer.
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9-24-2007 @ 10:13AM
coil780 said...
An idea, building on the "DE" idea (which actually came to me as well as I was reading ^^).
When a deathknight is created, he has two swords in his inventory; a main-hand 1h and a 2h. Each has a random name, similar to a warlock's pet (players cannot name their blades).
From then on, any time they loot a better weapon, the deathknight can transfer the essence of the corresponding Runeblade to that new weapon, re-forging the Runeblade with the stats of the new weapon. If Blizzard were feeling *really* creative, they could have the Runeblade's appearance "level up" (like the Blacksmithing weapons) as its quality improves. Though as a feral druid, I'm not holding my breath on that score (L10 bear form ftw?).
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9-24-2007 @ 10:15AM
Jackie said...
I would think the sword leveling would be great. It could absorb the essences of those it kills. Physical transformations of the sword could manifest. Imagine something like Soul Edge from Soul Calibur that is alive and evolves. I think that would be pretty neat.
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9-24-2007 @ 10:19AM
Girricane said...
It's simple, whenever you become soulbound to a weapon, the weapon's backpack graphic changes to some form of colored energy (think like a red dampen magic). You can then "equip" these essences in your main hand slot, and your blade takes on the stats of that weapon as originally suggested. You can even have your runeblade morph a little when this happens. That way you can make your rune-blade 1 or 2 handed, and even have it become an axe or something. These essences also wouldn't permanently remove themselves when you de-equip them, so you can still swap out gear.
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9-24-2007 @ 10:19AM
Nafaras said...
Possible idea is that the sword grows over time with the character. Only quests unlock its powers to twist itself into a new form. There could also be different forms depending on the spec trees you go down. From what I hear the Death knights can only use duel 1h or 2h. So going down a certain spec tree would unlock 1h or 2h different forms.
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9-24-2007 @ 10:20AM
Wildhammer said...
I'd like to see a one-blade mechanic. It'd be a lot like the Terry Prachett Dwarves of Diskworld like the previous poster described, or the Dawi of Warhammer. Death Knights have very, very, VERY close relationships to their blades. It's what originally binds them to the Lich King, and thus it contains part of their soul. A Death Knight's blade is essentially a phylactery to a Lich in terms of importance.
It'd be nice to see them make a mechanic for lore purposes for once.
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