OoW Spell Ideas

[Xalmat]

First and foremost, I'm going to talk about known Druid spells that appeared on Lucy (granted, are subject to change). I'll discuss how they relate to magicians in a second.OoW Druid Rain: 1105 damage, 650 manaOoW Druid DS: 52 pointsOoW Druid DD 1 (fr based): 1820 damage, 460 manaOoW Druid DD 2 (cr based): 2015 damage, 505 manaOoW Druid DD 3 (cr based): 2420 damage, 605 manaSomething is patently obvious here. These are carbon copies of PoP spells, but with a higher percent damage for an equally higher percent mana cost (exactly the same way GoD spells are)Compare:PoP Druid Rain: 850 damage, 500 mana. Increase: 30% damage/mana, same efficiencyPoP Druid DS: 40 points. 30% more damagePoP Druid DD 1 (fr based): 1400 damage, 355 mana. Increase: 30% damage/mana, same efficiency. PoP Druid DD 2 (cr based): 1550 damage, 390 mana. Increase: 30% damage/mana, and 55.5% damage/mana increase, same efficiency.How does this relate to magicians? Quite simple. Our nukes in PoP and GoD have had the same damage cost, but our nukes have slightly higher mana cost. Since this data isn't on Lucy yet, extrapolation guesses:PoP Mage Rain 1 (FR): 800 damage, 440 manaOoW Mage Rain 1 (FR): 1040 damage, 572 manaPoP Mage Rain 2 (MR): 900 damage, 480 manaOoW Mage Rain 2 (MR): 1170 damage, 624 manaPoP Mage Bolt (FR): 2000 damage, 500 manaOoW Mage Bolt (FR): 2600 damage, 650 manaPoP Mage DD 1 (MR): 1400 damage, 360 manaOoW Mage DD 1 (MR): 1820 damage, 468 manaPoP Mage DD 2 (FR): 1550 damage, 395 manaOoW Mage DD 2 (FR): 2015 damage, 513 manaOoW Mage DD 3 (FR): 2420 damage, 612 manaThe thing that baffles me the most is that there isn't a single bit of efficiency increase in these spells, which is by far the most backwards thing to happen in expansions. Efficiency is key in long term damage in experience groups, as the efficiency of your spells, in combination with your mana regeneration, directly determines how much damage you will do in the long term. The higher the efficiency, the more damage; likewise, the lower the efficiency the lower the damage. (Reference: Magician DD Spreadsheet)Before these are hard-coded as the OoW expansion spells, lets tweak the efficiency a bit. First, a historical note (using the "Adjusted" tab on my spreadsheet):At the end of release, before Kunark, top spells at the time were Lava Bolt (efficiency: 2.7), Rain of Swords (2.072 after resists), and Shock of Swords (efficiency: 2.40).At the end of Kunark, evoc-specialized mages would have these:Seeking Flame of Seukor (efficiency: 3.2, a full 18.5% efficiency increase)Shock of Steel (efficiency: 3.0, a full 25% efficiency increase)Manastorm (efficiency: 3.794 after resists, a full 83% efficiency increase)Sirocco (efficiency: 3.789 after resists, a full 83% efficiency increase over Rain of Swords)Arguably, the efficiency increase going from original release to Kunark was dramatic.Velious saw no increase in efficiency of our nukes.Luclin saw the extension of the Shock line of nukes and further created the dreaded, introducing three totally new nukes. Midway thru Luclin, we also saw the introduction of focus items, which increased damage, mana efficiency, etc. We also saw the release of AAs, which further augmented nukes. For sake of argument, I will ignore these, and focus on the raw damage and mana cost without modifiers.Maelstrom of Electricity (efficiency 3.411 after resists, a full 11% Decrease in nuke efficiency over Manastorm)Shock of Fiery Blades (efficiency 3.009, less than 1% efficiency increase over Shock of Steel, and 6% decrease in nuke efficiency over Seeking Flame. This changes in favor of SoFB if spec'd conjuration, and the gap favors Seeking Flame if spec'd evocation)And finally, the ultra rare Ancient: Shock of Sun (efficiency: 4.035, a full 34% efficiency increase over Shock of Fiery Blades, and 26% over Seeking Flame. This remains, by far, our most efficient nuke without factoring in focus effects, even to this day).What we saw in Luclin was the ultra-efficient Ancient line of spells, which not only increased damage output, but also dramatically increased mana efficiency to boot, thus making ancient spells (for every class) vastly superior to non-ancient spells.Planes of Power saw a level increase to 65, and even more efficient and devastating nukes:Firebolt of Tallon (efficiency 4.0, 25% more efficient than Seeking Flame)Sun Storm (efficiency 4.364 after resists, 15% increase over Manastorm)Black Steel (efficiency 3.889, 30% more efficient than Shock of Steel)Maelstrom of Thunder (efficiency 4.5, 19% increase than Manstorm)Sun Vortex (efficiency 3.924, 30.8% more efficient than Shock of Steel, and 30.4% more efficient than Shock of Fiery Blades)We also saw in Planes of Power high end focuses that save up to 25% mana on the top direct damage nuke of each class. For magicians, this is Sun Vortex. With this focus, Sun Vortex becomes our most efficient nuke, even though it is not the most damaging.Legacy of Ykesha and Lost Dungeons of Norrath saw no substantial increase in nuking efficiency, or even a slight change.Gates of Discord is where the trend "New nukes = more efficient" breaks.Rock of Taelosia (efficiency 3.929, exact same as Sun Vortex)Ancient Chaos Vortex (efficiency 3.924, negligible difference from Sun Vortex).Given that Ancient Shock of Sun was a 33% increase over Shock of Fiery Blades, would it not make sense for Ancient Chaos Vortex to do the same efficiency increase for Sun Vortex? This would turn Ancient Chaos Vortex from:1860 damage, 474 mana (3.924 efficiency)to1860 damage, 356 mana (5.225 efficiency)Conversely, Rock of Taelosia ought to have a slight efficiency increase over its brother Black Steel:1400 damage, 360 mana (3.889 efficiency)to1705 damage, 399 mana (4.273 efficiency)This would also give Rock of Taelosia the efficiency boost it needs to compete with Sun Vortex for most efficient nuke, prior to the 25% mana preserve focus.Fast forward to Omens of War. The jump in efficiency for nukes should be carried over to the next generation.OoW Bolt: 2600 damage, 578 mana (4.5 efficiency, 12.5% efficiency increase over Firebolt of Tallon)OoW FR Rain: 1040 damage, 473 mana (5.277 efficiency after resists, 20% efficiency increase over Sun Storm)OoW MR DD: 1820 damage, 414 mana (4.396 efficiency, 13% more efficient than Black Steel and 12% more efficient than Sun Vortex)OoW MR Rain: 1170 damage, 524 mana (5.359 efficiency after resists, 19% more efficient than Maelstrom of ThunderOoW FR DD: 2015 damage, 455 mana (4.429 efficiency, 15.4% more efficient than Sun Vortex)OoW Ancient FR DD: 2420 damage, 408 mana (5.934 efficiency, 34% more efficient than the OoW FR DD)(Note: I'm dubious about asking for upgrades to Destroy Summoned, unless the population of GoD will have a substantial amount of Summoned creatures)

