So, I have been looking hard at the Vampyre runes we have available currently, and to be quite honest... this race is seriously lacking the ability to hold its own against any other BG. The flavor of Vampyres is amazing in any Fantasy Setting, but it just is not done any justice in Pox Nora. All Vampyres are on the high end for Nora Costs, except for Bloodfiend (which is a nice rune btw) Aside from a Blood Ball focused racial trait, Vampyres don't seem to distinguish themselves. Only one Relic, Blood Crest, really supports the Theme. Bloodbinder Count should be an epic rune for a Vampyre themed BG... but he currently seems to have an identity crisis and wants to be included in Vampyre BG's in addition to Dead Magic Zone BG's. He fails at the first because he adds nothing to the theme, and the latter is simply NOT a theme that has any viability. The race as a whole does not contain much flavor within the game itself... No champions relate to one another, they barely share a similar artistic style. How do we not have any Vampyre rune that has the ability to transform? I would love to create a viable BG based around this race, and currently I have every rune with the race of Vampyre and I simply cannot form a decent group around the theme... This is Forsaken Wastes correct? We have Zombies, Skeletons, Spirits.... somehow no Vamps? Has anyone had any success with this? Are their plans to add additional Vamp runes in the Ronin expansion?
The revamp actually "prepped" the way for a vampire theme because they changed any sort of life drain (life siphon, life drinker, soul drinker, etc) to a "vampiric healing" effect. So, one would think they are possibly, in the future, going to support the theme. However, one thing the revamp did was mess up a lot of themes. The synergies that several themes had were either reworked (carouse, dragonflight) or completely dismantled. I would say hang in there to see what they have planned....but...don't hold your breath. They are completely focused on a Steam launch and the Ronin expansion. Attention to themes/balance/bugs is completely in third place at this time.
Vampires are one of my favourite pox themes, largely because it's so open-ended. Other than the elder bloodbinder (which CAN transform, btw) there isn't a lot 'forcing' you to play one way or another, the way some themes are. (some themes, once chosen, pretty much determines about 27/30 of your rune choices, for instance; vamps are not like that) They did take some pretty heavy nerfing with the revamp, unfortunately (pretty sure there's a pun in revamp nerfing vamps) but vampires aren't alone in that. Add a few tanks outside theme, since all the tanks got *****, and you should at least have moderate success.
Some things I would like to see from some vampyres would be: Bat form: adds flight and detection when in the form... range 1 attack Blood frenzy: when attacking a damaged unit the vampyre gains +2 damage Swarm vampyre spawn: a swarm akin to the demon lich. Set damage and hp plus blood frenzy and life siphon...would be undead vampyre Vampyre surge: for every other vampyre within 4 spaces each vampyre gets +1 damage Water vulnerability +50% damage when attacked by a water source Dominate force: target champ is" froze in place" (feared, immobile, distracted) for 1 turn Just some ideas I've had over time
Some sort of bat synergy with some of the shattered peaks bat stuff might be cool. Of course, they'd have to fix the shattered peaks stuff, first, where champs still have surge bat but no race bat champs.
Vampyre Expert at your services. Yes: Vampyres are expensive. Have no justified familiarity whatsoever. Several runes seem to belong to a yet-to-exists theme. Bloodbinder count sucks dongs. Nein: Vampyres do have a theme, it's called "tankyness". Vampyres do have morphers...just not the type of morph you would like. Generally, vampyres are healers by default. In Poxnora, they specialize in a theme they share with another faction where they prevent both stealth, mine the field against non-vamp-life siphoners. They also have Blood Magic which works wonders when used against mobs. And it's a good healing. Conclusion: Vampyres do have playability, but they are not your average plug-and-play theme. Vampyre BGs require a lot of thinking to properly exploit your runes. Also, this is not a theme for people who won´t look before jumping. Just like FW is promoted in the advertising. If you want help, you can use my guide where you can get to learn the vampyre theme.
