On to everyone else’s abilities, then. He needed to memorize them as well, particularly if combos were going to be important going forward.
Kaiden looked back to the screenshots he’d pulled up, then started with Titus’. That was the natural place to start, considering the insane ability the big man had picked up at level fifty.
This is endgame-type stuff, Kaiden thought as he looked it over again. Feels like the ultimate ability for a shielder.
Ability: Saving Grace
You expend a massive amount of charge to save yourself or an ally from death. If a target within 100 feet has been reduced to 0% health in the last 5 seconds, they return to 50% health instead, with 10 charge.
Cost: All of your remaining charge and 50% of max health if targeting an ally. If targeting yourself, all of your charge but no health and you resurrect with only 5% health and 10 charge.
Cooldown: 6 hours.
This is a rez, plain and simple. I mean, Titus would have to pay half of his max health to use it, but this... this is huge. He can save himself or someone else from dying. From losing a week out of game. Kaiden had read through the ability several times since Titus first unlocked it. There hadn’t been a chance to use it yet – which was a good thing, he supposed – but still, it was hard to believe the big man had been gifted such a powerful ability.
Though he does risk killing himself to do it, Kaiden realized. ‘Fifty percent of max health.’ That means if Titus is below fifty-one percent health, he can’t use the ability. And even if not, it could leave him so weak the next stiff breeze would kill him.
“Titus!” Kaiden called, then remembered he was the only one still in-game. The others were logged off, getting some much-needed sleep. Something he needed, too. But he had a bit more studying to do first.
It wouldn’t be good practice to rely on Saving Grace to make their strategies work, but having it in their back pocket was not something Kaiden was displeased about. They could take bigger risks, could afford to make a mistake here or there. Considering the path ahead, he was pretty sure they’d be making a mistake or two. Having a ‘get out of jail free’ card was exactly what they needed.
He forced his thoughts from Saving Grace in order to look at the next ability Titus had unlocked.
Ability: Karmic Reprisal
Your shield glows brightly, infused with charge. You may expend X% of max charge to reduce damage from a single attack by that percentage. Additionally, your next attack deals base damage plus additional damage equal to the amount this ability negated.
Cooldown: 3 minutes.
Big counter attack potential on this one. Never hurts to blank an enemy’s biggest attack, then smack them back with bonus damage, eh? It’s almost similar to my Intangible Defense in how it can suck up an attack. Just more intentional and with a bigger upside, I suppose.
Kaiden lost himself for several moments as he imagined all the ways Karmic Reprisal could be used to throw an opponent’s damage back at them, each of them increasingly more fun and wilder than the last.
A blast warden in Sniper Mode could fire an Inferno Shot, I could warn Titus it’s coming, and he could blank it, then attack back for how much damage? His head spun at the thought. Let’s just say ‘a lot.’
So, that was Titus’ abilities. Saving Grace and Karmic Reprisal. Not to mention Intransigence, which Titus had already been putting to excellent use.
Next up, Zelda’s abilities. The first was upgrade on a pre-existing one.
Ability: Improved Paralyzing Shot
Fires an electric blast that confuses the electrical impulses in the target’s muscles, deals 110% base damage, and slows target’s movement by 60% for 10 seconds.
Cost: 40 charge.
Cooldown: 1 minute.
I’ve seen this before. Kaiden thought for a moment, then remembered where. Werner! He used this on me back in Boyd City. A pretty effective ability to handicap my speed. If – or more likely, when – we fight more wardens, I’m going to need to watch out for this one. On the other hand, if we ever run into an enemy enhanced warden, we know what to hit ‘em with.
On to Zelda’s second ability, then; the one she’d unlocked at level forty-eight.
Ability: Execution
Your sharpshooter prowess allows you to finish off wounded opponents with ease. If your target’s health is below 10%, your next attack will deal 200% of base damage.
Cost: 15 charge.
Cooldown: 1 second.
Remind me not to drop to less than ten percent health in front of a blast warden, Kaiden thought to himself. This will finish anyone off quickly. Especially with a cooldown time of one second. The devs made this ability to be spammable.
Fifteen charge wasn’t nothing, but it certainly wasn’t a lot. Plus, when targeting a wounded opponent, Zelda would be able to pair Execution with a big attack – say, Improved Kinetic Grenade – to deal massive amounts of damage. Stacking abilities, comboing with allies... things are going to get real crazy soon. It was making Kaiden tired just thinking about it. Or maybe that was the result of the craziness that had taken place in the Grinder and the days prior. Either way, a yawn worked its way out of him. Yawning and exhaustion didn’t exist in Nova – they hadn’t been programmed as a feature or a status state – but the tiredness of his mind in the real world must have been extreme. He could feel the beginnings of it all the way through his headset and into Nova.
Two more quick abilities, he told himself. Then off for a break and some sleep.
Thorne had already been level forty when going into the Grinder, so she’d just unlocked her level forty-four
