Shouldn't all spells be per combat encounter? Not per rest?

[scrotiemcb]

 

In a general sense, I'm not opposed to these things, either. If I was, I would be arguing for the removal of the Chanter (cooldowns) and Cipher (mana system). I'm not.

 

But what I am opposed to is the removal of per-rest abilities and classes which specialize in per-rest abilities. Those deserve to remain in the game.

 

If you don't like it, play a Chanter or a Cipher instead of trying to give everything the same ability mechanics. Sameness is boring.

Why do you feel it is fine for Cipher and Chanter but no other class?

False assumption. I feel the game should have at least 2 and probably 3 per-rest classes, and I also feel the cooldown thing is limited enough that the game only needs 1 "chanter" class, but as far as mana systems go I think one or two more could fit. Edited May 8, 2015 by scrotiemcb

[View619]

 

Yeah, it may just be the way intelligence affects cool-downs. Once you get it to decent levels spells recharge in one turn.

So you could for example, cast Fireball every turn if your Int was high enough? That does sound OP. Maybe I should give D:OS another try.

 

 

Yep. It gets even more ridiculous when you can cast piercing ice shards with high freeze chance, touch spells with 100+% chance of adding the debuff (chance increased with higher int), AOE spells and elemental shields that give you +100% current HP and have a chance of applying a debuff..each turn.

 

Of course, only mage spells get reduced cool-downs with an increased stat, none of the Rogue/Ranger/Fighter skills benefit from this. Larian is supposed to be working on a new mode that aims to bring encounters in-line with the OP options the player has, but I get the feeling they dropped it and have moved on to the next title.

Edited May 8, 2015 by View619

[perilisk]

Well, you could give the Cipher's mana resource to the Wizard, but have Wizards still start the battle out low and need to build up mana to power their spells. They could circumvent this slightly with a very limited number of per-rest slots that they could use to prepare (ooc) a specific known spell of any level, which could then be cast in combat without needing or using any mana. So, modern system, but with a little Vancian flavor.

 

Of course, that would leave Ciphers without a unique thing. So, I'd suggest dropping Focus altogether, and reimagining them as soul hackers, with a sort of magical cyberpunk theme. Ciphers would establish soul links to one or more enemies. These soul links would "hack" the enemy over time (with the speed dependent on enemy Will), with the hack level acting as a sort of per-enemy mana pool. Depending on the Cipher's abilities, there would be a series of increasingly powerful debuffs or control conditions passively applied with increasing hack levels, but higher levels would also unlock active abilities that the Cipher could trigger on or through the enemy, at the cost of reducing or resetting the hack level. Some active abilities would be learned by leveling, but others would be associated with the enemy itself (representing using their own strengths against them, essentially), so for example a hacked blight might be used to deliver an elemental attack against its allies. I like the idea of the Cipher only directly targeting enemies with their at-will ability (though some of the active effects triggered from an enemy might buff allies in range), as it makes them sort of the opposite of the Chanter.

[Namutree]

Well, you could give the Cipher's mana resource to the Wizard, but have Wizards still start the battle out low and need to build up mana to power their spells. They could circumvent this slightly with a very limited number of per-rest slots that they could use to prepare (ooc) a specific known spell of any level, which could then be cast in combat without needing or using any mana. So, modern system, but with a little Vancian flavor.

 

Of course, that would leave Ciphers without a unique thing. So, I'd suggest dropping Focus altogether, and reimagining them as soul hackers, with a sort of magical cyberpunk theme. Ciphers would establish soul links to one or more enemies. These soul links would "hack" the enemy over time (with the speed dependent on enemy Will), with the hack level acting as a sort of per-enemy mana pool. Depending on the Cipher's abilities, there would be a series of increasingly powerful debuffs or control conditions passively applied with increasing hack levels, but higher levels would also unlock active abilities that the Cipher could trigger on or through the enemy, at the cost of reducing or resetting the hack level. Some active abilities would be learned by leveling, but others would be associated with the enemy itself (representing using their own strengths against them, essentially), so for example a hacked blight might be used to deliver an elemental attack against its allies. I like the idea of the Cipher only directly targeting enemies with their at-will ability (though some of the active effects triggered from an enemy might buff allies in range), as it makes them sort of the opposite of the Chanter.

This is another case of a solution in search of a problem. That's a lot of work to do something that would likely make the game worse.

[perilisk]

 

Well, you could give the Cipher's mana resource to the Wizard, but have Wizards still start the battle out low and need to build up mana to power their spells. They could circumvent this slightly with a very limited number of per-rest slots that they could use to prepare (ooc) a specific known spell of any level, which could then be cast in combat without needing or using any mana. So, modern system, but with a little Vancian flavor.

