Eh, I'm not a fan of luck in what purports to be a competitive game.  There are better solutions to the stun lock problem than making stuns affected by chance.

Even with 50% or 25% or 10% there still a chance somebody could be repeatedly stunned for 5-6 seconds if the current stun durations are not changed.

In any case, I want killing an opponent or surviving an opponent's attack to be about skill, not about whether or not their ability happened to stun me.

The only luck I'm okay with having in the game is damage ranges (like weapon damage which does damage between a min and a max) because that doesn't have a significant impact on gameplay.

I'm sorry, I have to say this is a terrible idea.  For a game like this which requires strategy and teamwork, throwing in random variables that affect the outcome of a gank so greatly is very, very bad.  Even if the stunlocking is a big problem (which it apparently is right now), making it based off a random chance is an incredible cop-out of proper game design.  There's many other valid solutions - diminishing returns, temporary immunity, removing cooldown reduction items, etc, but making it a random chance is not one of them.

Why so complicated? Increase manacosts and/or cooldowns, decrease stun duration. Game, Set and Match.

Keep it simple!

Items are another part, not directly involved in this discussion, else it would get to big. There are some Items where my "gamer sense" are tingling. I know people don't like this phrase here but, i've quite some expierience as a dota-player, and with that expirience i've a little understanding what items can do, since the dota developpers also tried alot stuff and had to remove some of it afterwards.

Imo, Cooldown reducing items aren't good for the game. It just makes the balancing more complicated, because you always have to think "But what if Player A buys the Item B, which would make the Item overpowered". Just cut it, its no big deal. Add something else, which is interesting. There are alot of possible items As an substitution we could add something like a Cooldown-refreshing Item. It would have a big cooldown and cost a good amount of mana, but with one little click you can reset all your cooldowns. It's used in Dota, but on the other hand, no DG has an ability witha CD of 1.5-3min so its not that much of a use in Demigod :/

@WarlokLord

Randomness in competitive play will not work. Maybe you can live with it, but most people wont, because if you play on a competitve level it should come down to skill not randomness. At best, we take look at your example: Randomized Items in the Shop.

Does it mean, my TB is just screwed because important mana-reg helm's are not available? My team loses because i can't buy a friggin helmet which would be nessecary for a strong build? I don't want to have weaker DG because of randomness. Compare it to soccer. If its rains, it rains for everybody, everyone has to suffer the same negative and positive effects. BUT, since in DG matches the lineups won't be the same randomized items can have a diffrent impact on the teams.

And just to lose a worldchampionschip - in the worst case - because of such a thing is a nogo.

Back to topic: So far i had no problems with "stunlocks". But again, im used to Dota aaaaand i can't see any big diffrence Just learn and try to dodge them - i know its not easy. But nova + boulder(if not used closeup ofcourse) are avoidable. Learn to juke And also Sedna only got her melee stun.. and TB + Reg can pretty much outrun her.

An addition after some thought.

-50% chance of success
-15% less energy cost for all stun abilities
-50% greater recharge time for all stun abilities

Puts stun in its proper role. With the above you might not need any further riders on stun usage. I think its pretty damn clever (!).

(grin egotistically...)

Frogboy, you`d think I was pondering something more substantially randomized than what I am. I`m not. This is small potatoes. And certainly preferable to: 1. the removal of Stun mechanics altogether, 2. the introduction of gimmicky Rebound items, 3. a comprehensive retooling of Demigod.

An obscure little game you may have heard of called Left4Dead incorporates far greater random elements into its play. Its still competitive. And FUN. I hear this unsung little game has had a small measure of success... 

No it is not. (randomness opposite of competitive) More on this later.

As for L4D being competitive, yes - you play versus other players in... drum roll... versus play. Sounds competitive to me.

As for randomness in L4D, ummm, how about the seeding of weaponry, ammo, health, molotovs, pipe bombs, zombies, and bosses, not to mention timings of hordes? Of course thats randomized, all within algorithmic parameters. Like Max Payne but here *successfully* (!) applied to... drum roll... competitive and cooperative play.

Seems to be a good argument for the validity of randomization in certain circumstances.

.

