Void Masques are awesome, but lack mechanical depth.

[-Variant]

Heh. Depth. Depths of Duplicity...

Anyhow, love the Masques! Been aching and yearning for a plaque-like mechanic for years now. Super happy with the concept here, but the actual execution is leaving much to be desired.

Their spawning is very simple... currently, from what all I've learned, them appearing from the rift itself is entirely visual flair.
The actual mobs have a chance to replace a Icker waves, spawning off screen.
I like this for the feeling of being stalked and having another 'wave' type mob, but it does lead to some weird instances of mobs spawning way outside of where you'd normally see them.

As for the actual masked mobs... they're really dull! 
They all share the same A.I, and ditch any unique qualities their host would've had.
Which, is kind of cool that they act and talk all at once like a Hive Mind, but from an actual gameplay perspective, it kind of nullifies the various potential hosts, no?
I mean, fair enough, I don't exactly want Rock Lobsters using their hiding, but I would like for each one to do something unique. That's what I loved about the Shadow Trio, they all worked together as a group, something I'm not really feeling with the Masks.

And then the player Masks... augh, I'm most sad about these. A possessed player is something I've wanted for SO long, ever since some of the concepts of Gestalt player mimics were leaked a while back.

But masked players don't do anything! They don't taunt like other mobs, and they sorta just become player-looking spiders. I'm super sad, there's so much potential! Let them pick up and use armor and weapons like Powder Monkeys sometimes do.
On top of that, I'd *love* for them to get some more custom animations... I'd love a unique idle, attack, and maybe walk cycle.

They sort of just do the goofy vanilla player punch at you. And maybe get into fights with their Icker friends, like this one did.

Lastly, there's a few mobs I'm noticing that either can't be, or break when taken over.

Those being:
Every non-dweller/warrior spider type, Strider, Spitter, Hider, Nurse...
Royal Rabbit enforcers
Splumonkeys

Those of which all being mobs that can be brought to the cave. Most get hosted, but turn invisible. Others don't.
Anyhow, thoughts on changes to the mask? I'd love to see them do more, I'd love really snarky, cheeky player hosts, honestly, ahaha.

[Cassielu]

My biggest wish for these mask is that it can have a real "find and parasitize the first victim" process.

Just like the Brightshade Gestalt, use the potential victims that real already exist in the world, and when you keep tracking the floating mask mob it will actually move through the world find the victims and parasitize them.

Instead of randomly spawn masked mob off the screen. It's annoying when you're sure they don't exist, but show up somewhere for no reason.

(I actually dissatisfied almost everything that is "spawn near the player but off screen from nothing". If you intentionally seek them out or avoid them -- two things players do to almost everything in this game -- the experience can be very bad.)

[Anis5240]

11 minutes ago, Cassielu said:

It's annoying when you're sure they don't exist, but show up somewhere for no reason.

I think it's a real shame that the masked mobs' spawn rate is 20%. It should at the very least be 40%. Can go 50% if wanted too.

[arubaro]

11 hours ago, -Variant said:

But masked players don't do anything! They don't taunt like other mobs, and they sorta just become player-looking spiders. I'm super sad, there's so much potential! Let them pick up and use armor and weapons

Agree on everything you posted 

 

We have seen many artwork of maxwell summoning darkswords, what if the possesed player bodies attack us with a dark sword created by their shadow power? Or casting spells like the shadow flames from willow (not the same, just something with the same aesthetics)

I think possesed players should be the most special encounter.  Is the less unlikely to be seen and the one with more potential 

[nimzowitsch10]

if it drops nothing unique, it is useless.

[Szczuku]

It'd be cool if posses players started doing the classsic 'possesed upside down all fours' but given the in-game human proportion I'm sure it'd end up looking goofy at best and lame at worst

[This14Real]

This feels like testing grounds for something a lot more in depth in the future. Isn’t this the first time ever we have actual playable characters turned into “mobs”?
Can you imagine if they could have access to their skilltrees, a flame weaving possessed Willow and armor wearing Wigfrid would be quite scary to fight.

[-Variant]

9 hours ago, arubaro said:

I think possesed players should be the most special encounter.  Is the less unlikely to be seen and the one with more potential 

5 hours ago, This14Real said:

This feels like testing grounds for something a lot more in depth in the future. Isn’t this the first time ever we have actual playable characters turned into “mobs”?
Can you imagine if they could have access to their skilltrees, a flame weaving possessed Willow and armor wearing Wigfrid would be quite scary to fight.

Honestly, yeah, I think fighting possed players ought to be the 'big deal' of the lot.

There is SSSOOOO much potential that you could do with having enemy players. I really hope they get built on!

5 hours ago, nimzowitsch10 said:

if it drops nothing unique, it is useless.

They can sometimes drop their mask, which lets you blend in with them.
It's not a whole lot, but I do think it's pretty cool to have another 'blend in with shadows' type item.
(This also unlocks the new Stage Play that was added.)

[This14Real]

1 minute ago, -Variant said:

Since they drop their mask have you tested giving it to potential hosts? Would they also be neutral to the shadow gestalts or whatever they are called?

[arubaro]

1 hour ago, -Variant said:

It's not a whole lot, but I do think it's pretty cool to have another 'blend in with shadows' type item

What do you mean? I didnt have time to test this update

[DegenerateFurry]

I'd really love to see something where they'll use your equipment, that's a missed opportunity. Obviously headgear is a no-go, but possessed players should grab whatever the highest-damage weapon you dropped was and use it against you, and maybe they should also wear chest armors.

[Snapchrap]

does anyone know how to get the Pall playbook? Do the masques drop them at a low chance?

[JeMiChi]

8 minutes ago, Snapchrap said:

does anyone know how to get the Pall playbook? Do the masques drop them at a low chance?

Apparently the playbill spawns in the middle of the stage when you equip one of the three masks.

[Snapchrap]

2 minutes ago, JeMiChi said:

Apparently the playbill spawns in the middle of the stage when you equip one of the three masks.

Thank you, I tried that before but it didnt spawn. It did this time though

[Wormboi]

11 hours ago, This14Real said:

This feels like testing grounds for something a lot more in depth in the future. Isn’t this the first time ever we have actual playable characters turned into “mobs”?
Can you imagine if they could have access to their skilltrees, a flame weaving possessed Willow and armor wearing Wigfrid would be quite scary to fight.

Remember brightmares? Maybe they're gonna add a shadow version of that scraped mob.

[Echsrick]

i might add to this, a single masked bunny can pretty much solo a big tentacle




AND the baby tentacles dead bodys...ahm...there just there now...forever....still giving you a negative sanity aura, to say the least the masks sould have stayed in the oven a bit longer

[Snapchrap]

1 hour ago, Echsrick said:

i might add to this, a single masked bunny can pretty much solo a big tentacle




AND the baby tentacles dead bodys...ahm...there just there now...forever....still giving you a negative sanity aura, to say the least the masks sould have stayed in the oven a bit longer

It happens with everything that can't be possessed by a mask. So either they left it in and they'll cook with it during the beta, or they forget to remove the bodies that can't be possessed (or it's a bug).

[-Variant]

11 hours ago, This14Real said:

Since they drop their mask have you tested giving it to potential hosts? Would they also be neutral to the shadow gestalts or whatever they are called?

Alas, the masks they drop are non-possessive.

10 hours ago, arubaro said:

What do you mean? I didnt have time to test this update

Wearing said mask drops makes masked mobs neutral to you!