 

Of course, that would leave Ciphers without a unique thing. So, I'd suggest dropping Focus altogether, and reimagining them as soul hackers, with a sort of magical cyberpunk theme. Ciphers would establish soul links to one or more enemies. These soul links would "hack" the enemy over time (with the speed dependent on enemy Will), with the hack level acting as a sort of per-enemy mana pool. Depending on the Cipher's abilities, there would be a series of increasingly powerful debuffs or control conditions passively applied with increasing hack levels, but higher levels would also unlock active abilities that the Cipher could trigger on or through the enemy, at the cost of reducing or resetting the hack level. Some active abilities would be learned by leveling, but others would be associated with the enemy itself (representing using their own strengths against them, essentially), so for example a hacked blight might be used to deliver an elemental attack against its allies. I like the idea of the Cipher only directly targeting enemies with their at-will ability (though some of the active effects triggered from an enemy might buff allies in range), as it makes them sort of the opposite of the Chanter.

This is another case of a solution in search of a problem. That's a lot of work to do something that would likely make the game worse.

 

 

Well, it's definitely not something they should undertake for PoE or the expansions, whether or not it's worthwhile design.

[Badmojo]

I am definitely in the whole rest mechanic sucks category.  Especially for the wizard class, if I known how bad it was I would have picked something else for my main character than this broken class.  All the rest mechanic does is force people not to play wizards, but hoarder gun singers who use boring rods to attack, but never use their spells because running back to an inn to rest or restock is just too tedious.  Sure, it was ok a couple of times, but after the dozenth It just became unbearable.  

 

I think an options setting would be the best, to turn off the system or at least adjust it.  Something that might have been a sort of middle ground solution is that if the map is free of monsters/hostiles you should get a free rest in that area (there is literally NOTHING to attack you, so why can't you rest)?  Also, gaining talents to turn your spells into per encounter would have made leveling up/talents much more enticing.

 

Regardless, the rest mechanic is probably the worst things about this game to me and I really wish it would go.

[oaktownbrown]

I am definitely in the whole rest mechanic sucks category.  Especially for the wizard class, if I known how bad it was I would have picked something else for my main character than this broken class.  All the rest mechanic does is force people not to play wizards, but hoarder gun singers who use boring rods to attack, but never use their spells because running back to an inn to rest or restock is just too tedious.  Sure, it was ok a couple of times, but after the dozenth It just became unbearable.  

 

I think an options setting would be the best, to turn off the system or at least adjust it.  Something that might have been a sort of middle ground solution is that if the map is free of monsters/hostiles you should get a free rest in that area (there is literally NOTHING to attack you, so why can't you rest)?  Also, gaining talents to turn your spells into per encounter would have made leveling up/talents much more enticing.

 

Regardless, the rest mechanic is probably the worst things about this game to me and I really wish it would go.

 

What difficulty are you playing on? What level are you? What is your party composition? How often do you rest? What other party cRPGs have you played, especially those with a rest system?

 

It seems to me that most maps have a camping supply that you can find which essentially gives you a free rest. It sounds like that is not enough to make the rest system work for you.

 

We are on opposite sides on this question: I rarely rest to replenish spells and tend to rest only when a few ppl in my party have major fatigue (when playing with a party). I find more camping supplies than I can use. But I'd like to understand what is different about the way we play that makes the rest system not work well for you.

 

I think that it might be a pain for devs to implement your suggestion about a free rest if you've cleared a map and I think it could also lead to frustration for some players (e.g., you think you've cleared everything but there is an enemy somewhere you didn't see). But I wouldn't mind a mid-level talent that changed a few low level per rest spells into per encounter spells.

Edited May 10, 2015 by oaktownbrown

[Namutree]

 Especially for the wizard class, if I known how bad it was I would have picked something else for my main character 

So you picked the wizard not even knowing how they work? Why? They don't play all that differently from the IE games; so how exactly did you let yourself get into this situation?

 

 

 than this broken class.  

How is the wizard broken?

 

 

 All the rest mechanic does is force people not to play wizards, but hoarder gun singers who use boring rods to attack, but never use their spells because running back to an inn to rest or restock is just too tedious.  Sure, it was ok a couple of times, but after the dozenth It just became unbearable.  

 

Sounds like you're not using the wizard very well if this is the case for you. The problem isn't the wizard; it's you.

 

 

 

I think an options setting would be the best, to turn off the system or at least adjust it. 

 

That would require a huge amount of time to balance. How about instead you just pick a different caster class instead? That is the appeal of different caster classes; pick the one that suits you.

 

 

Something that might have been a sort of middle ground solution is that if the map is free of monsters/hostiles you should get a free rest in that area (there is literally NOTHING to attack you, so why can't you rest)?

That would shatter the game balance.

 

 

 Also, gaining talents to turn your spells into per encounter would have made leveling up/talents much more enticing.

 

It would also make the wizard super OP; basically making the other classes relatively useless.