Exploiter summoned by the Possessed Shadow Atrium grants WX Pseudo Void Cowl Stacks

[Sofy Happy]

After the Rift update, every character was given some form of planar damage enhancement as a general rule. However, the Exploiter only provides a very minor physical damage bonus to this day.

I believe the developers have intended to add planar vulnerability support for this build. Simply granting a small amount of planar vulnerability per Exploiter from the Possessed Shadow Atrium would be a viable solution, yet I have a more thematic and well-balanced suggestion：

Currently, when wearing the Void Cowl, the player gains one Hood Stack with each attack. Each stack adds 4 shadow planar damage, with a maximum cap of 6 stacks.

Each Exploiter should grant WX-78 one stack of Pseudo Void Cowl Stack.

With four Exploiters, scanned enemies will be afflicted with 4 permanent pseudo stacks. When attacking these targets with shadow planar weapons, the player’s damage will be calculated with a minimum of 4 Hood Stacks.

These pseudo stacks are completely independent of regular Hood Stacks. Players still need to land consecutive uninterrupted attacks to reach 5 or 6 stacks for higher damage, and regular stacks cannot be stacked on top of pseudo stacks.

Even with this restriction, this change allows players to gain the damage bonus of 4 fixed Hood Stacks without equipping the Void Cowl.

This proposal takes balance fully into account. It does not raise the damage ceiling, but only stabilizes the overall damage floor. It is restricted to shadow planar weapons, integrates seamlessly with the existing Hood Stack mechanic, and perfectly matches the Exploiter’s core theme of analyzing and debuffing enemies.

Most importantly, it unlocks more build flexibility. Players will no longer be forced to lock their head armor slot to the Void Cowl when running shadow planar builds.

Comparison conditions:
In both scenarios, WX-78 summons 4 Exploiter units, wields the Shadow Reaper, and wears the Void Cowl.

Damage values are calculated for the first 6 hits against a regular enemy, taking no damage in the process.

• Current live damage:79, 83, 87, 91, 95, 99
• With Pseudo Void Cowl Stacks:91, 91, 91, 91, 95, 99

22 minutes ago, Sofy Happy said:

These pseudo stacks are completely independent of regular Hood Stacks. Players still need to land consecutive uninterrupted attacks to reach 5 or 6 stacks for higher damage, and regular stacks cannot be stacked on top of pseudo stacks.

When the player's normal Void Cowl stacks are higher than the pseudo stacks, damage is calculated using the normal stacks. Otherwise, pseudo Void Cowl stacks will be used instead.

[Grimcrackers]

this is super cool! there could also be visual indicators for this to help differentiate the affect from the normal spotlight thingy