Spell Pass Preview - Chaaannggeee!

[Aeolwind]

You left out an important one.....any changes to blade barrier (cool downs, damage)?

With all the chaos in this thread, I don't think they want that cat out of the bag yet to be honest. If they mess with it too hard, it might be hard to find healers for a while.

[voodoogroves]

What, you thought I was talking about the perch strategy?

If you're still relying on Wall of Fire after this update, you're doing it wrong.

Wall of fire is still good damage over time and low risk. Unless the AI changes, that's going to remain solid.

[Zachski]

Wall of fire is still good damage over time and low risk. Unless the AI changes, that's going to remain solid.

So the toy is NOT broken then. Huh.

All the same, more spells are becoming more viable, so maybe while your wizard is perched, you could start firing some rays into the fray :P

[maddmatt70]

With the SP reductions is the intent to see casters casting more AP/item boosted, non-metamagic'd DPS spells? A small drop in SP cost for the spell but a large SP-tax for metamagic is pretty significant.

Focus on Contagion and similar spells is probably misdirected; few targets have the HP for long-term stat damage to matter versus just beating them down - and the ones that have the HP likely have immunity to the stat damage.

Will shout and greater shout have CL-based, uncapped damage? If not, that's not really much bard love as they won't hit the DCs to matter and the damage won't scale with caster level. I'm curious how many bards actually prep shout/greater.

With rays getting free enlarges, will that also apply to AM / PM SLAs? Searing Light (spell and capstone)?

I think every spell in DDO got changed or close to all spells anyway.

Greater shout nobody really preps, but with faster casting times and less spell point cost you could probably keep spamming the spell on low fort save targets over and over to keep them immobilized which has its uses. The damage portion might also have been increased.

[Alanim]

Perhaps maximize could just be = to base cost? and empower being = to 50% of base cost? That'd help with the issues, hopefully but might be slightly hard to implement since you'll need to re-work things affecting those meta-magics to be % based.

[voodoogroves]

So the toy is NOT broken then. Huh.

All the same, more spells are becoming more viable, so maybe while your wizard is perched, you could start firing some rays into the fray :P

You're confusing me with someone who thinks wall of fire didn't need a change. It did. It still may. My wizard runs with 15-20 spells he uses frequently, not a 4-spell pony as some seem to be complaining about.

I just think the reflex save is LAME. I'm not saying its out of balance, LAME. It could make godzilla noises and play Chuck Norris videos and the Worlds Most Interesting Man quotes and the reflex save I still would find LAME.

LAME.

[jortann]

hmmm

[Zachski]

Perhaps maximize could just be = to base cost? and empower being = to 50% of base cost? That'd help with the issues, hopefully but might be slightly hard to implement since you'll need to re-work things affecting those meta-magics to be % based.

I don't honestly see any evidence that those metamagics will become % based.

If it does happen, though, then I quite imagine that Arcanes will actually be quite OP.

[voodoogroves]

I think every spell in DDO got changed or close to all spells anyway.

Greater shout nobody really preps, but with faster casting times and less spell point cost you could probably keep spamming the spell on low fort save targets over and over to keep them immobilized which has its uses. The damage portion might also have been increased.

Danger is if you have maximize on for healing; maximize will be far more SP than greater shout unless the metamagics are also updated, then you're just tossing SP.


Or they could let us tag metamagics to spells instead of toggles / stances....

[Kaldais]

I don't honestly see any evidence that those metamagics will become % based.

If it does happen, though, then I quite imagine that Arcanes will actually be quite OP.

Actually Metas were % based before the first meta pass way before DDOU.

[Alanim]

I don't honestly see any evidence that those metamagics will become % based.

If it does happen, though, then I quite imagine that Arcanes will actually be quite OP.

it'd be alot easier to balance spells though... having a higher cost spell = higher cost meta-magics, but I do see what you mean, they could spam tons of low level spells for cheap...

[Cyr]

and some Bard love...

Shout: Cost reduced to 6 SP, uses faster casting animation. Change shared with wizards/sorcerers.

Great Shout: Cost reduced to 15 SP, uses faster cast animation. Change shared with wizards/sorcerers.

I love my bard. I will not use these spells still.
The dynamic of what is worth using a metamagic on and what is not still kills most of these spells that you guys are monkeying with until you can hotkey the full spell with your choice of meta's this is just not going to change.

[fiera]

So basically, instead of being masters of AoE. Casters have been relegated to Arcane Archers. Range single target DPS. WoW! <- hint,hint

Not quite...as an arcane archer i do not turn off precise shot unless it will hurt me...Arcane Archers are not single target dps, they are multi target dps...almost though except the rays I should hope will do more then the 500 an AA gets on a crit, you know saying you were using a master worked short bow and only had 8 str.

[Zachski]

Actually Metas were % based before the first meta pass way before DDOU.

I know that, I just don't see any evidence that they will return to this, especially since Heighten is being kept the same as always.

[Velluminous]

Well, guess this means we'll see a bunch of wizards getting TRed into something else.

Main thing that annoys me is that I'll have to respec. Take a different metamagic feat too, since the only thing I ever used extend on was WoF and Haste. Guess this gives me a chance to try archmage. Ah well.

[Darkrok]

On my palemaster I can already clean portals in shroud using necrotic blast only (not that I am relying this, I just sometimes do this for fun). Since shroud is almost always run on normal, those mobs have pathetic hp, aoe nukes will wipe them easily and reliably I think.

I didn't want to build a toon that relied on spell pen on a first life 18/2 wiz-rog so I built him as a force-based evoker AM with conjuration secondary school. I've not run many shrouds on him yet but I didn't have much problems dropping a couple webs before the portal spawned, then alternating chain missiles, arcane blast, magic missile, arcane bolt, repeat. Obviously that would be more problematic on Hard/Elite but on normal I'm pretty sure I could solo-cast it the way things currently stand. With some of the other changes going in (slightly higher force damage, the ability to take some affordable ice enhancements, etc) I can probably do it even easier than now. Is Wail easier as it stands now? Sure it is. But it's not the only way to do it and people with alternative builds have been doing it other ways for awhile now.

[Requiro]

Well, guess this means we'll see a bunch of wizards getting TRed into something else.

Not really...

[Hafeal]

[IMG]http://rlv.zcache.com/oh_****_the_sky_is_falling_card-p137021172328032215qi0i_400.jpg[/IMG]

[Zachski]

[IMG]http://rlv.zcache.com/oh_****_the_sky_is_falling_card-p137021172328032215qi0i_400.jpg[/IMG]

Wow, the censor ruined your picture posting XD

[Calebro]

fixed