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The Bound Marksman is a great addition to Bound combat.
However to me, at least, they seem out of place in the Realms.
Mainly the SFX of their rifle and the thick laser pointer they aim at the player are to blame for this; both feel too alien to the world of Nightingale, and make them feel more like they belong in Call of Duty or Metal Gear Solid. The laser thickness feels sort of campy, and the SFX for their rifle shots sounds too reminiscent of a Hollywood silenced firearm.
My input is basically that their rifles sound too modern, and perhaps making the laser and SFX look and sound more magickal may make the rifles appear more-in universe.
Laser:
I understand that since their rifle shots are basically hitscan, you wanted a way for the player to know that they are being targeted and about to be shot at.
Perhaps instead of a thick red laser pointer, we could have a thin beam of magickal energy/light, or even perhaps some sort of GFX resembling Maleficium. Really any sort of GFX that might be associated with Bound magick would be way more fitting in my opinion, than a red laser pointer.
SFX:
This is a tough one to communicate, and my input will enter into heavy theorycrafting as the rifle asset they hold is already designed and in the game and looks more mechanical than magickal. Since any suggestion I may offer for SFX change won't fit well with the Bound Marksman's rifle aesthetics. But barring any unreleased lore, I think we all know the Bound at this point are associated with the Winter Court. Perhaps a shot SFX that sounds cold, similar to Ice .433 Rifle rounds?
| Category Tags | NPCs, Creatures/Enemies |
| Mode | Both Online & Offline |
| Sentiment | Critical |
Hey there! Thanks so much for your post. I have edited the post title so we can better identify it but if you feel we have changed the meaning, please feel free to edit it. - Steph
Honestly, I like how the rifles look as it falls in line with that astolabe design and very few other mediums use that motif. But I do agree that the laser is a bit weird. I agree it would be neat if it was a bit thinner but had a maleficum effect to the laser.
The lasers are a bit offputting in comparison to how physical and visceral the rest of the Bound weapons and equipment are, and it seems like one plausible explanation for the rifles not being usable by realmwalkers when the Marksmen are killed is that they're entirely magickal/fae in origin and evaporate away aside from some trace material. Like the Bombards and the Lamplighters, it seems more likely that they would use projected energy that's kind of wild and unstable and which leaves nothing behind.
Breaking from OP for a moment, I would put forth that they should sound fiery and kind of rumble/thump to be more in line with the other Bound as we know them. The Maleficum tinged "beam" is something that I think would be far more in keeping with the theming as it already exists.