This is a reference Chapter in case you guys forgot some of the bonuses that Daniel has received. I didn't list the bonuses out. Instead, I gave concise bits of text explaining the important stuff. This is kind of like a TLDR for a list, and is a broad overview, not at all super detail oriented.
I also give insight into each of the bonuses if you're interested in my analysis. This will hopefully make a lot of the mechanics easier to understand. For my older readers, it's been months since they've seen some of this stuff too, so this is to help them keep current with anything going on in the story. Hope you folks enjoy.
If not...Well damn. I tried.
What's His Armor Doing Now? Each evolution of the armor is set up to add a new bonus, build on the existing bonuses, and make his charisma lower. The newest bonus he obtained this time was Forger of Souls. Other notable increase were in the damage reduction since it's multiplicative, and in An Eternal Force, which increased by 50% from its previous value.
These bonuses have extreme synergy with endurance. Due to his bonus in Determinator,(50% bonus endurance) each attribute he puts into endurance is effectively 1.5 points in the stat. He also recieves bonus health from his armor, further enhancing this effect.
That is further bolstered by his abnormally high damage resistance. Then you have to include his extra hp sources from arcane blood(converts his mana into health and makes him use hp like mana). He also turns some of that health into health regen via An Eternal Force. Hp has become a stat that will give the most returns for the least investment.
What's Going Down with the Skill Trees? Daniel is currently working on the tree called The Genesis of Potential. He has unlocked two of the teirs of the tree, giving him 2 additional level 100 perks. This allows him to level faster than normal. Other notable increases from before are his determinator bonuses(double regen stats, 50% bonus willpower and endurance) and his obliterator bonus(4 more skill points every five levels. This effectively gives him 2 skill points per level.)
There are other trees at work behind the scenes, but they will be brought up during other recap chapters. Don't want to make this chapter 10+ pages.
The Perk System is Complicated as Fuck. Please Halp. No problem good sir. Glad too. Here's what's important.
Daniel effectively has extra leveling perks due to his abnormal regen stats(Determinator doubles them.) This gives him a lot of extra oomph to several intangibles, such as strudying the runes as you've no doubt noticed. His effectiveness, reading comprehension, etc. have all increased as the story progressed. This is because of several of these extra leveling perks.
Due to The Genesis of Potential tree, he will be granted several extra level 100 perks as well. These further double his leveling bonuses granted from the leveling perks, along with granting several powerful intangible bonuses as well. For example, the willpower perk makes it so that he no longer loses mental acuity due to a lack of rest.
I cannot stress how important these intangible bonuses are, even if they don't show up on the status screen. I try to make them evident, overly so at times. Other times I stress them too little. I'll find a balance in time.
How Are his Skills Developing? I Mean There's Like 4 Gajillion of Them Now. I can give you guys the list of over 100 skills he has gained over the course of the novel in order of how he gained them. That tells you nothing though, as few will read through the blob of text and numbers, and even fewer will get anything from said blob.
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What's important is that Daniel has acheived a very high level of physical mastery due to his mythical skill, boundless storm. He is now working on forging and utilizing the runes so that he can diversify his attacks. He figures that having a few extra methods of attack or crowd controlling the enemy is a good idea. I tend to agree.
He worked for years on his fighting before ever entering the system, however. That made his progression in the physical stats rapid. The magics will be slower by comparison, besides for the growth of his augmentation magic since it comes naturally to him. It won't take 1000 pages for him to be able to use dominion magic, but expect some struggle there.
It would be out of place for Daniel to breeze past the magics with ease. It's not his territory, so he's having to take his time. It will be worth the payoff. Trust me.
What Makes Him Different From Other People Then Exactly? Let me break it down with a list.
Strengths:
1. His armor makes him durable and gives him reliable damage with oppression.
2. Arcane blood gives him more health and mana than normal.
3. Boundless Storm makes him able to outskill opponents with more experience and speed.
4. He has extra leveling perks, giving him a variety of added bonuses.
5. He gains more attributes per level than a normal guy.
Weaknesses:
1. His Charisma is artificially lowered from his armor. The leveling perk largely negates this.
2. He does not have an effective ranged attack, outside of oppression's aura.
3. He struggles versus heavily armored foes, since they cut oppression's damage by a lot.
Most of these weaknesses will fade with time, besides for his lowered charisma.
Let's Just Be Honest Here. I Wanna Know Just How OP Daniel is Then? Good question. Some of my readers say he's completely broken. Other's have told me that he hasn't gotten any stronger since he left BloodHollow. For a nice analysis on the issue, I can break it down strength by strength.
Some people believe oppression is broken. Oppression is affected by physical damage reduction, which makes it far less effective than it first appears. To fight Moloth, one of Torix's favorite spawns, Daniel would have to kite him for over an hour while staying within a hundred feet of him. That effectively makes cheesing with the power impossible.
It's still no doubt a powerful skill, but it requires certain conditions to shine. Against Althea for example, it is extremely effective. She doesn't have almost any damage resistance, meaning she takes the full brunt of oppression's damage. Without her eldritch passive, she'd die in seconds. It still renders her immobile out of sheer pain.
Daniel's durability on the other hand is second to none. In time, no one will be able to outtank him. That's an awesome utility to have, letting him draw aggro and fight without having to worry about constantly dying.
Mythical Storm is also really good, though few reader's agree with my sentiment. My argument is that Daniel is like a master swordsmen with a dull sword. Sure, the sword my not be the most effective weapon till he sharpens is, but he wields it to the utmost of effectiveness. Once he sharpens that blade though, his skill will really shine.
The attributes and leveling perks will give him a solid edge over his competition as well, especially over time. All these bonuses amount to a very strong bruiser. If he can master dominion magic, his runes, level a ton, and maybe add a few other bonuses, he can become something akin to what Yawm is now - a juggernaut that eats worlds.
Until he reaches that point though, watching him learn, grow, and become a true Harbinger of Cataclysm is the fun part, right? Hope you guys enjoyed the Breakdown, and if you guys like this, I'll write more of these in the future, though not too often.
As a final note, I will also be including reminders of what certain stuff does at the end of new chapters. EG, if I mention The Genesis of Potential tree, I'll put a little note at the end of the chapter explaining how he got it and what it does. I don't want you guys swimming in the dark afterall.