Sub-bending

I’m so tired of getting ignored or deleted messages that I will post my suggestion here in hope of someone will read it. Please dont dispatch it before giving it a try.

I am new to the server but in the few days I spent playing I could notice that it has a lot of potential and room for improvement, especially by adding the canon stuff it lacks. For example, one of the most things people want implemented is sub-bending. It makes sense, as in the show it resembles the speciality of a master bender which evolved in its own element. The thing about it is that sub-bending figures as a rare bending ability that few people adquire, so it should be something difficult to adquire but that is not too overpowered so normal benders can still face them. It should be a little bit underrewarding but still being a big achievement.

I have tested personally how good the bending mechanics work, and most of the time ideas just appear in my head when feeling determined enough or when I personally like the issue to approach.

With sub-bending I came up with some different plans, thinking that everyone wants it to be in the game but its not, so it must be difficult to make it coherent with the way bending goes on right now.

So my alternative proposals to implement sub-bending will be:

·Reaching level 25 in one element grants you the possibility to meet a new master, upon who the player must stand a trial by combat. If the player succeds, then the NPC master starts to being available to instruct the player while progresses from levels 25 to 50 (for example), adding new bending moves to the player bending focus the way actual bending masters work. This way sub-bending moves take slots just like normal moves so the more techniques the more you have to choose which to use or which to dispatch in the inventory.

This option makes sub-bending hard but common to achieve, and follows the way bending improves along the game. It implies that each of the 4 elements have a sub-bending* so its equal to every bender. This may not be the idea that sub-bending is pictured in the show, but it follows the line that bending draws in the server right now.

·Wining the monthly tournament grants you the possibility to choose a sub-bending focus as a reward, and start learning sub-bending moves and progressing in its level. The Champion can only choose one sub-bending even though if wins more than one championship. Opposing the previous option, where each element has a sub-bending continuation, this option implies sub-bending types must derive from expertising a certain element; For example: Fire: combustion, lightning / Earth: metalbending, lavabending / Water: bloodbending, vinebending / Air: voidbending, spiritism

This option makes sub-bending rare and rewarding, also making the champion a distinct bender, but it may unbalance the game.

·By getting knowledge of other elements. This idea i sincerely need to deepthink about it. It came up to me because of the scene where Iroh teaches Zuko how to deflect lightning as he learned it from observing and understanding waterbenders. I right now don’t know how to make a bender progress in an element they don’t belong to, maybe with quests or NPC dialogs or maybe with other players interaction. I hope to get a solution to this.

This option would make sub-bending an intellectual process in which you dont just grind or prove your strength. Instead it means understanding the act of bending, your element and the other ones. This will imply sub-bendings types as combination of elements, the most intuitive example being lavabending a combination of fire and earth bending or spiritism a combination of air and water (due to Unalaq spirit ascendent water trails). The other combination also need to be thought about.

For last instance, I would like to enlist the basics of the sub-bending types I came with:

Combustion: Explosions. Big, small, single, multiple, long range, close combat, air, ground. Each move a different bomb.

Lightning: Thunders, lightnings, electric arcs, thundering clouds, shocking hoop around the player, taser-like stunning move. Coming from the player or coming from the sky.

Metalbending: Earthbending with ore sourceblocks and longer damage, duration and cooldown. Improved earth armor, maybe a magnet related move.

Lavabending: lava geysers, lava wave, lava ring, lava pit, lava pool… Just don’t touch the floor.

Bloodbending: This would be mob controlling (pets for example) rather than player controlling, so it doesnt go too op. Maybe some blowing away entities, grips (not long ones if affecting a player), but nothing that makes the target unable to defend itself. Should use a lot of energy.

Vinebending: Waterlike bending moves but with grass or leaves as source, with a solid green touch. Maybe something like a vine armor and something to make crops grow faster as bonemeal works.

Voidbending: Flying and sucking out air (drowning) players Zaheer style, plus some advanced airbending moves. The suck-air move should only be effective to a stunned or stayed put opponent, maybe having a voidbending move that keeps target static for a brief period.

Spiritism: Spirit summoning and commanding, and spirit cleansing (converting hostile mobs into ally summons) just like Unalaq and Korra did. Maybe some meditation move to get to the Spirit World faster, like Jinora does.

Thats all for now, I just hope all these ideas don’t fall into a broken sac and that the staff consider them.