It's been discussed around these forums for a while, even by some prominent archers, that kiting is a tad too easy and some sort of "nerf" should be implemented. I had a thought about how instead of jumping straight on the nerf idea, we could instead come up with a counter for the tactic, which has led me to this weapon...
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1366&bih=638&tbm=isch&tbnid=N3mmYRgqtaM9kM:&imgrefurl=http://www.homeofpoi.com/articles/weapons.php&docid=ejMfBh6ewHu60M&imgurl=http://www.homeofpoi.com/images/poi/bola.gif&w=266&h=176&ei=8Jt9UIzXNsWh0QW_84GwCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=689&vpy=177&dur=3258&hovh=140&hovw=212&tx=42&ty=64&sig=111193436121847155172&page=1&tbnh=135&tbnw=203&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0,i:78Basically its a tripping weapon, in game it would do negligible to no damage, but if aimed at the legs would trip the target, knocking it down for approx the same amount of time that a dismounted horseman is down. This would mean it would be primarily a short range weapon, used to give someone the time to close the last few metres to the target. Ofc some more specialised throwers could use it from longer ranges to assist teammates already engaged in a chase.
I think this would be a good addition as it does not mean an arbitrary nerf to a class, but at the same time gives extra options, and creates extra considerations for archers, if nothing else they would have to be a LOT more wary of approaching enemies.
In balance terms, seeing as it is intended for very short range, it should only carry a difficulty rating of 1 or 2 at most, to make it a viable option for anyone, whilst the short range use would mean not much wpf would be needed. This would be offset by a very low ammo count to prevent swarms of trippy goodness taking over the servers.
As an anti cav weapon (and I would like this to be a separate idea to the one above, so if you like one but not the other say so) it could be used on a horses legs to trip it, knocking both the rider and the horse down for a short time (maybe a pain to code horses knockdown animations?), giving enough time for them to be attacked if people are close enough, but also letting them get up and continue the fight. Another option would be, if it headshots the rider (dont want it to be to easy) then the rider is ripped from the saddle and dumped on his arse while the horse rides off unharmed, the rider would survive but again, would become vulnerable for a short time.
Last thought, would also be funny as hell to see a co-ordinated team of ninja types use it to isolate a particularly good enemy inf player
NOTE : I have no idea how to link images directly
