Here’s what I mean: whenever you level a skill to a certain level, you unlock a side-grade modification for that skill. The further you level the skill, the more modifications the skill can equip. Seeing as the level cap right now is level 75, a skill can have up to three mods, one mod unlocked per 25 levels.
A Hero should not need a mod for their skill to be effective - these would simply by side-grades that grant one small benefit to one area and one small punishment in another.
Let’s take Operator’s Bronze skill, Restoration:
Restoration Mods:
- Extension (Skill Level 25): increases Elemental and Normal armor by x%. Extends Restoration’s duration by 4 seconds but slightly decreases heal-per-second by x%.
- Jump (Skill Level 50): increases healing-per-second by x%. Allows Restoration to switch targets when the current target is fully healed but Marks this Hero, slightly increasing damage received by x% when the skill is active.
- Package (Skill Level 75): instead of a beam, Restoration is given by a health pack thrown by this Hero. Any Allies inside a small area around the package receives the full benefits of Restoration. There is no limit to how many Allies the health pack can heal during its lifespan.
Of course, the sheer amount of Heroes and Skills to apply a modification tree will create a logistical nightmare. Should every mod have a unique name? Will the mods completely change a Hero’s role? Are mods going to create Heroes that are too similar to each other?
I can go on and create a full-on TED talk about this topic but I hope this made sense.
Turn me into a vampire and let me see the sunrise.