User blog comment:Aandrew07/Discussion of the Week: Leviathans/@comment-2070028-20130219233209

My favorite leviathan is the gobul. Before nibelsnarf was introduced, gobul was the most unique out of the leviathans. While lagiacrus is an awesome monster to look at and fight, it can be easily viewed as "another big lizard," or a slight evolution off of the common idea of a sea serpent. The gobul, on the other hand, stood in a category of its own with just how bizzare it looked and fought. I mean, an angler-puffer-ray?

Currently, I feel the coolest attack performed by a leviathan has been the big lightning storm that lagiacrus performs underwater. The sheer chaotic storm of electricity flaring here and there, the brief surge of panic someone feels when they're right up next to the beast and it starts the charge up, and the thrill when you dart away only to have a burst of electricity flare up right where you where a half-second ago.

Were I to design a leviathan, I would have to go with one of two possibilities. The first would be easier to impliment, simply making a subspecies of gobul. Perhaps give it a dark red body with brighter orange stripes, make the lantern either yellow or orange; instead of it causing a flash effect, it has a "heat burst" that does damage to things within a radius around it and adds fire blight. Perhaps when raged, its spines deal fire damage and also add blight with its rolls. The second idea would be to go for a land leviathan, using either a weasel, ferret, or a mongoose as a basis for body structure, though its face probably would be a mix of weasel and wolf. It would have some thick whiskers, longer legs with thick claws, and a long tail. It would probably be larger then the royal ludroth, but not as big as a lagiacrus. I would give it a few staple moves common to leviathans, like when they turn sideways and slam into someone. It would also have a few unique moves, of course, such as being able to do the sideways body check and then leaping backwards toward its original location or to the side. Perhaps give it a sideways hop which could lead into either a forward lunge or a sweep of its tail, and mabye a quake attack where it raises up on its hind legs and slams all of its weight down on its front paws; if flinched while preparing this attack, it falls over and flails for a bit, offering a window for attack. When enraged, the whiskers fan out, the creature's eyes glow yellow, and tufts of fur raise along its back and tail. For breakable spots, tail could be cut and carved, both front claws can be broken, and the face can be broken twice - the first breaks its whiskers, the second scars it up, maybe damages its ears, etc. My proposed original leviathan would be non-elemental initially, with perhaps a status-effect subspecies later on.

My favorite piece of leviathan equipment is the royal ludroth armor. This is simply due to aesthetics purposes, and not because of any quality or abilities. I always enjoy customization in any game, as superfluous as it may be. Armors that allow me to give more visual changes are more pleasurable to me then game statistics; the royal ludroth armor is significantly affected by the color changing options, with the majority of each piece subjected to my whim. The other armors are minimally influenced, with perhaps just a few highlights that change. I'm also not too keen on the helmets for the lagiacrus armor, but that's just my personal preference.

My overall opinion of leviathans is that they are a tremendously fun species to hunt. Like all species, I wish there were more a diversity to go after.