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Next, I would like to talk pets. First and foremost, the developers MUST realize that pets need to be balance for the expansion AT RELEASE, not later on down the road (6 months for Luclin, over a year for Planes of Power).Its unknown how spell distribution in Omens will compare to previous expansions, but I will be operating off the assumption that Omens spells are quite rare. As such, these pets will be quite rareI offer my opinions for unfocused Omens of War pets (with similar scaling with existing focuses), based on current petsAll pets are immune to fear, and have innate run speed 5 (to match player run speed). All pets have a non-combat regen of 200 HP/tic outside combat, 50 HP/tic within combat.Air pet: Level 66, Max hit 124, minimum hit 44 max HP 5665. Most avoidance, 95% midigation as Earth pet, dodge parry and riposte skills, innate ability to triple attack.Stun gains a -30 resist adjust. Innate (unfocused) midigation should equal Ward of Xegony focused with Minion of Eternity.Innate melee proc (a la epic pet) when focused with Minion of Eternity or higher: Air Elemental Destruction. 0 second stun, 0 damage. Massive aggro and massive stuns for casters.Water pet: Level 66, Max hit 122, minimum hit 44, max backstab 364, minimum backstab 200, max HP 4950, 90% midigation as Earth pet, dodge parry and riposte skills. Innate ability to double backstab.Water strike gains a -30 resist adjust. Innate (unfocused) midigation should equal Servant of Marr focused with Minion of Eternity.Innate melee proc (a la epic pet) when focused with Minion of Eternity or higher: Water Elemental Destruction. Level + 10 damage.Fire pet: [pending fire pet changes, this pet will be a junk pet, like the rest]Earth pet: Max hit 126, minimum hit 44, max HP 7200. Most midigation, 75% avoidance of Air pet (or whatever the current ratio is), dodge, parry, riposte, triple attack. Root gains a -60 resist adjust, and becomes a Strong root (nukes are less likely to break root). Innate (unfocused) midigation should equal Rathe's Son focused with Minion of Eternity.Innate melee proc (a la epic pet) when focused with Minion of Eternity or higher: Earth Elemental Destruction. Snare for 18 seconds (quite useful when root breaks, and increases pet's aggro)Burnout VI:90% haste15% haste v3+100 ATK+100 STR+50 AC+75 DEXDuration 1 hourOmens pet heal:2400 HP, 500 mana, 5 second cast, instant recast.Dagger of Fennin Ro (graphic is Ifir)17 damage, 20 delay, +3 fire damage, pierce+150 HP +15AC +25ATK +2% shielding +5 accuracyProc: Wrath of Fennin Ro (250 damage, -100 adjust, FR)Scepter of Xegony (graphic is Xephyrus)17 damage, 20 delay, +3 magic damage, 1 hand blunt+150 HP +15AC +25ATK +2% shielding +5 accuracyProc: Wrath of Xegony (250 damage, -100 adjust, MR)Handwraps of Marr (graphic is glowing blue fist)17 damage, 20 delay, +3 cold damage, hand to hand+150 HP +15AC +25ATK +2% shielding +5 accuracyProc: Wrath of Marr (250 damage, -100 adjust, CR)Muzzle of Vallon:+100 HP +10AC +11% haste +25ATK +10 Accuracy, Required level 63Girdle of the Elements:+500 HP +25 STR +25 DEX +25 AGI +25 ATK +5 Accuracy, Required level 63

