[Game Design Document] Item Explanation & AI Profiles

There will be an expansive item table in the game that will emcompass 1000s of items, all with defined RNG stats. This will feel very similar to the loot tables found in Diablo or Borderlands. Not just will this increase replayability, but will allow for a huge variation in strategy. Each piece of armour or weaponry will have an elemental stat associated with it that governs it's weaknesses and strengths. These will include:

Metal
The standard element on all weapons and armour. Gives a bonus to armour when an entire Metal set is worn. Metal property on shields also reduces the recovery time after your block is broken.

Copper Breastplate [No Element/Metal]

Poison
Good counter to Metal stack. Poison on weapons deals true damage over time (meaning it bypasses armour) each time you hit an enemy with that weapon. Poison on armour deals true damage over time each time you are attacked (NOTE: Poison on armour has half the effect of Poison on weapons). A full Poison set causes all poison damage to increase.

Water
Hard counter to Fire. Water on weapons causes your attacks to slow an enemy's movement speed for a short time after contact. Water on armour causes your opponents attacks to be slowed for a short time when you are attacked by them. A full Water set increases the duration and potency of the slow.

Fire
Great for fast melee characters, as it increases dps output considerably unless countered. Fire on weapons causes your attack speed to increase by a set amount, Fire on armour causes your movement speed to increase by a set amount. A full Fire set grants a stacking ability, where each of your attacks further increases your attack speed for a short time, and each time you are attacked your movement speed further increases for a short time.

Darkness
Darkness is a hard counter to spellcaster characters. Darkness on weapons causes your attacks to silence (stop spellcasting) your enemy for a short time, and Darkness on your armour causes your opponents offensive spells targeting you to silence them for a short time. A full Darkness set increases the duration of the silence.

Barbed
Barbed is a good counter to anyone who chucks out a lot of physical burst damage, but has the disadvantage of silencing you. Barbed on weapons and armour both work in unison, increasing your total Barbed element. Barbed returns a % of your opponents physical damage back to them. A piece of armour will typically have 3-5% Barbed and a weapon will have 5%, with a cap of 50% total. The damage Barbed returns is NOT true damage. This means that your opponents damage resistances reduce the damage returned. Also, Barbed will not return damage caused by an opponents Barbed.
For example...
An attacker does 140 physical damage to a player with 32% Barbed. The attacker has 12 armour, granting them a 28% damage reduction.
32% of 140 is 44.8.
44.8 - 28% = 32.3 damage received