First of all, let me thank Stardock for their work on this project. While the initial launch of the game has been mixed and generally considered poor, Elemental is bristling with potential, and knowing Stardock, I’m sure they’ll reach out to take that potential.

Anyway, let me get down to my idea. My favorite suggestion for Elemental that I’ve read so far is the idea that each of the four elements of magic ought to be diversified with their own different kinds of effects. So, for example, Fire magic is the most offensive powerhouse of the four, Air influences the speed of allies and enemies, Earth has a defensive slant in its magic, and Water’s magic is characterized by restoration and broader stat manipulation. The elements also play off of one another. Fire is strong against Earth, Earth is strong against Air, Air is strong against Water, and Water is strong against Fire. My kudos to those of you who’ve already suggested this.

My suggestion is this: In addition to the above system, the [magical] heroes of Elemental should gain access to elemental specializations that enhance the elements’ basic traits and provide some new spells for the individual caster.

For example, let’s jump into a game of Elemental and meet our hero, Argonaut. Argonaut is an early game hero (In fact, he’s a sovereign, but the idea isn’t limited to sovereigns) who focuses on using magic to take down the local monsters. Argonaut finds that fire and its focus on extra damage suits his style, and he spends the early game primarily using Fireball.  Later in the game, Argonaut defeats a roving band of spiders, and a message “randomly” pops up on the screen following the battle. The screen is triggered by Argonaut having leveled up to five a couple of battles ago and maybe a couple other things, like knowledge of a particular tech or advances in the spell book. Anyway, the game notices that Argonaut likes to use fire, and offers him the opportunity to embrace one of the fire specializations. Within the fire category we see the following three options:

~Flame (Focusing on the heat aspect of fire, specializing in flame would add an area of affect aspect to the fire magic. For example, Argonaut’s Fireball would be modified so that, when cast, there would be a 10% chance that enemy occupied tiles surrounding the target tile would also take damage. Also, Argonaut would gain some new spells such as Wall of Flame, a 3x2 area of effect spell that sets the targeted tiles ablaze for two turns.)

~Light (Focusing on the light given off by fire, specializing in light would add a stun modifier to Argonaut’s fire magic. For example, Argonaut’s Fireball would have a %15 chance of blinding the target unit, keeping him from attacking next turn. Also, Argonaut would gain new spells such as Pillar of Light, an aura of light which surrounds Argonaut for one turn and will cause an enemy to be stunned if they attack him directly [i.e., not with ranged weaponry].)

~No Thanks (There are two negatives to selecting a specialization. One, every hero only gets one specialization in his lifetime. Maybe you plan on having Argonaut embrace one of the Air specializations later on down the road and want to wait for that window to pop up. Two, specializing in one field of magic causes you to gain an inherent weakness within a different element. Fire is weak to Water, so Argonaut would lose access to all/some of his Water spells, and he would suffer extra damage from any kind of water attack. You may want to have some casters remain flexible and neutral, so you may not want to give Argonaut a specialization at all.)

Maybe choosing a specialization even gives a slight addition to non-magical aspects of the game, thus broadening the influence of magic in the world (though I'm not sure about this idea). Maybe Argonaut gains extra melee strength if he chooses Flame and extra sight if he chooses Light. Whatever the case, the selection you make here doesn’t affect your kingdom in the slightest. What specializations do is increase the unique nature and variety of your heroes. With this system in place, Argonaut is not just another caster in your army with X stats, but is instead a fire specialist. He is quite different from Mithral, your other caster who specializes in the air element. Where Argonaut might balk if asked to face one kind of opponent, he would excel in taking down another. All this serves to do is individualize your heroes and increase the tactical nature of the game.

This is the general vision I have for the four elements and their sub-categories:

Fire: Lots of offensive might

                Flame: Area of Effect boost, +1 strength for each strength ring/amulet worn

                Light: Stun focus, +2 sight for unit on the strategic map

Water: Restoration of Health and Action Points

                Ice: Extra attack power, lingering “chill” damage in subsequent turns, +1 essence regen.

                Aqua: Armor bypass bonus, extra healing power, +1 HP per health ring/amulet worn.

Earth: Defensive boosts/Stat modifiers

                Foliage: Essence cost decrease, enemy ranged attack accuracy decrease, +2 defense for equipped shield.

                Metal/Ground: Extra defensive boost, harder/impossible to miss, +1 defense for all caster’s summons.

Air: Modification of Speed and Dexterity of both allies and enemies.

                Weather (Lightning, Snow, etc.): Greater damage and stat modification on individual target, +1 move for equipped steed.

                Wind: Greater Area of Effect stat modification, +1 attack for equipped bow.

So, what do you all think of this concept (I’m not advocating the particular stats I’ve laid out; those are just placeholders to get the idea across)? Would this idea help improve the game, deepen the magic system, and provide variety to your heroes? I know some of you have played the game a whole lot more than I have, so I'd be interested in hearing if you think this idea would be as beneficial as I do.

Thanks for reading this long post. Hope you enjoyed it.