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Feromor

What Additions Should Be Made To The Magic Skill?

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Hey All!

 

Okay, so what changes do YOU want to see made to the magic skill? New spells, specific magician classes, whatever it is you dream about having in the magic skill.

 

I, for one, want to see a transmogrification spell. For instance, one could turn a stick into a loaf of bread, mercury to silver, rabbits to beavers, little stuff like that. Maybe it would be completely unpredictable what one thing would turn into, but it's neat. Perhaps a light spell, a little bauble that hovers around your head illuminating dark areas. A teleport away spell for monsters you don't want to deal with.

 

Now how about having different classes of magician. A General magician would be balanced on everything, a Sorcerer could specialize in attack magic, and a Wizard excels in teleports, invisibility, and shields. A set of books for each class, but once you research one set, the others are closed to you.

 

(Now, does this belong in General, Skills, or Suggestions? This forum seemed the best bet...)

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Having a skill closed to you is against the nature of the game, so I am against that.

 

A light spell would be interesting. People have suggested torches before, but never got them.

 

A transmogrification spell is usually just a temporary thing and would not be the best idea for this game.

 

I think it would be interesting to incorporate the old mirror image spell where you would see 2-6 of a mage instead of 1 and not know which to attack. Perhaps attacking the wrong one would break that "mirror".

 

Of course, mages in this game are different from mages of other games because in this game, there are no long distance spells. Our mages are more like battle mages. If there was to be a long distance spell, it would need to be disallowed while the mage is wearing metal armor (except for crown) to maintain balance.

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Having a skill closed to you is against the nature of the game, so I am against that.

 

Why not be able, for a hefty fee, be able to switch which branch of magic one follows?

Edited by Feromor

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Here's an idea. How about a new class of daily quests, based upon casting magic spells for Magic XP. This would be a good oppertunity to add new spells to the game.

 

For example you might cast a particular purification spell on all the wells in a map to clean diseased or stagnant water. These kinds of spells wouldn't neccessarially have to have any other meaningful impact in the game, but would serve to encourage the purchasing of sigils and flesh out the ingame magic a bit more.

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Some instant elemental spells would be cool.Put those elemental essences to good use.

For fire essies something like 'Fireball' is a no brainer.

For air,maybe an 'electrify' or 'lightning bolt'.

Earth could be 'Rockslide' or 'Earthquake' or hurl a 'Boulder'.

Water could 'Freeze' for like 4 or 5 seconds, or 'Icicle' or 'Tsunami'..lots of naming options,with the jist mainly being elemental damage of one of the 4 types of elemental essies.

______________

 

Also like the idea of some kind of daily quest involving casting spells to fix something,solve a riddle or mystery or whatever.Good stuff.

Edited by Thorgard

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Having a skill closed to you is against the nature of the game, so I am against that.

 

Why not be able, for a hefty fee, be able to switch which branch of magic one follows?

Because one thing that alot of people have said they like about this game is that you can be whatever you want to be. Currently, the only thing that restricts how good you can be at a skill is something we call nexus.

 

The only restriction that I think could be added to magic is to have some spells require magic nexus which is currently used for crafting. Magic nexus might also be used in tailoring of some magical clothes, but I don't know.

 

Now, on the topic of fireball, magic missile and other long range spells, the reason why I believe there should be some armor restrictions or something is because it competes with archery and because it could make fighters too powerful. Note that there is nothing to stop a fighter from also being a mage. In various role playing games, the mage is rarely capable of dealing with people in hand to hand combat very easily, but can kick butt with long range spells, so he becomes quite dependent on the other classes for protection. Long range spells like fireballs could reduce the usefulness of things like mines and caltrops too and then the engineering skill could take a hit.

 

Long story short, when we consider any additions to the game, it would probably be best to consider all of the skills and not just the skill you are trying to improve. It is a big balancing act.

