[Discussion] Cygnus - A Complete Overhaul of the Vocation System

[Cygnus Server]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been developing a project called Cygnus for some time now, and I want to showcase the core of its gameplay: the Vocation System. Instead of the traditional four (now five) vocation balance, I’ve completely overhauled the mechanics to support a deep RPG experience with 10 base classes and a total of 20 unique Promotions.

In Cygnus, your choice defines your role in the world, especially with our focus on 5-man Dungeons (Tank, Healer, DPS) and exploration. Here is how the classes are currently structured:

The Warriors: Knights & Paladins
Knights are the backbone of any team, choosing between the Protector (focused on a custom block/negation mechanic) or the Elite (heavy physical damage). Our Paladins have been fully reworked into Holy Melee warriors. They no longer fight from a distance but in the heat of battle as Guardians (survivability and healing) or Crusaders (physical/sacred hybrid damage).

The Elementalists: Sorcerers & Druids
Mages now have uniques resource management. Master Sorcerers utilize Overcharge, a mechanic where casting spells builds a meter that triggers a powerful burst state.


Elemental Druids feature the "Veins" system, where casting Earth or Ice spells has a chance to grant temporary elemental buffs (Icy Veins / Soil Veins) to enhance their power.

The Beastmasters: Hunters
Hunters rely on a complex Pet System. You must collect "Essences" from pure-blood beasts to summon companions. These pets belong to three families: Ferocity (DPS), Cunning (Utility), and Tenacity (Tank). You can specialize as a Wild Hunter (multi-pets and exotic beasts) or an Artful Hunter (focusing on solo marksmanship).



The Stealth & Shape: Rogues & Feral Druids
Both of these classes use a Combo Point system. You build points with basic skills and spend them on powerful finishers. Rogues feature True Invisibility (hiding from both mobs and players),



While Feral Druids are metamorphs that switch between Feral, Bear, and Travel forms depending on the combat needs.




The Divine: Priests
Priests introduce the Divine Shield mechanic, allowing them to place damage-absorption shields on allies.



They can follow the path of the Blessed (elite support) or the Shadow (using Soul to summon dark entities and deal massive damage).


Beyond these eight, there are two secret vocations that can only be unlocked through world quests and hidden lore.

My goal with this setup is to ensure that no two characters feel the same, especially when combined with our Talent Trees and randomized equipment attributes.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Does this feel like enough variety for a modern RPG server? Do you think some of these mechanics (like the Overcharge or the Melee Paladin) are a good fit for the 8.6 scene, or do you find them unnecessary?


If you’re interested, come hang out in our Discord.
Just a heads up, the community and channels are currently in Portuguese, but everyone is welcome: Join the Cygnus Server Discord Server! (https://discord.gg/9eHJsCccY)

 

[gavinfrost834]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been developing a project called Cygnus for some time now, and I want to showcase the core of its gameplay: the Vocation System. Instead of the traditional four (now five) vocation balance, I’ve completely overhauled the mechanics to support a deep RPG experience with 10 base classes and a total of 20 unique Promotions.

In Cygnus, your choice defines your role in the world, especially with our focus on 5-man Dungeons (Tank, Healer, DPS) and exploration. Here is how the classes are currently structured:

The Warriors: Knights & Paladins
Knights are the backbone of any team, choosing between the Protector (focused on a custom block/negation mechanic) or the Elite (heavy physical damage). Our Paladins have been fully reworked into Holy Melee warriors. They no longer fight from a distance but in the heat of battle as Guardians (survivability and healing) or Crusaders (physical/sacred hybrid damage).

If you’re interested geometry dash, come hang out in our Discord.
Just a heads up, the community and channels are currently in Portuguese, but everyone is welcome: Join the Cygnus Server Discord Server! (https://discord.gg/9eHJsCccY)

The class design sounds ambitious in a good way, especially the focus on defined dungeon roles and unique mechanics instead of simple stat variations. I think the melee Paladin and combo based classes fit well if the pacing still feels like 8.6 and doesn’t become overloaded with effects or cooldown micromanagement.

 

[Cygnus Server]

@gavinfrost834

Thanks for your reply!
I'm really glad you liked the vocations. I'm looking forward to seeing how people react to the Dungeons. There are many different bosses with unique mechanics, not in a confusing way, but challenging enough to make defeating them feel like a real achievement.

I tried to make the vocations feel very distinct from one another. At level 30, you choose a specialization. For example, a Sorcerer can become a Conjurer (focusing on arcane clones and elementals) or a Master Sorcerer (shown in the first gif). Their gameplay styles are completely different even though they share the same base class. I hope players have as much fun playing them as I had creating them.

Regarding the pacing, I've changed the playstyle quite a bit. It might not appeal to everyone, but I really wanted to break away from the 'same old' feel of other servers. I need to test it with real players to see what they think.

Actually, I'm planning to run an Alpha test early next month. I'd love to have more people participate, even if it's just to say they didn't like it!

 

[bakkens]

Really nice! It's gonna be interesting to see if any vocations break or if the balance stays smooth its nice to see fresh ideas instead of the same old features, really brings new life into Tibia

 

[Cygnus Server]

@bakkens

I mean, I'm the only tester, so it's very possible that there is a broken vocation (or more then one) xD

I've developed a pretty cool PvP system where you earn MMR and rank up medals. There's also a PvP shop where you can spend points you've earned, and so on. Basically, if you want to focus on PvP, you’ll have plenty of opportunities here.

For this to work, vocations need to be perfectly balanced, which is why I’ll be looking for testers in the near future.

 

[bakkens]

@bakkens

I mean, I'm the only tester, so it's very possible that there is a broken vocation (or more then one) xD

I've developed a pretty cool PvP system where you earn MMR and rank up medals. There's also a PvP shop where you can spend points you've earned, and so on. Basically, if you want to focus on PvP, you’ll have plenty of opportunities here.

For this to work, vocations need to be perfectly balanced, which is why I’ll be looking for testers in the near future.

Yeah, it's so easy for something to break, the real testing will come once the server is actually "done" xD But I'm really looking forward to seeing more updates on this!

 

[Sorky]

As for me, players don't want to learn multiple new mechanics while playing Tibia. If the player feels overwhelmed he leaves the server.
And those mechanics seem like it. They change core gameplay, not just some optional features

 

[Cygnus Server]

@bakkens
I will post more updates about the server later on. I hope to get people excited about the new features.

@Sorky
Thank you for your reply.
I imagine not all players are like that. While some prefer the game to stay more of the same, perhaps the majority, others prefer to play something they have never seen before, or something they always felt was missing in Tibia.

Tibia is an extremely broken game. It never was and never will be balanced. I feel they are terrified of changing things and losing their player base. I am creating this server with the mindset of "what Tibia could have been if there was no fear and if they didn't just care about money."

Regarding the mechanics, there is really nothing absurd. I didn't make something where players have to study and understand formulas to know the best character rotation. The gameplay is very fluid and easy to understand.

I would like players who prefer the original Tibia to test the server too. Even if they end up leaving, their feedback would be highly valuable.

 

[Matheus Vieira]

Cool mechanics man, i really liked the divine shield one.
But I gotta ask: on the stone golem, there is a counter going from 2 to 1, what is that?