What We Can Do: Reserves

A while back in our update on Momentum (check it out if you need a refresher), we had a small mention of another system, Reserves. We described Reserves as ‘that extra jolt of willpower, of capability, of heroic might which allows you to temporarily boost your abilities over and beyond what even your powers grant for a brief moment.’ Well, it is time we expanded upon this system

What are Reserves? They can be whatever you desire them to be for your character: Your inner will, that call to your artificial computer to reroute power to another system in your super suit, the serum you take that enhances your abilities. Functionally, they work as a resource you manage that can improve a variety of mechanics for your character:

Acuity: improves the accuracy of all your powers

Might: improves the damage of all offensive powers

Avoidance: provides evasion to all styles of attacks

Recoup: heals your health or revives you when defeated.

Breakout: frees you from being controlled and provides defense from all styles of control attacks

Safeguard: provides defense to all styles of damage attacks

Empowerment: replenishes your Power

Reserves function as a buff containing output - the system we use for determining the value of an effect in the game. When you activate a Reserve, your character receives the benefit of the type of Reserve. As you stack Reserves with or without similar buffs already applied to your character, the output stacks, diminishing the overall effect. If you already have some of your offense powers improved for damage and you activate multiple Reserves, the more output you have in damage improvements, the less return you will receive.

Reserves are also designed with their own attribute system. Not only do they provide a buff for their type, but some can apply additional effects or another function based on a condition. Not all Reserves necessarily have an attribute. Two examples above show where this attribute system is applied. Recoup is a healing Reserve. However, if you are defeated, it is the only Reserve that you can activate and use to return to the fight. Breakout is a defense buff vs control effects but also allows you to escape from control effects.

We can use this attribute system in the future to expand upon Reserves. Some examples, and these are not set yet, are a special Might reserve that proves a small area of effect when activated at a certain Momentum threshold, or a special Acuity Reserve which provides an additional Crit Rate buff at its maximum threshold.

How you use Reserves:

At level one you start off with two Reserve sockets at their base level. As your character gains levels, you will unlock up to two more sockets for a total of four sockets as well as gain increased Reserve thresholds. Reserves have a total of five threshold values.

When you obtain a Reserve in your character’s inventory, you can place it into one of the Reserve Sockets. Clicking on the Reserve power icon activates the Reserve. In order to provide you with a level of control over how much of a Reserve threshold you may want to activate, you will have an option under the Reserve icon to set the threshold available for each socket according to your character’s level.

Once you click the Reserve icon, the Reserve activates, but it isn’t gone for good. Reserves will naturally refill very slowly on their own. When you are in combat, any Momentum that you do not use will deplete and increase the rate in which your Reserves refill. This improved fill rate changes based on the total available Reserves you have ensuring a steady rate for all your Reserves. Reserves will also automatically Refill when you gain a new level.

You can unsocket a Reserve to replace it with another. However, doing so will deplete the Reserve immediately if it has any remaining value. You will also be able to trade or sell any inventoried Reserves you hold.

Because Reserves are socketed by a specific type, you can’t simply give one of your filled Reserves to another player for their use immediately. Reserves may have an attribute that allows you to use them on another player. For now, the only Reserve that has this attribute is the Recoup Reserve for when a player is defeated. Targeting the defeated player and activating a Recoup will revive them.

As your access to higher Reserve thresholds increases, Reserves will improve in how they function. They may provide an increase in their value, an increase in their duration, or provide a new attribute function. We will use Recoup again as an example. Recoup’s third threshold description reads: You heal for almost 1/2 your health and have increased health regeneration for 30 seconds. If you are defeated you return with almost 1/2 your health.

Reserves can be the difference between success and failure, giving you that extra edge to gain an advantage over an enemy or survive an encounter. For launch, we are keeping the Reserve system simple allowing both us as developers and everyone as players to get comfortable with it. We have designed Reserves as a system to offer newer possibilities further in the future.

Written by:

Spiro “Tannim222” Raxiotis

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