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Other spellsUpgrade to Maelin: +500 HP, +50 AC, +50 MRUpgrade to Xegony's: 10 HP/tic, +10 Mana/tic, +55 ACUpgrade to Elemental Barrier: +80 FR/CRUgrade to Calliav: 4 hits instead of 3Upgrade to Damage Shield: 75 points, 20 minute durationUpgrade to Malosinia: -85 to resists, -50 resist adjustUpgrade to Mala: -60 to resists, unresistableArea Effect Malosinia: -85 to resists, -50 resist adjust, targeted AE (like wizard pillars) or PBAEUpgrade to Siphon: -2400 to pet, +10 mana (counteracts upgraded pet heal)Group Siphon: -2400 to pet, +5 mana to groupUpgrade to Group Siphon: -4800 to pet (ouch!), +10 mana to groupTargeted Improved InvisSummoned Faerune item (goes in ammo, like Summoned Coldstone and Orb of Exploration)Group CoHUpgrade to Elemental Empathy, and expand the Elemental Empathy line to all levels.Minor Elemental Empathy (Level 24): Combine Shielding + Burnout 1Lesser Elemental Empathy (Level 39): Combine Greater Shielding + Burnout 2Elemental Empathy (Level 52): Combine Arch Shielding + Burnout 3Major Elemental Empathy (Level 56): Combine Shield of the Magi + Burnout 4Greater Elemental Empathy (Level 65): Combine Shield of Maelin + Burnout 5Arch Elemental Empathy (Level 66+): Combine upgrade to Maelin + Burnout 6Significant upgrade to summoned jewelry. Add 5 STA, 5 INT, 1 regen, and 1 mana regeneration to various pieces

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This about covers my list of things I'd like to see.

[Abdullah]

A very good list!

 

My idea for our summoned MK V juwelry would be this:

 

OoW Zone, Vendor sold, nodrop spells. (We know why)

 

These spells summon LORE NODROP NORENT AUGMENTATIONS !

Prefered type ANY slot, appearing on the PC cursor when summoned.

 

This would be a great boost in usefullness, as it would allow the users to slip them into present items, without having to exchange one for the juwelry.

 

I would appreciate opions to this idea.

 

Of course I have no clue how hard this would be to implement gamewise.

[danille]

Excellent job Xalmat,I truly expect that with obvious dedication and passion for EQ and the mage class that Xalmat's suggestions will be reviewed and hopefully implimented.This guy knows his stuff and is being fair minded when it come to class balancing and tweaking the class.I totally agree with his efficiency issues as it is extremely frustrating to have a bump along the way in nukes without any increase in efficiency.

[Missei-Seventh]

One other spell I would like to see in addition to the above is a player targeted pet kit in a bag with the upgraded pet items in it.  Or for the items to be mage only and in that case a self targeted pet kit. Great ideas, would be substancial increase over what we have provided that it scales up at least making our DPS (nukes+pet) even to that of wizards or barely lower not noticably so like it is now.