 

Purify....interesting. Maybe that could be used to purify a monster of disease if such a thing was implemented. As long as that does not remove poison from someone and make the antidote potion worth less, it might be interesting....but only if there was a purpose.

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I like the idea of elemental attack spells, but maybe have it so you need magic nexus to cast them as well as some armour restrictions, or need the caster to have a certain staff for certain spells (then you could have fire mages, etc).

A daily magic quest would be nice too, though would need careful planning as you couldn't 'buy' the needed (like the manu & engineering based one's) and if you get spells way above your level you may wait a LONG time to do it.

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Having a skill closed to you is against the nature of the game, so I am against that.

 

Why not be able, for a hefty fee, be able to switch which branch of magic one follows?

Because one thing that alot of people have said they like about this game is that you can be whatever you want to be. Currently, the only thing that restricts how good you can be at a skill is something we call nexus.

 

All right. Fair enough, no magician classes, I have been duly convinced of that. But if you examine the book page of the game guide you will note that there is not a single book dedicated to the direct enhancement of magic. So, how about a compromise? A new book tree is created, with knowledge to enhance attack (Sorcery, see my first post), to enhance the more defensive magic (Wizardry), amongst others? There could also be books of elemental magic as well (eg., Book of Advanced Fire Bolt, Book of Advanced Frost Strike), which would, of course, enhance the basic elemental magic unlocked by sigils.

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All right. Fair enough, no magician classes, I have been duly convinced of that. But if you examine the book page of the game guide you will note that there is not a single book dedicated to the direct enhancement of magic. So, how about a compromise? A new book tree is created, with knowledge to enhance attack (Sorcery, see my first post), to enhance the more defensive magic (Wizardry), amongst others? There could also be books of elemental magic as well (eg., Book of Advanced Fire Bolt, Book of Advanced Frost Strike), which would, of course, enhance the basic elemental magic unlocked by sigils.

Interesting. Not sure what to think of books for magic in a game that never had books for magic before.

 

A thought on the fireball spell, if it is implemented...it would probably end up using an EFE and couldn't be cast while in combat. You currently can't mix in combat. There are other things that you can/can't do in combat. I think the addition of spells that you can't cast in combat is not too far fetched of an idea. Likewise, you can't shoot something with a bow that is too far or too close. Heh...and if you cast fireball on something right in front of you, you must want to be fried. lol

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A thought on the fireball spell, if it is implemented...it would probably end up using an EFE and couldn't be cast while in combat. You currently can't mix in combat. There are other things that you can/can't do in combat. I think the addition of spells that you can't cast in combat is not too far fetched of an idea. Likewise, you can't shoot something with a bow that is too far or too close. Heh...and if you cast fireball on something right in front of you, you must want to be fried. lol

 

I shudder at the thought of using 9k for just one spell, even high level players would only use such a spell rarely, seeing as there are far better ways of using EFEs. Fair point about frying yourself when using it up close, however. Perhaps if you are in a certain range you take half damage?

 

Magic also needs some more equipment. So far we have one set of robes and two staffs (I'm not counting all of the armor that increases mana, because none of it is very...mageish). Currently, I'm working on a possible Suggestion for more staffs, but some other items would be nice. For instance, how about some Apprentice Robes?

Edited by Feromor

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Well something that can be cast in combat but has a huge cooldown along with a cast time maybe going along the ideas of traditional Mage pvp? However pk builds have flaws you'd have to have high a/d to even think about being a basic Mage and have 100+ Oa to spend on will for more EP with high p/c too the same for rangers....