Removing stuns completely would be unwise, I agree, since stuns are sometimes a counter to unbearably lethal foes (i.e. Unclean Beast amped to the gills with life drain, hit regen, and attack speed).

There could be item that do a stun time reduction.

like stun effect last 20% less

I will attempt to illustrate my truth here by agreement.

You are correct – randomization and chance have no place in a competitive play game like Demigod.

Except for Lord Erebus` CHANCE to summon NightWalkers, which is actually enhanced directly by an entire section of his skill tree.

And Cloak Of Elfinkind with its 15% CHANCE to Dodge.

And Unmaker with its 20% CHANCE to increase Attack Speed.

And Duelist`s Cuirass with its 5% CHANCE of 1.5x Damage.

And Groffling Warplate with its 1% CHANCE for a Shield.

And Platemail Of The Crusader with its 1% CHANCE to Heal.

And Theurgist`s Cap with its 5% CHANCE to impede Health and Energy regeneration on targets.

And Vinling Helmet with its 3% CHANCE to reap some measure of Energy on a hit.

And Assassin`s Footguards with its 10% CHANCE to Dodge.

And Journeyman Treads with its 5% CHANCE to increase Movement Speeds.

And Wyrmskin Handguards with its 20% CHANCE to reduce Movement & Attack Speeds.

And Gauntlets Of Despair with its 15% CHANCE to drain energy.

And Slayers Wraps with its 10% CHANCE for 2x Damage.

And Gloves Of Fell-Darkur with its 20% CHANCE of delivering a firey blast.

And Doomspite Grips with its 20% CHANCE of cleaving.

Etcetera.

Hmmm... looks like random chance *already* plays a huge role in this tight competitive play game.

I estimate that about 40% + Items feature some randomized trait. I think I have an inexorable point of logic here, don`t I...?

But Wagnard, listen to what you`re saying - every time I play against 'X' Demigod, I must use 'Y' Item. I don`t want the same thing everytime I play. Variety. Again, this sounds more like I`m solving an equation than playing a game.

Regardless, I stand by my solution. Randomness is *already* a key part of Demigod.

I think you`re splitting hairs. I understand the split, I just don`t think there is any consequential significance - randomized is randomized. We react to luck with Items, why not with a single realm of otherwise game-crippling ability?

The "passive item buffs" may indeed be categorized thusly, but they are hardly a minor aspect of Demigod. They are a major aspect, and for some (Regulus and the Ashkandar Sword...) they are critical. Actually, for anybody they are critical: scoring 4x damage on a hit is a game-changer, as is having a 40% Evasion/Dodge capacity.

Demigod will still be Demigod with randomized stuns. Everything else will still function, and as normal.

I disagree, Aspartem. Sport is filled with randomness and chaos, real life or digital. Why add *more* randomization? Again its not much more, and of course it would solve the stun-chaining problem which threatens to make Demigod unfun in many multiplayer circumstances.

I fail to see how my proposed change makes Demigod any less validly competitive. Less predictable, sure. If by "competitive" you mean clinically even, then I`m not interested in such a game experience. I`d rather have fun. I`m not an equation-solving chess man.

My only other comment now would be to say you are okay with randomization of critical hits, of strike evasion, and of a considerable myriad of other similarly paramount mechanisms, but the Stun mechanism must remain 100% reliable... . That makes no sense to me. If randomization of one is fine, why then not of the other? Not logical to this mind.

Then I propose a new item idea.  It would cost as much as an artifact so I suppose it would go in the artifact shop.  It is a (re)useable item that has one ability.  It has a 50% chance to instantly kill the target.  It either kills the target instantly, or it doesn't kill the target and nothing happens.  It can come in a massive AoE attack, or maybe as an instant hit ranged weapon.

If you think this is a fair item, then be quiet about game balance.  If you don't think its a fair item, explain how it is different from abilities that are easier to get than artifacts and have a 50% chance to stun = death.  Explain please, for I am curious.

EDIT:  Also, L4D is not competetive on the same level as Demigod.  Sure, by technical definition it is "competetive" against other players, but it will never even reach the level of other FPS's like Halo or CoD.  Stop using L4D as an example as it doesn't fit.