[Nightbringer]

The indea of new summoned focus items being no-rent augments is an interesting one. Other ideas for summoned no rent augments would be upgrades for other mage summoned items.- Summoned no-rent augments for enduring breath, see invisibility, levitation, and ultravision. We already have the clickable or worn versions, summoned augments don't alter what can already be done, just make it more convieniant for higher lvl mages.- Summoned No-rent, lore, Flowing thought augment, minimum lvl requirement to prevent abuse. Its not as much as a group mana buff, and not useable to everyone, but still neat.- Summoned no-rent, lore augment that ups the damage shield on an individual, perhaps by +10 points.- Summoned no-rent, lore augment that ups fire / cold resistance, perhaps by +1Just a few possible ideas for summoned augments, none are overpowering or threaten to compete with another classes role in the game. All fit with our role as master conjurers.

[Archangyl-TP]

Good post Xalmat. Some addition's I'd like to see:

 

An upgraded pet HoT spell. Elemental Remedy, heals 500 hp/tick for 4 ticks for 380 mana.

A non group upgrade to CoH. Simply removing the regeant would be a step forward.

An AE damage shield with the same effect as our standard and group versions, and a similarly short duration, or a slightly weaker long duration damage shield (atleast 72 minute duration).

An upgraded Gate spell. Give it a shorter cast time and a shorter recast time, but increase the mana cost to 200 or so. Make it unable to collapse.

An upgrade to mod rods. Make it deal 900 damage and return 800 mana with two charges, 4 second cast time and it costs 250 mana to cast.

 

[Xalmat]

The main thing with NO RENT augments is:If you slap an augment on an item, that item shares the same restrictions as the augment. Meaning if you slap a LORE augment on a non-LORE item, the item becomes LORE. But would this apply to NO RENT as well? No one knowsIt could be possible to make only the augment NO RENT and not the item, thus when you camp you only lose the augment. Would be a pain in the butt to code But if it can be pulled off, then I'm all for it.

[Fablan]

something i've wondered for a long time is why, when the ideal pet gear option involves mask/belt/weaponx2, this is in 4 seperate casts.  wouldn't it make more sense to just create 3 spells, having each spell generate a mask belt and 2 weapons of the appropriate type (causing there to be 3 spells) all stacked on the cursor ready to dump to the pet?

 

if we're going to get more pet weapons with OoW please don't make it like pop where people failed over and over to get the specific spell they needed while being flooded with large amounts of spells they already had.  in fact...why not just make OoW have one pet weapon, with a prismatic resist proc instead of a set resist one.

 

no rent augs, great idea.  however they must be useable.  there needs to be a portable device (ex. collapsible toolbox) that allows a person to install augments in the field.  an xp group cannot simply walk off for 30 mins to run to an adventure camp to install spell focuses.  even make it a comtainer that the mage summons that is only useable for norent augs, but they absolutly must be installable in the field, if they're tied to the ldon camps they become near worthless as a group utility.

[Lunakim]

               Deluthis wrote:
Damnit why the HELL do druids get a better nuke then us? ...

Becasue they must compensate for their loss of DPS while healing tanks, giving 52pt DS, 33hp/tick regen, 805hp/43ac/9mana per tick regen, +65% movement enhancement, dire charm, level 65 animal charm, snare, root and evac.

[Lunakim]

Why is the edit and html command restricted?

Anyways, above is a post in "mage tower", I would like to hear on the offical stand on why druids out-nuke us.

[Numnug]

This was mentioned by someone over on the mages tower, but I thought it was a good idea, so I will bring it here where it may be a bit more likely to be seen.

A pet only, Slowing DS.

Anytime anything hits the pet, it gets hit with a resistable slow for maybe 40-50%.  This slow would last 3 ticks and creatures that are immune or mitigate slow would still do so. but this would give magician pets the ability to off tank.  while not allowing them to slow creatures directly, as even pet weapons would. 

Making the slow resistable means that it is unlikely that this would be used to get a pre-slow in on high level raid mobs, as the pet is unlikely to survive long enough for the slow to land, although this would still be possible.

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Another thing that is my personal feeling is that Magicians are far behind on survivability.  All other pure casters have essentially at least 700 more HP's than an equally geared magician due to their rune spells.

I do not think that the rune line that wizards and necros get would be out of line for magicians.  Even if the mana regeneration component was excluded from it and that magicians got the spell later on in thier careers.

This however is not a universal magician concern, (not that many are) and some magicians feel that this would be out of character, but I feel that some additional form of defense for magicians is required.

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Lastly, and this is slightly off topic but does have to do with spells...

I am finding that with all the new stackable spells in each expansion, that even my level 40 ranger is running out of buff room and has to click some off in normal adventuring.I realize that there has to be some choice for buff selection, but given the new buffing spells that are now available, I feel that the buff limit on players should perhaps be increased to 20, and perhaps even a further 5 additional spots for detrimental spells, so that they would not overwrite buffs if you were at the buff limit.

Thanks,

~Numnug