 

Mage wouldn't work in pk, against monsters maybe, but other than than I wouldn't expect anything great for pkers

Edited by _iNvoKeD

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A thought on the fireball spell, if it is implemented...it would probably end up using an EFE and couldn't be cast while in combat. You currently can't mix in combat. There are other things that you can/can't do in combat. I think the addition of spells that you can't cast in combat is not too far fetched of an idea. Likewise, you can't shoot something with a bow that is too far or too close. Heh...and if you cast fireball on something right in front of you, you must want to be fried. lol

___________________________________

 

Using an EFE for ANY spell would be rediculously expensive.And why wouldn't you want to cast it while in combat?Isn't that the point of an offensive spell?Of course you should be able to also initiate combat with it,similar to ranging,but i see no reason why you wouldn't be able to use any elemental spell in combat,just like any other current spell.Not sure what mixing in or out of combat has to do with anything.

Just as with current spells,any new spell should require a combination of sigils and essences to 'cast'.No need to fix something if it isn't broke,and this method has always worked fine with spells.

My whole point about elemental spells is basically to give some much needed love to the magic skill.Since melee fighters can wield weapons with elemental damage,and rangers can shoot arrows/bolts with elemental damage,it makes sense to me to give mages the same opportunity with elemental spells,using essences(the 4 elemental essies as a base)the same way.It might create a bit more diversity in the type of character specialization the game currently lacks.

Edited by Thorgard

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If there was to be a long distance spell, it would need to be disallowed while the mage is wearing metal armor (except for crown) to maintain balance.

 

Why? Were fighters balanced when Archery was added? I see nothing wrong with spells equivalent to bow/crossbow attacks for mages. To do archery all you need is money whether from instances or ambushes of lower level characters on PK maps and time but no perks like mages need. Most of the PK fighters already had the stats for archery.

Edited by saxum

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Fine ideas about elemental attack spells. But what about other, less direct attack spells? A blind spell, that reduces the enemy's perception, might be nice. A slow spell, though goodness knows we walk slow enough as it is. A sleep spell, which probably wouldn't work on thing like gargoyles and ethereal creatures. Curse spells, that temporarily reduce stats, as well.

 

I'm with Saxum, the point of this thread is to think up ideas to bring mages up to speed; we're the ones who are disadvantaged and understated right now, we need to balance ourselves, never mind about warriors and rangers. As I previously pointed out, we have a limited selection of equipment designed for mages, and absolutely no books for mages.

Edited by Feromor

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I like the idea of a "light bubble" spell that lights up dark places. Also a few books would be nice. The stat reduction spell I don't really like, because if you used it in invasions, too easy to kill and there not much fun without a bit of excitement. It would also make you uber rich with really low levels, whilst killing a higher creature than you should, thus making the attributes a waste. Imo, scratch the "Curse" spell, but the light bubble one sounds good. Also possibly include a spell that makes you immune to melee attacks for a possible 5-10 second (I just made those numbers up)? Then the fighters would need to be more cunning and involve magic and ranging into their battles..but thats for PK. But yes, I would like to see some books on magic.

 

~Em0

Edited by Em0tion

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A thought on the fireball spell, if it is implemented...it would probably end up using an EFE and couldn't be cast while in combat. You currently can't mix in combat. There are other things that you can/can't do in combat. I think the addition of spells that you can't cast in combat is not too far fetched of an idea. Likewise, you can't shoot something with a bow that is too far or too close. Heh...and if you cast fireball on something right in front of you, you must want to be fried. lol

 

I shudder at the thought of using 9k for just one spell, even high level players would only use such a spell rarely, seeing as there are far better ways of using EFEs. Fair point about frying yourself when using it up close, however. Perhaps if you are in a certain range you take half damage?

 

Magic also needs some more equipment. So far we have one set of robes and two staffs (I'm not counting all of the armor that increases mana, because none of it is very...mageish). Currently, I'm working on a possible Suggestion for more staffs, but some other items would be nice. For instance, how about some Apprentice Robes?

There are a few reasons why I think the cost for fireball should be ridiculous.

 

If fireball can do close to the same amount of damage as a mine and be cast in a heartbeat, why bother making mines? The cost should be as much as or greater than that of landmines so that the engineering profession is not totally screwed.

