Hexcaster

by BradTheFae

Work in progress: Hexcaster is still in development (0.x). Expect rough edges, placeholder visuals in places, and balance changes between updates. Feedback and bug reports are welcome.

AI disclosure: Hexcaster was made with heavy use of AI. BradTheFae came up with the character and directed and playtested everything. Claude (an AI model by Anthropic) wrote most of the code, rigged the model, built the hand-made animations and the effects, and made the icons. BradTheFae made the character model and the short sword himself, and some animations are motion capture from Mixamo.

A Hexblade warlock who made a pact with something that lives in a sword. He fights up close with a cursed blade, hexes everything around him, raises the hexed dead as Accursed Specters, and when his Patron's Favor is full, his Patron manifests as a giant cursed blade that tears through the battlefield.

Skills

Passive: The Pactkeeper

• Hex (6s): hexed enemies take +15% damage from you. Whenever a hexed enemy dies, whoever killed it, you heal 1% and the Hex jumps to a nearby enemy.
• Accursed Specters: hexed enemies that die rise and fight for you for 15s, with 50% of their health and damage (up to 3 at once).
• Patron: hitting and killing hexed enemies fills Patron's Favor. When it's full, your Patron consumes your specters' souls to form itself, then fights beside you as a giant cursed blade, diving at enemies for 420% damage. It stays for as long as you keep killing hexed enemies. While it's out, every skill is empowered (marked Patron below).

Primary: Hexblade Chop twice for 130% damage, then a huge sweeping slash for 360% that Hexes everything it hits. Patron: hits release eldritch arcs that chain between enemies for 120% damage.

Primary: Hexbreaker Twin kite shields. Jab twice for 160% damage, then slam them down, sending a 12m cone of force forward for 350% damage that hurls enemies away and Hexes everything it hits. Patron: the cone reaches 20m and spreads wider.

Secondary: Eldritch Blast A spike of eldritch force for 225% damage that seeks hexed enemies and Hexes what it hits. 2 charges. Patron: it bursts in a much bigger explosion.

Secondary: Eldritch Storm A swarm of 10 small seeking bolts for 25% damage each. They split up across the enemies in front of you, hexed ones first, and Hex what they hit. Patron: 16 bolts.

Secondary: The Patron's Grasp A void tendril for 200% damage that Hexes the target and pulls it to you. Bosses are too heavy, so you're pulled to them instead. Patron: the tendril tears through every enemy in its path, pulling them all in.

Utility: Misty Step Vanish and dash 15m wherever you're looking, untouchable during the dash. Aim at one of your specters to swap places with it. 2 charges. Patron: you burst on landing for 150% damage, Hexing everything within 10m.

Utility: Armor of Agathys Gain a barrier worth 20% of your health. For 6s, while it holds, enemies that hit you take 100% damage back, are slowed and are Hexed. Can be cast mid-attack. Patron: the barrier and the damage dealt back are doubled.

Special: Hexblade's Influence Unleash a 20m burst of energy for 220% damage, Hexing every enemy it hits. Then you're Cursebranded for 6s (every hit Hexes, and hexed deaths spread to 3 enemies), and for 8s hexed enemies near you wither, losing 35% damage per second. Patron: the burst is 50% bigger and Withering does double damage.

Config

Nearly every number can be changed in BepInEx/config/com.Bradthefae.Hexcaster.cfg (restart the game after editing).

Multiplayer

Everyone needs the mod (same version). Known limits: on clients the Patron's blade animation picks its targets locally, and the specter half of a Misty Step swap only moves on the host.

Credits

• Made by BradTheFae, including the character model and short sword
• Built with Claude (Anthropic), which handled the code, rigging, hand-made animations, effects and icons
• Built on the Henry template by rob / ArcPh1r3
• Some animations from Mixamo
• Visual effects are recoloured from Risk of Rain 2's own effects

Feedback

This is a work in progress, and balance is still being tuned, so feedback is welcome.