The purpose of this thread is to discuss the current role of Aragorn as he stands at the moment in the Edain Mod. The current version of Aragorn is an odd blend of a hero killer, who then flows into a more supportive role as he progresses down the path to becoming the King of Gondor.
In the current implementation, it is rare to see Aragorn being upgraded past his role as the Warrior, as once he becomes the Heir of Isildur, he begins losing some iconic, and crucial aspects of his hero killer role, in favour of more supportive abilities, however these supportive abilities are for the most part sub par, tied to the fact that the abilities he loses are his better hero killing abilities, tend to lead to players neglecting this choice, in order to retain his true combat potential. The main goal of what I propose below is to allow Aragorn to retain these properties, while also making it worthwhile for Aragorn to progress into his final two stages.
Below, I will outline changes to each of his paths, and the reasoning behind doing so:
Path of the Dunedain:
Level 1 - Blademaster
Strider gains 60% damage, and 30% armour for 30 seconds.
Level 1 - Ranger Cloak:
Strider remains invisible while stood still. Strider is automatically camoflauged while near to trees.
Level 2 - Kingsfoil:
Strider heals himself and allied heroes near to him.
Level 3 - Knife Throw:
Strider throws a knife at an enemy unit or hero, dealing medium damage. Heroes will also be slowed by 25% for 5 seconds.
Level 4 - Path of the Warrior:
Aragorn abandons path of the Ranger in seek of the righteous course of his destiny. (This "ability" leads Aragorn into next stage).
As can be seen here, the path of the Dunedain has not changed much, except for some minor text changes. In addition, "Aragorn" has been renamed to "Path of the Warrior". Please note I have written 30 seconds for Blademaster as a rough estimate, if someone has the correct timer value, please feel free to note it, and I will update it here.
Path of the Warrior:
Anduril, Flame of the West:
Aragorn carries the newly forged Anduril. Aragorn gains a passive +50 increase to his damage. If activated, Aragorn also gains 60% damage, and 30% armour for 30 seconds.
Kingsfoil:
Aragorn heals himself and allied heroes near to him.
Knife Throw:
Level 6 - Elendil:
Causes enemies near Aragorn to flee.
Level 7 - Heir of Gondor:
Aragorn follows the path of his destiny and leads the Men of the West as the heir of the throne into battle. (This "ability" leads Aragorn into next stage.)
Once again, the abilities here are left more or less unchanged, Athelas retains the name of Kinsfoil here (as with Strider), for easier clarification between it and Athelas (which is explained in the next part of Aragorn's fate). If the abilities have not had their description adjusted, it means their properties have not changed between stages. In addition, if levels have not been noted, it means they are unlocked as a default in that form.
The Heir:
Path of the King:
Aragorn leads the men of Gondor as their to be King. At Level 10, Aragorn will take up the crown of Gondor, becoming King Elessar. If activated, Aragorn mounts / dismounts Brego.
Anduril, Flame of the West:
Athelas:
Aragorn heals himself and all other allied heroes and units near to him.
Knife Throw (Unmounted):
Elendil (Mounted):
Level 8 - Hour of Wolves
Aragorn inspires the men of Gondor to stand fast in their darkest hours. All allied units and heroes in a medium range are immune to knockback, are 50% more resistant to monsters and siege weapons, and allied cavalry will decelerate 30% slower when trampling for 30 seconds.
This is the stage where the most changes take place. Up until now, at each stage, Aragorn gained additional abilities. This is not the case in the current version of the mod, as in this stage Aragorn loses access to his Knife Throw, and gains access to a mount instead. Which caused him to lose one of his strongest hero killing abilities, at the cost of a supporting mount. The changes here are three fold, Aragorn no longer loses his Knife Throw, as this and Elendil are now rotated, one being available on foot, and one while mounted, allowing both abilities to be retained, without hindering their purposes.
The second change is that the transition between the Heir and the King stages is now automatic, as Aragorn has now accepted his fate to become a ruler of Men. Through combining this new passive into his Mount button, it allowed room for a new ability to be added to this stage. The new skill, Hour of Wolves is designed in a method that acts as a siege support skill, something that at present, Gondor did not have, and ties in to one of the major themes of the Version 4.5 Updates, where siege changes are one of the main aspects. This skill can be used in a defensive, or offensive manner.
While attacking, it can be used to protect allied troops from the opponent's siege engines, helping the armies of Gondor to hold their ground against their enemies for a short time. While defending, it can be used to allow for a brief break in the opponent's damaging capabilities, allowing the armies of Gondor to relieve the attacking pressure for a short time, and sally forth to break the assault. This ties in to the battle at the Black Gate as well, in which the forces of Gondor stood fast against their enemies, including a number of monsters, including trolls, to buy time for Frodo to bring about an end to the evil of Sauron.
King Elessar:
King of Gondor:
Aragorn is crowned as the King of Gondor. All allied units and heroes near Aragorn are immune to fear, and will recieve continuous healing. The healing is halved if there are enemies in a large radius, and disabled if there are enemies within the healing radius. If activated, Aragorn mounts / dismounts Brego.
Anduril, Flame of the West:
Athelas:
Knife Throw (Unmounted):
Elendil (Mounted):
Demand of the King (Unmounted):
Aragorn summons a crowd of Oathbreakers in a circle around himself. Enemies can't pass through the Dead without suffering much damage.
Hour of Wolves (Mounted):
Once again, the main changes here are to allow the retention of all former abilities, Elendil is also no longer removed, still remaining as a second option to Knife Throw while mounted, and with Demand of the King, and Hour of Wolves gaining a similar setup, giving Aragorn a diversified role while on foot and while mounted. On foot, he remains a strong hero killer, while on his horse, his abilities are more akin to those of a commander, disrupting the opposing forces for his allies to gain ground, or rallying them in time of need.
The main change here is to his leadership. In the current format, his leadership acts as a buff to Heroic Statues. While this is a unique method of implementation, most of the time it becomes useless, as the fight tends to take place away from an allied base, and on the occassion that it does not, most of the time there are much better options for building than a heroic statue, which have a much better impact on your chances of victory.
This change gives the leadership a new theme, and one that fits with Aragorn's character as a healer. In the aftermath of the battle of Pelennor Fields, Aragorn spent some time in the houses of healing, tending to the wounded. This passive reflects that nature of Aragorn, in which he offers healing to the injured while there is a break in the fighting. It also has once again, both offensive and defensive aspects, allowing one to turn a hard won defense into a chance to push back the opposing forces, by allowing them to regenerate while moving forward, instead of having to wait around to heal, and hope that the enemy has not managed to marshall their forces once more, while on the other hand allowing a tactical retreat, by disengaging from the opponent to recover until reinforcements arrive.
I hope that you all enjoyed this proposal, and I am open to suggestions / critique on the matter, I apologise for the length of the post.