 

Archery would also be hurt. It takes a decent amount of gc to hurt 10 critters with pk arrows and you might miss alot. The time saved with a single cast of a fireball would be massive over archery.

 

If you can hurt a number of creatures at the same with little to no risk to yourself, wouldn't this make invasions and instances too easy?

 

Really, the main reason why I said an EFE is because of engineering, since the cost and time to make those landmines is massive.

 

Fine ideas about elemental attack spells. But what about other, less direct attack spells? A blind spell, that reduces the enemy's perception, might be nice. A slow spell, though goodness knows we walk slow enough as it is. A sleep spell, which probably wouldn't work on thing like gargoyles and ethereal creatures. Curse spells, that temporarily reduce stats, as well.

 

I'm with Saxum, the point of this thread is to think up ideas to bring mages up to speed; we're the ones who are disadvantaged and understated right now, we need to balance ourselves, never mind about warriors and rangers. As I previously pointed out, we have a limited selection of equipment designed for mages, and absolutely no books for mages.

I like those other spell ideas.

 

Just one thing about "curse", the next astro change, your karma should get ya and you are then cursed. And by "curse" I figure a random type of bad astro which would not be affected by astro.

 

To engineers: Price check on various types of mines and the approximate damage done, please.

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hmm, im thinking of a 'heal a group around you' spell, like remote heal but for all

 

around the mage :)

 

maybe magic 70 or more for it

A few games have spells like that. Evercrack called them buff spells.

Do a few buff spells and suddenly your magical abilities are requested when people go hunting. That could bring mages to instances, I imagine.

Edited by nathanstenzel

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I dont think there are really "mages" in el, because whats the point in all magic? youd die instantly. All these suggestions seem good but honestly i think magic is fine in the game. plus there is a really god spell, mana drain. its basicaly better then doing hp damage because the other player cant heal... and theres summon stones that can kick butt. And what would we need torches for? haha

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Yeh umm welcome back to el, and mages can deal out like 150+ harms (a few of us anyhow)

 

 

Fhear us! and read those updates I mentioned

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I dont think there are really "mages" in el, because whats the point in all magic? youd die instantly. All these suggestions seem good but honestly i think magic is fine in the game. plus there is a really god spell, mana drain. its basicaly better then doing hp damage because the other player cant heal... and theres summon stones that can kick butt. And what would we need torches for? haha

 

How do you mean there are not any mages? I though the whole point of this thread is that there are mages and they SUCK! If you are saying what everyone here already agrees on, then please don't wast keystrokes and say something constructive.

 

Can you please elaborate on "die instantly"? Are you saying that the only possible use for magic is 1hitKo spells?

 

You mention that there is a good spell in the game. Ummm, okay, I guess EL is now the only fantasy rpg with a single good spell. Summoning is also a separate skill, and while extremely relative to magic is not entirely relevant here. Mages should be independent of summoning.

 

About the "torches" as you call them. Currently, there is a feature that summons a small campfire, the frame rate tester. This casts light fairly successfully, but it does not follow the invoker about, and if too many are called the game becomes buggy. The reason we need mage lights, as I shall now call them, is twofold:

1. They will increase visibility at night.

2. They will look awesome.

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"How do you mean there are not any mages? I though the whole point of this thread is that there are mages and they SUCK! If you are saying what everyone here already agrees on, then please don't wast keystrokes and say something constructive."

 

Sorry i havent played in a while so things probably changed. and i know a mage build sucks. i figured since they suck no one is a mage :\

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No proplem. You are "Forgiven" lol. However, since you have not played in a while, I am sure you must have noticed things regarding magic that others may have missed. Any thoughts on improvements?

 

One random idea: Verbal input spells. Type a spell and let it go. Chances are that most people prefer the mouse, though...

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I always thought having a spell that's kinda like the poison spell, but gives the mage a "pulsing" heal instead would be cool.

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